Work Smart Live Smart with Beverly Beuermann-King

EP 736 – Stupid Can Be Fun

If corn oil is made from corn and vegetable oil is made from vegetables. What is baby oil made from?

Why is an electrical outlet called an outlet when you plug things into it?

Why does it hurt like hell to hit your funny bone?

Why is it called a “drive through” if you have to stop?

And finally, If the professor on Giligan’s Island can make a radio out of coconut, why can’t he fix a hole in a boat?

Today is Ask A Stupid Question Day and Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and having more fun!

If laughter is the best medicine, reading the numerous lists of questions people have asked at the doctor’s office, the supermarket, or on the internet can certainly take the stress out of the everyday.

Stupid questions can be funny conversation starters or interesting brain teasers when you are hanging out with friends.

As for stupid conversation starters, try these ones out:

Is a hotdog a sandwich?

How many chickens would it take to kill an elephant?

Or what would be the worst “buy one get one free” sale of all time?

And finally you can annoy your friends even further with these tricky stupid questions:
What is always coming, but never arrives?

Or If a plane crashes on the border between the United States and Canada, where do they bury the survivors?

If you had fun with today’s wellness tips, let me know. You can leave me a review on amazon or through your #alexa app.

Looking for more ways to build your resiliency, take my free on-line resiliency test at worksmartlivesmart.com under the resources and courses tab.

EP 735 - Self-Care During Challenging Times

You may be like me and feeling that the challenges and changes that we are currently facing are taking their toll on your energy and your mental health. We have buckled down, and hunkered down.

We will never feel at ease or in control if our task list is so long that it doesn’t allow for a little downtime.

A lack of self-care causes more stress. Self-care during challenging times is critical. Without it, we can not be resilient. We need to give ourselves permission to do less and to focus on our needs.

To take care of ourself is restorative. People who focus on self-care are happier and have more stamina to get more accomplished.

Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating Self-Care Awareness Month:

This pandemic is taking a toll on our work, our economy, our social lives, and also on our mental health.

These are challenging times and now is the time to be kind to yourself. Now is the time to focus on what you can do, not what you can’t do.

Look for ways to engage in self-care that works for you. If you hate yoga, don’t force yourself to workout in an on-line yoga class. You don’t need the extra pressure, guilt, and challenge.

Self-care is about focusing on your priorities and including yourself in those priorities.

When you find yourself reacting negatively, remember the acronym STOP.

Stop

Take a couple of Deep Breaths

Observe what is happening

Proceed by recognizing your fears, frustrations, guilt, sadness, hunger, tiredness etc and take an appropriate action by making amends, satisfying the need, diverting, re-energizing, refocusing, or relaxing.

Test out a variety of calming techniques. There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to relaxation, meditation, or mindfulness.

Taking a mini-break will remind you that you’re worth it. Make a list of 10 self-care activities that resonate with you. Try to take at least one mini-break a day where you incorporate a self-care activity from your list.

If you like today’s wellness tips, let me know. You can leave me a review on amazon or through your #alexa app.

For more tips check out my book on Amazon called Stressed Out: 52 Weeks To Letting More Life In.

EP 734 – Show That You Care Send A Love Note

Who doesn't love receiving a special note of affection from someone they cherish? Well, my boys don't or at least that's what they told me.

Apparently, my love notes added to their lunchbox when I was out of town was embarrassing. Opening your lunch bag and having one of these notes fall in front of your friends was horrific.

How could their mother do this to them?

It was so horrible though, that one day I found several of these notes tucked away in my son's room. When questioned, he admitted that he really did like them, but he would prefer to find them under his pillow instead. I can live with that.

So here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating Love Note Day.

Express yourself. Let the person know how much you love them, miss them, are grateful for them, and appreciate them.

Hide your love notes someplace special. Stick it to the water bottle, inside their fridge, or attach it to the backside of the remote control.

My challenge for you today is to do one thing to show someone that you care.

