On March 22- Bee will watch and blog about the latest stars fumbles, follies, fantastic moves on ABC's Dancing with the Stars! You can stay tuned for coverage on this blog or visit Reality Rehash TV

An entertaining departure from the stress and daily grind of work.

So kick back, relax, and don't forget to send us your comments!

        

Part 2 of an Ongoing series about stress:

Stress is a part of our lives and there’s no getting around it. But as much as we all live with it, many of us misunderstand some of the basics about stress and its role in our lives. Why does this matter? Stress has been indicted in many research studies in exacerbating very real physical illnesses — everything from heart disease to Alzheimer’s disease. Reducing stress can not only help you feel better, but also live a longer, disease-free life.

Let’s look at some of the common myths surrounding stress.

Myth 1: Stress is the same for everybody.

Stress is not the same for everybody, nor does everyone experience stress in the same way. Stress is different for each and every one of us. What is stressful for one person may or may not be stressful for another; each of us responds to stress in an entirely different way.

For instance, some people may get stressed out paying the monthly bills every month, while for others such a task isn’t stressful at all. Some get stressed out by high pressure at work, while others may thrive on it.

Myth 2: Stress is always bad for you.

According to this view, zero stress makes us happy and healthy. But this is wrong — stress is to the human condition what tension is to the violin string: too little and the music is dull and raspy; too much and the music is shrill or the string snaps.

Stress in and of itself is not bad (especially in small amounts). So while stress can be the kiss of death or the spice of life, the key is to understand how best to manage it. Managing stress makes us productive and happy, while mismanaging it may hurt us and cause us to fail or become even more stressed.

Myth 3: Stress is everywhere, so you can’t do anything about it.

So is the possibility of getting into an automobile accident everytime we get into our cars, but we don’t allow that to stop us from driving.

You can plan your life so that stress does not overwhelm you. Effective planning involves setting priorities and working on simple problems first, solving them, and then going on to more complex difficulties.

When stress is mismanaged, it’s difficult to prioritize. All your problems seem to be equal and stress seems to be everywhere.

Myth 4: The most popular techniques for reducing stress are the best ones.

No universally effective stress reduction techniques exist (although many magazine articles and pop psychology articles claim to know them!).

We are all different — our lives are different, our situations are different, and our reactions are different. A comprehensive stress management program tailored to the individual works best. But self-help books that can teach you many of the successful stress management techniques can also be of great help, as long as you stick to the program and practice the techniques daily.

Myth 5: No symptoms, no stress.

An absence of symptoms does not mean the absence of stress. In fact, camouflaging symptoms with medication may deprive you of the signals you need for reducing the strain on your physiological and psychological systems.

Many of us experience symptoms of stress in a very physical way, even though stress is a psychological effect. Feeling anxious, shortness of breath, or simply feeling run down all the time can all be physical signs of stress. Feeling overwhelmed, disorganized and having difficulty concentrating are common mental signs of stress.

Myth 6: Only major symptoms of stress require attention.

This myth assumes that the “minor” symptoms, such as headaches or stomach acid, may be safely ignored. Minor symptoms of stress are the early warnings that your life is getting out of hand and that you need to do a better job of managing stress.

If you wait until you start feeling the “major” symptoms of stress (such as a heart attack), it may be too late. Those early warning signs are best listened to earlier rather than later. A change in lifestyle (such as exercising more) to deal with those early warning signs will be far less costly (in time and economics) than dealing with the effects of not listening to them.

 

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This is part 1 of an ongoing series we’d like to share about stress, especially in the workplace. Feel Free to leave your comments questions …
Jobs and careers are an important part of our lives. Along with providing a source of income, they help us fulfill our personal aims, build social networks, and serve our professions or communities. They are also a major source of emotional stress.

Stress at work

Even “dream jobs” have stressful deadlines, performance expectations, and other responsibilities. For some, stress is the motivator that ensures things get done. However, workplace stress can easily overwhelm your life. You may continually worry about a particular project, feel unfairly treated by a supervisor or co-workers, or knowingly accept more than you can handle in hopes of earning a promotion. Putting your job ahead of everything else can also affect your personal relationships, compounding the work-related pressures.

