I found this video very insightful. Check it our for yourself. It's about 20 minutes long, watch it when you have the time to dedicate to listen and absorb the information.
It’s Women’s
History Month. Below are quotes by female comedians and actresses, to motivate you.
It’s your outlook on life that counts. If you take yourself lightly and don’t take yourself too seriously, pretty soon you can find the humor in our everyday lives. And sometimes it can be a lifesaver.
— Betty White
If you feel like there’s
something out there that you’re supposed to be doing, if you have a passion for
it, then stop wishing and just do it.
— Wanda Sykes
Love yourself first and everything else falls
into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.
-Lucille Ball
If you were asked to identify one thing you will do this year to focus on your self care, what would you say? Make this year, the year of "you."
When temperatures are frigid outside, it brings to mind the desire to feel warm and cozy. This leads us to today's topic - ways to have a warm and cozy new year. Here are a few fun ideas I've generated:
1. Slide into warm pajamas and curl up with a book.
2. Sip a warm beverage while sitting wiht your feet proped up on something.
3. Put on a pair of fuzzy socks and Moonwalk or slide across a wood floor. If you're so inclined, sing a Michael Jackson song while doing the Moonwalk. Of course, keep in mind your safety and ability level.
YouTube Video: The Moonwalk
I don't own the rights to this video
“You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” Michael Jordan is known for saying this quote. For Michael Jordan, this quote related to his determination in the area of basketball. Apply this quote to an area in your life.
Have you
ever thought about being an entrepreneur? National Entrepreneur’s Day is
recognized on November 15. If your passion is to start a business of your own,
but you’ve pushed the thought aside, now is a good time to refocus. What is
your why? Why do you want to go into business. Your why needs to be strong in
order to drive your determination.
If you have
no desire to be an entrepreneur, don’t stop reading yet. You can participate in
National Entrepreneur’s Day by supporting an entrepreneur. Perhaps you know a
friend, or a friend of a friend who has started a business. Help them get the
word out about their product. Mention them on social media or connect them with
someone who may benefit from their product.
Commercial
break over, back to your passion.
My sons both
decided they wanted to own their own businesses. They have been working almost
a year to lay their foundation, establish connections etc. I asked one son what
made him want to start his own business.
“I always
wanted to be a CEO. I learned in college about what it means to be an
entrepreneur.”
I also asked
my son what advice he would give someone interested in becoming an
entrepreneur.
“Know what
you’re good at and what you’re willing to do; dedicate your energy to that.”
I asked my
other son what the driving force behind his decision was to start his own
business. He said, “I like the freedom that comes with it, being on your own
schedule and time frame.”
The next
question I asked my son was, “How did you figure out what you wanted to do?”
“I asked
questions about everyday life, figured out what I was good at then worked to
master my skills.”
My sons are
still working to achieve their goals, they know it will take time and
dedication. They have a strong why…I think it’s to get out of Mama’s
space.
My takeaway
from the conversation with my sons is that you can do whatever you set your to
do. Create a plan and work your plan.
I’ve posted
a picture/flyer about each sons’ business. Support an entrepreneur today or get
started on your business if that is your dream. Reach for the stars. Take a shot,
and keep taking them…Michael Jordan did.
The crazy thing about having a hobby is…after you do
it so long, it can feel like work. I like to journal. For me writing or
journaling is more than a hobby. I love a decorative journal with a cover that
has patterned designs, pages with a splash of color and sometimes,
inspirational quotes.
One cool night as I sat nestled under the covers, watching a Hallmark movie, my son tapped on my bedroom door. I’m sure I looked like the grandma in Little Red Riding Hood, with my bonnet on and eyeglasses. My son had a grin on his face the size of a hula hoop. He said, “Ma, I have something for you.”
My son whipped a book from behind his back and dangled it in the air like a carrot. The words spilled from his mouth in a sing-song tone, “It’s a new journal.”
I smiled with glee at my gift. The title of the journal was “Your’ Mother’s Story – Mom I want to know everything about you.” How sweet. I began flipping through the pages. Each page had a question for the reader to answer. There were questions such as what was the first car you wanted and why? What does your yearbook say about you?
After my son left me with the sweet gift, I stomped into his room, “Now you want the answers to these questions? You could have just listened years ago when I tried to share information. This is not journaling. This is writing a novel.”
“Well, you can do a little each day.”
My peaceful, therapeutic process of journal writing had the potential of becoming a chore. I refused to let that happen.
