Defining Your Problems and Meeting Your Goals

B'SD

2 Tevet, 5775  

Today's the last day of Hanuka/Chanuka. I'm wistful for it to linger.

The 8-day holiday is about problems and goals, raw courage, and leadership. Lots of life lessons are packed into those historical days. For example: You know about the male Maccabees. Click on What Do Jewish Women Have to Do with Chanuka? to learn more.

Okay, back to today. I decided to prepare some Hanuka food this past week. My arms are tired from hand-grating potatoes and onions, then frying them into luscious livivot aka latke treats in a cast iron skillet. 

Making the potato pancakes, then cleaning the mess (a BIG, messy mess), were goals and problems met and solved with some tried and true solutions.

Now let's digress into some medical matters. Those can be a bunch of problems and a "How do I - or you - meet important goals?" headache of a goal to meet!

Suffering tends to wear us down, along with our thinking skills. You know all about it. What you might not know is how to overcome the sorrow, fear, anger, forgetfulness, temper tantrums and other emotional issues so that you can think clearly again. 

Your emotions are one thing. But life, especially a medical or mental health issue life, can be complicated by the emotions of other people, too. 

The emotions of your family members, colleagues, and friends are a whole 'nuther universe. Let's deal all of that, one person at a time: You, you and you. 

You're the only person under your control.

Take a  look at how marketing professionals stay calm under pressure.

Increase your happiness hormones, endorphins, with 5 steps to lower stress and stay calm.

Use calming affirmations.

What are your medical problems?

What are your goals in dealing with them?

There is guidance about how to
deal with all the problematic people
in your medical life
throughout

 
Which pages of the book help you to cope with the stress from in-laws and outlaws, siblings, parents, children, medical professionals and... (fill in the blank as necessary)? 

Please let me know what works for you via E-mail. I'll be delighted to respond to your message. I won't share your comments unless you ask me to.

Lots of solution-oriented, mental health professionals-approved tips are packed into the EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge book. It's full of YOU Can-Do-This solutions.

 

If you or someone who needs it haven't read the book yet, buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge.  

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity. Face Your Future with Optimism. 

Flatten your stress levels. Get your grin back.

 

The Surprise Ending to a Medical Moment

B'SD

26 Kislev, 5775

I promised to clue you in to a surprise in my medical life, today. Brace for impact.

As you know from following this blog, I've experienced several benign brain tumors called meningiomas, over time.

Doctors and I monitor my brain for instances of new meningiomas, to catch them before they cause harm. That would let us strategize what to do without the pressure of a life-threatening situation such as I'd survived shortly before this blog began.

Several weeks ago, I experienced my every-2-years MRI. 

The scheduled MRI event has become routine. But I'm human, prone to fear and worry about my significant medical history. 

I do a 2-step process aka ritual to prevent or to minimize fear, or any sort of negative emotions, on MRI-taking days. Before I clue you in as to why that ritual saved me a lot of heartache this past month, let's look at the keep-me-calm process:

1) Before anyone can slide me into the machine, I greet the doctors in attendance of my medical exam with an update on my health and visual acuity progress. 

I also hand over the music CD I brought for drowning out the mechanical banging of the MRI magnets and machinery. 

I find it fun to surprise the medical staff with my diverse tastes in music. And I enjoy the music when I'm in the machine.

I've neglected to bring a CD to the MRI site once or twice, and actually slept through the noisy exams, lulling myself into calmness with focused prayers and upbeat mantras (the EMPOWER Yourself book explains the importance of making your own coping with a medical challenge mantra, and how to do so). 

Yes, I actually sleep through some MRI exams.

2) I buy yummy fruit or carrot smoothies after each biennial photo-op finish, drowning any vestige of fear or concern with nutritious happiness. That enables me to calmly wait a few weeks until the analysis of the MRI reaches me and my doctors.

The analyses are always a delight to share. They indicate astonishing recovery and healing.

