Category Archives: Lighten Up

15Aug 2012

Seize the Moment- The Best You Can!

Going back to school- It seems this phrase ignites different emotions for different people. For some kids it’s “bllaaahh!” and for others it’s “yaaay!”. For some parents it creates a leap of joy in the air and for others it is a reminder of how fast time is flying and slipping thru our hands.

Me? I have a big lump in my throat. I promised my 2nd grader I wouldn’t cry as he got on the bus today (as I watched him hold back a tear or two!) I saw the parents of the Kindergartners, who actually have permission to cry, hold back their tears.

So why was I, the mother of a 2nd grader, on the verge of a breakdown? I should be a pro at this by now! Then it hit me- it’s all a reminder of how quickly time is passing. I don’t know about you but I feel like I am trying to keep the sand from going down the hourglass of time! I try to put the little pieces back in one at a time, only to have 5000 drop in the meantime.

Wasn’t it just yesterday my child was……

Maybe you don’t have kids and you are amazed at how quickly time is passing in your marriage. You thought for sure at your 5th Anniversary you would be…..

Or maybe you are still single and you just can’t believe how quickly 10 years have passed since you graduated college. You knew without a doubt your career would be……

We all are amazed at how quickly time passes and even surprised at where or what we thought would be happening.

There is a point to this- it’s simple- just a little reminder. Every day, hour, minute, second is passing us by. It’s unrealistic to say, “I’m going to embrace every moment and live every day like it’s my last” (come on, we gotta work and go on with life!) But we can embrace the little things. Don’t let the small joys of life pass you by. Try not to just drudge thru the day so you wake up 10 years later, well, realizing it’s 10 years later. Don’t look up at your 18 year-old going off to college and regreting that you didn’t spend enough time with them.

Truly seize today- the best you can! Do something today to take it all in. We are blessed to have what we have and live how we live. Each of us. Take in the moment before it slips away.

Thank you for taking this moment today and reading. I hope you have a great day and seize one moment today.

Written by Natalie Chandler

Natalie Chandler, MA, LMHC is a therapist at Imagine Hope Counseling Group. Natalie enjoys doing marriage counseling, individual counseling, and couples counseling.  We also specialize in family counseling, child, and adolescent counseling. Imagine Hope serves the Indianapolis area including the surrounding areas of Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield, and Zionsville

30May 2012

Need an Attitude Adjustment?

“The last of human freedom and the one that nobody can take away is to choose one’s attitude in anyone’s set of circumstances.”

When you hear this quote, you may think it is from someone who has a wonderful life. One might think, “Yeah, that’s easy for you to say. I bet you have an amazing job, a huge house, maids, butlers…” however you define having a wonderful life. For me, I would think this person must sit on the beach all day with a book, eating delicious food and pondering life.

Do you know who this is actually a quote from? Victor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor who wrote an impactful book, “Man’s Search for Meaning”. In this book, he speaks about how we have the freedom to choose how we are going to respond to any situation. This amazes me to hear that someone who has been thru so much can still believe this way. He also goes on to talk about how we can all find purpose in any situation and how having purpose gives us meaning to our existence.

Joyce Meyer, another person I admire and respect, puts it this way (I love her no nonscense approach). “Your problem is not your problem: Your attitude towards your problem is your problem!” Preach it, sista!

Both of these inspiring people are correct. We can choose to be angry when we are stuck in traffic or decide to take the quiet time and listen to music and “relax”. When our kids are screaming and hollering (this ones hard), we can scream and holler back or take a few deep breaths, and calmly react. Or go scream in a pillow in the closet! lol When the neighbors dog poops on our freshly cut lawn we can let it ruin our day or pick it up, put it on their front porch, and move on! Oops- did I just say that out loud?? :) Don’t do that!

I’m not trying to minimize anyone’s problems by any means. But even when the struggles are more difficult than the above, we still have the freedom to choose how we will respond.

How will you respond to lifes challenges today?

Thank you for reading! Choose to have a great day!

Natalie Chandler, MA, LMHC is a therapist at Imagine Hope Counseling Group. Natalie enjoys doing marriage counseling, individual counseling, and couples counseling.  We also specialize in family counseling, child, and adolescent counseling. Imagine Hope serves the Indianapolis area including the surrounding areas of Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield, and Zionsville

02May 2012

The 3 Easy “E’s”

This weekend I attended my sister’s graduation (woot woot! congrats, Steph!!) I have to admire anyone that goes back to school as an adult to get their degree. What amazes me even more is when they work so hard to excel- knowing they can probably just get by and get a job by just passing. My sister is 42 years old and graduated with HONORS! I’m so proud of her!

I enjoyed the speaker they had. You all know I LOVE easy and she had an easy, yet great, message! Literally probably 5 minutes. I would love to give her credit, however, she filled in for the person who intended to speak, so her name wasn’t in the program and I didn’t catch it. She was a professor and I could tell she got “it”. Here is her simple message:

Be excellent!
Everything you do- strive to do your best and be excellent at it.
She also said, “All change is not growth but all growth is change.” This is so true.

Be extraordinary
Don’t be ordinary and regular.
Bring your best self to everything you do! NOBODY can do it like you!

