by Adriana Santiago | Oct 7, 2019 | Uncategorized
Hi, it’s your girl Dr. Alisha Griffith, affectionately known as “Dr. Ali.” I am your autism parenting strategist and ignite coach. I help autism moms, mompreneurs, and aspiring mompreneurs, to shift through the feelings of overwhelm, frustration, and stress, and move towards making bold, brave power moves so you can ignite the results you want and live that ultimate dream life you desire.
Today I wanted to write a little bit about bullying because October is Bullying Awareness Month. I want to give 3 important tips that you must know about bullying – and I’m saying this specifically for my autism moms, my special needs moms, but my regular parents can benefit from it also because I think we all need this information. A study that Autism Speaks did shows that 60% of children are more likely to be bullied when they have special needs as compared to 25% of children without special needs. So that means that there’s an increasing chance that our au-mazing gifts are going to be bullied sometime in their life. So what are three things that you must know to help protect them?
Tip Number 1:
You have to teach your child what bullying looks like. A lot of our kids don’t know what bullying looks like, they don’t understand the concept. So, you have to demonstrate it to them, you have to be the mean guy. You have to have pretend moments or acting time when you can show them what bullying looks like – it can be someone who wants to take your lunch from you and make you feel really bad. At the beginning of last school year Zachary came to me and said a student in his class told him that he needs to bring $5 to school and give it to him. I was like “What?? What do you mean?” He said yes, one of his friends from elementary school told him that he needs to get $5 tomorrow or else! And I said, “Or else what?” And he takes his hands and shows me that he’s going to take his hand and push him or push his face against something. So I sat down and explained to him that’s bullying, and if he does that you tell him no, that you are not going to bring him $5 tomorrow, and that your mom is going to call his mom. The key of it was letting him know that this isn’t a normal situation – you’re not supposed to bring someone money, and if someone makes you feel unsafe and if you don’t there’s a consequence, that’s a form of bullying. He didn’t know that because he’s never described this behavior before. So I had to sit down with him, and show him, and give him different scenarios.
Tip Number 2:
You want to communicate with your child. You want to keep that communication open. This is the time when you have to communicate with them and make sure they feel very comfortable coming to you to talk about it. You have to create a safe space for them because a lot of our kids aren’t sure how to say anything or what to say. So you’re gonna talk about it more often, you’re gonna show them what it looks like, and create a safe space for them. For my parents with children who are nonverbal, you still want show it to them. You still want to demonstrate that that’s not okay. Look at your child, they will be showing you discomfort with school. It’s going to be something uncomfortable for them. They may protest going to school, they may cry at certain times. They are gonna show you other signs that are saying something is going on. Stay on top of it.
Tip Number 3:
You want to make sure that you create a plan with the school. Sit and talk with the teachers and let them know “hey this is a time where other kids may want them to do something, and I want you guys to take time to either talk about it in class or take time to observe what’s happening with the students in your classroom.” Be aware when people are saying things their tone of voice, the way another child responds to things. When children are being bullied you will always see the response in their face, in their change of mood, in not being happy when it comes to school and it has nothing to do with academics. So this is a time when you have to create a plan with the school so that you can have that on going communication. Check in on them, I can’t say this enough. You gotta check in, you gotta keep communication open, you gotta make sure that you are a safe place they can come to speak to about. The next thing you want to do is make sure that you’re talking to the teachers. If they have a system in place that when bullying is occurring how will they respond to it? Is it a conversation that they’ll have? Are there regulations that they have in the school? Are there consequences that are going to happen as a result of it? Create it, because it differs every place you go. I can’t tell you one thing because every school and every system has different anti-bullying rules. But they key of it all that I’m always going to come back to is: communication. It’s making sure you have a safe space, and of course teaching the children what bullying looks like and doesn’t look like, and emphasizing how it makes a person feel. No one ever wants to feel uncomfortable or like their rights are being violated. The bully doesn’t want to feel it either, so they need to understand more about it. Our schools need to speak about it more so that our children are more comfortable identifying it and knowing what the system is, and what are the things we do when it does occur.
Has your au-mazing gift ever dealt with bullying? Feel free to share your stories in the comments below. It’s good to start conversations around this topic so we can help educate others so they can start having these conversations with their children.
For more tips on autism parenting, check out some of my most recent blog posts!
3 Au-mazing Tips for School WINS!
3 Au-mazing Communication Tips for a Successful School Year
What is Your Parenting Style (Quiz)
by Adriana Santiago | Sep 23, 2019 | Uncategorized
Hello everyone it is Dr. Ali, Autism Parenting Strategist. I’m super duper excited because it’s the end of September, hooray, we made it! We made it past the first month of school. So for those having a really really good start, let me know down below in the comments what’s been good so far. For those of you who are still navigating it and are still getting through the changes, let me know if that’s you too!
This is Zachary’s (my son on the autism spectrum) second year of junior high school. Say what?? I can’t believe that’s actually true. Junior High has been an entirely different ball game, and last year was definitely a learning curve for us both. But I’m hoping that this school year will be even better now that we’re kind of in the swing of things and since I’ve perfected some of my strategies for making sure we have School WINS each year. Today I just wanted to share those tips and strategies out with you too so that you and your kids on the spectrum can have school WINs all year long.
Tip Number 1: Create a partnership with the school.
Try and create a partnership with the school. As a person that works with the schools and who has a child in school, I even had to have a conversation with someone from Zachary’s school at the beginning of last year regarding him not getting all of his services during the first month, which you know he should have. So even though a part of me was upset and I wanted to go off, it is very important to establish that we are a team and we are in a partnership. In the end we all want what’s best for Zachary, and this is the language that I need you to start learning on how to use with the schools. Once they understand it’s teamwork, once they understand that you are in it together, once they understand that you’re trying to work with them, they being to try to work with you – and together you get to create something that’s going to work effectively for your child. So even though at the beginning of the conversation I wanted to go, “where is his blah blah blah??” You know, going off because I’m still parent first. I still wanted to make sure that she knew that she was being heard and I wanted her to understand that we are all on the same team. And, I think those wordings tend to bring the edge off a little. Remember it’s teamwork, collaboration. You want to know you guys all are working together as a team, not be constantly fighting.
Tip Number 2: Remember that you have choices.
You have choices, parents have choices. Your choice is whether you wanna keep your child in that school, your choice if you wanna move her to a different classroom or different school, homeschooling, for my homeschooling parents. You have the right to be open to what choices work best for your child. Not to say thats your immediate action, but just always understand that you have choices. So I think that when we know we have choices, we don’t feel like we are stuck in this place. That we’re placed here and we have no control over it, and when parents begin to feel like we don’t have control, then we lose control! If we feel like it’s just your decision and you’re not thinking about what we’re saying and not incorporating us, we begin to feel powerless. And as educators, as parents, we don’t want anyone to lose power in the scene. We understand the school’s power and their choices , but the school also has to understand our power in the choices that we have as parents.
Tip Number 3: Keep your power.
Take back your power in the situation. Keep your power. Remember that your power comes from within you and that no one has the right take away that power. So live in your power, be in your power and feel confidently strong in your power. Autism moms are some of the most powerful women I know, and I know that lies within you as well. Don’t feel that you’re powerless or have no control over what goes on at the school – you DO!
I hope these tips help you and your au-mazing child have many, many, many school WINS this year! Let me know down below in the comments if any of these resonated with you, and feel free to share any tips that you normally use to win when it comes to school. As always be au-mazing in your thoughts, your words, and your actions.
