Monthly Archives: May 2012

Are You Feeling the Joy?

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I love feeling unbridled optimism and joy! Wanting to sing at the top of my lungs and dance because it feels so good!

Interestingly, one of the places this exuberance erupts is in the middle of running high intensity intervals. Even when I’m so out of breath that I can’t sing or clap, I sometimes just pump my arms. The joy just has to be expressed!

Yes, most of the time I’m running on the treadmill at home so I have no inhibitions, but my husband will tell you that it doesn’t really matter if I’m out on the street. I’m a dance walker and runner, baby!

Perhaps it’s just endorphins. Perhaps it’s the increased oxygen flow to my brain. Perhaps it’s just the beat of the music. Perhaps it’s the series of minor concussions I had as a kid. So what! Who cares? It’s anabolic and I love it!

And it’s a gift that keeps on giving. That amazing feeling of being in love with life continues way longer than the 35 minutes I’m on the treadmill. It boosts my energy and positive feeling all day long.

What does that boost do? It makes me more loving and patient with the people in my life. It allows me to let go of little things that don’t matter. It enables me to get more done—and to do it with a better attitude.

It goes deeper than that. When we’re experiencing this kind of positive anabolic energy, it has the power to rebuild the body at the cellular level. This is why laughter is called the best medicine.

Who wouldn’t want to take this if it were a drug?

Exercise is one way I get the anabolic energy flowing. How about you? What are you doing that brings out the most joy, appreciation, and love? How could you do more of that? What impact might that have on your wellness—and your life?

Together we can do it!

Photo by www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

An APPLE for Mental Wellness

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Deadlines. I have some long-practiced negative catabolic energy around them that always seems to catch me by surprise.

Yesterday I spent a lot of time and energy either berating myself to focus, which is a lot like slamming your foot down on the gas pedal of a car and then careening out of control, or taking my foot off the gas completely, which feels a lot better but doesn’t get you anywhere.

The end result was that I made a little progress on an article I am writing, but I wasted a lot of time and mental energy that could have been better used.

So today, my plan is to more gently and steadily push down on my mental gas pedal and actually get somewhere. The result will be improved mental and emotional wellness, which are key facets of optimal physical wellness.

Just like the old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” I’m going to apply my APPLE principle, which can be used anywhere you want change.

Awareness—What is really going on?

I think at the root of my deadline struggle is fear. Fear that I don’t know what in the heck I’m writing about (particularly if it is a technical subject, which describes just about all of the articles I write.) Fear that all the articles I’ve ever written were just flukes and now the game is up and I won’t be able to do it. Fear that I’m letting people down and negatively impacting others (sources, copy editor, and graphic designer), which comes true when I don’t meet my deadlines. And even fear that I’ll miss out on other things I really want to do, which of course comes true because I’m wasting so much time.

The fear–real or imagined–creates the undesired outcome which just enhances the fear and the spiral gets worse.

Possibility—What is a realistic outcome?

I could absolutely finish this article today, or by Noon tomorrow at the latest. And I can have all the articles for the publication I write and edit done by next week.

Pattern—What are the thoughts, beliefs, or behaviors that I need to shift?

  • I am using other things as a distraction—busywork, email, social media, even food (hello extra protein bar that I ate yesterday.)
  • There is some self-bullying going on. When I can’t take the bullying, I reach for a distraction.
  • Ultimately, I’m avoiding engaging the fear and catabolic emotions that come up for me around deadlines.

Learn—What are new thoughts, beliefs, or behaviors that support Who I want to be?

It’s helpful to recognize that my Gremlin—that inner critic that we all have that tells us we’re not good enough—is behind some of my fears and they are not true. I absolutely know a lot more than I think I do—and I have resources I can turn to if I really need more information. And I’ve been writing this publication for more than 10 years. That’s too consistent a record to be a fluke.

It’s OK to acknowledge the fear and negative consequences. They don’t make me a bad person. And I have proven to myself in other areas—working out, relationships, etc.—that I can still have fears and do the action anyway.

Engage—What are the actions that will bring new results?

  • One thing that’s worked well for me in the past is focusing on how awesome it will feel when I get the articles written. That will be my renewed mantra.
  • When I am aware of self-bullying or fear, I can stop for a moment and sit with the emotions. And then I can decide to move forward anyway.
  • I can hold off checking and responding to email and put limits on social media.
  • Prioritizing other tasks can help keep me focused.
  • Breaking down the articles into doable pieces and giving myself credit for hitting those marks is another incentive for forward momentum.

Whew! I feel a shift towards more positive anabolic energy and am ready to get moving on this article.

What’s holding you back from being your best self? How can you apply the APPLE principle? How does that help you create sustainable change?

Together we can do it!

Photo from www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Move Your Body to Improve Your Life

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I’ve had a few “Thank goodness I work out” moments this week. From digging holes and planting shrubbery, to moving large planters around on the porch, to having to carry my 35-pound dog part of the way home from a walk—I’ve appreciated my strength and stamina.

While studies show that exercise plays an important role in promoting sound physical and mental health, more practically, it also adds to quality of life.

From easily carrying in the groceries to dancing for the sheer joy of it, being physically fit allows you to do and be more of Who you want to be.

Ironically, this isn’t one of the many benefits of exercise that is often cited. Too often we focus on the external reasons to exercise—weight loss or maintenance, a healthier heart, reduced risk of high blood pressure, stronger bones and joints, a stronger immune system, etc.

