Category Archives: Habit Building

Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction, Titles Worth Reading

A Little Sneak Peak …

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Last week, I mentioned our good news about Toolkit for Caregiver Emotions, being available for pre-order on Amazon, and it occurred to me it might be nice to share a snippet of that book with you today.  

Here is the first part of Chapter 2, where I introduce readers to the first technique we do as an exercise that: 

1) Assists people in understanding how much control they have over their emotions  

2) How to create an accepting mindset and environment for emotions, and  

3) How to, at least temporarily, let it go.  

I am also introducing caregivers to the idea that they count. Their total health is a valid focus that needs to be recognized, so they can successfully be there for their loved one/patient.  

Here is your peek inside of Toolkit for Caregiver Emotions: 

Chapter 2 

Are you drowning? 

We caregivers of loved ones often think we should just soldier on in silence. Don’t complain. Don’t reach out for help. Just do the job. Any feelings we experience about ourselves are pushed so far down they are out of sight. 

Our loved one comes first, last, and everywhere in between.  

That philosophy may work for a while … until it clearly does not. 

I can tell when it’s not working. Caregivers come to talk to me with that glazed-over, shell-shocked look, like they are drowning at sea and are going down for the third time – lacking the energy to even signal for help. 

A greater understanding of the unique caregiver emotional situation will assist you in smoother transitions through the phases of caring – and even grieving. 

I thought I had everything figured out when I started caring for my dear husband. I was a nurse who taught Certified Nursing Assistants, after all. 

Little did I know, there was still much to learn – especially about my emotional and physical needs during that blessed time of caring for him. 

You see, in a caregiving situation, there are two patients. Two patients with equally important, but very different needs. Two patients whose needs are intertwined and dependent upon each other.  

Those patients are you, the caregiver; and the loved one you are caring for. Ignore the needs and welfare of the one, and the other will not be cared for.  

I want to shine a light on the unpredictable roller coaster of often surprising and negative caregiver emotions.  

Emotions are what make us human. When we cry, we’re experiencing emotion. Whenever we are happy, sad, mad, passionate, upset – those are all emotions. 

But sometimes, negative emotions need to be reined in!  

Emotions can steal our involvement and enjoyment of the present moment. 

You see, emotions should just come and go. But sometimes, we get so uncontrollably wrapped up in our feelings, we start identifying with them.  

This is what I know – we are not our emotions; and we can – and should – control them at times. But how?  

Keep reading and follow along with the techniques I share. 

  • Copyright 2022, Deidre Edwards 

Oh, I just hope you are wanting to turn the page to read what’s next!  

And you will get to do that. My goal is to beat my deadline of August 2nd by publishing early!  

Foodtalk4you subscribers can assist us in getting this book into the hands of the over 50 million caregivers – in America alone – by joining the launch team. Very soon, we will send out information on how you can get an inside look at a book and participate in its success.  

There will be opportunities for getting FREE autographed copies for launch participants. Yay! 

UPDATE!!

Dear Readers – It’s a humble little burnt orange banner, but it means so very much:

“#1 New Release in (the category of)  Physician and Patient Caregiving”

This means YOUR pre-orders for Toolkit for Caregiver Emotions are enabling others to see this book on Amazon so much easier! In the coming weeks, I’ll be dedicating myself to publishing before my projected date of August 2nd because more and more caregivers need this message of hope, understanding, and techniques.

A change in our health status can come in the blink of an eye – not only do we need to be prepared for the physical tasks of caregiving, but we need the mental and emotional skills to stay sane, not feel alone, and to strengthen life-long resilience skills. The third title in my Caregiver Series will do that.

I just cannot say, “Thank You” enough! 

In the meantime, it’s time to get up from this desk, do a minute of planks, and go for a walk before the temperature decides to return to winter.  

Boing! That’s springtime in the Northern Hemisphere! 

Pssst! You have my permission to share this post using the options under the MORE button below. 😊 

In health –  

Deidre  

Anti-Inflammatory Foods, Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Recipes

Famous Salad or Tik Tok Imposter?

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Well, the recipe I ripped from the Internet was being passed off as, ‘How to Make Jennifer Aniston’s Friends Salad’.

Touted as the famous salad the cast ate every day for 10 years while on the set of Friends, I was intrigued. The ingredients looked good since they qualified as being on the Mediterranean Diet.

