Recipe for Resolution #12 - Action!

Create plans of action. Dreams are your thoughts, priorities are your world, goals are your destinations and the plan of action is the detailed series of tasks or the navigation system and roadmap that gets you to your destinations.

Start with your top priority goals and make a detailed plan of action for each. Example: Your top priority health goal may be to lose 30 pounds by March 31st. Break this goal into more measurable and manageable stair-step goals – I will lose 10 lbs per month Jan, Feb and March - totalling 30 pounds by March 31st.

Plan of Action:

• Join the gym and workout a minimum of one hour per day after work – exercise to include cardio (bike, treadmill and aerobics), nautilus and free weights.
• Stop eating fast food immediately and permanently.
• Take a 30 minute walk on my lunch break every weekday.
• Take a hot yoga class in the morning before work twice a week on Tues and Thurs.
• Visit the sauna for 20 minutes on days that I don’t do yoga - Mon, Wed, Fri.
• Shop healthy – buy fresh organic fruits and veggies.
• Eat 6 to 8 healthy meals a day and consume portion sizes smaller than my fist.
• Limit couch time and TV watching to only one hour per night.

Each of these tasks or mini-resolutions are part of a detailed plan of action that will lead you to accomplishing your bigger goal. Remember, the most important part of a plan of action is the ACTION!

Recipe for Resolution #11 - Progress Check-up

Review your accomplishments so far this month. Are you happy with your progress? How many goals have you crossed off of your list? Have your read your goals list daily? Have you organized your priorities? Did you write down your dreams? Did you take a close look at your schedule and re-assess your time and how you spend it?

If you are happy with your progress, then good for you – you are on your way to implementing powerful resolution. If you have room for improvement, then go back to step one and repeat – it’s never too late to start, but time is precious and there will only be one NOW. Focus your efforts on what you can control and do it today!

Remember, DME stands for - Don't Make Excuses!

Recipe for Resolution #10 - Identify

Identify the difference between a goal and a task. A goal is a destination, a big picture dream, desire, want, need, etc… A task is something you do to reach a goal and is only a step on the staircase to the goal… The bigger the goal the higher the staircase. Tasks are part of the plan of action that gets you to where you want to be.

Recipe for Resoltion #9 - Fire in Your Desire

Important step – read your goals list every day. Make your goals list a Word Document that is saved and resides prominently on the desktop of your computer. If you like paper better, print it out and tape it to the fridge or put it somewhere that you are sure to see it multiple times throughout the day. Form a habit of reading your goals list at least once a day – this will keep fire in your desire.

Recipe for Resolution #8 - Congruence

Go back and review your dreams and priorities list and compare them to your goals list. Ask yourself “Are my goals congruent with my priorities, dreams and how I actually spend my time?” When your goals are in line with how you actually live your life, they will fit into your life like puzzle pieces and will be easily accomplished as they simply fall into place. 

Revaluate your goals, priorities and dreams in relation to one another and make additions, subtractions and changes in your timeline or order of importance if necessary. Don't hesitate to change anything that is necessary to get you on track to living your dreams.

Initiating and facilitating change and establishing balance and congruence in your life are a life coach’s specialties. Having a coach, a personal trainer or a “board of directors” on your team can be beneficial and profound in your quest for success.

Food for Thought - Fettuccine Avo-Fredo

This month we are happy to feature Chelsea Jo Conard, a Board Certified Holistic Health Counselor and founder of Artful Balance. Chelsea is on a mission to help you stop fad dieting and find what works for your unique body – because every body is different – that’s why diets don’t work. Chelsea will be working in conjunction with GRO and the BeneFitness center to help you learn to implement lasting lifestyle changes that will improve your energy, health, weight and overall wellness. According to Chelsea, healthy should be every body’s norm. Here is a delicious, nutritious, easy and affordable recipe that Chelsea recommends this month:

Fettuccine Avo-Fredo

You will need:
1 ripe avocado, pitted
1/2 lemon, juiced, and lemon zest for garnish
1-3 garlic cloves to taste
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/4 cup fresh basil
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 servings of your choice of pasta (brown rice pasta, spelt pasta, kamut spaghetti…)
black pepper to taste

Directions:
Bring a pot of water to boil, and add in pasta. Cook for 8 – 10 minutes.
In a food processor or blender, combine garlic, lemon juice, olive oil until smooth. Add avocado, basil, and salt. Blend until creamy. When pasta is finished cooking, drain, and place in a bowl. Add sauce, and garnish with lemon zest and pepper.

For more delicious and nutritious recipes, visit Chelsea’s website at: http://artfulbalanceholistic.com

Words of Wellness - "Word of the Year"

Recently I was challenged by a friend and fellow motivational speaker to implement a new annual ritual called “word of the year.” The concept is to select a single word or even coin a new word that will be your mantra, motivation, inspiration, and the defining characteristic of the upcoming New Year. This challenge has made a remarkable impact on my thinking over the last several weeks since this challenge was bestowed upon me.

