Wellness Wednesday

Happy Wednesday!!

Did you know your happiness is entirely dependent on you? Not what your circumstances are or what you have or your relationship status or any other circumstance which can change.


There was a study a few years ago suggesting 9 simple things we can do to improve our own happiness.

Simply Try.

A little effort goes a long way. Surround yourself with things that make you happy whether it is music you can sing to, feel good-sappy movies, books that warm your heart or a hobby that brings peace to your soul. I found when I crank my radio ridiculously loud and dance around in my kitchen like a fool, my burden is lifted. What is it for you?

Make happiness your number-one goal.

Tom G. Stevens, Ph.D., author of You Can Choose to Be Happy says, "People who are happy choose to make happiness among their top goals in life."

So, decide today- I am going to be happy, no matter what and then make it happen. I know this is easier said than done. Happiness is an ongoing process. When you are having a bad moment, look back at number one. When happiness seems out of reach, DO something that makes you happy.

Linger on those little, positive moments.

Our brain holds onto negative experiences easier and longer than positive experiences. When something is thrown your way, try changing your thought process. Instead of dwelling on everything that has gone wrong in your day, think on one thing that went right. It could be something as simple as getting to work early or a sense of accomplishment. Maybe you finished the laundry or your kids didn’t throw a fit at dinner. I take that as a win. So should you. It’s the little things added together to create a life full of happiness.

Choose mindfulness.

The secret to happiness could be as simple (and difficult) as becoming more mindful. Have you ever tried thinking on happiness and being mindful of the current moment? When you start being “in” the moment and looking for happiness, you will start to become more aware of the things that bring you happiness.

Smile your way to happiness.

This one really doesn’t need an explanation, does it?

Practice gratitude.

Gratitude can start as a small practice. When you go to bed tonight, tell your partner what you were most grateful for today. If you don’t have a partner to tell, write it down, call a friend or tell your pet. 

Putting gratitude into words makes it seem more real. When you start to see the obvious happiness in everyday life, you will also start to see the little things. Before long, you will start to be grateful in the moment instead of just when you are going to bed. This will help with lingering on the little moments and becoming mindful. You will also naturally start to smile more.

Pursue happiness, find happiness -- and success.

What makes you happy? Seriously- what makes your soul sing?

Is it service? Is it travel? Is it your kids/spouse?

What?

Now that you know- pursue your passion! If you don't know, find out. Try new hobbies. Read new books. Pursue new relationships. Do something outside of your comfort zone. Spend time thinking on when you are most happy.

That moment is probably a pretty good indication of what makes you most happy.

Do you want to know why I travel? Traveling brings peace and calmness to my soul. It reminds me why I work hard and keeps my first-world problems in perspective. It teaches me to see beauty in all things. In general, IT MAKES ME HAPPY.

Memories created while pursuing passion can easily be recalled in a moment of sadness. Pictures are about my favorite thing because they transport me to a different moment. They make me smile which in turn makes me happy.

Let yourself be happy.

It is easy to fall into the trap of, “I shouldn’t be happy because of (fill in the blank).” Maybe it isn’t as intentional as that thought instead it is focusing on something we don’t have/know. 

I realized something in my pursuit of wholeness.

My happiness is dependent upon me. Not on my circumstance, my job, my house, my hobbies, my family-nothing. It comes from within.

The same is true for you. It is ok to be happy even if bad things are happening. Allow yourself to be overwhelmed with happiness even in the face of hard things.

Bronnie Ware, the author of The Top Five Regrets Of The Dying, wrote in a Huffington Post blog:

Many did not realize until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again ... Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.

Practice compassion.

Compassion is as simple as opening the door for a stranger or taking a grocery cart back for someone. Others will appreciate your service, which will make you smile. Refer back to number 5. :)


I really like this list. I practice all these things and can tell you, they will make a difference. Are you a little overwhelmed by this list? Start with something simple like smiling or telling yourself it is ok to be happy.


We all have to start somewhere. Start today. Choose happiness. Choose wholeness.


Much love to you all-
Stef

Thought for the week:






(I don’t claim to be an expert, just a lover of new and useful information. I hope you enjoy new and useful information too! If you have a question, comment, suggestion or would like to be added to the weekly email, please contact me at stef.wellness.coach@gmail.com.)

Wellness Wednesday

Wholeness is not just a physical thing. Wholeness also includes self-awareness and self-evaluation.

