The Orange Rhino Challenge®: a 4 week Journey to Start Yelling Less (starts 1/18/24)

Posted on January 13, 2024 by The Orange Rhino

The Orange Rhino Challenge to Start Yelling Less begins Thursday, January 18th!
* THIS CHALLENGE HAS NOW ENDED. Sign up for Waitlist for next one is at the bottom of this post *

I know that many people set the New Year’s Resolution to Stop Yelling at their kids…I sooo get this. I know how awful it feels to yell at your kids. You are not alone in the feeling. Over 50,000 people are part of this community based on the desire to learn to yell less.

I used to yell at my four sons a lot more than I liked. So much so that I set a personal goal to stop yelling at them for a year. I achieved that goal and learned a lot about how to keep yells at bay and also about myself and why I yelled in the first place.

Even though I wrote a book about how I stopped yelling, I am still human. I am not perfect. Life is not perfect. Life can be hard and relentless. I can do everything “right” to make sure I don’t yell and yet, I “slip up” and yell on occasion because while I am “The Orange Rhino,” again, I am still human. I am not meant to be perfect. You are not meant to be perfect. Yells happen. And when they do, I repair and move onwards others I feel even worse about myself.

I want to help you feel better about yourself as a parent and as a person. We all deserve to love ourselves more, to love time with our kids more and to love our lives more.

I am offering this 4 week program so you can start or enhance your journey to yell less. Because I want to help you – and not add any weight or stress or disappointment to your life – I won’t make promises I can’t keep. I won’t tell you that you are going to stop yelling in four weeks. Learning to yell less is truly an ongoing journey. BUT I will share with you my go to 4 “tools” that I focus on over and over and over again to ensure that I am best prepared to not yell in situations where I normally would.

*This is different than the 30-Day Challenge I did a year ago. Some information is the same, but the four themes and conclusion are slightly adjusted and it is simplified.

The Journey to Start Yelling Less begins Thursday, JANUARY 18th. It is FREE. (For now. In the future, I might change that because again, being honest. I put a lot of time and effort into the program and well, my 4 boys who I used to yell at a lot, a lot are now teens and drink so much milk I might need to buy a dairy farm.)

FORMAT as of right now…
– Every THURSDAY you will receive an email with a video explaining that week’s TOOLS and action and that week’s printable pdfs.
– For the rest of the week you will get daily emails with a motivational quote and reminder of the tool/focus.
– on SUNDAY, I will offer a tweak to the tool (if applicable; we all operate differently so what works for me, might not for you) or an enhancement.
– I will write about that week’s focus at least once (probably more) on The Orange Rhino main Facebook page

You do not need to own my book “Yell Less, Love More” to participate. That said, it does have extra tips that are helpful and supportive as well as stories to connect to and that have helped others feel less alone. It is available as an audiobook and hardcover on Amazon.

So come join us! Start your journey to yelling less right now! Sign up below. You will get a confirmation email and then an email Tuesday or so with more details. So excited to be on this journey with you.

Sending warmth and strength,
Sheila a.k.a The Orange Rhino

Questions? Email me at TheOrangeRhinoChallenge@gmail.com

Yelling Less is Possible! 30-Day Challenge Starts January 18, 2023

Posted on December 31, 2022 by The Orange Rhino

REGISTRATION is currently closed for the January 2023, 30-Day Challenge.
But you can subscribe to be notified when the next one will start.

Not yelling can be really hard! Not stating anything new, am I? But, it is also really possible and I know this because I have done it (and re-done it)! I went 520 days without yelling at my four boys who were all under the age of 6 at the time. And then I yelled because well, I am human and yells happen! Life happens! It doesn’t make me a bad parent, it just means I had a tough moment and I yelled. The good news is that because of the tools, tips and insights I learned from my year of not yelling, I was able to start yelling less again.

I will share these same tips, tools and insights with you during The Orange Rhino Challenge® 30-Days to Start Yelling Less

Wait, why Start? Why Yell Less – not Stop Yelling? Well…here’s the thing. I too am a parent. We are all under a lot of stress already and I will not add to it but overpromising. You will also quickly find that I am, to a fault, honest so I will only write and share my honest experiences.

So…why Start? Learning to stop yelling is a never-ending, always learning journey. Everyday you start the journey. Everyday you challenge yourself. There is no true beginning or end. Why? Because kids change. We change. Life changes. Our environment changes. With all the changes – the tools and responses we learn, need to change too. The core remains the same, but they get tweaked. Your triggers change as time passes. Your kids’ triggers change (um, hello teenagers!!) So no, I am sorry but this is not a 30-days and you will be no longer yelling program or a 30-days and the yelling-cycle will be gone forever. I can not promise you that.

