Will You Remember Your Life?!

Today I want to talk about something else I learned in therapy. This lesson helped me to get out of depression, but also helps me stay happy, safe, and aware everyday.

The 5 senses. Sight,  Smell, Taste, Touch, Hear.

You're probably thinking, what are you talking about? This is a kindergarden lesson... Well, that's what I thought and I was wrong.

When you go throughout your average day, when do you find yourself zoning out? Going into autopilot mode? Do you ever all of a sudden realize your doing it?

When I was sitting in my therapist's office, he asked me to tell him what I feel, see, smell, hear, and taste. At first I thought that was a stupid question, obviously I was sitting in a moderately lit, air conditioned office, but I didn't want to hurt his feelings:

I could hear the clock ticking and the air conditioner buzzing. I could feel the leather chair, the pillow awkwardly on my back, and the carpet beneath my feet. I could smell the stale tea sitting in the office and the cold re-used air in the building. I could taste the stagnant saliva in my mouth. I could see the therapist's wildly checkered shirt, the detailed paintings on the wall, the weird statue on the desk, the briefcase half thrown on the chair, and the book shelf full of psychology books... and ALL OF A SUDDEN I could appreciate my experience. ALL OF A SUDDEN I had created a full-filled memory.

How many times can you not remember what you have eaten for breakfast? Or not remember that you drove to work?

Not only are we missing out on experiences, but we are not giving our selves credit for what we accomplish everyday. If you wrote down everything you do in one week.... would you be impressed? Then give yourself some credit!! Tell yourself that you did an awesome job!

Imagine all the memories we are missing out on!!!!! Are you going to wish you had these memories if we are sick in bed when we are older?

I took what I learned in that therapist's office to my everyday life. I found that I was the most "autopilot" when I was driving, eating, drinking alcohol, and socializing.

If I can remember I say the 5 senses every morning when I get in my car. Every time I'm outside with my dog, every time I'm in a social situation, and every time I'm eating or drinking.

After months of practice, and trust me, it takes time to re-train your brain (haha, that rhymes)... I could feel myself being ALOT more aware of what I was physically doing. 

I was driving safer! It amazed me how much autopilot takes over when you drive, isn't that scarey?! When you drive it only takes one small mistake and your life could be gone. And MY brain thinks it can just unconsciously take me to work and school!?!? I DON'T THINK SO MA'AM!! Then I started to think, I have had three bad car accidents within the past 6 years and two of them were within two months of each other. Luckily I am fine, however I have some very angry car insurance representatives, haha. Is autopilot to blame for my accidents?

Not only is it dangerous to drive on autopilot, but it's amazing how much we miss while we drive. We see beautiful weather, colorful flowers, wildlife animals, dancing Chicfila cow costumes, amazing marketing strategies, and crazy people dancing in their cars on a daily basis... but we don't SEE it.

I eventually stopped binge eating and drinking. The reason I could binge eat or drink excessively was because my brain was not aware of what I was doing!!! It couldn't stop me, because I was eating or drinking without any conscious thought or effort!! Not only was my nutrition affected, I was overweight, and unhappy  - and I was letting this happen.

I started appreciating the world and the people around me so much more. It's amazing what you can learn about other people just by watching them. I've made alot more friends since I am aware of what is around me.

Did you know that your mind's stereotyping, discrimination, and racism against people or things is autopilot? That you can re-train your brain to not judge so quickly?

It takes practice reminding yourself to say the 5 senses when your doing something, trust me, it took me months to get myself to stop doing "autopilot" and I still do sometimes, but it is so worth it.

~ How do you want to go through life? Do you want to remember it? ~

Valentines Day - Pay It Forward

Happy Valentines Day!!!

To my friends in relationships, may your day be filled with love and friendship! Appreciate all the little things in life and tell your other half what you love about them!

To the single ladies, tell yourself what you love about YOU today... and then pay it forward. There is nothing better than giving to someone else who is single on valentines day. Then, go out and have some wine with your friends.

I want to make today about the phrase "Pay it forward". Have you seen the movie?

If you haven't seen this movie - you need to watch it.

Do you know what "Pay It Forward" means?

Do between one good deed for three other people without asking for anything in return. Instead the recipient should be instructed to pay it forward to someone else in need.

