Health and Lifestyle
Is Simplicity the New Game Plan this Year?
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Living life well can be as easy as playing a game. Once you have decided on a plan of action it is a big adventure. In this podcast of Mini Miracles from Minor Moments Linda has a few thoughts on Less being better for us. Less stress, less clutter, fewer choices might lead to a happier lifestyle for you.
Podcasting Delights
As Linda flips the page to another thought, it turns into celebrations. We all need to celebrate. It may be a birthday that holds special meaning, a retirement party from a long held job, or the advent of a new business? It could be any number of achievements.
Graduations help to create new starting points and close the door to an old chapter.
We all look to see how the future will open the door to new things, but just take time to watch children play and try to join in. How are you going to get the energy that they have? Is it seeing things for the first time? I think that is why so many of us want to travel and be adventuresome as we get older. We want new experiences, sounds, and joyful moments.
See what I found?
Finally, in this podcast Linda tosses out the idea of grabbing on to an encouraging WORD. Name it and claim it as a possibility for growth and adventure! Blossom, seize the day, and make it special to you!
A New Year Begins for Students
A New Year Begins for Students! If you don’t believe me, check out social media sites where proud parents have posted pictures of their children kicking off the new year with clean bookbags, new outfits, and school supplies labeled with their names.
Heading off to School with the Backpack in place is a good start!
While fall is typically the season of new beginnings for students, it also begins a New Year for many businesses and family routines. We tend to start closing down pools, programs, and summer houses. We begin to think of movement toward eating more meals at home, and buying supplies for the family lunches. We get out the calendars and start adding entries for meet ups, bowling schedules, lessons, and weekend events with our extended families.
In our office here at Delight in Living, Ltd., we tend to speed up on developing groups, online activities, and office appointments. Families return from summer vacations and the need to do self work begins. If one is a parent, he or she begins to evaluate how they can improve the relationships with children, spouses, and often their own aging parents. By now many of the deductions on insurance have kicked in and that means that insurance may help cover expenses for our patients. It is a good time to catch up on mental health.
Finding our place in the world begins with moving in for the day!
Yesterday is gone and tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today to dive in and make it worthwhile. Let us begin and make the improvements we want in our lives. Find you place at work and in your private lives. Establish happy moments for you and your family. Maybe it is time to meet up on Friday nights for dinner. Years ago, my in-laws would take the family out to dinner. It was a time we all looked forward to and it became a wonderful memory for our children.
Smiling our way forward is a great start to anyone’s future!
Keep a smile on your face and complete the summer with activities of your choice. Finish up those outdoor projects, and enjoy the summer crops. Soon it will be a season of stews, chili, and soups.
Watch for our new course on Developing the Confidence Muscle that will be coming out soon. It will put you on a new path!
So How Did YOU Make that Choice?
So How Did YOU Make that Choice?
Making choices continues to be the topic this week, because it is such a powerful one. Our choices may be as simple as waiting for a cup of coffee or something seemingly insignificant. So this morning I stopped at our local coffee shop and ordered my black decaf. When I got to the drive up window the girl asked if I could wait for the brew to finish. I looked behind me and no one was there, so I said sure. I proceeded to pay her and wait. Still no one around, so I sat patiently. Then the young girl comes up to the window and tells me to move my car to the other side of the building and park to wait. I replied, “No, there is no one behind me.” She said something to the effect that they needed have a quick turn around time. I said, “No, I do not want to drive around the building as the parking is horrible and I would have to go around again to get out, AND, there is no one behind me!” She left the window and said something to the other clerk.
Fast forward, the usual clerk came to the window. She was smiling, and thanked me for waiting and handed me my coffee. AMEN. Now as I am pulling away, a car pulls in behind me. I had not disrupted anywone and saved myself gas, aggravation, and time. As I thought about this, several things struck me! First of all, I seldom refrain from being compliant in situations like this. 2ndly, her request just didn’t make any sense. 3rdly, I was the customer and wasn’t interfering with their business. 4thly, Kindness and a smile from the second clerk secured the chance of my returning!
And that takes me back to choices. We need to operate on the facts behind the choices we make. Who is the outcome serving? Making decisions is easy when we know the situation. Making decisions that you have thought through then don’t need to be 2nd guessed.