And yelling less, not stop yelling all together, like I did for a year? Again, this is a journey. You very well might stop yelling all together during the 30-days. For real. It is possible! And…you might not. BOTH are okay. Neither path makes you a better or worse parent. In fact, both our good days and our not-so-good moments matter!! We can learn from both – and teach our kids from both. So celebrate the moments you don’t yell and embrace the moments you do. At the end of the day, what matters most is that you do your best at any given moment. Eventually, all those moments do add up to more “yelling less moments” and all those moments do eventually add up to hours without yelling, then days, then maybe weeks or months. You might have a day where you stop and think, “WHOA! I have stopped yelling!” And then you might yell again – wait, you will, again, you are still human! – but because it is so much less, it won’t phase you as much. You will identify as a parent that doesn’t yell at this point. Trust me. You will then take the tools, tips and insights you know, apologize to your child for yelling, offer yourself grace, and start the journey to yell less again.

If this all sounds good to you – sign up below! More details will follow!

* Owning the book “Yell Less, Love More: How The Orange Rhino Stopped Yelling at Her Kids – And How You Can Too!” is not a requirement, but helpful! It is available hard copy at amazon or
PRE-ORDER the audiobook!

NEW DATE for “Yell Less, Love More” 30-Day Challenge Book Club

Posted on October 20, 2014 by The Orange Rhino

Oh the irony. Oh, oh, OH the irony.

Before I took The Orange Rhino Challenge, there were several things that triggered me to yell unnecessarily at my kids. Okay, like a lot more than several but I am going to just focus on a few here. I will leave the rest for a rainy day.

Anywho, early on my journey to go 365 days straight without yelling at my four boys, I realized that 9 out of 10 times (an unscientific statistic by the way but I am sure it is accurate) I yelled at my boys not because of their behavior, but because of my mood. Feelings of exhaustion, P.M.S., stress, hurt, embarrassment, and insecurity would linger in my body for hours on end leaving my mind unable to think as clearly, proactively and peacefully as I wanted. These negative feelings would simply overtake my mind and squash my ability to respond to my boys in a positive manner.

I would be amiss if I didn’t also mention two other big feelings that frequently got in my way of yelling less and loving more: feeling disappointed when things didn’t go as expected and feeling anxious from not knowing about how current challenges would play out.

Ah yes, my dear friends Disappointed and Anxious.

I am fairly certain these two friends of mine were the leaders of the feelings that triggered me to yell unnecessarily at my kids. They seemed to always pop up the most. Disappointed that I hadn’t lost as much weight as planned. Disappointed that I didn’t get as much done as I wanted. Disappointed that it rained during our entire beach vacation. Anxious about my son’s health and which doctor to select. Anxious about how fast my husband and I would make up from that morning’s fight. Anxious about whether or not I would fit in with all the new people I met in my new town. Oh Disappointed and Anxious, you sure held me back and held my relationship with my kids back. I would even gander to say that you two were definitely on the top of my “triggers” list.

Thankfully, enter The Orange Rhino Challenge!

As soon as I learned that these two BIG emotions, as well as others, were putting me in a cranky space that made me quick to snap and yell, I forced myself to learn how to take control of them so that they would no longer take control of me! Now when one of these emotions rears it’s ugly head and my mind wants to spew out ugly and loud words at my boys, I say to myself, “Self, you aren’t angry at the kids you are disappointed at …..” Re-directing my anger to where it belongs helps me re-focus on my main goal: yelling at my kids less and loving my time with them more!

Which brings me to the main point of this post, the irony of the current situation.
The lack-of-books-being-in-your-house-as-planned-situation.
The lack-of-books-being-in-book-stores-situation.
The “Yell Less, Love More 30-Day Challenge Book Club” is-supposed-to-start-in-two-days-situation.

Well, I do regret to inform you that the books are delayed and will not be released October 15^th as planned but rather on November 1^st.

This is by no fault of my Publisher or anyone for that matter; it is simply something that happened beyond anyone’s control and fortunately had a non-tragic ending.

Some of you may have seen in the news that there was a horrible fire in Los Angeles at one of the ports not too long ago. Thankfully, no one was majorly injured! And thankfully, the huge order of my books was in a container on a ship in the Pacific Ocean, waiting patiently to get to me, to us, and it was also unharmed. As were many, many, many other products that were destined for Los Angeles. The fire kept the port from functioning for numerous days pushing back the arrival of every single item that was hanging out in the sea, taking in the sun, listening to the waves.

I am not going to lie, when I first heard this story and the kicker that therefore the October 15^th date was in jeopardy, I wanted to yell! Oh man was I cranky! I had worked so hard to be ready for that date and I felt wicked disappointed. And I am not going to lie that I felt massively disappointed and massively anxious when I learned that even though the books did get into Los Angeles earlier than planned and even though they got really, REALLY close to making the October 15^th publication date, they didn’t. I felt disappointed because I had been waiting for October 15^th like a little girl waiting for Christmas and then it came and it wasn’t Christmas. And even though I know my books will arrive and I will have my “Christmas morning” feelings of “oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, it is really happening!!!” I still felt a wee bit let down last Wednesday. And Thursday. And Friday. And Saturday. And Sunday. And today when nope, still no books!

Which of course, just left me feeling anxious. Anxious that maybe even the November 1^st date won’t be met and that I will (1) further frustrate people, (2) feel more disappointed, and (3) will have to re-schedule the Book Club, again, because, yes, that is what I need – no want – to do. We’ll get to that in a moment.

