If you are not living in alignment with your core values, your life may feel out of sync, you may feel unsettled, uneasy, and on edge, but you can't put your finger on why you feel that way.
An exercise I learned first with a group of women where I used to live, and have since run across in slight variations, is about identifying your core values.
Take a few moments and write down 10 values you feel strongly connected to.
Let that list simmer for a couple of days, and then refine it to five values.
Then to three.
Then to one.
Then, look at your life through the lens of your core values. Take the six areas we discussed in the last post, and see if you are living your life in alignment with these values.
My top core value is freedom - others are honesty, loyalty, fidelity, and responsibility. I'd say these are my five core values. So, how do these jibe with my goals for 2018?
Finances - freedom and responsibility - getting out of debt gives me the freedom to really plan for retirement from my current day job. I am eligible to retire in 2020, and being both eligible and financially able to will be a weight off my shoulders. I like my job, and I may not retire in 2020, however just knowing I have the freedom to do so is enough.
Getting out of debt is the responsible thing to do. I have enough in my retirement account to pay off my current debt and leave my children with a tidy sum of money - and being more responsible with my finances will give me the freedom to enjoy my retirement.
The same is true of my health - and getting my blog books published may enhance my financial freedom and give me a second career.
So yes, all my goals for 2018 jibe with my core values.
Do yours? If not, what do you need to change in your life right here, right now, to move toward living your best life now - in alignment with your core values?
In future posts, we will discuss setting intentions, goals setting, and Manifestation Boards.
Until next time, Namaste!
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Sunday, January 28, 2018
Sunday, May 11, 2014
MaXIMIze - Lifestyle Change versus D-I-E-T
Yes, diet is a four-letter word - we tend to view dieting as a temporary state, akin to taking antibiotics for an infection, and frankly that is why the dieting mindset does not work for the long haul. And believe me, life is a long haul!
If we look at the changes in our eating and drinking habits that would be beneficial to our overall physical health as true lifestyle changes or even a bettering of ourselves - such as we do when pursuing higher education of any type - those changes are more likely to stick and become the good habits that replace the bad habits in the long-term. And the long-term is what we are shooting for here, not the short-term quick fix. Our bodies are going to last us 70-90 years or more, so we owe it to ourselves to take the best care of them that we can. And - as long as we draw breath, it is never too late to make these changes and live a better life.
Just like what we choose to read, listen to, or watch can elevate us or drag us down, so too can our eating and drinking habits.
Here are some rules of thumb I've learned over the years:
The more colorful the fruits and vegetables are, the better they are for you.
Darker lettuce is better for you than lighter lettuce (romaine versus iceberg for example).
Fresh and in season is better than canned or frozen.
Natural is better than processed or artificial (cane or beet sugar is better than high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners)
If you eat meat, a serving is about the size of the palm of your hand.
Home-made or home cooked is better than store-bought or processed.
The gist here is as close to natural as possible and portion control. Both help reduce the toxins we ingest. Also, drinking plenty of water over the course of the day helps the body flush out toxins and keep our digestive tract, well, on track.
Eating right doesn't mean giving up on sweets or treats either - again, as close to natural as possible and portion control.
One of the things I've done in the last year to help ensure I eat healthier is to subscribe to a service called Farm Fresh to You. They deliver in-season fruits and vegetables and organic eggs to my doorstep every other week. They do have weekly service as well, and you can tailor the list of items so you don't get food you know you won't eat. And, they provide recipes for what they deliver in the box, so you're not left wondering what to do with, say, bok choy, when you get it.
I also visit the farmer's market a few blocks down from my day job when it is in sessions (Wednesdays from May to October) to augment what I get in my deliveries and to get out of the office on a weekly basis for a nice stroll!
I know a lot of us say we don't have time to cook, however, I bet if we looked at the amount of time we spend eating out or engaged with either the TV or the computer we could find plenty of time to cook a delicious, nutritious meal at home. Even if you have an active life with school and sports and such, you can still prepare easy meals for yourself and your family with a little preplanning. For example, if you have leftover chicken, you can easily cook some rotini pasta and mix the chicken and pasta with cut up tomatoes, avocados, artichoke hearts, black olives, and other vegetables you like and a bit of dressing to make a quick meal of a salad.
The choice is ours - live a healthy lifestyle for the long-term, or go on the diet for the short-term over and over and over again.
Just like a well-maintained car will last much longer than a car that is only fixed when it breaks down, so too will our bodies stay healthier longer when we live a proper lifestyle instead of depending on diets for the quick fix to our self-induced weight problems.
And, eating right can help mitigate a host of other ills such as diabetes, allergies, insomnia and fatigue, just to name a few.
Remember the challenge I gave you last week of tracking what you eat and drink? Look at that list from last week and think about how you can change what you imbibe for the better long-term health of your body.
And, again, it took time to get where we are at, and it will take time to get where we need to be in this area of our lives - however, the long-term benefits are worth it!
Until next week, namaste!
If we look at the changes in our eating and drinking habits that would be beneficial to our overall physical health as true lifestyle changes or even a bettering of ourselves - such as we do when pursuing higher education of any type - those changes are more likely to stick and become the good habits that replace the bad habits in the long-term. And the long-term is what we are shooting for here, not the short-term quick fix. Our bodies are going to last us 70-90 years or more, so we owe it to ourselves to take the best care of them that we can. And - as long as we draw breath, it is never too late to make these changes and live a better life.
Just like what we choose to read, listen to, or watch can elevate us or drag us down, so too can our eating and drinking habits.
