Posts Tagged ‘positive changes’

Resolving To Be A Better Person or How Not To Act Like an A@$&Hole in 2012!

Sunday, January 1st, 2012

By Wilma Young CPT
Being a fortunate person, I strive to keep my blessings in mind. But there are days that my mojo slips away and it is difficult to even stand myself. I know there are some of you who feel this way about me even on my best days and that is the beauty of this human existence. We all have different tastes and agendas but accepting the differences in others is as important as loving the parts we dig! Working to be a better person and demonstrating acts of kindness and courteous words can be a challenge. I want 2012 to be an outstanding year and my hopes are high. But reality tells me there will be struggles and losses and the possibility is great that I may disappoint myself and others. Does this keep me from growing into the human being that I wish to be? Is there a place when contentment and gratitude take over and my doubts and fears get reduced to a low growl instead of a screaming pitch? (If you have experienced my screaming pitch, my sincerest apologies! :) )

I struggled with this blog, truly wanting to inspire and show the ray of sun that lies on every horizon but my ‘Pollyanna” disposition was lost. Then I saw a post from my niece on Facebook. Not only is she talented and beautiful but she is influencing our world with her insights and wisdom. I am resubmitting her 2012 resolution because frankly I think there is little to improve upon. May all of you that are reading this have the fortitude to get through the highs and lows of the upcoming year. May you be happy and blessed to have love and family in your life and may you reach your goals of happiness and health despite the obstacles that come your way. Because what makes us genuinely better people is how we handle our challenges more than our victories! Be humble and be happy, it’s going be a GREAT year!
By Caroline Adair: “There were countless trials & tribulations this year, countless tragedies and disasters that will not be forgotten .There were wonderful things that took my breath away. I chose to be inspired. I vow to do something every single day, large or small, to help make the world a better place. I will look at the bright side. I will vote. I will volunteer. I will hold the door open for a stranger. I will smile at the grumpy person having a bad day. I am thankful for my health. I am thankful for my job and home and I am thankful for my wonderful friends and family. I am ready for the New Year!”
http://yearinreview.yahoo.com/2011/blog/1263/inspiring-video/

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Is It Over Yet? Wake Me When The Fat Man In The Red Suit Leaves!

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

By Wilma Young CPT

It’s down to the wire… shopping in chaos, wrapping the gifts
and cooking up a storm. The final push is here and with all my grandiose ideals
of remaining Zen during the holiday I find myself in the midst of a stressful
week! You can relate to the list that adds two more tasks as you cross one off.
The fact that the kids are out of school at the same time you are trying to
balance motherhood, your job,  overnight family
guests and the dreaded fruit cake  that
will eventually show up is an enormous amount of responsibility. Then add the
fact that you want to be available to your friends and family with a cheerful
disposition even though you are thinking how much you love them when they are
all ASLEEP! God help me because I am thinking I want them to shut up and leave
me alone! Add a few indiscretions in the diet, less sleep for myself and the slight
guilt factor of not working out as much as I should and voila’…you have a
formula for depleted energy and short tempers. So how do I regain my composure?
How do I manage to spread Christmas cheer without wanting to stuff the next fake
Santa I see up the chimney? Personally, I start with 5 minutes of quiet time. You can call
it meditation, prayer or closing your eyes so people think you are asleep and
will leave you alone for a few minutes. Then I get a hot cup of green tea which
is a great adaptogen (a nutrient that is supportive to the system instead of
taxing on it) and helps give you energy without the spiked and dropped feeling you get from sugar or coffee. Then I give myself a small dose of forgiveness. I try to remind myself that EVERYONE
gets stressed, EVERYONE has a laundry list to complete and EVERYONE needs
someone to acknowledge them even in the smallest of ways. So when you are in
the store make the clerk smile, let the little Grandma behind you get in line
first and bring someone else’s day up. You’ll find that you will affect your
energy in a positive way. During this beautiful time of year, remember there
are those that do not feel cheery about the holidays due to varied
circumstances and they are the ones that need to be uplifted the most. So when
the stress gets to you, keep in mind that you have been blessed with a roof
over your head and food on your table. You have friends and family that want
to spend time with you and 2012 is looking like a wonderful “do-over” that will
bring you a fantastic year. So with that being said I want to extend my holiday
wishes for all of you that are willing to spend your time reading my blogs and
providing feedback. May you experience the joy of family, the gift of health
and the happiness of laughter. If that doesn’t work, stuff the next Santa you
see up the chimney, you’ll be surprised how much better you’ll feel. And please
do not ask me why I know this! Merry Christmas!

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Christmas Music Already? I Want To Poke My Eye Out With A Candy Cane And It’s Not Even Thanksgiving Yet!