EP 733 – Time to De-Junk

Our stress can be negatively impacted by the way in which we organize our daily activities and routines, and by the organization or lack there of in our physical environment.  De-junking our physical space can increase our efficiency, our effectiveness and can add to a sense of control which can help us create a calm and peaceful presence.

I love purging my files and this summer saw me get rid of more than one full cabinet of paper!

Now is a very good time to do some fall cleaning. It is time to purge some stuff that is getting in the way of doing business efficiently, or that may be adding to the clutter, and stopping us from being as creative and productive as we can be. 

Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating Love Your Files Week.

While most of us are fairly paperless, it is a good time to look through past paper files and purge. Do you need to keep a hard copy, from a project that is no longer active? Make sure you have an ecopy then off to the recycle box or shredder it goes.

Look at the files on your computer. Have you cleaned out your downloads file? Refile those that you actually need and delete those that are no longer relevant.

This is especially important for picture files. Most can be uploaded again if needed.

Have you backed up your files?  A little extra time ensuring that your back ups are done, can save you heartache and wasted energy if something goes amiss.

Today is as good a time as any.

If you like today’s wellness tips, let me know. You can leave me a review on amazon or through your #alexa app.

Looking for more ways to build your resiliency? Take my free on-line resiliency test at worksmartlivesmart.com under the resources and courses tab.

EP 732 – What’s Your Image?

Your image is the way you appear to others Some say that it shouldn’t matter how others perceive you. But life Is all about relationships. And for most of us, everything that we do involves other people.

Building a better image is about making improvements in order to change the way we appear to others. It is about ensuring that when people think about us that they have a positive perception about who we are and the benefits of connecting with us.

Our image encompasses your personality, values, culture, and beliefs.

Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating Build A Better Image Week.

Take stock. Before changing your personal image take a step back and consider what you want others to perceive. What are your strong qualities? What do you want to showcase? What first impression do you want to convey?

Next evaluate. What do others think about now when they do think of you and is that different from the image that you want to present? Get feedback from those that you trust to provide honest information.

Beware. Caring too much about how others perceive us, is not good for our mental health. However, aligning how we want people to perceive us with how they actually do, can help to eliminate some of the stress that we may be encountering in our day-to-day relationships.

If you like today’s wellness tips, let me know. You can leave me a review on amazon or through your #alexa app.

Discover how to take small steps towards a healthier, happier, less-stressed you by visiting my website at worksmartlivesmart.com

EP 731 – How To Be A Healthy Road Warrior

Have you ever found yourself exhausted or caught a cold after flying for a business trip or a vacation?

Whether it's for business or for pleasure, stress from travelling can cause a person to experience many physically and mental symptoms.

The stress of being on the move can become overwhelming.

Today is International Road Warrior Day and Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating International Road Warrior Day

Number one: Be healthy.

Road warriors can burn themselves out, so know how to relax and take care of yourself regardless of the environment.

If you're a road who flies learn the tricks and tips around avoiding jet lag.

Number two: Stay connected to your family and friends. Leave them notes. Make use of social media and plan for social times when you are not on the road.

And finally keep things simple and uncluttered.

For more tips my book on amazon called Stressed Out: 52 Weeks To Letting More Life In

EP 730 – Pause The World Day

Sirens, television, computers, printers, car stereos, endless talking — Most of us accept this daily racket as normal.

It is not until we step away, into a peaceful setting, such as when we are walking in a park or camping at the lake, that we notice how loud our life can get.

And it is odd what we can get use to as normal. During the heat and humidity of this summer, I had the fans on high and it didn’t keep me up at night. A few weeks later, when it cooled off at night and there was no need for the fans, I was kept up by a cricket outside my window.

Constant or uncontrollable noise can stress our bodies by raising our blood pressure and heart rate and by releasing stress hormones.

Part of Pause The World Day on September 21st is to relax and to enjoy the silence. Most of us rarely experience true silence, but silence can help us to get in touch with our emotions, provide us with a sense of calm and leave us feeling rejuvenated.

Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating Pause The World Day:

• Listen for the sounds of nature – the birds singing, the bees buzzing and the trees whispering
• Turn down the volume
• Seek out silence
• Sit with only your thoughts to focus on and tune in to the quiet within

If you like today’s wellness tips, let me know. You can leave me a review on amazon or through your #alexa app.

Looking for more ways to build your resiliency? Take my free on-line resiliency test at worksmartlivesmart.com under the resources and courses tab.

EP 729 – But You Look So Healthy

But you look so good!

96% of illnesses are invisible. These people do not use a cane or any assistive device and may look perfectly healthy.

60% are between the ages of 18 and 64.

It's hard to know what to do when a person has an illness. It’s even harder when it's virtually invisible.

So Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating National Invisible Chronic Illness Week

Don't be afraid to talk about what they're experiencing. Open the lines of communication and follow the other person's lead. If they want to go into details, they will. If they would rather talk about other things, they will let you know.

If you're living with an invisible chronic illness it's important to keep connected. Reach out for support. It's only by opening up about your illness that you can educate people and invite them to be there for you.

You may be surprised, but they may be dealing with their own invisible chronic illness and could really use your support, or they may become one of your biggest advocates or confidents. You won't know until you give them a chance.

Looking for more information on making your mental health matter? Check out my online courses at worksmartlivesmart.com

EP 728 – Long Lost Friends

Have you lost touch with an old colleague? Have you ever thought about reaching out to a childhood friend?

In the ‘old’ days, that would have been almost impossible and possibly very expensive. However, today, it is relatively easy to search down most people from our past. With social networks getting smaller and smaller, sometimes reaching out to past colleagues and friends can increase our sense of social connectedness and reduce our sense of isolation.

Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating Locate An Old Friend Day.

This day is about reintroducing former relations into your life, and catching up with them on what’s happening in your life now, or just to take a walk down memory lane together.

Gathering details, using search tools, having family and friends help: these are just some of the ways that you can find friends or colleagues.

Social Media is one of the best ways to try and reconnect with old friends. But what if your old friend doesn’t use social media?

You can use search engines like Classmates.com, Pipl, Wink, PeekYou, and Zabasearch to track them down, with a little help of some background information like their high school, college, or town they grew up in.

It can be difficult to reach out and it may feel awkward. People change. You have changed. However you might be pleasantly surprised to find out that the person you once knew is someone you like even more today!

If you like today’s wellness tips, let me know. You can leave me a review on amazon or through your #alexa app.

Discover how to take small steps towards a healthier, happier, less-stressed you by visiting my website at worksmartlivesmart.com

EP 727 – RESPECT

I disagree with the usual sentiment. Respect is earned, not given. I believe that Respect is given, first. But you can lose my respect and you may have to earn it back.

Our default setting should be to respect every person we meet. Every single one.

Respect is not just deep admiration for someone elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements. Respect is due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others.

Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating National Respect Day.

Start by treating people with a more polite approach. Are you saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’?

Respect their time, energy, and experience.

Treat people they way you would hope that they would treat you with.

Sometimes, people mistakenly think that they must agree when showing respect. That is not true. It is very possible, to disagree in a manner that demonstrates politeness and consideration. That can be done without berating the person, without insulting them or their opinions, and without causing hurt, guilt or shame.

Respecting everyone can create a ripple out effect to others. Respect is like kindness and once demonstrated, it can have a profound impact on the person receiving it.

If after getting to know a person you realize they are very cruel or bigoted, or they have demonstrated a lack of respect and understanding towards their fellow humans, you don't have to continue to respect them. But it is always best when we start from a place where we believe people are good.

If you like today’s wellness tips, let me know. You can leave me a review on amazon or through your #alexa app.

Looking for more ways to build your resiliency? Take my free on-line resiliency test at worksmartlivesmart.com under the resources and courses tab.

EP 726 – Time’s Up

Life is too short. Some Day will never come. Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

Time’s Up Day is here. Today is the day to make the most of your life.

It is also the time to get over whatever is standing in between you and someone else: Arguments, disagreements, feeling slighted, jealous, or whatever it is. It is time to address the situation head on.

