Tag: time

Balance is everything.

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I am going to make this short and sweet since I am on a break at work but guess what!!! ITS CHEAT DAY for my diet.

I was questioning myself and wondering if it was a good idea or “okay” to be THIS excited about processed foods including chocolate and cheese consumption that I am going to do today and realized yes, it is! There is balance in everything. For six days, including Halloween, Renaissance Festival, and a pancake breakfast, I have adhered to the paleo way and its been difficult, but not impossible because we have the balance of a long-awaited cheat day. 

I think that the build-up to that of cheating every other day helped me stay true but really, after you make the decision you are working towards a goal, (the aforementioned 50 pounds lost and resulting photo shoot) the discipline required starts to show up in other things too. I am walking in my second 5K in exactly 9 days and this forces me to incorporate exercise in my routine as well as stay true to our paleo way. What are you working towards? What habits and discipline have you found along the way?

 

Who is fanning the flames of your greatness?

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“Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames”- Rumi

My acting class is exposing me to all things artistic, including poetry and new authors. In fact, I did a color by number for the first time ever because of this class, its new and exciting especially since I have never done it before. Also with doing something new, comes frustration with not being perfect immediately. Surely, I am not alone here, but it feels like I am the only one who has ever experienced the agitation of waking of a new part of your brain to work on something and think in a new way, n’est-ce pas?

This week we had a quote from Rumi who I am starting to explore and really enjoying. I love this quote because it embodies so many things I am passionate about. First of all, it speaks to living a life that is not ordinary “set your life on fire”.  Second, and perhaps more important, seeking out people who increase your being, and make sure that you are not seeking those who serve only to extinguish your passion or excitement. As an extremely enthusiastic person, I have allowed my light to be clicked off more times than I care to remember. It hurts most when it comes from those who supposedly love you and have your best interests at heart. At times like this, it is important to remember that you can get support from lots of people but you are the only one capable of making the best decision for you since its your life, not theirs.

A very good friend of mine once said to me, I don’t say “take care” because I don’t want people to take care, I want them to take off and soar!

I invite you to do the same… Soar and soar high and do one thing today that utterly scares you. As of this writing, I have done that for the day.

Be curious. Be patient. Watch what happens!

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Dear Readers, I am taking a class right now that implores that you “be curious and be patient with yourself and others”

It occurred to me this is excellent life advice. Think about it. If you are curious, you are always learning. If you are patient, you lower your heart rate and your level of stress.

For instance, if you have a bad day or are stressed out about how you did at work, you can take the stance of being curious to figure out what you need to do to improve things. Instead of judging yourself for the difficulty, you can be patient with yourself as you learn about what needs to change.

On a personal note, in the last two weeks, I have gained almost 10 pounds due to an excess of eating foods not on our paleo diet. As my nurse friend pointed out, its easy to pack on the pounds when you go off such a strict diet. In the past, I would have shamed myself and tried to hide it or make excuses or feel guilty but now, with the advent of this advice, I am finding myself to be more patient with myself and forgiving the cheating and have a renewed vigor to resume the lifestyle choice of paleo, and give myself some grace for the past. To be clear, this is not license to continue the cheating, this is an acknowledgment that this is something I am still working on, just like the rest of life, we are all evolving and moving to whatever our next level is going to be. So I implore you, be curious and be patient. The results will surprise you. Think about it! 

brush. floss. rinse. REPEAT

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There is one thing that everyone is embarrassed to talk about or deal with openly.

In hopes that it will help just one of my readers with their own issue, I am going to address one of mine.

I have horrible teeth. I went to the dentist this morning and dreaded it, (like I always do) but was pleasantly surprised to find that my teeth are on the mend and do not need further bridges, fillings and what not. For more background on the past, see this post.

https://jenniferhastonsays.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/flying-in-the-teeth-of-failure/

But with so many things that we are afraid to talk about or address, the first step is admitting that there IS in fact an issue. I had to get over the fact that just brushing once a week wasn’t going to cut it. I have spent almost $7000.00 over the last three years correcting that oversight along with feeling a large amount of shame that I had the issue in the first place.

Its hard to get excited about paying that much money for something people don’t really see. I realized I had to get serious, so after my last appointment and having the hygienist show me how to properly do the things that are needed for a healthy mouth I am proud to report that after six solid months of flossing, brushing and rinsing daily (sometimes twice) I have a healthy mouth. 

