by Kirby Hasseman
Some days just suck. Despite all of the ideas about creating positivity in your life (yes it works) and starting your day off on the right foot (still important), some days just don’t work out the way you hope. As the saying goes, “Sometimes you are the windshield. Sometimes you are the bug.” I think that might be one of the great misperceptions. Just because you have a positive attitude, it doesn’t mean bad things don’t happen. It doesn’t mean you don’t have bad days. And it doesn’t mean you are saying you are perfect. It means you are a work in progress. It also has to do with how you react when one of those days happen…because they will. Do you look for someone to blame? Or do you look for something to learn? Do you look to play the victim? Or do you refocus on the things that excite you? Do you curl up in a ball and hide? Or do you get up and show the next day? Bad things will happen. Bad days will occur. But what do you do next? That, my friends, is up to you. Make sure you today doesn’t suck by signing up for our VIP newsletter. You can do that here. Get your dose of inspiration and motivation each and every day.
by Kirby Hasseman
There is something completely satisfying with getting things accomplished. We are biologically wired for it.
When you scratch something off of your “To Do list” you actually get a boost of the chemical dopamine in your body. That’s why it feels good to mark something done. We are wired to take action. That’s why I know what to do when I wake up stressed.
You know the feeling. It’s the one where you wake up in the “worry mindset.” You have been stewing much of the night over the things that needed to be done. Then you wake up in that “panic” mindset and it can totally frame the rest of your day.
Don’t let it.
When I wake up feeling like that there are a couple of things that help to get my mind back on track. Maybe they will help you. Here are 3 tips to de-stress your morning.
Make a List
A human brain is a great place for coming up with ideas. It’s not a great place to store them. When you try to use your brain for long-term storage it is exhausting and inefficient. When you take some time to plan out your day and make a list of things you need to get done (even if the list will take a week), it can free up your mind to come up with solutions. It can be very freeing.
Re-connect to the Mission
The list-making exercise also helps to remind me what I am working toward. What is the bigger goal? What do I hope to accomplish today? Is there any project I am excited about working on? These things (if you have thought them out) are usually bigger than the problems that are stressing you.
Do Just One Thing
Doing something proactive. Just taking action can help to re-set my mindset. For me, it might be writing this blog. But taking action on just one item (especially if I have a plan to do more) helps me get my attitude back on track.
Let’s face it…stress is a real thing. These are just a few ideas that help me get back on track. But if you want to dig deeper on how to decrease stress in your home, check out this article on how to have a “calm home.”
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by Kirby Hasseman
For many years now, I have said that all of us are media companies. It’s a mind shift in marketing your business or telling your story that is the result of cell phones with amazing cameras and the internet. You are no longer a company that sells cars. You are a media company that also sells cars. This shift makes you think differently about how you tell stories. I talked about it in this blog back in May. It really changes the way you think. You start to see stories that need telling. We did. We started to see those stories. But we were not sure this blog or website was the right place. So we decided to create “the right place.” That is why we created “Ohio’s Heart.” Ohio’s Heart is an online media company dedicated to promoting positivity and spreading kindness in, what we feel, is an underserved area in Ohio. What is that area? Think of the area along the intersection of 70 and 77. We will cover up to Wayne County and down to Washington County. We will have articles, videos and podcasts as we move forward. And we will be looking for ideas on stories to cover (so help us keep an eye out). We are starting slowly, as we are learning as we go, but we posted our first article to social media Friday (check that out here). What can you do? First off, feel free to follow us on social media. We are on Facebook and Instagram. Next up, share any articles you think have value! Finally, as you check into the site, you can make sure you never miss an update by signing up for the Ohio’s Heart email. It’s a great way to know about positive things going on in our region. So check out the website now and give us your two cents. We appreciate the feedback and the support as we try to make positivity louder in our region! P.S. Special shout out to Skylar Hasseman, who has been working hard to get this site up and running for the last couple of months! With the help of Josh Williams and Eric Dingler, we have it live. Nice job Skylar! We have a new post each and every day on THIS site. Make sure you stay connected by signing up for our VIP newsletter here.
by Kirby Hasseman
I hear the world “authenticity” thrown around a lot today. Heck, I even find myself using it a lot. It’s almost become one of those business cliche’s that pops up in every meeting. These are the words that lose their meaning, because they are used so much. (As a side note, friends and I would play Buzz Word Bingo at an old job. We would keep track of all of the cliche terms, and when we heard them all, we could yell “Bingo!” It was really funny…once.). There is a problem with authenticity though. It’s a term we like when it serves our needs. We don’t ALWAYS like authenticity. There is an asterisk beside the term. *We like authenticity in specific circumstances. *We like it for ourselves: We love the idea of authenticity when we are talking about ourselves! Yes…people will love the real me! “If I am genuine and honest and transparent (another new buzz word), the world will flock to love me.” But are we as excited and enthusiastic when other people are THAT genuine? *We like it when we agree: We love the idea of someone who is authentic and is saying what we believe. We can’t get behind that enough. We might (as a culture) even label them as brave for doing it. Good stuff. But what about those people who authentically disagree with us? Do we label them as “brave” or as “evil and misguided?” *We like it when we understand: This is a close relative to above, but it’s not exactly the same. We might not TOTALLY agree, but we have friends that do. We at least understand the plight. So you we can gladly laud them for speaking up! But what about the causes or efforts we don’t understand.? You get the point (I hope). We can’t just love and admire the authenticity of a few. And in the interest of transparency, I preach being authentic. I think, to find your voice, it’s incredibly important. But if it’s a characteristic that is to be admired and cultivated, we need to open our minds…authentically. We have a new piece of content every day. Want to keep up? Sign up for our VIP newsletter here. Our goal is to provide you value, so make sure you never miss a post.
by Kirby Hasseman
We all have routines. We all have habits. Good or bad, we all have habits that are wired into our brain. These habits kick in when we do something over and over and it shuts off our brain…and takes us down a familiar path. The subconscious brain essentially “takes over” and frees up our conscious brain for other work. Think of that time you were driving home from work and consciously “woke up” and realized you did not really remember driving the last stretch of land. It’s happened to me…and it’s a bit freaky. There is good news and bad news about habits. When managed, they can free you up. They can help release your conscious brain to work on harder and more important problems. There is a very real thing called “decision fatigue.” At the end of a stressful day, your brain is tired. So you are more likely to make poor decisions. Smart habits and routines can free you up from silly decisions that will (eventually) wear you out. The bad news is simple. When you don’t manage your habits, they can quickly manage you. We hear a familiar phrase. We sit in our spot. We go to a place…and our subconscious brain just takes over and we are on auto-pilot. We start to act in a familiar way and we don’t really even know we are doing it. Part of breaking the habit of smoking is not just the addiction to nicotine. It’s the habit of what you do when you wake up, after you eat, etc. Charles Duhigg talks about it extensively here in the Power of Habit. The lesson is simple (but not easy). Create routines in your life that help you create positive habits. That way you start to do the things you KNOW you need to do, but you don’t need willpower or thought to do it. That is how you create long term (and positive) change that will move you toward your goals. Make sure you never miss an update! Sign up for our VIP newsletter here. We know you are busy! So once a week, we send you a list of all of the content we create directly to your email. Easy. And it’s a habit you will be glad you started. Sign up here.