Hurt is inevitable in significant relationships. Yet pain and strife do not have to mean a relationship is going to end.

Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating Time’s Up Day.

Time is fleeting. Waiting until tomorrow, may be too late. Tell yourself that time is up and reach out to the person today. Call them on the phone, or send them an email.

It takes two people to mend a broken relationship. There is no sense in trying to fix something if you are the only one willing to do the work. If the other person is unapologetic, dismissive, or continues hurtful behavior, it might be time to move on.

If it is a worthwhile relationship to work on, then use your best communication skills. Instead of trying to think of what you need to say next, stop and try to understand what they are telling you. Careful listening shows respect and will help you both figure out what to do next.

The time for repairing relationships is today

If you like today’s wellness tips, let me know. You can leave me a review on amazon or through your #alexa app.

Looking for more tips to build your resiliency? Look for my book on Amazon called Stress Out. 52 Weeks To Letting More Life In

EP 725 – Backpack Injury

Backpack Injury. Should Parents Be Worried About Their Children?

With all of the stressors that parents have to worry about when their young children are going back to school, a backpack may be far down the list of priorities.

When you place a heavy backpack filled with books, binders and gym clothes, the stress can pull you backwards. Research shows that up to 60% of children will experience back pain by the time they are 18 years old.

So here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating Backpack Safety Month:

The maximum weight of a loaded backpack should not exceed 15% of the child’s body weight.

Pick the right backpack that fits your child’s size and strength. If they can’t stand up straight, then they may be carrying too much weight.

Choose a pack with a hip strap or waist belt and a padded back. A strap or belt can take as much as 50-70% of the weight off the shoulders and spine, and will equalize the strain on the bones, joints, and muscles.

There is a free app featuring easy-to-perform posture exercises, that you can use in just three minutes a day to help keep your child healthy. Practice The Straighten Up Canada program anywhere as a great way to improve posture.

If you like today’s wellness tips, let me know. You can leave me a review on amazon or through your #alexa app.

Looking for more tips to build your resiliency? Look for my book on Amazon called Stress Out. 52 Weeks To Letting More Life In.

EP 724 – Post-Secondary Stress

Has Your Child Gone Off To Post-Secondary?

Parents are bound to worry when their kids go off to post-secondary school. Will they eat, go to sleep and wake up without their supervision? Do I think they will be able to keep up with the work? Are they going to make friends or socialize too much? Will the pressure to use alcohol or drugs be too great?

Post-secondary stress is something to worry about. When it comes to acknowledging and handling stress, students are among the most vulnerable segments of the population.

Look for changes in behaviour – especially eating, sleeping and socializing patterns. Some students become distracted and have difficulty concentrating, while others will mention more colds and flus. How your child is affected by stress may be very different from how you are affected by stress. You may become more verbal while your child becomes more withdrawn.

Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Dealing With Post- Secondary Stress

Learn to listen and ask specific questions when you are concerned.

Give advice, but don’t dictate.

Try not to be judgmental if your child’s choices are not exactly what you would have them do.

Before you intervene, ask yourself whether you need to get involved.

Help them to learn from their mistakes.

With your guidance and support, and by sharing the strategies listed above your child will be well on the road to becoming an independent and successful student.

If you like today’s wellness tips, let me know. You can leave me a review on amazon or through your #alexa app.

Looking for more ways to build your resiliency? Take my free on-line resiliency test at worksmartlivesmart.com under the resources and courses tab.

EP 723 – Parent-Teacher Conflict

We are a couple of weeks into school and believe it or not, now is the time that issues and conflict may be starting to boil and bubble.

So how do you ensure that the school year stays on the right path and that there will be less stress for you, your child and their teacher?

Follow These Hot Tips For Building Resiliency During Any Parent-Teacher Conflict:

Parent-teacher interviews are usually scheduled for after the first report card. By then the stress or conflict may have grown too large. Set up an appointment and bring any issues out early.

Communication is the key.

Watch that you are not becoming an ‘Helicopter Parent’ who jumps in too soon or hovers around. We need to allow our children to solve their issues and try different strategies.

