What do you do when you are stressed?

 

It's not always a fairy tale story or a walk in the park. Whether its at home, at work or at a public place - there will always come to a time where we will feel sad, frustrated, annoyed or even angry.

 

One time, Papa and I are bound to Community General Hospital for his Dialysis. We were waiting for a tricycle to bring us there. We had three tricycle drivers who refused to take us to Community General Hospital and I was already irritated by their attitude. Finally, on the fourth try, we were able to take the ride. Then when we arrived at the Hospital, I paid the normal fare because the distance is not even more than 4 kilometers (the same amount I paid just that morning when Louise and I went to Community), but the driver told me that I still lack Php10.00. Since I don't want to waste my energy, I told him "eto ang Php10.00, hindi ko naman ikakayaman ito!"

 

How do we deal with it?

 

 

A lot of studies says that stress does not do any good for our body.

In a study made by Very Well Mind it states how stress is affecting our brain and it's not a light matter.

 

I am not claiming to be an expert when it comes to removing negative feelings or situations, but these tricks helped me and I want to share with you:

 

1. Pause - In a burning situation (like a heated argument or a complicated client), more often than not, the best thing to do is to pause for minimum of 5 - 10 seconds. It will give us enough breathing and thinking time to process the situation carefully. If we need to respond to the person we are talking to, the pause will give us the time to think and answer calmly. Remember that sometimes arguments are heated not because both parties are right but because of raised voices.

 

2. Laugh - after finishing a dreadful or toxic meeting, road encounter and the like, we need to again take a breather. Silence doesn't apply to me much (you know how talkative I am) and so I release this kind of stress by talking to my team (people around me) and just breaking into a great (loud) laugh. When we laugh, we release .... more so when we are laughing with the people we love.

 

3. Eat - this is the last thing that I would do because I tend to over do it -- and please learn from me. I tend to munch a lot of chips or nuts, spicy food which is harmful to my (sensitive) stomach. So when it cannot be avoided make sure that the food you take will not make you ill. Another one, if you have budget, treat your team with ice cream or chips (my previous lead did it and we were so happy).

 

4. Reflect - is the situation causing you that stress is really worth the stress. Sometimes, we over complicate things. I remember one situation when one of my family member is having a small challenge at home and in her mind the problem is so big that it caused her to think so much. Only to find out that the problem is something that we shouldn't be thinking about in the first place. Again, reflect if the situation is worth the stress. Else don't bother to think about it because stress will not bring you to the hospital or even pay your hospital bills.

 

5. Ask Help - whether its from your family, friends or even professional psychologists or psychiatrist. It pays to know when it is time to seek guidance counseling or a person to talk to. There is really no harm is sharing what your feelings are to the people that you trust because we will never know how effective it will be until we try.

 

How about you? How are you coping with stress?

 

Xoxo



Today: How do we deal with Fear?

It's a whopping 9 months (parang nanganak lang!) since my last blog post! It was very long considering that I am very outspoken and loves to share a lot of things to people.

Several things and I don't want to explain in detail. *wink*

Let us just say that "A LOT" has happened in the past months that I had to prioritize the things that matters the most - MY FAMILY!

A LOT Means:
A - Amazing
L - Life Changing
O - Overwhelming
T - Tremendous

Events had happened!

After 9 months, I found the perfect blog post to start sharing again and it's very timely. I didn't think about it but it was given to me. It was given to me last Sunday, during mass and I feel blessed. 

Last Sunday's Responsorial Psalm it said:

 "The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with Joy".

The past months has literally been a roller coaster ride and it was not your smooth roller coaster ride. I meant: 

1. Real quick turns along the way
2. Some lose screws that had to be fixed
3. Rusty railings that made the ride slow
4. Unstable base
5. Unreliable coaster operator

And a lot more!

But despite those miseries and frustrations, the Responsorial Psalm reminded me (us) that after all that happened, hey, we should all be grateful because indeed the Lord has done great things for us.  When I thought about it, yes indeed, I received a lot of things from Him and to share the bigger ones: 

1. My family and I are all alive
2. We know how to take care of our health concerns
3. I have a very secured and stable job (bonus: that I love what I am doing!)
4. I have a great support system from my family and friends
5. I still see Life as a Journey and I have faith in humanity

My list is endless and I can't thank Him for making me and my family strong! 

Another thing that I would like to share was some of the things shared by Fr Randy Baluso (we had mass at Padre Pio Eastwood) and he shared a line from the movie After Earth. 

"Danger is Real, but Fear is a choice" 

This is so true! I can say this because of the circumstances that my family and I experienced.  No one will ever help us conquer fear but ourselves and so my take away is we have to be Larger than our Fear. 

Fr. Randy even shared two abbreviations od FEAR. 