Thursday, November 17th, 2011

By Wilma Young CPT
So now it starts to get into high gear. Thanksgiving decorations next to the Christmas trees and the Halloween candy is now half price. The bombardment of goodies is everywhere and I am not immune to the temptations of the season. Put anything pumpkin in front of me and I salivate like Pavlov’s dogs sans the experimental part but add in a extra dose of the eating frenzy and there I am. I am ALWAYS a huge advocate of working out at this time of year because not only do I want to lose weight before the big push of the New Year but more importantly I want to stave off the extra 5-7 lbs most Americans put on during the holidays. So you go to your sister’s house and the place is over filled with treats and family disasters. Now the family disasters are fun for my clan because we have humor to temper the tragedies and that is either a formula for a Greek play or one of our memorable family gatherings. The advantage I have is that at least half the dishes are on the healthy side since most of us are trying to live an active lifestyle. I know most of you don’t have this benefit. So here are some tricks to help you ward off the extra pounds and add in some much needed nutrition. First, ALWAYS eat breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. Many will try to skip this meal to make up for what they will eat later in the day. This is a mistake! Starving the body and loading it up later slows your metabolism and sets you up for storage of fat. Eat a decent healthy breakfast! Second, make sure there is a huge, healthy green salad. If you are going to someone else’s house offer to make it. They will be thrilled with your offer and you can make sure there is some roughage to wash away the butter that you will be slipping down your pipes. When serving your plate make sure to make half of your plate green salad and one quarter turkey or protein. This leaves one quarter of your plate for the splurge side dish. Third, drink plenty of water and maybe some warm tea. After a large meal, warm water or tea will help your bowels to move. Gross maybe but you’ll thank me later, I promise. Lastly, taking a walk after dinner or getting to the the gym instead of the Black Friday sales the next day will keep you on track. It is unrealistic to think you will not have some Thanksgiving favorites on such a wonderful family day. Also, a meal enjoyed with people you love and prepared with care and thoughtfulness is healthy for the soul. Not everyday of course but in the theme of spiritual fulfillment, a little splurge can be good medicine for you. What is important however is that you keep it to the ONE day, get back to the gym as soon as possible and make sure you make the best food choices immediately before and after such an indulgent meal. Remember, the 5 lbs you save this month will be 5 less lbs to think about in January. And frankly, I’d rather have smaller thighs for Christmas than a extra piece of pumpkin pie and I think Santa would appreciate me not asking again this year for the body of a model, the mind of Einstein and the humor of John Stewart. He really hates to keep disappointing me !

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How to Keep Yourself On Track When You Have No Time To Squeeze In A Workout!

Monday, November 7th, 2011

By Wilma Young CPT
Balancing life can be virtually impossible at times! Cleaning house, shopping, nurturing your family all takes time. Then throw in a career, paying bills, caring for a sick parent or child and Oh Yeah…be kind to strangers. We seem to fly at a pace of warp speed and then try to schedule in a work out because we just saw some statistic on TV that says we are going to have some sort of nasty disease if we don’t! Oh the PRESSURE of it all! Now the truth is, we CAN get sick if we don’t take care of ourselves so I will always advocate physical fitness as a long term commitment to a happy, healthy life. But let’s face the fact that life is not always a bowl of cherries and our plans get skewered all of the time. So this is when we really have to pay attention to our nutrition. It is unrealistic to think that the average Joe (or Joanne) will be able to get a work out in every day. Life just isn’t that predictable. However, we have to eat every day…in fact several times a day. So by using a simple math formula it is easy to see that eating has a larger impact on your health and waistline then working out does. The truth is, an individuals health status is based 80% upon what they eat. Yes, 80%!!! This means that on the days you can’t squeeze in a work out you will need to pay closer attention to your eating. I know people that will when the stress hits (and frankly for most of us that is daily)start eating significantly less or make poor food choices because of the stress. This just compounds the problem by unbalancing our metabolism and making us feel less energetic. I know it is hard but these are the times it is important to emphasize eating well. Make sure to get lots of greens,lean protein, plenty of healthy, clean water and an occasional sigh in the car or a loud scream if your day warrants it. Just think of the all work your lungs will get by releasing some stress. Not only will you feel better but you’ll probably save a family member from your “homicidal” tendencies!

