I’ve recently heard countless business owners say they aren’t taking the time this year to do strategic planning for the coming year. They’re claiming that because of the slow economy and less business, planning isn’t that important or they’ll just use the plan from previous years.

To that I say, “what the hell?”.

Being in the midst of an economic downturn is the most imperative time to have a solid actionable strategic plan. And as for using last year’s plan, it’s completely useless. With this economy, last year’s plan may as well be from another type of business!

Right now you need to be getting the absolute most out of every staff member. Are you doing that or do you know how? Planning a tight but smart budget is crucial, “just not spending” is not a viable answer. Creating a finely tuned marketing plan tailored to this kind of economy is essential. As well as fine tuning your sales efforts or even changing how you sell all together.

For example, did you know that making sure your prospect is sitting to your left (which engages their right brain) increases sales by 20%? Staggering I know!

Anyway, take the time to create a plan, you need it, your business needs it, and your staff is counting on you, especially now!

You can do it on your own (email me for a more details on creating a strategic plan) or we can help create on!

I made a decision several years ago that I would no longer have stressful holidays. I was just sick of it, and all the holiday associated “stress” activities had nothing to do with the actual meaning of the holiday season.

So I announced to my family and friends that I was making a firm committment to a peaceful holiday season… and life! This sounded great to my family… until they found that eliminating stress from my holiday season meant spending far less time with them! Unfortunate, but true. My family tends to be driven by chaos, drama, and bickering; the same way I used to be. But for several years now, as I coach and be coached, read, learn, and grow; my life is driven by something quite different… Peace, love, and joy. Yes, my family members do have their feelings hurt at times because I do not visit very often, but I have been up front and loving about my reasons and they are free to embrace a more peaceful existence too. Until then, I will continue to love them dearly, but from afar most of the time!

This season head into holiday festivities armed with tips to avoid feeding your emotions.

All over-eating is a form of feeling less in some way and eating more to cover it up. Be it sad, mad, hurt, lonely, anxious, irritable, or frustrated. Whether it’s during the holidays (which simply provides an abundance of opportunity to overeat) or any other time of the year, feeding your emotions is destructive and frustrating and will only perpetuate the reasons you’re eating emotionally in the first place.

Do you ever catch yourself “stuffing your face” for no apparent reason? Hoovering in food without even tasting it? Do you eat past full or late in the evening, hungry or not? Do you tend to over-eat one day, then deprive yourself the next? Or do you live on a yo-yo diet roller coaster? Are you responding with, “yes, I’m a woman, aren’t I!”

You’re not alone! Upwards of 92% of American women depend upon food for emotional support.

We fall prey to emotional eating patterns without realizing that food will never provide what we actually need, yet we continue to eat to satisfy the emotions. It’s an empty abyss…

Speak Your Mind And Eat Less

There are five primary reasons for emotional eating, a lack of speaking your mind is a foundational one. Ultimately, you “eat more because you feel less”. Learning to speak your mind will free you from emotional eating.

“When We Do Not Speak, We Eat.”

Every single time you withhold speaking your mind, you will eat, or indulge in some other form of escape (alcohol, shopping, controlling, internet, working and so on). Let me repeat that, every single time you withhold speaking your mind, you will eat or indulge in some other form of escape. This is without fail.

When you are tempted to eat without being hungry, or you begin to crave those sugery or fatty snacks… ask yourself, “who am I upset with and what did I not say”?

Tips To Speak Your Mind
1. Speak clearly, calmly and kindly. Starting an argument will lead to additional emotional eating. Speaking your mind has nothing to do with spouting off at the mouth with attitude or like you have a chip on your shoulder. This too is disempowered behavior.

2. Underneath ALL anger, blame or frustration is something far more vulnerable: hurt and self-doubt. Approach speaking your mind with the vulnerability, not the anger or blame. Again, angry interactions are absolutely USELESS, avoid them at all costs. Speaking your mind is about results and resolve (resolving emotional eating), not blaming, resenting or paybacks.

3. Share your perspective without blaming. Ultimately you, and only you are in charge of your experience of life. Blaming is the position of a helpless victim, wouldn’t you rather be an empowered champion?

4. Make all efforts to handle the situation immediately. It’s more difficult to go back and address it later. Speak in the moment if you can. If not, go back later and address it.

5. Get right to the point. Don’t bring up past crimes. Address only the challenge at hand. Nothing you can do about the past now, but let it go and move on!

The holidays are perfect for practicing speaking your mind and it will allow you to avoid the additional holiday pounds!! There are no silly situations to speak your mind about. We tend to recoil because we feel afraid. Practice will make permanent. The more you practice speaking your mind the easier it will become and the more EMPOWERED you will be. This will transfer into less and less emotional eating! Yippy!

You are responsible for you and your experience of life. You teach others exactly how they are allowed to treat you. And you are the only one who can re-teach others how to treat you. You have taught them and you can re-teach them, it’s up to you. Be empowered and speak your mind.

Call To Action! Create A Plan
Below, write 3 actions you will take over the next 7 days to speak your mind and interrupt emotional eating patterns. You have all the power you need to stop using food for emotional support, and you’re well worth the effort!

If you would like additional support while working to change emotional eating habits, contact one of our Body Image Experts by calling: 404.815.1724 or email Dr. Byler directly: Sbyler@Create-Momentum.Com.

Eat Intentionally~ Dr. Shawn Byler

Sound familiar? More than 85% of women business owners feel overwhelmed much or MOST of the time (isn’t that staggering?), while at least 55% suffer stress related health problems, as well as major time deficiencies, and overwhelm associated with juggling too many life and career obligations.

