The urban dictionary grew today

I invented a new word - siouxn

as in: c u siouxn

(see you soon)

proliferate en masse!

P.S. Get creative with usage such as:
I'm on my way and will arrive at your party siouxn
If you don't get off my lawn I'll be siouxn you
I tore my jeans and I need them siouxn
The chips are gone; Siouxn ow what should we munch?

For a piece of peace

As announced last week - I was interviewed for a sidebar in Woman's World magazine where I provided 5 tips to lower your stress and increase your sense of calm.

Enjoy!


(click on the image to enlarge it and be able to read the full piece)

5 more things you can do to make your life peaceful

I contributed 5 tips for a sidebar in this week's Woman's World. The article is on bringing more peace into your life.

A few great tips that didn't make it into the article:
1) Recognize, Evaluate, and Secure Personal Boundaries:
Understand why your buttons (aka boundaries) are being pushed rather than just the action that triggers them.

Ask yourself: "What is it that I am sensitive to that's being triggered? Why am I sensitive to it? How is that helping me?"

2) Get the other person's perspective of the situation:
Every person sees the world differently. One person's helpful action is another's encroachment of personal space. Sustained communication and open dialogue, while taking effort in the short run, save it in the long run - that includes talking with yourself.

Ask yourself (and/or the other person): “What exactly are we arguing about? What happened that lead up to this situation? What would be a satisfactory resolution?”

3) Response-ability:
You can't change others, but you can change your response to their behavior.

Ask yourself: "How would I prefer to respond? What would it take to respond that way?"

4) Do-ability:
Every task you set before yourself is do-able (I'm not including inventors in this group). If you aren't getting it done some part of your approach or mind-set isn't working.

Ask yourself:
Do you need more time?
Is there a better time to make the attempt?
Are better tools available?
Are more hands needed?
Do you have enough information?

If you struggled with a task, and were eventually successful, take time to analyze what was different about the situation. The task may come up again.

5) The Best Response:
No matter the situation, the best response is never to "stress out."

Ask yourself: "What a better response would be?"

Then follow your advice ;)

Upset stomach? Have some mint!

I'll admit it - my stomach isn't always the most serene organ. But, what I've found helps me a lot is a couple of drops of Peppermint oil added to a full glass of water; I end up feeling better immediately.

I also add Peppermint to my water when I'm looking for a healthy spruce up to my water. It has more zing than Lemon Oil, and sometimes that's what the situation calls for. Sugar-filled and artificially flavored Vitamin Water? No thanks, I'll stick to my organic and 100% pure mint.

Get rid of canker sores fast!

Stress has a tremendous impact on your immune system¹. In fact, up to 90% of illness is stress-related.

Canker sores often reappear in periods of elevated stress. If they are a concern of yours, I highly recommend Gathering - a Young Living exclusive essential oil blend.

Place 2 drops on a cotton swab and then apply directly onto the sore². It can be applied when the sore is only starting to form as well. It doesn't taste particularly good, but you get over that quickly.

With 2 or 3 applications/day the sore typically goes away in 2-3 days instead of 5-6.

You can order gathering through my Young Living distributor site or calling Young Living's exceptional customer service line: 1-800-371-3515 and giving them my distributor #: 930469

¹ Cortisol build up will decrease immune function. This occurs because the immune system reacts to or is turned on by a specific set of hormones which are turned off by cortisol.

² Possible skin sensitivity. If pregnant or under a doctor's care, consult your physician. This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Behind the Scenes of my Letterman Taping

My whole philosophy towards the Letterman taping was not to show off my coaching skills, nor to help Andy Kindler release his stress, but to have a fun time and be as cheerful as possible (and if we got to some coaching and stress-related material that'd be a great bonus.)

I taped with Letterman's crew for over an hour so there was a lot that didn't make it to the 3 minute compilation of all five coaches. Here's a few behind-the-scenes nuggets from the taping.

Intro
Stating who you are in a recording is called a 'slate.' Fortunately I've done some professional voice acting, and have a few slates under my belt. This came in extremely handy when the director asked me to introduced myself:

"Hi, my name is Zohar Adner, a Stress Release Coach with Stop Stressing Out.com"

The director didn't look too pleased with it. I was worried that he wasn't going to let me plug my website, but a moment later he asked me to, "take out the 'hi'."

I smiled; said, "Of course!" and just said the 'hi' in my head before proceeding. Why is it so important to say 'hi'? Because when you want to come off as friendly as possible, a friendly 'hi' is a great way to do so.

Glasses
You may have noticed near the end of the segment that the other coaches are making comments about Andy's glasses and how they fit his face. Why did they not show me in that series of clips? Here's our exchange:

Andy Kindler: "What do you think about my glasses? Do they work for me?"
ZA: "Do you see better with them on or off?"
AK: "On."
ZA: "I guess they work for you."

Andy responded with a pouty face indicating a mix of disappointment and amusement. While Abbott and Costello would have been proud, it didn't fit into the flow.

Posture
At one point Andy was getting a little antsy for material. I had already side-stepped the glasses bit (and a number of other goading questions about the coaching profession), but he and the writer really, really wanted a critique. So I decided to bite:

AK: "If you would change ONE THING about me, what would it be."
ZA: "I'd improve your posture. Your body has a variety of common postures - each associated with a different mood. When you want to feel less stress, shift your posture, and you'll feel your stress level instantly decrease."

Unfortunately the theory behind my suggestion wasn't shared with the viewing public.

On the phone
While I coached Andy on a park bench (which I have done a few times on gorgeous days for my one-on-one coaching clients in the lower Manhattan area), I conduct the majority of my coaching via telephone. At the time, the producers thought a fun way to end the entire segment would be with a shot of Andy talking on his cell phone, and then a pan/zoom across the street to me on a payphone.

Happiness 101

60 Minutes recently did a series on The Key to Happiness that includes discussion on what makes Denmark the happiest country in the world, and shares former Harvard Positive Psychology professor Tal Ben-Shahar's definition of happiness (and as we know from stress, it all starts with a definition.)