P.S. If you want to experience even more WINS as a mom, as an aspiring entrepreneur, or as an established mompreneur you’ve GOT to be present for my two day live event in Brooklyn, New York on September 28th-29th – Mompreneurs On FIRE! Give yourself permission to be bold, to be brave, to invest in YOUR dreams for once. If you need a major boost to your business and/or you’re looking to connect with other trailblazing business women and grow your tribe, this is the event for YOU. We’re down to our final few seats which are 50% OFF right now! That means you can grab your seat for just $197, and you can even bring a FRIEND with you and get both of your tickets for only $297! Head over to www.mompreneursonfire.com to get yours now or to learn more.
by Adriana Santiago | Sep 16, 2019 | Uncategorized
Hi, it’s your girl Dr. Alisha Griffith, affectionately known as “Dr. Ali.” I am your autism parenting strategist and ignite coach. I help autism moms, mompreneurs, and aspiring mompreneurs, to shift through the feelings of overwhelm, frustration, and stress, and move towards making bold, brave power moves so you can ignite the results you want and live that ultimate dream life you desire.
Now today I wanted to share with you some of my best tips for ensuring a successful school year for your child on the autism spectrum. Zachary just went back a couple of weeks ago and we’ve already set ourselves up to SUCCEED. Now you now I’m a communication expert, and guess what? When it comes to school, which is a whole OTHER level of frustrating for us as autism parents, communication really is KEY. You’ve got to have good relationships and open communication with your child’s school in order for them to get the services, care, and education they need. So my three super juicy tips for an au-mazing school year for your child on the spectrum are all centered around, you guessed it, communication!
Tip Number 1:
Communication Log. This is extremely important. You definitely have to have a way of communicating back and forth with the teacher. Whether you’re using an email system, whether you’re using an actual paperback system, whichever way that you choose, there has to be a communication log. I don’t want you to start school and just look into the notebook and check to see what’s happening. These are au-mazing tips – you’re not going to be a regular parent, you’re going to be an AU-MAZING parent. That means we’re taking everything that we normally would do to the next level. In this communication log we’re telling:
- all the things our child knows well
- what does he like and what doesn’t he like
- behavioral patterns
- things that you know upset your child
- things that you know will help your child when they have a breakdown
- manners of which you should talk to your child.
Tip Number 2:
You have to go meet the teacher! Meet the teacher, meet the therapist, go all the way down to the gym teacher. Meet everyone that is involved with helping your child throughout the year. Why is it important? It’s important so they can see a face, so they can see that this child has a parent that’s actively involved. Take time out of your school day and create a time to meet, every parent of a child with a parent of autism should. There’s always a meet the teacher event, and if your school doesn’t have one or you can make it, reschedule or schedule it for another time. Definitely by the third week of school you should meet the people involved with your child. The only way you can create a system and strategy, the only way you can work on an IEP, the individualized educational plan, together is by visually meeting each other. By putting the education log into something physical and practical, now you get to express to them “this is what I want, these are the expectations.” You get to tell them what your expectations are, and they get to tell you their expectations so you get to be on the same level.
Tip Number 3:
Now here’s the thing that ties everything together: the support. Ask them, “how can I support you?” The question that always helps everyone feel involved in supporting each other is asking, “what can I do at home to support this process? What can I do to support YOU in this process?” Let them know we’re on the same team, let them know we want to work together. We are a cohesive team all looking forward to the child having a successful year. You have to know clearly what a successful year looks like to you. If you don’t know, they won’t know. Ask for support, plan, and execute expectations.
Now I’m not done just yet! I have an exclusive BONUS tip, one that I use every year to really ignite Zachary and I’s success for the school year. CLICK HERE to watch the video where I dive into it all!
P.S. If any mompreneurs out there are reading this who are itching to really boost your business and start focusing on your dreams now that the kids are back in school, I want to invite you to Mompreneurs on Fire! This is a two day LIVE event in Brooklyn, NY from September 28th-29th hosted by yours truly. Not only will you have access to my ultimate tools and strategies that have completely catapulted my business success over the last few years, but you’ll also have access to my tribe of BOSS women and their secret sauce to their own business success as well and make powerful connections in the business. Tickets are going FAST, so make sure to reserve your seat now at www.mompreneursonfire.com.
by Adriana Santiago | Sep 11, 2019 | Uncategorized
by Adriana Santiago | Sep 8, 2019 | Uncategorized
[Dr. Ali]
So hey y’all it’s Dr. Ali, and I am super excited to have my sister girl who is here to do our live podcast. We stick like glue, never letting you go.
[Charreah]
Fight like glue. We are in Brooklyn, check check, check it out.
[Dr. Ali]
Check check. So I’m so blessed and fortunate to have Ms. Charreah who is here for us. Charreah Jackson, let me give you your full title. She’s here to join us on our, the Dr Ali Griffith Show Mindset, Meditation and Motivation. And we’re going to tap a little bit into all three of those words today. And I want to know to you, what does having that boss bride mindset all about? What is that all about? Tell our readers what’s that boss bride mindset.
[Charreah]
First, hank you for having me, Dr. Ali Griffith. Okay, it is a pleasure to be here in your space in Brooklyn and my name is Charreah Jackson. I’m a master manifestor. I’m a massive story teller and I am the author of Boss Bride: The Powerful Woman’s Playbook for Love and Success. I’ve spent the last more than a decade at the professional journalists, including currently a contributor at Money Magazine and the New York Times, a former senior editor at Essence, a good friend of this one right here. And so I wrote the book and today we are in a special time. We’re at a time where Tony Morrison has just left this planet and one of the quotes, the brilliant Nobel laureate, just storyteller for powerful people said, “you know, if there’s a book you want to read and it doesn’t exist, write it.” And so I did that with my first book Boss Bride, which I interviewed more than a hundred powerful women on their strategies for navigating their personal and professional life. I was writing and researching and coaching around relationships. I was a professional woman who would work my way up the corporate ladder and I was a woman in love and wanted to know how did women navigate and feel fulfilled both at home and in the workplace and play full out. And so that became the book I wrote. Now in a, in a good movie plot twist the same day I got the contract from my publisher to write that book was the same day I left a long relationship with a man I was planning to marry where we were talking about venues and our parents loved each other and us and, but it just was, I had grown and it was time for me to move on. And it was the biggest boss bride decision I made because the first chapter is, yes, you are a boss bride, so it’s not about one day of your life. It’s not about your relationship status, it’s not about your job title, but it’s really about what would it look like if you treated every day with that mentality mindset of a boss bride, which is the mindset of a boss, someone who is a strategic delegate or someone who is really mentioned there resources. [Zachary enters the room] Hey Zachary, how are you doing? Well that’s, I mean this is what a boss bride is, right? Come on in here and say hey to the people. Didn’t we have a good time at the park today? So we did a slide race, who won Zachary?
[Zachary]
And the winner is… me.
[Charreah]
And the winner is ME. This is really Dr. Ali Griffith and we on the Dr. Ali Griffith Show. This is all about making it happen where she has been a support for me the last few days and we’ve been talking business and we’ve been living in the moment. So the bride part is not about relationship status, it’s about living in the moment. Like we just got to do with Zachary today. We were at the park, her incredible, amazing son who’s just amazing and au-mazing, and we raced him at the slide at the park. But it really is, that’s the bride part of the message, which is not about necessarily just marriage but being present and living in the moment. Cause you think about a bride or a woman on her wedding day. It’s about being present and having the people you care about around. And I don’t believe you just get to have one big day, but what if we treated every day as our big day? So that was the long answer.
