by Shelly on July 23, 2017 1 Comment

Keys to Motivation

Keys to Motivation- The past month I have been extremely motivated and I owe it to these practices, books, people and apps. In the past I have relied heavily on the ‘monkey see, monkey do’ approach in regards to motivation. If the people around me were behaving a certain way, I was sure to fall in line. Realizing the benefits of being my own motivator has been life changing.

This post contains an affiliate link for At Home in the World and Minimalism but all opinions and achievements are my own.

Alison’s Gratitude Practice

Alison Faulkner of The Alison Show has been a favorite blog for several years. I have her cookie decorating course (obviously have not tried), follow her dance party photos and have been loving her podcast. She recently shared how using a gratitude practice can help you stay focused on what matters most in your life. It helps keep the blues away and keeps you energized for the day ahead. As she quotes, episode 24 is ‘a gratitude practice that you can implement every day to see real, amazing changes in your life and well-being.’

Have a listen and let me know if it was a helpful practice!

Mel Robbin’s 5 Second Rule

Shout out to Mel for being a genuine BA. I had the great pleasure of meeting her this week at a workshop for entrepreneurial women in business. If you have no idea who Mel Robbins is, go to Audible or your library to get her most recent book The 5 Second Rule: Transform your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage. After listening to her tell her story and how to implement the 5 second rule in my life, I signed up for her 31 Days of Mentoring which furthered my implementation of her practice. Honestly, it was life changing. I have now gotten up 30 minutes early without hitting the snooze and it has started my day off with excitement. I used the rule in several scenarios that I otherwise would have dismissed and have been a better person for it.

At Home in the World

I’m usually reading two books at once; one fiction and one non-fiction (often a memoir or self help book.) I am so happy Tsh wrote At Home in the World chronicling her family’s travels across the globe over 9 months. Knowing that it isn’t always picture perfect when traveling with your family but the end result is always worth the trip.

As Tsh Oxenreider, author of Notes From a Blue Bike, chronicles her family’s adventure around the world—seeing, smelling, and tasting the widely varying cultures along the way—she discovers what it truly means to be at home. -Google Books

Mentors

Having good mentors in your corner to help you stay focused and be able to turn to for guidance is essential. Two of my biggest mentors are Misty Nelson of Frosted Moms and Michael Bauman of Thrive Culture. These two people are masters of their field. Misty is a brand influencer that has devoted countless hours to staying current with the ever changing algorithms of social media and Google. She somehow manages to squeeze 30 hours of work into her 24 hour days while being a great wife, Mom and friend. I think everyone needs a Misty by their side. Michael is helping entrepreneurs have the health they need to perform at their peak in business and in life. He is knowledgeable in both health and fitness and has been a great asset to my journey to becoming ‘fit mommy.’ The combination of Michael’s daily Precision Nutrition emails, one on one follow ups, work out plan and free guide has been vital towards my progress. Health should always come first in our lives but sometimes it’s hard making it priority. Michael helps keep it a priority.

Habatica

Habatica is an app for mobile or desktop that gamifies your habits, helping them to become your normal routine. You add habits, dailies and to-dos and record them throughout the day. This is a great tool if you’re a gamer and like leveling up. For me I like the process of checking something off my list. I add simple habits I want to improve upon (flossing twice/day) up to time consuming to-dos (organizing a closet). It’s fun because I’m teamed up with my husband to ‘fight bad guys’ so we’re both motivated to complete our tasks so we’re able to win!

The Minimalists Podcast

You may have seen The Minimalists documentary Minimalism: a Documentary About the Important Things that came out on Netflix a while back or you may have no idea what the idea of minimalism means. If you are new to the concept, you can start here. I’ve understood the concept since when I started my first blog ‘Materialistic Minimalist’ back in 2010 but never quite grasped the life changing impact until this past year. I’m discovering my purpose for ‘why’ rather than ‘what’ in regards to material things and how I want my life to look moving forward.

In order to live a meaningful life you must align your short-term actions with your long-term values.
— The Minimalists (@TheMinimalists) July 22, 2017

I’d love to know what podcasts, books, documentaries or people are motivating you to be your best self! Please, let me know what has helped you increase your progress.

Healthy Habits to Feeling Better

There are lots of healthy habits to feeling better. I’ve realized it takes time to build habits and that I need to be patient with myself. I’ve now been working with my health coach Michael from Thrive Culture for 6 months. The biggest thing I’ve learned is:

consistency is KEY.

From the very beginning of this program I’ve known it will be a slow process with the goal to build healthy habits one at a time leading up to a year worth of healthy habits. Some habits came easy to me, like, not drinking calories. Other habits were very difficult, like, eating slowly and getting the correct mix of protein, fruits, veggies and good carbs.

Over the past 6 months I’ve paid attention to when I fall off my habits and how that affects my progress and how my body feels. For example, I had been eating clean for 2 weeks while working out consistently and felt great. One Sunday, driving home from Chicago, I saw at least 5 Dairy Queen billboards on the highway. Ice cream was calling my name and I gave in. My thought process: ‘If I’m going to break my healthy eating, I might as well have a full meal of bad choices.’ I got a burger, fries and ice cream. My body HATED me afterwards. I felt dizzy and my heart was pounding out of it’s chest. My body wasn’t used to that much sugar and carbs all at once and it told me. The entire next day I felt bloated and lethargic and I knew I didn’t want to eat that way anymore.

