FALLING OFF THE WAGON!

This principle addresses the fact that on our journey to Abundant Healthy Living we will have times when we 'fall off the wagon' or get off track. Usually for me it happens when I travel whether it is for business or pleasure. I am sure that some of us are in vacation mode right now.

Giving ourselves some grace is our approach and as with all of the Abundant Healthy Living principles this approach is empowering because it teaches us ...

• To NOT to beat ourselves up
• To acknowledge that it is normal behavior
• To reassess our progress
• To make a new goal and commitment
• To get back to the choices that ultimately serve us.

Choose this approach rather than going down that dark road of giving up, thinking you are weak, thinking you have failed or thinking you can't continue where you left off. Know that all that happened was that you had a bad day or a bad week. No biggie! Think about what you can do to get right back to all the wonderful healthy choices and actions that you know how to do.
QUESTIONS FOR THE BLOG

• Think about how your summer is going and ask yourself if you have 'fallen of the wagon' in any area? By sharing your situation on the Blog you can inspire your AHL Team and get yourself back on track.
• What have you done to take advantage of summer?
• What one thing do you want to put at the top of your list as we head into the end of summer?

ABUNDANT HEALTHY LIVING ACTION

• Set a new measurable goal to meet by August 31st!

Exceptions Should Not be the Rule

As I have been on this AHL path - one thing has become very clear to me.  We are willing to put up with behavior in ourselves that we would not put up with in others.  If we go to a store, or restaurant or to visit a professional service provider we expect to get what we want - not for the place or the person to substitute something else. 

We know what we need to do each day to live an abundant, healthy life, yet - we allow ourselves to make exceptions and permit behavior that is contrary to what we want and what we are working for. 

I struggle with exceptions.  It's not always easy to keep in line with our goals.  Situations and loss of mindset derail us.  We make choices that we are not happy with.  The key to dealing with exceptions is two-fold - realize that they happen and to be aware that making exceptions cannot become the rule.  An exception is something that happens on occasion, not daily.  If you are making exceptions daily - it's time for a course adjustment and to recommit.

As always, a foundational principle of the AHL program is awareness.  If you are aware, you can make the change you need to be back on track. 

Activities
- think about the times where you are likely to make an exception.  Devise a "plan B" or "option 2" that you can have in your back pocket when you feel an exception coming on.  For example - do you always make an exception for dessert?  Well, then perhaps your plan B is to always order the fruit or the sorbet.  Then you have satisfied your interest in dessert but in a more healthy way.
- if you've been making a lot of exceptions - then it's time to recommit.

Enjoy August!
Tee

Sneak Eating - Who Are We Hiding From?

Sneak Eating…yeah, you know what this means. Whether it’s adding that candy bar at the check-out and eating it in the car, or having a ‘special drawer’ in your office that you open when you’re really stressed, or waiting for your spouse to go work outside so you can open the pantry…it’s all the same. And who are we kidding? Who do we think we’re really hiding from? Who always knows? We do.

This behavior isn’t empowering. It isn’t part of the Abundant Healthy Fit mindset. When we hide or sneak, it’s as if we are accepting that “this is the way it will always be”. It’s actually a form of self-sabotage. So let’s change it! The first step is to bring it out in the open. Shed some light on it. You may still have that snack, and then again, in the light of day you may realize you deserve to treat yourself better.

And what’s better? Adopting a mindset of grazing…or refueling. Healthy Fit thinking is about asking ourselves – what FUEL does my body need next? The next time you think of snacking – picture that you’re putting sand in your gas tank – do you really want to do that?

So, what’s in your kitchen? Do you have unhealthy temptations within easy reach? Or are your options weighted in favor of healthy, nutrition-rich options? Preparation is the first step. Create your own master list of healthy foods you can graze on, post this in your pantry, carry it with you when you shop.

Make it easy to make the choices that keep your body tuned and fueled so you can be a shining example of an Abundant Healthy Fit person!

QUESTIONS FOR THE BLOG
1. When do you find yourself sneaking food? What are you feeling right beforehand? What experiences trigger this behavior? How can you bring awareness to this behavior and create a new healthier way to respond to the triggers?
2. What are your favorite healthy grazing foods? What do you do to make these convenient choices to reach for instead of sneak eating?

ABUNDANT HEALTHY ACTIONS
1. Make us of one (or more) of the techniques we’ve shared on this blog when you find yourself sneaking. Ask yourself ‘Is this Poison or is this Fuel? Decide to wait 5 minutes and see if the desire is still there. Drink a glass of water first! Share what you try on the blog!!

Creating Change by Stretching your Comfort Zone

To create new and different results we must stretch beyond our current comfort zone.
CHANGE just doesn't happen within the comfort and safety of your current operating system!

This doesn't necessarily mean you need to turn your life upside down, quite the contrary, we have found that small incremental steps will create lasting change and real results.

Think of your comfort zone as a rubber band. Stretch it on Monday by walking an extra mile and on Tuesday morning when you get up that rubber band may have contracted a bit but never all the way. It is easier to do again because you've done it once. There are a million other examples but you get the picture.

If you continually stretch and add a moderate or even a tiny bit more whether it's restraint or progression your comfort zone will be always be in a state of expansion. The great news is that this is true in your quest to be healthy, happy, successful ... really all areas of your life!

Abundant Health is our goal and every choice we make all day long moves us up and down the Wellness Continuum.
Picture a scale with a state of disease and despair on one end and ultimate health and joy on the other. With each choice you make you are moving towards one or the other.
One ice cream sundae is not going to make you ill and one walk is not going to make you healthy but you get the picture. It is the cumulative sum of all your choices that make you
one or the other.