Those reasons are awesome, but alone they may not be enough to get you out of bed to go move your body.

But what about having the energy or stamina to play with your kids or grand-kids? Getting out and enjoying a hike with your family? Taking on a do-it-yourself project around the house? Or doing anything else you might want to do, like going horseback riding, zip-lining, or canoeing?

All of those activities are easier, safer, and more fun if you consistently move your body.

Even small things make a difference to quality of life, for instance being able to easily carry a box to the attic or basement, hauling the laundry basket, or climbing several flights of stairs.

Life is easier—and just more fun—when you have a strong and powerful body that you’ve developed through regular exercise.

How would your quality of life improve if you were in even better physical shape? How could moving your body help you be more of Who you want to be? How can you use those reasons to get your workout in today?

Together we can do it!

Related blogs:

Eleven Reasons to Exercise Today

My Secret to Extreme Exercise Commitment

3 Benefits of Exercise You Might Have Forgotten About by Cheers to Well-Being

Photo from www.freedigitalphotos.net

Wellness Tip of the Day

Aside

Wellness Tip of the Day: By slowly and steadily making those small decisions towards a healthier lifestyle you build momentum and achieve your goals.

Do You Believe That’s Possible?

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On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know that how bad things may look right now means nothing. It’s how good you know they can look with God’s help that counts.

Neale Donald Walsch

Are you focused on the problem or are you focused on expanding your belief and knowing that everything is always working out for you?

If you said, “Yes, but” or wanted to explain to me how things really aren’t working out for you, then you’re focused on the problem. And you are getting more of what you’re focused on.

Achieving anything first begins with the belief that it is possible. If you don’t believe it, how hard are you going to work? How much are you willing to try before you give up? How much will you sabotage your own efforts to prove yourself right?

One of the most famous examples of this is Thomas Edison. It would take him almost two years of failed attempts, new discoveries and prototypes before he would find success in creating the carbon filament light bulb.

After Edison’s seven-hundredth unsuccessful attempt, he was asked by a New York Times reporter, “How does it feel to have failed 700 times?”

He responded, “I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.” It is said he tried over 6,000 different carbonized plant fibers looking for a carbon filament for his light bulb.

Do you think he would have continued undaunted if he didn’t believe that he would ultimately find the solution that would work?

How can you begin stretching your beliefs to accept that wellness and wellbeing—or the essence of whatever it is that you want—are possible?

There are many, many ways, but here are a few:

  • Disregard what others have told you. Unless it is a Universal Truth, meaning it is true no matter who, no matter where, no matter how, then it does not have to be true for you.
  • Stop struggling. Relax and just accept that where you are is just where you are in the journey. Things are shifting and changing, even if you can’t see it.
  • Expect a different outcome. Just because you’ve tried something in the past doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try again. Analyze what didn’t work before and try again with the new information.
  • Have a little faith. Trust that All-That-Is (God, the Universe, Source Energy, Higher Coach—whatever works for you) not only has the power to make the planet rotate so perfectly that we can predict when the sun will rise and set and the pattern of stars across the night sky, but also can bring about the solution that is best for everyone involved.

What can you do to begin stretching your beliefs to accept that what you want is possible? What happens to your actions when you begin to believe and then know? How much more fun is the journey to where you want to go?

Together we can do it!

Photo from www.freedigitalphotos.net

Wellness Tip of the Day

Aside

Wellness Tip of the Day: To create optimal wellness and wellbeing begin stretching your beliefs to accept that it is possible.

How to Change Your Luck

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A friend of mine who struggles with her weight recently commented on how lean I was looking and said with a heavy sigh, “You are so lucky.”

I didn’t say anything in the moment, but I thought this was interesting since this friend knew me three years ago when I was at my heaviest weight ever and has witnessed me not only getting the weight off, but keeping it off for the first time in my life.

Truly, luck has had nothing to do with it.

Wellness is something that I focus on and strive to achieve. I’m not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I am committed to regularly moving my body and eating healthy food most of the time. But more importantly, I have changed my relationship with my body—and with myself.

I love and appreciate myself more, and as a result, I do more to take care of me. This “selfishness” of making my self-care a priority has actually enabled me to do more for others because I feel better mind, body, and spirit. Not only do I have more physical energy, but I have more mental and emotional energy. I am happier, healthier, and more in love with life as a result. My being happier has an impact on everyone I encounter.

We often assume that everyone else has it easier than we do and that we are alone in our struggles. We think weight loss, relationships, and life are just easier for everyone else.

Even when we witness other people’s struggles we forget. My friend doesn’t remember that in the middle of my initial effort to lose weight that my husband suffered a life-changing wellness-challenge that made it hard for him to get out of bed. While he’s much better now, there were some tough times that would have been easy to use as an excuse for giving up.

Everyone has had their share of struggle and challenge that they have overcome—including you. What you have overcome in your life is amazing. How much more powerful—and empowering—is it to compare you with you?

As my friend, mentor, and coach, Jennifer Barley recently blogged, luck is about “having intentions, aligning your actions, sending out the right kind of energy, leading with your heart, and being in the now.” The only thing I would add is it’s also letting go of comparing your success to anyone else’s.

Begin to reframe your journey. Look at and celebrate how far you have come. And if you’re not where you want to be, what is one small step you can take to begin moving in the direction you want to go? How does that begin to change your luck?

Together we can do it!

Photo from www.freedigitalphotos.net