Staying Connected - A Wake Up Call

Like many people, one of our holiday traditions is sending out a Christmas card. Also like many people, invariably we end up sending it out pretty late. I think maybe some years we've even sent them after Christmas Day. 
That wasn't the case this year, however this past week, we received several via return mail. Perhaps 6.

I found that this made me fairly upset. With myself. I felt like "what a horrible friend am I that I didn't even know Tom and his wife moved". Certainly, I could choose to think instead, "well, it's not like they sent out a change of address card or anything", but I didn't. And I don't. 

A few months back, a friend wrote a spectacular post about why she was leaving Facebook and deleting her account. She spoke eloquently about how she wanted to keep in touch with people who actually cared about the things going on in her life, and not superficially stay connected via non specific status updates and posts. She posts regularly on Google+ and in the time since she left Facebook, indeed we have found so many fun facts we never learned about one another in 2+ years of being "connected" on Facebook.

Don't get me wrong, I have no intention of leaving Facebook, and I do find fun and enjoyable interactions there daily. I do keep in touch with some of my friends, especially long distance ones in a way that I couldn't easily otherwise. 

But I have been reminded, at the volume of 11 (I'm entertained by the Spinal Tap reference and hope some of you get it), that we need to be actually connected with our friends and loved ones. We need to stay engaged and learn about the things going on in their lives. Even if you may feel that nothing has changed in your life recently, if you feel that the answer to the "So what's new with you?" question is "same old same old", ask your friends. 

And most importantly ... listen to the answer.

My husband and I, over the holiday season, engaged in 2 separate very embarrassing conversations, and nearly a 3rd, where we asked a question that led to a horribly uncomfortable conversation that started with the other person saying "Oh, I guess you hadn't heard...".

My goal for 2013 and beyond is to avoid those awkward conversations by caring about the goings on in my friend's and families lives, by asking "Hey, how's it going?" regularly, and by making every effort to actually get together face to face or over the phone or video conference to connect real time.

What do you think? Would your happiness level increase through these conversations? Would that of your friends and loved ones? I believe so!

I'd love to hear your thoughts! Please share in the comment below. 

   

Friday Fun day it's easy to lower that stress and find your "Happy Place"

It's Friday, and I'm a day late on my 2nd post of the week. 
 

Friday is fun day. It's an easy day to let go of stress and find our Happy Place. One of my girlfriends has a party every single Friday night, and no she's not 23. She gets the importance of connecting and unwinding and has established her home as a spot where friends and family know they can escape to at the end of a busy week.
That's me smack in the middle :) 




I share often that a HUGE way to relieve your stress as a woman is to physically get together with other women. There is an actual change in our brain chemistry when we are together that increases our serotonin levels. 

~ There is some evidence to support the theory that this is a result of pheromones, the same phenomenon that causes women's menstrual cycles to synchronize ~ 

However the science behind it works, I think we all know that my signature phrase "6 girlfriends and a bottle of wine" is a sure fire way to forget your troubles, reduce your stress and find your "Happy Place".




While I can't spend my normal full Friday late night at my girlfriends this week as I have a few things to finish getting set up at home for my big Launch Party on Sunday and Monday, I do look forward to popping by, celebrating the birthday of a friend (with a little relax with wax birthday gift) and getting my connection on. 



 


What are you doing on this Friday Fun day to lower your stress and find your "Happy Place"? I'd love to hear about it!   

Friends make ALL the difference

Just got home from PartyLite's National sales conference in St. Louis, MO. What an amazing experience!

It's always great training, it's always inspirational, it's always motivational, it often is a catalyst for a bigger vision for my business for the future (near or far), it's always heart touching, it's always a phenomenal source of joy, fun and entertainment on SO many levels, and seeing and connecting with amazing achievers is always a great source of energy renewal. 

But this year, I had the additional joy of sharing the whole experience with my best girlfriend. The depth it increased the experience is tough to quantify.

I don't know about you, but for me, connections with friends make all the difference.

As we take this journey we call life, I see so many around me disconnecting and losing touch. We get embroiled in our own minutia and don't take time to connect with good friends.

How many times have you heard, or <gasp> said "We have to get together. We've been so busy with ..."
And no matter the season, it's always the reason you're too busy to grant your own heart's wish.
We've been so busy this summer, you know how it is with the kids out of school.
We've been so busy this school year, you know how it is with the kids school activities.
We've been so busy this holiday season, you know how it is with family in from out of town.

and on ... and on ... and on it goes.

It's time to realize you're always going to be busy. New job, old job, kids in school, kids out of school, summer, fall, winter, spring. 

We manage to make time for the things that we decide are important. And we weirdly find time for the most ridiculous things. Can't meet your girlfriend for dinner because Dancing with the Stars is on Thursday nights? That's what DVR's are for!

We ONLY get today. It's the only day there is. There are no guarantees, and there are certainly no do-overs.

Take the effort to find a way to connect with those friends. They really do double our joys and divide our sorrows.

When's the last time YOU had a cup of coffee or a glass of wine with your best girlfriend?

P.S. If it's been a while, and you're looking for an excuse, grab your girlfriend and pop on over for some wine, snacks and retail therapy at the New Product Launch this weekend. Sunday or Monday.