New Year's Resolutions

Photo by viZZual.com

Resolutions, goals, self-challenges: All of these words and similar phrases are swimming around in many of our heads and conversations this week. The new year brings a sense of freshness, newness, and the opportunity to start over. That is why many people choose January 1 as a time to implement goals for themselves and dive into a list of resolutions.

Renewal of oneself is a good thing. Re-evaluating priorities and setting goals is an exercise that we should do throughout the year, not just when the calendar turns over. Studies tell us that most of us, however, don’t make it past January maintaining success in those goals we set out to accomplish as “New Year’s resolutions.” The initial gusto and motivation quickly wane and we may be left with disappointment and a feeling of defeat. It is possible to keep those resolutions and reach those goals, however. We just have to be conscious about how we approach them and to be mindful of our motivations.

There are several strategies in setting and accomplishing goals that have been proven to ensure higher levels of success. I will outline those below, along with examples of how they may be implemented with a commonly set resolution at this time of year: getting healthy.

1. Define your goal in specific and quantifiable (or measurable) terms. What does “getting healthy” mean? What would your life or you look like if you were “healthy?” Perhaps it could mean:
- Lose weight: How much? And in what time-frame?
- Lower blood pressure (or blood sugar, or some other measure of health): To what level?
- Exercise: How often? What type?
- Eat well: What types of foods? How often?
The goals need to be measurable so that you will be able to determine if and when you have met them.

2. Break the overall goal up into smaller, realistic goals. Much like you did above in #1, the idea of “getting healthy” could entail many smaller goals. Even within those that identified above, however, you will need to identify even smaller steps. For example, if we look at losing weight:
- Set a goal weight that you would like to reach by the end of the year. Make sure this is a realistic number and one that is healthy for you.
- Now, back up from there and determine goal weights for each month between now and then. (Most health experts do not recommend setting weight loss goals for less than 1-month increments because trying to lose exorbitant amounts of weight in less time than that is not healthy.)
- Determine the steps you will need to take to reach each of those short-term goals.
As you can see, you could break your goals down further and further. Do this for all of the smaller goals you identified in #1. The purpose for doing this is to wind up with goals that are attainable. If your stated goal of “getting healthy” is all you have, that seems pretty nebulous and overwhelming. Having smaller, realistic, short-term goals allows you to see what you need to do to work towards that overall, long-term goal.

3. Gain support from loved ones and/or professionals. Talk with your healthcare provider, a nutritionist, exercise consultant, or other professionals who could help determine what goals are realistic and healthy for you. Also share your goals with family members and friends who will be supportive and help you work towards you goal. You may find someone who has a similar goal and would be willing to be a work-out buddy or lunch partner. That support is vital to success; it is not often that we succeed in reaching individual goals without some help along the way.

4. Write your goals down. Map out those short-term goals and write them down on paper. Post the steps somewhere prominent that you will see them and be able to remind yourself of what you are trying to accomplish. This list can also serve as a check-list where you can mark off where you have reached goals and remind yourself of the progress you are making.

5. Along the same lines as #3 and #4, make a public announcement of your goal. Often, we are embarrassed about the goals we have for ourselves because we don’t want other people to know what we may be struggling with. Publicly announcing your goal will make it more real, however, and also offer opportunity for support, as we noted above to be so important. For example, you could sign up for a local road race, pay the entry fee, and tell your friends about your goal in running it.

6. Reward yourself. When you attain a short-term goal, do something to reinforce your efforts and sustain your motivation. Perhaps when your blood pressure reaches your goal level, you could schedule a massage or borrow a new book from the library to enjoy. As humans, we respond most strongly to positive reinforcement; do something for yourself that rewards the hard work you have done. You will be more likely to keep it up.

