Getting Back on Track

Whether you're actually driving on a curvy road or trying to navigate the twists and turns of life, you don't always get the advance warning sign of a risk ahead.

Do these unforeseen hazards sound familiar? You've just gotten your finances under control when you bite down on an olive pit and break off part of a tooth. How will you fit the cost of a crown into your budget now? Or you've worked hard to make your new exercise routine a habit - but over-doing it, you've torn a muscle that will take months to heal. So now you're back on the couch, trying to regroup. And the diet that you followed so successfully after the holidays was thrown away with the arrival of your weekend guests. Will you be able to get back on track once they leave?

When these kinds of threats materialize, they can put your carefully worked out plans in jeopardy. What can you do to meet these challenges and move ahead? Here are two tips to guide you in turning setbacks into opportunities:

Act as if you are committed. Make a plan outlining the objectives you need to meet in order to accomplish realistic goals. You're more likely to succeed when you are optimistic and enthusiastic about working to bring your aspirations to reality and give yourself reinforcements along the way to motivate you. Draw on your strengths - both personal and spiritual - as you act to break through barriers. Use all the support and resources available to bolster your own efforts.

Have a Plan B ready for flexibility. Your path will not likely be a straight line but you don't have to be defeated by your slip-ups if you've worked out a contingency Plan B ahead of time. Now take the opportunity to brainstorm novel ways of getting to your goal and continue to refine your strategies as you learn from your mistakes. When your reactions are not set in stone, you can improvise along the way as you discover what works best and then modify your behavior based on the feedback you get.

There may be limits to what you can accomplish but give yourself permission to begin the process without expecting perfection in your results. Especially if you're a sandwiched boomer, faced with the responsibilities of growing children and aging parents, these tips can help develop the resiliency you need to thrive.

With the price of gas going up and up, you may not be doing much driving right now, but when you do, here's to the joy of an open road - without dangerous curves or hidden perils.

Coping with Fear at the Vancouver Winter Olympics

Watching the jumps, races and lifts at the Winter Olympics can make us gasp with awe at the amazing feats the athletes have accomplished. While preparing themselves through practice and hard work, they have had to make modifications and take risks in their behavior. While as a Sandwiched Boomer yours may be less dramatic, nevertheless they are just as important to you.

Overcoming fear of risks. In order to succeed as an Olympiad, athletes need to conquer their fear of the unknown and go for the gold anyway. As Canadian hockey great Wayne Gretzky has said, "You miss 100% of the shots you never take." Snowboarder Shaun White understands taking measured risks and won the men's halfpipe gold medal by hard work and his readiness to take chances. Although he was already the winner after his first run, he chose to attempt his difficult, signature moves in a second run.

Exuberant after accomplishing his 'Double McTwist 1260,' he said, "I have fun, I have dreams, I have goals, and I'm just now trying to do them." After preparation of your own, outline the risks you feel comfortable tackling and then address them with gusto.

Overcoming fear of change. With the poor weather conditions in Vancouver, many Olympic events have been postponed, throwing schedules into disarray. Athletes need to adjust to these shifts without a decrease in their readiness to compete. One athlete who initiated her own major change was figure skater Yuko Kawaguchi who gave up her Japanese citizenship and moved to Russia to be trained by legendary coach, Tamara Moskvina.

Although she did not medal at the Games, she lived her dedication to her sport by her move. When you are forced to modify your own original strategy, don't hesitate to put your Plan B into action. It just might be a winner.

Tracking Progress in Your 2010 New Year's Resolutions

Today we give you our final tips to help you keep your 2010 New Year's resolutions.

Give yourself credit for what you are accomplishing. You deserve rewards all along the way - for making the decision to change, for taking the first step, for achieving each objective. Acknowledge the difficulty of your mission and congratulate yourself when you reach your goal.

Accept that you are not perfect and that you will fail sometimes. Your path with likely not be a straight line, rather one with several ups and downs. Make a Plan B to use when you can't proceed as you originally intended. Don't be defeated by your slip-ups. They are not a reason to give up on yourself or your goal. Instead, get back on track and think about what you have learned from your mistakes.

You have been working to accomplish the goals you set for yourself in 2010. Click on title above to take you to a www.HerMentorCenter.com article, How to Inventory Your Assets. It will help you focus on your personal strengths and the resources that help you move forward.

Take Care of Yourself after January Blues

Are you already experiencing winter blues and frustrated with yourself for not doing what you set out to do this year? Today we'll look at how to better take care of yourself in 2010 and next week, we'll give you more help in keeping your New Year's resolutions.

Begin with some honest self-reflection. What is currently disturbing you the most? What do you feel good about? Consider both your physical and emotional reactions. Once you are aware of the real problems, you can begin to identify possible solutions and map out a plan to implement them.