Be open to the possibility that your child may be part of the problem. Outline with your child the kind of behaviours and attitudes that you expect and let them know that you will be discussing your expectations with their teacher. If the teacher approaches you regarding behaviour or attitudes of your child, try to keep emotionally neutral. Move quickly into problem solving.

Remember that this is a team approach to helping your child succeed.

If you like today’s wellness tips, let me know. You can leave me a review on amazon or through your #alexa app.

Looking for more ways to build your resiliency? Take my free on-line resiliency test at worksmartlivesmart.com under the resources and courses tab.

EP 722 – Grandparents Day

“The best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person“.

He was tall and taught me to dance while standing on his feet. She was quiet and always had a hug waiting for me. These are my grandparents.

My sons are blessed to have had 3 sets of grandparents and 3 sets of great grandparents. They knew and loved each one. One always had their favourite cookies. Another had the special green and white striped candies in a dish just waiting for them. One liked to take them fishing. One took them golfing. One took them for rides on the lawn mower. One had boxes of lego for them to build with. Another had lots of tractors to play with.

We are blessed to have grandparents in our lives. They joke that being a grandparent is much more fun than being a parent because you can give the children back. But in reality, they have the wisdom to see through the temper tantrums and other day-to-day issues and to cherish the short time that they have to spend with their grandchildren.

Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating Grandparent’s Day:

Grandparent’s Day is not just a Hallmark creation and a way to increase card sales. It is our opportunity to thank our grandparents for their wisdom and love. Ask your grandparents for their favourite childhood memory. It may be a priceless gift. If they are not in your lives anymore, today is the day to remember the legacy that they have left you and to be thankful.

If you like today’s wellness tips, let me know. You can leave me a review on amazon or through your #alexa app.

Discover how to take small steps towards a healthier, happier, less-stressed you by visiting my website at worksmartlivesmart.com

EP 721 - Day For Encouragement

I find the transition from summer into fall a tough one. I feel draggy, and sometimes not very creative or motivated to work on my business.

What gets me kicked into gear is connecting to those around me. My friends and colleagues who cheer me on and get my creative juices flowing.

Encouragement, as they say, goes straight to the heart. In fact, the word itself comes from a combination of the prefix en which means “to put into” and the Latin root cor which means “heart”.

We all could use a little encouragement and a few words of inspiration now and again.

Here are today’s tips for building our resilience and celebrating National Day of Encouragement.

Encouragement lifts up someone when they are down, so be deliberate and reach out today to someone who could use a boost.

Send a card, give a call, or send a text to a colleague who may be struggling. 

Provide reassurance and inspiration to the people around you. Be deliberate in your words to others.

Encouragement matters.

Simply having others believe in you is enough to keep you moving forward in tougher times.

If you like today’s wellness tips, let me know. You can leave me a review on amazon or through your #alexa app.

Looking for resources to build your healthy workplace? Check out my top 10 tips under Resources and Courses at worksmartlivesmart.com

EP 720 – Stress Still The #1 Lifestyle Risk

Stress (83%), lack of physical activity (49%), and obesity (41%) are often cited as the top three health risks.

Stressed out workers incur healthcare costs 50% higher than the norm while 60% of lost workdays each year can be attributed to stress

Research indicates that stress is still the number one lifestyle risk and that employers and employees couldn’t be any farther apart when reporting the top sources of stress in their workplace.

For the Employer: the number one source of stress for their employees is a Lack of work-life balance.

While for the Employee: they identified inadequate staffing as the number one cause of stress.

Leaders need to address the main sources of stress for their employees and this can only be done if they have been clearly identified for your particular workplace.  Until you have talked to your employees or surveyed them for their opinions, you may be addressing the wrong issues.

The programs that you implement should address the sources of stress at the corporate level and promote skills and resiliency at the individual level.  Ensure that the right strategies are considered for your unique situation. By specifically addressing your challenges and stresses, by utilizing strategies to maintain your health during stressful times, and by building a supportive network, you can find the right tools for coping with the situations that you face.

