Welcome to this 161st edition of Rachel's Reflections, the number one Internet publication providing you with practical, dynamic help to develop your emotional intelligence and communication skills.
Written and published by Rachel Green.
Visit our website at http://www.rachelgreen.com
In this edition:
- Stopping accidents in the home.
- Latest news: "Keeping your cool".
- Top tips on how to stop accidents in the home.
- How you can learn more at home or work, immediately.
- Fortnightly Feelings: "I was apprehensive".
- Laugh your socks off.
1. Stopping accidents in the home.
This is an unusual topic this fortnight - and I hope you don't mind. I thought I'd write on a completely different topic for a change. Normal topics will resume next time! In January 2005 I had an accident at home. I badly injured the thumb on my right hand. I cut through not only the skin, but the blood supply and the nerve. Now over 5 months later the nerve has still not retuned to normal. What risky behaviour was I participating in? Nothing unusual. I was just doing the dishes. I was cleaning the rim of a glass when it broke in my hand and went through to the bone of my thumb. It was all over in a matter of moments and I spent the next few hours in emergency at the local hospital. I was stunned that doing such an innocent activity could result, so quickly, in such a serious injury. Since then I've started noticing just how dangerous our homes are. How can you be safe in the home? Read on for the tips. They are far from comprehensive and I'm not expert but I encourage you to be careful at home. I certainly am.
2. Latest news: Requests for "Keeping your cool" hit an all time high.
We are having an ever increasing number of requests to do our already popular course, "How to keep your cool - even with angry people". It's a sad reflection on how negative people can be, how quickly they vent their spleen and how rude and offensive people can be towards each other. If you want your customer service officers, your call centre staff or your general employees not to take this bad behaviour to heart, and to be able to keep their cool, then I'd be delighted to come into your organisation for you. It's a way to help your staff stay happy, healthy and effective. And if you're far away and can't get to the courses then you can learn lots of the strategies on the CD: "How not to take things personally". Click here to order. Learn to keep your cool now.
3. Top tips on how to be safe in the home.
Tip A. Don't clean the rims of glasses with bare hands.
Instead of using your bare hands to wipe the rims of glasses clean – use a pad or thick cloth. Then if something breaks there is at least some protection. It may not stop a cut but it may reduce its seriousness. Also be careful not to pick up glass items such as vases or jars by their rims. Buying a dishwasher is my next step! (However I know they have inherent dangers too.)
Tip B. Close cupboard doors.
How easy is it to walk into an open cupboard door in the kitchen, especially the ones above the bench top or sink? Sadly, walking into them can cause damage to faces and eyes especially if you hit a sharp corner. Sliding or roller doors are an alternative. Or simply shut them as soon as you've got an item out of the cupboard.
Tip C. Always have the lights on.
Do not wander around your house in the dark. I have known my husband walk into a door in the dark. He thought it was open. It wasn't. It can hurt. Worse still a nose can be broken. Switch on a light. It might wake you up more than you want but it's a minor inconvenience in comparison to going to hospital.
Tip D. Use plastic.
I've come to realise how dangerous glass is. And how common it is. I have heard so many, many stories from other people who have cut their hands badly on glass. One woman told me she had tripped over while carrying a wine glass. The stem of the glass went straight through her hand and out the other side. Two operations later, she now uses plastic wine glasses. I've started using plastic cereal containers. Why? Because they are stored in a cupboard I have to reach up to. Dropping glass from that height could be disastrous.
Tip E. Wear shoes outside and in.
I feel fantastic with bare feet. In the past I've walked inside and out minus my shoes. Nowadays I have a "no bare feet outside" rule. One day a client called in sick. She'd been doing the ironing in bare feet and dropped the iron on her foot. One damaged foot. Also I once broke a toe because I was standing bare-foot behind a toilet door when someone opened the toilet door and squashed my little toe underneath it. Crunch! Wearing shoes can protect your feet. And feet are worth looking after.
Tip F. Avoid using inappropriate sharp implements.
