Tag Archives: Thanksgiving

Getting Back on Track After Thanksgiving

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Nothing else in your experience responds as quickly as your own physical body to your patterns of thought.

—Abraham-Hicks

For the first time in two years, my body let me know just before Thanksgiving that I was not following my own advice about loving myself for optimal wellness.

In other words, I was sick over the holiday.

The reminder to tend to my own self-care was actually a message I’d been getting for several weeks.

But I had exciting things underway with travel for a business mastermind retreat, professional photo session, and VIP day with my coach where we created plans for me to launch a new website on December 13, start a new Love Your Way Slim coaching program on January 7, and hold a beachside retreat for 8 women in Charleston, South Carolina, in April. Plus my folks were arriving for five days to celebrate Thanksgiving.

I was focused on “doing.” And it felt like “too much” happening at once.

There is so much more to wellness than checking your workout off your “to-do” list and eating relatively healthy foods.

A significant part of optimal wellness is believing in your wellness and your capacity to deal with any outer situation.

The purpose of life is to give you a chance to be the

grandest version of the greatest vision ever you held

about Who You Are. When challenges arrive, then,

move straight to clarity: This is what you came for.

Now rise to this occasion, and know that you have

every resource with which to create the right and

perfect outcome.

—Neale Donald Walsch

The good news is not feeling well forced me to take some time to “Be.” I used the time to rest, meditate, spend quality time with my family, and read a book that felt like the next logical step in my own spiritual development.

And I focused on what I know.

  • Almost all illness and injury is evidence of being out of balance and is temporary. Wellness is your natural state of being.
  • You are unique, powerful, gifted, resourceful, and loved. A great part of optimal wellness is seeing yourself that way.
  • You are never, ever, given a challenge you cannot overcome.

I am grateful that my body gave me a great reminder to take the time to rest and reflect on my beliefs about myself, what I am capable of, and what I deserve, and to tap into what is really important to me.

How are your current beliefs impacting your optimal wellness? Are they helping you be the “the greatest vision ever you held about Who You Are?”

If not, how do you need to change how you think about you?

Together we can do it!

Create the Holidays You Want

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I was thinking that I would blog today about getting back on track with food after the big Thanksgiving meal most of us Americans ate yesterday. But as I sat down to write, I realized that for many people, it’s their emotional wellness that is more strained today then their waistbands.

There’s a lot about the holidays that can impact people’s wellness—whether it’s gaining weight, or having your emotional wellness impacted by depression, overwhelment, and stress, as well as challenging relationships.

The typical things that can throw people out of balance–and have them reaching for extra helpings of their favorite comfort food–during the holidays include:

  • Unmet expectations—you might be trying to live up to a romanticized notion of how the holidays should be, either from your memories of when you were a kid or from how the holidays are portrayed in the movies. Or you may be trying to make everything perfect—for yourself or for others. This is something Mom’s can really struggle with because they want to make things perfect for their kids.
  • Other people’s expectations—you can be dealing with expectations of how you should act, or your perception of other people’s expectations. You may really struggle with feeling like you’re disappointing people, or feel like they have a negative perception of you that you can use as a reason to feel bad about yourself.
  • Dwelling on negative things—you might have previous holiday-related disappointments or difficult times that haunt you this time of year.
  • Challenging relationships—tensions often run high during the holidays and there may be family misunderstandings and conflicts, particularly if you’re spending a lot more time together than usual. Or you may be facing the holidays without a loved one, which can also leave you feeling lonely and sad.
  • Extra physical demands—all the shopping, decorating, socializing, cooking, sending out holiday cards—the list goes on and on—can leave you wiped out. Particularly if you feel like you have to do it all yourself. Being exhausted increases stress. Exercise and sleep—those good solutions for stress and fatigue—may take a back seat to chores and errands.

Having a different experience over the holidays is really about making different choices.