Layoffs, restructuring, or management changes can heighten anxiety about your job security. In fact, a Norwegian study showed that the mere rumor of a factory’s closure caused rapid increases in workers’ pulse and blood pressure. Research in the U.S. has found that workplace injuries and accidents tend to increase in organizations that are being downsized.

The body reacts to stress

Along with its emotional toll, prolonged job-related stress can drastically affect your physical health. Constant preoccupation with job responsibilities often leads to erratic eating habits and not enough exercise, resulting in weight problems, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol levels.

Common job stressors such as perceived low rewards, a hostile work environment, and long hours can also accelerate the onset of heart disease, including the likelihood of heart attacks.
This is particularly true for blue-collar and manual workers. Studies suggest that because these employees tend to have little control over their work environments, they are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than those in traditional “white collar” jobs.

Your age is also a factor. A University of Utah study found that as stressed workers get older, their blood pressure increases above normal levels. Interestingly, many of the study’s over-60 workers reported that they did not feel upset or unduly pressured by their jobs, even though their blood pressure levels were significantly
higher.

Job stress also frequently causes burnout, a condition marked by emotional exhaustion and negative or cynical attitudes toward others and yourself.

Burnout can lead to depression, which, in turn, has been linked to a variety of other health concerns such as heart disease and stroke, obesity and eating disorders, diabetes, and some forms of cancer. Chronic depression also reduces your immunity to other types of illnesses, and can even contribute to premature death.

What you can do to combat job stress

Fortunately, there are many ways to help manage job-related stress. Some programs blend relaxation techniques with nutrition and exercise. Others focus on specific issues such as time management, assertiveness training, and improving social skills.

A qualified psychologist or other mental health professional can help you pinpoint the causes of your stress, and develop appropriate coping strategies.

Here are some other tips for dealing with stress on the job:

• Make the most of workday breaks.
• Even 10 minutes of “personal time” will refresh your mental outlook. Take a brief walk, chat with a co-worker about a non-job topic, or simply sit quietly with your eyes closed and breathe.
• If you feel angry, walk away.Mentally regroup by counting to 10, then look at the situation again. Walking and other physical activities will also help you work off steam.
• Set reasonable standards for yourself and others. Don’t expect perfection.
• Talk to your employer about your job description. Your responsibilities and performance criteria may not accurately reflect what you are doing.

Working together to make needed changes will not only benefit your emotional and physical health, but also improve the organization’s overall productivity.

 

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Part 1: Stop the Insanity

1) Page yourself over the intercom. Don't disguise your voice.
2) Find out where your boss shops and buy exactly the same outfits. Wear them one day after you boss does. This is especially effective if your boss is a different gender.
3) Make up nicknames for all your coworkers and refer to them only by these names. "That's a good point, Sparky." "No, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree with you there, Cha-cha."
4) Send e-mail to the rest of the company telling them exactly what you're doing. For example: "If anyone needs me, I'll be in the bathroom."
5) Hi-Lite your shoes. Tell people you haven't lost them as much since you did this.
6) While sitting at your desk, soak your fingers in Palmolive liquid. Call everyone Madge.
7) Hang mosquito netting around your cubicle. When you emerge to get coffee or a printout or whatever, slap yourself randomly the whole way.
8) Put a chair facing a printer. Sit there all day and tell people you're waiting for your document.
9) Every time someone asks you to do something, anything, ask them if they want fries with that.
10) Send e-mail back and forth to yourself engaging yourself in an intellectual debate. Forward the mail to a co-worker and ask her to settle the disagreement.
11) Encourage your colleagues to join you in a little synchronized chair-dancing.
12) Put your trash can on your desk. Label it "IN."
13) Feign an unnatural and hysterical fear of staplers.
14) Send e-mail messages saying there's free pizza or donuts or cake in the lunch room. When people drift back to work complaining that they found none, lean back, pat your stomach and say, "Oh you've got to be faster than that."
15) Put decaf in the coffee maker for three weeks. Once everyone has withdrawn from caffeine addiction, switch to espresso.