Prepping in advance for a recent birthday dinner party for my sweetheart, I easily substituted naturally gluten-free quinoa for the Bulgur wheat that the recipe used.

The full recipe is available at the end of the post for you to download and print. Since one of our guests is vegetarian, I did not use the optional turkey-bacon.

Easy to assemble, light and refreshing to eat, this is now a favorite to serve to appreciative guests.

But really, what was the history of this salad?

With just a little sleuthing, I was able to discover that the 2022 viral Tic Tok recipe was not the actual one she and the other cast members ate.

Here is her description of the modified Cobb salad they ate from the commissary:

* “It was just lettuce, iceberg, I believe, which has zero nutritional benefits, and chopped tomato, garbanzo beans – too many garbanzo beans is a little bad for your tummy – mine, personally – salami, crunchy turkey-bacon, and chicken. Oh, and Pecorino cheese – and it was topped with Italian dressing.”

Jenifer does conclude her comments by saying she would totally eat the recipe I am sharing with you – it’s just not the one they ate.

Good to know.

This is such a versatile recipe – I could see adding halved cherry tomatoes, diced chicken, or olives – and it’s perfect for making ahead and storing overnight to let the flavors meld.

Enjoy this impostor salad anytime, as a main meal or side dish.

Feel free to share this post with your real-life friends using the options under the MORE button below.

Next week, I’ll reveal the cover to my next book, Toolkit for Caregiver Emotions, which will be available for pre-orders on Amazon very soon.

In health –

Deidre

* Taken from a filmed interview of Jennifer Aniston with Allure

How-to-Make-Jennifer-Aniston-Salad-RDownload
Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

Kaizen in Action – Part 2

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Sometimes the inspiration and application of an idea can come from a familiar message that’s been put into new words.

That old idea will grab us in a new way, when it’s presented from a different angle.

I’ve written about taking small steps for years, both here and in my books. But this book about Kaizen I referred to last week, has been just what I needed.

And look – even its size reflects its message!

As I stood in the chaos of moving boxes, not sure of which way to go because some of the options required other efforts to complete, I put Kaizen to work.

Clearly, the whole project, or even part of the project, was not going to be finished that day. What was one tiny thing within my reach that I could put away? One thing.

Easy enough. Done.

Next?

By the end of the morning, I had finished moving my things into the bathroom: Shelving assembled under the sink, objects sorted, discarded, and put away.

This job had been put off for several weeks. I had enough personal hair, make up, and tooth brushing supplies – it was not an urgent task, but to complete moving in, required me to get these things out of the ugly box in my new bedroom.

You can imagine the sense of accomplishment – albeit small – that propelled me to tackle one more object in another box. Ultimately, four or five boxes were processed that day. Wow!

Reading Maurer’s book opened my eyes to another reason why small is good.

Approaching any topic from the point of view of making the smallest changes is simply more user friendly, because we are comfortable with small steps.

When faced with change involving big ideas and big leaps, our fight-or-flight response is triggered. Our body prepares for physical action (fight or flight) and the circuits for less critical operations are shut down.

In a fight-or-flight response, we do not need to digest lunch, or think about our relations with Aunt Sarah. We need to stand and fight, or get out of Dodge as fast as possible.

The problem we face in everyday situations that bring on this response is that it also brings on some degree of fear. We fear departing from anything that takes us away from the norm – and we often end up like deer in the headlights. Stuck. Frozen.

Looking at major projects can leave us wringing our hands and walking in circles.

But, learning to take the smallest step possible keeps that fight-or-flight response asleep. We can tiptoe right around it.

I’m not opening and putting away fifty boxes today. I’m going to find a home for this bottle of Listerine.

Twice weekly, extreme gym workouts aren’t happening; but I did 5 minutes of arm exercises with 3 pound weights during the commercials last night – several times. Whenever I relocate my 5 pound weights, I’ll use them to ramp up the experience.

Little things.

How can you dissolve the potential fear of facing a large or difficult project by finding the smallest possible step to take?

What’s one thing you can do for your health today?

How can you incorporate one more glass of water into your day?

Are you looking at a mess? What is one small object you can put away?

Thank you for reading foodtalk4you. If you haven’t subscribed yet, just scroll down your screen or look to the upper left along this article to subscribe today. We won’t bug you, promise. Just one email a week to alert you to the new post.

Quietly stepping around that fight-or-flight tiger.

In health –

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

New Year – New Word!

