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50 Ways to Nurture Yourself (Includes a Printable Download)

2013-10-28 By Monica 12 Comments

self compassion

In honor of LifeOhm’s 50th post, I am giving you, my amazing readers, a free printable download to help you remember to nurture yourself. Click here to download the free printable and go on to read more about the 50 Ways to Nurture Yourself.

The Importance of Nurturing Yourself

At one time or another, we all feel stressed or pressured by our busy schedules. During busy times, especially, it is so important to nurture ourselves. As the flight attendants wisely point out, you have to put on your own oxygen mask before trying to help others. The same thing goes for caring for yourself: if you don’t take the time to nurture and care for yourself before helping others, you will quickly become fatigued and end up having less to give.

“If you feel ‘burnout’ setting in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best, for the sake of everyone, to withdraw and restore yourself. The point is to have a long-term perspective.” ~ Dalai Lama

When you take the time to nurture and care for yourself, it’s easier to have a happy, upbeat mindset. You feel better about your life in general and it’s easier to get through challenging work tasks. This in turn allows you to have more to give to family and loved ones.

[Read more…] about 50 Ways to Nurture Yourself (Includes a Printable Download)

Filed Under: Love Your Life, Wellness Tagged With: craft, declutter, exercise, friend, goals, gratitude, happiness, health, hug, inspiration, joy, massage, meditation, mornings, music, nature, nurture, nurturing, personal development, pet, play, self care, sing, stress, technology, visualize, walk, yoga, yourself

A Simple Secret to Adding More Time to Your Day

2013-05-13 By Monica 4 Comments

Watching Less TV

Do you feel like you don’t have time to do the things you’d like to do?

Do you wish you had more time to exercise or take up that hobby you’ve always been interested in?

Do you wish you had more quality time with the people you care about?

The answer to these dilemmas may be in the middle of your living room. After work and sleep, TV viewing is the most commonly reported activity in the U.S., taking up just over half of all leisure time. In the U.S., people average about five hours of TV time each day. TV Watching:

  • Increases the liklihood of gaining weight, becoming overweight or obese,
  • Increases the risk of weight-related disease including heart disease, diabetes, and early death (1),
  • Leads to lower attention and poor brain development in children.

Need more reasons to stop watching television? Check out Kill Your TV.

About three years ago, I made the commitment to stop watching television, and for the most part, have been able to stick to that.  For almost a year, I didn’t even own a television. While I will still occasionally watch a movie or catch a short clip of The Daily Show on my iPad, I no longer spend my evenings or weekends in front of the television. Not watching television has allowed me to focus more energy on:

  • Learning yoga and starting a yoga practice,
  • Going to the gym and working out on a regular basis,
  • Working on completing my Master’s degree,
  • Starting my own businesses and blogs,
  • Planting and working on my garden,
  • Learning photography and offering my photos for sale on two photo websites,
  • And perhaps most importantly, meeting and marrying my husband!

Enjoy Replacement Activities – What things would you love to have more of in your life? These may include:

  • Exercise – start a new activity, get a gym membership, train for a 5k, or just enjoy an evening walk.
  • Improve your relationships – spend time with friends and family members.
  • Start a new hobby or learn new skills– learn how to knit, sew, make candles, garden, or cook.
  • Go back to school – finish your degree, start a master’s program, or learn new skills such as graphic design, photography, massage therapy.
  • Organizing and decluttering your home or office – to simplify your life.
  • Start a blog and share your knowledge with others.
  • Join a Meetup Group – where you can learn salsa dancing, wine tasting, public speaking, computer skills, or just meet new friends.
  • Develop a spiritual practice – visit a new church, learn meditation, or practice gratitude.

What are your thoughts? Share below.

 

 

(1) Harvard School of Public Health Article

Filed Under: Do More in Less Time Tagged With: balance, exercise, health, hobby, more time, organizing, relationships, spiritual, stress, time, time management, TV

5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Fitness

2013-04-21 By Monica 7 Comments

Getting Fit

“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live. ” ~ Jim Rohn 

Whether you are trying to lose weight or just improving your overall health, fitness can be challenging with today’s busy schedules. Just implementing small, incremental actions can make a significant difference in your life. Here are five ways to get you started:

1. Be a Kid Again: What was your favorite activity when you were growing up? Was it tennis, swimming, riding your bicycle? Think back to the types of things you enjoyed as a kid and find a way to bring that activity back into your life.

For me, it was roller skating. I grew up on roller skates but hadn’t been able to skate since I was a child. About two years ago, I moved to a city that had an old-fashioned, hardwood floor skating rink with a huge pipe organ that they still use on specific nights. I was thrilled to have such a wonderful place to roller skate and it is great exercise. The best part is I feel like I’m ten years old again.

