Creative Ideas to Help You Thrive

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There are so many ways we can lead a fulfilling life. 

In my Thriving Now blog series, discover valuable tips and strategies to empower you to live your best life. From fostering resilience to nurturing well-being and meaningful connections, these insights can be a trusty compass to navigate the intricacies of your daily experience with grace and ease.

You can walk this path to authentically thrive in every aspect of your life and Live Big!

Creative ideas for thriving now.

Create to Cope

Whenever you feel overwhelmed, sad, angry, frustrated, or any other difficult emotion, you have the opportunity to use it as fuel for something creative. Why is that a good idea? Because when you “exercise” the emotion through creativity, it has a place to go. You get to use it, move it, and ease it out of your system. And, sometimes you can actually transform it.

For example, you might like doing something with your hands, like a craft project or needlework. You can get absorbed in the activity, choosing colors and materials. When you get into flow as you create, the emotion can ease off.You might want to vigorously chop vegetables and then create an interesting dish. Or you might dance to music with the volume turned up high. You might want to dig in the garden. You might want to draw or paint a hideous picture to wring out the emotion. You might pour your emotion into writing a poem.Experiment and see how this works best for you. You will discover the ways of creating that satisfy you most when you are dealing with challenging emotions, in varying situations.Will it clear the troubling emotion forever? No. But you can experience real relief, and as you continue to create the emotion will have less hold on you.

Enjoy an adult coloring book.

There are lovely adult coloring books that you can order online and many artists are generously making their work available for download for free. Here’s a page with nice options, and if you do a google search you will find many others. If you do not have a set of colored pencils order a set of 24 and you’ll be all set.

Coloring is a delightful way to create, as you choose colors and watch the page come to life. You may find this calming, and a way to move into a meditative state, as well as a way to feel inspired.

Tapping Techniques to Help You Thrive

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There are so many ways we can lead a fulfilling life. 

In my Thriving Now blog series, discover valuable tips and strategies to empower you to live your best life. From fostering resilience to nurturing well-being and meaningful connections, these insights can be a trusty compass to navigate the intricacies of your daily experience with grace and ease.

You can walk this path to authentically thrive in every aspect of your life and Live Big!


Tapping techniques for thriving now.

Butterfly Tapping

This is another soothing way to calm yourself, any time you feel anxious or upset. This simple and pleasant technique signals energy meridiens that calm you. Here’s how to do it:

Put your right hand on your heart (as though you were going to pledge allegiance) and then place your left hand crossed over your right, on your upper chest. The tops of your fingers will sit a bit below your clavicle bones. Next, keeping your hands in place, lift the fingers of one hand and tap them gently back to your chest. Next do the same with the other hand. Simply repeat this rhythm, one hand and then the other, and tap as long as you wish.

EFT Tapping

My colleague, Paige Hamilton, has guided me through EFT tapping, and I have experienced the way this practice can relieve stress, calm the body, and help you to get past limiting beliefs. She offers a guide, the 15-minute Mindset Makeover, to help you learn about this process and get started. You can request it here. And, in this video she explains the way it works. In her second video she demonstrates how to do the tapping. Her third video goes further, with things to keep in mind. After that, you will want to follow some guided tapping approaches, to get comfortable with how to do this for yourself. Paige is offering zoom calls on the first and third Wednesdays of the month, to guide you. You can reach out to her and ask that she include you on her announcements.

Nick Ortner, The Tapping Solution, has many “tapping meditations” you can listen to, and has an app (that I have not used, so I cannot recommend it). This meditation was offered at the start of the pandemic, and he has created versions for kids dealing with stress, and many others. And in this new interview Nick did with Marie Forleo, he demonstrates the tapping technique, provides lots of info to help you understand the power of tapping and how it works, and also guides you through a helpful tapping sequence.

I have also found a good EFT guided meditation for better sleep. Check it out if you are having trouble getting to sleep or sleeping soundly. (You will want to review the basics of the tapping points from Paige Hamilton or Nick Ortner before following this meditation.)

Breathing Techniques to Help You Thrive

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There are so many ways we can lead a fulfilling life.

In my Thriving Now blog series, discover valuable tips and strategies to empower you to live your best life. From fostering resilience to nurturing well-being and meaningful connections, these insights can be a trusty compass to navigate the intricacies of your daily experience with grace and ease.

You can walk this path to authentically thrive in every aspect of your life and Live Big!

Try these breathing techniques to thrive now

When you pause and breathe, you give yourself a gift.

4x4 Box Breathing

This is a wonderful way to get grounded and to quiet your nervous system. You may want to do a few rounds of these to ease into meditation, or to simply pause when you feel stressed, impatient, or flustered. Here’s how to do it:

  • Inhale to the count of 4

  • Hold for 4 counts

  • Exhale to the count of 4

  • Hold for 4 counts

  • Repeat

Deep Breathing

Most people take short, shallow breaths into their chest. It can make you feel anxious and zap your energy. With this technique, you'll learn how to take bigger breaths, all the way into your belly.

  • Get comfortable. You can lie on your back in bed or on the floor with a pillow under your head and knees. Or you can sit in a chair with your shoulders, head, and neck supported against the back of the chair.

  • Breathe in through your nose. Let your belly fill with air.

  • Breathe out through your nose.

  • Place one hand on your belly. Place the other hand on your chest.

  • As you breathe in, feel your belly rise. As you breathe out, feel your belly lower. The hand on your belly should move more than the one that's on your chest.

  • Take three more full, deep breaths. Breathe fully into your belly as it rises and falls with your breath.

4-7-8 Relaxing Breathing 

Sit or lie down in a comfortable position. Your eyes can be slightly opened or fully closed. Press the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth and open your mouth slightly. Exhale until all the air is released from your lungs.

  • Close your mouth and inhale through your nose for 4 – 8 counts (you can work up to 8 counts as your lung capacity increases).

  • Hold your breath for 7 counts.

  • Exhale very slowly for 8 counts.

  • Repeat steps 1-3 four times.