The best kept secret to making journal writing fun is…enjoy the process. Look at your time with your journal as a peaceful moment, a time to relax and reflect. Set a time to writ that best fits your day. It could be in the morning to start your day, mid-day to take a break, or an evening wind-down. You choose.
I’m having fun with the journal my son gave me. I’ve found ways to inject humor and also reflect on some of my childhood memories.
Don’t let your hobby feel like work, whether it’s journal writing or something different, enjoy the process.
What tips do you have for making journal writing fun?
My computer
screen was filled with a gazillion emails from my inbox. I set aside time and
began to tackle some of them when an error message popped up that said, connection
lost. There wasn’t a total black out, but I was stalled in reading my
emails or doing anything else on my computer.
My temporary
moment of inconvenience gave me time to redirect my tasks. I pulled a
devotional from my bookshelf and began to re-read a few pages that were folded
down. A quote at the bottom of the page read, “Be happy in the moment, that’s
enough. Each moment is all we need.” -Mother Teresa
What do we
do when the storms of life are raging? A first reaction may be to panic, worry,
or feel overwhelmed. This is the time to put your hope in the Lord, no matter what
your circumstances. Don’t lose your connection. Remain anchored in your faith.
There are battles that we fight for our kids, our health, our finances, but we
push through. That’s faith.
There’s a
gospel song I’m reminded of with the following lyrics: There’s a storm out
over the ocean and it’s moving this way. If your souls not anchored in Jesus,
you will surely drift away. Keep the connection of your faith. It may not
seem like it when you’re going through a challenge, but storms do pass. Your
faith will help you push through it.
You may be familiar
with the acronym P.U.S.H., - Pray Until Something Happens, it’s one to keep in
the forefront of your mind. Prayer is one tool to keep in your toolbox of
faith. No need to navigate the sea of troubles alone. Keep in mind that prayer
does not only have to be used in times of struggle. You can send out prayers of
thanksgiving and gratitude for the things you have.
If you feel
like you’re alone and your connection to your faith has been lost, reconnect.
All is not lost, renew your faith today.
I’m working once
again to lose my post-pregnancy weight…it’s been 25 years...since the baby.
There have been peaks and valleys, fitness regimens and meal plans; Just when I
thought I had things under control, menopause slapped me in the face. I hit a plate,
a brick wall, a stand-off.
In school we
learned the theory of man against man, man against nature and man against
himself. We can now include woman against her waistline. There are many days that
I wish my superpower was appetite control, but since it isn’t, I go with Plan B
– live joyously anyway.
I’m not
going down without a good fight, and if you’re facing a challenge, you don’t
have to either. How do you encourage yourself through a challenge?
Here are 3 fun
ideas for surviving a challenge:
1. Play the song I will Survive
by Gloria Gaynor – sing along with the song (really loudly), say the words like
you believe them.
2. Play the Rocky theme song – do this
one at home. Put on a pair a loose-fitting jogging outfit, leggings, or
anything comfortable. Bounce around your room like you’re preparing for a
boxing match. Let the song lead you. Here are some of the lyrics to put you in
the moment – Trying hard now. It’s so hard now. Getting strong now.
You can count this as part of your fitness for the day.
3. Do something fun – go easy on
yourself. Allow yourself to relax, do something fun, the regroup later to
refocus on your situation.
You can
apply these ideas to a weight loss journey or a different difficult situation
you’re facing. I’ve found that it helps to sprinkle any situation with humor.
My sons are
encouraging when I complain about my weight struggles. They say things like, “Ma,
you look fine, you’re probably gaining muscle.”
I started to
buy into his theory. An invisible thought bubble formed above my head, and my
eyes shifted upward – maybe I am gaining muscle. I looked at my right
arm, then my left, and lifted each one into a bicep curl.
“I see your
muscles Ma,” my son gave my arm a firm squeeze.”
A toothy
grin erupted on my face, it was a proud moment for my arms, but then…
I looked
down at my stomach, it looked back at me as if to say, I’m not with them,
don’t set your expectations high.
And that my
friend, is how I use humor to make it through.
If you’re on
a weight loss journey or another challenge, silence your inner critic and keep
pushing forward. Transformation doesn’t happen overnight, consistency pays off.
Go through
your day with laughter as your sidekick.
Stretched
out on a couch, sipping flavored water, and snacking on a Honeycrisp apple with
smooth peanut butter…my best life. This is only the beginning of my idea of
living my best life. There are also adventures planned, art classes to try, and
even weekend excursions.