2. Instant Recess: While you’re still feeling like a kid, you might also try something called Instant Recess. Instant Recess gives you at least two ten-minute exercise breaks during the work day. There are instant recess exercise videos available on YouTube  or you can do your own form of exercise.

I learned about this program at a health conference I attended several months ago because many workplaces are starting to offer it to employees.   As people become more aware that long periods of sitting have been shown to be as dangerous as smoking, they are looking for ways to increase their activity during the day. Studies have shown that if you do the videos twice a day for three months or more, you should be able to maintain your existing weight. If you add an additional ten minutes of exercise each day, you should actually lose weight.

3. Moves App for iPhone: A fun tool I recently discovered is the Moves app for my iPhone and for Android. It’s like a pedometer that tracks your steps during the day. Using this app was eye opening for me because it clearly illustrated that I’m not getting enough exercise on certain days.

The nice thing about this app is that it keeps track of where you travel and seems to be able to distinguish if you are moving in the car versus exercising. It even tracks steps on the elliptical at the gym so I make a point to wear my phone when I work out.

4. Listen to something: When I exercise, I often listening to inspiring music, podcasts, or books from Audible. Audible was a great find for me because I have a lot of required reading for my graduate coursework and my business. Audible allows me to make my time at the gym even more productive, and the time goes by very quickly.

5. Create a habit: Establish set times for your fitness routines or add reminders to your calendar to help remind you when to exercise. Consistent, regular activity is the single most important thing you can do to improve your fitness.

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. -Jim Ryan

What is your favorite way to improve your fitness? Share your thoughts below.

 

Filed Under: Love Your Life, Wellness Tagged With: exercise, fitness, habit, health, instant recess, iPhone, moves app, workout

21 Days to Improving Your Happiness and Productivity

2013-04-06 By Monica 11 Comments

Happiness Quote - Anne Frank

The field of positive psychology has been growing in popularity as people begin to recognize the correlation between happiness, productivity, and success. Developed by Martin Seligman in his book Authentic Happiness in 1998, positive psychologists seek “to find and nurture genius and talent” and “to make normal life more fulfilling”.

Seligman’s research concluded that happier people get better performance evaluations and higher pay. Other studies have shown that happy people are more positive, creative, tolerant, constructive, generous and non-defensive. They also have lower medical costs and less absenteeism.

While this seems obvious to many of us, finding that happiness can be a challenge in our society. In his popular Ted talk, The happy secret to better work, Shawn Acor says our culture has taught us that, “If I work harder, then I will be successful. If I’m successful, then I will be happier.”  Putting happiness on the other side of success creates a moving target and your brain never gets there.

According to Acor, “If you can raise levels of positivity in the present, the brain experiences what is called the happiness advantage. When the brain is positive, it performs significantly better than when it’s negative, neutral, or stressed. When you’re positive, dopamine floods into your system which not only makes you happier, but it also turns on learning centers in your brain, allowing you to adapt to the world in a different way.”

Acor goes on to say, “It’s not reality that shapes us, it’s the lens through which you view the world. If you can change the lens, not only can you change your happiness, you can change your world.”

21 Days to Improving Your Happiness and Productivity:

Acor also provides a formula for increasing your happiness and productivity in 21 days, the length of time it takes to create a new habit. Most of them only take a few minutes but the combination has been proven to be very effective. Over time, the brain retains the new pattern, allowing you to work more optimistically and successfully.

Take LifeOhm’s Happiness Challenge and commit to doing the following things for the next 21 days:

  • Write three new things you are grateful for – This helps train your brain to scan the world for the positive things first, rather than focusing on the negative things. Gratitude has long been linked to increased happiness and it’s surprising how quickly your life can improve with this simple practice.
  • Journal about one positive thing that has happened in the past 24 hours, this process allows your brain to relive the positive experience. There are many options for journaling, online with sites such as Penzu or a hand-written journal. Writing by hand, rather than digitally, has been shown to increase learning, which might be helpful when you’re trying to change thought patterns.
  • Exercise for at least 15 minutes –  exercise increases your levels of dopamine, energy, and helps improve your overall sense of well being.
  • Meditation – There are many documented benefits to meditation including reducing the negative effects of stress, mild depression and anxiety. According to Acor, meditation also allows us to get over our cultural ADHD, that has us focusing on more than one thing at once. It allows the mind to quiet and opens us up to new possibilities.
  • Random acts of kindness – In Acor’s study, he had participants write one positive email that praised someone in their social network, but there are many ways to perform random acts of kindness. Get creative and have fun, you will not only make someone else’s day, but it will improve your own.