 

Part 2: Prison vs Work

N PRISON...you spend the majority of your time in an 8X10 cell.
      AT WORK ... you spend the majority of your time in a 6X8 cubicle.
      IN PRISON...you get three meals a day.
      AT WORK...you only get a break for one meal and you pay for it.
      IN PRISON...you get time off for good behavior
      AT WORK...you get more work for good behavior
      IN PRISON...the guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you.
      AT WORK...you must carry around a security card and open all the doors for yourself.
      IN PRISON...you can watch TV and play games.
      AT WORK...you get fired for watching TV and playing games.
      IN PRISON...you get your own toilet.
      AT WORK...you have to share with some idiot who pees on the seat.
      IN PRISON...they allow your family and friends to visit.
      AT WORK...you can't even speak to your family.
      IN PRISON...the taxpayers pay all expenses with no work required.
      AT WORK...you get to pay all the expenses to go to work and then they deduct taxes from your salary to pay for prisoners.
      IN PRISON...you spend most of your life inside bars wanting to get out.
      AT WORK...you spend most of your time wanting to get out and go inside bars.
      IN PRISON...you must deal with sadistic wardens.
      AT WORK...they are called managers.

 

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ut....I'm tired because I'm overworked.
      The population of this country is 18 million.
      8 million are retired.
      That leaves 10 million to do the work.
      There are 6 million in school, which leaves 4 million to do the work.
      Of this there are 1.5 million unemployed, leaving 2.5 million to do the work.
      Take from that 1,180,000 people who work for government departments and that leaves 1,320,000 people to do the work.
      480,000 are in the armed forces, which leaves 840,000 to do the work.
      At any time, there are 179,000 people in hospitals, leaving 661,000 people to do the work.
      At the moment, there are 660,998 people in prisons.
      That leaves just two people to do the work.
      You and me.
      And you're sitting at your computer reading jokes!

 

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Back in May I was struggling at my day job, my employers was taking a new direction and hoping it would generate much needed revenue by offering new products & services. Many of my friends using Friendster & MySpace convinced me to join around 2007. A Facebook profile soon followed-so I thought I could proclaim myself to be an “Online Community Expert”-I performed an online search to look like I’d done my homework . The boss and marketing team loved my presentation and gave the green light for me to setup the company and any new clients that requested it on their Social Media site of choice. Wow-talk about giving the keys to Gotham City to Robin and letting him do Batman’s job!- I created personal pages for all business clients and added cheesy graphics that I ripped from the internet. I mucked things up so much that I was verbally reprimanded for this and told “if you claim you’re an expert then you need to deliver quality results” So back to the Internet & the library (yes they still exist)  to learn what this thing called social media looks like when done well!

After banging my head and seeing what works…in the words of Oprah “What I know for sure”:

1. Know the difference between personal & business social media profiles.

Take Facebook for example. Its one thing to create a profile with pics of you & your dog or your new car and add all your former classmates and relatives to your list of connections. This is great but this not the same formula for marketing your business. For business you want to create a Fan page and link to your website, stream your blog posts, connect your account to Twitter or last.fm for maximum sharing. Your primary photo should be your logo or feature product-oh and another thing people become “fans” of your company or organization. The fan page/business page is a place where  “fans” can  interact with your business or other fans of the business. A fan page is good because updates made on the fan page are circulated into the home “feed” of the users. When someone becomes a “fan” of your page, friends of the person who fanned the page can then see that their friend fanned the page, and they then can also fan your page. These are all great offsite promotion but why do it-well Google & other search engines reference this, increased traffic, & hopefully more sales since there are about 300 million users world wide (sounds like a good place to advertise?!)

Click Here for a more detailed explanation of the different uses of Facebook!

2. Leave comments on popular blogs in your niche or any blog that’s cool.

Never underestimate the power of the blogosphere. Start reading and commenting on a few blogs that relate to your industry. You can find such blogs via Technorati or Digg or by visiting professional association and/or trade publication sites that will provide links, as well as site recommendations.

Remember to only leave comments that match the blog’s topic and are genuine. No one wants crappy comments they have to edit or don't make sense.

