by Lucy | Nov 25, 2016 | Motivational Mondays
Monday, November 28, 2016
It’s here! We’re in it. The infamous holiday season. No matter how busy you decide to be this season it’s no excuse to put your wellness goals to the backburner.
Last week, while listening to Darren Hardy talk about how to succeed in business and life I got to thinking about his use of tough love. Sometimes his message makes me a little angry; however, he’s got a good point.
Most of the time, for anything we want to do it’s a matter of having the right knowledge and being brave enough to try. For example, all summer I kept saying I wanted to swim in the quarry at Eno State Park but could never figure out where to get in so it never happened. Last weekend, my friend showed me the way and now I know for next time (when it’s warm enough to get in the water!).
I believe this is often the case for our healthy habits. We want to do well and we “know” what to do, but we might need someone to show us how. Thank goodness for YouTube!
What seems like it should be simple can often feel overwhelming. Think about when you learned how to drive… This may be harder to recall for some of us! It’s an exciting but daunting task. Driving is a lot of responsibility and there are many moving parts, literally. Nowadays, you get in the car to drive without thinking about all the steps.
There is always a learning curve to each new activity we take on. Whether you’re eager to become a grill master or learning how to cook for one, it’s important to be gentle with yourself and take it one step at a time.
Food for thought:
Have you been making excuses to put off learning a new skill? ______ If yes, what do you want to conquer? _________________________________________________________________
Do you need more information? _____ Where can you find it?
_________________________________________________________________
Maybe you need a class or someone to guide and support you. Who can you ask for help?
_________________________________________________________________
by Lucy | Nov 23, 2016 | Well Balanced Wisdom
Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves, even when we risk disappointing others. – Brene Brown
I’ve learned a lot about boundaries in the past 3 1/2 years. When my daughter was born I discovered just how much your heart can love a tiny human. Naturally, I want to give her the world and I want her to be happy. Now more than ever, she has been testing her limits and pushing her boundaries as three-year-olds do. In those trying moments, I want to give in to her desires just to make her happy. Yet, I know avoiding temporary disappointments will only lead to long-term consequences.
If I let my little girl do whatever she wanted, she’d miss out on opportunities to develop life skills like learning how to share, be a friend, follow directions, and get along with others. On the other hand, if I’m too strict with her, she might not learn to think on her own, her confidence could suffer and she might grow to resent me. The sweet spot is right in the middle where loving boundaries exist.
A boundary is simply a line drawn between what is okay and not okay. While I’m in the thick of establishing these loving boundaries as a parent, I realize how important this concept is for our health and wellness goals as well. We have to determine for ourselves what is okay and not okay to preserve our health in the long-run.
For example, one of my clients has recently entered a new relationship. She realized upfront that she could easily get swept up in other things if she didn’t define what was important to her now. She knew that getting a good workout in at least 3 times a week kept her mentally and physically feeling her best. So now that she has this boundary set in her mind, it becomes easier to choose the gym even when other opportunities arise. She’s choosing to focus on the greater, long-term results of loving herself, instead of focusing on what would make everyone happy in the moment.
The holiday season is a time when we could all really stand to set loving boundaries. It is so easy to worry about disappointing others that we often forget to care for ourselves. Setting boundaries can be the most loving thing we do for ourselves this time of year. Your boundaries can help guide your decisions and make it easier to stay true to yourself through the hustle and bustle.
Food for thought:
Boundaries are a function of self-love and self-respect. – Brene Brown
What boundaries will you set for yourself?
by Lucy | Nov 19, 2016 | Motivational Mondays
Monday, November 21, 2016
Inspiration. Lately I’ve developed a habit of enjoying my morning coffee break with inspirational YouTube videos. It started with Dr. Wayne Dyer, then I discovered more gems by Evan Carmichael featuring the Maya Angelou Top 10 Rules for Success. As one of my favorite sayings goes, “inspiration without action is just entertainment.” Therefore, I strive to connect their wisdom to my journey and apply it to the health and wellness message we bring to our Well-Balanced Tribe.
The first tip by Maya Angelou stuck with me all week as it reminds us to “just do right!” This can be applied to all facets of life – from how you treat a disgruntled coworker (with loving-kindness!), to deciding what to do for dinner.
I’ve mentioned before I used to be a nailbiter, and I am proud to say now I don’t bite my nails most of time. There is the occasional moments I catch myself and hear Mama Cathy’s most loving nag voice of “quit biting your nails!” When I’m doing right that includes regularly clipping my fingernails, painting with a color or clear nail polish and staying mindful of moments I feel tempted to start nibbling.