[Dr. Ali]
I love that. I love it. I love how you know you came out today with us to the park. And we were intentionally just going to go for a walk. We were going to go to King’s Plaza and do some shopping. And of course, as you see Zachary kind of let the flow happen because he had to give her a tour of his park. And then we went to the little King’s Plaza. But you’re right, today was all about living in the present. Today was all about just know going with the flow, and sometimes we may plan certain things, nd sometimes we may want certain things, and sometimes that’s not exactly how it goes.
[Charreah]
Don’t miss what’s for you trying to get what you think you need.
[Dr. Ali]
Oh, don’t miss what’s for you trying to get the things that you think you need. See, we all think we need all these amazing things and we always have our concept in our head of what it’s going to look like. And I know well all about that as you guys can see what exactly he basically dictates what happens with my day. Even though I am caring for myself, as I will tell most of you guys, and you’re going to see that with my Mompreneurs on Fire two day live event, September 28-29th.
[Charreah]
Save the day, get your tickets to Mompreneurs on Fire!
[Dr. Ali]
Woo. September 28 and 29 we’re going to speak more about making sure that our children are still getting the priority and we’re still giving them our presence. But the chief priority, the main priority is that self care for ourselves, because if we don’t care for ourselves and we’re not finding ourselves and being present with ourselves, then we can have moments like what we did today, which just allow him to just let us flow. So we spoke about mindset. now meditation. Do you ever do meditation in your life?
[Charreah]
Absolutely, absolutely.
[Dr. Ali]
How do you meditate?
[Charreah]
As I said, you know, you go around saying you’re a master manifestor. That’s some bold words. But a lot of that comes from the meditation, right? Because meditation is really intentionality of your mind, right? And so to go deeper and you think about prayer and meditation, and so from a spiritual perspective – I’m very spiritual. You know prayer is communing and sharing your desires and the universe, and meditation is when you open up to receive back messages from the God in you. Right? And so in this new season of my life where I’ve left corporate in the traditional setting and left my role as an editor where I’ve moved out of my apartment in Harlem after 12 years living in New York, and so I’m going through a lot of transition. And so when you decide to play big, your spirit has to grow to accommodate that bigger bolder, newer you. So I have so many powerful experiences in my life, the power of meditation. Which I think the busier you are the bigger you play, and in some ways the more powerful and potent meditation can be, because that’s your opportunity to receive back in, to get refilled spiritually and get refueled spiritually. And so I talk about getting my book deal for my book Boss Bride. You can get a free chapter at www.bossbride.com and that free bonus chapter is called You Are Here, and it’s really an opportunity to get fully present where you are in your life and how do we close that gap between where you are and what’s that next step to that life you desire and dream about? And for me, you know, one of the most powerful potent experiences for me in meditation was at a point in my life where I was stalled professionally and personally where I did not, I had many publishers that had said no to my agent for my book deal or for a book offer, and the worst kind of no was a nice no where like “we like you but…..” Where it’s like I just rather you be like, we DON’T like you than be like, “oh my gosh, yay! But we just did a book like that,” or “we did Steve Harvey’s book,” or whatever reason they have for like, “yeah, thanks, no.” So I had a pile of those from publishers, I was in the relationship that was stalled and we just had grown differently and I’d had so much growth. And people talk about growth, but no one talks about the underbelly of growth. What happens when you grow apart from people you love and care about old friends. Okay, that’s a whole other conversation, but I was really at this place where I’ve been passed over for a promotion I had earned and so I really was just hungry and feeling stagnant. And so that’s where meditation for me became really potent and powerful where I was very clear that I was hurting and unclear about what was next. And the smarter you are and the more powerful and brilliant you are, you know in some ways the more in your own way you can get because you’re so used to being able to create results. And so when you hit that wall where I’ve taken myself as far as I can take me, God I need more is when you get on some ways, God, I’m like, oh, you ready to hear more? And so I got more quiet and created spaces and it was the first time I, you know, audibly heard God and it was clear fast “until you hear from me.” That’s what I heard, and I, you know, I listened because I knew there was something more and eight days later we started getting offers on the book. So I knew that was God and I can never lose, you know, who had brought me that opportunity. So even in the moments that frustration that came afterwards, it wasn’t all a smooth ride from there. But I always knew that this was spiritual.
[Dr. Ali]
Yes, yes, yes. I mean she nailed it right on the nail, or she hit it right on the nail when she mentioned it was about listening. And what we have is we have these brief au-meditation moments and what I call them is basically meditation. And the goal for a busy mom who’s always had like meditation people think is just as something we have to do in the morning or something you have to do with the night. But sometimes we have to do it when we’re in our offices. Sometimes we have to do it when we’re shopping, when we’re having our child having a breakdown right in front of us at a playground. We have to have those moments when we just have to stop, be still breathe and listen. Because if we’re always constantly moving and if we’re always constantly going, if we’re always constantly focusing on everyone else, right? Mompreneurs on Fire, that’s when we’re going to reshift back to business and back to ourselves. And it’s going to help us be still so that we can stop and listen. And when we listen, that’s when we get to hear what we’re supposed to do next. So thank you for sharing that. And the last thing we’re going to leave them with is your motivation. What is it that motivates you every single morning when you get up to do whatever you’re going to do, whether it’s, it’s going to be, you know, she coaches, she speaks, she does amazing things all over the world and she shows up in such, such huge spaces. So what, what motivates you when you get up in the morning?
[Charreah]
Well, I can’t be sitting here in your beautiful Brooklyn space in your studio and not acknowledge what I always talk about, which is the power of community. And so, you know, I’m always talking about squad. You can join my Facebook group at www.pspowersquad.com because I’m all about community. And for me, I know the difference my community has had in my life. And even in the book, every chapter of the book, I have the most important possession we each own. And that is the rain. And I’m not talking about a piece of jewelry. I am talking about the ringing of your phone. Who can you call, who calls you? You know, and we met through a powerful mutual friend and coach and just, you know, spiritual. And so for me, I can’t not talk about the importance of the people in your life. Every big blessing in my life from both times I was hired as an editor at Essence, from getting my book deal, from, you know, the men I’ve loved. I’ve met incredible men through my network, through so many opportunitiesM through seeing you at Steve Harvey’s block conference. We were both there, imagine my great delight when I see the brilliant staff they had there to keep me on track and on time. It’s her one out in LA at vault with Steve Harvey. And so every big blessing, every big opportunity always come back to my squad, to my community and his people. And not just in the high moments but in the low moments, right? When the moments where you kind of forget who you are, when the moments when you are overwhelmed, the moments when you’re just tired. And that has been you for me this week and I’m here, been staying with her and she is not the, it’s the energy, right of community over. You don’t have to do this alone. And so it’s not always going to be you able to motivate you. So make sure you update the favor. The favorites on my phone, I always keep it updated with people who are powerful. And so the more powerful you are, the more support you will need to stay elevated and supported. And, and you do a great job talking about the importance of people. And when you sign up and you come to Mompreneurs on Fire, she’ll be breaking down how to really have those intentional relationships. How does she travel? Literally the world’s speaking around the country with an incredible son with incredible full time career working as a Ph d in The New York City education system, plus so much more. But you have the squad, you have the people. So when you see powerful people, you know that, let me tell you, the secret is they have a powerful squad in community.
