How To Be Heard

There is absolutely nothing worse than feeling misunderstood and like you’re not being heard. I mean obviously you’re always right, so why won’t people just listen to you already? But before you give up and reside in the corner stewing in silence, let me help you find your voice.

Listen- This might sound counterproductive to our goal of being heard, but if you want anyone to give you so much as the time of day, you must first give them the respect of being heard and validated. 

As Lily from The Princess Diaries would say, “Shut up and Listen”.

Volume- Surprise! Yet another ironic answer- don’t shout. If you’re yelling at someone they’re more likely to be quiet, but don’t mistake their silence for listening. 

Use your ‘inside voice’ as my mom would tell her students. 
Also, let’s just address the fact that we still need the advice given to preschoolers.

Don’t split it- Just like you shouldn’t share your food (because it’s YOUR damn food), don’t split your attention. Using your phone or interrupting someone is almost a guarantee for them to reciprocate that behavior when you are speaking...not to mention that it can be hurtful.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T-

Being respectful means knowing who, what, where, when and how to verbalize your thoughts. Timing is everything and it couldn’t be more true if you want others to be receptive to what you have to say.

So maybe not what you were expecting, huh? Try integrating these strategies into your life and watch all of your relationships improve. The simple act of listening will grant you access to the many wonderful things in life including a confidant and life long friendships and therefore, improve your life.

"JUST BREATHE!"

“Megan why is the title in all caps? Stop yelling at me over the internet!! It’s not nice!!!” Bet you didn’t know that I was a mind reader, did you? Well a very sticky (literally) situation taught me a new life lesson, which was shouted at me by a doctor. Literally shouted, because I couldn’t hear. So don’t shoot the messenger for the yelling.

Some Background: My ear had become completely sealed off by blockage, leaving me temporarily deaf while causing ripping headaches and pains. Moral of the story, take good care of your ears. Just kidding (but you really should), the moral of the story is to just breathe. Why?

Life- Without breathing, you would be dead; so I suppose that’s as good of a place to start off as any.

Calmness- Many meditations utilize breathing to calm the body and focus the mind, making it useful during stressful situations...and again, the whole dead thing won’t help you much.

It solves everything- In the words of the doctor who was basically ripping apart the inside of my ear, “As a man who has been in three foreign conflicts, I can confidently say that the key to anything in life is JUST BREATHE.” The shade of purple I was turning from forgetting to breathe was not very flattering. I guess he noticed.

Do you ever notice that the moments in which you are preparing for something, you hold your breath? Like for getting shots, having plastic tubes put deep into your ears (welcome to my life), the dentist’s extremely pointy tool, or that last goal to swish against the net in the final seconds? Despite all of this stress and suspense, you’re still alive aren’t you?

Coming from me, this is huge (ask anyone who knows me personally) sometimes a deep breath is all that you need.

Before your big presentation next week, breathe.

Before you take on a jam packed day full of all of the stressful adult things that you don’t want to do, breathe.

When all you want to do is scream, breathe.

You know how when someone is giving birth, the deliverer instructs, no, screams for them to breathe? I think they just might be on to something. 

For the Benefits of Mindful breathing visit http://www.yogajournal.com/article/yoga-101/4-reasons-breathe-right/

Follow me on Twitter @TheDayILived and let me know how mindful breathing changes your life!

Guide for the Chronically Embarrassing

Picture this: I’m aggressively doing sprints on a treadmill at the gym, when I get a little too into it and my phone falls onto the belt, flies off, and gets lodged between equipment. The loud clatter of my poor phone and the workers having to MOVE the treadmills to get it, drew quite the crowd. As if this wasn’t mortifying enough, I then tripped on the treadmill. You’re probably thinking, “Okay Megan, maybe just stick to the weights. Treadmills aren’t your forte” but the thing is, occurrences like these happen to me (and I’m sure you) every day. For example:

Seven people saw me taking this photo. I had waited in line behind a five year old to take this picture.

One time when I was younger, I attempted a handstand on a crowded beach. Long story short, I landed face first even lost the tooth to prove it. The tooth fairy paid handsomely for that one.

During my Spartan Race this past weekend, I fell from the top of an eight foot wall...but of course not without a loud bang to alert the whole world. “Oh my gosh are you okay? Do you need anything?!”  Yeah, I need you to stop staring!

I cried in front of a packed stadium at Seaworld because I saw Shamu (See Why Fear is Your Friend) I know, I have issues.

I choked on water for an arguably long amount of time while trying to respond to someone that I was trying to impress. Safe to say they were not impressed. At all.

My parents used to call me the Michelin baby because I was so fat (and bald).