NY Goals--Simple Steps

Merry Christmas friends! We've got just a couple of days until 2014 and I for one, could not be more excited to run toward it! 

I want to encourage you to set goals for this year, if you haven't already. 

Simple steps:

1. Sit down and think about what you want, close your eyes and visualize your life at this time next year

2. Write down what you see

3. Find pictures and phrases that keep those goals in mind.

4. Place your goals, pictures and phrases somewhere that you will see everyday (backdrop of your phone, on your laptop, hanging on your wall, in your car--or all of the above)

5. Review your goals daily, don't write them down and put them in a drawer!

In the bible in Habakkuk 2:2, it says simply: "write the vision and make it plain."

Write it, see it, start to believe it, take action toward it and your goals will be achieved.

In health & prosperity,
Monica

Simple "get it" Motivation

Maybe this will inspire you on a daily basis!

Start Ambitious
Stay Consistent
Finish Strong

and...

Never give up
Never give up!
NEVER GIVE UP!

Why I'm Trying Intermittent Fasting

My life and schedule is crazy (in a good way). I don't have a routine, per say. I have things I do everyday, consistently and I have a schedule that I'm very good at planning and keeping, but it's rather all over the place. I get up and go to bed at different times every single day, although I'm usually up before 7. I often get less than 7 hours of sleep. Personally, I don't plan on changing that because there is a lot I want to accomplish. I exercise consistently, but when it's convenient (I am changing this though). I am in the car a lot. I have a lot of responsibilities (many are self imposed). Etc, etc. You get the idea, right!?

Can you relate to any of this? 

As such, my eating is all over the place. To be transparent, I've been struggling with knowing how much to eat, and when and how to plan my meals to keep myself healthy. Somedays I can tell that I haven't eaten enough, because I can tell my blood sugar gets low and I start saying weird things :) There are some days I am on the way to the gym, but haven't eaten enough to get a good workout in, so I have to go home, eat and then workout, which is kind of a waste of time. Other days I feel like I'm overeating, and it's frustrating.

That said, I'm not complaining, but merely telling you that, because there may be someone who reads this post who struggles with the same thing.

Let's talk about a solution (possibly).

Now, this is a solution that works for me. It may be good for you, it may not. You may read this and think, "YES!" this works for me too, or you may think it's silly.

I'm only on day 4, so I'm not considering myself an expert, obviously, and I haven't even been perfect in the last 4 days, I'm merely writing this post, because I am planning round 2 of a 30-Day Lifestyle Challenge, and for me, this is part of what I'm doing and want to explain why with 1 source!

Just like anything having to do with nutrition, there are a few methods of intermittent fasting. I'm so thankful for detail oriented people who can explain things and give solid advice.

A great resource: Three Methods of Intermittent Fasting. Nia uses her personal experiences with each method, plus the pros and cons for each, plus she refers you to other resources, which I love. She also has a beautiful philosophy: "No two people are the same, and therefore there’s not one universal approach to nutrition, or strength training, that will work for everyone" (totally agreed!)

Monica's "Method"
Eat between 10am and 6pm or 11am and 7pm (depending on my schedule for the day). Drink as much water, green tea, coffee or XS during the fasting time, as desired!  

2 Reasons I'm doing this:

1. Simplicity!
I'm not organized and this is super simple! Tracking, counting calories, and planning what I'm going to eat a week in advance is not for me (although this works for some!)

For example,  my good friend offered me a cookie at 11pm (we are actually both new to intermittent fasting and my conversation with her this week sparked me to take it seriously!). Anyway, I'm not a cookie girl, but it was a pumpkin cookie, and that's pretty hard to resist :-) But because it was 11pm, I said no (and so did she!) My expectation is that these types of decisiouns will snowball into positive health choices everyday, because who knows how often we say yes, we when we really shouldn't ;-)

2. Routine!
It's a way to regulate my routine and hopefully keep my body in a bit of a rythmn. If nothing else is consistent in my routine, this is. I don't want to have my brain focused on food for a significant part of the day (8 hours will do!)

It's easy for me to plan around time, because my routine is so different everyday. That may or may not work for you.

So there you go, hope this helps and provides a bit more detail, if you were wondering about this topic. Like I said, you can tell by reading this, I am not an expert in this area, but I will update you on my experience as I go along!

In health & prosperity,
Monica

6 Signs You're An Entrepreneur

 

These are a couple basic concepts I learned over time, as I moved from working for someone else to working for myself! You may relate, you may not :-)

1. You don't view your boss as having control over you and you stand up for yourself when asked to do something that is against your beliefs/values/ or whatever the heck you think is right!

(sometimes you can't explain why you rebel--whether verbally or in your head--but you just do!)

2. Based on #1, you act on this and you do what you believe, even if it's the opposite of what's asked of you. You still have integrity, you just don't conform because "the boss said so" (oops!)

