Know what makes you tick.

Topic – Mental Fitness

Best way to look after your mental fitness – know your real self and know what you need.

It makes sense really, doesn’t it?  Knowledge is power – so if we know what our preferences are – we can work towards using that knowledge to choose a marvellous life?

No one else will benefit from this.  Just you, which is 100% the goal here!

Here’s a few questions to start you thinking about your level of self-awareness:

When was the last time you engaged in an activity you walked away from taking you could take on the world?

When did you get so irritated by something that it made you ‘explode’ or ‘implode’ as the case may be?

Do you prefer your own time or to be surrounded by people and/or sounds?

What do you do to ‘recharge’?

How do you prefer to approach conflict?

How do you show people you appreciate them being in your life?

Once we are consciously aware of the way we prefer things to be, life is more likely to be marvellous!  Decisions just get easier.

It is also important to remember – we should never stop learning about ourselves!!

While our basic values don’t tend to change much, our experiences do!  And we know experiences can have profound effects on how we view the world.  That’s why we need to keep checking in with ourselves to make sure the action we are taking, does indeed, line up with the person we are at that time.

These are a few great resources I can recommend to ‘check in’ with yourself

• Via Character – http://www.viacharacter.org – a free strength profiling website – you do a quick survey and in exchange for your email address, it gives you your results.
• Personality Plus – there are lots of great personality sorters out there – this is one I have used and recommend – such an interesting exercise! There is also a ‘for Parents’ version of this one – personally, it answered lots of questions for me as a mother!
• The Five Love Languages – a book, or I think there is an online version too, that profiles the way individuals prefer to give and receive ‘love’ – a must for anyone in a relationship!

Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list – but these are ones I’ve used and encourage you to check out to move along on the ‘knowing yourself’ path. **  I receive no endorsements – I just genuinely liked them and feel they could help other people too.

In terms of knowing what you need – knowing yourself usually informs this – if I’m someone who avoids crowds – a music festival isn’t going to be relaxing for me, or if I like to be alone and i live in a shared house, these don’t match up, do they?!  You get the idea!

Please, be kind to yourself – be really conscious of knowing what makes you tick and take note of the positive effect on your mental fitness (and the moving closer to your marvellous life)!

 

Image Source – http://www.quotemaster.org

 

Motivation is rubbish?

So, let me explain why I’ve boldly claimed that motivation is rubbish….

I’m going to use your car to further explain:

Relying on motivation is equivalent to having to connect the battery leads on your car each day, instead of just turning the key in the ignition to start the engine.  Turning the key to start your car is an act you undertake when you want to start your car each day, isn’t it?  It’s logical and automated, and you do it without much thought.   (Psst, this is how habits ‘are’ in a sustainably healthy life)

To be honest, I wouldn’t be sure HOW to connect the battery each day and to be more honest, I couldn’t be bothered? Could you?

Ok, I know some people would choose to do it for awhile, but could you keep doing it every day, knowing you needed to do it everyday to get anywhere??

Motivation usually comes in short bursts too – because change is desired.  Habits, on the other hand are a commitment to who you are growing to be.

You get in your car because you know why and where you are going.  Similarly, if your habits support your values, goals and your ‘why’, you will do them with ease.  What you do everyday matters!

Do you really think you would or could connect the leads before you leave home each day, forever?  As if it isn’t enough of a struggle to get to work on time, without having to think about which leads go on which battery terminal???

Does that make sense?  If we can make sustainably healthy habits something we do automatically without a thought, we have more time to focus on nurturing and choosing our marvellous life!

A little deep I know – but I thought it was an excellent comparison to highlight that what we do everyday matters!

Good health information can guide habits that change lives.

I ask you to try it!

Try starting a new positive habit – do it for a week to start with, if you love it, try committing to it for a month.  Review it after a month and see what’s different? Or if you would go back to not having it in your life.

Plan, do, review and change according to findings – know sustainable good health is a process!  Make the process a habit, and it will go a long way to helping you choose a marvellous life!

Have a great week!

 

Photo via <a href=”https://visualhunt.com/re/546f88″>Visual Hunt</a>

More on habits.

Since the live session on rituals and habits – I’ve been doing some research in my circle, aka discussing with friends, that the importance of rituals is, indeed true, in their lives too. If you missed it, you can see the live session at https://www.facebook.com/wellnessassist/

Our habits have such a huge effect on the way we perceive things.  From the field, here is another example:

Meet Sharon* – Sharon chooses to go to bed and leave the dishes there from the day – instead of just sucking it up and getting it done…Sharon leaves them until the next day, doesn’t seem like a big deal.  Sharon walks past them until lunchtime, or later when she feels annoyed enough by them, that she finally does them.  If Sharon had done them the previous night, there would have been no energy spent being annoyed by them and no impact on her next day. You see?

