TOOLBOX FOR 2014

"To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.”
 
~ Henry David Thoreau

It is that time of year when we reflect on the days gone by: our joys and sorrows and our challenges and triumphs, all weighed and measured; measured against what we hoped for and what we experienced. Maybe 2013 was a challenging year for you? It was for me. Health issues shook me up and required re-calibration and re-vision. I waded and resisted and moaned with the best of them, but to my credit and to the credit of the self-care practices I have put in place over many years, I spent more time proactive and optimistic. As for most of us, appreciation and gratitude must go to the support, love and care of the people around us. I certainly did not go it alone and for that I am truly grateful. As with all situations, I do believe that reflecting in a way that empowers future choices is the best way to honor a difficult time, otherwise you carry with you not only the experience, but the scars.

I wanted to share with you the practices that I found useful during 2013. As a lifelong student of health and wellness and personal development, you can imagine I have amassed a wide assortment of methodology, philosophy and step-by-step instructions for living well. These ten theories have been instrumental in keeping me centered and supporting my holistic health. Today I will share three of the ten tools I used with the hopes that you pack your tool box for the year ahead. I will offer the remaining seven over the next couple of weeks. My hope is that these tools will increase your joy, offer support when needed and increase your ability to live your life On Purpose.

 

1. PRESENCE: This one often becomes automatic when you are faced with an illness or crisis as minute by minute when you are in pain of any kind is sometimes all that can be asked for. It is also the bedrock of living a more purposeful life. It means you are listening to the voice of the moment, rather than the echoes of your past and the beckoning of your future. This means all your energy, resources and healing power is with you, here in this moment.
 

HOW? Breath and bring your attention on your five senses: What do you see, hear, feel, touch and taste in this moment? What can you do in this moment to support, listen to and care for yourself? What are you grateful for? This is the practice of present moment awareness.

 

 

2. VALUING YOUR OWN OPINION OVER OTHERS: This applies to your sense of self and the full-on embracing of your individuality. It is respecting others ideas, but denying anything that aims to bring your down, makes you small or limits you. Listening to what you value, what you need and taking action from there. Although I sought expert opinions about my health, it ultimately needed to be me that believed in and then did the physical and emotional work to encourage healing. My most important resource was me.

 

 

HOW? Honoring your feelings and your needs and step into your power. Practice by making choices every day that are for you: not shoulds or have to’s. Get a life coach and examine your values and needs and design your life in such a way that you are an expression of all that truly matters to you.

 

 

3. COMPASSION: Nothing grows or changes, heals or unfolds when it is reprimanded, beaten down and disregarded and each of our lives benefits from our own unconditional love. There are times when you do and times when you do not, times when you fall and times when you fly, times when you give in and times when you give away and yet you remain. And what remains is better nourished by the light than by the dark.

 

 

HOW? Acknowledge and talk to yourself the way you speak to a child or your best friend. I have seen people speak to their plants better than they speak to themselves. Only spend time with people who lift you up and make a commitment to change your self-talk.


How can you begin to implement these ideas today? How could they help you each day and in the year ahead? I would love to hear what tools you will be packing to make this year your best ever.

Next week I will continue with a few more tools. See you then.