February's Notable Words

At the end of the month, I love sharing a few words, sayings, and quotes that in some way touched me during the past month! Enjoy

On a light note! 

Until Next Time ~ Be Well

Beat Those Winter Blues

I definitely divide winter into two stages - a clear love hate relationship. I love December, the holiday cheer, the cold, the first snow, hot chocolate, scarves, comfy sweaters, boots, and reading by a fireplace, but by January 2^nd, all this nostalgia has quickly faded! This latest winter beauty, a Nor’easter which dumped 18 inches of snow has left me longing to see those tiny buds alerting us to Spring’s arrival.  Most of us feel "off" during the cold months, common symptoms include depression, fatigue, irritability, weight gain, and mood changes.It’s estimated that nearly a half of million American’s are negatively impacted by the changing seasons. 

With a winter like this one, it can be hard to feel our best, I love being curled up under the covers watching a movie marathon, and while this may seem therapeutic,too many days of this will wreck havoc on our overall well being.  If you're like me, you'll have to fight off you instincts to hibernate the winter months away. Luckily a few simple changes can help shake off those winter blues. 

1. Lighten Up:  It's no surprise that shorter days and longer nights leave us spending more of our waking hours in darkness than any other season.   For many people, their daily commutes both begin and end in the dark. Some researches think the decreased amount of sunlight increases our bodies production of melatonin (a chemical which aids us in sleep). While the sun’s rays are much weaker October through March, we can still gain some benefits from spending a few minutes outside every day. Most of us are deficient in Vitamin D throughout the winter months so its essential to increase our Vitamin D consumption to make up for these losses. Aside from adding vitamins and modifying our diet,  Light Therapy is an option that is gaining popularity in the North.

Another way to lighten up can be done from the comfort of your own home. Pull back the drapes, open the blinds, and add a pop of color. Let as much natural light in as much as possible.

Colors For Your Every Mood tells us that the color we surround ourselves with has a direct impact on our moods! It can be sad seeing bare tree limbs, dead shrubs, damaged grass, so bring the garden indoors, arrange a few bouquets of fresh flowers throughout your home, not only will it bring a pop of color but their scent can be uplifting

2. Get Social: No, I don’t mean Facebook stalking or reading your Twitter feed.  I mean good old fashion quality time laughing with friends and family. Get out and try something new, take a cooking class, learn to sew or knit, try a new hobby, or just get together with some girlfriends. 

3. Follow a Routine: Develop a daily routine for yourself... and FOLLOW IT! Structure allows us to check things off our list, complete tasks, and gives us with a sense of accomplishment. Follow these 3 simple rules every morning to start your day on the right foot (even weekends)

• Make your bed every morning
• Get dressed – including shoes.  We are much more likely to accomplish things when we have our shoes on.
• Go outside within 2 hours of waking up. 

4. Get Organized: Winter is the perfect time to start decluttering and reorganizing our homes. We all get inspired by spring cleaning, so why wait until then, why not get a head start while we’re stuck in doors.

5. Get Moving: Exercise everyday! Do something active every day! Don’t have time? Just 3 walks for 10 minutes can be enough to increase your energy and overall well being.  Do you find yourself in an exercise rut during the winter months? Try a new type of exercise, take a class, or challenging yourself to a race; fun competition can do wonders getting you into your routine. 

6. Proper Nutrition: It’s normal to crave the comfort of junk food during the cold winter months but what we may forget is this comfort food sabotages our mood. Swap out sugar and refined flours for complex carbs and whole grains.  Not only will we be full longer, our bodies will work more effectively from this proper nourishment. Caffeine is also something to stay away from, most American’s far exceed the recommended daily amount of caffeine. I was recently stunned to find that Code Red Mountain Dew (yes, this is my guilty pleasure) has 77g of sugar and 91mg of caffeine in a 20 oz bottle! The daily recommendations for sugar are only 25g while it's recommended to limit caffeine intake to between 200 and 300 mg. To put this in perspective: 

• Starbucks Latta (16oz) - 150 mg
• Starbucks Coffee (20oz) - 415 mg
• Dunkin Donuts Coffee (16oz = 206mg
• Coca-Cola Classic (120z) - 35mg
• Pepsi (12oz) = 39mg
• Hershey's Dark Chocolate Bar = 20mg
• Excedrin Migraine = 130mg

Caffeine may energize us in the short term but as a result of our spiked insulin levels and decreased blood sugar we crash. To manage this crash in energy and mood, we opt again for sugar, and the cycle continues.

7. ZZZ’s: Don’t let the number on the list fool you. Quality sleep may be the most important behavior in maintaining your winter health. This means we can’t spend lazy weekend days lounging around. It’s important to exercise both our minds and bodies enough every day in order to be fatigued enough when we try to sleep at night.  It’s also important to maintain the same sleep schedule weekdays and weekends , getting 8 hours of sleep each night.

