Hi,
I was in a bit of a hurry this morning to get to a meeting and I quickly grabbed a pair of earrings to wear.  I put them on as I was heading out the door, not stopping for the usual mirror check to make sure that I was basically put together.  Later in the day, I happened to look in the mirror and realized I was wearing two different earrings – very noticeably different earrings!  I stood there and laughed realizing that no one had noticed – not when I stood at the meeting and did a short presentation, not when I was talking with people afterwards, not even when I asked them for a hug!  Now maybe they were just too polite to say anything. I hope that was the case because otherwise, it leaves me to wonder about how closely we are paying attention to each other.  Are we noticing when our friends are having a rough day, when our colleagues are struggling?  Are we paying attention to people who are feeling alone and could use some connection?  Here’s a great video that many of you have probably seen but it’s definitely worth watching more than once….check it out.  Would you give this guy a hug?  

http://rockphotoblog.com/?p=251

Have a great day – share your hugs and if you are in my vicinity please know that I will always be delighted to give you a hug!

Deb

Hello!
Well, I have managed to improve my hug count and I have also managed to do some more writing!  The writing was really challenging me and I wasn’t doing it (I wanted to write something every day for this challenge).  Well, I have adjusted my goal and figured out a slightly better system which, interestingly enough, has inspired me!  The wiriting is happening much more easily and it’s even more fun that I originally anticipated.  Hhmmm, that’s what happens when you relax and adjust!  How about you – any new insights about your challenge?  I’d love to hear from you!

Deb

Hi!
Okay, we are on day 50 of the 100 Day Challenge!  I am slightly under on my hug count but I’m not worried!  I know I’ll be able to pull it off by day 100.  How about you?  Where are you in the challenge so far?  Are you still hanging in there, have you slowed down or are you now sitting on the couch?!  100 days of dedication is no small feat so no matter how long you manged to participate, give yourself lots of credit.  Big WOO HOO to all of you that are still with me and if you fell off the challenge wagon, this is the perfect time to adjust, cut yourself some slack and join in again.  Make it a 50 challenge!  Feel free to comment on your progess or mine!  Have a great week!

Deb

Hello,
How is your challenge going?  It has been 5 weeks since we started and I am getting better with my focus lately (and getting less shy about asking for hugs!).  I have also been a bit better at the writing part of my challenge – not quite everyday as I had planned but definitely getting closer!  If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 100 times…don’t give up the challenge just because you miss a few days.  Get back on the horse because nothing teaches you faster or more efficiently than getting back on once you’ve been thrown!!  Have a great week!

Deb

Hi!
It has been a long couple of months and today is the first day that I felt like I could relax a bit.  I decided to take a yoga class this morning not quite thinking about the fact that I also had a dance class this evening.  I have been challenged with a cold for the past week so half way through the yoga class I became desparate for the corpse pose that usually comes at the end of the class.  I was so tired by the time I was finished that I could hardly hold my head up.  Luckily lunch revived me a bit and I made it through the rest of the afternoon.  When I got to my dance class I realized that I had planned poorly that day!  It was pretty much the end of me!  And the worst part of the whole day was that I had the opportunity to give and receive hugs but I was so tired, I forgot to ask. 

That has been the case for most of this challenge.  I have been very preoccupied and feeling very tired and so I forget that I am on this challenge.  I forget to ask for hugs when I am with people and it’s not until the end of the day that I realized I didn’t do so well with the challenge today.  Being tired will do that to you.  Being tired reduces your ability to focus and also reduces your ability to be in the moment.  You are less likely to take advantage of opportunities or ideas that are right in front of you because you are too tired to see them.   

Time for a revamp!  Time to get my priorities straight.  I need hugs (and I want to do more writing which has not been going well at all)!  Every morning my plan is to remind myself that I am on this challenge and that I will be giving it the time and focus it deserves.  Then the rest of my day will have to fit around it!  Ha!  How’s that for a plan?!  Let me know how your challenge is going and I’ll keep you posted about mine!  Have a great week!

