- Ms. Chandra Ellington, tell us about your success journey as a Happiness & Civility Specialist/Coach?
My journey to becoming a Happiness and Civility Coach started after listening to a top motivational speaker who gave a speech called, “Getting Unstuck.” During that time, I was stuck in life and it seemed as if he was talking directly to me. He clearly understood what it was like to be in my situation and he knew from experience what it was going to take to get unstuck from my situation. I was in a career that I knew wasn’t going to lead to my self-satisfaction nor financial freedom. He suggested that the first thing I should do when faced with the challenge of getting unstuck is to evaluate where I am, assess myself, and the role I played in being in my current situation. He said insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.
It was at that point I started thinking about what skillset I had that I was not only good at but enjoyed doing. What came to mind is my communication skills. When it came to my job, I would think about what I was doing that made me do my job well and showed my method to other support staff members who were having a hard time successfully carrying out those same tasks. I like making a difference in people’s lives, spreading positivity, and happiness. A lot of people come to me when they need help with something, because they know that I’m not going to ridicule them for what they don’t know – it’ll be a pleasant, non-stressful, interaction. George Eliot said, “What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other.”
It took me some time to unravel my thoughts about the specific area that I wanted to focus on, because the area of communication is a broad subject. Once I made up my mind that I liked both the subject of happiness and etiquette, I decided to create a company named, “Choose Happiness and Civility.” Afterwards, I started reading books, listening to audio books, watching speeches, and enrolling in training programs on the subject.
It was difficult trying to break old daily habits and create new daily habits, but I knew over time that it would get easier, so I kept on trying to be a better version of myself and over time I began to notice a difference. I started achieving my goals and that gave me the confidence that it’s possible I can achieve my other goals.
2. What recommendations would you give to young people who want to follow in your footsteps?
For young people who want to help people achieve a higher level of life satisfaction and ensure that their satisfaction is not temporary, I would recommend the following 4 pillars of success:
- develop your own social skills
Study topics on how to develop your own social skills. Practicing good manners and effective communication skills. Being a kind person and having empathy for others are all important in developing your social skills. By doing so, you set yourself up for a lifetime of more beneficial connections in all parts of life.
- Practice Doing Your Best
Set high expectations for yourself. If you have a goal, take action towards it until it’s accomplished. Goals come in the form of long-term goals and short-term goals. The short-term goals are essential to great achievements, because there demands are usually smaller, making them easier to achieve. They help you climb the ladder of success higher and higher towards the top. Each small success breeds more success, because when you experience success, it will give you the confidence to continue doing the things that got you were you are now.
- Health & Fitness
You want to create a stress management plan (i.e., eating healthy, getting enough sleep, regular exercise, meditation & prayer), so you can hold up under the pressures of life and meet the challenges you’re going to face head on. It will also help you to be a happier, healthier, and more productive person. The goal is to have a balanced life that includes time for work, relaxation, relationships, and doing fun things.
- Study
Studying is essential in order to expand your knowledge in your chosen niche. When you study, you want to not only read about the topic, but practice articulating what you learned, either verbally or on paper, in order to help you retain the information.
Chandra Ellington
BIO
Chandra Ellington is the founder of the company, “Choose Happiness & Civility.” She has a Master of Management degree, is a Certified Stress Management Coach, and Happiness and Civility Coach. She’s also a member of the Silicon Beach Speakers Bureau, and facilitates an e-Happiness Club on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ChooseHappinessAndCivility/. She’s an author. She’s written articles for the Long Beach Times newspaper. By the end of this month, she’s going to release Volume I of her new book titled, “Choose Happiness and Civility.”
She was born in Detroit, MI and raised in Los Angeles, CA since the age of 7. Her mission is to enhance the quality of people’s life by coaching them on how making a conscious effort to accept a positive view of life can increase their endurance for dealing with life’s problems, help them experience greater peace of mind, become a more loving person, access the wisdom within them, and become a person of greater strength by cultivating a positive attitude.
She’s discovered in life that happiness is not a given, it’s a choice. She chooses to be happy by monitoring her inner-conversations. Making her thoughts a priority and taking the time to assess them – deciding if the thought she’s having is negative (one that causes her to feel bad) and if so, changing the thought to a positive one that’s filled with self-empowerment, possibility, belief and/or positive regard. By doing so, she’s making a conscious effort at choosing to be happy.”
For over 20 years, she’s served as a Legal Secretary & Executive-Level Secretary. Having experienced personal hardships and working in high-pressured job positions for a long period of time, Chandra has had more than her fair share of stress and unhappiness. After experiencing chest pains and migraines from excessive workloads and worry, she decided there had to be a way to manage stress and anxiety to prevent it from harming her health. She studied stress management and positive psychology and applied the techniques she learned to minimize negative emotions through the use of relaxation techniques and mental training. She now wants to help other people find ways to enjoy life despite the challenges they face.
Let Chandra inspire and encourage you to accept a positive view of life and deal with the things that you cannot change. Below is her contact and social media information:
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.ChooseHappinessAndCivility.com
You can follow her at these social media links:YouTube:
Website: www.ChooseHappinessAndCivility.com
Facebook Group:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Happy_and_Civil Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/chandraellington/