Ask Auntie Artichoke

1. What do you really want?  Write it down and describe it so clearly that you can see it happening.
2. When you mediate or pray, keep a pad of paper nearby.  You will be guided and inspired on what to do next.
3. Start right now.  Procrastination and Perfection Paralyses. Don’t aim for achieving it all at once, it will become overwhelming.  Focus on the process and take the first step today.
4. Self-confidence is a side effect of taking action. Any tiny bit of progress will make your dream look more doable and you will feel better about yourself. Focus on the process and take the next step.
5. You will feel better and better about yourself as you keep taking small steps and acknowledge the success you have already achieved.
6. Be open to positive input and feedback.  Learn to say “why not?”  Don’t listen to the negative self-talk.
7. Order the eCourse  Building Self Confidence With Encouraging Words  compiled by Judy H. Wright, family coach, who has worked with thousands of individuals and organizations on empowering respectful relationships.  This course comes with valuable bonus items that will enrich your life and the lives of those you care about.

Good morning from beautiful Montana;

The first posting discussed visual learners which make up 80% of the population.  They have a sharp clear picture of an experience and are frustrated when others can’t see it.

Then we talked about auditory learners which make up 10% of the population.  They like to hear what is going on in the world and are frustrated when others don’t listen to them.

Kinesthetic learners gather information by hands on experiences.  They prefer to share information by examples and physical activity. Kinesthetic or tactile learners gather information by touching and doing

• Need to be active and take frequent breaks
• Speak with their hands and with gestures
• Remember what was done, but have difficulty recalling what was said or seen
• Find reasons to tinker or move when bored
• Rely on what they can directly experience or perform
• Activities such as cooking, construction and art help them to learn
• Enjoy field trips
• Sit near the door so they can easily get up and move around
• Dislike classrooms without hands on experience
• Communicate by touching

So, does this learning style feel like you?  Was your spirit touched when reading the descriptions? Does this description seem heavy or light to you?  Are you getting a handle on the sensations of this learning style?

If so, you are among the 10% of the population who are generally more creative, artistic and like action and experience with their learning.  Those who are kinesthetic usually complain that auditory and visual people are insensitive.

Most of us have learned to adapt our learning style to what the world demands of us.  But, we are usually drawn to one style more frequently. I think I am visual with heavy undertones of kinesthetic.

Did you find this information helpful and interesting?  Then leave a comment below.  Let’s start a dialog.
We have some exciting tele-classes and eCourses on communication coming up soon that you will enjoy. Keep checking back.

Judy H. Wright

Good morning from beautiful Montana;

Yesterday we discussed visual learners which make up 80% of the population.  They have a sharp clear picture of an experience and are frustrated when others can’t see it.

Auditory learners gather information by hearing and listening.  They prefer to share information orally.

• Choose seats where they can hear but don’t need to pay attention to what is happening in front
• May be absorbing information but appear to be disinterested
• Usually have a great memory for spoken words and ideas
• Love to have stories read to them with a lot of expression
• Remember the lyrics to songs.  Prefer musical activities
• May not coordinate colors or clothes
• Hum or talk to themselves or others when bored
• Acquire knowledge by reading aloud
• Remember by verbalizing lessons to themselves
• May have problems with conceptual assignments like mathematics

So, does this learning style sound right to you?  Do you prefer talking to reading?  Do you prefer verbal instructions rather than a manual?  Do you sound out a word when you are trying to spell it? Do you use words like these when describing a situation: tinkling, silent, squeal, roaring, dripping,whistling, screaming?

It sounds like you may be an auditory learner?  Ten percent of us are. It bugs us when we think others don’t hear what we are saying.

What do you think?  Please comment and let’s start a dialog.

Judy H. Wright

Good Morning from beautiful Montana:

Last night I was giving a parenting class at the Adult Learning Center on learning styles.  Two of the participants did not have children yet, but worked with youth in their church and wanted tips on effective communications.  I am very proud of those who are proactive in their relationships, rather than reactive when a conflict or crisis comes along.

As a group, we discussed how many conflicts in the home, workplace and world are because people don’t always process information the same way. It is as if we are speaking different languages and assume everyone can readily understand us, it is them that have the problem.

In the next few days, I am going to discuss the various styles.  See which one resonates with you.

Visual learners gather information by seeing and looking.  They share information by writing and describing what they see in the mind’s picture.

• Take lots of detailed notes
• Tend to sit in the front of the class where they can see the teacher and board
• Usually dress and groom well
• Often close their eyes so they can visualize or remember something
• Find something to watch if they are bored
• Benefit from illustrations and presentations that use color
• Attracted to written or spoken language that paints mind pictures
• Like to read books that are rich in imagery

Do you make pictures in your mind?  Phrases used by visuals include: “can you see what I need?” This looks good” “I visualize something bigger” “Something is wrong in this picture.”

I will be seeing you soon.

Judy H. Wright

PS:  If you have not yet signed up for my free ezine (newsletter) The Artichoke-Finding the Heart of the Story in the Journey of Life please join our community today.  You will be able to download a F*R*E*E eBook on communication that motivates positive action by clicking on www.UseEncouragingWords.com.  You will be glad that you did and so will we.