I listened to a TED Talk by Brene Brown that has really stuck with me and I want to share it with all of you. It is worth the 20 minutes to listen.

http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_listening_to_shame

After listening to this talk, I’ve been contemplating a few thoughts; what do I shame myself with? How do I put myself down with shame? Why do I shame myself? Does it add value or beauty to my life?

When I am honest with myself- I shame myself because I am afraid of being seen as a failure. I shame myself with feelings of not being good enough, of being the reason my ex left, of showing weakness and fear, of being alone.

I don’t want to be perceived as damaged.

As I thought on shame and realized how I have shamed myself and become my own worst critic, I realized I was allowing shame a huge home in my subconscious. Do you know what? I decided no more! It is time to be honest about my shame and allow myself to be vulnerable with all of you.

I am no longer going to allow shame from my past to have any part of my present or any effect on my future.

I am working every day to remove fear and be daring and vulnerable.

I will start treating myself with gentleness, empathy and kindness.

So, the question is this- what do you shame yourself with? What negative self-doubt are you circulating through your brain hoping no one will ever know how you really feel? When you discover the root of your shame (since we all have it), what are you going to do to defeat shame and allow vulnerability to be a balm to your soul?

Recognize there is no reason for shame in your life! You are amazing, wonderful and whole.

Today is the day to start practicing self-love and acceptance. Today is YOUR day to start your journey to wholeness!

Happy Wednesday! I hope your day is filled with happiness!

~Stef

Thought for the week:

(I don’t claim to be an expert, just a lover of new and useful information. I hope you enjoy new and useful information too! If you have a question, comment, suggestion or would like to be added to the weekly email, please contact me at stef.wellness.coach@gmail.com.)

 

Wellness Wednesday

On my journey to wholeness, I've tried to make small changes which bring about a big difference. One of the easiest things I've done is increase my water consumption and eliminate soda and high sugar drinks. The difference has been astonishing! 

Why drink water?

We all know the recommended daily intake of water is 8 ounces but do you know all the reasons why water is so important? Well, I didn’t and I needed a reason to try. After scouring the internet and reading/comparing countless articles, here are the top reasons appearing more than 3 (most the time 4!) times out of the 12 articles I read:

1. Water helps you lose and maintain weight.
2. Improves skin by moisturizing and clearing complexion.
3. Keeps things moving in your digestive tract- relieves constipation, indigestion and eliminates harmful bacteria.
4. Lubricates your joints and muscles so there is less pain and better function.
5. Alleviates and prevents headaches. Already have a headache? Water is also a natural remedy!
6. Helps prevent certain kinds of cancer including bladder, kidney and colon.
7. Natural immune booster! Drinking more water can help prevent you from getting sick!
8. Increases results from workouts (because your body is not retaining water due to dehydration)
9. It’s good for heart health and kidney function.  

And the number 10 reason (which is the most important in my mind)

        10. Water is essential to survival. Without it, you die. Period. 

Now you may ask, but how much water should I drink every day? 

It used to be 8 – 8 oz glasses a day. That isn’t really accurate since we all have very different bodies. Instead, the formula I found again and again is half your body weight in ounces. (Example- I weigh 140 so I need a minimum of 70 ounces of water per day.) If you are active, you need to increase water consumption to 2/3 an ounce per pound of weight. (Example- 140 x .67 =93 ounces of water- most of the time I just make it an even 100 ounces a day.)

How do you know if you are dehydrated? 

If you aren’t using the bathroom frequently or your urine isn’t almost clear, you are dehydrated.

How in the world am I going to drink 100 ounce of water a day?!?

This is the easy part. Keep water with you ALL THE TIME! Always. Whenever you see your water, take a big drink. First thing you do in the morning? Drink a glass of water. Before you eat a meal? Drink a glass of water. Does this sound too difficult? More of a visual learner (like me)? If so, here is an easy solution for you!

See? Isn’t that easy? 

Do other drinks (i.e. soda/juice) count towards my water consumption?

This depends on who you talk too. My thoughts are, is it water? If not, than no, it does not count towards your WATER goal.

Start small. Start simple. Start today. 

Don’t become overwhelmed thinking about trying to consume 100 ounces on your first day. Make this a journey towards wholeness and creating health for your entire being. Go drink a big glass of water…right now. Don’t wait- your body, weight, muscles, digestive tract, heart, kidneys (among other things)- will thank you!