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Mastering The Fine Art Of Lying To Yourself

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

Is it inevitable that we start to believe our own lies?
I was recently speaking to a client. We have been having great success with her workouts and became fast friends. We were at a recent workshop with the intuitive life coach Tony Rowe (www.anthonyrowe,com). I have been fortunate to have received great benefit in my life due to my relationship with Tony. So we’re on a break and chatting by the water cooler and my friend starts to tell me about the first time she saw me. It was five years ago and at another gym. She proceeded to tell me how focused and intense I was during my 5am workouts and that she sort of avoided me. Well, I laughed it off and we both agreed that the Wilma standing here today was in a much better place and a happier person to be around. After the evening wound up and I was contemplating the events of the day I really had to check myself. I had written the title to this blog a week ago but didn’t know how it would manifest. Then in a blink of an eye, the words come to me. See, five years ago I was dealing with some life altering events, had starved myself skinny and was thinking to myself how great I was handling everything.
In a a split second, there was the mirror of my self deception staring me down like the queen in Sleeping Beauty… “I am the fairest in the land”…and other assorted crap that we start to believe after awhile. In that moment, I realized how good I had gotten at lying to myself. I realized how my energetic temperature is evident in it’s truest sense no matter how much make up I wear or what size my pants are. I may have been skinnier but healthy I was not! I sent off an intense, chaotic vibe and in turn got that kind of energy back. Again, the mirror of life reflecting back at me. Fast forward five years and my life has a view that has blossomed to a warm and inviting glow with a little tarnish still around my halo. Those of you that know me personally can attest to that fact. But I am in a place where I can give to others and accept myself as I am, “A Work In Progress”. If you are lucky, you too have people in your life that reflect back to you what you are projecting and that accept the fact that you and the rest of the population are ALL a work in progress. However, even with this new shift in my self awareness I am sure that I can still find ways to lie to myself but hopefully on a smaller scale like…:”I really AM funny, even if the grocery clerk didn’t think so”, or “I AM a good driver even with the radio blasting at level 10″, or “I AM 6 feet tall with long, slender legs” (that’s the funniest one). But if I start to slip back into what one of my very best life-long friends calls “My Phase” I am sure there are plenty of you out there to hold the mirror up to my face and say ” Really, the fairest in the land? Think again!”

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Making Plans…God’s Funny Joke On Humans!

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

So you wake up in the morning with the greatest of intentions. I will get in a work out, I will smile at my children when they spill their breakfast in their car seats and I will NOT honk at the driver who has miscalculated their stop in the crosswalk by little Johnny’s school. You then get out of bed, with a chirp to your step only to find the cat on the kitchen counter eating your husbands dinner leftovers that he failed to clean up. Then, startled, the cat knocks the plate on the floor and shatters. “I will not get upset” is the mantra going through your head. So you calmly and methodically start to pick up the broken pieces as your husband comes to complain about the noise waking him up. “Oh Boy”, you say to yourself and then count to 10. “Sorry dear but the plate I’m sure you mistakenly thought to put in the dish washer got knocked to the ground.” Hmhmhm, thinking to your self, you inconsiderate jerk” but once again pushing that thought out of your head and moving on with the plan of the day to remain calm and enlightened. Just as you talk yourself back from the ledge, little Johnny and tiny Tammy come screaming in for breakfast and fighting with each other. The plans of the day once again getting tested and you haven’t even gotten to brush your teeth yet. At this point, you are thinking about knocking someone else’s teeth out but NO…You are enlightened, you are ZEN, you will deal appropriately. Then the final straw, the last apple to upset the apple cart occurs. Your Prince Charming wants to know why his favorite socks aren’t where he can find them. You close your eyes, take 3 breaths, and whip around like the Wicked Witch of the West and start a borage of tyrannical expletives that make your family look as if they are on a roller coaster. Eyes popping out, mouths gaped open and eyebrows raised to the roof. As you finish your rant you notice a sense of stillness come over you. Unloading the pressure seemed a great idea at the time. Then you see the looks on their faces change. They are upset and their day is now off on the wrong foot. “Why, God, can’t my day go as planned? Why do I not have patience?” Well, my friend, this is the fuel of life. This energy which can manifest in a positive or negative way is what will give life it’s color. It will also be the energy that makes you laugh when your children do a funny dance for you or melt your heart when your husband brings you a single rose and a thanks you for taking care of the family. When these unplanned joys happen in your life, it is the time to take stock of the gifts that we are given. It is the time to remember why we nurture little Johnny and tiny Tammy knowing they will go out into the world and spread kindness and friendship. Their joy will have a contagious effect which will make other people have a better day. So when you want to scream and throw up your hands, take a moment to breath, take a moment to give thanks and take a moment to laugh at yourself and the plans you have made. God, is a funny God and wants us to laugh, even if it’s at our own expense.

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Eat. Pray. Love? How Can I? When I Can’t Even Pee Without My Children Being In the Bathroom With Me!

