31 Cheap and Fun Date Ideas for Couples - Part 1 of 2

BY AMANDA BRADBURY

Spending quality time together with another person doesn’t need to cost that much, after all love doesn’t cost anything. Sometimes the most fun you’ll ever experience costs little to nothing. If you’re low on money or just tired of the same kind of dates over and over again, then try these ideas for a fun inexpensive change of pace.

 1. Go on a virtual vacation together.

Take a 3-D virtual tour around the world together with 360 Cities. Pick a different city to explore once a month together. You could even plan out a vacation together; even if you don’t go, it’s still fun to plan something together and spend time finding out what you and your partner would like to do or see.

2. Watch funny YouTube videos.

Compile a list of funny YouTube videos to share together or take a look at some lists people have already put together online: YouTube’s 50 Best Videos according to Time magazine, Top 20 YouTube Videos, 50 Funniest YouTube Videos of All Time.

3. Stargaze while laying on a blanket outside.

Grab a blanket and go outside in your yard, snuggle up together with some hot chocolate and watch for shooting stars. Use the free Sky Map app to see which constellations and planets you’re looking at in the night sky in front of you. This is an especially great idea whenever there’s a meteor shower to watch.

 4. Grab some water guns at your local dollar store and have a water gun fight.

Or you could always opt for water balloons and pelt each other with them. This is a fun outdoor activity in which you can play hide and seek, run around like kids, and generally have a fun time.

 5. Picnic at a local park.

Pack a lunch for the two of you and be sure to bring some bread to feed the ducks if there’s a pond. Enjoy a nice day outside walking around the park and pick a spot to sit down and share lunch. You could even bring a game along to play after you’ve enjoyed the park.

6. Game night with stakes.

Have a game night with stakes set ahead of time. The stakes could be anything you want, like something your partner has to do for you if they lose, or it could be something around the house, like they have to do all the chores for a week, or perhaps something a little frisky, like they have to undress for you and do as you say. You could play anything, a game of cards, board games, or even a video game.

 7. Share a milkshake, a Frosty, cookies, dessert or some other snack.

Grab just dessert together somewhere. It could be a cheap Frosty from Wendy’s, a milkshake that you share with two straws, two cookies, or a large piece of pie. Grab something that both of you like and split it with each other. Remember whipped cream on top of anything makes it even better. You could even go to the store and grab a small dessert or ice cream to indulge in together.

8. Have a spa night at home giving each other a massage.

Be sure to include candles, massage oil, and essential oils. Feathers make for a great add-on to a massage; just rub them over your partner before, during, or after the massage.

9. At home themed dinner and a movie night.

Choose which cuisine you and your partner would like to make together (Mexican, Italian, Asian, Thai, etc.) and pick a dish to make at home. Watch a free movie at home using Popcorn Time, or Hulu or Netflix if you have a subscription, or pick up a movie from Redbox (you can get codes for free or discounted rentals all the time).

10. Write a piece of fiction together.

Sit at a coffee shop or at home together and take turns writing lines.

 11. Volunteer together.

Make DIY homeless care kits or volunteer with a local organization.

 12. Do something together outdoors like walking, running, hiking, biking, or swimming.

Get outside and get some sunshine and fresh air together. Being active together and/or exercising together can help both of you.

13. Movie marathon weekend.

Pick a trilogy or a series to watch and marathon it all weekend.

 Source:

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/31-cheap-and-fun-date-ideas-for-couples-2.html

Creating Stories and Metaphors for Change

Stories, or as we often call them, metaphors, are a very powerful tool not only when creating creating characters for novels and movies, but when we want to give a powerful example with a moral, and help create a lasting change. Story with a morale for the children - whether as a parent or a teacher, or our clients, in your role as a life coach.

Author Joseph Campbell studied myths and tales, and identified that most of them share the same "formula", which he called: The Hero's Journey.

Stages of the Hero's Journey

There are twelve steps to the hero’s journey:

1.      Ordinary World: This step refers to the hero's normal life at the start of the story, before the adventure begins. 

2.      Call to Adventure: The hero is faced with something that makes him begin his adventure. This might be a problem or a challenge he needs to overcome. 