Happy Wednesday! I hope your day is filled with happiness!

~Stef

Thought for the week:

(I don’t claim to be an expert, just a lover of new and useful information. I hope you enjoy new and useful information too! If you have a question, comment or suggestion, please send it my way.)

The Best Shape of My Life

The best shape of my life started as a physical goal. I wanted to be healthy, strong and fit. Feel better than I ever have and be healthier than I ever have. As the year has progressed, I’ve come to realize being in the best shape of my life is not all physical. 

Physical health is only one small part of being “in the best shape of my life”. The best shape of my life comes from a wholeness.I realized this concept of wholeness also encompasses emotional stability, spiritual connectivity, mental wellness and financial security. 

So, this goal has been amended:

Get in the best “wholeness” of my life

Six months into the year and I feel like I’m already more whole than I have ever been in my life.

Emotional stability, spiritual connectivity and mental wellness all play into each other. I’ve read numerous books, sought understanding and guidance from holistic healers, learned to meditate and self evaluate. As I’ve developed a firmer understanding of why I react to certain things and the insecurities in myself, I can make a plan to heal and move forward. The more I learn about holistic healing and enlightenment, the more I feel a sense of wholeness. 

The best place to start on a journey to self evaluation and acceptance is to read the book The Gifts of Imperfection (see review in previous post). Once you start on the path to enlightenment, you will continue to learn and understand. Call me when you start and I will give you the phone number for the best energy healer I’ve ever met! She is awesome!! (There is a whole long story about why I sought an energy healer. The long and short of it is I feel like counseling healed my brain, the atonement healed my heart and the holistic healer gave me the tools to combine the 2 together. I have more peace and understanding for which I am extraordinarily grateful.)

Wholeness does encompass physical health. When I trained for a marathon in 2010, I didn’t lose a single pound. Not one. I was frustrated and discouraged. As I made my list, I decided I needed to research out why this had happened. I want to be happy, healthy and whole. I want to be proud of the body I am in and feel awesome. I didn’t set out with a specific number of pounds to lose but was more interested in taking care of my body on the whole. Weight loss is a side effect of good nutrition.

February 2014

What I started doing was eating clean and Herbalife. Have you heard of Herbalife? No? You are missing out! This product line is AMAZING! I have more energy, less cravings than ever before. Plus it fits right into my clean eating lifestyle. (I eat clean most of the time but refuse to never enjoy a treat. Life is short and if you deprive yourself, you will eventually binge and lose it all anyways.) I’ve also started watching my sugar intake like crazy. It is outrageous to me how much sugar is in EVERYTHING! Did you know the American Diabetes Association recommends women eat 25 grams of sugar per day? Did you also know there is 12 grams of sugar in one serving of milk? There is 19 in one serving of greek yogurt. There is 4 grams in peanut butter and the list goes on and on. I don’t count natural frutose (from fruits and veggies) in my count, just the added, processed stuff. It adds up in the blink of an eye!

Since I’ve incorporated Herbalife, cut down on sugar and started eating clean, I have lost 21 pounds and around 15 inches. I also sleep better, have improved energy, have decreased my running mile time by 3 minutes, have clear skin, and my hair and nails grow stronger and faster. The best part- all my digestive problems are completely gone. I literally am in the best physical shape of my life!

July 12, 2014

Herbalife/clean eating are a lifestyle. Diets DO NOT work. If you diet, you will lose weight but if you don’t change your eating habits, it will ALL come back with a vengeance. I’m choosing a sustainable lifestyle so my body will always work how it should. If you want to know more, I can give you snacking/meal tips and show you all the benefits of cutting out gross quantities of sugar from your diet. I can also show you all the amazing things Herbalife has to offer. It will change your life if you let it. I guarantee it. 

Much love to you all and happy 30 to me!

~Stef

Recap

Happy July!! We are now closer to Christmas 2014 than we are to Christmas 2013. Isn’t that crazy?

It was requested I give a year to date update, so here goes!!

My list of 30 is as follows:

1. Run a half marathon, a triathlon, and a dirty dash

I’m signed up for the Run Elevated half marathon on August 23 and training is underway. I completed the Ghost Town Tri on April 26 with a time of 1:47 and I did the Dirty Dash in Soldier Hollow on June 7. This goal will be complete on August 23 by 9 in the morning!

2. Run or bike 30 miles every month
Year to date- I ride my bike or turn 30 miles every month. Especially since I discovered road biking. i bike almost 15 miles every morning. Guess I should have made this goal a little more difficult.