Women business owners and leaders are dynamic, powerful go-getters … and, they’re over-scheduled, over-worked, over-stressed, usually over-weight, and overwhelmed. Continuing to function in this way is physically and emotionally destructive and leaves you feeling anything but dynamic or powerful.

Hold fast ladies and don’t loose hope, you can have it all. A successful career, a peaceful life, and great health; if you choose to forge ahead in better ways. I know, you can’t even imagine a peaceful and productive life/career, let alone producing it, but that’s what these blogs are all about. Coaching tips and tools to make your life easier!

Take Action! Schedule YOU time first or you know you WON’T take it.

Duh girls! You’re a career woman, wife, lover, mom, daughter, sister, house keeper, home financial advisor and accountant, home activities organizer, taxi driver for our rotton kids… need I go on? If you wait for “left over” time to take for you, don’t bother kidding yourself, it won’t happen (has it ever?).

Get your reading, exercise, play, and leisure time scheduled first and commit to taking it. Don’t bother telling me that you’re too busy, I hear it all the time, it’s a crap excuse and I don’t buy it. Just do it! Trust me, you’ll be way less bitchy, way more productive and everyone will like you more!

When I share this notion with people, they usually respond with a silent knowing that indeed there is a piece inside that feels less than the amazing creature that they actually are. The truth is, we all fear rejection and we all have a soft or loud voice that tells says, “you’re rejectable and unworthy”. Which is why we try so hard, seek approval, hide our true feelings or self. We think, if people saw the real me, they’d disapprove or reject me.

The truth is, you are perfect and your worth is beyond measure regardless of who does or does not acknowledge this fact. Fear of rejection is an illusion, and based on lies you believe about you. Because of varied growing up experiences, we learn to believe the lie that we’re rejectable, unworthy or unlovable. This belief serves only to hinder you, your performance, your relationships, your ability to play and love…

It’s time to let go of the lie and embrace the truth… You are a perfect creation filled with unlimited possibility and potential.

Take Action!

Practice becoming aware of when you are feeling rejectable. These times are marked by feeling bad and being tempted to escape through food, shopping, TV watching, alcohol, over-working, controlling others with shame or guilt and so on.

You don’t need these escapes! You are whole, complete and filled with possibility and potential!
Have a terrific week!

So what is the “fear of rejection” stopping you from?

• Making necessary sales calls
• Starting a business
• Asking for the promotion you’ve wanted for years
• Asking for what we want from a loved one or lover
• Simply speaking our mind or saying what you want
• Asking someone for a date

Take Action!
Spend some time this week determining where fear of rejection is stopping you. Check yourself throughout the day by asking, “why did I choose this?”, “why am I thinking this way?”, “why am I acting this way?”

I’m sure you’ll be surprised at the answers!

Thank you for your time, enjoy your month releasing fear of rejection!

Have you ever noticed how often the fear of rejections gets in the way of your success? Unfortunately, fearing rejection stings us more than we are aware of, and more than we’d like to admit! The month of June is dedicated to squashing the fear of rejection and allowing success to shine through!

Fearing rejection keeps us from reaching our dreams, and often times, it stops us from dreaming at all. This particular fear impacts every facet of our life, yet it’s rarely discussed, rarely addressed, in fact, we’re usually not even aware that the fear of rejection is what is stopping us at all.

This month we’ll discuss what the fear of rejection blocks us from, the belief system that supports the continuation of fear, what is actually behind fearing rejection, and strategies to move past the fear.

Take Action!

Today simply notice when fear stops you. Stops you from asking for what you want, speaking your mind, holding a boundary, saying no and so on. Each time you notice, make a note and tally at the end of the day! If you’re disciplined, you will be shocked at the day’s end number!

Until next time…

Learn to zero in on your strengths and systematize your non-strengths. In doing so, your career will unfold with ease, momentum and enjoyment.

Isn’t it amazing that with so many people on the planet we can each have a unique set of gifts and strengths. Certainly there are similarities between personalities and temperaments, but everyone possesses their own specific blend of genius, unique only to him or her.

Having a unique set of gifts and strengths provides a platform for each individual to fulfill a unique purpose personally and professionally. We are each an essential piece of an intricate puzzle. Leaders, executives, managers and support staff who choose to build their career around their “good stuff” become wildly successful.

Take Action! This week I challenge you to spend an hour determining where your strengths, talents, and gifts lie. Hint: They are connected to what makes your heart sing! Ask yourself the following questions:

• What am I really good at?

• What kinds of tasks or activities feel most effortless to me?
• What areas do others see me as the “go to” person?
• How do I really love to spend my time?

“Build your life around your gifts.”

Dr. Shawn

Yes, I am serious! I have been playing very hard in my coaching company and today I decided that a nap would serve me better than my Tae Kwan Do workout! And I was right. What kind of coach would I be anyway if I didn’t take my own advise in practicing work-life balance.

We all know that the list of “to dos” will never be complete. We are career women, moms, wives, laundry service, chef, accountant, nurse-maid, and anything else the day may require. But sometimes ladies we must take care of ourselves! This may take the form of a nap, hot bath, a day off or 2 weeks away. The important thing is taking care of you and your spirit, or there will be little to give to that fantastic career or family.

Take Action! This week, I challenge you to say no to 3 commitments that are really not necessary and say yes to you.

Have a great week! Dr. Shawn