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Bet you thought I had forgotten. Life was such a whirlwind last year, I did forget – at least to write about it.

This year, the ripples of past words and ideas returned to me – this time through an author friend, Otakara Klettke – who posted a query to her friends about what they had chosen as their 2023 Word of the Year.

Brilliant!

I grow so much from 1) setting a mindful intention for my new year and 2) spreading out the contents of last year’s blessings jar – and doing it now, the day after epiphany (as I write this), seems appropriate.

Besides, blessings are pouring in for 2023, and I need an empty jar to hold my notes!

My unspoken word of the year for 2022 had to have been GROW. What a ride of new experiences! Looking back, I am grateful for how life unfolded: I learned new things and improved on them; how I will do some things better; and how I had such amazing support every step of the way.

With most of these life changes complete, Otakara’s query about my 2023 Word of the Year gave me pause to think. Only one word popped into my mind and spirit: LOVE.

Not that love was lacking at any time in 2022, but my soul wants to turn its striving and focus to love.

Certainly, all intentions need to start at home. I’ll be mindful how I explore and show love to myself; but I long to show love more completely to others through my presence, helpful acts, and remembrances.

So, what is your Word of the Year for 2023?

I think it’s better than a resolution – any day – because it’s an intention set deep in our hearts that colors how we think and proceed. Resolutions fade away even before January ends, but an intention can stick with us.

Write it on a sticky.

Make a pretty drawing around your word.

Paint it on a canvas.

Sharing these easy ideas. Just use the options on the MORE button below to share this post with others.

In health and love –

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Exercise, Habit Building, Stress Reduction

Easily Make Your New Year’s Goals Come True!

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Maintaining exercise by carrying moving boxes was easily checked off last year as I made near-daily loops around my neighborhood to keep track of building progress on the new home.

Then lifting, shuffling, and sorting through 42 years of stuff at the old homestead was further enhanced by boxing, toting, and moving that which survived the great throw out.

Arms, legs, and back were all getting their workouts in 2022.

This year, with the moving-in process winding down, my arms need regular workouts. Time to keep my five-pound weights within easy reach for daily impromptu maintenance and strengthening moves.

How do you trigger doing regular exercise at home?

Just keeping my cute pink weights in plain sight and ready-to-use, usually does the trick. I’ve been known to keep them on the hearth in the living room so I can pick them up during commercial time when watching TV.

Some folks like using a habit-tracker like the one I offer as a download for my first book, Toolkit for Wellness. The entire download for that book can be accessed below and you can find the habit tracker on page 6.

Click on the GREEN DOWNLOAD button below to access!

Bonus-Materials-for-Toolkit-for-Wellness-PDFDownload

I’m going to use the habit-tracker this month because I want the visual reward of little check marks adding up.

Whatever your method, let’s get back to some easy arm basics.

Remember to start out using light weights: 1, 2, 3, or 5 pound dumbbells – or use 8 ounce cans of soup or nothing at all. Sore muscles and complaining joints are motivators to abandon exercise, and that would be counterproductive, to say the least.

A little jazzy music helps if you aren’t doing this during a commercial break, and standing is a plus for me – but many of these moves can be done seated.

Whatever position you assume, remember to “pull the string” of symbolically pulling a string at the top of your head to straighten your spine and to get your ears-over-shoulders and shoulders-over-hips.

Pulling the string gets us in good body alignment for optimal movement with decreased chance for injury.

NOTE: I am not a strength or conditioning trainer – this is what I do – proceed using your own wisdom and the recommendations of your medical professional. If you experience pain or discomfort, stop.

Basic Curls

Standing straight, feet should-width apart, holding your light weights, start with straight arms hanging close to your body, and palms facing forward. Bend both elbows slowly lifting the weight toward your shoulders – but do not touch your shoulders. Pause, then return to starting position. Repeat 10-15 times.

I like to add a set of curls with my palms facing each other. Changing hands to facing inward also changes the name to hammer curl, but don’t sweat the labels. Just note how this may feel as different muscles are called into use.

Arm raises

Standing straight, feet shoulder-width apart, with arms hanging straight down at your sides, slowly raise weights out to your sides and up parallel to the floor and just slightly in front of you. You should be able to just see your hands in the periphery of your vision. Pause, and then slowly lower your arms to starting position. Repeat 10-15 times. Do not swing your arms up and down – the point is to move slowly with control.