So here I am waiting for my book about how to Yell Less and two of my main yelling triggers, feeling Disappointed and Anxious, are in full effect! Oh the irony! And oh the gift! Because guess what? I am feeling wicked disappointed and anxious and my ability to remain an Orange Rhino is being massively tested, but, and this is a big BUT, I have not yelled! I have not let those feelings control me; I am in control of them. I might not be in control of when my books arrive but I am control of how I choose to manage my own emotions!

And I am in control of when The “Yell Less, Love More 30-Day Challenge Book Club” takes place! Which by the way, will now start on NOVEMBER 1, 2014 and go through NOVEMBER 30^th.

This is where the irony of the situation gets even better. At first I was bummed to push it back but then I realized that Thanksgiving and the day after fall on the most, most, MOST perfect of days in my book. On those two days I share a Thanksgiving story (I kid you not!) and I share a story about how I keep from yelling during meal time (um Thanksgiving meal with lots of people squished around a table is a huge challenge for my boys!). The timing is actually PERFECT!

So it is all going to be okay, in fact, I am glad things worked out this way. At least now I have gained back two of the weeks I lost to my shoulder injury this fall. At least now more of you have a chance to join in what I believe is going to be an awesome experience. At least you all now can take advantage of the lower prices the online sites are offering pre publication. At least I have the chance to look forward to another date! My excited feelings of anticipation just got a two week extension. Sweet!

Ah, the power of perspective!

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we wait for my “Yell Less, Love More” books to find their way to you. I have confirmation that as of today, they have indeed made it to most of the large book sellers so all signs are looking positive that you will indeed all have your books by November 1^st (assuming you live in The United States) if not sooner!

Let’s all send positive vibes to my book – and to other Authors whose books are still stuck at sea and are even more delayed than I am! Again, the power of perspective!

For more information about The Book Club, read the entire post here or read below for the highlights!

Looking forward to Yelling Less and Loving More with you!

All my best,
The Orange Rhino
a.k.a. Sheila

Everyday in the “Yell Less, Love More Book Club” I will:

Do daily giveaways of items that can support you on your journey, such as Orange Rhino bracelets, keychains, stressballs, notebooks, coffee mugs, nail polish, and more!
Share additional inspirational quotes that reflect the book’s theme of the day.
Offer additional stories and details that further expand on the book’s theme of the day.
Answer as many questions as I possibly can! (I have no idea how big this will be!)
Work to help you all connect with each other and meet like-minded Orange Rhinos facing similar challenges or living in a nearby location.
Continue to develop other community boards that reflect the needs you all share in the book club!

Every day in the “Yell Less, Love More Book Club” you will:

Read posts by others that make you feel less alone and more hopeful
Find other Orange Rhinos that share the same yelling challenges as you, giving you more personalized information/stories to help you on your journey.
Build the necessary support network to succeed at learning to yell less
And much more I am sure!

How can you join? As all book clubs go, I will lead the days’ discussions based on the content in the book. So, understandably, you need the book to participate! My sincere hope is that the combination of the book content and the enhanced support and conversation on the community will truly help make your journey to “Yell Less, Love More” both easier and enjoyable! Ready to start your journey?

Email me your proof of purchase (pre-order or regular order) at YellLessLoveMore@gmail.com
I will reply before November 1st with a temporary code for you to use to login into the Private Community. You will then create your own password. Every day, at least once, I will add a new post to the Community. Check in throughout the day for my posts as well as comments from others!
The club will officially start November 1st and go through November 30th – overlapping with American Thanksgiving. This was planned! I imagine that you will be Thankful that you met new people, Grateful that you pushed yourself to change, and happy that you Discovered that you could indeed “Yell Less, Love More” (NOTE: Many sites say November 1 for the release date but I have strong reason to believe that pre-orders will be arriving by November 1st! If not, we will adjust the date!!)
Pre-order the book today to make sure you have it by November 1st! You can find it at any one of your favorite online resources for books! Here is a list of a few: www.theorangerhino.com/the-book

“Yell Less, Love More” 30-Day Challenge Book Club!

Posted on October 12, 2014 by The Orange Rhino

When I started The Orange Rhino Challenge in 2012, I felt excited to change yet equally (more so?) ashamed that I had to change. As such, even though I very much wanted to share about my Challenge and knew that I needed to in order to get the support I knew I needed to succeed, I still hesitated to tell people. I would get the courage to tell someone or to post a new blog entry and then BAM! I would feel a pit in my stomach. Fear would take over and either my mouth or fingers would pause as my brain started freaking out!

What would be said when I shared that I promised my boys that I would go 365 days straight without yelling at them? Would I be ridiculed? Laughed at? Questioned? Lectured?

What would be said when I shared that I promised my boys that I would go 365 days straight without yelling at them? Would I be ridiculed? Laughed at? Questioned? Lectured? Or, what would be said when I wrote about a personal experience with yelling, would my capability as a mother be examined? Would I be insulted? Humiliated even more?