[Dr. Ali]
Oh my goodness. Did she just like drop all these bombs and yes, I am so grateful to have you as part of my squad. Yes. Who have you as part of my community to have you as for my listeners to hear today. And so you guys just got some really juicy gems. Even I was taking notes in my head and I’m gonna go back and then we’ll put some, while you watch this or listen to this, you’re gonna hear some treatable coat coats because I want to just make sure that you continue this and I definitely want to see you guys at Mompreneurs on Fire. That’s where we are totally going to reconnect back to ourselves, we connect back to our businesses and reconnect back to how do we move forward in life knowing that we’re living in our true authentic space of just being ourselves and being some really bold boss ladies in this world. Um, so how can they connect with you if they need to connect with you and just let them know where they can follow you or stuff?
[Charreah]
Same @charreah on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and get your free chapter You are Here at www.bossbride.com which is spouse, bride, the cop woman’s playbook for love and success and definitely stay. I’m in this Mompreneurs on Fire community, so I’m in the squad. So if you get hurt, that’s the beauty of squad secrets is you already know me because you know her. Right? And then anybody, she knows is your friend. Anybody I know is your friend too. So y’all my friends, we just haven’t met yet. So Mompreneurs on Fire. Let’s do this!
[Dr. Ali]
And I’m just going to leave that with that. And the fact that Mompreneurs on Fire isc oming out, she is part of my mastermind content. The delivery for the wording. I mean we did this together. As we did this, we were also highlighting, and I’m going to throw this out there because it’s 2020 and for those who are in different areas, we were thinking Atlanta, but we’re waiting for that. You are waiting to listen to hear what’s definitely going to be, but just think spotlight. I’m just going to leave y’all with that. Just spotlight, right? And just say conference or non-conference or live event spotlight, and Charreah and Dr. Ali. And we are going to be up in there and you are going to just be amazed of your true stardom and your true star power. All right, y’all. So thanks for listening and thanks for watching. And remember in all that you do, be amazing in your thoughts, your words, and then your actions. Peace.
This blog post is a transcription of The Dr. Ali Griffith Show. If you’d like to listen to the interview go to www.thedraligriffithshow.com. If you’d like to watch the interview, go to www.youtube.com/draligriffith.
P.S. YOU’RE INVITED TO MOMPRENEURS ON FIRE. Join us in Brooklyn on Sept. 28th-29th for a weekend of masterminding, strategizing, and igniting our ultimate business dreams. You’ll have access to my tribe of BOSS women and mompreneurs like Ms. Charreah to add to your squad of supportive, likeminded women to hold you accountable to your dreams. Most importantly, you’ll learn the tools and tricks you need to get your priorities in check, make a PLAN for your business, and start getting PAID for your unique gifts. Reserve your seat NOW at www.mompreneursonfire.com.
by Adriana Santiago | Aug 29, 2019 | Uncategorized
Hi, it’s your girl Dr. Alisha Griffith, affectionately known as “Dr. Ali.” I am your autism parenting strategist and ignite coach. I help autism moms, mompreneurs, and aspiring mompreneurs, to shift through the feelings of overwhelm, frustration, and stress, and move towards making bold, brave power moves so you can ignite the results you want and live that ultimate dream life you desire.
We’re wrapping up the end of August, which could only mean one thing: it’s BACK TO SCHOOL season! Now if you’re an autism (or special needs) mom like me, you might be kind of losing it right now. School can be incredibly challenging and stressful for us and our children since they have different needs and anxieties than other children. Going to school means having to adjust to an entirely new schedule, new people, new environments, new structures, etc. Without the right preparation going back to school can pretty much guarantee meltdowns are going to happen.
So today I wanted to share with you 5 Au-mazing Tips for Your Back to School Transition. These are my tried and tested strategies that I have used with my own son Zachary (who is on the autism spectrum) to make transitioning back into school go SO much easier and to reduce as much uncertainty for him as possible. You can use these if your child is going to school for the first time, if they’re going to a new classroom, or even if they’re going to an entirely new school. If your child has already gone back to school and they still haven’t quite adjusted, you can definitely use these tips too!
Tip #1: Provide a Visual of the School
It’s important that your child has an idea of what to expect for school – whether they’re going for the first time, they’re going to a new school, or they just need a reminder what their current school is like. So on top of simply explaining to them what to expect, you need to SHOW them. Look at pamphlets, pictures, videos, maps, etc. Show them what their school looks like, what their classroom looks like, what their bus stop looks like. Walkthrough where everything is and get them familiar what it’s like where they’re going. Even go TO the school so they can see it in person. If it’s possible to tour their building and classroom before school starts, even better!
Tip #2: Create a Mock School Routine.
One thing that is essential for making the back to school transition easier is to start practicing your school routine BEFORE school even starts. Create a new morning routine for your child that will follow exactly what they’ll be doing each morning before school, and get in the habit of doing it a few weeks prior to their start day. Make it as close to the school morning routine as possible – from the time they’ll wake up, to getting dressed, to brushing their teeth, to combing their hair, to eating breakfast, to getting their backpack ready. They sooner you can start implementing the mock routine, the less stress you and your child will experience once you have to start doing it for real. It makes getting in the routine more gradual rather than abruptly changing the schedule they’ve gotten used to over the summer.
Tip #3: Meet the Teachers as Soon as Possible.
Another thing that I always do to help Zachary and myself is to meet the teachers BEFORE school starts. Usually there’s some sort of open house or meet the teacher event – make sure to attend those if you can! Meet the teachers, the counselors, the therapists, even the gym teacher. Try and meet everyone who will be involved in your child’s learning. Not only does it give you a chance to discuss expectations for your child for the year, but it will also help your child get more familiar with them prior to working with them, and then they won’t seem like total strangers come the first day of school. Plus, it also establishes a connection between your child and the teacher, and will hopefully even get your kiddo excited to go to school and spend time with them!
Tip #4: Keep One Thing Consistent.
Whether your child is starting school for the first time, if they’re going to a new classroom, a new school, etc., keep one thing that was consistent in their life BEFORE this change. Maybe they’re in a new environment with new people, but they’ll still have the same backpack from last year, or the same lunchbox, or the pencil bag. You can even send them with their favorite sensory or fidget toy. Just make sure to send them with something that they’re used to and familiar with that will bring them comfort in this totally UNfamiliar environment.
Tip #5: Send a Love Note with Them.
Once they finally make it to school and you’ve done all your prep work to get them as ready as you possibly can – try sending a little love note with them to school. I like to put love notes in Zachary’s lunchbox from time to time. It’s just a nice little reminder for them that you love them, your thinking about them, and that you’re there with them in spirit. You can send them as often as you want! Try sending them everyday for the first week or so, and then you can taper them off if you wish. They’ll help your child to not feel so alone and bring them comfort when they’re starting to feel overwhelmed.
So those were five of my au-mazing tips on how to successfully transition back to school with your special needs child. If you’ve used these tips before, or if you have other tips the other autism moms can benefit from definitely leave a comment and let me know! Until next time, it’s ya girl Dr. Ali signing off with a reminder to be au-mazing in your thoughts, your words, and your actions.
P.S. I’m hosting a LIVE event, Mompreneurs on FIRE in Brooklyn, NY from Sept. 28th-29th for any mompreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs out there who are ready to FINALLY achieve their business dreams. Now that the kids are going back to school, it’s time for YOU to get back to business.
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If you’re dealing with any or all of the above, Mompreneurs on Fire is for YOU.
