Lee’s Insights

This blog and these posts are me just sharing what I learn as I learn it … I’m not an “expert”,  I’m a coach who’s on a spiritual path to wellness just like a lot of people.  I’m constantly reading, doing research, soul searching, learning from others and I feel called to share what I learn with my readers.

Feeling well was something that eluded me for years before I found out about my gluten allergy.  I just assumed how I felt was just how I was - some people feel well and happy and others don’t and I was one of the unlucky ones.  One day I set the intention (without knowing that’s what I was doing) to feel better, I was tired of being tired, depressed and sick all of the time, the crazy thing is that  just setting that intention set some amazing wheels in motion.  From that moment on my life was never the same!  I have since discovered that I can and do feel well most of the time, I discovered my passions for matters of  health and wellness, spirituality, coaching and healing.  The changes are too numerous to list here, but my point is that by just setting the intention to make life different, by taking personal RESPONSIBILITY for my well-being, I discovered joy and purpose.  It’s my prayer & intention that you are able to do the same thing - I’ve listed below a very short list of easy things you can do right now to set the wheels in your life in motion.

5 Things You Can Do Right Now to Feel Better Right Now!!

1.  Make a decision to feel better:  Set your intention right now.  How tired are you of being tired?  Take 5 minutes and write in your journal or on any piece of paper what your life would look like if you felt great.  Be descriptive, what would you do? Where would you go? Who would you be with? What would you wear? How happy would you feel?  When you put a goal or an intention on paper, the rate of success skyrockets.  When you put an intention or a goal on paper the Law of Attraction kicks into overdrive!  Now, watch for the opportunities to arrive.  Maybe a new doctor who understands your problem, maybe an article about your symptoms, maybe a new supplement … a new breakthrough.  Anything is possible.  Set the intention now!

2.  Practice Gratitude:  All I can say about this is just try it!  At the end of the day, write at least 5 things you are grateful for that day, they can be small things or big things, no matter how bad or tired you feel.  This will change your life - it changed mine!  This exercise gets you to notice all of the little things, all of the little blessings … you have to pay attention  because you’re going to need to remember them later!  Skeptical or just not in the mood?  Do it anyway -  try it for just for a week and see what happens.  When we don’t feel well we tend to focus on just that, we forget to notice just how blessed we really are.  When we feel gratitude our perspective begins to change and you will feel better  right away, I  promise!

3.  Cut out just one of these things  - starchy carbs, sugar, caffeine or alcohol:  This is a small step  - make it a bigger step with bigger rewards by choosing only one to ingest per day.  I know they’re good, but they are  poison to your system - your body is a healing machine, it can and will begin to heal itself with the proper nutrition going into it.  Starchy carbs, sugar, caffeine & alcohol make your body work too hard to counteract them which takes  precious energy away from it’s ability to heal.  Cut one or two out and not only will you feel better physically, but you’ll feel “healthier” mentally.  More on this in a future post.

4. Get enough clean filtered water every day:  Aim for 64 oz. per day, more if you exercise or  live in a dry climate.  Did you know that even mild dehydration can cause depression, fatigue, headaches, loss of alertness, insomnia, hunger pangs, dry scaly skin, constipation, joint discomfort and as I discovered, restless leg syndrome? Our bodies are made up of approximately 60% water, we need water to function.  With enough water our bodies can help prevent cancer and the risk of  chronic disease, maintain a healthy body weight, prevent urinary infections, fight constipation and the list goes on.  Drink enough so that you rarely feel thirsty and your urine runs clear or only slightly yellow.  Try it - you will feel better!

5.  Take time for stillness:  Call it what you want - meditation, prayer, introspection, quiet time … it doesn’t matter.  Do this all at once or in short moments, but aim for at least 30 minutes a day.  Tune out the left brain chatter (like you can tune out a child or the television),  don’t try to stop thinking just tune it out -  sit still, eyes closed and breath.  Focus on your breath or think about things your are grateful for or think of a beautiful place, flower or piece of art - maybe light a scented candle… whatever you have to do to keep your mind still,  just for a few moments.  Get in touch with the peace inside yourself - just sit and be still and you’ll find that peace IS in there.  The more time you take to tune into it the better you will feel.  This is something I am still working on, but when I take time for stillness, even if only for a few moments, the rewards are huge!   Do this and you will feel better!

These are only 5 easy-to-do-right-now steps you can take to begin to dip your toe into better health and wellness.  Stay tuned  - there are more to come!!