Ok, no more examples, just action!  Yes, action is crucial to choosing a marvellous life!!

Also, I cannot believe I did the whole live session about Rituals and Habits and didn’t mention ‘The Slight Edge’.  This is a marvellous book by Jeff Olson, that I think really highlighted to me that making good choices has such cumulative positive effects.  Similarly, consistently making not so wise choices can have the reverse effect.  I did know this, but the book puts it so simply!  I challenge you to read it this month if you can get your hands on a copy!

And obviously, if we are to choose a marvellous life, our next action is to take a look at our own habits and work out if they are helpful or not.  It IS more complex than this, but this will help you make a start!

Ask yourself:

Is this of value to me?

If it is – great, keep doing it.  If it isn’t, look for an alternative positive habit to take its place, and take the necessary actions to replace it!

Be sure to start small, be kind to yourself, celebrate wins and keep going!!

The good news is that it is never to late to change a habit, you just have to make the change and then stick to it…consistently…I feel like ‘consistent’ is going to be the word of this month!

Again, just like the goals, you need to be connected to your new habits – make them yours and make them count!

Image Source:  www.slightedge.org

*name changed so this person was’t identified

How personalised is your health information?

Here we are, working on this ‘project’ of you and your family’s health and subsequent marvellous life!!  Projects need research – which poses the question – where do you find your health information?

We live in a time when we have access to SO much information – but yet, this doesn’t always make our decisions easier!  How do we know it is reliable and a ‘good’ source?

It’s actually not easy sorting fact from fiction on the internet sometimes!  What I do know and want to share with those who choose a marvellous life is, that we need to be aware that specifically when in comes to health information – Google doesn’t have all the answers.  

Sure, some of your research might be done on the internet, but it can’t be your only source of information gathering.

I hear you say – where then, can I get information –  here’s just one suggestion (by no means the only place you can get good health information, but albeit, a great place to start your research):

Australian Health Practitioner Health Regulation Agency (AHPRA) health professionals have spent years learning and perfecting their profession – sounds ideal, doesn’t it?

Find more details at http://www.ahpra.gov.au (note – it has a gov in the address – always a good sign when looking for credible health information)

As previously mentioned, the term health professional gets thrown around a lot these days – often by people who haven’t had as much training as AHPRA Health Professionals. Is your trusted health professional’s profession on the list above?

I absolutely acknowledge that sometimes reading articles on the internet can make us feel better about certain conditions, but it can also have the opposite effect.  The main point is that is generic information and not personalised to you.  Therefore, the odds of it being 100% accurate for you every time are very slim to nil.  Whereas, for example, when you see a health professional from the list above, they get so much more information from you, putting them best placed to form their diagnosis and plan of care accordingly.  Does that make sense?

Back to the concept of a research process – remember when you teacher asked you to compare and contrast at school?  That is the perfect set up for assessing health information too – put it all together (maybe not with highlighters or the need for cutting and pasting!) however you see fit, and then you are well placed to make an informed decision.

The term ‘informed decision’ is one that is commonly used in health care – informed refers to knowing ALL the facts about the particularly issue and being able to make the best decision based on those facts.

And if we are to truly and intentionally choose our marvellous life, we need to be making the best decisions that we possibly can!

Goals…the last word.

Still no talk about SMART goals – only the ‘real and honest’ details found here.  The last word on goals is that we need to know where we are going so we can purposefully live our lives and move forward.

Simply by coming up with goals in 2017 you are already ahead of so many people. Celebrate the win!

What becomes the true defining moments, though, is if you are still looking at them and on your way to achieving them, come March, June, September or December!  I say that because goals have a tendency fall away, if we don’t TAKE ACTION to make them happen EVERY DAY!!

We need to see our handwritten (yes, not typed) goals, everyday and goals need to be reviewed on a regular basis – for some people this is monthly, others its longer, depending on the person and the goal.

To recap the month and also to set goals we require:

• A connection to them – Remember how I asked you to write down what excites you and how then becomes the basis of your goals?  Your goals SHOULD excite you!  This excitement wholeheartedly connects us to our goals.
• A true desire to achieve them – you cannot half-heartedly want to achieve your goals – you either want them to happen or you need to review your goals!
• An image in our mind of what it will physically look and feel like –  If you haven’t thought about this, how do you ever expect to get there or even for some goals – know what it feels like?
• Knowledge of why the goals are so important to you – When you know your why, the actually achieving the goals becomes easy – there needs to be no question in your mind about the reasons you want what you want!