In case you didn’t know, here is a 3 minute video about how to floss

How to floss- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfLOgPzwny4

And to follow that, here is a how to on how to brush

In efforts to motivate myself (and others) I spoke to my dentist about some far-reaching effects of bad dental health and he told me it can extend even to having problems with your health up to and including your heart. So think about it, if you don’t take proper care of your teeth, you could die. Yes, that is a MAJOR exaggeration but the point shouldn’t be lost on you.

In his words, “It’s better to do maintenance than repair” If I could, I would have that tattoo placed on the roof of my mouth!

So after reading this, you say to yourself, I probably need to schedule my cleaning for this week, then I have done my job.

If I have made you think about something else you aren’t so keen on discussing, well that’s good too.

Think about it!

 

All we need is you.

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Dear Readers, do not underestimate the importance of your presence.

I was reminded recently of how wonderful my friends are and how much I love to help them. I am friends with doctors, lawyers, and teachers to name just a few. Many of them, if not all of them do not need help doing anything much to my chagrin, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to, but yesterday, I had an “aha moment” and I realized:

Being there is enough.

When a close friend battled and won her fight against cancer, I had no words of advice to give but I was there. When a friend moved to New York, I had ideas and high hopes for her, but nothing solid to offer. When another friend had a baby, I wasn’t able to give any counsel but was there to love and be there for her. It’s easy to say you have nothing to give and we are so quick to discount what we can give which is ourselves. I invite you to be there for someone, take them for coffee, pick up a phone or send an email. You are far more important than you give yourself credit for.

This is me in June of this year 2013.

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This is me in June of this year 2013.

A year later and six months with paleo, I lost 60 pounds. I know its not June anymore but this is the most recent photo I took of me that you can see my whole body. A friend recently asked me if I was documenting the transformation and I realized I have fallen down on that lately so here goes.. The next photo you see will be from September of this year. While the weight loss is great, the increased energy and commitment to my health has been the greatest feeling. My husband put us on this journey in January and it just keeps getting better and better. I never thought of myself as someone who had a special diet or a vegan not that there is anything wrong with it, just wasn’t on my landscape. But now, I am happy and grateful every day for this diet and the changes that we have seen with it. I have done a 5K and been comfortable in a bathing suit for the first time ever…. (and that was just this month) after a life-time of thinking of myself a certain way, I see a different picture in the mirror and I like what I see….

If you are struggling with weight or just feeling run-down, I invite you to take a look at your diet and see if you are eating healthy foods and try it for a week and see how you feel. You might really enjoy it!

This website is our go to place –
http://www.thepaleomom.com/

Make a difference. Right where you are…

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Friends, I have to tell you I am extremely passionate about making a difference and helping others realize their dreams and if you are reading this, chances are you are one of three types of people.

1. Friend of mine who reads my blog because you have been asked to. (thanks!)

2. Someone who I gave a card to and you are checking out the blog address on the back (thanks)

3. Someone who is searching for “motivation and advice” and so my blog comes up in your search as something you should read (thanks!)

For whatever reason, you have been directed to my blog, my podium and soapbox for all things I am passionate about and the list is legion.

However, back to you, my gentle reader who is the reason I write. I was recently lucky enough to be exposed to a wonderful podcast all about making a difference right where you are which I think is a wonderful notion. I can’t speak for anyone else but I can tell you I often say to myself, “well, when I am (speaking professionally) (have more experience) (have my masters) (have my new position) (FILL IN THE BLANK with your perfect state of being) I will have such wonderful things to say on that topic and I can’t wait to help people” well the truth is I have everything I need to help people (if they need it) right now. All I have to do is listen and make myself available to be there for someone who needs help. It sounds simple because it is.

The truth is, that you have opportunities every day to help people. I am not talking about money, but occasionally 20.00 can make a real difference to someone struggling. You can offer to spend time reading to someone who can’t read, you can listen to someone who desperately needs to talk, you can just sit there silently and smile as they vent because that might be what they need.

You can be there in many ways for other people, all you have to do is look around. I have recently started asking successful people their best practices for how they got there and the thing that continues to come up is a generous spirit and a loving heart.