Forget Everything And Run.
Face Everything And Rice. 

I would go with the latter. How about you??

Xoxo

You are GREAT, wherever you go!

Last Wednesday, I was watching PBA (of course together with Sweets).  I saw that Paul Lee was playing and I can't help but say that he is indeed one of the best players out there.  With that I said:

KL: Ang galing talaga ni Paul Lee noh!

Noel: Uu

KL: San nga siyang team dati?

Noel: Rain or Shine

KL: Ah tapos now STAR na siya

Noel: Continued to drive..

Then I said:

KL: Kahit san ka man naroon, kung magaling ka, magaling ka! Noh!!

Sweets continued to drive and I can't decipher whether I am making any sense to him or he does not want to hear more about what I was trying to say!

To him, it was plain and simple a Basketball game -- and he is not even STAR nor Rain or Shine!  You should know by now that we are solid San Miguel Beermen.

My point is: We all have our starting point -- our basic education.

Then we are slowly molded to greatness by the organizations where we are.

Now, if we really have the capability and willingness to learn, deliver and perform at our best then we can be an expert in whatever it is that we are doing.  No matter where we are!

This is how I connected Paul Lee to what I am feeling right now.

Recently, Kat moved on to a new organization, I felt bad because I will miss how she handled me and my team and how grateful I am for the leadership and wisdom.  Kat is a great lead and I know she can share more to us -- had she stayed.  When Kat left, does it mean that she will no longer be a great lead and employee? Big answer is NO!  Because Kat is a great lead and employee with good work ethics and so I KNOW what wherever she may be -- in Accenture (much better) or in another organization -- she will definitely do well!

Same thing with my new lead, Mai.  She is a tenured lead and have been with Accenture for the longest time -- this is her new team but because I believe that she is a great employee, mentor, lead and colleague, even if this is a new team for her -- she will definitely do what she does BEST, which is to continue to LEARN (she is from Learning by the way :p), to DELIVER and to PERFORM!

To these two ladies! You both ROCK!

Do not be afraid to soar HIGH because you have a TEAM to support you all the way!

Xoxo

Happy Friday: Christmas Feels Like

As simple at it is, I think it's best to put up that Christmas Spirit in our homes. Every year, Papa will always prepare our simple Christmas Tree and as time went along, Louise and Mika prepared it.  Some years back this was our Christmas Tree but this year, Louise and I decided and pegged for a simple Orange and Gold themed Christmas Tree.

I feel that ribbons are still missing but I believe this is a good start -- I think we can still improve next year.

How about you? are you "Into" Christmas already? Few more days left and I'm sure you are all rushing with your Christmas Shopping and Christmas decorations but always remember the reason for the season and it's important that we know how to share our blessings to others. 


We don't need to have a lot of money to be able to buy gifts for our loved ones, actually, what's more important are the things that money cannot buy -- classic example would be the TIME that we can give to our loved ones -- the memories that we can spend with them is something that can be cherished forever! All we need to capture that memory is to take a video or picture of the event and the memory will last forever. 


These are the things that sometimes (well maybe most of the time) even rich people would want to receive.  So this Christmas -- give the gift of TIME, ATTENTION and GENUINE CARE!

Xoxo

Happy Friday: Everybody Wins! 3 points how I did it!

Before we ended FY16, our team had our annual year-end activity and it was none other than a sport called "Bowling".  If you are aware, it's Sweets who loved this sport and I am a mere cheerleader -- had some problems at my back and thus was not able to even play.

Anyways, I think it's a great game choice because we all do not want to get sweaty under the heat of the sun -- Bowling Alley are air conditioned :)


We all can play but we were not experts and thus everything that happened was all about having fun, building relationship and TRYING (yes trying!) to even hit one PIN.


Lucky for me -- we were all normal  (mediocre) players -- not being able to hit a single PIN was like a norm -- haha! 





Come awarding day -- I was surprised that I was one of the top scorers! I
 even had an award for the "MOST NUMBER OF STRIKES" --- yes MOST NUMBER na ako ha :) If you would ask how many? I had two strikes!!

When I was telling Sweets -- i think what's going on at the back of his mind was:
"2 LANG?" --- "Well Sweets, hindi ako expert na kagaya mo!"


Learn more here --> Sweets Played Bowling!







ANYWAYS -- this is just my introductory story for the main story!
My realization is that -- in everything that we do, if we put our hearts in it, it will result to good things!


Like for this particular event that I was not even competitive because I really do not know how to play but only to find out that I indeed played well! ^_^


Simple things that I would like to share so that "WE ALL WIN".


1. Do not expect -- Do your best but do not expect for something in return.  Then if you will be rewarded because of what you did -- it will feel GREAT!