So, go forth, be sure to also:

• measure your progress (so you know how far you have come) and
• celebrate your wins (in your own ways)

And keep in your mind, not all goals will be earth shattering, some will be small and may seem insignificant, but it’s all PROGRESS.  Setting and achieving goals is about constantly improving and ‘being better than yesterday’.

What excites you?

Have you written down what excites you yet?  You see, this was the task after listening to the first ‘I Choose Marvellous’ Facebook Live session.  To get started with your goals, write down what excites you.  Go on, do it now.

This can be more challenging than you think!  When was the last time you really thought about the things that excite you?

Sometimes as adults we get so caught up in what we ‘have to’ do we don’t get to think about what excites us!  Here’s your chance – when we know what we want or where we would like to be, creating plans to get ‘there’ get a whole lot easier!!

Here are the dot points on goals that I want you take away:

• We all know about the SMART goals framework – so I’m not going to cover this – if you aren’t familiar with it – just google it.
• We are talking about next level goal setting here, goals so personalised that they get you out of bed in the morning, to make sure they happen!
• Goals need to be written down – there is something really powerful about your own handwriting!  And put somewhere you can see them everyday.
• You need to be accountable for your goals – one way to do this is to tell someone you trust, someone who has your back all the details of your plan – so they can diplomatically inquire about the goals from time to time – this keeps you honest.
• You have to own your goals, or in other words take responsibility for them – don’t use someone else’s, that’s just silly.  If you own them, they are yours and no one can take them away, but by owning them, means you are the only one who can make them happen!
• Measure your progress – it is like when you are doing a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle and you compare what you have done to the box – it doesn’t matter if you have only done the borders, at least you have started and know how much you have to go until you finish it.
• You must celebrate wins – a win is any progress.  Every step along the way to a goal is a win.  Whilst I’m not suggesting crackers and fireworks every time you get ahead, celebrating wins keeps us in the game.  It allows us to ‘review’ if you like how far we’ve come and ultimately keeps us on track by making the progress seem worthwhile.

Wow, my blogs this year were going to be shorter than 2016….I think this one is not. Goals are just so crucial to choosing marvellous lives that I don’t apologise for this longer than expected post!

If you haven’t already, write down the things that excite you and get thinking.  Thinking about how you can have more of them in 2017 and beyond!!

 

Launching….

Welcome to 2017 and the launch of ‘I Choose Marvellous’.

This will be a journey (a free one too, by the way!)

The journey will prepare you to choose a marvellous life.

It will not provide magic fixes, overnight solutions or down right crazy expectations.

It will however, provide you with some thinking material, so you are able to choose what is the right way for you and your family to be marvellous.

It promises to be entertaining and honest, but there will be some action to be taken at your end. Are you up for it?

As discussed in the Facebook Live video (if you missed it, you can find it on Wellness Assist’s facebook page) – there is no one size fits all solution to finding sustainable wellness.

‘I Choose Marvellous’ will address some big ticket items when it comes to wellness – but it won’t provide all the answers – you have to take some responsibility if you want to move forward.

Each month there will be a live recording, short blogs, tips, thinking points, and articles on the foundations of choosing to live a marvellous life.  We’ll cover aspects of physical and mental fitness to conflict resolution and lots in between!

I also need to tell you that not every word, spoken or printed will have come solely from me.  You see, I have read alot, lived a little, observed and come up with what I think matters for sustainable wellness.  Along the way, I will acknowledge the sources I have drawn information from.

The reason I’ve chosen to launch ‘I Choose Marvellous’ is really to wholeheartedly acknowledge that wellness is a process.  So, please, come along on the journey so you can choose to be marvellous!

Be festive and enjoy!

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas…

Decorations are up, Christmas shopping is well, almost done, and children are a couple of weeks in to school holidays….I’m not going to lie, the latter is testing my patience, right this minute!

However, my message, for this, the last blog for 2016 is to be grateful and enjoy the festive season.

I’m going to focus on just a couple of things during this holiday season to make it a memorable one – here they are:

Be grateful – I’ve already, sometimes through gritted teeth, been repeating this to my children in the last few weeks.  Its pretty simple, when we focus on what we have instead of what we don’t have, it allows us to be more grateful.