But the whole routine fell apart 
a few weeks ago, 

when the newest analysis 
arrived in my mailbox.

A meningioma had been identified, close to the site of the one that had almost killed me.

The report indicated a specific part of the brain that it seemed to be pressing on, and which parts of the brain would be threatened if it grew.

I bit my lips and prayed from my heart. A lot. Several times daily.

Scared? That medical moment left me terrified, and perplexed that this could have happened despite all the healing efforts I've made. I was curious as to the spiritual meaning of it all.

I chose to re-read passages from

and prepared an appointment with the new neurosurgeon necessary for my medical team. 

Mine had left the hospital where I'd had surgery.

The appointment was scheduled for this past Sunday.

True to the book, I'd arranged for a trusted confidante to be at the meeting with me, to be an impartial set of ears able to hear what the doctor actually said, versus my possibly tainted, emotional misinterpretation of remarks.

I'd prepared the questions I wanted to ask, and listed the issues I needed to clarify before the appointment. I packed them in my purse, with writing materials to bring to the appointment.

I'd practiced being patient all that time, and deserved an Oscar for my outward appearance of calm. I realized that there was no sense in alarming anyone over the situation until I'd reviewed necessary facts. They might prove the lack of a need for alarm. I needed to conduct myself in a cultured, calm manner to best cope with the situation.

My confidante drove me to the appointment, remarking the whole way on my apparent sense of serenity.

"Yay!" I thought to myself. "I fooled her. Now I have to keep up the act a little longer, so I can deal with realities I'm about to learn of."

The doctor summoned us into his office. He responded to my queries as my confidante took notes. I did, too.

As he examined the MRI in question via the CD I'd brought along, he asked his own questions:

• "Do you really see as well as you're telling me, after a surgery like you've had?"

• "How is that possible?"

• "What else are you doing to see better and better?"

He took notes based on my This is the Patient Instructing the Doctor answers to him, the medical expert. Both of us noticed the shift of who was more important in the conversation with good humor.

And the payoff for my feigned patience was learning that the doctor who'd analyzed the new MRI had erred.

Nothing was amiss.

Since I understand anatomy, the neurosurgeon was able to show me several angles of the MRI to prove his "An honest mistake was made" point to my satisfaction.

We agreed to conduct a new photo-op within 1 year, not two, to keep us aware of possible developments or the lack of them.

After exiting the medical office, I bought a calming smoothie nearby.

My confidante and I breathed our relief during the drive home, agreeing that the steps we'd taken had minimized the opportunities for more mistakes on either side of the doctor's desk.

We compared the notes we'd taken. Mine only lacked one item present on hers. The "Bring a friend or relative to medical appointments" safety measure had worked in my favor.

I've been thanking GOD aloud for the ability to face my fear with calm, good sense and the opportunity to make my medical specialist an ally instead of alienating him with moodiness.

I also thanked Her-Him for my wealth of fabulous friendships.

This blogpost has been written from my heart, as was the book.

Let me know if my life lessons help you.




Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge.  

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity. Face Your Future with Optimism. 

Face your fears with good sense and behavior.

 

How to live a calmer, more organized life despite your medical, mental health or disability issue!

B'SD

29 Elul, 5773

I'm happy to let you know that I'm doing scholastically well in my ICD-10 medical coding studies. 

My goal is to complete a 2-year college education in about 8 months. I'm speeding ahead in the textbooks and doing well on exams, thanks to great long-term memory (I used to be a medical coder before my 2002 relocation to Israel). Thank GOD I still have an aptitude for studying complicated topics.

Watch this space for a relevant post about the company training me and my classmates. It's coming up next week.

I'm taking time off for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year's celebration.

The 2-day holiday begins this evening and

ends as Shabbat begins.

I plan to post again on Sunday.

Here are some educational links for starting your new year right:

Alpha-Beta Academy on Rosh HaShana. You can click on the colorful illustrations for immediate education on appealing topics, and/or sign up for the Alpha-Beta newsletter.

