Giveaway – Start One New Habit Today!!

Tweet

By:  Kristie K. Abruzzo

This book author shares advice and the opportunity to win her book, One Habit for a Rewarding Life.  Please make her feel welcome at my blog!

Most of us want to develop good habits but find this to be an elusive goal. Our busy lives and comfortable routines can make it difficult to develop and absorb new healthy habits. My days are filled with long to-do lists and the daily demands (which I absolutely love!) of a wife, mother, daughter and entrepreneur and I’m thrilled to report that I have incorporated a wonderful new habit into my life.

Although my children are grown, when I think of family life today with young children my first thought is, “It’s never too soon to start.” When we develop a healthy habit as a parent, we should also think about creative ways to help our children learn and develop that same habit at their age level.

With these 3 simple steps, you and your children can join me in learning this One Habit:

· Declare essential commitments that define you and are bigger than daily life.

· Decide how you will “treasure” them.

· Review them every day.

It’s just that simple.

The following are a few tips taken from my new book One Habit for a Rewarding Life that will help you create this new habit and interpret them for children. The only “rule” when it comes to this habit is not to include ANYTHING from your to-do list. Keep it special.

Use 4X6 index cards. They are readily available, just the right size and fit nicely in your hands as you sit back to read them. They also should fit easily into whatever vessel you use to treasure them. If you decide to add pictures or other graphics, they are usually a compatible size.

Declare your values. On one 4X6 index card make a simple list of the values or virtues you hold dear. Mine are God, Family, Friends, Community, Integrity and Compassion. As I absorb these values over time, I will add new ones to help me continue to grow.

Valuable Activities. Like your values, list activities you are already doing and/or those that you believe to have value and want to engage in more often. When you include activities, you not only declare what you stand for, but also what you do every day. This helps you cement the whole “word“ and “deed” relationship.

Vision or Mission statement. If you have a vision or mission statement for your life, write it on a card. This is an essential declaration of who you are and your life’s purpose. If you don’t have one yet, you could put “Mission Statement” at the top of a blank card as a reminder to look for some examples or ideas for writing your own mission statement.

Good Communication. This one is so important in my life. I put the name of a person or group on the top of a card and write out my commitment to good communication with them along with the reasons why I am making this commitment.

Goals. This is a great place to write out your goals and the reasons for your goals. Health goals, professional, financial, organizational – whatever you are striving to achieve beyond the daily tasks and lists. Use a separate index card for each goal.

Treasure them and read them daily. Choose a vessel that draws your attention. I use a beautiful wooden box. It sits on my desk and only a glance is necessary to remind me what it holds. I look forward to my morning cup of coffee and a few quiet moments to sit back, open my box, read the contents and reflect. There is power in what we declare.

About the Author

Kristie Abruzzo lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan with her husband, one dog, one cat, and two horses. Together they have three wonderful grown children. She started her own small business in 1993 and her latest ventures are a retail/on-line store called The Back Place, and authoring the book One Habit for a Rewarding Life. She is an active volunteer in her community.

The book will launch in October/November of 2009 and pre-orders may be placed on her website at  www.thebackplace.com/gotgoals.html

She thoroughly enjoys helping people discover their own values and ideals and brings out the best in others. She offers e-coaching, keynote addresses and a variety of tele-seminars and webinars upon request. Her unique approach to public speaking is to always provide the audience with ONE way to remember her advice.  Contact Kristie at kristie@thebackplace.com

To win her book One Habit for a Rewarding Life:

REQUIRED:  Leave me a comment.

Bonus entries:

1.  Follow Kristie on Twitter – http://twitter.com/kabruzzo

2.  Invite Kristie to your network on LinkedIn (be sure to tell her you know her from this post)  – http://www.linkedin.com/in/workplaceposture

3.  Join the new Facebook group – ONE HABIT Book Club

http://www.facebook.com/groups/edit.php?success=1&customize&gid=6829596108#/group.php?gid=6829596108

Tweet