Be realistic in your expectations as you set New Year's resolutions you are likely to achieve and goals you can accomplish. You may need to scrap your original list and come up with less grandiose aspirations. Don't beat yourself up for falling short of promises you made to yourself that were out of your reach. Who hasn't made mistakes? Take it one day at a time as you revise and come up with a Plan B.

Commit to an exercise plan that you will continue. Physical activity can release endorphins, reducing your level of stress. Studies have shown that 30 minutes of brisk walking reduces depression for several hours. A regular exercise routine also plays a part in achieving weight reduction and better sleep patterns. If possible, include some outdoor daytime exercise to take advantage of the natural light outside.

Establish eating habits that incorporate nutritious foods in well-balanced meals. During the holiday season, women can gain an average of five to seven pounds. Now get back to a healthier diet and smaller portions. Leafy green vegetables with their high levels of folic acid and oily fish, with vitamin B-12 and omega-3 fatty acids can play roles in maintaining an upbeat mood. Foods such as Brazil nuts are rich in selenium, needed to produce serotonin.

And click on the post title above to read about Five Ways Sandwiched Boomers Can Think Positive in Tough Times on our website, www.HerMentorCenter.com.

Video Tips for Regaining Control in Financial Chaos

With the stimulus package having little effect and the continued loss of jobs, the recession appears to be continuing unabated. Still, you, and other Sandwiched Boomers, can regain some control over your situation by educating yourself, evaluating your finances and making the hard decisions that lead to changes in your lifestyle. Watch our video for more coping tips.



To read some tips about how to maintain and even strengthen your family relationships during this time of financial belt-tightening, click on the title above. It will link you to wwwHerMentorCenter.com and our article, "Marital Harmony Despite Financial Woes."

Take Care of Yourself

If you are a Sandwiched Boomer taking care of growing children and aging parents as you continue to manage your career and cope with the financial chaos all around, you may think that you don't have any time to devote to your own needs. But it is crucial for you to find a way to get the self-care you need in these trying times.

Take better care of yourself. Discover how to nourish yourself and set aside the essential time for this. Take a walk, stop to watch a beautiful sunset, listen to soothing music. Practice deep breathing to relax and positive imagery to improve your mood. Reach out to your friends for support. Draw on your spiritual connection for grounding as you find your center.

Stay optimistic and flexible. Redefine the crisis you are facing as a challenge and your fears as opportunities for change. Review how you have solved other major problems before. Focus on what you can do about solutions even though you didn't create the problem itself. Remind yourself of all you are grateful for as you rebalance your life. Don't give up when things don't work out as you originally expected. Instead, put your Plan B in place.

To learn about additional ways to nurture yourself, click on the title above to take you to our article, Top Ten Self-fullness Tips for Sandwiched Women.

Acknowledge Your Progress in Fulfilling Your New Year's Resolutions

Today we give you our final tips to help you keep your New Year's resolutions.

Give yourself credit for what you are accomplishing. You deserve rewards all along the way - for making the decision to change, for taking the first step, for achieving each objective. Acknowledge the difficulty of your mission and congratulate yourself when you reach your goal.

Accept that you are not perfect and that you will fail sometimes. Your path with likely not be a straight line, rather one with several ups and downs. Make a Plan B to use when you can't proceed as you originally intended. Don't be defeated by your slip-ups. They are not a reason to give up on yourself or your goal. Instead, get back on track and think about what you have learned from your mistakes.

You have been working to accomplish the goals you set for yourself in 2009. Click on title above to take you to a www.HerMentorCenter.com article, How to Inventory Your Assets. It will help you focus on your personal strengths and the resources that help you move forward.

Actress Natalie Portman, who moved back in with her parents when she gave up her own home, reveals that things do not always go as expected. "It was cool in the beginning because I get good meals and my laundry done but it turns into trouble. It's rough."

As the reality of shared housing sets in, here are some more tips that Sandwiched Boomers will find helpful:

Think about the problems that can come up and make a Plan B. Just because you all are having some difficulty with the new living arrangements doesn't mean that you have to discard the entire idea. It is important for a sense of control to have scheduled family meetings to discuss the issues and conflicts that come up. The lack of privacy, intruding on other family members' boundaries, and unwanted advice are often sore points.

Be flexible and learn to love compromise and cooperation. Look at the situation from the perspective of the other family members as you work on understanding their positions. You all in this together and while you may not get exactly what you specifically want, you can work out a solution that is good for everyone.

Respect the needs of everyone involved. When each person feels heard, it takes away some of the frustration stemming from the lack of control. You can be supportive to one another just by listening even if you don't agree with the reason for the complaint.

Tomorrow we will look at savoring some of the real positives that come out of sharing a home with other family members.