3.      Refusal of the Call: The hero attempts to refuse the adventure because he is afraid. 

4.      Meeting with the Mentor: The hero encounters someone who can give him advice and ready him for the journey ahead.  

5.      Crossing the First Threshold: The hero leaves his ordinary world for the first time and crosses the threshold into adventure.  

6.      Tests, Allies, Enemies: The hero learns the rules of his new world. During this time, he endures tests of strength of will, meets friends, and comes face to face with foes.

7.      Approach: Setbacks occur, sometimes causing the hero to try a new approach or adopt new ideas. 

8.      Ordeal: The hero experiences a major hurdle or obstacle, such as a life or death crisis. 

9.      Reward: After surviving death, the hero earns his reward or accomplishes his goal. 

10.  The Road Back: The hero begins his journey back to his ordinary life.

11.  Resurrection Hero - The hero faces a final test where everything is at stake and he must use everything he has learned.  

12.  Return with Elixir:  The hero brings his knowledge or the "elixir" back to the ordinary world, where he applies it to help all who remain there.  


Here is a little task for you - can you track the steps of some famous characters and match them to the stages of the Hero’s Journey? The Lion King, or Fight Club, are great examples.

Storytelling is an art in itself, but what it is most powerful for, is the influence it can have on our lives in achieving a desired transformation that lasts and help you grow.

Elena Long

Your Coach to Success

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR WHEN SEEKING A MENTOR OR COACH

There is value in choosing a mentor or coach to help you build your business, says Dr John Demartini. Here he offers some sound advice on how to go about doing this so that you benefit from the experience

When I was in practice I noticed many doctors attempting to build a business would seek out mentorship from management consultants, from people who have already been down that path. And there’s wisdom from learning from foresight and not learning from trial and error. But there’s a pitfall – I noticed that not everybody is able to do or sustain the actions that these consultants would suggest. Where some would follow and immediately go and succeed, there were others who would sometimes feel self defeated because they couldn’t sustain the actions that the consultants would suggest and recommend.

So a small percentage would excel and do extremely well. But there were those who would spend their money on the coaching and they’d never get anything in return. So the question is - what made the few excel with the help of a coach, consultant or mentor? And why is it that the majority of them didn’t do as well? And it boils down to how congruent the actions of the coach or consultant are with the values of the person that’s striving to build a business.

I have listened to numerous professional consultants all offering slightly different information about how to build a business. I have taken and learned from all of them. Some of them would suggest things I just couldn’t do – it just wasn’t me – and other things that I could do. And when I couldn’t do something, the coaches and consultants believed I just was not disciplined, not driven. They would imply that I didn’t have the drive…Their material works, but I wasn’t following it.

And those of you who have had the same experience will understand what I’m saying. And you need to know that the reason you don’t do what these coaches suggest is because it’s not aligning to your values. So you are labeled lazy, undisciplined, not driven. You are given these labels instead of realising that you’re self defeating because what they suggest is not congruent with your values.And so you go to different consultants until you finally find the one who matches, whose values are aligned with yours.

So it’s important to not envy and imitate somebody with a drastically different set of values. If you’re seeking a coach or mentor, make sure the coach/mentor has a value system that is closely enough aligned to yours or you will be setting yourself up to fail. Just because somebody is successful doesn’t mean if they are your coach or mentor that they will have the values that will lead you to that same form of success. You need to either shift your values to be able to succeed in their system or you need to find the mentor that aligns more with your values. Otherwise you’ll be beating yourself up thinking there’s something wrong with you when there’s nothing wrong with you. When you find the right mentor, you will take off.

So you either have to change your values to match the objectives of the coach, or change the coach to match the truth of your own values.

So the bottom line is, if you’re going to get mentorship, coaching or consulting from somebody, don’t just select the person because they’re successful. Select them because they’re successful and they have some alignment with your mission and your values. Make sure you select your mentorship and a consultant that is truly valuable to you; don’t live in a fantasy about who you are.