Here are some tips for creating the holidays you want:

  • Define what the holidays really mean to you and how you want to feel. Then make that vision your priority. Let go of anything that doesn’t create that vision and feeling.
  • Take care of you! Take the time to meditate, exercise, and get enough rest so that you have mental clarity and physical energy. Taking care of you enables you to take care of others–and be the version of you that others actually want to be around!
  • Focus on the best qualities of everyone you love and forgive them for not being perfect. And most importantly, forgive yourself for not being perfect!
  • Let go of the responsibility for anyone else’s happiness. I know it’s hard to hear and even harder to believe, but this includes your kids!
  • Release the need to do everything yourself and either ask for help or let things go. That means not criticizing your partner when they do things differently then how you would have done them. Done equals beautiful!
  • Focus on all the things you appreciate. If you can only do one thing, do this!
  • Focus on all the reasons you want to start the New Year feeling great. Write down the reminders and read them when you start to feel stressed.
  • Celebrate each tiny thing that you do that creates your balanced and fulfilled holiday experience. Taking a stress-relieving bath, going for a walk, not snapping at your kids–all wins!
  • Reach out for support to help you get through the challenges you are facing. It can be hard to ask for what you need, but this is not the time to go it alone. Seek the support of a friend, hire a coach, or reach out to a free on-line support community, like http://www.transformation.com/.

Ultimately, getting through the holidays feeling healthy and happy is about letting go of the need to be perfect. It’s reaching for the hope and belief that life can get better and better.

Yesterday was just one day in your hopefully very long life. If it didn’t go as well as you hoped, for whatever reason, what can you do today to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep making progress toward the body–and life–you want?

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

 

 

Nine Tips To Break the Holiday Stress Tradition

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Many of you may be traveling over the next week or have visitors coming to you to celebrate the American holiday of Thanksgiving.

While the focus is on the feast, it may be your emotional wellness that is more strained than your waistband.

The holidays—the time that’s supposed to be so magical and wonderful—are often the hardest time of year.

Part of this is because of the temptation of all the extra food around.

This leads to inner conflict. You may want to celebrate with food, but then you feel guilty about it. Or maybe you’re successful at resisting all that temptation, but then feel deprived and resentful. Or you may rebel at restraining your eating and binge on everything in sight.

There may also be the stress caused by your perception of family expectations that you don’t feel like you can live up to.

Or worse, your own expectations that everything has to be perfect.

This may mean you pack too much into your to-do list.

The result is you’re challenged when your priorities aren’t shared by others, which results in family tension. Again, you might turn to food to try to comfort yourself and deal with the stressful feelings.

You put your own self-care at the bottom of the list so you aren’t taking care of you.

It may also mean you spend too much time on details that don’t really matter and miss out on the things that do. This could look like staying up late trying to get every dish looking perfect, but then you are so tired that you scream at your kids the next morning. What’s really more important to you? Having a perfect dish, or getting enough rest to be a great Mom?

All of this can lead to a physical and emotional hangover.

There’s a lot about this time of year that can impact your wellness—whether it’s gaining weight, or having your emotional wellness impacted by depression, overwhelment, and stress, as well as challenging relationships.

Here are 9 things that you can do to break the holiday stress tradition:

  1. Take time for you. Make this your number 1 priority. Schedule your calendar around taking even 5 to 15 minutes every day to meditate or exercise, or just lounge in a bubble bath. And make sure you get enough rest so that you can maintain the best possible version of you.
  2. Love the ones your with. It’s easy to criticize when your expectations aren’t being met, so spend at least a few minutes every day focused on the best qualities of everyone you love and forgive them for not being perfect. And most importantly forgive yourself for not being perfect.
  3. You are only responsible for you. Release yourself from the responsibility for anyone else’s happiness. Their reaction is their reaction. You are in control of how you react.
  4. Align your actions with your priorities. Prioritize your to-do list so that what you’re doing aligns with what you truly want out of the holidays. Beautiful dish or great Mom? What do you really want? What will your kids really remember?
  5. Release the need to do everything yourself and either ask for help or let things go. This may mean paying a few dollars to have the store wrap your packages, or being OK with the wrapping job your partner does.
  6. Focus on all the things you appreciate in your life. There is so much that you already have that is amazing. Pay more attention to what you do have rather than resenting what you don’t.
  7. Focus on all the reasons you want to start the New Year feeling great. Do you really enjoy the emotional and physical hangover you have on January 2? What would change if you started the New Year, energized, happy, and satisfied?
  8. Celebrate each tiny thing that you do that creates your balanced and fulfilled holiday experience. So you don’t get a workout in every day. Did you do it 3 days this week? Did you park at the far end of the lot and walk? Did you go for a walk around the block when Uncle Ralph started in on that story you’ve heard 1,000 times before? Count and celebrate even the smallest thing!
  9. Reach out for support to help you get through the challenges you’re facing. This is not the time to go it alone. If you need support, ask a friend, hire a coach, or log-in to a free on-line support community, like transformation.com.

