Physical Balancing Act

With each passing year it takes WAY more energy to obtain significantly LESS result. Once I got over myself and accepted this, things started shaping up for me. Creating balance physically heavily relies on this one thing you must do …and that is ….wait for it ….move.

Just move.

Walk, stretch, clean the house, wash the car, do some yard work, Pilates, yoga, run, bike…so many choices!

 I have a personal trainer. She is a bargain at 50 bucks for unlimited sessions. She motivates me by saying stuff like, “You nailed that! You just beat your personal best!” and she doesn’t give me a rash when I stop after three whole burpees because I’m sucking wind.  Of course, I am referring to my Nike Xbox Crossfit trainer. My goal is to work with her 3 days a week and jog 3 days a week. I am still working toward the 6 days…averaging 3 total right now…I have to say it is 3 days more a week than I was doing a month ago. Booyah!!

I want to be passionate about my physical activity! This does not come without loads of assistance! Here are a few good motivators:

1.       Find an app or website that inspires you. I like Steve Kamb’s Nerdfitness.com because I like being part     of the rebellion.(I discovered Steve through my friend TED)

2.       Music. There are all kinds of playlists available online. Find one that inspires you!

3.       Enlist a partner. You can cheer each other on or complain to each other. Either way you’ll be exercising

4.       Fake it until you make it. Don’t feel like moving today? Try the Wonder Woman pose! It is amazing how well it works!  Stand up. Stand tall with feet firmly planted on the ground, shoulder width apart, hands on your hips. Hold this pose for 2 minutes.  It will chemically alter your confidence level (seriously. Check out TED speaker Amy Cuddy: Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are).  

My goal is not to look like Wonder Woman…but assuming her power stance gives me the strength and confidence to choose to move. I want to be, look, and feel healthy and confident. I want to have the energy and stamina to face any challenge that I might encounter along this path in life.

Yoda hit the nail on the head when he said, “Do or do not, there is no try.” 

Spiritual Balancing Act

This week I am focusing on balance. The kind of balance that keeps one well rounded and grounded. The kind of balance that allows for a joyful heart and a passion for life.  Yep, that’s what I’m talking about.

The foundational balance of all things “balance” is a healthy spiritual life. For me, that involves:

1.       Prayer - morning, grace, traffic, breath, intercessory, corporate

2.       Study - Bible, Spiritual development, Christian nonfiction, videos, podcasts

3.       Accountability - meeting with my Christian sisters who help me to stay on the right path

4.       Worship – at church, in the car, cleaning the house, going for a run

5.       Giving – money, gifts and talents, time, energy

Let me make this very clear; Superwoman, I am not. This is the list of things from which I gain my spiritual balance, but not all at the same time!! Some days it is all I can do to squeeze in a prayer or two.  Other days I will do something from every category. The important thing for me is to consistently cover these over the course of a week. I will indeed get off balance if I go too long without any one of these categories.

Dan Miller, author of 48 Days to the Work You Love, talks about making deposits into the different areas of your life to maintain balance. We have to consciously choose to make consistent deposits into these important areas of our lives.

Balance is a choice. It does not just happen by accident. It does not happen overnight. 

Start small and act on it.

         “God, please show me one way that I can serve you today and give me the courage to do it. Amen.”

Have you met TED?

I met a friend recently named TED. Many of you may know him…well, he’s really not a he…he is an “it”…made up of many he’s and she’s. TED is a series of talks on: Technology, Entertainment, and Design.

I became acquainted with TED while I was searching for topics to keep my brain engaged. As I get older I want to be sure that I continue to learn new things. Truth be told, I have never been much for classroom learning. I am just possibly a wee bit wiggly for traditional learning environments.

But, seriously…  I have not met a TED talk that I didn’t like.

I try to watch one a day. The problem is stopping after just one! Then my gears start turning trying to think of someone to send the recently watched talk. They are entirely too good to keep to myself…share, I must!!

OK, you’re thinking, “So what IS her favorite talk???”

          No can do…uh uh…no way…too many jaw dropping choices!!

I can, however, recommend the playlist: New to TED? (11 talks)                               http://www.ted.com/playlists/77/new_to_ted.html

Check it out for yourself. You should really meet TED if you haven’t already. 

Floaties

I spent a bit of time today understanding feedburner. There are many functions that it can perform. I really wanted the email subscriptions to have the daily title on them. If I executed the directions correctly, that will successfully happen tonight with this blog post.  I have confidence that all will arrive as it should.

A bonus function that I stumbled upon was automatic posting of a link to twitter. I must admit that I am as new to twitter as I am to blogging! I feel like I am swimming in the middle of the huge sea of social media with a pair of floaties strapped to my arms!!! Where’s the boat??? I guess navigating this ocean at a leisurely pace is a great way to test the waters (yes, doggie paddling in your floaties is a leisurely pace). A boat would surely help me to maneuver this sea with speed and efficiency.

All in good time.

I will continue to explore with the tools that I have…yes; I am referring to the floaties. Is it my tool of choice?  Uh, no… but I am certain that one day soon my ship will come in.

Understanding Up

I have the pleasure of observing my daughter’s conservatory ballet class this week. She loves to dance. I love to watch her dance. Master Sue is working them diligently to be sure that they are prepared for their upcoming ABT testing. She gives them corrections to apply that will make them better dancers.

Here is one of the most interesting corrections that I heard today.

“You must go down to go up.”

I have heard the expression that what goes up must come down but I have not heard that one must go down to go up. What Master Sue is referring to is the ability to jump.  If you have both of your feet completely down on the floor then you can use that entire surface to press down into the floor for maximum jump in the “up” direction. I am sure that my terminology is all wrong, but you get the pointe.

It is really about setting yourself…making sure that you

          are in the best position

                    to utilize your best potential

                              which will provide the ultimate result.

It sounds like I could stand to apply this correction to my life. Amazing results are what I want in my life. I need to find the best position for me, fully use my potential gifts and then BAM! Watch out!

I’m down with that.

Really???

Some days I feel like I am 15 again. We call it “teen angst” in my house. My wheels are spinning as I hunker down to get a task completed…and yet, try as I might…no can do…not going to happen. So I do the “angsty” thing and toss a little moodiness into the situation…a smidge of frustration and maybe an eye roll or two.

I really do know better.

        

           So why do I pull this shenanigan?

                  

                     Maybe because I am not in control of what is going on around me…

Control. I would pay a pretty penny to have just a small amount on any given day. I do realize that I cannot always control my circumstances but I can always control my response. It is my choice…like choosing just the right Pokémon for battle...I can choose just the right response for any angsty situation.

I just need to remember to stop and choose wisely.  I want to win this battle. So, next time I will say, “Patience…I choose you!”

Custom Redirect

It has been a week since I started my full life journey. One discovery that I have made is that the more I learn about the technical side of blogging the less I know! It is a little overwhelming and just a wee bit intimidating. Terms like URL, Meta tag, and custom redirect are Greek to me. My head is swimming, but I will not be stopped in my tracks by a lack of understanding.

I am bold. I am brave. I am not afraid! (Thanks Kristie Kennedy for these words of wisdom!)

My goal is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the inner workings of a blog site throughout the month of April.

I will:

Contact a few of my blogging friends and glean info from them

          Find an “expert” on YouTube and watch blogging educational videos

                    Talk to my dad...he knows more about computers than the Geek Squad!

I am determined to keep moving forward! I WILL wrap my head around this blogging thing, one byte at a time.