What helps you improve your happiness and productivity? Are you participating in this challenge? Share your thoughts below.

Filed Under: Do More in Less Time Tagged With: Acor, challenge, energy, exercise, gratitude, happiness, journaling, meditation, productivity, stress, success, Ted talk

7 Things You Can Do Today to Improve Your Health

2013-02-22 By Monica 4 Comments

 Path To Health

“To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.”  ~ Buddha

After more than fifteen years working on the corporate and management side of healthcare, I’ve witnessed a broken system from almost every angle. The U.S. currently has the highest per capita spending among developed countries. Yet we are 22nd in life expectancy. What’s more, many of the top causes for mortality are highly preventable.

In his recent best-seller, The End of Illness, David B. Agus, MD suggests actions we can take to prevent illness and improve our quality of life. He makes a strong case that, “illness is largely preventable” and even argues that most cancer deaths are quite avoidable.”  He discusses the importance of taking responsibility for our own health and realizing we can control many factors that determine health. Our DNA only creates probabilities of illness but our lifestyle choices determine far more. He also advocates for taking a more “personalized” approach to medicine.

Dr. Agus’s wellness recommendations include:

1. Understand Your Family’s Health History – According to Agus, learning about your family health tree is a proactive way for you to identify some of your potential health risks. The U.S. Surgeon General provides a free tool to help you create a family health tree . While it is important to understand your risks, Agus also points out that “DNA is more about our risk than our fate. It governs probabilities, not necessarily destinies….To hold your DNA responsible for your health is missing the forest for the trees.” Understand your health history but don’t use it as an excuse to not take responsibility for your lifestyle.

2. Eat Healthier – This can be easier said than done, but diet is a major factor in our long-term health outlook and is something we can control ourselves. We can be proactive with food and eat a preventative diet that helps counteract some of our hereditary risk factors.

3. Get Regular Exercise – Along with a healthy diet, regular exercise is perhaps the single most important thing you can do for your health. According to Agus, regular exercise:

  • Fights the onset of age-related diseases
  • Helps keep healthy weight
  • Increases lung capacity
  • Improves circulation
  • Reduces stress
  • Reduces inflammation
  • Increases feelings of well being

A great story Agus relates in the book is that “In 1873, Edward Stanley, the Earl of Derby, gave an address at Liverpool College in which he said, ‘Those who think they not have time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.’”

4. Avoid Sitting for Long Periods of Time – With more of us working in an office setting, spending time watching television or playing video games, sitting has become the norm. Studies have shown however, that sitting for long periods of time can be as insidious as smoking or excessive sun exposure in our risk for illness. Schedule brief walking breaks or other forms of movement during your day, even if you work out at other times. These movement breaks, even if you workout at other times, will also give you more energy while you are at work.

5. Keep a Regular Schedule – according to Agus, our bodies like consistency. Having a regular meal schedule and sleep schedule, along with consistent ways to exercise and reduce stress will benefit you in the long run.  One interesting point is that dog owners are more likely to have a regular schedule thanks to the needs of their furry companions. Not to mention the added health benefits a pet can provide with their love and companionship.

6. Focus on Your Body’s Inherent Self-Healing Capabilities – Agus suggests clearly understanding any treatment for our bodies before we start them, including taking vitamins or supplements.  “Think of the body as a self-maintaining factory; it is constantly regenerating itself down to every cell. Every month we renew our skin, every six weeks we have a new liver, and every three months we have new bones.”

Instead of jumping into the latest health fad, make sure there is a good basis to do so. Many physicians, including Agus, have stopped recommending that people take vitamins due to the lack of research that they prevent illness. Studies show that taking some vitamins may even expedite certain diseases such as cancer. Adding additional vitamins or other supplements may throw off your body’s natural equilibrium, actually slowing the healing process.

7. Find a Good Physician That Listens and One You can trust – Agus says, “Medicine is the art of observation and interpretation, which are skills that are not learned in a book. Until medicine becomes more of a science with the advancements of technology, you have to find someone who practices this art very well.”

What do you do to stay healthy? What critical points are missing? Share your thoughts below.

Filed Under: Love Your Life, Wellness Tagged With: Agus, End of Illness, exercise, food, healing, health, medical, vitamins

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I’m Monica, owner and founder of LifeOhm, LLC. LifeOhm was created to help individuals, just like you, optimize their health and wellness, while also creating more joy and happiness in their life. Read more.

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