 

Examples:

1. At a drive through, pay for the car behind’s meal and give the cashier a Pay it Forward card to pass on…You could do this at the train station, at a coffee shop – anywhere you like.

2. Tell the manager of a restaurant how great your waiter/waitress was. This can happen in any store / business you visit. Aim at brightening someone else’s day

3. Buy Lottery Scratch-Off tickets and put one in an envelope with a “Pay It Forward Card” inserted. Hand it to a receptionist on the way out of a business appointment. You just might change that person’s whole life.

4. If you are washing your own car or mowing your own lawn, do the same for your next door neighbor

5. Be a mentor for someone who needs some support.

6. Do some work for a client or one that can’t afford your services free of charge – just ask that they Pay it Forward

How I paid it forward today:

I thought about this and I wanted to try it for valentines day. I made 35 valentines day goodie bags with Hershey chocolates. Instead of giving them to my friends, I'm going to give them to my other classmates who are on the hardest clinical rotations in this terribly cold weather. I remember when I was going through those rotations, a little thank you goodie bag would have meant the world! 

I promise I only ate a few chocolates while making the bags.... And I threw some in my lunch box as a gift to myself tomorrow!

~ Don't forget to love yourself today, after all, you are the most important!!~

Lillies & Leeches

Dr. Ned Hallowell is the world's leading expert on entrepreneur ADD (attention defect disorder).

I watched one of his videos and I wanted to highlight the parts that really opened my eyes to what I was doing wrong.

"The great thing about modern life is we can do so much, but the problem is that we can do so much"

He says that smart people, ADD or not, get so distracted in the modern word and they don't prioritize. This causes them to miss out on happiness and success.

Did you know most people spend 20 minutes every hour spending time on distractions?!

Tips to avoiding the modern world distractions to allow you to be successful & happy:

1. Have 3 goals: This allows you to set goals that are important and a priority for you. If you only have 3 then you can accomplish them and make new ones. If you have 30 then you will never give 100% to any of these goals.

 Make:

- 3 short term goals

- 3 medium term goals

- 3 long term goals

- 3 lifetime goals

2.  Screen sucking: Did you know that because the modern screens are interactive (iphones, ipad, computers, video games...), the same dopamine pattern happens in the brain while you use these devices as what drives addictions??

It is a hypnotic power and you lose track of time... it's an addiction.

Prevent this by making yourself stick to a time allowed for your computer, and then TURN IT OFF. I need to do this ASAP!

3. Instead of saying "Sure, no problem" every time someone asks you to do something or start a new project, say, "Let me think about that" or "Let me get back to you on that"

You can't say yes to everything or you will stretch yourself too thin, you will become too overwhelmed, and you can not give 100% to every project/person.

Say this "I don't have time to give your project justice".

People will thank you for this.

4. Never worry alone: This can save your life. The irony of modern life is that we are really connected electronically, but very disconnected personally. People don't have the sense of belonging, of company, and of people to turn to for help as much as they used to. There is alot of unacknowledged loneliness in this world. People are surrounded by people, but not really connected.

 You need to have someone to worry with. For example, 

Worry about your health with a doctor.

Worry about finances with a financial planner or a friend in finances.

Worry about your relationship with a best friend that is in a similar situation or has good advice.

Worry about school with a friend in a higher class.

Worry about work with a friend in a similar field.

Never worry alone. Toxic worry is routed in lack of information, wrong information, or both. You immediately make a plan by talking to someone about a worry. If you make a plan, it's not toxic anymore.

5. Embrace your "Lillies" and let go of your "Leeches"

Lillies are people or projects that are worth it. They take alot of time and effort but in the long run they are worth every minute of it. For example, someone's kids or a personal project.

Leeches are people or projects that are not worth your time. They do not give back the time you put in, they don't appreciate the effort you give, and they are not worth it.

People stay with leeches because of weakness or guilt. Leeches don't deserve your time and you would be happier if that time was spend with your Lillies. Don't feel bad getting rid of your leeches, you never know, someone's leech might be someone else's Lilly! 

Do what is best for you and focus on those that make you happy.

Don't forget to limit your Lillies, too many worth while projects crowd out each others growth and take up each others time. You need to prioritize.

~ Make Yourself Happy, YOU Deserve It ~

Pets = Happy Humans

Do pets make you happy?!

