It’s summer time! The school year is finishing. The June frenzy is almost over. Our teachers have been thanked, our graduates have been celebrated and our gardens look beautiful.

Now our energy turns to our summer holidays. This is a precious time where we can slow down and enjoy the warm weather and our family and friends. We each have our favourite things to do – go to the cottage, go camping, travel, explore the parks and recreation in our community, summer camps, ice cream sundaes, lounging by the cool swimming pool and so much more.

My coaching tip for you is to Keep it Simple. Here are some effective strategies which you can start using today!

• Be Selective
Be in control of where, how and with whom you spend your time. Just because you have done something every summer, it does not mean that you have to do it again this summer. Tap into your true feelings and select the activities you really want to do and the company you really want to keep.

• Be Present in the Moment
Enjoy what you are doing right here and now. Stop dwelling on the past and / or planning the future. Right now – what are you Seeing? Hearing? Feeling? Savor right now. This is how wonderful memories are created.

• Keep Entertaining Simple
Remember that the purpose of entertaining others is to share time with the people you care about, not necessarily to impress them. Keep the preparation of your home/cottage simple. Keep the menu simple. Your guests want to spend time with you and your family. They do not expect you to be slaving in the kitchen nor to be waited on. Try meeting in a park and having a potluck meal – share the work and use your energy to have fun together.

• Build in Down Time
You need it. Your children need it. Relax, chill, read a book (summer reading!). Choose your mental and physical health over the need to be a ‘super family’.

• Enjoy the Simple Things in Life
Explore a pond. Take a nature hike. See things through a child’s eyes. Let them take the lead in your ‘adventure’. Encourage their discoveries to be the topic of your conversation. Your child may not get all of the encyclopedia detail on the sights – they can gain that knowledge later. For now, nurture their sense of excitement and curiosity.

Most women find themselves so busy with day-to-day activities that they do not find the time to reflect on how their lives could be easier, better controlled or more fulfilling.

Here is your opportunity to take the time and do something for yourself. Reconnect with your true self and learn effective tools and techniques to make your dreams and priorities happen - for you and for your family.

Click here for more details on GEM's Special September Promotion

I am inspired by many women. Most recently by the women on my Dragon Boat team – Sisters in Sync. Our name says it all. We are Sisters. Each one of us is unique and beautiful. We are accepted for who we are and loved unconditionally. We are held in each other’s hands as we push ourselves to a place far beyond our comfort zone. All together as our boat rises out of the water so does our individual and combined potential.

For most of us this is the one part of our lives that we do ‘just for ourselves’. All of us lead very busy lives. Yet we recognize that it is important to nurture our inner strength, our fabulous self. We honour this opportunity. We have a common goal.

This is our chance to ‘walk the talk’. As mothers and teachers we say the words everyday. Our actions speak louder than these words. We demonstrate complete dedication to our team. This is expressed in our training as well as in how we conduct ourselves – in light of a challenge, possible disappointment and thankfully success. As one of our Lisas said, “This is the ultimate team sport. No individual stands out. We win or lose as ONE”.

Our enriched sense of being is reflected in all of the other aspects of our lives. We become better women, daughters, wives, aunties, friends and sisters. In turn we encourage other people to let their light shine too.

The good news is that our hard work has paid off. We earned the bronze medal at the Toronto Island Dragon Boat Festival this weekend. For the Sisters in Sync, the experience, the challenge and the unwavering support is pure GOLD!

Please support our team - Joan’s GEMs - in our fight against breast cancer. This event is very near and dear to my heart as my precious mother, Joan, is a breast cancer survivor. Help us to support research to save more lives. My sisters and friends have entered a team again this year. Please support a team member who has not yet reached her goal. THANK YOU!

Click here for more information.