Category Archives: Appreciation

My Wishes for You

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Christmas_Presents

Today I want to say, “Thank You!”

Thank you for reading, commenting, and allowing me to be your partner in creating the body you want. Thank you for your friendship, support, and love. Thank you for sharing who you are, and allowing me to share who I am.

I honor and appreciate each of you more than you can possibly imagine. You are at the top of my list of appreciation!

No matter what holiday you celebrate or beliefs you hold, I want to wish you and yours a day filled with hope, contentment, excitement, happiness, appreciation, joy, and most importantly, love.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Much love and appreciation,

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Hanna Goss

Five Tips for Practicing Appreciation

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If all you did was just look for things to appreciate you would live a joyous, spectacular life. If there was nothing else that you ever came to understand other than just look for things to appreciate, it’s the only tool you would ever need to predominantly hook you up with who you really are. That’s all you’d need.

— Abraham-Hicks

 

I’ve had a number of clients recently who wanted to start meditating, but didn’t know where to begin.

They know they want the benefits of clearing their mind, tapping into positive anabolic energy that benefits their bodies down to the cellular level, and connecting with All-That-Is (God, the Universe, Source, Higher Coach—whatever works for you). But they struggle with their thoughts, finding the time, and having a peaceful moment to call their own.

  • What if you could get all the benefits of meditation, but you could practice it anywhere?
  • What if you could get so good at it that you could do it standing in line at the grocery store, waiting for your dentist appointment or cable repairman, taking a shower, or traveling on an airplane?
  • What if practicing it could literally help you create the body you want?

This miraculous tool? Practicing appreciation. 

While many people think that gratitude and appreciation are the same thing, appreciation is actually higher on the positive anabolic energy scale. 

This is because gratitude often is still linked to the problem.

For instance, you might be grateful for a really difficult week because it taught you that you could deal with challenging emotions. While that’s an awesome way to begin shifting the negative catabolic energy and emotions you have been experiencing towards a more positive anabolic state, it’s still tied to the negative event or situation.

As I have heard Abraham-Hicks describe it, appreciation is different in that it focuses purely on what you want, what is good, what is working, what is beautiful, what is loved, what makes life vibrant and something that you want to enjoy.

For instance, you may purely appreciate your pets, the clouds that will never look the same in the sky, the abundant sunshine on this beautiful day, easy access to an abundance of clean water, and just the fact that you are alive.

Practicing appreciation generates positive anabolic energy that builds your immune system, and supports your heart and muscles. And it significantly impacts your metabolism and other weight-related systems making it easier to release weight. 

Here are five tips for practicing appreciation.

  • Start small and build from there. Perhaps all you can think of to appreciate is the cup of coffee that you’re drinking. As you take a moment to focus on that, you may realize that you appreciate coffee because of the energy it gives you, the comforting routine of having it every morning, the interaction you have with the staff at the coffee shop, the warmth it gives you on a cold day, etc. Before you know it, you have generated a pretty lengthy list of appreciation.
  • Do it in bed. (This may not be what you think!) Some of the best times to practice appreciation are just before you go to sleep and just after you wake up. This is a great way to set the energy for the day.
  • Make lists. One of the best ways to begin practicing appreciation is to literally write lists of things you appreciate. This can be once a day, or throughout the day. I have one client who keeps her list of appreciation on her phone. Not only does she review it during her daily commute, but she adds to it every time she has a flash of appreciation. Another client has her phone set to chime at a certain time to remind her to focus on appreciation.
  • Use downtime. Anytime you’re waiting is a great time to practice appreciation. And typically, there are lots of things to appreciate during those times if you just stop to look. For instance, just think about all the glorious food at the grocery store! Look around at the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, the rows and rows of food to choose from, even your favorite Greek yogurt in the dairy section. A great exercise while waiting in the checkout line is to mentally walk through the store appreciating your favorite foods.
  • Make it a game. What could you possibly appreciate sitting in traffic? Make it a game to try. It could be that you have a heater on cold days, the opportunity to listen to your favorite music, that it’s a good time to people watch. Who knows what you might find to appreciate if you look for it in odd places.

As you practice, look for changes in your body—and life.