QUESTIONS FOR THE BLOG
1. What is one area of your life where you have successfully stretched your comfort zone?
2. What is the next thing you want to work on and how will you stretch your comfort zone?

ABUNDANT HEALTHY LIVING ACTION
1. This week, commit to that ONE new action to stretch your comfort zone.

Willpower

I wanted to examine the root words for the concept of willpower.  According to Dictionary.com - will means to wish or desire and power means the ability to do or act.  So it would follow that willpower means to wish or desire the ability to do or act.  To be successful requires willpower.  But does it?  That seems contrary to the definition which clearly states that it is merely a wish for power - not a guarantee for success.

My Pop Pop used to say, "If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride."  He also said, "If wishes and buts were candy and nuts, my what a Christmas we'd have."  His point was that wishes aren't going to make it happen.

Willpower cannot be achieved without first gaining power over your mind or your mindset.   There are so many platitudes that remind us of this fact -

• If you think it - you can do it. 
• If it's important you can make it happen. 
• Thoughts become things - make them good ones.

To believe in and set your mind to something changes the dynamics.  You're no longer wishing for power, you are setting the stage to believe in yourself and your goals.  What is your mind set?  Are you trying to achieve your goals purely through will?  Or have you bought into what you want, set your goals and built a belief system (mindset) that will help you become successful?

QUESTIONS FOR THE BLOG :
Have you ever experienced what it is like to try and accomplish something based merely on will - or the wish for success.  What did that feel like?
Now think about a time where you set out to achieve a goal with your mind, heart and body set for success.  How was that different.

ABUNDANT HEALTHY ACTIONS:
Think of a small goal.  Spend a day wishing for the power (willpower) to achieve the goal.  At the end of the day, how successful were you?  Then spend another day working toward the same goal with a firm plan, an open heart and a spirit of success.  Compare the results.

Helping You to Stop and Go

This week we’re going to look at some specific applications of Anything Is Better Than Nothing. These are techniques that you can implement in a variety of ways to keep you moving in the right direction. Sometimes we want to make progress in stopping or delaying a behavior or action. And other times we want to find the motivation to stretch a little more towards our healthy goals. These are techniques that can be used to help you do both. And the best thing is – they are simple!

When we make little changes, stretch our comfort zone just a small amount, we don’t resist the change so much. And when we do that consistently, soon our comfort zone has changed, and we are that much healthier.

Our first technique is called Plus One

• Plus One is about doing one more minute, one more mile, one more block, one more repetition … your goal is to stretch the action and benefit just a little more than you did yesterday or the week before. Any stretch beyond your usual level of activity is a positive step and works in your favor.

• This is easy to apply to exercise. It can also be used with other things, like increasing your water intake – one more glass, one more gulp. Apply this to reading you do for personal development – one more page, one more chapter.

• This works with any beneficial activity – get extra benefit by applying the Plus One technique.

Then we have those habits or actions that really don’t serve us. Here is a place to apply a Five Minute Mission.

• Five Minute Missions are when you choice to delay an action. Delaying eating a snack or having a glass of wine for just five minutes more

• In the moment you might say I can’t do this but if you take it five minutes at a time you can do it.  Commit to holding out just five more minutes and you are expanding your Comfort Zone.  Just think about the next five minutes. If that’s too much, think about the next five seconds; stay in the immediate moment.

• Even if we postpone eating the cake for five or ten minutes and then have some, we’ve still successfully delayed that bite. Every time you wait a little longer, you get better at waiting and before you know you have changed your Basic Nature and you don’t even want cake anymore.

• This technique doesn’t just apply to eating either! If you’re goal is to quit smoking, you could try waiting 5 minutes before lighting up. If you have a big project or chore to do, decide to spend 5 extra minutes on it the next time you work on it. Get creative!

QUESTIONS FOR THE BLOG

- When do you feel like you have your ‘weak moments.’ When do you feel like you slip the most? Could a Five Minute Mission help in these times? Blog about how you feel after you’ve been able to use this technique.

- Share your most creative ways you employed the Plus One technique. Have fun with this! Did you park on row further away from the entrance? Did you go up and down the stairs one more time…just because? Let’s see how many different ways this technique can be put into practice this week!

ABUNDANT HEALTHY ACTIONS

- Pick a healthy activity that you currently do and apply the Plus One technique. Use this technique to increase your activity just a little bit. Depending on the activity, add a little bit more each day or every few days. You’ll be surprised at how much progress you’ll make by doing this!

- Choose to use a 5 minute mission on some task or action this week. Use a timer, if it helps.

Anything is Better Than Nothing

This is such a powerful principle and one that totally changed how I look at the world ... in both health and other areas too!~

This principle is not complicated, it is about not stopping yourself from accomplishing a little bit just because you don't have the time, energy, money, whatever to do it all.

• Can't walk five miles, fine, walk to the mail box.
• Can't be perfect with your fuel selections for an entire day, how about one meal or two?
• Can't make all of the calls on your list, sit down for 15 minutes and do a few.

You get it, it's simple, simple, simple but IT WORKS!! All of your smaller efforts add up and ... anything is better than nothing!!


ABUNDANT HEALTHY ACTIONS
Pick something where you could take some action, right now. Blog about it.
Pick a day this week to challenge yourself to make short bursts of progress in as many areas as you can.

QUESTIONS FOR THE BLOG
What is area that you are best in making little steps towards that greater goal?
What is the one thing that you always push off because you can't tackle the entire expectation/goal?
What do you think stops you from making progress towards your goal?
Share where you will will apply this principle this week.