What is your
idea of living your best life? I have friends who have been zip lining, white
water rafting, and parasailing. Those activities are not on my list, but I
admire my friends for being intentional and chasing their adventures.
Living your
best life means pursuing things that are meaningful to you, not things that
someone else thinks you should be doing. On the list of friends pursuing their
best life, are my sons. They too have been parasailing, and most recently
skydiving. They are living their best life and they didn’t wait until they
turned 50 or wait for the perfect circumstances.
Let’s do
it…live our best life. Here are 3 Ways to do that:
1. Take pleasure in the simple things –
we sometimes forget to appreciate what we have smile, or made you sigh in
appreciation.
2. Live in the present – is there
something you have been putting off, waiting for the right time? Do you want to
try a new hobby, run a marathon, or simply walk a mile without breathing heavy?
Just start where you are.
3. Manage your inner critic – don’t let
negative thoughts hijack your happiness. Shut it down. You deserve happiness,
joy, and any other positivity you can think of.
What will be
your first step toward living your best life? It doesn’t need to be a big step;
any forward movement is good. Begin a new project, grab a book you’ve anted to
read and head to a beach for relaxation. Any step you take toward something
positive for yourself, is a step in the right direction.
What do you
do when You’re feeling hungry? You seek food. At a woman’s health event that I attended;
the theme was Feed Your Body & Your Soul. As believers in Christ, the message
was that you feed your soul though the Fruit of the Spirit.
May is Women’s Health Care Month. As you feed nutrients to your body, don’t let your soul starve. Feast on the Fruit of the Spirit which are – Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.
Let’s focus
on one fruit today – Joy. According to Rose Publishing, joy is more than
happiness. “It is not based on financial success, good health, or popularity.
By believing in God obeying his will, receiving his forgiveness, participating
in fellowship with other believers, ministering to others, and sharing the Gospel,
believers experience joy.”
There was
joy in the room as I sat and listened to a speaker feed us nutritional facts
for our bodies. She shared things we can do to have increased energy and
improve our sleep. One of the things that stood out for me was that we need to “feed
your gut fiber. Fiber comes from plants.”
We are
encouraged to eat a variety of foods that provide fiber, not simply the same
foods over and over. Beans are high in fiber, as well as other proteins. Whole
grains also made the list of things to include in our diet. Always on the list
for feeding our bodies is to drink plenty of water.
Your body is
now on its way to being well fed; time to feed your soul. You can do this
through prayer, Bible Study, attending a retreat, or attending a church
service. Perhaps listening to gospel music energizes you or soothes your soul.
Find a positive connection that strengthens your faith and adds to your feeling
of joy.
One other
thing the event speaker encouraged was to, “invite social connectedness as part
of your healthy lifestyle.”
Chew on this
– when you feed your body and soul the proper nutrients, you can increase your
well-being. What will you feed your body and soul?
Sometimes my
thoughts race around in the manner of the picture book, If you Give a Mouse
a Cookie. I’ll start doing something and it makes me think of something
else, which leads me in yet another direction. It happened this way…
I starred at
all the shoes scattered near my front door. What a mess. I blew a breath of
frustrated air from my mouth and got silly with the shoes. An invisible thought
bubble popped above my head. I was reminded of the gospel song, Order My
Steps, which reminded me that I’d written a previous blog post titled Order
My Steps. So here we are…
A past blog
post worth sharing again.
“The steps
of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.” Psalm
37:23
How do you
walk through your day? A long day at work can leave one feeling drained, worn
out, and sapped of energy. Judging by the trail of shoes near my front door,
that’s exactly what happened.
As I kicked
off my shoes at the end of the day, I plopped onto the couch to unwind. In a
brief moment of relaxation, I glanced at the shoes, and reflected on my day.
The position of the shoes remined me of the gospel song, Order My Steps.
The lyrics to the song say, “Order my steps in your word dear Lord. Lead me,
guide me every day.”
Beginning the
day with prayer is one way to prepare yourself for the day ahead. You fuel your
body with food and your car with gas, it’s important to fuel your mind as well.
Read a devotional, meditate, engage in something peaceful at the start of your
day. You’ll find that you get more milage to get through your day.
If you ask
God to order your steps, be ready to move your feet. If you say, Lord help
me to get along with Karen today, she aggravates me; be ready for how he
answers. When Karen comes up to you with a negative attitude, murmuring and
complaining, resist the urge to cuss her out in your head (or out loud). Your
steps are being ordered. How will you handle the situation?