Click on http://www.aish.com/ for a colorful, thought-provoking exploration into the Jewish look at the new year.




Want to live a calmer, more organized life despite your medical, mental health or disability issue? Improve your perspective and meet more of your goals with E-book or print edition EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. 

Rabbis, clergy of different faith, medical and mental health professionals recommend it!

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity. Face Your Future with Optimism. 

Fill your life with increasing happiness.

May the world be blessed for a good year.

Have a good night's sleep after the holiday feast, and any night - to help your brain cells! 

See you next year: 5774!

 

It's Not Just You

B'SD

19 Tamuz, 5773

Sometimes you wonder if you're ill, inconvenienced or vulnerable, and seriously in need of medical solutions - but that rich, famous and powerful people are not.

The truth is, we're all fragile humans. Take a look at the reality with

Celebrities battling illnesses

Sigh if you need to, and stop punishing yourself with your mind. 

Take life, including your diagnosis, emotions and more, one step at a time.

Ready to feel better? Read EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge today.. 

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity. Face Your Future with Optimism. 

Face reality. It's not just you who needs a medical miracle.


 

Online and Hoping to...

B'SD

7 Nisan, 5773

I finally have a PC to meet my needs. I spent lots of time offline and enjoying the experience until my new PC was assembled and put to use. I wouldn't have expected that. I simply chose not to stress and fret over things beyond my control.

How did I keep calm with my unexpectedly offline life?

I kept remembering what it was like to have been a little girl placing home made paper boats in a curbside puddle, hoping they'd sail faster than the trickles of water allowed. So, I pushed the boats or pulled them along unless I busied my  little hands with scooping water in one specific direction.

Forcing things to "be" is not necessarily an improvement on things. My little paper boats were ruined by too much handling.

The life lesson I sorted out over time was that I can't push water. It moves at its own speed. So do some events. It's better that way.

Back to my computer blowout. I let GOD handle my affairs as I wondered when I'd be back online, working on my next book (it's almost finished and earning pre-publication praise!) and readily communicating around the world via E-mail and social media efforts.

I felt as If I'd been placed on "Mute" for a bit. I made the best of the situation by enjoying the outdoors more than usual, spending more time with friends and simply relaxing with some good books. Housework was more fun since I didn't feel rushed to see who'd E-mailed or messaged me with some concern or other between tasks.

The only emotional turmoil I felt was being cut off from my database of medical resources information. People called from around the world for ideas and tips they very much needed. I couldn't help them beyond smallish amount of stuff I'd memorized. THAT hurt.

Okay, I'm back online and hoping to hear from you. You can respond to any of my posts.

 
Buy the E-book or print to EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge even when my PC is turned off. Click on I'm buying that book today! 

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity. Face Your Future with Optimism. 

Find out how to stay calm in a crunch!

 

Make this Friday the 13th FUN!!!

B'SD


22 Tamuz, 5772


Medical and disability conditions can lead to all kinds of problems. Readers around the world have been solving theirs with the help of

The book is in the social work departments of some hospitals, the offices of medical and mental health professionals and many private homes.


Spiritually refreshing content, tips on how to organize your medical life - appointments, insurance papers and all, what to do about rude relatives and medical professionals, even information on how to CUT CO$T$ on your medical care fill the E-book and print editions.

Friday the 13th? Fooey! 

No need to fear that silliness.

Your goal is to be in optimal physical and spiritual health, a fully operational spiritual being connected to a viable body. You deserve the compassion we are commanded to share by The One Above.  Enjoy it on every spiritual and physical level you can.


Don't delay ever-better happiness and coping skills. Buy a copy for yourself, a friend or a loved one TODAY. 


Less stress and keep your cash, that’s the theme of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. It teaches readers how to organize medical and/or disability lives, how to save money and how to get your grin back in one reading.