7. Re-evaluate and redefine. After some time in working towards your short-term goals, look back at what you have accomplished and what you have left to do. Re-evaluate how realistic they are, redefine the short-term goals, and set new ones if appropriate. Sometimes the initial goals we set are just not effective for one reason or another; rather than giving up completely, a better solution would be to redefine them. Perhaps your initial goal was to exercise for 30 minutes, 3 days per week. After some time, you have accomplished that and realize that you would benefit from increasing the time you spend sweating every week. Maybe your new goal would be 45 minutes, 3 days per week.

8. Keep a positive attitude. Just setting your goals is a huge step towards progress and self-improvement. The task of evaluating your life and determining areas you would like to make improvement is not easy and merits a pat on the back. Success with resolutions requires taking small steps. Staying positive will ensure that you keep chipping away at your goal, despite set-backs and hurdles that are inevitable. Remember why you are doing this, what your overall goal is, and give yourself credit for making the attempt.

As the clock strikes midnight tonight, we all have a unique opportunity to shift focus and strive for something new. Think about what your resolutions might be and how they could help you to find balance in your life. Be realistic, be positive, and get started! Here’s to a simple and balanced 2010 - Happy New Year from all of us at :simple:balance:!

What goals, resolutions, or self-challenges are you setting for yourself this year?

Know Thyself

Photo by Mommyof4Ruggies

It seems like every year is the same: despite careful plotting and planning, the time surrounding the holidays is incredibly stressful. Inevitably, a tight work deadline looms as clients try to get projects wrapped up before year’s end. This year, although I made my list and checked it twice, somehow I looked up and realized that the holidays were here. I had little time left to write cards, finish making homemade gifts, bake special treats, buy gifts, wrap, pack, make arrangements with the pet sitter, ship packages to far-off loved ones, and belatedly remember a little something for the babysitter. I said things to myself like, “I have too much to do” and “there is too little time,” which only heightened my frazzled state. Before long, Christmas carols became tedious, I became as snarly as the traffic, and there was frustration and irritability in the frosty air.

So again this year I was reminded – and reminded myself – that the language we use to describe our situations to ourselves has a profound effect on our emotional experience. When I remember to school myself, I instead choose to say, “There is so much I want to do” and focus on being grateful that I had so many wonderful people in my life that I wanted to acknowledge during this special time of year. I can almost feel the tension leave my back when I make this shift.

In a broader sense as well, the words and imagery we use impact our attempts to seek balance in our lives. We are complex creatures. Language and mental pictures are essential elements of our intelligence as human beings and shape the way we think. How we think in turn impacts how we feel. Thus, knowing how to shape how we think (meta-cognition, or thinking about thinking) has the potential to allow us to dramatically shape our life experience. In other words, we need to understand how we respond to words and imagery so that we can frame our experiences for ourselves in ways that encourage us to be positive and adaptive instead of throwing our hands up in the air in frustration and defeat.

Even the word “balance” has the potential to color our feelings, and, therefore, our behavior and experiences. Balance connotes striving to find a point of equilibrium between two extremes. It implies that the “happy medium” is somewhere between those poles. That is, it fully embraces neither, but is a compromise of sorts in between them. For some people, this term and image has the potential to create tension and frustration if it seems impossible to have, for example, both satisfying work and a fulfilling family life without sacrificing some of one or both. We also often use the analogy of juggling. This image may be more palatable to some, as it implies a dynamic, skillful, and even playful attempt at having more balls than you can hold in your hands at once. For others, though, this image may portend disaster in the potential for dropping all of the balls at the same time.

As wise teachers from many traditions tell us, “know thyself.” Self-awareness is the first step toward self-mastery, no less so when it comes to our attempts to lead balanced, fulfilling lives.

What phrases, clichés, and images speak to you, and which ones turn you off or leave you cold?
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Dana, a work-at-home mom with a young son, has a lot of experience with "thriving in the juggle of life." We are excited to welcome her back today.

Vitamin D for “Dynomite”

photo by Pink Sherbet Photography

As you are enjoying this holiday season, hopefully, you get to go outside. In addition to getting some exercise, relaxation and pure enjoyment from a walk, Aundrea Tucker, our favorite holistic health counselor, is sharing a great health benefit of being outdoors --- getting your body enriched with Vitamin D.