A variation of basic arm raises is to do them while standing slightly bent at the waist. Try bending forward about 45 degrees, keeping back flat, hands with weights at the sides of your knees, and raising arms out to the side until parallel to the floor. Pause, and slowly lower to starting position.

Overhead triceps extensions

This exercise may be done either by holding a single weight with both hands, or by using a weight in each hand.

Standing straight, feet shoulder-width apart, press the weight/s up over your head until your arms are fully extended. Without moving your upper arms, lower the weight/s behind your head as far as comfortable. Pause, then bring the weight/s back up to straight up over your head. Repeat 10-15 times.

Punch the air

Standing straight with feet a little wider apart than shoulder width, hold weights chest height. Using alternate hands, punch out and slightly up like at a punching bag. Crouching slightly by bending the knees adds another exercise element as knees are bent and then straightened at the top of the punch. Repeat 10-15 times.

It’s basic exercise fare but can amazingly help strength and range of motion. Most importantly, it’s doable and repeatable.

Can you spell S-U-C-C-E-S-S?

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In health for 2023 –

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

Joy to the World!

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Peace, Hope, Love, and now JOY.

Have you found your peace? Have you discovered and explored it this month? Have you helped to create peace in your life, and have you shared it with others?

I hope so.

Oh, there’s that hope. There is a way. You can do this. We can do this. There is strength enough inside of you, and there is help and hope available from those around you.

Are you feeling love in more than one realm? The here and now kind and the other-worldly kind from those who have gone before?

As I think of those who are newly grieved, a sense of peace, hope, and love may seem a bit of a stretch right now. Experiencing that first holiday season without someone and all that it brings to grief can overwhelm.

The peace may look different this year – but it’s still peace.

The hope may seem to have evaporated – but look around. Your situation may be unwanted and different, but there is a new path that fits the new you. It’s there. Look for it and move toward it.

Love has no boundaries, and there is always room for new love. May we all take the love we have and the love we have experienced to grow MORE love – the opportunities and needs for love and expressions for love surround us.

As we take our peace, hope, and love out into the world, we will discover JOY.

Joy, I think, is contingent upon action – our action of reaching out to others with peace, hope, and love. It does not plop into our laps – joy requires our efforts.

Joy wants to be shared, too! Who sits around just being joyful? Sure, we have joy in our hearts, but doesn’t it just about leap out of our chests, begging to be spread around?

This is a great time for us all – especially if you find yourself feeling a little lack-luster as we close out the year – to pause and to ponder about small moments when you have found some peace, and hope, and love.

Jot each moment down on a small slip of paper; fold it and drop it into a jar. Every so often, add a short note about something positive – a blessing – to drop into your blessings jar.

On New Year’s Eve, one year from now, dump all your blessings out onto the table and read each one – and you will feel JOY!

Life is a series of tiny moments, and we often get stuck on all the negatives that have happened to us. But by being aware of the many small blessings that come our way, we realize that things are not that bad.

May there be abundant peace, hope, love, and joy for each of us, and may we reflect those feelings and mindsets in all that we do now and in the coming New Year.

Share the JOY by using the options under the MORE button below.


In health –

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

Love is Everything

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It’s the bottom line.

Everything else can and will fall away. We are left with this one thing. All our striving, our busy activities, our concerns, our vain imaginings – they disappear, and we are left with this one eternal element that is the sum of the Universe.

LOVE.

We need love on a cellular level. Take love away and we become twisted and tortured.

Some of us have mistakenly believed we do not deserve love – we are somehow less than, or we have caused so much harm, that we do not merit love.

But we were designed by love – if only by the power of Universal, love found in the miracle of Creation itself – and were designed to need and give love.

I’ve discovered that love has a handmaiden.

Grief.

When we love someone, we are committing to the grief that will surely follow when that love is taken from our physical presence.

If you have lost someone, the grief you feel is a testament to your love! That’s a big deal.

It makes loving someone an even more precious thing. What a gift!

“I love you fiercely even knowing that when we are physically separated, I will grieve and hurt – BUT it’s totally worth it and I freely do it!”

Moreover, that love never dies.

We may not realize it until we lose someone, but love is so much bigger than the here and now. Love exists on so many planes and in so many realms that we can barely understand it.

I think our souls must be a bundle of love light that when we are no longer here to hold or be held, we whisk away to be love on another dimension – and that the love we were burns brightly in the hearts and minds of our loved ones.