The book is helping readers around the world with  helpful ideas and cost-cutting tips including a Global Resources section. It clues you in to charitable organations willing to pay part or all of your specific medical bills.

And that's good news! 

PS - if you just arrived in Israel with Nefesh B'Nefesh and you need to know how to improve your medical or disability life in the Holy Land, read the book Rabbi Fass praised in the very first edition!






Buy the E-book or print edition from Booklocker: Click on the words EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. 

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.

Want to Lose Weight over the Holidays in 4 Easy Steps?

B'SD


23 Cheshvan 5772




Whoa, I know you're worried about adding on the pounds and kilos over the holiday season. My GOOGLE ANALYTICS monitor shows Super-Sized interest in my recent posts about weight control.

The good news is that some easy adjustments can be added to your mealtimes right now.


1) Space your meals several hours apart with NO Snacking in between. That lets your body digest food more efficiently. You'll burn more calories in the meanwhile with a quick dash up and down some stairs, around the block or at work. Do some bending and stretching in your chair, around the room, even at your desk several times daily - even right after eating (for maximum caloric burn!). Be sure to let people know you prefer lo-fat turkey, salads with nuts, seeds and home made dressings, plus protein-packed quinoa on your holiday menu. Bring your meal to the office or family party if necessary.


2) Lighten up with flavorful drinks that energize you. Prepare a thermos of tea or nourishing soup to take on the road before you leave home. Anytime you want to de-stress, sip the warm, soothing liquid. Beers, wines and calorie-counting sodas can only damage your waistline and overall health.


3) Pack raw pistachios and other raw nuts to have on hand when you have a snack attack (they come in appealing gift-wrapped packages, too). Keep them in sealed bags in your briefcase, desk or car. Chew slowly, thoughtfully and with  satisfaction. You'll be building your body to healthier, slimmer proportions, not wrecking it with sugary or processed junk. Share the nuts with your guests and hosts so everyone can share the fun. Hey - nobody's going to criticize you with a full mouth!


4) Need an emotional boost now and then to deal with all the laughter and criticism that (probably overweight) critics send your way? Want to improve what you see in the mirror?

READ

Buy it at Booklocker for faster delivery: http://booklocker.com/books/3067.html




Enjoy your holidays with a lighter body and greater self-respect. Let me know your success stories, too!




EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge one step at a time. Kilo by kilo, pound by pound.


Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.

Happiness-Producing Questions

B'SD


10 Av 5771

Well, we're past the 9th of Av and you've read headlines, caugh up on family and friend stuff, now it's time to breathe, relax and relent.


My thanks to Shmuel Greenbaum and his “Kind Words” listserv. Today’s topic is Happiness-Producing Questions from Zelig Pliskin (one of the happiest people I know!) from an earlier edition of the newsletter.


Kind Words - Happiness-Producing Questions



Wednesday, August 3, 2011




KIND WORDS




Directions to Live By
The author wishes to remain anonymous
Edited by Shmuel Greenbaum
Printed with Permission of Partners in Kindness




I was standing on the street trying to figure out which direction was the one that would get me where I wanted to go. A stranger walked by and I asked her directions.


What could a stranger possibly say to me within the span of seconds that could make me smile weeks later?


After telling me where to go, she apologized for not coming by sooner so I wouldn't have had to wait for her to come by.




Happiness-Producing Questions
From Kindness: Making a Difference in People's Lives:
Formulas, stories, and insights
By Zelig Pliskin
Printed with Permission of Shaar Press


When you ask people questions, you get them to focus on specific pieces of information and memories. It's an act of kindness to ask the type of questions that give people pleasure and increase their level of happiness.


Here are some questions that you can use as tools to help people access positive states:

* What gives you the most happiness in your life?

* What were your greatest moments?

* What are your favorite childhood memories?

* What are some of the nicest things that people have said to you?

* What was your best vacation?

* What makes you smile?

* What makes you laugh?

* Who makes you feel good just by being in that person's presence?

