Life is a gift. How are you using yours?

I sadly learned the news today of dear family friend's passing.  My planned "Mindful Monday" post for today was suddenly tossed aside.  The overwhelming reminder of how life is so precious and the remembrance of each individual soul seemed to be the undeniable topic at hand.   

Often when dealing with death and thinking about how short life can be this sense of Carpe Diem sets in but somewhere in the following days or weeks it fades away.  Old habits that you swore you'd change begin to creep back in like taking things for granted, making unhealthy choices and letting fear run the show.  At least this is true for me.  

Today I kept thinking about how quickly things can change, and heaven forbid they do, then why am I constantly allowing fear to run my life.  Fear of judgement.  Fear of inadequacy.  Fear, fear, fear.  I know that those things are silly, ego driven nonsense but nonetheless they hold me back.  

I couldn't help but reflect on how do I want to be remembered.  Sure I want people to say kind things about me but more than that I want people to be able to say they truly understood me.  Maybe they didn't agree with me on certain topics but they knew what I stood for and what my passions were.  

At this point if I keep letting fear run the show there is no way that more than a handful of people will be able to do that.  On the surface it might look pretty basic:  I enjoy working out, eating well and being with my family.

Don't get me wrong I do love those things but more importantly do you know why I like to workout or why I became a nutrition nut?  Have I ever taught you something that is helpful to you in your life?  There's a good chance that you probably answered "no" and to me that says I've got work to do.  After all the "N.I.C." in my team logo stands for, Nourish Yourself, Inspire Others, Change Lives and that's what I plan to do.  

So what are the things you want to be remembered for?  Do you feel people know those things about you or is something holding you back?  

If you're not thrilled with your answer to the last question know that you have the power to change right now.  Don't wait for the stars to perfectly align.  Take action now and join me in starting to live the life you wish to be remembered for.  

Why do the same problems keep reappearing in my life?

If you stop right now and think about current problems in your life, are they new issues or things that you've dealt with before?  

I ask because something came up for me tonight that made me want to scream, cry, fill my head with negative thoughts and just freak out.  It was an issue that in one form or another I've been dealing with for YEARS.  

Luckily my "rebound rate" (see The Key to Happiness post) has improved greatly over the past couple years so I got ahold of myself and remembered a recent lesson I learned from my girl, Gabby Bernstein.  She talked about how the Universe (God, life, whatever you want to call it) gives you lessons and until you truly dig in and learn from them, they will continually reappear throughout your life.  Those lessons will come back in different forms but have the same underlying message until you fully process it.  

I took this to mean that hitting rock bottom served as processing the issue.  You know how people talk about how you have to hit rock bottom before you can rise up stronger than ever before?  Well I use to think in certain areas of my life that I hit rock bottom.  Each time I would think, “This is it.  It sucks but it's awesome because I'm going to turn this around and be unstoppable.”  This sounds great the first couple times you tell yourself it but let me tell you the 100th time gets a bit old.    

Tonight's "bottom" made me think that maybe we all have different sensitivities to hitting bottom.  I think some people can have the slightest bump and instantly make the decision to learn, grow and move on while others (like myself) need repeated exposure.  

If you're like me and are not one of those quick adapters, think on the bright side, we are tough.  We think that we can power through challenges and just be done with it.  While good at times, we need to allow ourselves to stop and see what’s really going on. Why is this situation happening?  What is it that needs to be hashed out to be able to move on?  

Not sure where to start? Therapy, meditation, EFT Tapping, journaling, are a few places to explore.  Find something that you can connect with and ultimately get you to the root cause behind these reoccurring scenarios.  After all who wants to be dealing with the same problems for the rest of their life?  I for sure don't so on that note, its time for a little soul searching and personal development.

*I'd love to know...are you someone who adapts quickly to problems you are faced with or do you have the same reoccurring issues trouble you?

**Curious about meditation? Check out my glimpse into meditation group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/439110243100699/

1-2-3 Maui...Get Present

What the heck is 1-2-3 Maui?!?!

Ever find yourself someplace amazing or with people you truly love and care for but you can't for the life of you just be present there in that moment?  Something keeps pulling your mind away-you know like little things: work, finances, deadlines, upcoming events, etc.  Well I'll be the first to admit that I'm a victim of this.  I can be playing with my kids at the park on a beautiful day but my mind starts to dull the magic of our playtime.  It's so easy to wear many "hats" these days as we put so much pressure on ourselves to do more and more.  I may be a stay at home mom but I also run my own health & fitness business and teach group fitness classes.  It's way too easy to let my mind wander thinking about everything else that I have to do later that day.  When in reality all that does is take away from enjoying the present.  I realized that I needed to make a conscious effort to change my ways.  

I'm not sure what reminded me of this but as a kid my family went to Maui on vacation when I was in about 6th grade.  I was a kid in paradise and that was that.  My Dad on the other hand worked hard running a business in the windy city so this trip was a big shift from his busy day to day reality.  He found himself having a hard time switching over into vacation mode.  It wasn't until about day two or three that he finally realized enough was enough and that he had to let it go so he could soak up paradise before our wonderful family trip was over.  Something inside him came up with, 1-2-3, Maui! He said it to himself as a wakeup call to get present.  I knew he did this at the time but it wasn't until recently that I've been able to truly connect to his mantra from many years ago.  I'm sure my Dad doesn't even remember or think much about how he did this but that's the funny thing about kids, they remember everything!  I'm screwed. No seriously though, I want my kids to remember their mommy truly being there with them not just physically but mentally & emotionally too.  

So now when I start to find myself slip away regardless of the situation I channel, 1-2-3, Maui!   It helps me to refocus and enjoy the present because after all it is a gift!  

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Have you ever felt like this? Do you have a favorite mantra or technique that you use?  I'd love to hear about them.