Deb

Hi!
Today, time was of the essence and I needed all the help I could get.  So, I set my intentions for the day to go very smoothly, work for my highest good and headed out the door.  The first thing I really needed was a great parking spot.  Finding a really convenient spot would go a long way to making my morning easier.  And there it was – perfect – not far from my desitnation and right in front of the pay station.  I leaped out with my credit card ready and tried to pay for my spot but it kept rejecting my card.  After trying several times, I relented and pulled out my loonie and tried to put it in the payment slot but it wouldn’t go in.  Now, I am getting incredibly frustrated and I start talking to the machine.  “What’s the matter with you?  I just want to give you my money…I have to get going…I don’t have time for this…”  As I started banging my coin against the machine (because that always makes machines work, you know 😉 ) I suddenly noticed the flashing message – no payment, no payment, no payment.  Then it occured to me, it was 8:00 am – you don’t have to start paying for parking on the street until 9:00 am!  Hello!!  As I walked away from the machine I started to laugh at my inability to receive the gift right in front of me! 

I asked the Universe for the perfect parking spot and not only did I get the perfect spot, it was also free which I hadn’t expected.  That’s the trick with receiving.  You have to pay attention – what you ask for will not always arrive in the exact form that you are expecting.  Have you been receiving lately?  Or have you been walking past the gifts without even recognizing that they are there?  Have a great week and keep up with your challenge!

Deb

Hi,
My niece had a great idea for the 100 Day Challenge.  She started off with the one month challenge and plans to extend it to 100 days.  The one month challenge is set up by Fair Trade Manitoba – an organization that is dedicated to increasing Manitoban’s awareness of fair trade.  The one month challenge encouraged participants to switch to fair trade coffee, tea and chocolate for one month.  My niece has decided that she can do this for 100 days instead of stopping at 30.  I say, “Way to go!”  Not only is she challenging herself but her challenge has further impact on the community.  Everyone wins – she gets the benefit of really good quality tea, coffee and chocolate while supporting producers in developing countries and raising awareness for their products.  That might make a great theme for a future 100 Day Challenge!  Check out http://fairtrademanitoba.ca/ for more information about her challenge.  What about you – how is your challenge going?  Feel free to comment! 

Deb

Hi,
Okay, 23 days in and I am already confessing!  I have fallen down in the writing department.  On the first 100 Day Challenge one of the participants wrote an e-book.  It was great and I was so impressed and I thought – “what a great way to get yourself writing!”  So I decided to try it myself this time (although I’m not writing a book).  But alas, I have not found the same rhythm that she had.  To date, I have 9 tips written.  I have decided to be very grateful for the 9 I have written rather than be upset about the ones I haven’t written.  I could get upset with myself and get on my case about it or I can give myself a break and start again right in this moment.  That’s the beauty of this kind of challenge.  You challenge yourself to do it everyday, you challenge yourself to start again, you challenge yourself to keep going…I think the best part about this 100 Day Challenge is that you are the one in control.  And, it is a minute by minute thing – in every minute, you can decide to do something differently.  Instead of giving up, you can simply start again.  Now, I think I might go a write something else!

Deb 

Hi!
I am on holidays – skiing in the mountains and visiting my brother, sister-in-law and nephew.  Today is my nephew’s birthday and he is one year old today!  He is amazing and I am having an awesome time playing with him and watching him learn and change minute by minute!  He is also incredibly busy playing and crawling around at the speed of light.  He has started to walk as well and in another week or so, I am convinced that he is going to be running everywhere he goes!  Because he is so busy, he’s not a real cuddle kind of kid but he does give a kind of half hug which I am fully counting in my quest for 500 hugs – in fact I think those hugs should count for double but I’ll keep it to one for now!  Hope your challenge is going well!
Deb

I am heading for a holiday and as usual, I am trying to fit in too many things before I go.  Do you do that – think that everything has to be done before you go including the dusting?!  Well fortunately, I am still remembering my challenge and to date I have collected 55 hugs but I have not been doing so well with the joy tips!  I only have a couple of those written so that is proving to be more of a challenge than I originally thought.  Well, maybe I will be more inspired when I am holidays! 

Deb