Saturday, September 10th, 2011

Our society is full of great women. The type of women that are trying to provide a healthy, happy environment for everyone to thrive in. Nutritious food, lots of love and the occasional attitude adjustment that we all need from time to time. But in a day and age of go, go , go, how do we manage to have time for ourselves like the movie Eat, Pray and Love? We go to the movies and we see Julia Roberts and it sends this positive message but we walk out knowing that applying this to everyday life is almost a fantasy.Much like the Prince Charming on the white horse nonesense that we all eventually figure out is a just a wonderfully simple man that requires clean underwear and food on the table to make him happy! So we contemplate…when is it my turn? When will I be able to feel the peace that will keep me from blowing my horn at the car in front of me for stopping at a green ligh? So I start to pause and realize what is good in my life -call it prayer or meditation- but I find this simple focus can sometimes bring me back from the brink of homocide to a calmer sense of myself. Not easy, I know, I get it. But I want to remind you that you too want, NO, you need clean underwear and food on the table to make you happy too (or a massage, a new pair of shoes or lunch with your girlfriends). Whatever it is, if it brings you calm and inner peace it is important! Your acceptance of the great GOOD that is to be found in the small things in your day is the fuel to keep you on a positive path. The fact that your coffee turned out perfect this morning, or you had a 10 minute chat with a friend who makes you laugh, these are the things that can bring reverence and gratitude to your life. So instead of kicking ourselves becaues we can’t go to India because little Suzy has a soccer tournament every weekend until the end of time, I want you to talk to yourself with kindess and grace. Commit to your life, forgive yourself for your mistakes and remember to mark the day with the smallest of miracles that remind you of how lucky you truly are. How fortunate it is to be in a world where we have choices! Today, choose to live a happy, healthy life and remind the world how beautiful it is to be a woman and a great one at that!

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How Will You Celebrate Valentines Day?

Saturday, February 5th, 2011

We’re barely through the New Year’s resolution season and our convictions are
already being tested. The displays of chocolate with the “I Love You” ribbons
are everywhere and cupid is lurking around the corner with an innocent smile but
a devious plan. The message we get is that if you truly love someone you will
shower them with candy treats. Now we all know that dark chocolate (70% or
higher) has positive health benefits in small doses but that is not what is
being pushed. The amount of REAL chocolate in our current marketplace is
deceptively small and in some instances completely non existent. I am hoping
that if we really want to show our loved ones how much we care about them we
will consider different avenues for showing our affection. How about a
subscription to a favorite magazine. (Oxygen magazine is a great choice for you
fitness fans, www.oxygenmag.com)or maybe a massage or pedicure. Mom may
appreciate a day off with her girlfriends to go to lunch while Dad takes care of
the kids. Maybe a movie date or a hike together might do the trick. When you
think of how to show someone how much they mean to you give them something that
will add to their life not take away from it. This year when cupids pulls back
his arrow remember to target your loved one’s health either physically or
emotionally when choosing a gift. Because the best gift of all is a long,
healthy and happy life together!!

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Are You making positive changes in your life everyday?

Monday, July 20th, 2009

by Carol Dodsley
Do you enjoy making changes in your life, (I have some great tools and special offers for you later in this email as well as hints and tips on making changes the easy way so do read on)

do you enjoy facing changes that are imposed on you?

How do you deal with change?

Some of us deal with change easily and embrace change, as it gives us variety and excitement, others of us feel wary of change, don’t like to leave our comfort zones and try new things or have new ways put upon us.

The world is though, always changing, nothing stays the same, we are on a continuous circle or wheel throughout our lives, sometimes we are at the top, other times we are at the bottom and the rest of the time we are in-between.

If we wait for change to be imposed on us – this is when it can be really difficult as we have not asked for it, perhaps were not waiting for it, do not want it. evertheless if it is imposed we have to del with it.

So how can we accept changes imposed on us more easily, how can we look forward to change and see it as an opportunity, an exciting journey, something to embrace?

Th first thing you can do is to start making changes for yourself, instead of simply waiting for them to be imposed on you. Try it starting today, think of one small thing that you can change in yoru life that will make your life better, easier, more fun.

It may be something as simple as changing the colour of our lipstick, or your tie. It may be something like changing what you eat for breakfast or trying a new drink.

It doesnt matter what it is as long as it is a change, something that you normally wouldn’t do.

When you make the change, listen to your thoughts, take note of what you feel and how you feel, do you feel confident, scared, apprehensive, excited?

What was the effect of the change on your day?

Practice making one change – whether small or big – everyday and you wll soon notice a difference in your life and will soon look for new things to do, new ways of doing things and will find yourself wanting to make bigger and more dramatic changes for yourself in your life.

As you begin to feel comfortable making your own changes and start to look forward to making changes, when changes are imposed on you they will no longer be the dreaded things in your life but they will become things that excite you and that you know you can deal with easily and effortlessly.

To your every success
Carol

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