  • Is it easier to say “No” to that extra piece of pie?
  • Did you have the energy—and the desire—to move your body?
  • Are you less stressed when you get to work?
  • Did you refrain from yelling at your kids when they seemed to be dragging their feet?
  • Did you let go of what someone says that in the past you might have taken as a slight?
  • Are you quicker to cut the checkout person a little slack?

All of that is helping you create optimal wellness.

Today and every day, reflect on the good things that happen and all that you appreciate. Then look forward to tomorrow with anticipation.

Together we can do it!

 

Thankful for You!

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Today is the American holiday of Thanksgiving.

And one of the things I am most thankful for is . . . You!

Thank you for being readers, commenters, clients, friends, and family. Thank you for your trust, time, energy, and support. Thank you for your friendship and love.

These are gifts that I do not take for granted.

Each of you means more to me than you can possibly imagine. I count you as a blessing in my life.

May you and yours have a joy-filled day.

With much love and appreciation,

Hanna

 

 

Love Yourself, Love Your Body

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Are you loving you—no matter what? 

Are you living as the person you intend to be?

Do your actions line up with your desires for the body you want to create?

Often the answer is “No.”

For instance, you may want with all your heart to be fit and lean, but you consistently overeat or blow off exercise.

I’m just as guilty of this as anyone else. For the past two weeks, I’ve overeaten or made less than stellar choices. While I am happy to say that the over-indulgences weren’t nearly what they would have been in the past, I still made the conscious choices to eat and drink more than is absolutely best for me.

And I’ve been judging myself.

So for the past couple of days, I’ve been focused on tapping into my self-love—which has truly been the key to my losing 34 pounds and keeping it off for more than 2 years.

Here are three ways to begin loving you.

  • Practice appreciation. You may have to begin with external things—like your pets or children. But when you get a solid feeling of appreciation going, turn that light on yourself. Appreciate who you are, what you are doing to move towards your wellness goals, and how hard your body is working on your behalf. 
  • Love your body in pieces. If you typically look in the mirror and are critical, you may have to start off small and work your way up. For instance, sit quietly and send love to your toes. Then let that feeling of love spread to the balls of your feet, to your arches, and into your heels. Slowly work your way up your body loving every specific part as you go. 
  • Focus on your heart. Sit quietly and think about your heart. Feel it opening up and generating a warm, green light. Imagine that loving light beginning to spread all around you. It can actually be helpful to put your hand on your heart as you do this.

While this may seem like woo-woo meditations, what you are really doing is tapping into positive anabolic energy that is enabling your body to regenerate and rebuild down to the cellular level.

As Mike Dooley said in today’s Notes from the Universe:

Turning up the love turns on everything else. Everything, as in whatever your heart desires, including the processes that will bring it to you.

Notice what happens when you begin practicing self-love. How does loving yourself help you create the body–and life–you want?

Together we can do it!

I’m excited to announce that I have 3 coaching spaces open to help you love your way slim. If you are serious about transforming your mind and body, secure your spot now by emailing me at hannagoss@goss-coaching.com by November 11 to schedule your complimentary breakthrough session. These powerful sessions are available on a limited basis. Don’t wait till Jan 2 to take inspired action. Start creating the body—and life—you want today.

Tip the Scale with Appreciation

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If all you did was just look for things to appreciate you would live a joyous, spectacular life. If there was nothing else that you ever came to understand other than just look for things to appreciate, it’s the only tool you would ever need to predominantly hook you up with who you really are. That’s all you’d need.

–Abraham-Hicks

Do you often feel deprived or guilty about the food you eat?

Do you stand in front of the closet and distress about what to wear?

Do you look in the mirror and criticize, or feel body shame?

These negative thoughts and emotions are generating catabolic energy that is actually sabotaging your ability to lose—and maintain—your weight.

Your negative thoughts—about yourself, your clothes, your food, about everything—trigger the stress response, releasing cortisol, adrenaline, and other chemicals that literally cannibalize your body at the cellar level.

Examining problems and experiencing the resulting negative thoughts is fine occasionally, but for most people this is a chronic state of being. Everything begins to look like a problem or crisis.

This chronic emotional and physical stress response is breaking down your immune system, straining your heart, and impacting your muscles. Over time, this catabolic energy can cause everything from painful trigger points in your shoulders, to inflammation, to heart attacks.

And it significantly impacts your metabolism and other weight-related systems making it easier to gain and harder to release weight.

This cumulative impact is the reason why it gets harder to release weight as you age.