There is scientific proof that they do! I know that my pets make me feel loved every time I wake up in the morning no matter how many times I pressed the snooze button. They make me feel needed and loved when I come back home from school no matter how long I've left them inside. They make me feel secure and protected at night after I watch SVU or a scarey movie.

Owning a pet gives a priceless amount of unconditional love that everyone should be able to experience. I don't think I would have made it through this past year without mine!

Pet ownership helps people adopt many healthy behaviors, like walking outside, playing, and eating at normal intervals. Pets give people purpose, help people feel needed, and help improve their self worth. Gets them off the couch!!!

Statistics say that interacting with a pet reduces levels of harmful chemicals in the body, like cortisol, that are involved in anxiety and depression. It also increases the beneficial chemicals like oxytocin, dopamine, and endorphins, which are involved in happiness and relaxation.

Did you know?!

- Watching a fish tank versus a bare wall for 30 minutes lowers blood pressure significantly.

- Observing an aquarium can be an even more powerful relaxant than some meditative techniques.

 - Ever wonder why most restaurants have fish tanks? To relax you and decrease your blood pressure so that you feel more comfortable and spend money!

I found a study that tested the happiness on women in stressful situations. One woman was alone, one was with their spouse, one was with their pet, and one was with both their spouse and their pet. They experienced the lowest stress response and the quickest recovery in the situation where they were only with their pet... Crazy huh!?

So, go adopt a pet if you haven't already! Let them help you!

You know what fascinates me the most about all of this information? Veterinarians have chosen a profession that involves animals 100% of the time and most veterinarians are not happy. Veterinary medicine actually has the highest suicide rates compared to all other careers.

What's not adding up?

Dear veterinarians and veterinary students, if you're NOT happy:
Make a change, be aware of your surroundings, balance your life, see the positive in everything around you, and let your beautiful patients help you!!

 ~ Soak in every ounce of happiness around you - why would you want to miss it?~

Happiness Despite The Odds

Watch this video, it's one of the happiest things you will watch. 

The amazing thing about this little boy, age 9, is that he has Osteogenesis Imperfecta. This is a brittle bone condition which has resulted in him having over 70 breaks since birth. What's inspiring about Robby isn't his condition, but the fact that his condition doesn't define who he is. In spite of all he's been through he not only keeps going - he dances.

Us healthy adults can learn alot of this little man:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5-EwrhsMzY

 ~ Be happy despite all the mess ups ~

My Mind Transformation

My mind transformation!!!! I can see a HUGE change in myself from 6 months ago!

As you all know, I'm on my journey to happiness. Happiness for me involves a physical transformation, but also an emotional one. I've shown you pictures of my body, now let's take a look at how far I've come emotionally.

I started to document how I felt about myself from the beginning. Here is my Before and Now videos (not after because I'm not done changing!!).

Before video:

This video was taken when I felt like I was at an all time low. I was sad, uncomfortable in my own skin, depressed, and I couldn't find a way out. The light at the end of the tunnel was VERY SMALL. I took this video before one of my first attempts at a beach body challenge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLUKk5CCCX8

I stayed in that "funky" state for months and I actually failed at the challenge I talked about in that video. BUT I DIDN'T GIVE UP!!! 

I showed you that video because if you are even CLOSE to this feeling, even if you fail, I want YOU to know there IS HOPE! You CAN CHANGE!! Just TRY AGAIN!!!!! AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN!!!

This is my video 6 months later. You can see the change in my smile, my excitement, and in my hope for a change and a brighter future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S7O7k-6-zU

Join me in changing :) Let me help YOU!

Stay tuned for my next video!!

P.S. I'm so sorry for the lack of technical talent and video editing abilities... I'm going to work on it!!

FEB. 17TH CHALLENGE

Hey guys!!! I have TWO more spots left in my work out group starting Feb.17th! NEXT MONDAY!!

I jut got done with 5 weeks of T25 alpha and with the help of these groups I'm down 5lb and 4inches!! I will be starting T25 beta this month!

It really works having people in these facebook groups keep me motivated!!! And I'm having fun coaching!

Don't forget about the 21 day fix - it's $20 cheaper this month and is selling out fast!!

Join me in my group!!I want to help you reach your goals!!!

The summer will be here before we know it!!!!! Email me or find me on facebook to get more details!!