3. Invest in viral video creation.

Nowadays, web videos are an inexpensive, accessible and easy to distribute media. Create a short (2-3 minutes) video presenting or explaining your site, business, services or industry. When complete, upload your video to YouTube, MySpace or other video sharing sites and direct visitors to your homepage. When you link your videos to your profile pages on social bookmarking sites, you will build a small group of connections that search engines will be able detect. Increased site traffic is crucial to generating more business.

4. Join Twitter- everyone’s doing it! Well not everyone but…

If you’re not on Twitter you should join-don’t delay it’s faster than waiting for coffee at your favorite coffee house!  Twitter is a microblogging site that allows you to post a short (140 character) update to those connected to you. You can add your blog, you can advertise in real time if you have a brick & mortar location, you can monitor what people say about you or your business- a great place to be the town gossip.

Click here for more Twitter info (an oldie but goodie from Social Media Guru Chris Brogan), in case you still don’t get it

5. Start a blog.

The hardest thing about blogging is building an audience and finding the motivation to produce strong content on a regular basis (always linking to your firm’s site, naturally). Read this guide on how to launch a blog.  The other hardest thing about blogging is to make sure that you do it often enough to keep your audience tuned in. If you would like a report card for you blog try Blog Grader, a tool from the good folks at Hubspot.

 

Which one are you Batman (the superhero)  or Boy Wonder (the sidekick)? If you’ve overpromised and under delivered get reenergized and focused for 2010.

So the Important thing here is to learn to provide content that doesn’t suck!-and at the same time realize that some of your work will suck! It’s ok to emulate (copy) in your industry but be sure to give credit to your source.(I now have learned there are no experts, just veterans who learn to adjust with the many changes that happen often) 

 

In the next decade (haha that’s in a few days) all these metrics may change just be ready for them!

 

        

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1. Instead of milk and cookies, leave him a salad, and a note explaining that you think he could stand to lose a few pounds.

2. While he's in the house, go find his sleigh and write him a speeding ticket.

3. Leave him a note, explaining that you've gone away for the holidays. Ask if he would mind watering your plants.

4. While he's in the house, replace all his reindeer with exact replicas. Then wait and see what happens when he tries to get them to fly.

5. Keep an angry bull in your living room. If you think a bull goes crazy when he sees a little red cape, wait until he sees that big, red Santa suit!

6. Build an army of mean-looking snowmen on the roof, holding signs that say "We hate Christmas," and "Go away Santa"

7. Leave a note by the telephone, telling Santa that Mrs. Claus called and wanted to remind him to pick up some milk and a loaf of bread on his way home.

8. Set a bear trap at the bottom of the chimney. Wait for Santa to get caught in it, and then explain that you're sorry, but from a distance, he looked like a bear.

9. While he's in the house, find the sleigh and sit in it. As soon as he comes back and sees you, tell him that he shouldn't have missed that last payment, and take off.

10. Leave a plate filled with cookies and a glass of milk out, with a note that says, "For The Tooth Fairy." Leave another plate out with half a stale cookie and a few drops of skim milk in a dirty glass with a note that says, "For Santa"

11. Take everything out of your house as if it's just been robbed. When Santa arrives, show up dressed like a policeman and say, "Well, well. They always return to the scene of the crime."

12. Leave out a copy of your Christmas list with last-minute changes and corrections.

13. While he's in the house, cover the top of the chimney with barbed wire.

14. Leave lots of hunting trophies and guns out where Santa's sure to see them. Go outside, yell, "Ooh! Look! A deer! And he's got a red nose!" and fire a gun.

15. Leave Santa a note, explaining that you've moved. Include a map with unclear and hard-to-read directions to your new house.

16. Leave out a Santa suit, with a dry-cleaning bill.

17. Paint "hoof-prints" all over your face and clothes. While he's in the house, go out on the roof. When he comes back up, act like you've been "trampled." Threaten to sue.

18. Instead of ornaments, decorate your tree with Easter eggs. Dress up like the Easter Bunny. Wait for Santa to come and then say, "This neighborhood ain't big enough for the both of us."


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The timeless classic movie “It’s A Wonderful Life” can provide some insight on how to live in real life rather running a business or just trying to survive working at your current post.

