Dear Friends,

Here in the Northeastern corner of the US, the weather's been so spectacular that it's worth noting in print — 65 degrees and sunny. Often in April, we experience rain, sometimes snow and much cooler temperatures. We are blissful.

This month's insight focuses on the power of amazement — how does your life look when you view it through this lens?

My best to you!
Claudette

Amazement

If you decided to be amazed, what would you see? Amazement, like any other state of mind, results primarily from our perspective — a cleaned up perspective that is, one that's not clogged with negativity, self–doubt and limited thinking.

What is amazement? It's the capacity to see the positive, the beautiful and the previously unseen in both the everyday and in the spectacular. Amazement requires stepping outside of ourselves, observing who and what surrounds us, and practicing the art of gratitude.

In my experience, gratitude and amazement are kissing cousins whose relationship is symbiotic — one influences the other. Marcel Proust described this well when he said, "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."

If you looked through the lens of amazement, what would you see? How would you define it for yourself?

When I discuss amazement with people in life, they sometimes reflect back to me that they simply don't have time to be amazed. They are too busy, too tired and too stressed. But here's the great thing about amazement: it's free, takes no time, and is a fantastic stress reliever. So what blocks our ability to be amazed?

• The usual cadre of negativity: judgment, self–doubt and limited thinking. These three limit our vision drastically and call us to focus on what's not going well, how afraid we are, and how we or other people should have done things differently or better.
   
• Following a rigid set of rules about how we are supposed to be. Many of us carry around a mental checklist of "rules," regulations and must dos that ratchet our stress levels up to intolerable levels. Hard to be amazed with that monkey on your back, isn't it?
   
• Worrying, venting or complaining without taking action. Now I can worry, vent and complain with the best of them, and sometimes venting even puts in me in a more positive frame of mind. This only works if I choose to act to improve a situation. Endless worrying, venting or complaining sends you down a circular thought path that leads to nowhere.

Even if you understand these amazement–blockers, it can still be challenging to learn how to tap into the state of amazement on a regular basis. To raise your amazement quotient, consider these tips:

• Cultivate the art of observation. Observe the curve a child's cheek, the beauty of flower and the eyes of someone you enjoy being around.
   
• Watch for something good to happen. Notice the "little things": did someone smile at you today, make your life easier in some way, or help you solve a nagging problem?
   
• Let yourself feel the full emotional range. Amazement is a heightened sense of joy. What's your capacity for joy? Do you allow yourself joyful moments?
   
• Shift your perspective. If your usual take on a situation is negative, what would change if you looked through a positive lens?

Recognize that amazement is a choice. You can choose to be amazed or not — it's up to you. Once in a great while, most of us set eyes on a sight that is so compelling, so completely life changing that it takes our breath away. But most of life isn't like that, so it's up to us to make the choice to notice what amazes us on a daily basis. To be amazed or not to be amazed — that is the question.

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Products & Services

If you liked today's issue, you'll love these services!

• Coaching with Claudette. Do you want to tap into more positivity, amazement and abundance in your life? Would you love to live with even more purpose and passion? I can help.
  
  Please contact me today for more information and to schedule your introductory coaching session. Reach me directly at 781.316.1923 or claudette@metavoice.org.
   
• Myers–Briggs Type Indicator. I'm a long time fan of the MBTI – this instrument is one of the reasons I became a coach. Here's how it works: I send you the MBTI, score it for you and spend an hour with you (via phone) helping you apply the results to your life – personally and professionally. For more information, please visit http://www.metavoice.org/mbriggs.
   

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Useful Resources

• The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. View Randy's "last lecture" at http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=36339566. It's an inspirational look at the power of living a life based on dreams rather than fears. He's also written a book called The Last Lecture.
  
  
• Green Tip: Buy and use reusable grocery bags. I just recently switched and it feels great! Go to http://www.reusablebags.com to find out why this simple change in your lifestyle can make a big difference.

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