Ultimately, getting through the holidays feeling healthy and happy is about letting go of the need to be perfect. It’s reaching for the hope and belief that life can get better and better. It’s prioritizing your time to match up with what you really want.

Together we can do it!

 

 

Were You a Halloween Candy Victor or Victim?

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A pumpkin created by Villafane Studios http://guardian.tumblr.com/

Halloween is the traditional start of holiday bingeing.

After two months eating and drinking too much of everything, women typically start the New Year feeling horrible about themselves, and with a desperate desire to be slimmer.

But few of those “Go on a diet” resolutions make it past January and statistics show that those few pounds gained Between October 31 and January 2 are never lost and actually accumulates over the years.

Unaddressed, those pounds—and the associated negative thoughts and emotions about your body and yourself—can have a detrimental impact on your wellness and wellbeing.

So how did you do last night? Were you the victor over the Halloween candy—or a victim?

If you were the victor, woo hoo! Way to go! You are starting the holiday season on the right foot and are on track to feel and be your best on New Year’s Day.

If not—and you feel guilty about it—let it go. It’s not the end of the world. And the great news is you get a brand new day today to make new choices.

Regardless if you were victor or victim, the question is, “What do you do from here?”

Step 1: Get rid of leftover candy. (That does not mean eat it!)

Many of my clients will eat even the candy they hate—because they don’t want to waste it.

This, my fabulous readers, is faulty thinking. One of the things that holds women back from creating the body and life of their dreams is accepting those limiting beliefs they have picked up from others as Truth.

The Truth is this candy in your body is just as wasteful as putting it in the trash. You can either waste it, or you waist it.

If you can’t give the candy away—throw it away!

Step 2: Decide to take Response-Ability.

As I wrote about in yesterday’s blog, whether you realize it or not, you do have Response-Ability. You have the power to choose what you put in your mouth.

Regardless if your husband brought home your favorite candy, or you didn’t have a single trick or treater, or the candy is super tempting, the candy is not going to knock you to the floor and jump into your mouth against your will.

Whether you realize it or not, you do have the power to make a different choice.

But you have to want to make a different choice.

Step 3: Figure out what it is about being slim that you want.

What feels more compelling? The goal to lose 30 pounds or to eat the candy right in front of you?

Of course it’s the candy!

So you need to look inside for a super compelling reason why skipping the candy feels better.

Step 4: What is your plan?

How are you going to deal with the temptations? How are you going to make sure you aren’t too hungry at parties? How can you ensure there’s something healthy on the Thanksgiving menu?

And know this doesn’t mean all or nothing. This doesn’t mean depriving yourself and not enjoying the holidays. This means figuring out before hand how you can live the holidays that will feel best to you—and then follow through with that plan.

If Thanksgiving isn’t Thanksgiving without a piece of pumpkin pie, then by all means plan to have the pie! But what other choices do you need to make so that pie is part of your healthy holiday eating plan?

Yesterday was just one day in your hopefully very long life. If you ate more calories than you wanted, what can you do today to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep making progress on your wellness journey?

What can you do to ensure that you feel like a victor come January 2?

Together we can do it!

  • Are you struggling with your weight?
  • Are you worried about holiday weight gain?
  • Are you ready to get the body you really want?

I am excited to offer 2 coaching spaces to help you love your way slim. If you are serious about transforming your mind and body, email me at hannagoss@goss-coaching.com by November 11 to schedule your complimentary breakthrough session. These powerful, empowering sessions are available on a limited basis.

Don’t wait till January 2 to take inspired action. Start creating the body—and life—you want today.

Love Your Way Slim for the Holidays

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Are you struggling with your weight? 

Are you worried about holiday weight gain? 

Are you ready to get the body you really want? 