Love is light. Light gives peace and hope – they are all wrapped up together.

In this season of love, may we freely give and receive the love, peace and hope that is the ultimate force of change to ourselves, to others, and to the world.

You may share this message of love by using the options in the MORE button below.

In health and love –

Deidre

Merry Christmas everyone!

Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

Waiting for the Good Things to Come

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Sometimes we just have to wait.

Our little ones are gearing up for a season of waiting as they bounce and wriggle with delight in anticipation, just thinking about presents and festive activities heading their way in the coming weeks.

We adults are the same about some things. While we have mastered waiting to open beautifully wrapped packages, there are other anticipations that tempt us, and we become impatient.

I’m feeling a bit frustrated with waiting right now.

You see, there’s a big project that I’ve been working on for months that was going to be revealed to you this very day, but some of the many moving parts of this multifaceted project are just not in place yet.

So, we wait.

The deadline was self-imposed. It will come together – when it’s ready – and the big reveal will be well done and helpful to those who need it.

A recent message from the daily thoughts I subscribe to by Amit Sood, focused on Gaining vs. Becoming, and has helped me gain patience in my delayed project.

His message urged listeners to consider the difference between gaining vs. becoming as they approached their life goals.

Some people focus on gaining wealth, position, or possessions at all costs as they go about their careers, whereas others focus on the kind of person they want to become while doing their work.

Sure, we all need to pay the rent and buy groceries, but what kind of person are we becoming while we do the necessary work? Is our work requiring us to become less than our optimal self?

His thoughtful words reminded me of a saying about people remembering not what we say to them, but how they were made to feel while we spoke to them.

The first time I ever heard that saying, I certainly felt a pinch. From then on, I have tried to model being a more thoughtful, considerate, compassionate, and understanding person.

We can still get the job done while taking a path that includes honoring what kind of person we want to become.

No one is ever done becoming. Each of us can modify what we work on to become – at any age.

What is the kind of person you want to become?

What are you going to do to become that person?

Take a moment as we anticipate the holidays. Light a candle. Bundle up and step outdoors to gaze at the stars. When all is said and done, what counts?

Become that.

And if you are impatient to get the results of last week’s word search puzzle, you can relax, because the results are posted under this!

WORD SEARCH ANSWERSDownload

If you found this helpful, share with a friend using the options under the MORE button below.

In health with gratitude and thanks to each of our readers –

Deidre

Anti-Inflammatory Foods, Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Recipes

Cooking up a storm! 

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Things happen in the kitchen around here. New recipes are born, some tweaked, some are made once and forgotten, some are made over and over, and some are shared. 

Let’s start with the spankin’ new baby of a recipe I made this morning for the second time – just to make sure it wasn’t an accident – and I even remembered to take a few pictures this time. 

As two well-ripened bananas stared at me begging to be used, I was trying to recall a recipe that used bananas to make pancakes.  

Couldn’t remember it. 

Meh. Never stopped me before. 

Pancakes don’t hold me long enough to eat just on their own. Nope – I need protein.  

How about getting all the needed protein, fiber, and potassium in the pancakes themselves?  

Done and done! Check this out: 

Almost Flourless Banana Nut PANCAKES

2 very ripe bananas – peeled, and smashed with a fork in a separate dish 

3 large/extra-large eggs – whip eggs in medium bowl using a wire whip.  

Then add the eggs: 

3 Tbs. whole flax seeds, freshly ground 

¼ cup almond flour 

¼ cup 1-to-1 gluten free baking flour 

Salt to taste 

Cinnamon to taste 

½ tsp. vanilla extract 

¼ tsp. baking powder 

¼ tsp. baking soda 

½ cup coarsely chopped nuts – pecans or walnuts work great 

Stir together and then add the mashed bananas. 

Ladle the pancake mixture on a griddle that has been coated with oil over medium heat and cook the pancakes.  

The sweetness in the bananas can cause rapid browning, so watch the timing and level of heat. 

We found these to be pretty yummy, naturally sweet, and not needing vast amounts of maple syrup to make them moist. 

This recipe was enough for two people with a couple of pancakes to spare. 

Anytime I can cook in advance, I’ll do it – especially as holiday events unfold – so today, in early November, I am prepping ingredients for my very popular Cranberry Sauce. Once made, this will be divided into smaller portions and frozen.  