Lose the chronic negative thoughts and responses and you more easily lose the weight—and regain your wellness and well-being.

But, if you have a long-time habit of focusing on the negative and feeling bad about it—particularly when it comes to your body—how can you begin to change to more positive, anabolic energy that rebuilds and supports your body?

What if all that you had to do was practice appreciation?

The good news is that in the powerful moment of now you can’t feel appreciation and guilt at the same time. Sometimes they can be so close together that you think you are experiencing them all at once, but vibrationally they are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

What’s really happening is that you are almost instantly bouncing from one emotional extreme to the other, which is one of the reasons it’s so exhausting.

The trick is to begin to string more thoughts of appreciation together so that you start to train your vibration more often in the positive direction. And focusing on things you appreciate is a powerful way to do that.

Here are 5 tips for practicing appreciation:

  • Start with something simple. If you have been practicing hating your body, it’s going to take you a while before you can begin thinking loving thoughts and not feel like a big fat liar. So choose a different place to start. How about the pillow your sleep on, or your pet? Start with something that’s pretty easy to build up some momentum of appreciation about before you take on the topic of your body.
  • Pick quiet times. Some of the best times to practice appreciation are just before you go to sleep and just after you wake up. This is a great way to set the energy for the day.
  • Make lists. One of the best ways to begin practicing appreciation is to literally write lists of things you appreciate. This can be once a day, or throughout the day. It can be one list that you continually read and add to, or multiple lists.
  • Use downtime. Anytime you’re waiting is a great time to practice appreciation. For instance, practice appreciation while standing in line at the grocery store, waiting for your dentist appointment or cable repairman, taking a shower, or waiting for a flight.
  • Make it a game. What could you possibly appreciate sitting in traffic? Make it fun to try. It could be that you have a heater on cold days, the opportunity to listen to your favorite music, that it’s a good time to people watch. Who knows what you might find to appreciate if you look for it in odd places.

As you practice, look for changes in your life. Are you less stressed? Do you have more energy? Did you make your workout a priority? Did you choose an apple instead of a cookie?

What can you do today to reflect on the good things that happen and all that you appreciate? How can you begin to make this something you regularly practice? What difference does this make in creating the body—and life—you want?

Together we can do it!

Don’t You Love Your Body?

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Do you suffer from body shame?

Many women look in the mirror and see nothing but their flaws. They aren’t comfortable in their bodies, even with their partners in the privacy of their own bedrooms. They judge how they look way more harshly than anyone else.

How likely is your body going to maintain its youth, vigor, wellness, and well-being if you abuse it with your thoughts and words? How well does a child flourish in such an environment? How healthy are your relationships when you do nothing but subject the other to constant criticism?

Starving your body of nutrient rich-foods and undertaking minimal movement are just the symptoms of the mental and emotional treatment you are heaping on your body. How well are you going to treat something that you hate, loath, despise, or are ashamed of?

As many teachers will tell you, the answer is to love your body. When you love your body, you want to take care of it. You appreciate it. And the positive, anabolic energy you provide it allows your body to rebuild, regenerate, and remain vital and alive.

When you have experienced long-term body shame, however, trying to go immediately to loving your body feels like a big fat lie. It’s almost laughable. It feels so foreign; it’s just not a habit you can develop easily.

Begin small.

Start by finding one thing about your body you can appreciate. Maybe it’s your tongue. You taste foods well. You are articulate and able to communicate with it. Your tongue never lets you down.

After a few days of appreciating your tongue—even for just 1 minute a day—then find something else about your body to appreciate. Perhaps your hard-working hands. Your hands are going non-stop every day. From throwing off your covers in the morning to picking up your coffee cup, to holding your child—your hands are helping you in so many ways.

Slowly build up so that you can appreciate every part of your body.

You appreciate your toes for providing you balance, and your feet for supporting your body weight each step of every day.

You appreciate your ankles, calves, knees, thighs, and hips for their strength, support, and flexibility as you move about—walking, sitting, standing.

You appreciate your abs, waist, and core for supporting you while you bend and reach. You appreciate your chest as it expands with lungfuls of life-giving air.

You appreciate your back, shoulders, and arms as you lift and carry everything from a sock to groceries, and for the ability to hug and embrace.

