If Only I Could be Thin!

Do you ever think, “The only thing that will make my life better would be losing weight?” Join the club; this is a constant thought that hundreds or maybe millions of people have during the day.

Working with my clients, talking to friends and from my own experiences it has become pretty evident this thought will not solve the problem. What works is being kind to yourself! If you take time during the day to compliment yourself and relax, not only will you reduce your stress levels, you may want to start taking care of yourself.

A few years ago I started taking daily mini-vacations. This daily vacation is taking 10 minutes a day to do something nice for myself. Some mini-vacations my clients and I take during the day are as follows:

1. Sitting on your porch reading a fiction novel and drinking a glass of ice tea. My favorite author is James Patterson.
2. Taking a leisurely walk. I like to take leisurely walks with my husband and we have an agreement not to discuss anything upsetting.
3. Going to a coffee shop for coffee and talking to some of the friendly customers.
4. Just close your eyes and think about a time you felt relaxed and content.
5. Drinking a cup of tea, a candle glowing and music playing in the background. My favorite artist is Josh Groban.

You are the CEO of your life so give yourself permission to enjoy it. What mini-vacation are you going to take today?

As always, this a special invitation requesting that you join me in writing a blog together where we can share our special gifts and concerns with each other. Today, take one little step by leaving a comment or sending me an email to helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Have a Beautiful Day on Your New Journey!

NEW DAY

A few weeks ago, I was thinking about my life. Some days I woke up and thought about how am I going to get thru the day. Other days I woke up and was excited about my day. What makes each day different?

After thinking about this phenomenon, I realized that my fears are controlling my thoughts. If I feel overwhelmed with all I have to do, my fears come out in full force to help me. On the other hand, if I am feeling confident about myself and my fears are on vacation, I am excited about experiencing the new day.

WOW!! That was easy.

Last week, I was working with a client who was concerned because some days she was excited about her life and others were a struggle. Sounds familiar? We discussed what was happening and brainstormed different ideas. She came up with the conclusion that when she accomplished a small step towards her goal she felt confident. Going to bed feeling confident enabled her to wake up the next morning excited about her life.

Even though her day took on a life of its own, she was determined to accomplish one small step towards reaching her goal each day. The small step she planned on taking was to eat one healthy meal a day. A week past and I was working with this client again today. She was so excited about how her life had shifted and now every morning she woke up with a smile on her face and looked forward to her day. She told me the only difference was that she ate a healthy breakfast each day and acknowledged herself when she got into bed at night. Now she has planned to eat yogurt and cereal instead of ice cream before going to bed. Stay tuned and I will let you know how she is progressing.

Special Opportunities

If you like, chose one of the activities below and see how your life shifts. The only request I have is to continue the same small step for 21 days and let me know what happens.

When you get up in the morning give yourself a big hug and say, “I love you and I am going to have a great day.”

Each day plan on taking one little step towards reaching your goal. Make sure you can accomplish this small step within 15 minutes. Then before going to bed acknowledge yourself for accomplishing your goal.

Before getting out of bed, thank God for the day before and ask him/her to grant you a beautiful day.

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

FOOD TAKES A BACK SEAT

I would like to share with you an extraordinary experience I had last night. On Mondays at 3:30pm I meet my grandson, Jeffrey who is six years old at his school. Yesterday I asked him if he would like to go on a date with me for dinner. After going to the library and doing his homework, we drove to the restaurant. When I parked the car Jeffrey told me to wait in the car and he opened my car door. We went into the restaurant and he told the hostess where we wanted to sit. After deciding what we wanted for dinner, Jeffrey told the waitress what we both wanted. We had a nice time talking and eating, he paid the bill with my credit card. I thanked him for our date and we promised each other we would have another date on my birthday next month.

While Jeffrey and I were at the restaurant talking and eating, I was not thinking about the food on my plate. Once Jeffrey had placed my order with healthy choices, and then choosing how much food I was going to eat, I could enjoy being with Jeffrey instead of obsessing over the food.

The magic cure for me is to keep my commitment at every meal, I will only make wise food choices with quantity control. I have been following this philosophy for over eight years and find for me all it takes is focusing on one meal at a time. Once the food I was going to eat was on my plate, I could enjoy being with Jeffrey. WHAT A MIRACLE!!

I would love to hear about your extraordinary experiences and how food did not play an important role.