Be easy
Be gentle with yourself.
There will always people who can do better than you and lesser than you.
This was my favorite- “When you are tired- SIT DOWN! Take a break and stop getting on everybody’s nerves!!” How funny- don’t we drive everybody nuts when we are tired and we just keep on rollin’? Sit down!

I love this because it is easy to remember and not too difficult to do. Easy, yet imagine if you pursued excellence, were extraordinary, and easy on yourself! What a difference that would make in you and everyone around you!

Thank you for reading and have an excellent, extraordinary, and easy day!

Written by Natalie Chandler

Natalie Chandler, MA, LMHC is a therapist at Imagine Hope Counseling Group. Natalie enjoys doing marriage counseling, individual counseling, and couples counseling.  We also specialize in family counseling, child, and adolescent counseling. Imagine Hope serves the Indianapolis area including the surrounding areas of Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield, and Zionsville

21Mar 2012

Your Phone Says A Lot about You!

This week is going to be kind of a fun blog- one you can participate in. I want you to pick up your phone. If a person didn’t know you already, what would they find out about you from your phone?

What did you find? If you’re into music, you probably have itunes, shazam etc. Or if you like to read, you might have some books or newsstand. Movies etc. News buff? CNN is the App for you. I know you have Facebook, right?

On my 1st page of my iphone I have Shopper because with 3 kids I’m constantly going to the grocery. I have NotifyMe because I can’t remember anything and need constant reminders (because my kids and lack of sleep have sucked out my brain cells lol). I have Speller- because of my poor memory, I can’t remember how to spell anything even though I used to be an avid spelling bee contestant (blame it on the kids again!). I have pictures, notes, the Bible, Teavana ( I LOVE tea!) etc. You get the point.

Did you see by looking at your phone that things are balanced? Some things are about you and some are about others? Are there fitness things on there along side some apps on how to improve relationships (example- Love Dare). Are there games to bring out the kid in you but also your banking to remind the adult in you to be responsible? Are your contacts full of people because you have so many friends? Or are you limited to just a couple of emergency contacts because you isolate and spend too much time alone?

There was a time in my life when my phone would have been out of balance and full of “consumption”. I mean shopping, beauty tips, shoes, etc. Not that there is anything wrong with these apps at all. But when this is what consumes us- it is what CONSUMES us! It’s what we think about – which puts us into ourselves and not looking outward toward others. I am in no way perfect at all (my friends and family can attest to this!). But I can say that you can now see balance when looking at my life, and my phone for that matter. There is a Mommy and a Wife, a Therapist and a health conscious Female who likes shoes. There is a forgetful music lover who enjoys carving time out for family and friends on her calendar (and even herself). She also likes to find her way to places thus the Maps app.

Look at your phone, look at your life. Is it balanced?

Thanks for reading. I hope you had fun!

Written by Natalie Chandler

Natalie Chandler, MA, LMHC is a therapist at Imagine Hope Counseling Group. Natalie enjoys doing marriage counseling, individual counseling, and couples counseling.  We also specialize in family counseling, child, and adolescent counseling. Imagine Hope serves the Indianapolis area including the surrounding areas of Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield, and Zionsville

22Feb 2012

Laughter Really Is Good Medicine!

“Laughter is like internal jogging! In many ways as good as physical exercise.”
Joyce Meyer

I LOVE to laugh. Those of you who know me, work with me (as clients or co-workers), or if you have walked by my office door- You know I like to laugh. Tamara and I learned a lot in Graduate School. However, one thing we learned was how to laugh and not get caught! (Sorry professors! Look at us now- we really were listening! Just having fun doing it!)

Have you ever noticed how you feel right after a good laugh? You feel relaxed and calm. There are reasons for this and great reasons to let yourself laugh! Here are just a few of the many reasons to let the laughter flow:

1. It increases our blood flow, which is great for everything in your body.

2. It lowers cortisol and adrenaline, which are stress hormones we release when we are stressed about something. Accessive stress hormones can cause many problems, including depression.

3. It stretches your muscles. In fact, many “stretch” this to say it gives you the same feelings as a mild workout.

4. It increases your immune system, which helps us fight off sickness and disease.

5. When we learn to laugh at ourselves, we don’t take everything so seriously.

There are MANY reasons to laugh. But these are the most important. I believe a great sense of humor plus a positive attitude can change your day from a bad day to a good one. It can make a heavy, difficult marriage feel a little lighter. It can change the nasty attitude your child may wake up with into a little kid who can’t quit smiling. And it can make all of us healthier and happier people.

Try to think of some ways to add laughter in your life. Watch a funny sitcom before going to bed, to relax your body. Sit with a friend and laugh at old pictures! Read a joke book and share some tasteful ones with someone. Play tag with your kids and watch them laugh (it’s contagious!) Make it intentional and it will become more natural.

Thank you for reading and have a humor-filled day!

Written by Natalie Chandler

Natalie Chandler, MA, LMHC is a therapist at Imagine Hope Counseling Group. Natalie enjoys doing marriage counseling, individual counseling, and couples counseling.  We also specialize in family counseling, child, and adolescent counseling. Imagine Hope serves the Indianapolis area including the surrounding areas of Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield, and Zionsville