You appreciate your neck for supporting your head, and your mouth, throat, and tongue for enabling you to tell your partner you love them. You appreciate your eyes for helping you see the world and for how they reflect your spirit. You appreciate your brain for enabling you to think, and your body to function.

When you get to the point where you can appreciate each and every part of your body—even those parts that you typically judge as “gross” or that aren’t working as well as you would like—then you will know you have mastered loving your body. It will then be easy to look in the mirror and say, “I love you”—and mean it.

Did you notice that everything you were appreciating was about what your body gives to you? It wasn’t about how good you look in a pair of jeans, or how another might judge you. It was about functioning with wellness and well-being. It was about acknowledging the gifts that your body is giving you every moment of every day.

What difference do you think loving your body from head to toe makes in how you treat yourself—and others? How much easier might it be to get up and go for a walk or reach for an apple instead of a cookie? How much more physical and emotional energy might you have?

How does letting go of body shame help you move towards the life of your dreams?

Together we can do it!

Guaranteed to Change Your Life

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What if you knew your success was guaranteed?

What if the entire Universe was on your side?

What if your value to the world was assured?

What if all that entailed was spending more time focused on what you want, who you want to be, what you want to do, and how you want to feel?

That when you looked at a problem, you quickly shifted your thoughts to what you would like the outcome to be? That when you saw someone behaving badly, you focused on how you wanted people to behave? That you appreciated more things than you complained about?

It seems like such a simple shift to make. Love more. Appreciate more. Laugh more. Relax more.

But simple—and even preferable—doesn’t necessarily mean easy.

People often fear that if they take their eyes off the problem for a moment, it will grow and get worse. So they stay ever vigilant and keep their attention fixed on the worst-case scenario.

Or they may be weak in guiding their attention, and therefore believe they have no option but to look directly at what is right in front of them.

Or they may be so bought into reacting to “reality” that they don’t even know there is anything else to look at.

What if it was your attention and focus that was actually making the problem worse? What if by not choosing what you want to think about you are guaranteed to see more of all the things you don’t want? That all “reality” means is that you are seeing a reflection of what you are focused on?

We are each responsible for the “reality” of our lives. If you expect—and choose—to see good things, you will see good things. And if you don’t like what you see, it is an opportunity to choose what you do want. To find the solution to every problem, you must spend more time focused on the solution.

As soon as you focus on what you want, you are allowing All-That-Is (God, The Universe, Source Energy, Higher Coach—whatever works for you) to support you, answer your prayers, give you what you want, bring forth the life of your dreams.

Even if you are unwilling to make the effort to spend more time loving, appreciating, relaxing, and laughing, your value to the Universe is guaranteed. You are important in the grand scheme of things. You are loved and adored just as you are.

Whether you feel that—and how much fun life is along the way—is up to you.

All it takes to begin making that change is to find one thing to appreciate today. Do that again tomorrow. And then slowly begin to look for more things to appreciate.

That’s it. That’s all you have to do. That one tiny change done consistently is guaranteed to change you life.

It truly is that simple.

It’s only hard if you think it has to be.

Together we can do it!

 

 

That’s A Stretch

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I love how stretching your beliefs is similar to stretching your body.

In both instances, you move in the direction you want to go and when you feel discomfort, you stop pushing, relax, and breathe.

In stretching your body, you move until you feel physical discomfort, and then you stop and breathe into it. As you relax and breathe, the muscles begin to release. As you repeat this over time, your muscles become more flexible and you can reach further until you have a new physical limit. From this new place, you stop pushing, relax, and breathe.

When shifting beliefs, you stretch your thoughts and mind towards Who you want to be or the life you want to create until you feel emotional discomfort.

This may start out as reaching for a thought of gratitude. That for this instant, you can relax and breathe, and be grateful for being right where you are.

As you practice that, you may then be able to reach for the belief that you are forgiven. That all the hurts you imposed and horrible things you have said and done are absolved.

And as you practice the belief that you are forgiven, you may then stretch your thoughts to see situations in the past differently so that you can forgive others.

You may then reach for compassion—for others and yourself. You may reach for the belief that not only are you forgiven, but you are accepted. And as you get comfortable with your acceptance you may reach for the belief that you are loved and adored exactly as you are. That you are worthy of good things happening in your life, not because of what you do, but because of Who you are.