But after sharing about my Challenge a handful of times, I quickly realized that my fears were unfounded. Thankfully, the judgment never really came! Sure I received an occasional questioning eye and a fake encouraging response, but for the most part, I received nothing short of positive, enthusiastic, and genuine support. This gave me the confidence to more readily share my “dark secret” and about my journey. As a result, I created an even larger group of people supporting me, keeping me accountable, and ultimately helping me to succeed as an Orange Rhino who went 520 days straight without yelling!

Could I have succeeded without having to share my “dark secret” and without having to risk feeling more ashamed than I already did? Sure. We can all do things alone. But as Betty Ford so perfectly put, and as I so wonderfully experienced, “You can make it, but it’s easier if you don’t have to do it alone.” I want your journey to “Yell Less, Love More” to be easier for you too! I want you to succeed on your own Orange Rhino Challenge so that you yell less at yourself for being a bad parent, but instead experience what I have: enjoying my life more and finally feeling better about myself as a person and as a parent. Now, I obviously can’t make your journey easier by magically making all of your triggers go away and magically making your kids listen to you the first time, but I can make it easier by guaranteeing you a loving, understanding, non-judgmental, “hands-on-I-tried-this-and-it-worked-give-it-a-try” support! Enter the “Yell Less, Love More 30-Day Challenge Book Club!” Starting November 1st, I will lead a private, online virtual book club via The Orange Rhino Challenge community.

Everyday in the “Yell Less, Love More Book Club” I will:

Do daily giveaways of items that can support you on your journey, such as Orange Rhino bracelets, keychains, stressballs, notebooks, coffee mugs, nail polish, and more!
Share additional inspirational quotes that reflect the book’s theme of the day.
Offer additional stories and details that further expand on the book’s theme of the day.
Answer as many questions as I possibly can! (I have no idea how big this will be!)
Work to help you all connect with each other and meet like-minded Orange Rhinos facing similar challenges or living in a nearby location.
Continue to develop other community boards that reflect the needs you all share in the book club!

Every day in the “Yell Less, Love More Book Club” you will:

Read posts by others that make you feel less alone and more hopeful
Find other Orange Rhinos that share the same yelling challenges as you, giving you more personalized information/stories to help you on your journey.
Build the necessary support network to succeed at learning to yell less
And much more I am sure!

Email me your proof of purchase (pre-order or regular order) at YellLessLoveMore@gmail.com
I will reply with a temporary code for you to use to login into the Private Community. You will then create your own password. Every day, at least once, I will add a new post to the Community. Check in throughout the day for my posts as well as comments from others!
The club will officially start November 1st and will end November 30^th – overlapping with American Thanksgiving! This was planned! I imagine that you will be Thankful that you met new people, Grateful that you pushed yourself to change, and happy that you Discovered that you could indeed “Yell Less, Love More” (NOTE: Many sites say November 1 for the release date but I have strong reason to believe 😉 that pre-orders will be arriving by November 1st! If not, we will adjust the date!!)
Pre-order the book today to make sure you have it by November 1st! You can find it at any one of your favorite online resources for books! Here is a list of a few: www.theorangerhino.com/the-book

I am really excited to do another online 30-Day Challenge as the past ones have brought people together, spread hope, and created change. Get ready to “Yell Less, Love More!” Note: If you have already participated in one of my 30-Day Challenges, this will be different as the content and approach in the book are different. And well, now I actually have a real book where you can easily keep track of actions, take notes, and get printouts without having to print them out!

Tonight I Toot My Rhino Horn

Posted on June 2, 2013 by The Orange Rhino

This is not an ordinary blog post, but here goes anyways!

I need to “Toot My Rhino Horn” tonight big time. I was going to write about it as a comment on our Facebook Community tonight when I called for others to “Toot His/Her Rhino Horn” but then I quickly realized it wouldn’t be a comment, but more like a long story so hey, why not just blog.

So here I am. Blogging and Tooting at the same time. This is a complete, top of my mind, no editing, no thinking post. So please prepare yourself for totally nonsensical (is that a word?) thoughts and writing!

As you all know, last week I posted about leading another “30 Days to Yelling Less Project” starting tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow. I was so proud of myself for figuring out an easy way to get people to sign up. The last two rounds I manually entered about 800 names into my gmail contacts. I kid you not. I am not what you say technologically gifted! I really wanted to run another 30 day Challenge but with the current set-up in my life, manually entering names just wasn’t an option. I hemmed and hawed about not running another Challenge but finally decided I would just take a leap of faith and use the email service many of my blogging friends used.

So I figured out how to set up a form to get subscribers. Score.

And then I figured out how to embed said form into a blog post. Double Score.

And then I shared it with all of you and got 6,000 people. Holy Smokes! Triple Score and then some.

Last night I decided to log in and do a practice for today. Um, negative one thousand score.

In all my research, I didn’t confirm what would happen if I had more than 2,000 people sign up. I mean, I had NO idea this idea would get such a response! I am floored and excited and scared and nervous all at the same time! Any who, so it turns out that because I am over 2,000 people, my account needs super duper verification in order to be used.