After much deliberation and contemplation, I first decided to re-visit 2011 in hopes that the past year would help me define this year. In retrospect, I decided that my word of the year for 2011 must have been “development.” Last year allowed me to develop wonderful relationships, new programs and content that will fuel my success in 2012. Last year, and always, I aim to develop and improve as a speaker, author, life coach and health advocate. I was also able to be instrumental in helping DME Benefitness, redefine their corporate culture and workplace wellness by helping develop a new website, blog, and newsletter. Every day I strive to develop health and happiness for myself and those around me. Thanks to my development in 2011, I am now poised to create wellness for many people and businesses in 2012.

My personal zeitgeist for 2011 was great, but enough about the past. It’s now crystal clear to me that my word of the year for 2012 will be “wellthy.” No, that’s not a typo.

Wellthy (adjective) - synergistically benefitting from the combination of health, wealth, happiness, and wellness.

A wellthy individual realizes that their greatest wealth is in their health and that their success and overall wellness can be measured by the size of the smile on their face.

Personally, I’ve invested thousands of hours of time and immeasurable thought and energy into becoming wellthy. I believe that H.E.A.L.T.H. stands for Helping Everyone Always Leads To Happiness; therefore, I created a business that truly helps others attain health, happiness and success. By helping others and leading by example, I’m certain that I will become abundantly “wellthy” in 2012.

My first wellthy action is to pass on this challenge to you: define your 2012 with your own personal “word of the year.” Before you make futile New Year’s resolutions that will be forgotten by February or set unrealistic goals that you will never pursue, put some serious thought into defining your purpose in life. This introspective thought exercise will magically reveal your word of the year and empower you to make a difference in the world – starting with a Happy New YOU!

Recipe for Resolution #7 - Goal Setting

Now that you have made the mental commitment, empowered your vocabulary, created a mantra, envisioned your dreams, listed your priorities and looked at your schedule – it’s time to set some realistic goals.

Make each goal "SMART" - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely (a completion date).

Use smaller “stair-step” goals to reach larger ones – ex: if your goal is to lose 30 lbs by March 31, make a series of stair-step goals – I will lose 10 lbs by January 31, 10 more pounds by Feb 28th, and 10 more pounds by March 31 to achieve my total goal of 30 pounds.

Group your goals by personal, business, travel, family etc… List from short term to long term in each category. Most importantly, WRITE THEM DOWN and READ THEM DAILY.

Recipe for Resolution #6 - Time Allocation

Take a good look at your schedule and calendar. Think about your daily routine and how you spend your time. Is your time allocation congruent with your priorities list?

Many people I coach say that their health, GOD or family are their top priorities, but after a coaching session, they realize that their time allocation is not indicative of their priorities – for instance, after charting their weekly schedule and time usage, they realize that they spend 40 hours at work, another 10 hours getting ready for and traveling to work, 14 hours watching TV, 60 hours sleeping, 11 hours are spent goofing-off or time that cannot be accounted for. On their top priorities, they spent less than 2 hours working out or exercising, less than 4 hours of true quality time with the family and only 1 hour at church. 

Working with a life coach or accountability partner can help you get your life in balance and find “extra” time to do the things that are high on your priority list. Investing time in your top priorities will have an exponentially greater return than simply spending or wasting your time on lower priority items. Making resolutions for the New Year will be futile if you don't make time to actually do them!

Recipe for Resolution #5 - Prioritize

Forget about all of the things that you ‘have’ to do on a daily basis and think about all of the things that are truly important to you.

Make a “priorities list” of the things most important in your life in the order of their importance (time and health should be tops on the list). It’s okay to be a little selfish here – this is YOUR list.

My philosophy is that “If you put yourself as your own highest priority and maximize your own life first, then you will have abundant health, energy, love, success and money to share with others – plus, you get to lead them by example. The alternative is to neglect yourself, break down, get sick, lose your job, your energy, your youth, your vitality and then become a burden to those around you – as they will have to take care of you!”

Recipe for Resolution #4 - Look in the Crystal Ball

Imagine your life vividly 1, 5, 10 years from now and make mental and written notes as you see yourself. Use these notes to create a “dreams list” of all the things you would have in your life if time, money, fear, experience, location and all the normal limiting factors were not present in your life.

Dream and Resolve to succeed.

Recipe for Resolution #3 - Mantra

The Little Engine the Could

Step 3 in the resolution process - create a mantra to repeat to yourself.

Examples: “I will make every minute of every day productive in some kind of way” or “I can't wait to lose weight” or “I’m going to fit into my favorite jeans again" or "I think I can - and I know I will." 

Make a habit of saying this mantra throughout the day. This activity will keep you focused and motivated toward your resolution. It will also help you resist when temptation arises.



Recipe for Resolution #2 - Language

Change your language. No, I'm not suggesting that you buy Rosetta Stone and start learning French (unless you're going to France).

I am suggesting that you change your own language by permanently removing the following words from your vocabulary:
 “Can’t, try, maybe, consider, and eventually”
– and replace them with:
“Can, will, definitely, resolve, and now.”

Be cognoscente of your language and choice of words – are you speaking with empowering words or are you subconsciously limiting yourself with your own vernacular? 

Example:
Change: “Maybe I’ll eventually consider trying to change, but right now I can’t.” To: “Now I will definitely resolve to change because I CAN do whatever I put my mind to.”