Now some choices may be much harder than this. Examples might include spending money on a trip or costly purchase. It may mean one has to decide on a drug to take, a treatment for cancer, or a decision regarding a loved one. Years ago I had to decide on whether or not to have my husband under major heart surgery. When the facts were in, I said “NO, it isn’t an ethical option.” That was 17 years ago and one of the best decisions I have ever made. I hope it isn’t the last good decision I make!
Check out https://youtu.be/FLRmMdJqvSI The simple hack to make a decision with Mel Robbins!
Teaming Up is a Great Idea
Over the many generations, the idea of teaming up has made sense. In the days of adventure, when people needed to hunt for their food, it was common that warriors and hunters teamed up either with another person or a companion dog to catch their prey. In the development of religions, people worked together to go into remote areas together for safety.
Team Work is Fun and Profitable
Growing up we were taught to meet up with friends and stay connected. Today that should be easier, but I am not sure it is that easy. Yes, we have our phones and many other ways of communication, but going places and doing things together isn’t always easy. Schedules, work demands, and family obligations often demand we split up. Parents pick up one child while the other parent takes care of dinner. We just find ourselves split and doing less together. Figuring out how to “Pair Up” again is a good idea. After all we can save on fuel, feel connected, and prioritize.
Memories are made and recorded when two or more people are enjoying things together. In my late 30’s, I worked with a Franciscan Nun who was always going out of her way to make people feel better. Often she would bake something special or gather items needed for the elderly couples nearby. These people we often farming people who were shut in due to injuries or ailments. She’d tell me, “we are going to visit …” and away we would go. She had been taught from her order to always go with someone and she followed through with that understanding. I must say even though she has passed on, I still have vivid memories of running these purposeful errands of mercy as a team.
Teaming up goes beyond physically being with another person. We can team up in business to make things run smoother for our clients. We can team up as parents and provide a united front for our children. It makes us more consistent and simplifies family rules.
We can team up in approaching community needs. Our local Crystal Lake Kiwanis runs a yearly Santa Run on the first Sunday of December. We do it in conjunction with many other groups who work together. We have teamed up to help one anothers causes and make the Community even stronger. In the process, we have come to appreciate one another more. It is great fun with a great purpose, as well.
Take the one step forward today to team up, it may put you on the escalator of success!
Thanks to Jo Anne Ollerenshaw for the photograph!
Organization is a Matter of Developing Excellent Habits
Organization is a matter of developing excellent habits. How well do you organize? Do you have a list of priorities you want to accomplish every day? Our habits develop by repeating the same behaviors and routines. Sometimes it takes us awhile to be consistent, but once we practice the new behavior, it is easier! Try it. Drive in a different direction if you want to avoid that fast food restaurant. Change a password, if it will help you change the sites you want to visit earlier in the day. Check out your appointment book and make an appointment with yourself to exercise or take a walk if you want to ramp up the time you exercise. Create shortcuts to get were you want to be sooner rather than later.
I find that making a list on a form I have created is easy. I fill out the form each evening of the contacts I need to make, the people I need to reach, and the people I am waiting to hear back from. It is so very useful. I place the list in my purse and unfold it as I get into my car in the morning, just in case I need to stop somewhere before I go into the office. I put down the phone numbers to make it even easier. It is such a simple thing that I adapted doing from Brendon Burchard. He has excellent ideas and a great book called High Performance Habits. Check it out, it’s very good.
Take the one step to put yourself on the escalator of success. You’ll be glad you did!
Being at A Loss for What to Eat!
Being at a loss for what to eat in spite of so grocery stores and restaurants is real. Everywhere we look there are recipes and food. We are very lucky to have such a variety available, yet we often repeat the same dinner salad or latest sandwich again and again. There are endless meal plans for a variety of needs, like diabetes, heart disease, and low sodium diets. Every magazine entices us to read it with articles on what to eat.
Many of us over the age of 40 are all too familiar with the famous DIETS out there. We have all tried them and often the weight bounces back on or we develop allergies to some of the foods. We go back to the old staples and return to old habits. In thinking about this I have come up with a few basic strategies that could help.
Find people who can support you and buddy up for accountability. We all need it!
Good Health & Fresh Foods
1- Eat in moderation and on a regular schedule.
2- Know what agrees with your body. Are you lactose intolerant? Do you break out in a rash from tomatoes or strawberries or something else?
3- Learn how to eat variety of foods so that nutrition, vitamins, minerals, and fiber naturally work for you.