I learned this last night.

At 8:00 p.m.

I wanted to send out an email tonight. At 8:00 p.m.

But I can’t. Because my account is on hold.

The customer service reps are “barely” on during the weekends. So I am stuck patiently waiting until Monday at 9:00am to resolve this issue. I am stuck with the thought that I will let 6,000 people down by not being able to send an email tomorrow morning.

Now let me tell you a little something about myself. I don’t like letting 1 person down, let alone 100, let alone 600 or 6,000! Pre-Orange Rhino Challenge days, if this exact last 24 hours went down I would have been all worked up, in a hissy and probably snapped and yelled at my kids unnecessarily. Yes, I would have taken my frustration out on them.

But guess what? The thought never crossed my mind today! Why? I have learned in the last year plus that some things you can’t control and when that is the case, I need to let go or let out a yell. Letting go is a harder choice, but is always better. So today, I let go of the frustration. I let go of the disappointment in myself that I didn’t plan better. I let go of the high expectations of myself and I said, “It will be what it will be, do not let it ruin your day and especially don’t let it eat you alive.”

Because honestly, before this Challenge, it truly, madly, deeply would have. I would have dwelled and dwelled and been cranky all day. I wouldn’t have enjoyed a great workout. I wouldn’t have enjoyed building a pool out of Legos with my son. I wouldn’t have enjoyed actually going to a pool with my sons. I wouldn’t have laughed as much as I did at my life tonight when the house felt like a circus and my husband and I were the spectators, not the ringmasters!

Oh my gosh, not dwelling was SO FREEING and I truly believe I have made a lot of progress on “this skill” because of learning to not yell; because of forcing myself to realize what triggers me and to fix it. It feels so good to let go of frustration and not unleash it on my kiddos! Is a little bit of me still annoyed and disappointed and worried y’all will be mad? Of course. Because I care, immensely. Please don’t take my excitement that I let go the wrong way J and please know that I am sending an email every few hours to get things working. Oh, and please know that I will figure this all out and we will get rocking on our journey to yell less and love more.

But until then, I toot my Rhino horn for letting go! TOOT!

“30 Days to Yelling Less Project” Round 3! Sign up by Sunday, June 2nd at 5:00 E.S.T.

Posted on May 29, 2013 by The Orange Rhino

NOTE: I am so glad that you have found this blog post! I have CLOSED registration for this Project. Please join my Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/TheOrangeRhino or follow my blog to see when I lead another one. Thank you for your interest and best of luck on your journey to yelling less!

Many of you have asked me to lead another “30 Days to Yelling Less Project.” Oh have I been wanting to but the timing just hasn’t been right. Well now is the time! School is about to get out for many of our children, which means more time spent together and more opportunities to have fun together and more opportunities to practice not yelling! I for one know that I love the summer but that all the togetherness can be overwhelming at times; this is the perfect time for me to look at my own triggers again and set myself up for a “Yell Less, Love More” summer!

Here are the details about “The Orange Rhino’s 30 Days to Yelling Less Project.”

BACKGROUND:
When I first decided to commit to 365 days straight of not yelling I was overwhelmed. How on earth was I going to do just that? I didn’t know how to not yell, it had been a crutch for years; it was my go to! All I knew was that I truly, deeply wanted to stop yelling and that I needed support to do so. In the first few weeks, I found success not only with the help of The Orange Rhino™ Community but also in a few particular steps that I took, unknowingly. These steps, along with the support of others, helped me to get through day 1, and then day 5, day 10, day 30 all the way until day 365.

I know that many of you want to start The Challenge of committing to yell less but are intimidated by the enormity of it, by the stress of it, by the sheer commitment to it. I know many of you, like me, don’t know where to start!

So let me break it down for you. Let me help get you going on The Orange Rhino Challenge™ by walking you through the steps I took in the early stages. Let me spread it out over 30 days and help you YELL LESS AND LOVE MORE™. Let me lead you through my 3rd “30 Days to Yelling Less and Loving More Project.”

PROJECT DETAILS:

TIMING: The first day is this MONDAY, JUNE 3, 2013. The 30th day is Tuesday, July 2^nd
SIGN UP: Sign up BY SUNDAY, JUNE 2^nd at 5:00 EST — SIGN UP IS NOW CLOSED.

Please note: If you have emailed me prior to May 29, 2013 about this challenge, you are all signed up! Read below for details, but you do not need to click on the above link and re-subscribe; all you have to do is get excited.

To ensure that you get the most out of the 30 days, I cannot take names after this date. I am so sorry – I want to set everyone up for as much success as possible and starting on Day 1 matters. If you do miss the deadline though, please do join the FB community at www.Facebook.com/TheOrangeRhino for tips, support, and news about a fall Challenge.