Often you get promoted for this type of action, but you could also get fired ;-)

3. On that note, you may try to get fired because you're frustrated

You have a good work ethic, so you most likely won't outright quit, because you don't want to let other people down....But while you're "trying to get fired" you're planning out your own business, not looking for another job. I've been there!

4. And speaking of, you work harder and have a better work ethic than most others that work around you

For example, I knew I was an entrepreneur at 18 when I worked at a sporting goods store in the apparel department--I worked my butt off, harder than anyone else at that store. I found out that one of my co-workers who worked in the fishing department and smoked pot on his break and had like 1 customer a day made $0.75 more per hour than me. It wasn't a money thing, it was the principle. Moving on...

5. You have ideas that others think are crazy and you are constantly dreaming up new ones

Let's face it. You think outside the box, while most stay inside the box. As an entrepreneur, you have to control yourself and focus on 1-2 ideas at a time, and write all the other ones down to potentially use at a later date.

6.  At work, if there's nothing to do, you create work (productive work) that will benefit your industry or it's clients & customers.

You aren't afraid of work. You like to contribute. You want to make a difference.

These are my top 6 "signs of an entrepreneur" There are plenty more, and I'll post more in the future. Just wanted to post something fun that would 1) make you laugh, 2) possibly make you think I'm nuts, 3) make you mad if you are an entrepreneur, but not yet,  and you want to pursue something on your own ;-) 

In health & prosperity,
Monica

Monica's Christmas Traditions

At first I thought this topic may be a little off-base for the purpose and goal of  thewellwithall. Then I realized that joyful traditions are healthy and that contributes perfectly to the season and what I want to share with you.

My family has 2 real traditions..that's it. One was instigated by my mom and one by my dad. I'm thankful for both and I anticipate the delivery of each, when the time is right.

Tradition #1: 10-year b-day cards

Every year, around our birthday, my dad writes each of his kids a letter...to be delivered 10 years later! It's amazing. Now that I am 30+, I remember 10 years ago, but when we were younger it was cool to read about what we were doing & thinking and how we were developing. It's amazing how the dreams of a 5-year old can be similar to a 15-year old and a 15-year old dreams & personality is similar to a 25-year old. So that's #1-- if you have kids, I encourage you to start this tradition--your kids will totally appreciate it!

Tradition #2 : Tis the Season!

My mother loves Christmas, and she passed it on to me. Growing up, we could not pass by a Christmas store without stopping. She loves it. My mother has a collection of angels that she puts out every year; as an adult it's been fun to add to this collection. She also loves nativities.

For us kids, my dad, and Grama, she gets us an ornament every year that relates to something we've either accomplished that year or something that is a goal. It is always positive. Every year I love opening up my Christmas box and decorating my tree with the positive memories of my past and the even more exciting visions of my future!

One of my favorite ornaments is a light green glass ball, with etched white Christmas trees on it. It represents one of my goals, to own a Christmas tree farm, where I can cultivate Christmas trees and then give them away, along with a Christmas dinner for families who can't afford to buy a real tree. I want to build a mini-barn on the property, where others can come to cut down their own Christmas tree and enjoy hot chocolate and healthy snacks ;-) while doing so.

Another is simply a gold ice skate. I have a dream to train for 6-months like an Olympic figure skater. I have no talent regarding coordination and I will first have to learn how to skate semi-properly. But...this is a dream I've had for a long time, to push myself to the limit in that capacity. Why? I have no idea--it's just there! My mom bought me a figure skate ornament as a reminder of that dream.

I share this to tell you: 

1) Please keep your dreams in front of you, and encourage those around you to pursue their dreams (and tell them they can do it!)

I believe that anyone who puts their mind to a goal or dream can accomplish it. I don't care where you came from or what you have or have not accomplished. You can.

2) My life is not a fairy tale. I'm sharing with you one aspect of my life. Please don't read and think that this is fake. It's not! It's also ok for you to do something like this for your kids, your siblings, your friends, or even your parents. If you don't have supportive people around you, keep it to yourself (especially the 10-year card thing--you can keep it to yourself til then!)

One day, if you are still following, you can read my story and know that it's not all snowflakes and ornaments! But I choose to focus on the future (and trust me, this is a daily, sometimes minute by minute decision). I choose to focus on positive memories. And joy. My family has experienced tragedy (a couple events at Christmas). But I won't let this get in the way of my joy. God wants us to experience joy. He doesn't want our lives to suck. He wants us to live in abundance and to teach others how to do the same.

Merry Christmas!
If you'd like, I'd love to hear your traditions too.

In health & prosperity,
Monica
thewellwithall

New Years Goals: Start Now!

Warning: This post contains tough love & some bold flavors

Goal setting is one of my favorite topics and I get a little passionate about it. I've made so many mistakes in striving for goals, but also had several successes. I learn from it all and love to inspire others to move toward their personal goals. Here's your pre-January "inspiration" on goal setting.