I’ve shared this gem before with you, but thought it merited being seen again. People who avoid cranberry sauce often rave about this one and ask for the recipe – so, let’s get to it: 

CRANBERRY SAUCE 

This is not your normal Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce which uses a full cup of sugar for each bag of cranberries. We use half that, and yet maintain sweetness levels through the addition of other healthy fruits.  

Ingredients 

2 – 12-ounce bags of fresh cranberries, rinsed and culled of soft berries  

1 pear, cored, peeled, and diced 

1 orange – cut rind off top and bottom, quarter, and thinly slice 

Secret Ingredient: RASPBERRY ESSENCE – method to follow 

¾ – 1 cup sugar – can be a combination of sugar and erythritol/monk fruit sugar equivalent 

¾ – 1 cup water 

Whole cloves – about 15 buds removed from cloves 

1 – 2 cinnamon sticks 

Dash of nutmeg 

Raspberry Essence Method 

Essence: In a small saucepan, gently cook 1 cup fresh raspberries with about 1 Tablespoon sugar and 1 -2 Tablespoons of water. Pour cooked berries into a strainer above the large pot being used for the cranberries. Using a silicone spatula, press raspberry pulp through the strainer. This takes a while. Press, scrape, press, scrape. The raspberry pulp will accumulate on the outside of the strainer – scrape off this essence into the big pot. Note: use a different silicone scraper to scrape the essence so seeds do not transfer. 

Add all remaining ingredients into the large pot and cook over medium heat. The berries will pop as they cook. Stir occasionally. When heated and bubbly, you can lower the temperature a bit and “smush” the berries against the pan to assist in popping. Continue to cook until ingredients meld into a thick sauce. Adjust for sweetness, if desired. 

Transfer into a serving or storage dish, remove cinnamon stick, and cool. The resulting sauce more closely resembles a jam. 

In addition to being offered as a colorful relish to accompany turkey, chicken, or pork, this sauce/jam can be spread on top of nut butters (almond is my favorite) as a twist on PB and J. 

We are making both recipes downloadable so you can keep them handy. 

Click Here for:  ALMOST FLOURLESS BANANA NUT PANCAKES

Click Here for: CRANBERRY SAUCE 

Eating healthy and staying in health through the holidays –  

Deidre  

If you think someone you know would enjoy this post, please share using the options under the MORE button below. 

Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction

Just Five More Minutes!

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Show of hands, please.

Who is starting to feel a little scattered with projects and obligations?

Me! Me! Me!

Wow! That’s a lot of hands going up. Mine included!

It’s time for a little course correction in my neck of the woods, and I am thinking that we may all need a renewed commitment for a calmer approach – especially as the holidays are upon us.

I mean – Black Friday sales started before Halloween … My social and travel calendar is filling up past January, now, and new commitments are hard to make because of life events happening. We’re all there, I’m sure.

Are you feeling like you are on a slippery slope and the details and enjoyment of the present moment may just slip by as well? Life’s too short. I want to enjoy the ride.

Who’s in control, here?

We know the answer to that question. Each of us are.

Join me in stopping this high speed merry-go-round as we reevaluate our expectations.

Breathe

Take a minute – although two minutes is proven to show a complete reset to calming down – and simply breathe. In and out. Eyes closed. Listen to your breathing sounds. Notice the rise and fall of your chest and abdomen. Breathe. Lean into the calm of your breath.

Prioritize

Take a minute to prioritize what is important to you. At the end of the day – what truly matters?

Life/death issues would be at the top. Keeping a roof over our head and food on the table would be next – so, yes, work issues must happen – but even those need to be prioritized.

If you are juggling a list of twenty must-do items like I am, a time of zooming out to look at the big picture of our lives is needed to see what can be shuffled off to other helping hands or can be delayed.

Commit

What is the least we can do to keep a certain project moving forward today? Rather than ignoring something we want to do, how about maintaining a minimal daily involvement?

No time for a workout? How about taking that needed break with a walk around the block? Maybe a minute of planks? We don’t have to leave our priorities in the dust just because there is not a big block of time to devote to them.

Think small and reward yourself with a check mark for having done something. Those little check marks provide a great sense of accomplishment and momentum.

That’s it.

In five minutes, my disjointed feelings of floundering are now erased, and I am on a smoother and truer course forward. Check marks are being made.

As they used to say on the commercials to Mikey, “Try it! You’ll like it!”

In health –

Deidre

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