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Issue #9 - December 2, 1999
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Brought to you by Laurie Riddell Geary, M.Ed., Coaching you to get your life
IN GEAR by making shifts, getting unstuck, finding balance and re-alignment, accelerating your growth, and mapping the most direct route to your chosen destination: a perfect life!

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500 subscribers by Y2K! If you like this broadcast, please pass it on to someone you think may like it too. Currently I have about 350 subscribers - my goal in one month is to reach 500! Thanks for your help.
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS?
The holiday season is upon us already.  We find ourselves wishing everyone "happy holidays," and yet how much thought are we giving to how to make this a happy time?  In a previous issue I listed the <A+ Actions for Preventing Holiday Conflict> What Actions can you take to Create Holiday Happiness? I've asked a number of people this question and the following are the actions that stand out...
 

*CONNECTION:
Take time to be with the people you love and care about the most. Edward Hallowell, in his new book CONNECT, states that <strong connections make life feel satisfying and secure...but many of us have started to neglect the life of connection, giving most of our time to achievement and daily chores... our health and our happiness depend upon our connections>
While connection is important year-round, the holidays encourage us to make an extra effort to reconnect with old friends as well as spend quality time with the people we love and care most about: our family and close friends.
The holidays also encourage us to connect with others - people in need, people who don't have families, people who are alone. We can invite people into our homes to share in our family holiday traditions, or we can reach out and share of ourselves by going to homeless shelters, nursing homes, or other similar places. What are you doing to make more connections?

*TRADITIONS & RITUALS:
Follow your family/cultural traditions, respect others' traditions, start some new traditions. Traditions and rituals enhance our connections by uniting us in simple but profound actions that we share together. I am part of a monthly woman's group; we begin and end our sessions with certain rituals that unite us in a special way.  Rituals also connect us with our past and our culture: as a child I can remember dancing around the Christmas tree with my aunts/uncles and cousins singing Norwegian folk songs. This tradition connected me to my Norwegian roots and to the culture we shared. Another family tradition was hanging stockings on Christmas eve (as many people do). As adults my sons and I continue to hang our stockings; this tradition seems to connect us to our happy family memories and the excitement on Christmas morning.
Sending Christmas cards is another tradition that connects us to our network of people in our lives; cards keep me connected to friends over time and over distance, and this I value immensely.

*GIVING & RECEIVING:
When I asked my granddaughter "what makes holiday happiness?" she said "presents!" The thrill of receiving presents from someone who has taken the time to buy/make something just for you can bring you great joy. At the same time, I know my granddaughter absolutely loves to give me things she has made. And I love to buy or make a present that is just right for someone else; the gift of giving can often bring more joy than receiving.

*and, finally, HAVE FUN! Let go! Keep things light; Lower your expectations; Enjoy all the happiness available to you during this holiday season
 (advice from a participant in my teleclass).
 

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TAREA:
*Think about ways you can create more connection with the people you care
  about during this holiday season. Let them know how much they mean to you
  and why you like spending time with them.
*Come to next week's teleclass on "Preventing Holiday Conflict."
*Email me for "back issues" of my email broadcast with topics related to
  conflict resolution (especially the past issue on:
  "A+ Actions to Prevent Holiday Conflicts")
*Call me for a complimentary coaching session (617-494-1422) to help you
  create a happy holiday and/or prevent holiday conflicts.

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Upcoming, free TELECLASS:
"Happy Holidays-Preventing, Reducing, or finally Eliminating Holiday Conflicts" - Thursday, December 9 @ 9pm EST.
Register at my website: http://www.ingearcoaching.com or at http://www.teleclass.com or http://www.teleclass4U.com

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I hope you enjoyed this issue; I would love to hear your feedback on this and subsequent issues.

Please feel free to forward your copy of this email to anyone you think might enjoy reading it. I am trying to build my subscriber list to 500 by the year 2000! I just request that you keep the broadcast intact...nothing changed, added or deleted, including subscription information and my contact and copyright information. Thankyou
 
 

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Laurie R. Geary, M.Ed.
Professional  Certified Coach

Register for my free weekly newsletter: Gear Up for Success!
or a free teleclass on Risk-Taking or Building Self Esteem.
at my website: http://www.ingearcoaching.com

Phone: (617)494-1422
Fax: (617)494-1786
Address: 4 Canal Park, PH9, Cambridge, MA 02141
Graduate: Coach University http://www.coachu.com