Combo Friday Attitude of Gratitude post, & Wellness / Balance Tip

This is a combo Friday Attitude of Gratitude post, & Wellness/Balance Tip. Apologies for the length, but this post is intended to and does include a lot of substantive, hopefully helpful, perhaps inspirational information-- or at least a nugget or two of knowledge that will provide a positive effect on your mind/body/spirit.

This week we celebrated Independence Day, aka "4th of July". Some have complained about it happening in the middle of the week; however, we had the gift of a Holiday DAY off! I am Grateful for the gift of "me" time, plus being able to spend time with several dear friends. The meaning of this holiday is also special, and I am grateful, as undoubtedly are most of you, to our forefathers/mothers for the freedoms they fought hard to create and protect for us.

Now onto the health, wellness and balance part: About a year ago, my sister Beth Andrews convinced me to listen to podcasts. I now regularly listen to them while exercising, gaining knowledge and education from a myriad of individual blog posters, plus inspirational speakers at TED talks and TED Radio. The topics vary broadly, but I especially enjoy the ones on health and fitness. (as well as climate change and a host of other topics). Speaking of health, (and BALANCE), this morning, I listened to a couple of my favorite podcasters, Shawn Stevenson, host of The Model Health Show, in his podcast, "3 Simple Keys to Take Control of Your Health & Fitness"; also Matthew C. Bivens' podcast program on Creating your "Ideal Life".

Matt Bivens noted that most people put off their dreams and goals, waiting until they get a better job, or graduate, or make a certain amount of money, or get thin, etc. He emphasized that this rarely helps anyone accomplish their goals or live out their dreams.

First, It is important to be living in the here and NOW....(Probably the best and best known expert on this is Eckhart Tolle, author of "Power of Now" and "Living a Life of Presence" and countless other books.).

Second, In order to achieve your Ideal Life, you need to come up with an answer to the question, "What does your ideal life look like?" What steps are needed to get there? He also emphasizes that the life we have now,, we created, out of our habits, practices, rituals, (good and bad). So rather than putting down what we have, we should feel gratitude for the life we already created, meaning, appreciate what we have.

Third, expand your vision of that ideal life-- Go item by item, or room by room in your home, look at your things, rituals, habits, and activities; evaluate what is working, what is not and figure out what you want for your ideal life.

Fourth, focus on the steps that are needed to get there, while still expressing gratitude for where you are at, what you have at present. Be clear about what you want, then focus on how to achieve that. Avoid focusing on lack or excuses or obstacles. But it helps to come up with small steps when it is a lofty goal. Try to pick one easy goal, then for confidence boosting, go do it. That sets up a "can do" mentality, plus give motivation to start taking other steps.

Matthew closed by asking everyone to come up with three (3) things that were needed to achieve their goals. His included Gratitude and Giving (to community, others) on his list. Mine included Gratitude, Visualization and Action/Believing. What are yours?

Matthew's website (MatthewBivens.com) provides some free downloads- one you may enjoy is his 2018 Abundance Benchmark Checklist you can download. It measures the "6 F's: Faith, Family, Friends, Fitness, Finance, & Fun).

Lastly for today, Shawn's podcast today is very substantive. He goes through an exhaustive list of things we need for quality of life, good health and fitness. He provides great tips such as scientific evidence supporting the need to eat "more greens", 2-4 minimum servings; healthy fats- 2-4 servings; drink lot of water--your body weight in ounces; Also about the importance of movement/exercise-get your steps in, build muscle, both cardio and weights; noting that it is not necessary to have endless marathon workout sessions; you just need quality workouts done consistently. He also gives tips for good sleep, naturally (and- the interconnection between sleep and your relationships.) This podcast is chock-full of excellent advice for living your best, most healthy life.

If you made it this far, congratulations! wishing you a healthy, joyful week, filled with gratitude, plus things to feel grateful for. Namaste!