Every weekday morning (EST), and weekends when appropriate, I will email all participants inspirational quotes, thoughts/goals and actions for the day, for example, Day 1: Think about what moment made you realize you needed to stop yelling.
The 30 days are broken down into approximately 10 days of preparation/practice and 20 days of yelling less. I want everyone to feel successful – we all have enough stress on our plates to feel otherwise from this effort! The first 10 days are there to set everyone up for as much success and positive feelings as possible!

OTHER KEY POINTS:

I encourage you to join our Facebook page www.Facebook.com/TheOrangeRhino so that you can share about your successes and get support from others. I also encourage you to write in the private blog posts included in the daily emails. Sharing is the key part – this is where we can all learn from each other and support each other. Most likely, this is where you will realize you are NOT ALONE.
As this is only the 3rd time I have ever done this (and as I am NOT a professional,) we will adjust how I help you accordingly!

The simple part is how this will work. The hard part is well, the work; it’s challenging ourselves to change. It’s accepting that you might have to look deep at yourself, not your kids, to stop yelling. Or more eloquently put:

“When we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change ourselves.”
~Viktor E. Frankl

Or as one of my favorite authors said:

“Things do not change; we change.”
~ Henry David Thoreau

Change is hard. It can be scary and intimidating. And changing a bad habit can be an out right pain the a*s. But this change is worth it. The upside is enormous: a more peaceful life, less mama guilt, a stronger, more trusting and loving relationship with your kids, greater self awareness, a lighter heart, or the list goes on and on. But don’t let me tell you what I’ve gained, go gain it all for yourself and tell me about how you are YELLING LESS AND LOVING MORE on July 2nd, 2013.

Am I an expert who knows what the heck she is doing with this idea? NOPE. (Let me make sure I spelled that right. N.O.P.E.) But I am going to try my hardest to share with you what I did and break down learning not to yell into really easy, simple, steps. And I am going to keep all my fingers and toes crossed that it helps you!

“30 Days to Yelling Less Project” Round 2 — sign up by 9:00am EST on 2/22/13

Posted on February 19, 2013 by The Orange Rhino

***Back by popular demand! There has been much interest in a 2nd “30 Days to Yelling Less Project” so here are the details for it!” If you have emailed me prior to tonight about this challenge, you are all signed up! Read below for details, but you do not need to email me. Get excited!***

When I first decided to commit to 365 days straight of not yelling I was overwhelmed. How on earth was I going to do just that? I didn’t know how to not yell, it had been a crutch for years, it was my go to! All I knew was that I truly, deeply wanted to stop yelling and that I needed support to do so. In the first few weeks, I found success not only with the help of The Orange Rhino Community but also in a few particular steps that I took, unknowingly. These steps, along with the support of others, helped me to get through day 1, and then day 5, day 10, day 30 all the way until day 365.

So let me break it down for you. Let me help get you going on The Orange Rhino Challenge by walking you through the steps I took in the early stages. Let me spread it out over 30 days and help you YELL LESS AND LOVE MORE.

Let me lead you through my 2nd “30 Days to Yelling Less and Loving More Project.” Here are the details!

It officially starts this MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013. The 30^th day is March 26^th.
To participate email me at theorangerhinochallenge@gmail.com by Friday morning, February 22nd, 9:00 am EST. Please put “30 DAY CHALLENGE – SIGN ME UP” in the subject so I can easily add you to the list! I know many of you might see this blog post after the deadline. I need to keep to this deadline in order to get everyone in the email list on time but please, if you miss the deadline, join our FB community in the meanwhile until I announce another group!
Every weekday morning (EST), and weekends when appropriate, I will email all participants inspirational quotes, thoughts/goals and actions for the day, for example, Day 1: Think about what moment made you realize you needed to stop yelling.
The 30 days are broken down into 10 days of preparation/practice and 20 days of yelling less. I want everyone to feel successful – we all have enough stress on our plates to feel otherwise from this effort! The first 10 days are there to set everyone up for as much success and positive feelings as possible!
I encourage you to join our Facebook page www.Facebook.com/TheOrangeRhino so that you can share about your successes and get support from others. I also encourage you to write in the private blog posts included in the daily emails. Sharing is the key part – this is where we can all learn from each other and support each other. Most likely, this is where you will realize you are NOT ALONE.
As this is only the 2nd time I have ever done this, we will adjust how I help you accordingly!

“When we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change ourselves.”~ Viktor E. Frankl

Or as one of my favorite authors said:

“Things do not change; we change. “~ Henry David Thoreau

P.S. To all of you who have participated in Round 1. Many of the the actions and steps will be the same. I have, however, changed the order a bit and shortened the practice part. AND if you have already emailed me, I have you on the list! Don’t worry!

“30 Days to Yelling Less” Project

Posted on January 13, 2013 by The Orange Rhino

341 days without yelling, 24 days of loving more to go!

****Today’s date is January 17th, 2013. Due to massive interest I will take names of additional people interested up until end of day Friday, January 18th. After that date please still email me and I will sign you up for the next go around if there is enough interest!****

Dear Orange Rhinos new and old,

I have a couple of big projects on my to-do list that I have been staring at for months. Months. The problem? I just can’t seem to get started. The projects feel daunting. I just don’t know what to do first so instead I do nothing, which makes me feel overwhelmed and well, I think you know how the cycle goes. It can be a tough cycle to break and sometimes I need my hubby, or mom or friend to break it for me. Sometimes, I just need help getting going and that almost always means I need help breaking the big scary projects down into smaller achievable tasks.