4- Read labels and clearly understand what you are digesting.
5- Watch what you are drinking. Carbonated drinks aren’t all created equal; sugars are everywhere.
6- Snacking can be so misleading, because we start putting more in our mouths than we realize. As a kid, my mom would give us each a small bowl filled with a treat. When it was gone there was no more. To this day I find it an excellent way to control overeating. It is the refills that sabotage us!
7- Don’t replace sensible eating with doing more exercise. Both exercise and a healthy balance diet work together.
8- Eating does not have to be restrictive; it can offer a wonderful place in your life. Here a few sites to check out:
https://www.health.com › Weight Loss
https://www.shape.com/healthy-eating
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/healthy-eating
www.berkeleywellness.com/healthy-eating/food/slideshow/14-keys-healthy-diet
Take the one step that can put you on the ESCALATOR OF SUCCESS — in this case, feeling your best!
Creating Good Attitudes & Self Awareness
Do you have bad attitudes? A disposition where you could throw up your hands in frustration and defiance and then not care? You reject the best of life and then live with regrets blaming it on other people, problems, or events?
Do you feel people are indifferent to your feelings and emotions. Perhaps you feel stepped on and ignored. It is usually when things begin going wrong in our lives. We feel unheard and lonely. I have just written an e-book on Creating Good Habits & Self Awareness using a series of very special photos. I will be sending it out to individuals who request it.
It calls us to look at our habits, our desires, and who mentors us. It is a light-hearted, but important look at life. So many of us get swallowed up by the wrong things. How about you? Are you aware of your short comings, your actions to overcome them, and how many chances there are for you to grow? Start now. Call our office for an appointment or sign up for Timely-Topics. You won’t regret it!
Morton Arboretum’s Troll’s Exhibition
Those Empty Places We Visit Can Be in Our Own Minds
We all have been to an empty building or an empty mall. It is quiet and the lack of people is an oddity. After all, we know malls, businesses, stores, and many other places need people. I recall walking into my parents home after they had died. It seemed so empty and lonely without their spirits of joy and the usual “hi honey” greeting. My mind was also feeling void of joy and the emptiness within was so overwhelming. I missed the laughter, voices, and television or radio in the background.
I think it must feel lonely and confusing for those who have memory losses. The feeling of loss, and not knowing where everything familiar has gone has to be difficult to comprehend. The loneliness has to come in waves. That is true at many other times too. For people who can no longer see, hear, taste, smell, or understand, their worlds take on a different dimension.
These moments of loss follow us after we have lost a job, after the death of a loved one, after the loss of health or senses, or perhaps a pet. When these times occur, we are often confused and have memory issues as well due to all the energy it takes to process the missing pieces. I know firsthand when my spouse was terribly injured, he did not know me. All the memories we held together were now just mine alone and the inability to share them was as bad as his amnesia. I suddenly could not remember important numbers, facts, and materials I needed for teaching.
In the coming weeks, we are having a series of “Timely Topics” in our office and one of them is on grieving, recovery, and moving ahead after a loss. Please consider attending and also letting others know about the 1/2 DAY group session. You’ll be glad you did, as you will meet others along the journey. You’ll also find some concrete ways to move ahead into a happier time.
Join in and find your way back onto the steps of life. Slowly you’ll be on the escalator of healing and making strides in dealing with issues. You’ll talk about things you may have needed to express to people around you in a gentle and kind way. Now is the time to fill the voids. Please consider joining the series.
Solitude or Emptiness?
Be Cheerful
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Being cheerful begins with feeling good within ourselves. Linda shares a quick rundown of her latest fun project. Hopefully you will be inspired to find some minor moments that move you into recognizing Mini Miracles.
Take the one step that will put you on the escalator of success. Share with others your joys and sorrows. Connect and become refreshed.
Following Up on Counseling Care
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Counseling care can be the most awesome thing you have ever done. Linda Gullo has been in practice at Delight in Living, Ltd. for over 20 years. Here she offers a few thoughts on why people seek out counseling.
Our mental health and the way we think about things makes all the difference in the world. Whether it is resolving a problem, having faulty thinking, or just plain old grieving, counseling is a great avenue to pursue. In a world where people search for quick fixes and self medicate or just try to ignore the signs and symptoms of loneliness, counseling can help immensely.
This simple 11 minute podcast will hopefully inspire and help you find the care you need. Let the one step place you on the escalator of success.