You probably are familiar with the concept of an obstacle 
course. You are placed at the starting point and instructed to 
reach the other side as quickly as possible. The distance is 
relatively small, however the journey is incredibly difficult. 

A variety of physical obstacles and threatening interventions
are placed along the path, forcing you to use all of your
physical strength and mental acumen to get to the destination.
In a well- designed course, the difficulty of the experience is
increased over the period of training. The purpose is to
develop your skills and abilities so that you may apply them to
real situations in actual combat. 

Well, life seems to use this same training approach. From our
early childhood we are constantly exposed to a variety of
obstacles and challenges. They may not include booby-trapped
terrain, tunnels, barriers, and ditches, however they do call
upon us to use all of our abilities to overcome them.

Each of life's challenges causes us to stretch a bit,
increasing our skills, insights and abilities to prepare us to
confront the next challenge. When we look back upon our lives,
we can generally see how all of our prior experiences have
prepared us for where we are today. There seems to be a default
plan for growth and development for each of us. 

I have frequently written about the lessons that life will teach 
us. We can learn them quickly or we can resist them and face 
repeated experiences to bring us the awareness that we need. 
The interesting point is that throughout this process we are 
constantly being trained, stretched, and prepared for whatever 
may come along, whether it be something we have chosen or 
one of life's lessons that we need to learn. 

Your goal:

To accept the challenges and obstacles you may experience as
opportunities to expand your skills, knowledge, insights, and
abilities to better prepare you to achieve the future you truly
desire. 

The result:

You will grow more quickly as you learn life's lessons with
minimal effort and develop the skills and abilities you will
need to call upon in the future. 

Your assignment:

When you encounter an obstacle or challenge in your life,
embrace it as a learning opportunity. Notice the skills and
abilities you acquire as a result of facing that challenge and
how you can use them in the future. 

Wishing You the Very Best!

Sandy Karn
Results Specialist

***** 

Sandy Karn is president of her own company, Creative Results 
Sources, Inc., a consulting and training company of over 30 
years. 

Take her Self Development Quiz! 
http://www.sandykarn.com/quiz/ 

I was talking to a woman today who told me she'd decided to
break up with her boyfriend and was going to call him right
away and tell him. 

My advice - - I wouldn't make any decision or do anything
from now until after Christmas, because of the emotional
energy. 

We're all either:

--frazzled or numb; 
--frantically busy or have given up and are sitting and
staring;
--overjoyed or overgrieved;
--eating everything in sight, or refusing to eat anything
in a desperate attempt to stem the tide;
--being Father Christmas, or Scrooge;
--hemorrhaging money or have put a tourniquet on it and
won't spend a cent;
--working overtime (churches, therapists, physicians,
jewelers and retailers, airport personnel, florists) or
have nothing to do (most attorneys, dentists, weight loss
clinics, car dealers, and those who do elective surgery);
--sick, or taking care of someone who's sick;
--feel like you have "too many" people in your life, or
like you're "totally alone"

In other words, it's the rare person who's coasting along
and "stable".  The majority of us are a bit strung out and
it's no time to decide whether to marry him or not, or what
to do about your career or your mother-in-law.

As one wise and over-worked young man told me, "I have
planned a Christmas guaranteed to please no one," when in
fact, like most of us, he was pleasing some people some of
the time, including himself, and ... doing the best he can
under the circumstances. 

We are all doing the best we can under the circumstances,
even when clearly are not.

Most of us in the US are also coping with a rising level of
dissension re: "Christmas" and "the holidays" that makes
whatever this season is to you far from the "peace and joy"
it's supposed to be, which is sad.

And, it's that time of year when you long for home, even
when you're home ... if you know what I mean.  Just a very
emotional time - - whether you're dealing with it by
expressing it or stuffing it down and trying to ignore it
(in which case you're likely to get a big backlash!)

So, please take a moment to enjoy this wonderful card from
Jacquie Lawson:
http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcardm.asp?token=
a8f5c598e76b708c1e9c51c3bb9ff8314858&hist=GB30869307
 and STEP LIGHTLY!

The music playing is Tchaikovsky's beautiful Dance of the
Merlitons (penny whistles) from "The Nutcracker Suite"
which many of us have enjoyed or will, as part of the
Christmas season, and we've been studying this in Club Vivo
Per Lei.

If you live for music, join our Club Vivo Per Lei / I Live
for Music! (http://www.susandunn.cc/vivoperlei.htm )  Music
can be wonderfully therapeutic with many proven health
benefits.  It goes straight to the pleasure center, and for
many people is the truest form of joy and relaxation. 

It’s equally important to guard your health.  Please
bolster your immune system against the ravages of December,
January and February, which brings flu, viruses, bacterial
infections such as pneumonia, and SAD - - seasonal
affective disorder and depression.  We eat wrong, do too
much, stress out, try and fend off allergies, don't get
enough sunlight, forget to exercise and miss our outdoor
sports (in the northern hemisphere), and are around other
people and their germs! 

(Did you know that the telephone in your office, or your
desk or anyone else's, has more germs per sq. inch than the
toilet in the office restroom??) (cite:  Clorox study)

Products such as Arbonne’s DefenseBuilder and Get Well Soon
Dietary Supplement, scientifically proven  to nutritionally
support your immune system, are essential.  Particularly
important if you're vulnerable - old, young, chronically
ill, depressed, stressed, or around sick people. 

Your immune system is your FIRST line of defense against
bacteria, and your ONLY line of defense against viruses,
like flu and bird flu.  Ask your doctor.

Get your rest, tired angel, and where others are concerned,
step lightly!

©Susan Dunn, MA, The EQ Coach, http://www.susandunn.cc,
mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc .  Individual coaching, Internet
courses, ebooks, EQ Alive! program for your emotional,
mental, physical and spiritual health.  Training coaches
worldwide – fast, simple, effective program with no
residency requirement.  Now you can shop with Susan online
at My Arbonne – www.susandunn.myarbonne.com for
neutraceuticals that bolster your immune system and support
your health.