2. Communicate -- Tell something! Tell the people around you what you want.  How you want things to go and you will definitely get what you want -- Side note: you have to be patient of course!


3. Do not compare -- This is the greatest mistake one can make!  You will never be happy if you will compare yourself to others! Look at what you have achieved, what you have and BE HAPPY!  Remember, whatever it is that you have now that you are taking for granted, someone is praying for it!


Xoxo

Happy Friday: A Reminder!

One time my husband and I was on our way home while discussing some stuff that matters to our lives and then suddenly this.


I zoomed my eyes and took my camera to immediately make this shot.

It was in my phone that I read the entire message at the back of this tricycle and I was in awe.  I totally agree with this message and why do we have to see this message at the back of a tricycle while we were driving a car?


Have we (Sweets and I) thought of this? Us who is capable of buying the things that we want in life?  Have we thought that happiness is inward and not outward??


My point is: In life - we will always want something! Something that we feel will make us invincible or will make us famous.  But have we thought, even for a moment, that the simplest things are those that should always matter and should make us happy? 


What are those simple things that money cannot buy? Here are my thoughts:


1. Your relationship with your family - the memories you've shared together.
    May it be a simple meal together at home, jamming and singing time.
    Simply listening to your mom or dad as they share their stories.
    Helping your siblings with their school or life problems.


2. Doing what you really like to do - your passions! If you want to do journals!
    If you like to be healthy then run, if you like to sing then do so!
    It's a bonus if you love what you do at work! <I AM!>


3. Removing the negativities in your life - no explanation needed!
    We are all old enough to know. *Wink*




Quoting the small text above:


" Beware! Don't always be wishing for what you don't have.  For REAL LIFE and REAL LIVING is NOT RELATED to how RICH you are".


This is an eye opener that I would like to share to everyone.
Happiness is within us an what other people tells us! :)


Xoxo

When Bored: Have FUN @ Caffe Piansa!

Random moment that when you are bored -- all you have to do is have some FUN!  Nothing beats the time being spent with friends -- super kulit friends!

This is a restaurant in Marikina and it was my first time there.
Another serious post shall be created for that!
For now, let us have some fun!

Are they happy or happy that they have an electric chair? Hehe
Of course this is not the real deal!

The famous! Now who's the real guilty one?

I loved this! Mga walang magawa talaga sa buhay!

Xoxo

My Third year (Again) in Accenture!

Was there ever a time when you want to turn back time?
Several times this has happened to me and while I am now on my THIRD year (again) with Accenture -- I felt that everything happened so fast and I want to turn back time!


Turn back time to correct the mistakes that I have made and to reminisce the good times that we had!  While although turning back time is not a possibility and will never be -- I would like to share my two thoughts about what happened in the last year of my employment with my favorite employer, Accenture!


1. Change Happens - if you are an Accenture employee, you know that this is actually the norm.  If you are the type of person / employee who embraces change easily then you have been trained by Accenture well! Hehe!  With these changes, I know that I have grown as a person both professionally and personally! 


2. Shit Happens - face it, things will not happen the way you want it to be.  Every person is different and a friend told me that "Our differences makes us unique".  What makes it special? -- in our differences we also learn, we make adjustments and we learn to work together as one to achieve a common goal!


I will never deny that my team played a great impact to this wonderful year with Accenture!  I will always be glad to be part of this wonderful, crazy and noisy team! 


This was when we had our most recent activity --
Summer FUN - CF and Consulting CMT and HR Way!

Team Liz -- missing Jobs!!

Christmas Party at Vikings SM Mega Mall!

Our Halloween Cute Party!
Our Trick or Treat 2015

Our Christmas Party!

The team who eats together -- gets fat together!

I am anticipating more activities with this team.
We may lose people but their sweet smiles will never be forgotten!


Here is to more years with my third party relationship with Accenture!


Xoxo

Happy Birthday KL and Louise

The reunion was followed by our birthday! 
Yes, you are not a close friend or a family if you don't know that Louise and I celebrate the same birth dates.  We are 15 years apart, yes, eldest and youngest of four siblings. 

This year is going to be an exciting one because Louise turned 18 and is having her little party as a debutant.

She kicked off the celebration with her Pre debut photoshoot, let me share with you some of those wonderful shots in another blog post. 

It was our birthday and what we had was a simple dinner in our house! Very seldom that we are all present in San Pablo so as it is, I already consider it as a gift! 

Then I had a little celebration with my team mates -- 

Then was also suprised by my team! So happy to celebrate birthdays!

More birthdays to come for me and Louise :)

12 words that can describe our 2015

Passion - we started the year with a goal, a goal to have a baby and start our family! We had the passion and we succeded but things are not always perfect and so I'm sharing another word to describe my year.