Until Next Time ~ Be Well

Gretchen Rubin's 8 Tips to Feel Better About Yourself

I was introduced to the work of Gretchen Rubin a few years ago and instantly became fan. She is best known for her bestseller “The Happiness Project” which has turned into more of a movement than a book. The Happiness Project began on a city bus when Gretchen made an in the moment decision to dedicate a year uncovering her own happiness. “The Happiness Project” was born! Since that time, it has sold more than 1.5 million copies in North America, has been published in more than 30 languages and spent an astounding 2 years on the New York Times Best Seller’s List.

I am a huge fan of her writings as well as the insights she provides on her website and blog; I was especially inspired by the article Gretchen wrote on Self-Esteem. I see so many clients battling this very issue, it can feel suffocating and be immobilizing. Gretchen provides us insight into the inner workings of how self-esteem works and how it can trick us. In addition, she mentions some wonderful and very practical ideas to help us to develop lasting self-esteem.

 Enjoy and thank you to Gretchen Rubin for the tools !

8 Tips to Feel Better About Yourself
So what's the secret?

Gretchen Rubin in TheHappiness Project

First came the self-esteem movement -- then came the backlash to the self-esteem movement. What's pretty clear is we don’t get healthy self-esteem from constantly telling ourselves how great we are, or even from other people telling us how great we are. At the same time, it’s a rare person who isn’t sometimes – or often – plagued with painful self-doubt.

So what's the secret? When you’re feeling lousy, what can you do to feel better about yourself? It turns out that we feel better about ourselves when we behave in ways that we find worthy of our own respect -- such as helping other people, surmounting a fear, and the like.

Here are some suggestions that I try to remember when I'm feeling full of self-doubt and self-anxiety (a term I just made up -- is there a more elegant term for this feeling?):

1. Do a good deed. Be selfless, if only for selfish reason; you’ll benefit as much as the person you’re helping. When I’m feeling low, forcing myself to do something for someone else's benefit seems particularly hard, but then it gives me a big boost. As Montaigne observed, “These testimonies of a good conscience are pleasant; and such a natural pleasure is very beneficial to us; it is the only payment that can never fail.” In the same vein…

2. Make small gestures of good citizenship. Bring your old magazines to the gym so other people can read them. Pick up trash that other people have left on the subway. Sign up to be an organ donor.

3. Keep a resolution. Not only will you benefit from exercising or cleaning out your garage, you’ll also get a boost from the mere fact that you made a commitment and stuck to it. Feeling so overtaxed that you can't face the thought of trying to keep a resolution? Try this one: Make your bed. Just do that one thing. I know it sounds a bit preposterous, but many people have told me what a lift they've received from that small act.

4. Become an expert. There’s great satisfaction in mastery. Pick a subject that interests you, and dig in deep: the American Revolution, the works of Chekhov, wine, The Wire (my husband and I are currently obsessed with this TV show).

5. Boost your energy. Studies show that when you’re feeling energetic, you’re much more likely to feel good about yourself. For a quick shot of energy, take a brisk ten-minute walk (outside, if possible, where sunlight will also stimulate your brain), listen to some great music, or talk to a friend.

6. Challenge yourself physically. This tip doesn’t work for me, but I know that many people feel great after para-sailing, white-water rafting, surfing, or rollercoaster-riding.

7. Face a fear. Some fears are physical (see #6), but not all fears. You might push yourself to speak in public, ask someone on a date, make a gesture of friendship toward an acquaintance, or begin an intimidating creative project. In these trying situations, I often comfort myself by repeating "Enjoy the fun of failure." And it's true, even when my effort fails, I feel good about the fact that I gave it a shot. As my sister the sage reminded me recently, "You've got to put yourself out there." Which is hard, but gratifying.

8. Make something by hand. There's something particularly satisfying about making something with your own hands, whether it's a loaf of bread, a photo album, a piece of furniture, or a fly-fishing fly. It's tangible, it's creative, it's right in front of you. Similarly, making visible improvements like cleaning out a closet can give a big boost. I get an (inexplicably) large boost just from changing a light bulb. I delay, I delay, I delay -- and then finally I change it! A triumph!

How about you? Have you found any good strategies to feel better about yourself? As Joseph Addison observed, “The important question is not, what will yield to man a few scattered pleasures, but what will render his life happy on the whole amount.”

Thank you again to Gretchen Rubin, I absolutely love all her suggestions; they are practical without being overly intimidating.! What do you do to pull yourself out of a funk? How do you restart? 

Click Here to learn more about Gretchen Rubin and The Happiness Project

For information on Gretchen's books, visit her Amazon page Here

Until Next Time ~ Be Well