If you need
a reminder to calm yourself, get one of those W.W.J.D. bracelets and slide it
on your wrist. You may remember them from the 1990’s, the thin wristband held
acronym W.W.J.D. which stood for What Would Jesus Do.
The significance of the bracelet was to remind the wearer to “act in a manner
that would demonstrate the love of Jesus through their actions.”
You don’t
have to run this race called life, alone. Let your steps be ordered by the
Lord. Begin each day in a quiet place, do something that provides you with
peace or inspiration. Fill your spiritual with something positive. Before you
respond to a situation think about the W.W.J.D. bracelet. What would Jesus do?
Do you have
the courage to succeed? Sure you do. Where do you find your courage? Merriam
Webster defines courage as, “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and
withstand danger, fear or difficulty.”
Perhaps your
courage comes in the form of faith, family, or friends. Kind words and gestures
can inspire courage as well as things we read and stories we hear.
A friend
gave me a decorative tin box that fits in the palm of my hand. On the lid of
the tin are the words, Give it to God.
The inside of the box holds the words Prayer Box. Included also is a
three-inch pencil and a miniature pad of paper to write prayers or challenges
you want to give to God.
The little
tin box is a reminder for me to have the courage let go of things that cause
worry or stress. There’s no magic to this process, but it does require faith,
positive thoughts, and more faith. One of my favorite poems is Don’t Quit,
here is it below.
Don't Quit
by Edgar A. Guest
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit -
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns.
As everyone of us sometimes learns.
And many a fellow turns about when he
Might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than it seems
To a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up when he
Might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out -
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And when you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit -
It's when things seem worst,
You must not quit.
Where do you find courage?
“Laughter
can improve your mood.” I’ve seen this statement many times and I believe it. I
came across an article recently that talked about Laughter Wellness. An
invisible thought bubble popped above my head that said, “now that’s something
I’d like to hear more about.”
The concept
of Laughter Wellness is to spark laughter and positive energies while
improving peoples’ health and quality of life. If you want to learn more about
this, check out the article, A New Vision of Wellness. In the meantime,
practice using your smile muscles.
We can
surely find a reason to smile every day. If nothing jumps out at you that
causes you to smile, create an opportunity. Here’s a story for you…
My son
washed his clothes the other day, which is not a new concept for him. Afterall,
he is a responsible young adult. However, when I opened the door to our compact
laundry room, it looked like the aftermath of fireworks display or a kaleidoscope
that popped open. I said, “buddy, did you pull your clothes from the dryer and
toss them in the air?”
This laundry
episode reminded me of a picture book titled, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the
Bus. My spoof of this title would be, Don’t Let Your Son Do the Laundry. Better
yet it could be a spin-off of the picture book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.
You may be familiar with this book. The mouse was given a cookie, then he wanted
milk to go with it. When he received the milk, he wanted something else.
In my story
the main character would be a lion named Larry and the book would be titled –
If you give Larry Laundry. Larry is a lion who roars about everything. He roars
about cleaning his room, her roars about making his bed, but most of all he
roars about doing laundry. What happens if you give Larry laundry to wash?
If you give
Larry laundry to wash…he’ll want to use all of the laundry detergent.
Once he uses
all of the laundry detergent…the washing machine will overflow, and he’ll need
to use all of the clean towels to soak up the water and suds.
Guess what?
I just made up this scenario as I’m typing this blog post. It is not well
thought out, but it brought a smile to
my face, and could turn into a fun story for a child.
What does
all this have to do with laughter wellness? It’s about finding something that
makes you smile and lightens your mood.
How will you
use laughter today to lighten your mood, and set off positive energies?
I can name
56 flaws as I embrace Chapter 56 of my life. Instead, I choose to focus on chapter
56 with faith, fun, and feeling fabulous. What chapter are you on in your book
of life?
When your
birthday rolls around do you run and bury your head in the sand or hide underneath your bed covers and refuse to
surface? Don’t do it.
The countdown
has begun for my 56th birthday. Yes, I know the saying, a woman
isn’t supposed to tell her age. Well, I just did, and I wasn’t struck down.
Embrace your age.
As I
encourage myself, I encourage you to embrace who you are, where you are. Our
word this week is embrace. Here is a reminder of the definition of embrace:
“The act of
accepting something willingly or enthusiastically.”
Now for your
challenge…
Take your
age or half your age and create a list of positive words or phrases about
yourself. Make up words if you want, as long as you have fun in the process.
Don’t think too hard about it, set a timer, and go. You don’t have to show your
list to anyone, so brag on yourself. Here is a list to jump-start your
thinking:
Start with
and I AM statement.