Source: https://drdemartini.com/writings_and_insights/what_to_look_out_for_when_seeking_a_mentor_or_coach#content_top

Program Your Mind for Health and Success

We all want to be happy, healthy, successful, and live a fulfilling life. In the video from my post yesterday, Dr Wayne Dyer talks about one of the simplest, and easily achievable ways to program your mind and body for health and happiness.

What is your ritual before going to sleep? How do you prepare the unconscious mind for the repair work it does to your body during the hours of sleep?

You give your unconscious mind instructions for repairing with all the things you fill your mind with. So it is your choice - do you think of the things you did wrong during the day, or have been doing wrong for the last 20 years? Or do you say to yourself the things you want to "seal as instructions":

"I am content!"

"I am lucky!"

"I am happy!"

"I am healthy!"

Think of your thoughts and imagination as currency. Currency, with which you can get the things that you don't want in your life. Or you can get the things you want to attract and manifest into your life, like health, happiness, confidence...

Think about it - you are about to go to sleep, and "marinate for 8 hours into your unconscious state." What instructions do you give your mind to work with during that time? The thoughts you fill your mind with - always, but at that time more than any other time, monopolise and mobilise your intention. So, ask yourself the question: "How would I feel if my thoughts, my WISH were realised?"

SO, before you go to bed, leave the unwanted things and thoughts behind, and instead say:

"I'm happy!"

"I'm in perfect health!"

Because, what you focus on, what you program in your unconscious mind, is what you get in life...

Elena Alexandrova

Your Coach to Success

www.envisionlifedesign.com.au

SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE PLAN BACKWARDS

“Begin with the end in mind.” Stephen Covey

Successful people get results faster. But do they work more efficiently, or more effectively?

If you want to succeed, it’s not enough to work hard, and be constantly busy. You first need to have clarity of your goals, of your direction. Only when you know where you are going, you can identify what steps to take. Because otherwise it’s easy to get caught up in the “activity vicious circle”. And as an added “bonus”, if you are busy and work hard, but in the wrong direction, you will be moving further from your dreams, faster.

Every achievement starts with a plan, with a blueprint. When you go on a trip, before you even start planning the details, you decide on the destination. And only then you decide on the means of transport, what the stopovers are, and what to pack. When you build a house, the blueprint comes after the clarity of the concept – what kind of house, and what would be of high importance: functionality, number or size of the rooms, is it family–oriented, or what you want is creative peace and quiet?

And this vision ultimately reflects what is important to you in life.

So, here are the steps of drawing your plans, starting with the end result, the goal:

1.       Align your goal with your values – for what purpose do you want to achieve it?

What will YOU gain as a result of achieving that goal? Success, more time with the family, independence?

What is crucial is that what you want to achieve and what you do to get there, does not violate the criteria you have about what is supremely important to you. And that it contributes in a meaningful way to the vision you have of your life as a whole.

2.       Define what feeling achieving that goal will that give you: freedom, achievement, empowerment, love, recognition?

The stronger emotional attachment you have to the outcome of your actions, the more dedicated and motivated your unconscious, and conscious, minds are to achieving the results.

3.       What are the steps to get there?

Chunk down the final outcome into achievable, measurable and feasible steps. And beware of the “busy vs effective” approach.

4.       Now, write down the goal, in the present tense.

“It is 31 December 2015 and I have established a successful brand…”

As an essential part to step 4, it is very important to link the result to the feeling (of success, of freedom, of accomplishment, of contribution, of sharing love). Because this is your fuel to achieving a successful outcome, and battling through challenges, fears, unknown factors.

There are two reasons behind this power of your feelings. Tony Robbins often talks about the fact that we, as human beings, have two main drives in everything we do. We either do things to avoid pain, or to gain pleasure. Of course, in setting up your goals, you can factor in what will NOT happen if you do not achieve these goals. And, you can double-up the effect by adding the positive charge that the achievement will give you.

And, secondly, being in a positive state gives you access to multiple resources within you. Being in the state of happiness, feeling empowered, gives you not only the ability to believe in your own skills, but also the ability to reach for these skills when you need them the most, on your way to success.

So, get a pen and start defining your next achievement, and what it will mean to you.

Elena Alexandrova

Your Coach to Success

www.envisionlifedesign.com.au