I had a client last week who is working on making more well-balanced meals for her family. She’s rediscovered the plethora of options using her crockpot – hooray Pinterest! Unfortunately, now she worries if she should be buying organic? And what about the effects of soybeans on men and young children? And how about the canned cream of mushroom soup, isn’t that really bad for you? Instead of worrying, I suggested this client to continue making those 3 dinners a week and she aims to ‘do right’ by including at least 1 vegetable with dinner.
We are all at a different stage in the journey of living healthy and well-balanced. Doing right for you may be not ordering French fries with the spicy chicken sandwich at Wendy’s. Or doing right means taking time on Sunday afternoon to chop veggies for dinner during the week. Or taking time to review the action plan checklist each day to see if you accomplished the wellness goals you set.
Food for thought:
I want you each to feel proud of the steps you’ve taken to be well. It’s a journey (marathon, not a spirit, for the runners out there).
What did you do right last week? _________________________________
We are proud of you too! Keep up the good work 
.
by Lucy | Oct 15, 2016 | Motivational Mondays
Monday, October 17, 2016
As your favorite dietitians, Kristen and I strive to give you lots of motivation, inspiration, and information to eat and live well-balanced. It is our goal to fill, not just your inbox, but your mind and wellness toolbox with plenty of resources and ideas to live a healthy and fulfilled life.
In the height of the election season, I cannot get used to what each of us is subjected to daily – if not hourly – with all the news, social media, and other interferences constantly bombarding us with negative messaging.
Politics aside, I’d like to speak about how you feed your mind. Aside from your weekly Motivational Monday and Wellness Wednesday articles how are you choosing to input information into this computer system we call our minds? Darren Hardy says it best in a recent Darren Daily episode that likens our brains to a Google search. The search engine is only as good as the information available – do you have enough reliable information on living well in your database?
I am always seeking to further develop my personal growth and continue to improve myself. I choose to listen to podcasts such as EntreLeadership that build me up and feed my mind with new and motivating ideas to be a better leader. I enjoy reading books like Farmacology that provide information to using food as medicine. I attend Grace Church as a regular reminder of how to continue to grow spiritually.
Food for thought:
Here’s your chance to put this to practical application. Take a moment to list your common media diet (such as what news you watch or read, what social media you enjoy, or what radio stations or podcasts you’re listening to)
- ____________________________ ________
- ____________________________ ________
- ____________________________ ________
Next rank each one on a scale 1 to 5 – 1 being “junk food” for the brain and 5 include thoughtful, well-balanced resources or information.
For example, Snapchat is on my list and I’d give it a 2, because realistically that is fluff in helping me reach my personal development goals (but it’s so much fun!)
Bonus points! Take a moment to list two or three resources you would like to utilize to reach your own personal goals
- ______________________________________
- ______________________________________
- ______________________________________
by Lucy | Sep 24, 2016 | Motivational Mondays
Updated: Monday, April 2, 2018
The temptation to quit will be greatest just before I am about to succeed. -Chinese proverb
I am reading a very short book called, The Dip by Seth Godin. This is “A little book that teaches you when to quit (and when to stick).” At the beginning of the year, many of us felt called to make new habits and become healthier. Perhaps that included a gym membership, buying a few self-improvement books, or starting a clean eating plan.
Inevitably, real life keeps happening. No matter how good our intentions there is always a dip – where the fun fades and the journey feels HARD. The book is a reminder to pause and discern if it is the inevitable dip or a dead-end that is ultimately keeping you from succeeding.
In case you’re feeling like some of your new healthy habits are not working here are 3 steps to take to move through the dip.
- When those negative thoughts start to invade your brain say to yourself “cancel, cancel, cancel!“
As the meditation and hypnosis expert Chel Hamilton reminds us, use your inside voice – inside your head that is – or else people might start to look at you funny. The benefit of “cancel, cancel, cancel” is you stop negative thinking in its tracks instead of following those thoughts down the dark hole of despair.
- Focus on the positive – Clearly, being healthy is important to you.
Take a moment to pat yourself on the back for at least 3 to 5 healthy choices you made in the past week. This action step will redirect your negative thinking, allowing you to reinforce the positive truths and behaviors.
- Identify the trigger – What was the situation that caused your mind to spin into doubt or frustration mode? For me, it tends to be that I am overtired, too self-absorbed or caught in the comparison trap.
By identifying and recognizing your triggers, you empower yourself to redirect and overcome negative thinking.
Food for thought:
Remember, the darkest hour comes just before dawn, but that morning light is coming.
When your journey doesn’t seem to be taking you where you want to go, be gentle with yourself. These things take time and consistency.