You know, an elephant once taught me on “Word World” that when you have a big word to spell, take things “Bit by Bit” and it all becomes easier. Oh what a wise elephant! I know I never would have gotten here to 341 days of not yelling if my family and friends hadn’t helped me break my Challenge down “Bit by Bit” in the early days. And I know that many of you want to start The Challenge but are intimidated by the enormity of it, by the stress of it, by the sheer commitment to it, by the 12 steps I shared (read here). But please, don’t let that hold you back.

Let me break down down this daunting task of learning not to yell for you. Let me help get you going on The Orange Rhino Challenge by walking you through the steps I followed bit-by-bit. Let me spread it out over 30 days and help you YELL LESS AND LOVE MORE.

Let me guide you through my “30 Days to Yelling Less and Loving More” project:

It officially starts this WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2013. The 30^th day is Valentines’ Day!
The GOALS are to (1) help you learn to yell LESS and (2) help you get enough success and self-awareness that when the 30 days are over you have the confidence to keep going
To participate email me at theorangerhinochallenge@gmail.com by Tuesday night, January 15^th, 10:00 EST.
Between now and then please share this with your friends…trust me, you need their support!
Every morning (EST) I will email all participants thoughts, quotes, or goals for the day, for example, Day 1: Think about what moment made you realize you needed to stop yelling. Day 2: How interested are you in changing? When the going gets tough, will you quit? (Don’t worry, we won’t just jump into not yelling right away. We will SLOWLY prepare for the practicing of not yelling first. This is the part no one takes time to do; this is the biggest help I think I can be to you, helping you do the groundwork so less yelling is easier.)
Every night I will post on my Facebook Page http://www.Facebook.com/TheOrangeRhino asking people to share what they learned or thought about that day. This is the key part – this is where we can all learn from each other and support each other. Most likely, this is where you will realize you are NOT ALONE.
As this is the first time I have ever done this, we will adjust how I help you accordingly!

“When we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change ourselves.” ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Or as one of my favorite authors said:

“Things do not change; we change.“ ~ Henry David Thoreau

YOU CAN DO THIS. You totally can do this. What are you waiting for? Email me!

Am I an expert who knows what the heck she is doing with this idea? NOPE. (Let me make sure I spelled that right. N.O.P.E.) But I am going to try my hardest to break learning not to yell into really easy, simple, steps. And I am going to keep all my fingers and toes crossed that it helps you.

The 2nd Orange Rhino Challenge Day: This Wednesday!

Posted on August 27, 2012 by The Orange Rhino

MARK your calendars!
TELL your friends!
FACEBOOK it!
BLOG it!
TWEET it!
PIN it!

Whatever you do just SHARE (this post) with your friends, your family, your co-workers, and maybe even the barista at Starbucks and the clerk in the grocery store that this

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2012 is the 2^nd Orange Rhino Challenge Day!
A day where we all try to go without yelling at our kids!
A day where we all love our kids more!
A day where I will donate $1.00* per person who participates to Habitat for Humanity (*details below)

Think it can’t be done? Think you can’t go a day? You CAN DO IT. I never, in a thousand worlds thought I could go a day. Or 10. Or 100. Or even 200. But here I am two days away from celebrating 200 days of not yelling, proof that it can be done!

Has it been hard and taken a few tries? Yes.
Has it been worth it? HECK YEAH!
Should you give it a try? Double heck yeah!!!

Why? Because there is only upside! There is the chance you can feel what I have felt from this experience: exhilaration, pride, less guilt, more calm, and lots ‘o joy!

Intrigued? Ready to try out The Orange Rhino Challenge for JUST ONE DAY? Here’s how you can participate THIS WEDNESDAY:

1) Get 3-5 friends to take this ONE DAY challenge with you by sharing this blog post and making a pact to do it together.
Having support will help you make it through the day. Text each other and support each other when you want to yell. This is how I survived my first week pre-blog! Plus the accountability of them knowing your goal works wonders!

2) “Post” your name to show your participation and so people beyond your friends can support you! On the morning of August 29^th check in one of four ways:
– Post at The Orange Rhino Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/TheOrangeRhino)
– Comment on Thursday mornings Blog Post at www.TheOrangeRhino.com
– Email me at theorangerhinochallenge@gmail.com
– Tweet me at ORchallenge.

At the end of the day, Post AGAIN to say how the day went.

3) Increase your Support Network by Changing your FB Profile picture to The Orange Rhino Challenge image to spread the word and to get people asking you about what you are doing further getting you support! It’s amazing how people rooting for you can really help. Go to the BUTTON picture in the right column of my blog and Save As. Then upload it to FB as your profile picture. Or Save this image:

Make me your FB profile picture this Wednesday!