Dear Loved Ones:

I want you to know that when you were growing up, I always got a knot in my stomach when Mother’s Day was coming up.  On that Sunday every year when I yelled and prodded and threatened you if you didn’t get ready, my mind was kind of hoping we would be too late to make the church services.

Because the male speakers always had angel mothers!  Their mothers always listened, nursed scrapped knees for months and sacrificed every thing in their life for their children.  I would sit in the pew and look over at you (sleeping, eating the babies Cheerios, reading a book, picking the scab off your knee because I forgot to buy Bandaids, or writing on your sibling’s arm) and think, “I wish my kids could have had his mother.”

You see, I loved and love you enough to want the very best for you in life.  I never wanted to be his mother; I just wanted you to have the experience of someone that would devote their lives and every waking moment to you.  Because my idea of mothering was not to make you dependent on me, but to make you independent of me. My goal was to hurry and get you raised so you could go out and make a better world.

The other reason I dreaded Mother’s Day was because I felt like I was celebrated under false pretenses.  Sure, I had the opportunity and fertile eggs (and your father’s willing sperm) to deliver children but I could never have raised you without the influence of many, many wonderful people who did not use their ovaries to create you. Sometimes a birth mother is only a vehicle to get a spirit and body here to be loved by others.

Loving and nurturing do not automatically belong to only those who have given birth.  Aunt Liz and Aunt Lucy helped build your character and shape your personalities. They adored you on the days when I couldn’t stand you.  I saw the now and they saw the future.

I look at our immediate family and see what unconditional love the aunts and uncles give to the cousins. I defy anyone to say that anyone could care more about their nieces and nephews than Debbie, Emily, Faith and Andy.  Em shared one day that she felt sad that she had not given birth to her step sons.  I say hogwash!  Not only hogwash but Pshaaa!  The love connection so far transcends the birth canal.

You know, your Dad was practically raised by his mom’s Aunt Merle and Uncle Maurice who never married but lived at home with Grandma Ashe.  Uncle Maurice taught him to love the outdoors and to fix cars.  Aunt Merle thought he walked on water and bought him butter for his sandwiches when it was so expensive and his parents ate only margarine. It was his aunt who taught him to read.

Grandma Helm’s mother was Sarah Elizabeth and she was one of six daughters.  Only three of the daughters ever married, but the others were teachers and entrepreneurs and had their own homesteads. They taught, loved, corrected, guided, bankrolled, bailed out, clapped for and all the other things proud parents do.

So, on this Mother’s day, I want you to know that while I was not the perfect Mother and you were not the perfect kid, I am sure glad we connected.  You have turned out to be wonderful human beings in spite of, or because of, my mothering.

The very best gift anyone can receive in this world is the knowledge that they are loved and accepted.  Thank you.

I treasure you and yours forever.

PS:  You need to call or email the people in your life who have helped you to become the fine person you are. A thank you from a former student or relative will make the day for someone feeling less than on this commercialized day.  Trust me.

PPS: Our very best mother is Mother Nature.  So go for a walk today and really, really look at all the beautiful things we have been given and be grateful you are a part of it.

PPS:  Yes, Andy, every moment is a teaching moment!  So thanks for letting me share my heart with you.

In Abundance,

Judy

Cereal. Mush. Oatmeal. Granola. Fruit Loops. Frosted Flakes.
Cheerios. Captain Crunch. Kix. Raisin Bran and Choco-berries.

I will take my $100 bill, double coupons and newspaper ad
for items on sale and I will go shopping. My list will include all the boxes and bags of cereal my shopping cart
will hold. It might take two carts to
carry it all, because I am a good shopper. Cereal that routinely sells for
$3.49 a box can be found for less than $1.50 if you know where to look and have
the time. $100 will buy 67 boxes and
help many little children stop that growling in their stomachs.

Vitamins, protein, taste and kid appeal are my guiding
factors when I hit the stores looking for cereal bargains for the local food
pantry. My goal is to get the most for
the money and to be able to offer kids a meal with some nutrition that they can
fix themselves if necessary.

Beans, rice, meat and vegetables taste delicious when there
is an adult present to cook. It would be a wonderful world if families could
count on having a sit down dinner each night around the table. In an ideal
world, there would be plenty of good food and pleasant conversation shared at
that table.

Unfortunately, that is not always the case.

As a parent educator, I have heard the stories of kids and
families going hungry and kids left to forage for food on their own. The number
of latch-key kids in America

is staggering. Many children as young as
5 or 6 are coming home to an empty house and bare cupboards because parents are
working at low level jobs just to keep a roof over their heads. They barely
have time to make it to the local food pantry and certainly don’t have time to
shop for bargains or good tasting cereal for the kids. So I do it for
them.

Kids need to be able to have foods readily available that
are easy to fix, contain some nutrition and taste good. If parents are
unavailable, either physically or emotionally, the children need food that
fills the belly. If necessary, cereal
can be eaten right out of the box.

I buy and donate peanut butter and jelly. I buy and donate milk, apples and bread. But mostly, I buy and donate cereal, a lot of
cereal.