I’m going to be giving you access to my ultimate tools and strategies that I’ve used to ignite explosive results in my own business and create PROFIT with my passion and purpose. I’m a CEO, Autism Parenting Strategist, Communication Expert, Ignite Coach, Best-Selling Author, and Transformational Speaker. So yeah, I know a thing or TWO about achieving goals and catapulting success. All you have to do to finally have the business success you desire is say YES and give yourself permission to attend. Take advantage of our Fast Action offer while it lasts, seats are going QUICK! Reserve your seat NOW: www.mompreneursonfire.com
by Adriana Santiago | Aug 11, 2019 | Uncategorized
Today we are going to learn all about the power of a SMILE. Yes, a smile. Now I know many of you think that, “oh my goodness, is this going to be cheesy?” But there is so much power that you have with a simple movement of turning the two sides of your mouth up, up, up into a smile. Now you’re going to have power in the way that you affect yourself, and you’ll also have power in the way that you affect others around you. I have had the privilege of having my mentor, Ms. Edith Mann, who is the founder of the Share a Smile Ambassador, to a mentor me before she passed in 2018 on what a smile can do for people that we meet, for children that we may interact with, and also for ourselves. So it’s an honor, a privilege for me to be a Share a Smile Ambassador. Therefore, this session is going to be all about how I’ve used smiles to maximize and change the things that have happened in my life.
I have always been blessed to have a sunshiny disposition, but the cool thing about it is that I’m not always this cheery go lucky, happy type of person. I mean, life happens. As most of you know, I am a mom of a son with autism, good old Zachary. So you know that takes me through my ups and downs, and I’m also a professional as a speech language pathologist and audiologist working with children and families. So you know that takes us up and down and all around. However, what I always cherished is the fact that I’ve been blessed to actually have the choice, the opportunity to do these things. And I always take it back to the fact that they’re all choices. I had the choice to be a parent. I gave the choice to move towards a career. I give a choice every day when I get up in the morning. And when I choose to do the things that I want to do, when I choose to do the different, you know, ups and downs of life, when I make my choices throughout them, I’m quite aware that whatever results happen are based on my choices. So when I stop and I think about the good, the bad and the ugly, it helps me to realize that no matter what has happened, I am still here. And somehow, somewhere, I began to learn how to smile from the inside.
My smile really comes from gratitude. My smile comes from the fact that when I work with children with disabilities and families with disabilities, it lets me know that they don’t have that option like how I have an option. So my choices, the fact that I’m still here, the fact that I still have the ability to make a choice is incredible for me. And that’s enough to make me smile. So I broke down the S.M.I.L.E. into an acronym, and they’re all action words and they’re all being used every time I open up my face and I lift the corners of my lips up.
S: Shift a Mood.
First I think of S, right? The S is the power of the smile is that it can shift a mood anywhere. Like I’ve literally jogged in the morning and as I’m jogging, my intention really is to give people at least 10 smiles. Now from New York, that’s a huge thing because in New York we don’t smile. You know, we’re basically just trying to get through the day, we’re always in a constant go. So what I love to do is I love to surprise and shock people with a smile. And with that smile, I know it’s an immediate shift. I’ve seen people go, oh yeah, and then they had to smile back. And then there’s some who don’t respond and that’s fine, but for the ones that do respond, I’m thinking to myself, yeah, I shifted their day and I also shifted my day knowing that the power of my smile can cause. Juicy, right?
M: Manifest Change.
Now the M. The M is the power of knowing that I can manifest change. The power of the smile allows me to know that I can manifest a change, a change in the mood, a shift in what’s going on. That smile can change into manifestations throughout the day. That’s how powerful a smile can be.
I: Ignite Others.
Now the I. The I is all me. Y’all know I’m the ignite coach. I love to get people excited and riled up and, and energized into going after the things that they always want, and I work with my clients with that. All the ones that come to me that are feeling burnt out, feeling like they’re going in circles and just feeling stuck – I love taking that magic and helping them to get ignited. And most of the times my smile is part of that ignition. So a smile can ignite a person, ignites them and ignites me. So just like how it can shift the day, it can manifest the things that you want. It could ignite your dreams and ignite what it is that you may want to focus on for that day. That’s how powerful a smile can be.
L: Lift an Energy.
Now, what I want you to know is that as you’re doing it, you can also lift an energy. You can walk into the room, especially a room, and I’ve done this so many times, I’ve walked in where I felt heavy, heavy, heavy energy in the room, like I don’t know what they were arguing over or something’s just going on. And every time I walk into the room I just simply smile. Now I know Dusty, if you’re reading, that’s one of my clients. And she had an event and of course all of those who have events, which by the way, my event is coming September 28th and 29th just plugging for Mompreneurs on Fire. So I walked into her event and chaos was happening as most happened at the back end of an event and I just walked in and I smiled and that was it. So she came back to me and she was like, “that was such a change that I needed. I needed that smile. I needed you to come in. You came in and you lifted the energy immediately”. And that’s the power of a smile. Do not discredit the power of your smile. You can lift your own self and you tend to lift others around you with the same intensity.
E: Express Your Feelings.
The last E I want to give is a smile helps you to express how you’re feeling. A smile is something visible, so if you’re saying something joyful and you’re not attaching it with a smile, then it really has no connectivity. If you’re saying something that’s uplifting, if you’re helping others to shift and there is no smile, then exactly what are you doing? It’s a form of visual expression. I was a speech language pathologist, you know I had to come in with that part and that is power of a smile. Sometimes you don’t have to say a word. Sometimes it’s just the use of a smile and those positive energies. Those two simple movements of both sides of your lips turning upside up can shift so much around you.
So now it’s your turn. It’s your turn to make sure that you are sharing the power of this. Now it’s your turn to make sure that you are sharing this message so others out there can understand the power of a smile. It’s your turn to become a Share a Smile Ambassador. Join me in this mission as we go out there and shift the world. As we go out there and manifest change. As we go out there and ignite positive energy. As we go out there and lift different levels of positivity up. And as we go out there and use this expressive way of helping others to become powerful, take back their power in their lies. We can do this together. Make sure you are subscribed to my podcast The Dr. Ali Griffith Show. Make sure you I sharing this. Make sure if you need help with learning how to ignite your smile into your business, your parenting, your life, that you reach out to me at bit.ly/chatcreate. Follow me, go to my website, follow me on different forums so you can get this power of smile into your daily routine and it becomes natural, not something fictitious. I love you, and as always be au-mazing in your thoughts, your words, and in your actions. Peace.
This is a transcription of The Dr. Ali Griffith Show. If you’d like to listen to this episode and others you can do so here: bit.ly/dralishow
P.S. I’m hosting my first ever LIVE event – Mompreneurs on Fire – September 28th-29th in Brooklyn, NY. Give yourself permission to up-level your parenting and your business with me as we ignite our inner fires and make a plan of action to start making POWER moves. You will have access to my ultimate strategies on purposeful parenting, money mindset movies, social media and PR tricks, communication, reating an action plan for your business, and SO much more. You’re going to want to be present for this. Grab YOUR seat now: http://bit.ly/momearly.
by Adriana Santiago | Jul 21, 2019 | Uncategorized
Today I am super duper excited to welcome you and speak to you about bite size shifts. The bite size shifts that get me towards rapid results, towards those big results. I’m excited to share with you three of the tools that I use that just helps us to move us towards getting those results that we want. Like right now I am doing a mid-year check in at the time of this recording, and I’m looking at where I started to where I am going. Most often I can get really overwhelmed at the bigness of what it is that I want. Like I constantly go after really, really big dreams and this isn’t something new. I mean, I remember myself as a child playing inside the yard and always thinking to myself, “oh my goodness, I see myself as a doctor. I see myself in front of many, talking to them and having them listen to me.” Like I literally visualized myself doing this as a child.