Here are some rules of thumb I've learned over the years:
The more colorful the fruits and vegetables are, the better they are for you.
Darker lettuce is better for you than lighter lettuce (romaine versus iceberg for example).
Fresh and in season is better than canned or frozen.
Natural is better than processed or artificial (cane or beet sugar is better than high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners)
If you eat meat, a serving is about the size of the palm of your hand.
Home-made or home cooked is better than store-bought or processed.
The gist here is as close to natural as possible and portion control. Both help reduce the toxins we ingest. Also, drinking plenty of water over the course of the day helps the body flush out toxins and keep our digestive tract, well, on track.
Eating right doesn't mean giving up on sweets or treats either - again, as close to natural as possible and portion control.
One of the things I've done in the last year to help ensure I eat healthier is to subscribe to a service called Farm Fresh to You. They deliver in-season fruits and vegetables and organic eggs to my doorstep every other week. They do have weekly service as well, and you can tailor the list of items so you don't get food you know you won't eat. And, they provide recipes for what they deliver in the box, so you're not left wondering what to do with, say, bok choy, when you get it.
I also visit the farmer's market a few blocks down from my day job when it is in sessions (Wednesdays from May to October) to augment what I get in my deliveries and to get out of the office on a weekly basis for a nice stroll!
I know a lot of us say we don't have time to cook, however, I bet if we looked at the amount of time we spend eating out or engaged with either the TV or the computer we could find plenty of time to cook a delicious, nutritious meal at home. Even if you have an active life with school and sports and such, you can still prepare easy meals for yourself and your family with a little preplanning. For example, if you have leftover chicken, you can easily cook some rotini pasta and mix the chicken and pasta with cut up tomatoes, avocados, artichoke hearts, black olives, and other vegetables you like and a bit of dressing to make a quick meal of a salad.
The choice is ours - live a healthy lifestyle for the long-term, or go on the diet for the short-term over and over and over again.
Just like a well-maintained car will last much longer than a car that is only fixed when it breaks down, so too will our bodies stay healthier longer when we live a proper lifestyle instead of depending on diets for the quick fix to our self-induced weight problems.
And, eating right can help mitigate a host of other ills such as diabetes, allergies, insomnia and fatigue, just to name a few.
Remember the challenge I gave you last week of tracking what you eat and drink? Look at that list from last week and think about how you can change what you imbibe for the better long-term health of your body.
And, again, it took time to get where we are at, and it will take time to get where we need to be in this area of our lives - however, the long-term benefits are worth it!
Until next week, namaste!
Sunday, January 19, 2014
MaXIMIze - Circle of Perception
So, how are you all doing with powering up the personal prose using the tips and thoughts from last week's blog? Absolutely fantastically, I hope!
Now on to the Circle of Perception exercise that I use in my coaching practice. I also use this exercise myself at least annually to regain perspective on the various areas of my life and to see how I'm progressing based on what I had said previously.
For this exercise you'll need a blank 8 1/2 by 11 piece of paper (a sheet of regular printer paper will do nicely) and a pencil or pen.
First, draw a circle - make it at least 3-4" in diameter. Then, draw three lines through it in order to make six equal slices of pie (or pizza if you prefer). Now label each of these pieces as follows:
Career
Relationships
Financial
Health
Spiritual
Well-Being
So, how does each of these slices taste to you currently? How satisfied are you with each of these pieces of your life? On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being lowest and 10 being highest, rate each area of your life.
Now to put that in a different visual perspective, mentally divide the pieces of the pie into ten slices each, radiating from the center of the pie outward, so you essentially end up with nine smaller circles within the original one. Then, for each piece of the pie, each area of your life, starting at the center of the pie, shade out the rating you gave that particular piece.
Now, flip the image from a pie to a wheel - is your life pretty evenly rated all the way around, or is your wheel uneven? If you rated all areas evenly but rated them at, say, five or six, or even seven, then your life is like riding a bike with low tires - pedaling for all you are worth, yet taking longer to get somewhere than you really could if your tires were fully inflated.
For those areas that you rated your satisfaction as 8 or above - they might need a little tweaking here or there - could perhaps be better - however, we are going to focus on those areas that you rated 7 or below - those areas causing the tire of your life to be low at best or totally off-kilter at worst.
DISCLAIMER: This blog is about coaching - NOT counseling. I am not here to fix the ills of your past. I AM here to help you focus on your future and gain knowledge, skills, and abilities to set, pursue and gain the goals to make your life better - something you can rate all around at 8 or above. If the ills of your past are something we identify as a roadblock to that success, you will need to pursue counseling with a trained professional to deal with those issues. I am NOT such a trained professional.
Now back to our regularly scheduled program...
As you review each of the six areas of your life, here are some questions to ponder until next week:
- What are some of the most immediate/pressing and/or important goals you'd like to achieve in each of these areas?
- What would achieving these goals mean to you - how would you feel?
- What will happen or be different once you achieve these goals? How would that manifest in your life?
- Who/what do you need to help you accomplish these goals?
- When do you expect to achieve these goals?
- When you achieve these goals, what will be the impact to other areas of your life?
- What are the potential or actual roadblocks to achieving these goals?
- What skills and resources do you already have to achieve these goals?
- What else do you need?
Last - what steps will you take to ensure you achieve these goals?
This is your life and you have the power to live your best life now - are you ready to seize that power?
Next week, we will discuss the mechanics of setting and attaining goals - until then, Namaste!
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