* What do you enjoy reading?

* What songs put you in positive states?

* What is your favorite possession?

* What is your favorite day of the year?

* When have you unexpectedly had a better time than you thought you would?

* When have you been pleasantly surprised by the way something you did turned out?

* When did you feel you would succeed and you actually did?

* When have you felt joy about seeing someone you hadn't seen in a long time?

* What praises and positive feedback have you appreciated?

* What is the nicest thing a teacher ever told you?

* When did you surprise yourself by being more skillful at something than you thought you could?

* How do you look when you smile at yourself in a mirror?

* When has someone given you a gift that you greatly appreciated?

* What do you consider your wisest decision?

* What advice do you have for others to increase their happiness?

* What did you do for someone else that you felt great about?

* What is the nicest thing a total stranger ever did for you?

* What have you been grateful for in the past?

* What are you grateful for in the present?

* When have you felt joyous for no special reason?

* What healthy activities give you a natural high?

* When were you about to give up and someone's encouragement kept you motivated?

* (For grandparents): What is a clever thing one of your grandchildren said?

* What is your favorite question that anyone ever asked you?

Wait! Stop! It's Not Too Late!!!
We Are Still Donating Free Books to Libraries!


For further information, please
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Responses From Readers
Comments on Seeing Kindness through the Eyes of a Child






* About the 10 year old child who read the elderly man's body language, please pass this on to the grandmother.


What high emotional intelligence your grandson has, may you and all of Israel have much enjoyment from him.


With his huge heart and initiative for one so young, may God guide him so he will be an inspiration and a leader to his people. (L. L)


* What a lovely thing to do! (F.M.)


* Beautiful! (B.G.)


* What a beautiful way to raise children to kindness! (A.K.N)
•


More About Partners In Kindness
Speaking About Kindness




When Shmuel Greenbaum has the opportunity to speak, he rivets his audience's attention through stories and audience participation. Participants come away feeling very positive and excited about doing something great.


His excitement for kindness is infectious, as this student from New York City's Stuyvesant High School explains:


I was expecting to attend the lecture given by Shmuel Greenbaum for one period. I ended up staying for four. It is so uplifting, so enlightening, so refreshing to hear someone like him talk, to simply bubble over with excitement at the thought of doing good in the world. He is in his way a role model to us all.


You think to yourself, "If only everyone else could practice kindness in the way that Shmuel Greenbaum has, the world would truly be a better place."


For further information, please visit our website
or send us an e-mail: mailto:info@partnersinkindness.org




Kind Words is a free weekly e-mail distributed by Partners In Kindness.


Although the content of these e-mails contains copyrighted material, Partners in Kindness allows users who register at our website to reprint them in print, on a website, or on an e-mail distribution list at no cost.


If you have permission to reprint this e-mail, please ensure that you reprint the entire e-mail (including this notice).


Names of people, places, and other details mentioned in these stories may have been changed to protect privacy.


Kindness is like music, art, sports or any other discipline -- it can only be mastered with practice, training, and lots and lots of encouragement. That is what Partners in Kindness is trying to promote.




Please pass our e-mails along to your friends and family!


Partners in Kindness
A Tradition of Kindness




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Our first book, A Daily Dose of Kindness, represents the best of these e-mails. The book contains diverse stories about Israel submitted from one hundred contributors.


A Daily Dose of Kindness is the result of the collaboration of hundreds of volunteers and financial supporters of many different religions and nationalities. These stories of caring may bring new hope to Israel, the Middle East and the world.


(Note: the book is not shipped gift wrapped or with any of the items shown in the photograph)
Free with a donation of: $25

Learn More


email: info@partnersinkindness.org
web: http://www.partnersinkindness.org/





Kind Words is among other emotionally rewarding listings in the Global Resources section of EMPOWER Yourself
to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Buy it at Booklocker for faster shipping or get $1.00 off the list price from Barnes & Nobel!


Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.