Now I thought at that time that talking really was going to be in front of a classroom. So when I became an educator, I’m like, “okay, but this was pretty much what I visualized.” Not realizing that I actually visualized that I will be speaking in front of a larger crowd. So if I could think of myself as a child and having that dream, having that vision, and it being so big, I’m not even sure if I even knew how right? Because I was a kid. I was what, seven, eight when I was playing with my dolls? And now I look back at that and I think to myself that I always had these big dreams in my life. When I start something, I automatically go for, well, what else can I do? And where is the maximum place I can be at this? And then I start activating a plan.
So for many of us, we may look at this as, “oh, it can be overwhelming,” especially when the bigger our dreams, the bigger our desires, the scarier it gets. And most of the time we think that it is not going to happen. We start doing the negative self chatter and we’d just talk ourselves out of that. But today I’m going to share with you some tools on how you can use bite size movements, bite size tips towards where you can get that final result that you need. Because if we keep thinking in terms of only obtaining the things that we want happening as really big steps happening with really big moves – and don’t get me wrong, I’m the power moves lady, so I really love speaking to you about how to do power moves – but in order to make the power moves, we have to be okay with the bite sized shifts. Let’s see if I can say that three times.
Bite Size Shift #1: Break down what you want to accomplish for the day each morning.
Back to the first thing I always like to say, and this is my tool that I have to use every single day, is I first put it into my morning – and I have many other recordings with this where I look at what do I need to get done for the day? Now the morning times are a great time for me to strategize. For some, they may use the night before, but the morning is really good because it allows me to actually feel like I’m always starting at the start line, and then the end of the day tends to be my finish line. So I actually chunk it into daily steps as opposed to you know, this big dream and only seeing that really big gigantic thing, but looking at it more as a 5k to get me towards finishing the marathon. So every morning I literally I wake up and that is my daily ritual that I use to help me to turn that big dream into bite size chunks, and the bite size chunks as first looking at it as in terms of each day what can I do to get me closer towards the results I want? Oooh right? So let me know if that was something that resonated with you.
I mean I was speaking to one of my coaching clients this weekend. She was letting me know that when she thought of where it is that she wants to go in terms of writing a book, in terms of speaking more, and then creating more income for her children. She’s another autism mom like myself and she got overwhelmed. She got scared and she was like, “oh my goodness, this is so big. I almost feel like it can’t happen.” And we were able to strategize, “well, wait a minute – let’s just take all of that and put it into nice bite size chunks so that we can start actually seeing how we can make this happen after our session.” And we were able to just put it into nice size chunks that were palatable, that were able to be chewed.
If we want to eat our whole meal, we’re not going to shove the whole thing in our mouth. We’re going to take us a spoon, and then we’re going to put that in. And we’re going to take another fork and we’re going to put that in. And we’re going to take another mouthful and we’re going to put that in, so that eventually it leads into completing the plate, which is your ultimate results in the end. So we just took our spoonfuls and we just separated the plate into separate quantities, and with that it just became palatable. So when you’re looking at those really ultimate big results that we want in our lives, and it can be in so many things – whether it’s losing weight, whether it’s making sure that we are parenting our child and teaching them the things that they need to know – huge, huge results, right? Or in terms of our business, if we want to make 6k that year, or sometimes just make six figures that year, or sometimes just make five figures, how do we take it and put it into bite size chips?
Bite Size Shift #2: Create a plan for the week.
The first one, as I mentioned, was starting our morning and thinking, what do we need to get accomplished for the day? The second one I use is I have to have a plan. If there’s no plan, then we’re not moving towards anything. So as we move it into the daily, at the end of the week, what do we need to get accomplished? We’re moving from day into now week, and with the week now so we can now reverse engineer and know that if I want this completed by the end of the week and what do I need to get done each day?
So the day is the first thing, then we take that expansion that we look at the entire week. If I do this every single day, would I be able to get what I need to get done for the week? So it’s almost like a self check into where you’re trying to go. Now the reason why we broke it up into smaller chunks in terms of the day first is because this works for me. I mean it’s just a strategy that works for me, someone might want to do the week first and then go back into the day. For me, I like doing it each morning and say, “okay, this is what I’m doing this morning. If I get this done each day during the morning, throughout the week, it will get done.” So plan a little bigger. We’re going to go small bite size chunks, and then get it a little bigger so we can make sure that we are tracking ourselves towards being on task.
Bite Size Shift #3: Take one step at a time.
So the last thing I want to let you know, if you want to move towards those rapid results and you want to know how to do the bite size daily shifts, take one step at a time. Like just understand that one step at a time – and it doesn’t have to be fast steps – just make sure you are stepping. The same analogies being used, if I’m trying to get towards my finish line, I gotta look at where I’m starting and I have to step. So I’m always going to leave you with an action step. It’s always going to be an action technique where you are physically moving. Your planning is the mindset part. You’re reviewing is more constant mindset part and some some mental movements. And then the action is the actual doing it like what did you physically need to do to get it done? We gotta move out of that mind only and now move it into our body and into it physically happening. And if you do that, if you follow these three simple tips and steps into shifting into your maximum results, into getting to things that you desire, I promise you by the end of a certain time that you give yourself, you will see growth. And for me that’s the way guys.
Thank you for following the Dr. Ali Griffith Show. If you feel that you need some assistance or some help with some of these tools and techniques that I’ve given, if you are looking for those rapid results and you feel like you’ve just been going in a circle, or simply don’t even know what your first step is, make sure you reach out to me at bit.ly/chatcreate so that we can have a 15 minute complimentary call. Thank you so much, and until next time remember be au-mazing in your thoughts, your words, and in your actions. Peace.
This is a transcription of The Dr. Ali Griffith Show. If you’d like to listen to this episode and others you can do so here: bit.ly/dralishow
P.S. My nonprofit Smart Fit Fam is hosting our 5th annual Smart Fit Family Fitness Fun Day on July 28th and I’d love for you to attend! This is a free event for ALL to attend (especially special needs families!). We’ll have lots of fun activities, including limbo, potato sack races, egg and spoon races, face painting, dancing, and so many more wellness/fitness activities, games, and food. The event will be at the Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum in Brooklyn, NY from 11am-4pm. It’s totally free to attend! Check it out and get your tickets here: bit.ly/fifthfitfun
by Adriana Santiago | Jul 14, 2019 | Uncategorized
What’s up, what’s up, what is up? And welcome to the Dr. Ali Griffith Show: Mindset, Meditation, and Motivation. What are some of the biggest mistakes that I see people make that affect their results? I know you’re ready to hear it, so stay tuned and I’ll go through all of the details of what are some of the mistakes that I constantly see that affects results.
So today we are speaking about results and the things that we do that we want to see, the results that we want to see, right? You get up in the morning and everyone has certain intentions and from the intentions you want to get results. Now, a lot of my clients come to me because they’re always questioning, “Dr. Ali, how is it that you are getting these fast results where you just literally started a business a few years ago and now we’re seeing you everywhere. We’re seeing, you know, constant movement and constant results,” in terms of what I’m doing, whether it’s parenting, whether it’s business or if it’s just me in general. I’ve always been a person that reaps fast results. Now what I gave you, and I can show you that in a different video or podcast, is what I have done to create the results, but I’ve never shared with you what I see that are mistakes that are people making to create the results that they want. So today we’re going to share all about some of those mistakes that I see.