In my world, the term "New Years Resolution" is a four-letter word. It's become a joke in our society, and almost an expectation that if you set a resolution, you are going to fail. This is crazy. Why as Americans do we start the year, setting ourselves up to fail on NY resolutions? Truly, I don't know the answer to that, but I do know the solution.

It's all about the set-up, the action/play, and the follow through. In other words, It's planning, preparing yourself for success, going after your goal with the right action, and keeping up with it.

The Set-up: Ask yourself these questions:

1. What do you want?
Be specific.  If you truly don't know, sit down in a quiet room with a piece of paper (yes, real paper!), and write down everything you can think of that you want, even if you start small. Write down material things, intangible things, goals, dreams, let yourself go with it. Then look at the list and picture 1-3 things that you want too accomplish or get in 2014, and put aside the rest of the list (just for now)

2. Why do you want what you want?
This is the most important step, because it determines whether or not you will get what you want. If you don't know why you want something, and you don't keep that in front of you, you will not hit your goals, because you will not stay consistent. It's so key.

If you don't have a true why toward a goal that you have set, then seek out finding a why or change your goal to something that does have a why behind it. This is vital.

3. Put your goals in front of you. 

On a white board, on index cards, as your phone/tablet background, on your bathroom mirror, at your desk, on your fridge. Do any and all of these. Trust me, do not skip this step. Put up both the what and the why. Use words & pictures. Both!

Do not put your goals in a drawer and open it next year. This is the silliest thing you can do (and we've all done it!), because you won't remember in a week what your goals were and then you will definitely not accomplish them at the end of next year ;-)

Then, if you want extra credit, read Imagine Big by Terri Savelle Foy. This is the best book I have ever read on dreaming big, accomplishing goals, and doing it with expectation and joy. This book changed my personal training business positively in 2013 and I plan to apply it even more boldly in 2014.

The Action: 

With each of your goals, what do you need to do daily, weekly, monthly to move toward accomplishing your goal. If you don't know or you've never accomplished the goal, you are aiming for, don't do this part alone. Find someone who has hit that goal and ask them to help you figure out what to do. Most of the time, we know what we need to do to move forward with our lives, or what habits we need to change. Having a mentor (who is further along than you in a particular area), to keep you accountable and to check up with on your actions & progress is vital. Be sure to share your goals with someone who has what you want, not someone is struggling with what you are struggling with, unless they are on a positive path to change it too and have already had success moving forward. About 30 days ago, I met with one of my mentors to talk about a financial goal. I have an appointment on Jan. 30 to talk with him again and report my progress...I do not want to have not made progress, so it motivates me, as I make decisions daily.

Create a system for yourself to remind you of your daily/weekly/monthly actions. I have a big white board that lists mine, so I see it all the time when I am home. Everyone has a different way of keeping organized, figure out what works for you.

The Follow Through:

Consistency is key, in anything. Don't expect to take one right action and all of a sudden arrive at your goal. That's silly. You may or may not see immediate results when you start pushing toward a goal. If your goal is to lose 50 pounds in 2014, you have 12 months to hit this goal or 365 days. Don't quit after day 3, when you don't see results. Keep those goals in front of you-- If you start to breeze by and not read your goals, change the picture, not the goals. Don't put them away. If I start to do that, I erase my dry erase board and re-write the goals in different colors or larger print, or I find new picture to add, whatever it takes.

Expect to make mistakes. Gosh, I dislike this one, but it's true. You are not going to be perfect all year, so don't focus on that. Focus on what you do right, not what you didn't do. I bet you do more good toward your goals (if you follow the above initiatives),  rather than bad. We naturally tend to remember the bad, so  you must focus on changing that thought process and work on remembering the good. Who cares what you did yesterday. You have today, you have right now, you have this moment to do something positive for your future. Go for it!

Focus on your strengths and you'll get stronger, focus on your weaknesses and you'll stay weak.

Evaluate yourself throughout the year--not with a critical, negative eye, but with a progression eye. If you get discouraged, look back and see what you've done to positively change yourself and move forward with your goals. You'll get excited about how far you've come and motivated to do more moving forward.

Start now. Like right now. It doesn't have to be Jan 1 to start working toward a goal. Do it now and you'll be thankful you did! I love the quote, "do something today that your future self will thank you for." Not sure who said this, but I see it on Pinterest & FB posts all the time :)

Figure out what you want & why, write it down, figure out what you need to do to get there, and get after it consistently.

Extra Credit: if you really want to change what you are doing and where you are, you have to change the way you think. You change the way you think by changing who you hang out with, what you read, and what you listen too. This trifecta will yield you amazing results, if you keep up with it. If you don't know what to read or listen too, ask me and I'll help you get started!

In health & prosperity,

Monica
thewellwithall