I am an intellectually and creatively restless person. I love to be creative every day in my life. I Create. All. The. Time. If I’m not learning and trying something new, then I’m probably sleeping. You, and most of my clients, probably feel the same way. Go ahead and call me ADDHD; I’m happy with the label at this point. People like us are what’s fueling our economy. We are the people looking to change things up and we’ll do the necessary work to figure out how to do whatever needs to be done to make those changes. We do the creating, and innovation, the ‘scratching’ as Twyla Tharp calls it, to come up with something new, and energizing. Or do we….? If you’re like a lot of people I know (ok, including me) you, too, probably let yourself get lost and sidetracked by doing things that end… Read More
Mindfulness
Do Your Emotions Matter?
Think about it. When you’re upset about something that happened before you got to work, how do you then perceive things or people at work? Do you think your emotions affect your decision making? Even if we don’t think they do, research shows, in fact, that they do. A study by the Yale Center on Emotional Intelligence showed that teachers who were in a bad mood were more likely to give students lower grades, than those who were in more positive moods. Ever had a to give a performance review on a bad day? Or received a review on a day when your boss was having a bad day or week? Hmmm. Emotions, research shows, actually spread like a virus…that goes for either negative and positive emotions (except that we are more wired to see the negative because we are predisposed for what’s known as negative bias… Read More
Guest Post: 5 Ways to Stay Mentally Healthy When Stressed
I was recently invited to share some of my best stress-busting tips in a guest post on the Motto Blog. You can read my tips here. Read More
And now for something a little different…
Goodbye, Golf Clubs. Hello, Hiking Boots and Kayak. Source: New York Times By ABBY ELLIN THEY call him “Elusive,” at least on the hiking trails. And that’s pretty much where Dave Roberts spends his time these days, crisscrossing the country by foot, by bike, even by kayak. Mr. Roberts, a retired teacher and software engineer, is on a mission to navigate the United States powered only by his two legs and two arms. Hotels and lodges are out of the question; he camps out at night and lugs 25 pounds of equipment — including his tent, sleeping bag and food — on his back. And oh yes: Did we mention he is 72 years old? “I expect to keep doing it until I get tired of it,” said Mr. Read More
2015 Review & Release Event
Release 2015 and Recharge Your Vision of What Can Be for 2016 with Career Coach Daisy Swan, and Tarot/Astrological Reader Mary Griffith January 23, 2016, 1-5pm Cost $199 (includes 30 mins. Tarot Card reading) During this afternoon, you’ll have TIME to choose what learning from last year you want to keep and put into action in 2016, to get insight from a professional astrology/tarot reading, to create a vision board based on a vision developed for what you want to see come to life in 2016, and beyond, to do exercises lead by an experienced career coach to help clarify next career moves based on your strengths and interests, to learn mindful awareness meditation, to support clarity and calm throughout the coming year. This event will be held at a lovely private residence in South Bay. Location details shared after registration. [REGISTER… Read More
Burnt out to Brilliant Webinar Series
An Introduction to Mindfulness – FREE Lecture with Daisy Swan
Monday, March 30, 2015 | 8-9 PM Mimoda Studio @ Paper or Plastik Cafe 5772 W. Pico Blvd. @ Ogden, Los Angeles, CA 90019 An Introduction to Mindfulness Mindfulness meditation is increasingly showing up in mass media as the antidote to contemporary stress. Why all the fuss? Over the past 15 years, hundreds of scientific research studies, and their published results, illustrate just how positively powerful this simple practice is for the human body and mind. Individuals and organizations are now embracing mindfulness practices in record numbers to counterbalance the non-stop demand and distraction of a world that is wildly connected via technology. Mindfulness meditation instructor Daisy Swan will discuss some of the important research that has recently surfaced in this area and provide resources for practice, as well as lead us in several mindfulness exercises that can be incorporated into daily life. Night School lectures are free and… Read More
January 9-11, 2015: New Year, New You ~ Cleanse and Visioning Retreat in Ojai
Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPs) II: Cultivating Positive Emotions (formerly Finding Happiness) (a UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center program led by Career Coach, Daisy Swan) This MAPs II class emphasizes heart-based qualities that complement mindfulness and can be cultivated through meditation practices. We will explore loving kindness, compassion, equanimity (even-mindedness), joy, generosity, and gratitude. We will learn new meditations to develop these qualities, tools to work with when we find them ourselves stuck and not feeling positive emotions, and practical exercises to incorporate them into our daily life. This is a helpful expansion to our basic mindfulness practice. Each class is a dynamic, interactive combination of lecture, practice, and group feedback and discussion. MAPs is taught in a context of a supportive community environment with classes no larger than 30-40 students. Daisy Swan will be leading this class series; she has years of personal… Read More
How To Be a Mystery Shopper (in Your Own Life)
Daisy Swan – Career Coach Guest Contributor for My L.A. Lifestyle Do you love to look around to find the unexpected? Love to scour racks of clothes, or shelves of shoes, for that perfect surprise item that pulls an outfit (or maybe starts one) together…? Not everyone loves this kind of thing. Some people want the goods all laid out, put together, done. But some of us like the thrill of the adventure. We are mystery shoppers. Some people are actually employed as mystery shoppers…people who are planted in stores to surreptitiously shop the aisles, watching how salespeople manage patrons and merchandise. I’m not talking about that kind of mystery shopper. I’m talking about being a mystery shopper in your own life. Tuning into our own lives like a mystery shopper, means tuning into what’s really happening with us, and the world around us. We get… Read More
