Genuine enthusiasm...real feeling of accomplishment...sense of satisfaction and fun. Welcome to your thriving zone!

How do you gain quick access? Simple...take 3 easy steps.

Pause to Refresh...Given the relentless demands of nonstop 24/7 lifestyles, it is easy to forget we are human beings, not human doings. Yet performance experts agree. Constant doing without real downtime impairs our ability to perform at our best. And this also keeps us from being in our thriving zone.

Need proven and manageable ways to incorporate regular pause-to-refresh intervals in your work day? Try these:

• Pause every hour and a half to consciously recover from the physical, mental and emotional pressures of work.
• Get up from your desk for a few minutes. Take several deep breaths. Stretch. Take a short walk around the office or inside the building.
• Leave the building to breath some fresh air. While outside, gaze up at the sky, pay attention to a tree or a plant. Staring off into the distance without any particular focus actually relaxes the brain and the body.

Research indicates that winners instinctively and consciously take regular intervals of time, no matter how short, to de-stress and refocus when they are engaged in intense competition or pressure-cooker assignments. So if you cannot control the demands of your work, control the moments you take to intentionally rest and restore your energy.

Think Thriving Thoughts...Negative thinking is unproductive. It burns up considerable bandwidth, slows forwared momentum, and drains energy in the process. So why not focus on positive outcomes with optimistic realism?

Successful people spent time thinking thriving thoughts. You can too!

• Envision what your success on a big incredibly challenging project will look like when key milestones are reached.
• Spend several moments feeling the sweet satisfaction of your success.
• Practice for 5 minutes each morning thinking thriving thoughts. This shift in thinking can change your behavior and entire day for the better.

Notice how much better you feel. The more you practice having and acting on thriving thoughts, the more you will find yourself "in the zone" and enjoying it.

Re-energize in Thriving Environments...The right environments support you in being your best self. So it is important to know what environments of people, places, and activities are right for you. Make a promise to renew your energy in thriving environments. And then keep that promise to yourself.

• Spend time in natural environments where you feel calm, relaxed and grounded. Schedule time to be where the energy is actively thriving. Walking in a pine forest, standing near a waterfall, or watching ocean waves as you drag your feet lazily through the sand clears your mind, refreshes your body, and lifts your spirit.
• Find time to be with friends, family members, co-workers and colleagues who energize you.
• Engage in silly fun activities that de-stress you and give you energy.

What happens to us in thriving environments is we reconnect with our internal rhythms and experience the ease of being in a thriving zone.

So just let yourself practice, practice, practice. Pause to Refresh...Think Thriving Thoughts...and Re-energize in Thriving Environments. Then you'll find yourself slipping without effort into your thriving zone.

Sylvia Warren, MBA - Consciousness Coach in Business, Leadership & Life - inspires thriving in business owners, executives, and leaders.

Simply the Best Coaching - thriving amidst change http//www.simplythebestcoaching.com

• International speaker and seminar leader, intuitive/wise woman, and world traveler
• Her private coaching and interactive presentations have informed and inspired participants worldwide.
• She has influenced executives, leaders and top performers at Cisco Systems, Merrill Lynch, The Federal Reserve Bank, FDIC, Small Business Administration, Women Presidents' Organization, San Francisco, Business Expo, Rio Caliente Spa & Health Resort, and nationally successful entrepreneurs and business owners.
• Client practice "radical self acceptance" in an energizing environment that supports full engagement of their head, heart and gut--their Total Knowing. This seamless and soulful way of bringing out the best in clients is where Sylvia thrives. That is why she calls what she does Simply the Best Coaching.
• Former corporate warrior, graduate business school lecturer, and business consultant