Changing It Up

It is never too late to make changes in your life.

 

You can be 22, 42, 62 or even 92 and suddenly decide it's time for a change.

But you have to want it.  You can't do it just because others want you to.  You need to make changes and take care of yourself for yourself.

 

I was thinking about this because a wonderful friend of mine was discharged from the hospital this past Saturday after having her gall bladder removed on Friday.  It all happened very quickly and it was scary for a short time because we weren't sure that it was going to be a straightforward surgery.

 

In the end, that bad boy of a gall bladder was removed and hopefully her health issues are gone forever more.

 

 

We are all quite thankful that she is at home and resting but she also has to make some changes in her diet.  Which is where the changes I was talking about in the beginning come into the picture.

 

When good health is the issue, sometimes we have to stop eating some things and start eating other things that are better for our bodies.  I know how hard this can be because I was very sick and hospitalized about 11 years ago.  I was told by my doctors to stop drinking alcohol and eat a low fat diet that was practically a non-fat diet.  And I did it.  I didn't like it but it slowly became a way of life.  It took a lot of mind changes on my part and rethinking about the food that I ate.

 

I was constantly reading food labels and I think for the first couple of months I existed on homemade soup, baked salmon, non-fat yogurt, fat free chocolate pudding and salads with no-fat dressing.  That meant no desserts, no chips, no fries, no cheeseburgers and especially no pizza.

 

I got myself back into a state of good health and felt a lot better and stronger after changing things up.  It is no exaggeration to say that if you have good health, you have almost everything.  Good health is not to be taken for granted.

The state of your health is your launching pad from which the rest of your life flows.  If you don't have any energy, how can you work to make your dreams come true?  If you are sick, then you are spending money on hospitals and doctors instead of on your own business or your home or your family.

 

Please don't get discouraged if you know you need to make changes and you have tried many times and it didn't seem to work for you.  Please try again.  If you aren't in great shape right now, you can change it.  It is possible!!

 

Take a walk.  Turn on some music.  You can get up and move and groove.  Think about what you're eating.  You can make better food choices and build up your immune system.  Change is always possible.

 

It's never too late to make changes to improve our health and live more vibrant lives.

Let's start today!!

Robin Roberts' Message

Robin Roberts is courageously showing us how to be "all in" about life.

 

Over the weekend, I read Parade Magazine's interview with Roberts, ABC's news anchor for Good Morning America.  It is no secret that Roberts was diagnosed five years ago with an aggresive form of breast cancer and for the past year she has been fighting a rare life-threatening disease called myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) which affects the blood and bone marrow.

 

 

 

 

Roberts is now back on the job which is miraculous given the physical and emotional toll of her chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant and fragile immune system.  But life changing events can sometimes make us stronger and Roberts' message resonated with me.

 

When you lose someone you love or you fight with all of your resources to overcome a disease, life becomes heightened.  Things that happen in your daily life that you once took for granted are no longer things to overlook and expect to have happen to you over and over.

 

Every day I try to make myself conscious of what the sky looks like, how the flowers smell, how good it feels to be able to walk down the street and breathe deeply and feel healthy.  I have a precious life and I am going to try and be mindful not to waste it.  Because I know that those are things that can be taken away very quickly.  And so does Robin Roberts.

 

Asked by Parade Magazine how her experience has changed her, Roberts says, "I am stronger than I thought I was.  My favorite phrase has been 'This too shall pass.'  I now understand it really well."

 

And here's the really cool part.  Roberts does something I do a lot when I am feeling stressed at work: visualization.

 

When work is piling up, I try to mentally check out for a few minutes before I dig in.  For me, I visualize myself standing on the beach.  I love the beach so much that I visualize myself there at all different times of the day.  I try to hear the waves pounding the shore and bring the smell of the ocean back to my memory.  After I mentally visit the beach, I take a deep breath and put my head down and just do my work until it's done.

 

Roberts told Parade Magazine that to fight her fears, she practices yoga and visualization.  "When I close my eyes, my happy place is Key West, coffee in hand, sunrise over the pier, Roberts said.  "I can visualize that in the studio and it has helped calm me."

 

No matter what today brings you, you will survive it, and if you feel yourself becoming anxious then visualize your own "happy place."

 

You are fortunate.  You are alive and a new day awaits you.

 

What will you do with it?

Good Friday

Today is Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, and many Christians will spend the day praying, fasting and reflecting on the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.

I am working today so I will try to reflect and pray but I will be squeezing it in between my office projects and the usual running around I do in order to keep all the balls in the air.

Good Friday signals that Easter is almost here and that means that the end of Lent is also almost here.

 

That's good news for me because this year for Lent, I gave up chocolate which I totally love, especially when it's been sitting in the refrigerator.

 

 

 

 

I have not eaten chocolate for 45 days.

 

I can't believe it myself.  I didn't think I would make it this long.  I thought I would break my Lenten promise not to eat chocolate and that somewhere in those days before Easter I would eat a bag of M and M's. 

But I didn't.  And I feel a lot better for it. 

A few days before the beginning of Lent, I was beginning to feel powerless over chocolate.  I would eat it and then tell myself that that was it, chocolate wasn't good for me and I wasn't going to eat anymore.

But it didn't work.  The chocolate was talking to me.

Whether it was a chocolate chip cookie or chocolate candies in the kitchen at work, I realized I couldn't keep it up.  I had to put the brakes on the chocolate.  Luckily, Lent came along at just the right time.

 

I have to admit that chocolate did come close to my mouth one or two times.  I was at a party and there was a bowl of wrapped chocolates just sitting there.  Automatically, I put my hand out to take one (or two) and then that little voice inside me said, "You gave it up, remember?  Don't even think about it."

 

Another time I was at my parents and my father loves to nibble on trail mix.  When I was pouring it into a small bowl for him, I did the same thing.  I automatically went for some and then realized there were bits of chocolate mixed in to the nuts and raisins.

 

The idea of giving something up for Lent is symbolic.  Jesus gave up his life for us and the least I can do is try to change a small habit during Lent, right?  You can be creative about Lent.  You don't have to give something up.  Instead, you can try to do something positive such as being more patient or thinking twice before making an unnecessary comment.

 

Whether it's chocolate or kindness, I am glad to have stepped back, reset my actions and taken a break from a bad habit.

 

Who knows. . . Maybe I even earned a little grace along the way, which is always a good thing!

 

 

 

                                                                                      

Life Is Not a Cereal

Have you heard of Kid President?

While I was on YouTube the other day I discovered this young ball of fire who is very funny and very cute.

So today's post is about laughing because laughter is a tremendous resource for dealing with stress and forgetting how bad your day was.  Laughter is infectious and if you are laughing and smiling then your friends will want to know what's going on to make you all giggly and then pretty soon they'll be laughing too!

More importantly, laughter may go a long way to reducing and healing the pain you may feel from a loss and a good laugh can help you feel like you truly can go on and face your next set of decisions.

As Kid President would say: Life is not a cereal and it certainly is not a dress rehearsal!

Believe and don't give up!