Melissa Heisler

This author has written 32 articles
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Melissa Heisler is a Stress Reduction Expert. After 10 years managing and directing theatrical productions followed by a Masters in Integrated Marketing Communication and 17 years in corporate marketing, the stress of high pressure, deadline driven jobs led to her own ill health mentally and physically. This started her search for a long-lasting means of approaching each situation with more ease, contentment, and power. Melissa is committed to guiding professionals to improve their health, increase their mental clarity, easily deal with difficult people, and find peace in their current jobs all through reducing their stress levels.

Melissa is the host of The Empowerment Show and also a contributing author for the books, Be There Now: Travel Stories From Around the World and Defining Moments: A Gathering of Women’s Journeys. Her first solo book, From Type-A to Type-ME: A Framework for Stress Reduction is being published in 2014. She has also contributed to Experiences of the Light, to be published by Career Press / New Page Books in 2014.

For more information, please visit itsmylifeinc.com

Recent Releases

Why Stay Angry?

“Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.” – Mark Twain What was the last thing that made you angry? The bad driver cutting you off? Your kids not picking up their toys? You were passed over for a promotion? How long did you stay angry? An hour? A day? A week? According to Harvard-trained and published neuroanatomist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, your anger should only last for ninety seconds. To feel an emotion we need to think a thought which then stimulates an emotional circuit…

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Change Your Focus – Change Your Experience

I recently had the honor of interviewing Neil Findlay on The Empowerment Show. In his episode, we discussed his charity work. He helps children living on the street in Madagascar who may be as young as five years old. No resources. No education. No future. A situation he could only describe as hopelessness.  He also works with teens in Australia who often turn to drugs and alcohol due to their family situations. The teens have access to everything - food, shelter, education, and technology - yet there the suicide rate is rising. Suicide is rare in Madagascar where living conditions are…

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You Are Not Your Results

I like to think I was a control freak, but I guess I still am. Back in the old day I was a micromanager, taking responsibility for every aspect of a project even if it wasn’t mine. I would stay awake at night worrying about outcome. I would plan and scheme what else I could do to make the project work. Fortunately, for the most part, I have released much of those tendencies. My next challenge is releasing my focus on outcome for things that define success for me. Many a sage says to release the outcome. It is about the journey not the…

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How Self Esteem May Be Holding You Back

I recently read an interesting excerpt from the book NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. The book focuses on teaching and parenting styles, but I think it also provides an interesting glance into the power of self-empowerment over self-esteem. Let me try to explain how I see the difference between self-esteem and self-empowerment. Self-esteem comes from the praise of others, therefore it is outside ourselves and something we can not control. Self-esteem is based on the belief in unchanging facts, like “you are smart.” Self-esteem is a noun. It is a descriptor. On the other…

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Ask a Luminary

When There Aren’t Enough Hours in the Day

“When you have that feeling of there just aren’t enough hours in the day, where do you suggest one starts to relieve the stress?” ~ Diane Beaulieu, Entrée Kitchen owner and B.I.G. pod leader Great question, Diane! There are four places to find relief when you feel there are not enough hours in the day, there is too much to get done, or the stress of your workload is too much. As a recovering Type-A, I have a tendency to think that EVERYTHING needs to get done RIGHT NOW and by ME. If you have the same struggles, take a look at…

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A Stressed Out Baboon

We all complain about stress, but what is it really? National Geographic did a wonderful report on what stress is by not only looking at humans and our environment, but also through baboons and science. In watching specific tribes of baboons who ate the same food, lived in the same area, and experienced the same natural threats, scientists found it was not environment but social interaction and social rank that caused stress. The baboons that experienced stress and the physical symptoms of stress were those on the bottom of the food chain. They were the weak males being picked on by…

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Don’t Believe Your Fears

I like to think I am fearless, and in many ways I am. But in some ways I am not. One of the most noticeable ways is in regards to my business. I fear not having enough income to pay my bills. I fear I will not be able to make the business what I want it to be. I fear that I made a mistake making my passion and purpose my business. The problem is when I listen to my fears and believe them, I make bad choices. If I believe I won’t have sufficient income, I feel it…

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Working for a Living

Recently whenever I talk to a client or friend about their job, I hear: I have lost the passion for my work. My co-worker undermined my project. It seems we only shuffle paper and no longer provide anything of true value. My boss took credit for my work. I have to work overtime again, without pay. There is too much work to do. I am completely overwhelmed. Once again, I had a nervous breakdown in my office. There are many reasons we feel this way. The economy tanked out in 2008 and led to layoffs but the same amount of…

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Machu Picchu

The Catalyst

At first I didn’t know why I felt so poorly. I thought that it might just be due to my new job filled with travel, deadlines, and an ever-changing focus. My stress-levels increased while my exercise decreased. My eating habits became poor as processed, prepackaged convenience foods and the perceived need for caffeine became the norm. Even when I tried to eat better, the weight still kept coming on and my digestive system was erratic. I began to have health issues with seemingly no source. My menstrual cycle was horrendous with heavy flowing for weeks, not days, excruciating pain piercing…

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At One with Your Circumstances

There have been many times in my life, and still some today, when I fight reality. I want a different outcome. I desire for things to be different than they are. I pray for divine intervention to change the facts. What usually occurs are that the facts remain and all I have done is create pain and disappointment for myself. It is said that what we resist, persists. What if instead of resisting, we accepted? Recently I was introduced to the Navajo word “Hozho.” It is the most important word in the Navajo language. Roughly translated it means peace, balance,…

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Be Type-ME Stress Relief

Why Are We So Stressed? And What Can We Do About It?

Never in history have we had such comforts and ease of living. Our grocery store shelves are stocked and we can cook a meal in minutes. We can communicate with family and friends around the world instantaneously and face to face. Modern conveniences make our day to day life easy. Then why the heck are we so stressed? The reason is because of this technology, and our limbic brain. I have been preaching this a long time and recently spoke about it.  Now new research by Dr. Marc Schoen, psychologist and faculty member at UCLA’s Geffen School of Medicine, has…

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