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 so that:

  • You start the New Year energized, fit, and feeling fabulous.
  • You break the cycle of losing and regaining the same 30 pounds—once and for all.
  • You feel confident and sexy in your clothes—and out.

Secure your spot now by emailing me athannagoss@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.

Together we can do it!

Love Your Way Through the Holidays—Part 1

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While I’m in New York City over the next few days, I’m sharing a four-part series on going from Halloween to New Year’s with balance, grace, and fulfillment. 

When I was a kid, the time between Halloween and New Year’s was magical.

What could be more fun than everyone playing dress-up and strangers giving you a bucket-load of candy that you ate for weeks?

Or having days off from school filled with delicious treats?

Or sharing a feast with family and friends?

Whether it was Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas, overeating was the primary theme.

While I still love the holidays, somewhere along the way they also became fraught with stress, unmet expectations, challenging family dynamics, loneliness, and bingeing that resulted in self-loathing.

I would often start the New Year with a physical and emotional hangover that might last till spring.

This changed when I realized that I had control—not over other people, but over how I responded, what I put in my mouth, and what I did—and didn’t do. My reacting as a victim or with conflict truly was a choice. 

Making different choices and having a different experience over the holidays takes awareness, planning, and celebrating the smallest victories.

And the rewards are so worth it! 

Over the next four days, I’ll be sharing a series of simple steps that you can take that will help you get through the holidays with balance and grace. Do each step, and you will be starting the New Year with the body—and life—you want!

Step One: Awareness.

Today, look at your past experiences. What are the things that have sent you down a difficult road during previous holidays?

  • Maybe it’s the extra temptation of all the treats that are around from Halloween to New Year’s?
  • Maybe it’s the pressure and expectations of family that you can’t live up to?
  • Maybe it’s your expectations that everything has to be magical and perfect—for yourself or for others?
  • Maybe it’s a difficult relationship?
  • Maybe it’s feeling alone, even when you are in a crowd?
  • Maybe it’s the overwhelming to-do list that you don’t feel supported in getting done?

Whatever those things are that knock you for a loop, write them down.

Then ask yourself these questions, and write down the answers.

  • What do the holidays mean to you?
  • What are the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that come up for you when you think about the holidays?
  • What values are you trying to honor?
  • How do you want to feel?
  • How do I want to be on January 2nd, using the present tense?

Right here and now, make the commitment to make the necessary changes to love your way through the holidays. 

Tomorrow we’ll look at how to plan for the holidays you want!

Together we can do it!

 

A New Appreciation of Gratitude

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Thanksgiving. Today is the final day of my 21-day Gratitude Challenge and the assignment is to reflect on what the process of giving thanks has meant to me.

This concentrated and shared focus on appreciation has meant expanding my awareness of the things I take for granted every day. It has meant opening my heart more broadly to others—and to myself. It has meant pushing past the fears generated by my gremlin to allow myself to show up as the broader version of me. It has meant seeing the things right in front of me from a new perspective, and seeing the world as a more vibrant, abundant, loving, and wondrous place.

I am ending this challenge with an expanded mind and heart, and an even deeper connection to Source (God, the Universe, Nature, Higher Coach—whatever works for you.)

We each may have our own beliefs about what is behind the abundance of air that we breathe in and out, or the continual beat of our hearts, or the perfect rotation of the planets, or the predictable rise of the sun. We may have a different way of explaining the exquisite site of a flock of birds moving as one to their seasonal home, or the ever-changing beauty of the landscape, or the growth of a giant oak from a tiny acorn.

But we can all share in the appreciation of those magnificent sights and experiences. We can share in the gratitude we feel because we are alive. We can give thanks because we are here with one another doing our best to love and grow and become the people we know we are meant to be.

Consistently focusing on gratitude expands our awareness and experiences of life, enhances our connections with others, and widens the boundaries of our hearts. These are gifts we can’t return, a new perspective we cannot lose, and a new vantage point from which to approach our lives.

Because I find focusing on appreciation so profound, today also marks my new commitment to practice giving thanks every day.

What does focusing on gratitude give to you? How much of a difference might it make in your life? How might you practice giving thanks on a regular basis?

Wishing you Happy Thanksgiving!

Together we can do it!