4) Find Support and Give Support all day by logging on to your method of communication. Feel like yelling? Yell at me. Need advice on how to survive the day? Ask the community. Want encouragement? Seek it from us. This is a day for all parents who want to be Orange Rhinos, who want to be parents who have the energy and determination to forge ahead and parent with more composure and warmth and without the yelling, to support each other.

5) Read some of these posts to inspire you to succeed and to give you ideas on how to succeed!

https://theorangerhino.com/the-challenge-details/
(definition of yelling per this challenge)

https://theorangerhino.com/why-i-yelled-at-my-kids/ (big inspiration to try)

https://theorangerhino.com/50-alternatives-to-yelling-at-your-kids/
(ideas on how not to yell)

https://theorangerhino.com/orange-rhino-mommy/ (my favorite source of help not yelling)

https://theorangerhino.com/you-never-know/ (inspiration to try)

https://theorangerhino.com/why-the-big-tears/ (way not to yell, inspiration)

***Check back in tomorrow night at www.TheOrangeRhino.com for a new 50 alternatives to yelling!

It’s that simple. Take a chance. You might just surprise yourself. I know I did!

“You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi

I’ve gotten so much out of this Challenge and from the support from all of the other Orange Rhinos that it is time to give back. FOR EVERY PERSON that participates by “posting” I will DONATE $1.00 per person up to $200 to Habitat for Humanity. Why Habitat? Well, if it weren’t for my being able to do home improvements to my house, I would never have had the Epiphany (https://theorangerhino.com/the-epiphany/) that started this Challenge in the first place. And if it wasn’t for my Epiphany I never would have experienced these feelings:

1. Exhilaration & Pride – Knowing that I can find other ways to communicate, that I can do something hard is exhilarating. When I walk away from a moment without yelling I truly get a natural high from feeling good about myself (which by the way is often hard to achieve as a mom)! Added bonus? Pride from knowing that I am teaching my kids how to positively handle a situation and that I am loving them more, not less!

2. Less Guilt – Mama guilt be gone! There are so many things I wish I did better as a mom. But the biggest one, wishing I didn’t yell, has been removed. I no longer feel guilty about being a yeller because I am not one. The weight that has been lift is beyond freeing. It’s amazing.

3. More Calm – Yelling always raised my blood pressure and got me even more agitated than my current state. (Okay, well I don’t know if it did for sure but based on my bright red face am my racing heart I am going to assume it did). Not raising my voice has done wonders for how I physically feel!

4. Lots and lots ‘o Joy – Not yelling has forced me to be nicer. Period. This has led to many more loving moments with my boys because I am forced to be more empathetic, patient and loving with them. Added bonus? They are also more loving towards me now! I feel SO MUCH BETTER about myself as a parent and I know my kids feel so much better about me as a mom. It’s a win win, it’s joy all around! Add in feeling calmer and “lighter” and I find that I really am enjoying their company more.

Right now you’re probably thinking, yeah, this is all great but is all the Energy, Patience and Hard Work that one puts into not yelling worth it? Yes.

Besides the obvious reasons about how not yelling is better for my children, there is one benefit I never expected. My life feels richer now. I know it sounds hokey, trust me, I know. I am the first person to call something hokey. But it is true.

Because now that I am not yelling, I have shared some truly remarkable moments with my kids that I know wouldn’t have happened pre-challenge because I would have been too busy yelling at them. Like when I found my son in my bed after bedtime. I wanted to scream because I was so done with the day. But instead I asked him, What is going on? And he replied,

“Mommy, will you love me when I go to heaven? Mommy, will love me when you go to heaven?”

This heart wrenching but wonderful conversation never would have happened if I were still yelling. This is just one of the many moments gained from not yelling. Who knows, maybe you’ll have one on Wednesday?

So just try it. It took me just 1 day of not yelling at kids to realize that while hard, YES I COULD learn to not yell at them. And so you can you.

www.TheOrangeRhino.com
www.facebook.com/TheOrangeRhino
I can’t yell for 365 days…but I can still pick my nose!

TODAY is “The Orange Rhino Challenge Day!”

Posted on May 17, 2012 by The Orange Rhino

It’s here! If all goes well and I surive the next 14 hours of my 4 boys under 5 being awake then I will have successfully gone 100 days without yelling! Join me today and take the Orange Rhino Challenge…just for 1 day! It took me one day to be hooked, to realize not yelling was indeed something I could learn. Give it a try!

Comment below with your name to show your participation. Check in throughout the day here or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheOrangeRhino.

Good luck today!

The Orange Rhino Challenge to Start Yelling Less begins Thursday, January 18th! * THIS CHALLENGE HAS NOW ENDED. Sign up for Waitlist for next one is at the bottom of this post *

Waitlist – The Orange Rhino Challenge®: a 4 Week Journey to Start Yelling Less

Add Me to the List for Next 30-Day Challenge!

The Orange Rhino Challenge to Start Yelling Less begins Thursday, January 18th!
* THIS CHALLENGE HAS NOW ENDED. Sign up for Waitlist for next one is at the bottom of this post *