MONDAY MOTIVATION: Limit Your Stress!

April is Stress Awareness Month but I’m sure many of you are thinking that you don’t need a month to be aware of the overwhelming feeling of stress. Maybe your car broke down and the mechanics bill is not something you financially prepared for, or your child’s school has called to talk about his/her behavior, maybe you are dealing with an illness in the family or trying your best to balance your demanding work and home life while still trying to find some “me” time. There are so many causes of stress and the list can go on forever! But what’s important about this month and everyday is finding ways to cope with and manage your stress. I have many people in my family who have high blood pressure or have found stress manifesting in their life in some way through their health. As I grow older and am more aware of my health, I am determined to not have these same issues.

Personally, I’ve found that meditation has helped me manage my stress and hectic schedule. Mainly because it allows me to tap into my inner voice and gives me time to really listen to my thoughts and feelings so that I can get a clear perspective on whatever issue I am dealing with but also because it gives me that time to myself to just take care of and be kind to me. I really enjoy it and have noticed the difference as I have been practicing more consistently.

I’ve included a video above on how to include meditation into your life. It’s helped me so much!

Let me know what methods you’ve found that work to deal with stress. Or, if you practice meditation what benefits have you seen?

Happy Monday!

My Six Month Intervention or Reinvention!!!

 

Learn something new!

For the next six months I'm going to push myself to try and learn something new. It started last week when I enrolled in an eight week on line business school training course.  This has been difficult for me because I'm quite technology challenged! I don't have an I-phone, Ipod, or a blackberry because I don't know how to use one!!! But I realize it's time that I take myself and my business to another level. I need to get with the times, get with the the program! I love being in business school and I'm learning a lot and I'm meeting some amazing people!!! 

No relationships/dating or even flirting! 

The other thing I'm doing for six month is learning how to be with myself, by myself. I'm a serial dater!! So I'm choosing to learn who I would be if I wasn't in a relationship/partnership?  Trying to learn about me..... this has been really challenging because I am one of those people who just loves the idea of lovership/partnership! Yet, I'm learning a lot about myself and realizing that alone does not necessarily mean lonely.

I'm also a flirt so trying not to flirt has been hard because I flirt without even knowing I'm flirting!  But I'm turning over a new leaf! And please don't flirt with me to try and break my sabbatical! lol.  Some of my friends have placed bets that I won't make it through six months but I'm going to try!!! 

Eating well and taking care of my body.

I'm taking the next six months to be mindful of how I treat my body and what I eat. I'm carefully monitoring, how do I physically take care of myself? I tend to overeat when I'm stressed. I also tend to stop exercising when I'm stressed. So over eating and no exercising is a bad combination. I then gain weight at a rapid pace!!!!

And yeah, yeah, I know someone is going to write to me about accepting my body the way it is! Well, to be brutally honest, I haven't gotten there yet! 

So for the next six months I'm challenging myself to be really conscious of the food that I eat, and how I handle stress. This has been the most challenging aspect of my new six month sabbatical so I have chosen to break this six month challenge into a daily challenge. Each day I promise myself that I won't use food as a comfort, and that each day I will move my body in some way and do some form of exercise.

I'm hoping to emerge from this six month reinvention/intervention a better person. I will keep you posted. I encourage you all to join me! Lets do something new for the next six months! Let me know what you are up too! And what are you doing in the next six months to be a better you!!!!