Strength - they say that one can be strong if that is the only option you have. This is exactly what we felt about the challenge that we took this year! Tears were shed but another word described what happened next.

Love - unconditional LOVE that is! Love can only be felt and that's the best gift one can receive. We were showered with love, appreciation, sincerity and encouragement.  Things we need to get going and keep loving.

Blessed - we were always blessed, not only with material things but blessed by the people surrounding us.  In life, one always need another to survive and to have a strong support system from our family and friends means that we are always blessed.

Fulfilled - I am not perfect but I am content.  Content with what I have achieved, what my husband has achieved and how we do well in our careers. Fulfilled that I have a very loving and accepting family.  People who doesn't let us down.

Thrive - we thrived to give back something to our being.  It is enough to work hard and earn a living but it is equally important to take care of oneself.  It's the key to ultimate power being!  Valuing our health more than anything is the most important thing because being sick is the greatest fear that I have. The more we value ourselves, the more we are able to give back!

Resistance - when I talk about work, I can say that a lot has changed.  There was a time when I felt that change is vearing away from my comfort zone, which I don't like.  But at the end of the day, I realized that change is a matter of perspective, a matter of how I look at it for the better and it did.  It definitely changed myself for the better.

Relationship - this year has been a lot about relationships.  Family, friends, teammates, co workers, stakeholders, clients, it's all about building and maintaining that good relationship with people.  I am happy to build new relationships as I move on with this life and even happier to strengthen the relationships that I have over the years.

Empowering - I had several instances where I felt I was empowered to do more, empowered to speak up and empowered to inspire.  Had the opportunity to share my engaging experience as a lead and as an Accenture employee in our of our trainings.  Had the opportunity to give advise and support to family members and friends.

Stingy - year on year, this word never left me because it's ingrained in my soul. I may not be rich but I am slowly learning how to handle my finances.  How I can save more without compromising the things that I love.  Sharing the stinginess to my siblings and I hope they hear what I say.

Learning - I am not old enough to not learn about anything.  I am always willing to learn because that is one aspect to grow as a person.  Willing to listen because that's the only way to be great.  Willing to face defeat and failures because that's the only way to try again.  Willing to take each stumbling block as stepping stone in fulfilling my goals and aspirations.

Hopeful - one can never dream if one loses hope.  I am always hopeful with the great things that is yet to come.  Strengthening the faith with prayers and always looking at the rainbow after the rain.

How about you? What are the twelve words that can describe your 2015?

Xoxo

CF and OG TownHall and Christmas Party 2015

Christmas is really the most wonderful time of the year!
Especially if you are spending it with your team, the people you call family at work! 

This is our first Christmas party when CMT (Candidate Management) and People Advisors were merged.  We are now called CF (Corporate Functions) & OG (Operating Group) HR Team!! (Yes a lot of acronym going on!).

Last year, it was only CMT and we had it at Ms Myra's house.  
Now, we had a two in one event, first half was Townhall and the second half was Christmas Party.   We had it at Mom and Tina's.

Our event was hosted by Anna and Ace who were both very game in gracing the event.  Talagang naka-badge pa si Ace.

It was a fast paced Q1 and it ended so fast, with the updates given by our leads, I am excited to look forward to Q2!!

We also had recognitions and milestone celebrations! 

 

Then on the the exciting part of the party, of course the meal time! It's always fun to eat and eating with your friends make if more exciting! Let me share with you what we had! 
 

We had three games and they were all exciting! Thanks to Tine, Tiney, Rox for hosting them!! They were all fun! 

Then we had an exciting twist to our Exchange gift.  The mechanics were: 

First, we were holding all our gifts
Second, the host will give out a category and who ever in the group applies to that category will have to stand and exchange their gifts to the people who are also standing
Third is to give out three to four more categories until no one is holding their own gift.
That's it! So exciting and yet simple.

You will also have the opportunity to know something about your team based from the category that will be mentioned! 

Here are some of the food we had ^_^

Syempre hindi mawawala ang kainan!

It was a fun event of updates and games! 

Xoxo

When you are worried? What do you do?

Christmas air is brushing against my cheeks and I was in the mood to listen to Christmas songs (yes it keeps me sane!).

Kidding aside, one song struck me and it was very relatable now a days!
It's more than a decade old song but I know you will definitely like it.

When you are worried and there are a lot of things to think about, what do you do?  Will you think and worry more?  Will it give you the peace that you need to sleep at night? no right!!

This song (written by Irving Berlin for the 1954 movie White Christmas and beautifully sung by Jose Mari Chan) will give you that snap and realization that there are a lot more things to think about that will make us all feel loved and appreciated!

Happy singing!!



Be inspired and continue to be a blessing to someone!

Xoxo