Mistake #1: Doubting yourself.
The first mistake I see is first people doubt themselves. You’re constantly doubt yourself. I know for me, at the beginning when I start any new project, the first thing that comes into my mind is often “you can’t do this” or “what will happen if you fail?” or “that just sounds silly”. Like I literally talked myself out of every idea that I have before even moving, and I spent some time there. Now before in time when I was younger, when I didn’t know better, I would actually spend a very, very long real estate in there. And when I say a long real estate, meaning I have let ideas that I’ve had sit on me for one year, five year, 10 years, 20 years, even to the point where I just talked myself out of it. To where it was a great idea when it first came up, and then the self doubt came in and all the negative things came in and I completely said, “okay, well I’m not doing it because I already saw the end and the end is not exactly what I want.”
So that began to be one of the mistakes that I was doing, and what I realized when I speak to my clients and I’m helping them through their blocks, or through their not making action, is they are constantly doubting themselves. Possibly from other failures that have happened, possibly from what they’ve heard, possibly from just their own negativity that lets them question whether they can get it done, or just simply fear. So when we continue to doubt ourselves, when we continue to talk ourselves out of things, then that affects the results. Like how do they expect to get fast results if we’re going to talk ourselves out of it?
Mistake #2: Worrying too much about what others might think.
The second thing, biggest mixing mistake I see people make is they’re constantly willing to listen to others. Like they’re listening to what others say, and guess what? We’re also listening to what they don’t say. So we’re waiting to hear, “oh, that was great,” or “that was not great.” We’ll put something out there and then we’ll do the – we’ll bring our ears towards because we want to know what is it that they feel. We’re listening. We’re listening to if they say negative, and then when they say negative, we’re going to jump on that, “well you know, I did think it wasn’t a good idea,” or, “you know, maybe I did make many mistakes.” And or, we’re listening to the positive. Like we’re waiting. We’re just waiting and listening and allowing whatever they’re saying to be the primary reason if we’re continue or not continue.
Mistake #3: Expecting fast results.
The third thing, I see this too a lot, is we expect fast results immediately. Like we want Burger King right away. We want to put it out there and we want a million hits. We want to start something and reach the the final point immediately. And I had to learn that life doesn’t happen like that. Like nothing I’ve earned happens over night. When I went to do my martial arts studies, I started at white belt and I had to train and I had to go through to the next level. You know, for us it was the yellow belt, and then moving through to the next level. So there are always steps and levels and things that you have to get through – the falls, the rises, the different moments where it’s just part of the process. When I had Steve Harvey as our coach during our Act Like a Success, he said, “many people want to jump in and just take the elevator straight to the Penthouse, not realizing that you’ve got to walk the steps to get up there and that the penthouse isn’t exactly floor level two, or three, or even five or six. It’s often a huge number.” So if you want to get to the penthouse, or you want to get to your final destination and if you want results that happen faster than others, you have to expect that it’s not going to happen immediately.
And that is one of the biggest mistakes I see too often and I am guilty of that myself. You know, we’d comment from this fast paced society where everything is technologically advanced, then we want to be technically technologically advanced. Then we want to go ahead and do something and it’ll download immediately or uploaded immediately, and in reality that is just not true. And if we keep expecting – if I keep expecting it – you keep expecting for things to happen immediately, then guess what? We are going to constantly be disappointed because immediate is not the not the road too fast results. Immediate is not the road to success. What is the road is taking our time and that leads to the next biggest mistake.
Mistake #4: Failing to plan.
Another big mistake we make is we don’t plan. If you fail to plan then you’re literally planning to fail. So we have to understand where it is we want to go. Like if we’re getting into a car and we know our final destination, then we’re looking at what are some of the steps that we have to pass through or the places we have to go to get to our final destination? We don’t just jump into the car and guess what, blink we’ve arrived. That doesn’t happen. So why do you think it’s going to happen in terms of your parenting success? Why do you think it’s going to happen in terms of your business success? I had such a rude awakening when I realized that everything that I put my hands to required a plan. It required strategic action. It required not just wishing and thinking and lots of wing it. You know, like when you think you’ll just go to the store and give them a dollar and all of a sudden you’ll become a millionaire.
Uhh, reality?? That doesn’t happen to all of us. That’s like a tiny, minuscule drop of a person that that will happen too. And even for those people, those are people who may have been playing it for years now. Understanding that we need to make a plan, we need to make a plan, we need to create a plan, will allow us to start seeing whether we are moving in the direction that we want to go. It allows us checks and balances. It allowed me a place where when things didn’t go the way I wanted it to go, then I had something, a roadmap to go back and look at it and see, okay, where could I have done something different? What can I do? How do I recalculate where it is that I want to go? And having a solid plan, a strategic plan helps in that process.
Now if you don’t want to get the fast results, then don’t plan. Just get up there and just blink it away. But if you’re looking for those fast results like I am, like you are, like most families or moms with children with autism or special needs, or just moms in general who just don’t have the time – you want to make sure that you don’t make these mistakes that I have made repeatedly. Created a plan.
Mistake #5: Not getting help.
The last thing I’m going to share for you is not getting help. Like that’s a huge, huge mistake. I think that that should be like the biggest one of it all. Here we are with this “I can do it myself” attitude that I don’t need help to parent. I don’t need help to start my own business and have a successful business. Guess what? I need help. I had to learn that everything that I do, create that plan and know where is it that I’m going to need help.
When I see myself fall, when I see myself not show up the way I know I’m supposed to show up, then I get help. I have my coaches, I have my mentors, I have different people that I will reach to when I am at the lowest. I even when I’m the highest, even when I’m at the highest, I’m constantly asking for help. Because what I realized is when we ask for help, when we reach out to others and let them know, “hey, you too can be part of this process,” then we get better results. Then we get the things that we want to see happen. We see it happen even faster because guess what? If you think about it, it’s collective energy. And if I’m doing it by myself, then I’m just the only sole force of energy. If I have others that are giving me help and helping me along the way, then I have now found a way that I can have collective energy with others who believe or want the same thing, helping me towards that process.
So this is Dr. Ali Griffith’s Mindset, Meditation and Motivation show. I appreciate you subscribing. I appreciate you leaving your rates and reviews and helping us to become a success. Now don’t stay here, drop back and listen to another one of my Dr. Ali Griffith Shows. There’s so many and they can keep you moving. And if you’re at that state where you just actually need to take a pause and to breathe, then you need to take or listen to the au-meditation moments. Thank you, and I’ll catch you next time. And remember in all that you do, be au-amazing in your thoughts, your words, and in your actions.
This is a transcription of The Dr. Ali Griffith Show. If you’d like to listen to this episode and others you can do so here: bit.ly/dralishow
P.S. My nonprofit Smart Fit Fam is hosting our 5th annual Smart Fit Family Fitness Fun Day on July 28th and I’d love for you to attend! This is a free event for ALL to attend (especially special needs families!). We’ll have lots of fun activities, including limbo, potato sack races, egg and spoon races, face painting, dancing, and so many more wellness/fitness activities, games, and food. The event will be at the Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum in Brooklyn, NY from 11am-4pm. It’s totally free to attend! Check it out and get your tickets here: bit.ly/fifthfitfun
by Adriana Santiago | Jul 5, 2019 | Uncategorized
What’s up, what’s up, what is up? And welcome to the Dr. Ali Griffith Show: Mindset, Meditation and Motivation. I want to say thank you to those of you who have subscribed, who have been leaving your reviews and your ratings, and you are the reason that we are over 1.7 thousand downloads within less than two months. Let’s celebrate that, let’s celebrate that! Now, if you ever wanted to find out how to maximize your time and get the most out of those short breaks in your day so that you can keep moving to where the ultimate results, this is going to be that session for you. So grab your pens, get your thoughts together, create a little notes section in your apps, whatever is going to help you to remember some of these tips, and do that right now.