I AM…
Beautiful Caring
Fun Good Friend Prospering
Fantabulous Intelligent Giving
Dependable Kind
Honest Smart
Unique
Consider
this exercise as part of your path on the road to wellness and increased
self-care. What route will you take? This week I’m taking Route 56. The road
will be paved with 56 kind words, quotes, phrases or whatever I come up with.
Every day
for the next week, remember our key word, embrace. If challenges come
your way, embrace them too. Stop and ask yourself, what can I learn from
this situation?
One way I
embrace my uniqueness is to take my flaws and turn them into funnies (funny
stories). For instance, there was a time I was starting a new nutrition program
(for the millionth time). The plan included a day of cleansing.
Just to be
clear, the reference wasn’t to cleanse as in washing your body with soap
and water. It meant not eating. I was discussing the program with my son, I
told him, “I can’t wait to go to bed, and wake up tomorrow to NOT eat all day.”
There you
have it. I embraced my weight challenges and efforts with humor (sprinkled with
sarcasm).
If you’re
celebrating a birthday this week, this month, or in a coming month…Happy
Birthday.
Keep pushing
forward.
Have fun.
Embrace you!
If you were
asked to create a Happiness List, what would be on your list? Well, that’s what
I’m asking you to do, make a list of seven things that make you happy.
I’ve heard friends
complain about ho hum days of winter due to the lack of sunny days. This
time of year, we can all use an extra dose of happiness. Creating a list of things
that make you happy and implementing them often, can help weave joy into those
blue days.
Below is a
list of 5 suggested things to include on your Happiness List. If you come up
with more than seven, that’s even better.
1. Get Outdoors – if you follow my blog,
you’ve probably herd me say this before, but it’s worth repeating. Get outside
everyday or as often as you can. It it’s cold outside, bundle up, and take a
walk to the mailbox, your backyard, or the end of your street. If you’re
feeling motivated, take a 20-minute walk through your neighborhood. Take a
different route that you would normally; relax and enjoy the sights, sounds,
and smells of nature.
3. Talk with a friend – spending time
chatting with a friend can lift your spirits and your friends.
4. Laugh
- this one is self-explanatory. How can you be sad if you’re laughing?
Engage in the things that you find funny or that make you chuckle.
5. Do Nothing – chisel a little time in
your day to do nothing. Unplug from social media, close your laptop, and
silence your phone. Visualize what doing nothing looks like for you, then go do
it. As I write this, I realize that “doing nothing” is not totally “doing
nothing.” Rather, it means doing something you find relaxing. Maybe you like
completing a crossword puzzle, a word search, or curling up on the sofa with a
snack to watch a movie.
Beat the
winter blues by creating a Happiness List. What will you include on your list?
What are
your intensions for the new year? Write yourself a prescription for self-care
and add this to your list of things to focus on in the coming year. One of the
things that I include in self-care is to schedule time for fitness. Some days
are more productive than others.
Having a fitness
routine helps me to have energy for other aspects of my daily routine. Each
person’s routine will look different. In order to experience success, you have
to start with what works for you. Trust me, I’ve learned this through trial and
error.
If you are
beginning (or beginning again) a fitness routine, here are 3 tips to help you
stay motivated:
1. Get an accountability partner – do you
have a friend who exercises regularly or is beginning regimen as you are? Set
goals together or periodically check-in with each other with words of
encouragement. Send her a text message saying, “you got this.”
2. Challenge yourself – set fun goals
for yourself. Each time to reach the goal set another. For example – “I will workout
3 times this week, 30 minutes each time. My reward will be 30 minutes of
uninterrupted Me Time.” Set your reward as something that is not
monetary. A monetary reward is covered in tip #3.
3. Create a Workout Tip Jar – a friend
saw this idea on social media and shared it with our group of ladies who
workout together (virtually now). The idea behind the tip jar is that you
reward yourself for exercising. You add $1 to the jar each time you workout. Once
you reach $100, celebrate by treating yourself to something new.
Since I am
not a licensed practitioner, the only prescription that I can write for you is
one of encouragement. Here’s what it looks like:
·
Get
Plenty of rest – so you have energy to exercise.
·
Drink
water - because our bodies need water.
·
Practice
gratitude – you’ve heard it said before, but when we practice gratitude regularly,
it makes us feel better. Being grateful makes it easier to express joy in
difficult situations.
What tips
would you suggest in helping someone stay motivated with their self-care
routine? Share your prescription for self-care.