First a bit of history: The film  was actually a box-office flop at the time of its release, and only became the Christmas movie classic in the 1970s due to repeated television showings at Christmas-time when its copyright protection slipped and it fell into the public domain in 1974 and TV stations could air it for free.

Actually a dark, bittersweet post-war tale of a savings-and-loan manager who struggles against a greedy banker and his own self-doubting nature in a small town. Earnest do-gooder George Bailey (James Stewart) recognizes his life as wonderful and truly rich, even in its humdrum and bleak nature, only after suffering many hardships, mishaps and fateful trials (including compromised dreams of youth to leave the town and seek fame and fortune, other sacrifices, dismay, losses and the threat of financial ruin, and suicide). He is given encouragement by a whimsical, endearing, trainee-angel named Clarence (Henry Travers).

1. You don’t have to do something big and important to be important (Didn’t make it to the big city, get that promotion or new job, or approved for your dream house?-it’s ok you still matter People who have real friends know the best there is in life, rather than reaching for rewards and yearnings elsewhere - real riches can be found in the treasures nearby.-cliche but true. This can also be applied to your business efforts-being a great junior customer svc rep is better than being a horrible ceo. Just as ethical marketing to a small client base is better than being a snake oil salesman.

2. Don’t throw your life away- AS2 (angel second class) Clarence Oddbody said "Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives, and when he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he? You see, George, you've really had a wonderful life. Don't you see what a mistake it would be to throw it away?”- Remember that if you have something good to share people will want to read your content, dont waste time writing fluff or sharing something you don’t identify with. There are plenty of bad blogs and incorrect information sources out there.

3. Recognize that the answer to your prayers/wishes (whatever is politically correct these days?) don’t always come true in the most obvious ways. Remember George, the film’s main character got into a drunken bar brawl after yelling at his family and thought that was his queue to commit suicide. The angel feigns drowning so he forgets about from trying to end it all so("I knew if I were drowning, you would try to save me. And you see, you did. And that's how I saved you." The old man claims to be the answer to George's prayer rather than the bloody lip.)he see’s his life isnt soo bad -the truth is it really isn’t !

4.Don’t worry about keeping up with what others are doing. It keeps you from focusing on the importance of  yourself. George's awakening of consciousness through divine intervention in his experiences, enabling him to be freed from the confines of earthly pressures. He found his own rewards and gifts - life, redemption, and freedom.

 

Share your “It’s A Wonderful Life” lesson

        

Positive thinking is, obviously, something that can have a great impact on a person. What is hard to understand is why positive thinking is so powerful. That involves taking a good look at how positive thinking works. 
Positive thinking works in three different ways. First, it works on you and your general attitude. Second, it works on those around you. Lastly, it has a way of influencing your environment. How exactly positive thinking works on these things is, open for debate, though.

Some people believe that positive thinking is related to karma. That whatever you put out there comes back to you. Others believe that positive thinking is a mental thing that triggers positive things. Whatever your beliefs, it is hard to doubt the power of positive thinking.

You will feel how powerful positive thinking is. Once you start to implement positive thinking in your life, you will start to see it work for you. Positive thinking has a way of changing your whole view on life. You will start to find the good in things and that will make you happy. You will be less likely to feel down and instead you will allow positive thinking to guide you to happy thoughts.

You will start to do everything in a more positive way, including how you treat others. This will not go unnoticed. Your interaction with others plays a large part in your life.

Other people are going to be greatly influenced by your positive thinking. You will start to see this because they are going to start treating you differently. Others will sense your positive attitude and they will treat you in a positive way. Someone who is often rude or just inattentive to you will likely start to treat you in a nice way or pay more attention to you.

You will start to find that people are more likely to offer you help when you need it. They will likely do nice things, such as hold doors open or just give you a smile. Your positive attitude may even be contagious. You may start to see people you spend a lot of time with exhibiting your positive attitude and positive thinking.

Positive thinking has a way of even influencing your environment, but it may not be in the way you think. Just because you think positive does not mean that everything will automatically go your way.