If you like today’s wellness tips, let me know. You can leave me a review on amazon or through your #alexa app.

Looking for resources to build your healthy workplace? Check out my top 10 tips under Resources and Courses at worksmartlivesmart.com

EP 719 – Stop Suicide

“A permanent solution to a temporary state.”

We often don’t hear about those that died by suicide. Because we don’t talk about it, those around us can suffer in silence, unaware of the supports that may be available to them. There is little funding because there is no public outcry. But the issue of suicide touches us all – whether directly or indirectly.

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day and it is celebrated on September 10th each year as a way to improve education about suicide, disseminate information, decrease stigmatization and, most importantly, raise awareness that suicide can be preventable.

Around the world, every 40 seconds someone dies by suicide.

Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating World Suicide Prevention Day:

Read and learn as much as you can about suicide – it’s prevalence, the signs and symptoms, and personal stories from survivors. Understand the pain that those who even consider suicide as an option, must be in.

Be open and not afraid. Don’t be afraid to ask directly about the issue of suicide.

Know the resources that are available to help.

Suicide is a difficult issue to discuss, but it is even a more difficult issue to experience. Let’s help support those who are in pain so that they can find a better solution to living a peaceful and purposeful life.

If you like today’s wellness tips, let me know. You can leave me a review on amazon or through your #alexa app.

For more information on coping with mental health issues, sign up for one of my on-line courses at worksmartlivesmart.com under the resources and courses tab.

EP 718 – Opposites

Did you ever play ‘Opposites’ in school? Any time you were asked a question you had to give the opposite answer. You wore your clothes the opposite way around, and you ate your lunch in the opposite order.

Opposite day is a day to have fun and be silly. Especially as you kick it back up into high gear after summer vacations. Some celebrate Opposite Day a month after Christmas, other’s today…the idea is just to add some fun to your life.

Here are today’s Hot Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating Opposite Day:

Adults can get in on this silly holiday.

Try having dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner.

Eat, write and use your mouse with your non-dominate hand.

If you are the super achiever, ask for help.

If you are a procrastinator, try getting the tough stuff done first.

Flip that button-down shirt around and wear opposite coloured socks and shoes.

Just be sure to let your family, friends and colleagues know that you are celebrating Opposite Day. Otherwise, it could get very confusing for everyone around you.

Have a great day. Sorry, I mean hello, how are you?

If you like today’s wellness tips, let me know. You can leave me a review on amazon or through your #alexa app.

Looking for more ways to build your resiliency? Take my free on-line resiliency test at worksmartlivesmart.com under the resources and courses tab.

EP 717 – Children and Suicide

Children do not attempt or die by suicide

False. In fact, 3% of our children are suicidal at any given time and our rates are increasing among our youth. It is the second leading cause of death among our children ages 15-19 and studies show that 1 in 7 students have seriously considered suicide.

Identifying those children at risk for suicide can be problematic in that communication skills may be limited, emotional development may lead to spur of the moment decision-making, and support networks limited.

It is estimated that about 80% of people give some sort of clue that they are considering suicide. Behaviourally, children may give away their prize possessions, or they may lose interest in their hobbies, activities, school-work and friends.

Verbally, children may communicate a sense of hopelessness around their situation, self-hate or self-esteem statements such as ‘everyone would be better off without me around’, or they may express more physical complaints.

Though most people give some sort of clue, it is important to remember that it is not a family member’s ‘fault’ if that clue is not recognized or given significance at that time. There is not a parent out there who is superhuman, totally tuned in, and able to tell the future.

Giving support, providing information and alternatives, and finding the appropriate helping strategy is not easy but resources are available.

Children do die by suicide even in the most supported situations. However, as caregivers and parents we can look for the clues and not be afraid to address the issue of suicide.

If you like today’s wellness tips, let me know. You can leave me a review on amazon or through your #alexa app.

For more information on coping with mental health issues, sign up for one of my on-line courses at worksmartlivesmart.com under the resources and courses tab.