HOW TO STRENGTHEN YOUR WILLPOWER TO STICK TO YOUR GOALS

Life gets busy and crazy and before you know it all of the good habits you have worked on for so long have been thrown to the curb. This was my realization a couple of weeks ago. This summer has been incredibly busy in all areas of my life, between getting a new job, working on getting the final touches ready for the candle line, health issues with Nina (my dog, for those of you who don’t know), and trying to be the best aunt I can be to my niece and nephew on top of the regular day to day things we all want to spend time on – like – I don’t know, laundry, grocery shopping, family events - it’s been very, very busy to say the least. But I may be preaching to choir here because I know that we are all stretched very thin with so many daily demands. I’ve been feeling like I am stretched very thin. Maybe the stress has been showcasing itself because even my mom asked me if everything is ok with me! Which I am, there is just so much going on. It is at times like these when I really feel the need to exercise and meal plan and getting back to the good habits I know I’ve gotten the hang of before. Because adding more to my plate will definite help J.

So, while I know what I need to do I am having a hard time doing it. For example, lately, I have been having a hard time making time for exercise and preparing lunch. Lately, by the time 10pm rolls around I am so exhausted that all I want to do is crawl into bed and sleep. And because I have not been preparing lunch I have resorted to buying lunch which is not only expensive, but usually not that great. And as far as workouts go, while I do still work out from time to time, I have not gotten myself back into a schedule where I target a specific area for each workout. On my good streaks, I am good about taking some time on a Sunday or a Monday to I write out what workout I will do each day of the week (usually a Tone It Up or Blogilates routine). About 90% of the time I stick to the workouts I have pre-planned – I think that’s a pretty successful outcome.

This is why I have decided that I need to give myself a reality check and a dose of will power and self-discipline. After much thought I decided that it is really about getting back to the basics and the reasons for creating those good habits – whatever those may be for you. And the one thing that will get me going again is:

Remembering how good it feels to accomplish something

Personally, I have been thinking back to how I would feel after a workout. Aside from being sore and barely being able to walk I would feel energized and look forward to more workouts. The times that I would be very strict with myself and worked out at least 5 times a week I would actually begin to feel a difference in body. My legs would feel stronger, I wouldn’t tire as easily while going up stairs, and I would even get out of bed faster in the morning!

And the times that I have stuck to preparing my own foods I feel better about what I eat for the sole reason that I know EXACTLY what is in it, I use fresh ingredients and it is always cooked to my personal perfection. And as an added bonus, it saves me A LOT of money.

My point is that when we all decide we need to stick to something it is usually because we know some good will come of it. We get so far down the path of have motivational conversations in our own heads (which is really the biggest hurdle for most) that getting it done and sticking to it won’t be as bad as it may seem.  

So, how do you keep your will power and discipline strong? What have you challenged yourself to stick to? Do share below!

3 EASY WAYS TO WIND DOWN AND DE-STRESS AFTER A HECTIC WEEK

I think it is safe to say that we all have very busy lives with never ending to-do lists but some weeks feel much busier and hectic than others. I have had that feeling more often lately than usual and I have gravitated to the following ways to wind down, de-stress and clear my head. Doing these types of activities is great to do at least once a day (even if it’s only for 10 minutes) but I know that it is not always possible. Whenever that is the case then I highly recommend you do something to de-stress at the end of your workweek.

Now, I’ll go into a little tangent here on alcoholic beverages. I have family and friends whose idea of de-stressing is having a glass of wine or a stronger drink and that’s it. Now, I am not saying there is anything wrong with that, BUT, that should not be the only way you allow your mind and body wind down and de-stress. We need to allow ourselves to wind down in a peaceful and regenerating. Now onto the 5 easy ways:

Go on a walk

Take a stroll around your neighborhood; go to a park or along the beach (if you live near one, lucky, lucky you!) Also, I know it is hard to let go of our phones but try to leave your phone behind from time to time and just enjoy your walk and be present.  I know I probably do not have to go into to a many reasons walking is good for you but as a quick refresher walking is great to help you lose weight, good your heart, is a good way to boost your vitamin D intake and last but not least it is a great mood booster.

Bring out your inner child

Grab yourself an adult coloring book and color your heart out. There is something to simple yet magical about zoning out and coloring. Another hidden benefit of this activity is that it will help you increase your levels of concentration and we know we can all use some of that! I have had my coloring book for about 6 months and have pulled it out about a dozen times and when I do I cannot stop – I literally have to be pulled away from it.

Pull out a good book

This is an oldie but a goodie – reading is good for the soul at any time. You can read a book, a magazine, a newspaper. The only caveat here is for it not read from a screen  (unless you are using a kindle or e-reader) – reason for this is since the majority of us are in front of screens for work almost every day we really should give our eye a break and do some old fashioned reading I’ve mentioned before that I try to read every night before bed, sometimes I get into a good kick and stay with it for a few weeks at a time and other times I get sucked into the YouTube rabbit hole! But I will say that I read a lot more nowadays than I did a few years ago and I have also learned so much from the books I have read.

How do you allow yourself to unwind and de-stress after a busy week? Do share below!

