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

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