However, when you think positively you will be less likely to see the negative in things and therefore your environment will appear to change. You will probably start to notice the little things more than ever before and that will have a nice effect on you. There is positive in EVERY situation. No matter how bad it looks, I guarantee there is positive in the situation and you are just not looking hard enough.

Positive thinking will allow you to believe in yourself. It will allow you to believe that you can accomplish something if you put your mind to it. You will be able to set goals and reach them because you will believe that you can do it. You will not have negative thoughts to hold you back.

Positive thinking is very influential. It is going to start to shape everyone and everything around you. You are going to see the great power it has almost immediately. The power of positive thinking is not subtle.

You have to make an effort to let positive thinking start turning all your thoughts and ideas into positive thoughts and ideas. It is up to you to start pushing the negativity out of your head and let positive thoughts guide you.

When you start to find your thoughts, drifting to the negative it is your responsibility to make an effort to make them positive instead. Go ahead and train yourself to always find the positive in anything. One you do this it will go a long way towards changing your attitude.

The power of positive thinking is that it will shape your life. Positivist is so contagious that it will affect the world around you. You will start to see positive thinking everywhere you go.

Positive thinking has a power that is undeniable. It is something that will not be subtle. It will have such a great impact on you and your life that you will wonder how you ever lived before putting it to work in your life.

The true power of positive thinking is that it allows you to live life to its fullest potential and for all that, it has to offer without letting negativity bring you down. You can’t just turn on the switch and presto, positive thinking will solve the world’s problems. But you can start to think positively and make it habit. After 30 to 90 days, positive thinking will be a habit and you won’t even have to think about it.

The secret is the understanding that there is not one single decision or precise moment which will define success. This is why positive thinking is so important. Success comes as a result of the right attitudes and the right decisions. It’s a compilation of many decisions and positive thinking will allow you to make these decisions are you move forward in life!

 

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Be You, Be Original, Don't be a copycat. These are often heard bits of advice-rather it's for writing, landing, being the perfect partner in a relationship, or establishing an online presence (self service PR). But how does one attain these goals . I read somewhere that someone said don't worry about attracting everyone or winning them over just focus on being quirky and authentic to you niche or following? Well what if neither of these is developed?

If you're new to the online community and trying to compete with the attention the heavy hitters in your industry then we have something in common. Who has time to write a blog, maintain a home, deal with a crazy partner, and work 40+ hours a week?!- oh maybe that's just my life but you get the point-life is hectic so how do strike the proverbial balance and still put the effort in to get your name out there?...Those who do the following well become the names we come to recognize for innovation and creativity .

(Image via Flickr)

1. Put your business/personal brand out there-know the difference and implications between doing either or both of these. Word of mouth is always a great way to promote your business. However, society is not as dependent upon this ancient information passing method as it used to be. People today look online to determine which restaurants to eat at, which stores to shop at, and which products they want to buy. If they cannot find you online, then odds are good they won’t find you offline either. Building an informative, targeted, and brand-developed website is no longer a step-up, it is a must have.

2. Don’t just build a website, build the right website. Too many businesses just think that any website should suffice as presenting themselves online. This is just not the case as your website is your one-stop shot for making an impression, and that impression does not last long. The average site is viewed for less than 10 seconds. If you don’t make a graphically appealing statement in that amount of time then you lose numerous potential customers before you even got a chance to present yourself. You know your business is better than others out there, so make sure you give your establishment a better shot by providing something that people or going to look at and more importantly, want to look at. Choose a quality web design company (or do it yourself-I have ideas if you want assistance),  to help your business make the right impression.

3. Market your online presence. Just as you would send out fliers, mailers, print ads, and more for your brick and mortar location, you would also do the same for your online location as well. Simply building a website is not enough to get the masses to come flooding through your doors. You must market your website with just as much vigor as you would your regular business. The world of search marketing is constantly evolving and you should do yourself the favor of researching search engine marketing services to help promote your online brand.

One could not say enough how important it is to put a quality online establishment on the web for thousands of potential customers to view. Your website works for your business/self/both  even while your are not.  A quality online presence can level the playing field for you against other competitors. Where do you stand?

As always the Beehivebits Crew would like to hear your comments and how-to's