The 411 on Wellness

Make It a Good One!

 

The other day  I was exchanging pleasantries with some acquaintances, you know the “how are you? hope you have a nice holiday” kind…and I happened to mention that I thought 2011 was going to be a great year. One of the women there said, “no way – it’s going to take years for things to turn around”.

 I was stunned. My brain finds it hard to understand how some people are automatically pessimistic since I am an optimist by nature. I went on to have an exchange with this woman, and while trying to stay light I tried to explain that it doesn’t really matter what the economy is doing – we can still have a great year if we choose to!

 To me, it’s all about maintaining a positive attitude. Sometimes our life circumstances may be lacking what we want or need, but we can still be happy. In fact choosing happiness is right up there on my list for the New Year.

 I know it’s all sounding a bit simplistic but really…would you rather go through life thinking grumpy thoughts or happy thoughts? Because I am quite sure we are constantly living the life that is a direct result of guess what - our thoughts!

 I consider myself lucky because some years ago I discovered that I could indeed design my life. And trust me - I am very grateful for the life I now have. Talk about feeling empowered…talk about feeling free! I stay mindful of what I think, I am careful of the words I speak, and as a result I am richly rewarded.

 So the moral of my story here is threefold: think positive thoughts, design a beautiful life and have a Happy New Year!

With much love,

Nancy

p.s. someone special once told me that “happiness is the only thing that multiplies when shared”, so share this with a friend :-) 

 

What Happened to Sunday?

 

What happened to Sundays? A day off…or just time out for that matter?

There was a time when a day off was a day off. Maybe that was a weekend day or maybe a week day. Regardless of what the day itself was called – I knew on that day there was nothing “scheduled”.

I really miss that! I can remember looking forward to renting a movie and watching it from start to finish without feeling guilty. I can even remember coming home from work, making dinner and then relaxing afterwards. Lately, those are just memories from the past.

I am now compelled to check emails, go on-line, write, research, and just DO more. Don’t get me wrong…I am personally thrilled by technology and everything it represents, it’s just that I never have that feeling of “time off”.

My brain buzzes as fast as data can come over the cable wires. I have a perpetual “to do” list electronically updating in my brain on a second by second basis. If I do have an opportunity to let’s say watch a movie – I rarely watch it from start to finish because I have other things to think about or do (real quick) while I put the movie on pause.

How about putting myself on pause? Now that’s what I am talking about! I think going forward in the New Year, I am going to make this a priority. I will take more time outs, real time off, and rest. And today, on this cold and rainy Sunday – I am going to make myself a cup of hot cocoa, sit by the fire and enjoy. Just enjoy.

Sounds good doesn’t it?

What are You Asking for?

Even when we don’t realize it…we get exactly what we are asking for.

I like to refer to the Universe as a restaurant. We go to this restaurant daily to place our order. We tell it exactly what we want, and then…wait. But the waiting is hard. When we don’t see immediate results we get frustrated and upset.

Then guess what happens? We mumble to ourselves, that we won’t get what we ordered…and of course we have just placed a new order, so now it won’t happen.

We do this day in and day out but aren’t really conscious of it. The trick is to place our order and then be patient – knowing it will happen in its own time.

I find this to be true in so many ways, not just for things I want, also for the opposite – things I don’t want. Just the other day I was worried about not having enough time to finish an upcoming project, then lo and behold…a chunk of time opened up for me.

It was the way this time became available that was disturbing though. People started to cancel their appointments with me. It was then that I remembered how I had unconsciously wished for this. Now this is humbling, knowing I created what I wanted while also getting what I did not want! Sad but true, time to take responsibility for my actions once again. Hmmm.

This was yet another moment where I was in awe of how powerful our thoughts really can be, and how unknowingly powerful we are.

And so - I am once again reminded to be very, very careful what I wish for.

"After the holidays....."

I hear it in my practice all day long, and I am secretly guilty of this myself. What is “it” you ask?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is the line, “after the holidays”!

Just fill in the blank…I’ll go on a diet after the holidays. I’ll start exercising after the holidays. I’ll cleanse after the holidays. I’ll get organized after the holidays. And on it goes.

Why do we do this to ourselves? It seems illogical that simply because the date on the calendar says it is time for festivities, we just let ourselves go. Welcome to the human brain! We are such clever creatures that we are capable of rationalizing anything and everything.

Studying the brain is one of my favorite occupations, in fact I consider myself an expert at understanding what drives our thoughts and behaviors. It’s what I do, I help people balance out their brain chemistry so that their behavior is exactly that…balanced. But try as I might, I can’t overcome the procrastination and total abandon that happens this time of year!

This year I have a new strategy, want to hear it? Whenever someone comes in and tells me about how terribly they’ve been eating, or how they have quit exercising because there just isn’t time – I say “perfect, why don’t you start up after the holidays”. I am giving everyone, including myself, permission to indulge in life!

In the past, I strongly recommended to everyone that they should eat well all week and allow the indulgences just on weekends. I also wanted them to exercise even more to compensate for the richer foods. I harped on drinking water, taking their supplements, getting enough rest and even taking breaks from the chaos.

What was I thinking? The more I think about it, the more I realize I was out of line! Who am I to be sensible when the rest of the world is just trying to find a little happiness? So please, enjoy your holidays…in fact, I plan to enjoy with you :)