View from a morning bike ride

3. Get in the best shape of my life
This has proved to be a very interesting goal. Next post about this one! Coming in the next week so stay tuned.

4. Hike a long hike I’ve wanted to do
I have decided I am going to hike the back side of Timp. I was talking about it with some of my family this past week and we are going to do it before August 6. Within a month I will have this one checked off.

5. Go snow skiing again
Since it is 96° outside, I think I’m going to have to wait until the upcoming winter to check this one off the list.

6. Have a sleepover with all my nieces and nephews
This hasn’t happened yet but it will. No doubt about it. I’ve been on quite a few trips with my family but I haven’t had them all to my house. Soon, no doubt, very very soon.

7. Write letters to the 30 most important people in my life
Only 4 of my letters are complete. This is a good time to rededicate myself to this goal.

8. Have a girls weekend with Mom, Kolbi and Holly
Between both of my sisters-in-law moving into new houses, a new baby, a pregnancy and my schedule this has yet to happen. I’m sure it will.

9. Go to lunch at least once a month with Kristen
Kristen and I haven’t made lunch in 2 months but we made sure we had dinner together when lunch wasn’t going to happen. It’s a meal together so I am counting it.

10. Complete 30 acts of random kindness
Done. The more I looked to serve, the more opportunities are presented to me. I’m hoping to be at least double the original goal by the end of the year.

11. Sample all 31 flavors of Baskin Robbins ice cream
Anyone want to go to Baskin Robbins? 

12. Read 30 books in a year
Done. I read ALL.THE.TIME. Didn’t realize how many books I actually read. I’ll probably double the number of books by the end of the year too.

13. Throw myself a birthday party
Done- and it was AWESOME!

14. Spa Day
Oh my, it was fantastic. Jana and I had the most amazing day at the spa. Maybe there needs to be a do again.

15. Draw closer to God through worship, prayer and scripture study
This is obviously an ongoing goal but I have implemented some different things in my life to increase my ability to hear Heavenly Father and feel more in tune than I ever have before. It is enlightening to actively pursue a relationship with God. The more you give, the more you receive. 

16. Splurge on something I’ve wanted for years
I bought me a Mac. I love me my Mac. Best purchase in a long time.

17. Write a letter to myself for when I turn 40
It’s on the list. Hasn’t happened yet but it will.

18. Change something in my house
I just ordered what I’m changing! It should be here next week. I can’t wait! Pictures to come!

19. Donate 30 pieces of clothes to DI
My closet is cleaned out but I haven’t taken everything to DI yet. There are piles of clothes to be donated. 

20. See a psychic
Still to do

21. Buy an entire outfit in one shopping trip
Done and done. Shopping on my birthday was extremely productive. :)

22. Learn a new hobby (painting, boxing, photography, guitar etc)
I’m in the middle of a photography class and I’ve started yoga classes too!

23. Watch the sunrise and sun set on a beach I’ve never been too
Completed on Waikiki beach in February. 

24. Visit a new international city
Anyone want to go on vacation? My plans with other people keep getting nipped in the bud. I was thinking Aruba in two weeks. Anyone? Takers?

25. Do something that scares me
I cut off 8 inches of my hair in April. It terrified me. I’m so glad I cut it all off after but it was SO scary!

26. Karaoke in public (this terrifies me!)
Still in the works.

27. Skydive or bungee jump
The original plans for skydiving fell through. I’ve been looking into some bungee jumping options in September. I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop.

28. Get scuba certified and go diving
Certified in January, diving in February. Need to go again. 

29. Go to Disneyland and ride the rides at least 30 times
My family spent a week in Disneyland in May. See previous post for details but needless to say, this one is in the bag.

30. Spend an entire week at Lake Powell or the cabin
Working on this one. No date set yet but it is coming soon.




Total count- 11 completed, 10 in the process, 9 still to plan. That is not too shabby! Well on my way to complete this list!

So, how are you doing? How are your New Years Resolutions? Have you given up on your goals or are your goals still intact? if you’ve given up on them, maybe it is time to reevaluate and start again! After all, tomorrow is a new day and there is no day like it!!

Want to know the best part of the last 6 months? Adventure has presented itself non-stop! My life is so extraordinary and I’m extraordinarily grateful and blessed.

Much love to you all and happy 30 to me!
~Stef