Everyone is different in regards to how their bodies react to food and exercise. The huge secret is finding out how YOUR body reacts and how to keep the good habits consistent in your life.

My most important healthy habits to feeling better:

Meal planning and prep:

I’ve mentioned this before but the most impactful habit is to meal plan and prep food for the week over the weekend. I am most successful when I meal plan and order our groceries with ClickList on Saturday. Sunday I will pick up the groceries first thing in the morning and prep. For us, because we do not like cooking, I chop all the veggies and brown all the meat during prep. I write everything on the calendar in our kitchen and make reminders on my phone if I need to put something in the crock-pot before work. Having all these reminders and doing this prep on the weekend allows our family to enjoy a full 1.5 hours together in the evenings every single week night.

Scheduling time each day for me:

If I am able to have time to myself each week for working out, walking outside, meditating and stretching, I am a happier person. Right now, my body is happy doing an hour workout 3 times per week with outside activities on the other 4 days. If I throw in meditation even a few times per week and stretching outside of what I do for my workout, I’m golden. It’s such an easy thing to make sure I am able to do these things. On Saturday, after I meal plan and put it on my calendar, I look ahead to the week and schedule out Me TIME. Physically adding it to my calendar makes it 90% more likely to happen than if I hadn’t put it on the calendar.

Having a sleep routine:

This seems a bit extreme to some. Sleep routines are for children who need consistency to thrive. Adults also need consistency to thrive. Just like exercise and food, everyone reacts differently to sleep. For me, I require 7-8 hours of sleep to be on my game the next day. To make sure I’m able to hit the 7-8 hours regularly I have an alarm on my phone that tells me when to settle down. Plugging in my cell phone for the night, turning off the TV, turning off the computer and changing the music are requirements. I make sure to leave time to change into my PJs, wash my face and brush my teeth before I get too sleepy. I may put on my diffuser or light a candle to help me calm down if I’ve had a rough day. Think about the things that you used to do for your bedtime routine and what made you calm. It’s likely the same thing that will make you calm now.

After working on these habits for 6 months I’m still not perfect at achieving them every week. There are always parties and travels that stop me from being able to do these habits but the parties and travels are why I’m doing these habits. I want to be healthier and happier so I can have more parties and travels during my life.

Pin this for later…

by Shelly on March 30, 2017 Leave a Comment

3 Ways to Keep Habits

Keeping track of new habits is difficult for most of us. Seemingly simple habits become hard if we’re not working on them gradually. I’ve been working with Michael, my Precision Nutrition coach since December on gradually building healthy habits for a more healthy life. The goal of Thrive Culture is to build on habits gradually over one year. My ultimate goal is to lose 30 lbs before having our second child. To keep on track, I receive a lesson via email every day giving me tools to help accomplish my goal through habits. I also have bi-weekly conversations with Michael to figure out what’s working well and how to better work on my habits. Here are 3 ways to keep habits.

3 Ways to Keep Habits:

Make it visible. Keep notes around to help remember your habits. Paper irritates me to the point of anxiety so I try to keep a digital household EXCEPT when it comes to schedules and habits. I am working on a house cleaning challenge (deep cleaning, organizing and minimizing). Usually the only thing I keep on the fridge are three photos of my nieces and daughter but by keeping my House Challenge checklist front and center, it helps me keep it in the front of my mind. My weight loss chart is also prominent in my kitchen right next to my calendar. I weigh myself every friday as my goal is to lose one pound per week until my daughter’s Birthday.
Find support. I have made it clear to my friends and family that I am working hard on my health. They understand and support my decision to skip out on certain treats and request certain foods at family gatherings. My sister is working on losing her baby weight so I am able to stay accountable on workouts and smart eating with her. Having Michael at Thrive Culture is the biggest support. I’m excited for my upcoming habits each time I speak with him.
Keep it attainable. I’ve talked before about SMART goals. Habits are the same. You’ve got to make sure your habits are small, attainable steps to help you reach your goal. For example, one of my habits is to stop eating once I am 80% full. This was one of the first habits I received as a lesson at the beginning of my program, yet it is still one I struggle with. Michael has helped me realize that dinner is the meal that I struggle most with portion control. However, if I’m sure to have my afternoon snack, I’m not as hungry at dinner and am able to stop eating at 80% full.

While using these three ingredients, we still falter, and that’s ok. Just remember to give yourself grace and notice your weaknesses. In the past, writing down what I eat has not been successful. It doesn’t affect me to write all the bad foods. What does affect me is seeing that I am not lining up my food to my habits (eating until I’m 80% full, eating slowly, having smarter carbs etc.) When I notice that I’m failing at my small steps (habits) I see how that is going to stop me from reaching my goal. I notice when/why I’m failing with those habits and try again next time. It’s only a failure if you don’t learn something.

I’d love to know what tools you use to keep habits. Now that it’s March, look back at what resolutions you made for New Years. If you’ve fallen short of your goal, take a look at why and make a new plan! Remember, habits and goals take time.