Here is the podcast from my friend, Tammy Helfrich who has inspired many people and continues to do so daily. She has interviews with people like Jon Acuff and many others.

http://www.tammyhelfrich.com/2013/07/01/right-where-you-are-introduction-podcast-episode-01/

I leave you with this question. Are you waiting to help people? Why?

Don’t be afraid to delete!

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How often do you read a message and feel the pressure to keep it “just in case”? Well I am here to tell you here and now, that anything you need to keep, you put in a folder.

I have been looking for ways to simplify and declutter my life and one of the most recent tips was to archive and and categorize your emails. Take the time to unsubscribe from those emails that waste your time. I did something crazy. I deleted everything in my inbox and you know what? The sky DID NOT FALL.

It was a staggering 5061 emails. Because I so heartily detest text messages, I get more than most. I don’t tell you this to impress you, likely you have more or slightly less but I feel so much better when logging in now and seeing what I need to deal with NOW and if it can wait, I will make sure to respond in a week or its deleted.

I think for most of us, the intent to respond is there but we are so locked into, I will respond later, but we never do. Unless its something you need to take action on or save for future reference (how strict you are on that is entirely up to you) DELETE IT! and don’t look back!

How much time could you free up by doing this? Think about it!

Are you really too busy?

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Seems like a simple thing.. and it is but a lot of us get caught in the trap of being busy, we say it all the time. I am busy, I can’t make it I am busy.. oh I would love to, but if I weren’t busy…. You get it.

But ask yourself, what are you too busy doing? Are you busy following the dreams that matter to you? Are you saying you are too busy to avoid a confrontation?

You know, we all have the same 24 hours. Some are working two jobs, some are new mothers, some are mothers of 2, and you don’t have to be a mom to be busy. You can be single and be busy with pursuing your career. You can’t exactly say,”I really don’t want to spend time with you, and our friendship isn’t strong enough to support one on one time”, but due to the niceties of society that we are all conditioned to support, we don’t say that, because, A) its rude B) we don’t want to admit we have failed that friendship by pretending its something its not but are unwilling to move on. We all make time for the things that matter. I am guilty of this problem which is why I am posting about it, I struggle with making time for the things that matter, but sometimes I just sit and watch netflix because that is what I really WANT to do.

I want you to think about it the next time someone asks you to do something. If you don’t want to do the activity, pick another activity and suggest it. If you are already committed for that time, suggest another time, Committed is a very different word than busy. Busy is flabby and unspecific. 

If you don’t want to spend time with the person think about why.. and then decide if its time to tell them (hard truth time!) or to just say you are busy. I don’t expect that one post can change the behavior of an entire culture, I just think its worth examining what you are “busy” doing.

What’s the point? Life is short, spend it with people you care about.

Creativity? Piece of cake!

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My cakeballs are important. I don’t make them often, and especially now that we are doing paleo 95.4% of the time cake balls are usually not on the menu. So it is special when I make them and my husband is always telling me how good they are. I love that man.

 I was reminiscing about when I was taught how to make them. I was a newly engaged lady and in preparing to be a wife I thought, well I am 34 and probably should learn to cook. I did learn a few things about roasting a chicken and cooking some casseroles but the one that stuck the most was the cake balls. For those who don’t know, they are little drops of heaven covered in icing and sprinkles. Utterly decadent and sweet, my favourite thing about them is that you can eat just one and feel satisfied. Unlike a slice of cake or pie, you don’t feel guilty after just one.. however after 6 or 7, well you are on your own.

I remember thinking at the time, I am not creative so this is going to be hard. You know what I discovered? That I, through my own thoughtless words had perpetuated my lack of creativity and it was just recently that I discovered this. I am in fact very creative, its something that makes me a good storyteller, speaker and coach. No one has ever told me that I was not creative, I decided that on my own and continued to believe this falsehood. No more. Just the other day, someone asked me, “Are you creative?” and my knee jerk response was to say, No. but I stopped myself and said,

“Yes, I am very creative”

What lie have you told yourself over and over? What truth do you need to embrace?

This is a question I have asked myself and others since reading Jon Acuff’s book START. This book is all about questioning the beliefs you have about yourself over which cause you to get in the way of your own success.

What truth do you need to embrace about yourself? It’s time to START

 http://www.thestartbook.com/?ectid=ja.lt.jm8