As we get well into winter it’s vitally important that we make concerted efforts to get the Vitamin D we so desperately need. Collectively we have a Vitamin D deficiency epidemic across a variety of U.S. populations. Just take a look at these statistics:

o 32% of doctors and medical school students are vitamin-D deficient.
o 40% of the U.S. population is vitamin-D deficient.
o 42% of African American women of childbearing age are vitamin-D deficient.
o 48% of young girls (9-11 years old) are vitamin-D deficient.
o Up to 60% of all hospital patients are vitamin-D deficient.
o 76% of pregnant mothers are severely vitamin-D deficient, causing widespread vitamin-D deficiencies in their unborn children.
o Up to 80% of nursing home patients are vitamin-D deficient.

1. Vitamin D prevents osteoporosis, depression, prostate cancer and breast cancer, and even effects diabetes and obesity. Vitamin D is perhaps the single most underrated nutrient in the world of nutrition. That’s probably because it’s free; your body makes it when sunlight touches your skin. Truth is, most people don’t know the real story on vitamin D and health.


2. Vitamin D is produced by your skin in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from natural sunlight.


3. The healing rays of natural sunlight that generate vitamin D in your skin cannot penetrate glass. So you don’t generate vitamin D when sitting in your car or home.


4. It is nearly impossible to get adequate amounts of vitamin D from your diet. Sunlight exposure is the only reliable way to generate vitamin D in your own body.


5. A person would have to drink 10 tall glasses of vitamin D fortified milk each day just to get minimum levels of vitamin D into their diet.


6. The farther you live from the equator, the longer the exposure you need to the sun in order to generate vitamin D. Canada, the UK and most US states are far from the equator.


7. People with dark skin pigmentation may need 20 to 30 times as much exposure to sunlight as fair-skinned people to generate the same amount of vitamin D. This is why prostate cancer is epidemic among black men—it is a simple but widespread sunlight deficiency.


8. Sufficient levels of vitamin D are crucial for calcium absorption in your intestines. Without sufficient vitamin D, your body cannot absorb calcium, rendering calcium supplements useless.


9. Chronic vitamin D deficiency cannot be reversed overnight; it takes months of vitamin D supplementation and sunlight exposure to rebuild the body’s bones and nervous system.


10. Even weak sunscreens (SPF 8) block your body’s ability to generate vitamin D by 95%. Sunscreen products can actually cause disease by creating a critical vitamin deficiency in the body.


11. It is impossible to generate too much vitamin D in your body from sunlight exposure: your body will self-regulate and only generate what it needs.


12. If it hurts to press firmly on your sternum, you may be suffering from chronic vitamin D deficiency right now.


13. Vitamin D is activated in your body by your kidneys and liver before it can be used.


14. Having kidney disease or liver damage can greatly impair your body’s ability to activate circulating vitamin D.


15. Even though vitamin D is one of the most powerful healing chemicals in your body, your body makes it absolutely free. No prescription required.

So how do you know if you have a deficiency? See your doctor and get your level tested through a blood panel.

How do you get Vitamin D? Hit the great outdoors, but be smart about your sunlight exposure. Time it right: If you have a fair complexion, you’ll need just 5 to 10 minutes of sunshine on your arms, legs, or back—without sunscreen (yes, it shuts down the production of D)—between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. three days a week, Dr. Lee says. Women who have medium skin tones may need 15 to 20 minutes’ exposure, and darker-skinned women may need up to 30 minutes’ worth. And remember: Do use a sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher on your face and wear a wide-brimmed hat, especially if you’re going to be outside for any length of time.