It's so easy to grab the nearest implement to help you with a job. Ever tried to pick open a staple with a pair of scissors or a sharp knife? The sharp implement can rebound and end up in your hands. Use the staple remover – it's usually much safer.
Tip G. Don't let your kids hang on to basketball hoops.
People in Perth will have heard of the terrible accident that happened to one of the local children when he held onto a basketball hoop while doing a slam dunk ... down came the hoop and the wall. he lost three limbs. It's dangerous.
4. How you can learn more at home or work, immediately.
Happy not hassled: Using meditation to manage your emotions and find contentment.
If you have hurt yourself or your body is giving you pain, then these 2 CDs will teach you a set of meditations which can help relax your body and reduce pain. I've tried them many times and found they can help me cope with anything from stomach ache, headaches, to thumb and nerve pains! I gently guide you through four different and easy-to-do meditations of varying lengths from 5 minutes to 30 minutes. Get these 2 CDs and feel good. AU$45.00 with no extra for postage, world-wide. Order now!
BONUS OFFER - If you purchase "Happy not hassled" you'll get a second one completely free to give as a gift to a friend but only if you pay before the end of the financial year! Hurry and order now, as this offer closes on Wednesday 29th June 2005.
Other free newsletters:
There are now over 160 newsletters bursting with practical tips on the rachelgreen.com website for you to read or print off whenever you wish. Click here to read them.
Tips
Benefit from other useful tips on the rachelgreen.com website. Topics range from how to talk to teenagers or elderly parents to personality types, body language and developing your emotional intelligence.
New tips: 10 tips for stopping accidents in the home are now there. Click here to read them.
5. Check your Fortnightly Feelings: Apprehensive.
How many feeling words do you have in your vocabulary? You need the language of emotions to understand and think about emotions and to communicate clearly. Each fortnight I will include a feeling word for you to try out over the next fortnight. If you have any stories of your feelings – please send them to me. I'm collecting examples to go in a dictionary of feeling words I'm writing. If yours is included you will get a free copy of the dictionary.
Today's word is apprehensive.
"I am writing this as I taxi along the run-way in a plane heading off to work in northern Australia. We have just been given all the safety instructions about what to do in case of an emergency. We've been told what all the normal sounds are in the plane so as not to panic. My husband left me at the airport hoping that I'd return safely. There had been a plane crash only two days ago which killed 15 people. I was hoping that it would be a safe, smooth flight despite the thunderstorm warnings. However the pilot has just spoken to us to warn us of a bumpy ride through the clouds. I'm lucky I have no fear of flying. I am quite philosophical about the dangers and can calmly acknowledge that once I'm on a plane there is no point in worrying. But all the circumstances had managed to diminish my usually calm state and to leave me feeling apprehensive."
The strength of the emotion:
Mild. Nowhere near as strong as fear, not as strong as anxiety but stronger than unconcerned.
Associated emotions:
Uneasy, wary, unsure, concerned, unsettled, mindful, uncomfortable, careful, on-edge, watchful, alert, on guard, nervous.
6. Laugh your socks off.
The Waking Patient
Just as a surgeon was finishing an operation and was about to close, the patient awakes, sits up, and demands to know what is going on. "I'm about to close," the surgeon says. The patient grabs the surgeon's hand and says, "I'm not going to let you do that! I'll close my own incision!" The doctor hands him the needle and thread and says, "Suture self."
If you have some clean jokes we can use, please send your contributions to
May you be injury free and enjoying the comforts of your home safely.
Until next fortnight,
With kindness,
Rachel.
How I can help you, now.
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Make sure you read the next Rachel's Reflections:
 | Not being defensive.
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| Hosw to be an ideal dinner guest.
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Disclaimer: The information in this newsletter is of a general nature and may not suit everyone or every situation. While every care has been taken to ensure it is useful and appropriate, no responsibility can be taken for the results gained from its implementation. Please seek individual professional guidance for any difficulties you may have in your communication, inter-personal or people skills. Thank you.
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