As you practice the belief that you are loved, you then may practice appreciating your life and every experience you have ever gone through because it has helped you become Who you are and formed the basis for the absolute unique and special perspective and gifts that only you have—and that are yours to share with the world as fully as possible.

And then you may reach for joy and see the world in an absolutely new and beautiful way. You may release your judgment about other people and how they’re living their lives. You may reach for unconditional love and for absolute passion in every area of your life.

But just like stretching your body is a process, stretching your beliefs is a process, too. Trying to go from depression to joy all at once is like trying to put your head on your knees when you can only touch your shins. You begin where you are and practice.

What can you do today to move your beliefs in the direction you want to go? When you feel discomfort, stop pushing, relax, and breathe. What can you do to practice that? How can you notice and mark your progress?

Together we can do it!

 

 

Go from Grumbling to Gratitude

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Do you ever catch yourself grumbling or complaining about what someone else did or didn’t do?

By comparison, how much time do you spend thinking about all the wonderful qualities that person has, and how much they add to your life?

What focus do you have more consistently?

What would happen if you spent more time looking at them through a positive lens? How would it make you feel to spend as little as a minute every day feeling grateful for that person?

That might look like appreciating their wonderful qualities, or the things they did that were helpful, or why they are in your life, or their general and inherent value as a person on this planet. (And they have inherent value, I promise.)

Just one minute a day.

How might even that small shift in focus alter how you feel? How might it impact how you show up in the relationship? How might that shift change the dynamics of the relationship for the better?

No one else is with you in your mind. No one is forcing you to think or feel anything. If you are holding on to frustrations and irritations it is because you have your mental fist grasped tightly around thoughts of their infractions, weakness, or imperfections.

And it is because you are judging them as weak, imperfect, and full of fault. Who made you creator of the rules? Why is it that everyone else must cater to your expectations? How do you like trying to fulfill other people’s expectations and beliefs about the “right” way to do anything?

The solution is to begin to allow those things that frustrate and irritate you to run through your mind like water running through your fingers.

Just let them go.

As soon as you do, you feel lighter emotionally. You feel relief. And that new lightness is directly impacting your wellness down to your cellular level. As you let go of that stress and the negative emotions, it is you that receives the benefit—body, mind, and spirit.

Is it worth your health to let go of old anger, frustrations, and resentments that are not only hurting you, but are actually keeping you for the life and relationships you want? Is your happiness worth it? Are your relationships worth it?

Just let it go.

Do it because you are worth it, because love is worth it, because joy is worth it.

Together we can do it!

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Sharing A Prosperity Blessing

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One of the first things I do every morning is read inspirational emails from a number of my favorite teachers. Today, before I headed upstairs for my workout, I read Veronica Hay’s Prosperity Blessing, which was shared by Bob Proctor in his Insight of the Day.

Abundance and prosperity–which are indeed a part of optimal wellness–have been on my mind a lot lately, and this blessing captured how I woke up feeling. Since these are the wishes I have for you, I am sharing her wonderful words.

May you be blessed with an amazingly abundant day today!

May the clouds break and the heavens pour down upon you more joy, more love, more laughter and more money than you could have ever dreamed of.

May the sun shine its golden light of prosperity through every cell of your extraordinary body.

May you be cleansed today of any resistance or feelings of unworthiness that you may still be holding onto.

May your false illusions of doubt, fear and scarcity gently fall away like soft white feathers on a gentle breeze.

May you be willing, simply willing, to allow the Universe to shower you with miracles today.

May the Angels wrap you in their shining wings of opulence.

May the fairies deliver you to their pot of gold at the end of a majestic rainbow.

May your eyes shine with the glorious truth of who you really are and may that truth uplift others in your presence to their own inner knowing.

May your ears hear the sound of perfection ringing in your soul.

May you taste the deliciousness of every precious bite of life as your day unfolds moment by moment with amazing grace, heartfelt love and a bounty of magnificent money.

As this day ends, may you slumber wrapped in an exquisite blanket of enduring peace and profound gratitude.

And may the last words you speak today be Thank You!

Veronica M. Hay, Copyright 2004

Veronica Hay is the author of “In a Dream, You Can Do Anything, A Collection of Words.” Her work will uplift you, motivate you, inspire you and gently guide you along the inner path of your life. You can visit her website at: www.insightsandinspirations.com

Photo from www.freedigitalphotos.net