(Information derived from “The Healing Power of Sunlight and Vitamin D: An Exclusive Interview with Dr. Michael Holick,” by Mike Adams)

Finding Your Creativity

Photo by Noodlemistress

Neurologists have long known that people who are creative often use different parts of their brains than those who are not. Even in those who are not inherently creative, studies show that when they engage in certain activities and practice certain skills, those parts of the brain become more active. I won’t get into the particulars about the anatomy and physiology of the brain here, but suffice it to say that the idea that creative people are “right-brained” has some truth to it.

The interesting thing to me, though, is that anyone can be creative. Any of us can utilize those various parts of our brains and find enjoyment in creativity. You may be asking yourself why you would want to engage other areas of your brain. “Aren’t I already using enough of my brain to try to manage all I do?” you might ask. What seems important about all of this is that when you engage yourself in a variety of activities and learn new skills, especially those that trigger use of different parts of your brain, you become better able to find balance. Your repertoire of coping strategies expands and you have more outlets for yourself.

Being creative requires you to see the world around you in a way differently than you normally do. You become more aware of the small nuances of your life and the things that you may typically take for granted or ignore. Creativity allows you to grow and develop new skills, different hobbies, and various opportunities to find well-being.

I have found that when I am overwhelmed and stressed out, one of my go-to coping strategies is finding a creative project for myself. It is not uncommon for me to have two or three going at a time that I can always fall into when I need a break away from the grind of my everyday life. I have also enjoyed learning new creative outlets, and am always looking for something that will spark my interest and give me something to look forward to.

Here are some ways to engage your own creativity (no degree in fine arts needed):

1. Pack a camera with you one day and take it everywhere you go. Snap shots of your everyday life: the people, the places, the activities. Look for interesting angles or different views. At the end of the day, look back at the photos you took and see your life from a new perspective.

2. Try out one of the popular do-it-yourself art project places. There are opportunities to paint your own pottery, paint your own picture, or make your own frame for a print you’ve been wanting to hang. Gather a few friends, take something to drink (most of these places allow this), and spend a couple of hours creating with friends.

3. Peruse the crafting books at a local bookstore. Choose one that catches your attention and try out the craft that it teaches… preferably something that you have not tried before.

4. Journal. Allow yourself to write without structure and to write about whatever may be on your mind. You could start a gratitude journal or a blog. Write about what you are passionate about that day, don’t worry about your spelling or grammar, and get your ideas out on paper (or screen).

5. Craft with your children. Something as simple as a box of crayons and some scratch paper can trigger amazing creativity in our children. Get down on their level, pick up some colors yourself, watch them, and emulate.

6. Write a letter. The art of letter-writing is disappearing in this age of email and electronic communication. While I don’t admonish the latter, I do still appreciate and enjoy the time and art in writing a letter. Think about someone who you have not communicated with recently, pick up some nice stationary and an ink pen, and write to them.

7. Play some music. For those of you who have talent with an instrument, this could entail you pulling out your old guitar and strumming on it. For those of us without such talent, it could mean that we turn on Pandora. Or the radio. Or an old record or CD. Having music in our lives automatically triggers those creative parts of our brain, whether playing or listening.

8. Take a walk. Or go for a hike, practice yoga, rock climb, or do anything else that stretches you physically. Try a new sport or exercise, use different muscles, and become more physically creative.

9. Wear a new outfit. Borrow something from a friend or buy something inexpensive. Choose a piece that is different from your normal wardrobe, mix and match varying pieces, with an goal of being creative. If you are really crafty, try making yourself something by engaging some sewing, knitting, or other skills.

10. Make something good to eat. Remember a favorite dish at a restaurant? Try to recreate it at home. Or come up with something completely innovative – choose some of your favorite ingredients and attempt a culinary masterpiece. Enjoy.

Sometimes if we don’t have a particular talent or skill, we assume that we cannot be creative. It is important, however, to find our own creativity and utilize it. Not only will it give you an outlet and something to go to for relaxation, but it will also expand your horizons and enhance your perspective on life. Seeing things from a creative viewpoint can be restorative and balancing.

What are your creativities? How do you try to implement them into your life?