Be present – not the wrapped type!  Take some time each day to use your senses and notice the fabulous sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Christmas – we really are surrounded by some wonderful things – use the holidays as time to absorb them!

Eat mindfully – not continuously.  I don’t know about you, but when there is yummy food around, I just want to eat it.  But this festive season, I’m going to really try to take a minute before putting tasty morsels in my mouth to ask – do I need this? or do I want this? or am I just eating this because its in front of me?

Enjoy your people and your holidays (if you are lucky enough to have a break) – your people might be your family or friends or colleagues (if you have to work!) – It’s Christmas – be festive and enjoy the time!!  And, just a heads up, nobody will want to be around you if you obviously aren’t enjoying Christmas! And if you aren’t a Christmas person, pretend – who knows, it might just even get you in the spirit!

As I mentioned, this is my last blog for 2016 – next week, I’ll be taking my own advice and enjoying my festive season.

I look forward to 2017 and continuing to bring you blogs on health-related topics – if you have any feedback on the blog – I’d love to hear it – both good and bad 🙂

Merry Christmas

Featured Image – via <a href=”https://pixabay.com/en/users/annayozman-538579/”>annayozman</a&gt; via <a href=”https://visualhunt.com/”>Visualhunt.com</a&gt;

Are you in front?

I’ve seen it in a few places on social media now and I remember it starting about this time last year too.

Have you seen it?

It’s the quote

‘If you haven’t started working on your (insert year) goals yet then you are already behind’

Well, I think I’m doing ok, whilst I don’t have anything written down, I have some sizeable ideas floating around in my head. Do you?

Here’s what I’ve got so far:

I have a couple of holidays booked, which will have subsequent savings goals associated with them. And also a personal goal to just to enjoy the moments as much as possible.

I have some exciting new directions for my business, Wellness Assist, in mind. These include helping other people achieve their health and wellness goals.

One big fitness goal – which will tick off a bucket list item!

Ok, so I do still have some work to do, I know already I will achieve more than these in 2017.  But hey, its a start and sometimes that’s all it takes to make a big difference, both personally and professionally.

You see, having goals gives you focus and you get what you focus on. Simple.  Think of it as a road map, or GPS if you will, so you know where you’re going. I know I can’t navigate major cities without a GPS, so of course when it comes to life, isn’t it obvious that you need a map too??

I have found that goals let us make the most of the time we have.

And we all know time is so precious.

So, if you aren’t sure where to start:

First – work out or remind yourself what’s important to YOU in YOUR life!  This becomes your ‘Why’.

Once you can be clear on your ‘Why’, the how will become so ridiculously clear.

That is all, now go, put yourself in front by familiarising yourself with your ‘Why’ and start making some 2017 plans!!!

 

Anything is possible.

Determination and dedication.

True commitment and grit.

Action Takers.

I witnessed all of these on the weekend at Ironman. For the uninitiated, Ironman consists of swimming, cycling and running…. and a lot of them!  For the Ironman 70.3 – they swim 1.9km in the ocean, cycle 90km and run 21.1km and for Ironman – they unbelievably do a 3.8km swim (also in the ocean), 180km cycle and 42.2km run. Yep. Phenomenal!! As you can imagine, this is well and truly more than a ‘one-off’ hour of effort!

We have just had a massive weekend of Ironman (spectating!) so just a short (and late) post this week.

Whilst supporting at Ironman (I’ve been to  4 separate events now) I noticed:

• There is no body shape or size that determines who can finish an Ironman.
• Yes, there are some strong legs and lean muscles.
• There are bodies that would be described as solid and also petite.
• There were vision impaired athletes (who had a buddy athlete to guide them).  There was also a man with paraplegia, truly remarkable.
• Training for such an event matters!! And in actual fact the day of Ironman could be seen as a celebration of all of the commitment and action taken in the months leading up to the event.
• Some spills had and injuries were sustained on the day – some of those people kept competing.
• No doubt, there were so many feelings experienced – from insults to the mind and body all the way to undoubtedly some incredible feelings of elation and satisfaction.
• what they all had in common though, is a big heart – you don’t keep on keeping on for up to 17 hours (that’s the time cut off) without one!

And it maybe a little cliche, but true to one of Ironman’s mottos, it is the ultimate demonstration of ‘Anything is Possible’

And I’ll tell you this for free – if you need your faith restored in what the body and mind is capable of – go and spectate at an Ironman! Or maybe you will take it on yourself??!!

So here’s to all Ironman finishers (70.3 and 140.6) out there – I salute you!!