I’m super excited to share some of my tools and tips with you because I never even realized that they were tools and tips. They were just things that I did along the way and some I’ve done and I’d made huge, huge errors like, well, I’m going to give you some exact tips that I didn’t even think that they could actually result in something good because they were actually downfalls later on. Now looking back, like I was telling her class, I was training yesterday, my hindsight is my clearest site, so when I can look back and see, oh my goodness, that was actually a tool that was actually a strategy that I can use now to watch something else. It helps me to now know that it’s okay for me to go through the mess ups and the blunders and the falls, because when I look back at it and I look at the lesson learned through it, I now can use this for other things that are going to come up in my life.
Tip 1: Create a plan.
So the first tip that I use whenever I have those short moments in my day is I create a plan before the day even starts. I create a plan because it helps me to know that throughout the day I have to squeeze time in to get what I need done. And the reason why I say this is because most of you know I’m an audiologist and speech language pathologist by trade. I’m an autism mom. I run my own nonprofit organization, Smart Fit Fam. I also am a business owner for So Smart Kids, and my training and development program, which is the Dr. Alisha Griffith LLC. So trying to do all of those sometimes can feel overwhelming. And when I don’t have a plan of what I need to get accomplished for that day, I ended up just not getting anything done.
I get other stuff done, but the top things, the priorities, the things that will make me feel like a success towards the end of the day, if they’re not planned, they’re not done at all. So I know many people tell you this over and over again and you’re like, oh my gosh, I hate planning. And sometimes I just like to live spontaneously. Living spontaneously is totally cool. I am down for that all the way. However, if you want to see results, if you want to move towards a specific goal, a specific objective, a specific result that you know you are going to be happy about, you’ve got to throw in some sort of plan. And the way I plan is I just list the top three things that I need to get done for that day that would make me feel successful. So you can try this tip and then let me know how does it feel once you just reduced the 10, reduced the 15? I know we all have our to do lists, but just focus on three, and if you focus on those three, how will you feel when it is completed?
Tip 2: Pair it with something you MUST do.
The second thing that I do, and once again I stumbled into this, was I pair it with something else that I know I must do. So I think a cool example of that is I know every morning I must put Zachary onto the bus (that’s my son). He is my son with autism and we are now in the process of helping him to learn how to become more independent and go towards the bus stop and wait for the bus. However, I’ve got to get up in the morning and I’ve got to help or assist him. We’re preparing himself for the day, and preparing myself for the day. So I pair going to the gym with that because one of my top three things on my goal, yeah, my personal goal is to make sure that I get at least 20 to 30 minutes of movement and activity each day. If I can pair it with that, then great. On the days I can’t pair it with it – like if I have a meeting – I don’t take it out on myself, but I don’t get super duper angry with myself. All I do is make sure I look at it, I really evaluate it. Can I move it to another time of the day? Is there something else that I must do through this state that I can pair it with? So pairing it with something that you must do, pairing it with something that is part of your regular routine makes it more possible that you can get in those times, or squeeze in those when you can focus on your three planned goals for the day.
Tip 3: Implement a checks and balances system.
The last thing I want to say that I definitely definitely have to do is I have a checks and balance system. You know, I figured if it’s good for the zoo, if it’s good for the judicial system, if it’s good for our legislative system… then it’s got to be good for me. Right? So how I use my checks and balance system is I use two or three, two or three other things to help me to remember because sometimes my memory is really, really horrible. I don’t know if any of you guys are like me. I would plan in the morning and life would happen and things will just go array. And you know, you get caught up with the office, or you get caught up with a friend, you get caught up with unexpected things that pop into your day. And I’d create that checks and balance system of what my checks and balanced system looks like. It can be an alarm, it can be an accountability group, it can be telling a friends or a close family member.
Now what that does for me is that helps another person to check in on me. It gives that tool of the alarm to remind me and it gives my accountability teams, a group of who I have to report to either at the end of the day, at the end of the week. In my Ignite U Mastermind, which is my business coaching program, we have an accountability group where we meet up every two weeks. That helps to create a checks and balance system for the moments when life just happens, right? So if you start creating a checks and balance system, then you will have something else to remind you and it will take some of the pressure off of yourself.
So those are a few of my tips. Those are a few of the things that I go to that I try. I have done them repeatedly, and I now know this works for me. So I decided to just let you in and share it because I have so many people asking me, “Dr. Ali, I don’t get it. How do you do it? How do you do so much and still create those maximum results?” And I just stopped and I took a look back and I saw what are some of the things that I do that I know leads into me looking on the other side saying, wow, I can’t believe I got that done. I’ve got to have that structured plan. I have to pair it with something that I know it’s part of my regular routine. And I definitely have to create some sort of checks and balances system to make sure that there’s a reminder, to make sure someone is calling me or or sending me a text, or knowing that I have to report to either a coach or report to accountability group also helps to make sure I stay on the straight and narrow.
I want to thank you for just popping in and spending some time with me and using this time to shift your mindset to learn more about motivating yourself and to then go into action. Share with me how are some of the tools and tips that I’ve been sharing with you over time? How has it impacted your life? What changes have you seen? I’ve been so blessed that this week on a coaching call, I spoke to a mom and she mentioned that listening to my shows or watching the Youtube videos have been her coffee in the morning. Oh my goodness. Coffee in the morning. That’s super huge. That means I helped keep her – well, I asked her what does that mean of course. And she said, “you help to keep me going. You help me to know that I have hope. You helped me to keep moving forward.” To me, that’s priceless. So keep sharing your wins. Keep letting me know what else can I focus on and how was can I serve you? Because I want to make sure if you’re going to allot a few minutes just to allocate it, just to listen to me or watch me, then I want to make sure you’re getting the most out of your time.
I know, I sure am getting a lot out of it because there’s nothing like working through problems, working through challenges, and working through wins with other people and sharing how I do it. It helps to reinforce me, and it helps to reignite me, and it helps to recalibrate me for what is in my future. I want to thank you for watching and listening and being part of the Dr. Ali Griffith Show: Mindset, Meditation and Motivation. And I want always, always to remind you to remember to be, are au-mazing in your thoughts, your words, and in your actions.
Remember to subscribe, review, share this with your friends, and definitely let me know what are your thoughts? What do you think about what we said today? Which tip works for you? Which tip have you tried before and that you’re not too sure about? Or which one just said, oh my goodness, this is exactly what I needed to hear for the day that I have ahead, or the day I have planning moving forward? Thanks for listening and have a good day. Peace.
This is a transcription of The Dr. Ali Griffith Show. If you’d like to listen to this episode and others you can do so here: bit.ly/dralishow
P.S. My nonprofit Smart Fit Fam is hosting our 5th annual Smart Fit Family Fitness Fun Day on July 28th and I’d love for you to attend! This is a free event for ALL to attend (especially special needs families!). We’ll have lots of fun activities, including limbo, potato sack races, egg and spoon races, face painting, dancing, and so many more wellness/fitness activities, games, and food. The event will be at the Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum in Brooklyn, NY from 11am-4pm. It’s totally free to attend! Check it out and get your tickets here: bit.ly/fifthfitfun
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