WHAT I HAVE DONE TO BECOME SOMEWHAT OF A MORNING PERSON

Being a “morning person” has always been a foreign subject to me. Even when I think back to my grade school days I remember my dad prodding me to wake up and even pulling my toes – that always got me right up!

I’ve heard people equate “non-morning” people to lazy people and from first-hand experience I know that is not necessarily the case. We all have an internal clock, also known as a circadian rhythm which is a biological function that operates on a (roughly) 24 hour cycle. 

So, there are morning people, night owls and I’d like to throw a third category in there or intermediaries (which is me!) I am neither a morning person nor a night owl – even if I fall asleep at a decent time (say 10:30-11PM) I STILL hit the snooze button at 7AM.

If you can afford or have a lifestyle that can support your internal clock then have at it! Sleep at whatever time that rocks your boat. I on the other hand need to be up in the morning and be at work by 9AM (although I have been shooting to get in by 8:30 and not too successful at that lately).

I used to think that my snooze hitting habits were a by-product of our long and cold Boston winters but I've come to the conclusion that that is not the case - it's simply me.

Here are the things I have worked on in the past couple of years that have helped me become (somewhat) of a morning person.

Consistency

In order to make a long term change in your life it is crucial to be consistent. This means that, in my case, I set my alarm clock for 7AM every day including weekends. Yes, even weekends. Even though I usually allow myself to fall back to sleep on Saturdays and Sundays I want my body to get used to a 7AM wake up call.

Time Management

If you know how many hours your body needs to function to its optimal level make sure you do everything in your power to make those hours sacred. For me that means I need a solid 8 hours to feel good in the morning, therefore, I do all of the miscellaneous things that need to get done in the morning at night. This includes, picking my outfit, prepping my lunch bag and prepping my coffee machine. I do all of this at night because I want to get every minute of sleep I can in the morning.

Drink water

Since I have started to drink water in the morning at I am getting ready I have noticed such a positive change in my morning attitude. It is such a simple and easy thing to add to your morning routine that will immediately give you positive results.

Aside from beginning to drink water every morning becoming consistent and effectively managing my time has by far taken the longest time to work on. For example, if I knew I had to be at work by 8AM on any given day I would go to sleep earlier and set my alarm earlier for the next morning. Then, the next day came along and I reverted back to my normal sleeping schedule which completely threw any progress I had made out the door.

In order to combat that from happening I landed on 7AM as a good time for me to wake up every morning. If I need to be at work by 8AMthen I know that 1 hour is just enough time for me to get ready and get to work (those days Iprep a little extra to make my morning routine as quick and simple as possible). But if it’s a normal work day I know I can take my time getting ready – I can watch a video as I get dressed and as I make my coffee.

Those early days do not happen very often so I am OK with the tight timeline I have created for myself on those days. My main goal here is to train my body to wake up at a consistent time every day and hopefully someday I will not even need an alarm clock!

And, while I still end up hitting the snooze button it is not nearly as bad as it was a few years ago. I can say that I do have a little more discipline around that these days.

So, as a “non-morning” person or intermediary I’d like to say that no, we are all not just lazy people. And some of us do try very hard to train our bodies to adjust to the work hours we need to adhere to.

As for me, I still envy people to wake up early in the morning without even trying!

How about you – are you a morning person, a night owl or an in-between like me? And have you always been that way? Do share below! 

IMPORTANT REASONS TO BE HAPPY AND KEEP YOU GROUNDED RIGHT NOW

If there is one feeling that connects all human beings my wild guess would be that it is the aspiration to find happiness. This topic has been top of mind the past few days after a very interesting and inspiring conversation I had with my brother. After that conversation, we came to the conclusion that it is our duty to find happiness within our current situation. Sure, we can aspire to have more – more money, a better job, more vacations, more houses and that’s fine. In fact, I think it’s great to have those aspirations because they keep us intrinsically motivated to keep pushing our own envelopes and do bigger and better things. But they key is to let those aspirations be just that – aspirations – and be thankful, grateful and humble for that you DO have today. 

While there are many, many reasons to be happy at any given moment – I have boiled it down to my top two reasons: the people around you and your health. These are the two things that are the highest on my priority list and they are the things that really propel and motivate me whenever I am having a doubtful or not-so-happy moment.

People

The people you have in your life and the people who love you unconditionally are the people who truly want to see you happy. So be happy and grateful to have them in your life. Be present when you are talking to them and cherish those moments because as much as we want them to be around forever they will not always be there. When you are around these people who love you, be sure to consistently engage in meaningful conversations with them. And that means you get to put your phone down, shut off the TV and focus on them and your conversation, yes, you read that correctly, as difficult as it is giving undivided attention nowadays you need to do it. You will be surprised and how much you will learn from them and how much more you will learn about yourself.

Health

Be grateful for your health and your well-being. Sure, you may have those few stubborn pounds you want to drop but that is small potatoes compared to the challenging lives people all over the world lead due to some type of illness or unforeseen accident. So, be grateful for the body you have and treat it well. Feed it quality food and get your body moving to keep your blood circulating. Drink lots of water and stay far, FAR away from soda and processed foods. Trust me, your body will thank you immensely for that.

What are the things that keep you grounded and happy? Share below!