My coaching challenge:  Pick one of these or all 5 and try to incorporate them into your day - then come back and tell me how you feel!

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I’m happy to share this video I stumbled upon on You Tube, directed by coreylarson -only 17 years old from what I gathered. Great job!

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This is a must see… just saw it and had to share!

Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, who is dying from pancreatic cancer, gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving talk, “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,” Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals.

Watch it here:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=362421849901825950&pr=goog-sl

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I love this concept… if you want more out of life, you’ve got to make room for it. If the space for whatever it is you want is occupied by something else that isn’t working, there’s no place for the new thing to go -the flip side is that if you want to attract something to you and you create the space for it, it will come. Once you get this and can let go of the “space takers” it is amazing how quickly you will attract all of the things you desire.

Do you:

Want a wonderful partner and great friends to share your life with? Then get rid of all of the relationships in your life that are dragging you down -consciously decide to eliminate negative, abusive or dependent people from your life.

Want more peace and serenity? Then eliminate stress, worry and doubt from your thoughts -replace them instead with good goals, plans of action and positive affirmation.

Want a wardrobe full of clothes you feel fabulous in? Then clean out and organize your closet - either donate the clothes that you don’t like or don’t fit or get them altered.

Want more free time? Then learn to say no to activities you don’t really enjoy or aren’t consistent with your primary goals. Get rid of the tolerances that suck up your time -make sure things are put away when you are done with them so you don’t waste time looking for them the next time you need them. Keep things properly maintained -it takes more time to repair than to maintain. Take the time to organize your schedule ahead of time.

Want more energy? Then get rid of the activities, people or events that drain your energy -you know what and who they are… it’s OK to stick up for yourself, the people who are really important to you will appreciate you for it.

Want more money? Then organize your finances -get Quicken and get on a budget. Know your financial situation. Cut unnecessary expenses from your budget. Buy only what you need. Donate to a charity. Get rid of high interest credit cards.

These are just a few ideas to help you understand the concept and I do understand that a lot of this is easier written than done. Start with the little tolerances, the ones that are easiest to eliminate. Get a coach or a friend to support you and hold you accountable. This is so worth it! I have learned in my own life that when I clear out and organize my thoughts, my living environment, my relationships and life AND have a list of good goals and intentions, the space that is left behind is filled with good things and life is joyful.

To get you started on having more of what you do want -download the PDF below and pick one thing to eliminate today! Addition by Subtraction -the new math!

200 Tolerations

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This topic has come up quite a bit in coaching sessions lately -and oddly enough, on several radio talk shows I listen to regularly. The question is: Are you happy? I mean, are you really happy? And, what does it take to be happy?

Here’s my happiness theory -and it’s really quite simple. You are happy when your life is aligned with your values. The problem is that most people have no idea what their values are and have never taken the time to find out. If they do know, they are so busy in the career they landed in or in the personal life that is controlling them, that they don’t have the time or ability to get into alignment.

Here are some easy steps to get you on your way:

1. Figure out what your values are: Try the Values Game (I have a link to it on the left side of this page) another way is to make a list of 3 people you really admire and write down the reasons you admire them -chances are they are living consistent with your values. The important thing to remember about values is that they are YOUR values -not values that your parents tried to instill in you or that your spouse has -they are yours and they are perfectly fine for you. I believe the reason for a lot of unhappiness is that we sometimes live according to someone else’s values not our own. A great example is that of a young woman I once knew who married an older man with 3 kids and a strict religious lifestyle -overnight she became immersed in being a mother and going to church services and other religious functions -in just a few short years she was suffering from major depression because she was living a life that was so far out of alignment with her true values which were career, independence and freedom of spiritual expression. Sometimes figuring out what your values really are takes some serious soul searching and the commitment to authenticity, but it is so worth it -the rewards are huge!

2. Life Assessment: Once you figure out what your values are -take a look at all of the areas of your life. Does your career reflect your values? Are your relationships consistent with your values? Is your environment a reflection of your values? Are your hobbies and leisure time activities consistent with your values. Often when I am coaching someone who says they are just not happy but they can’t figure out why, and we do this assessment, it doesn’t surprise me to find that there is not one area of life that is a reflection of the client’s true values. The key to change of any kind is to take an honest assessment of the situation -bring it out under the harsh light of day -it can be difficult to do, but it is the first step -and with many people, harsh assessment alone is the catalyst for unbelievable change.

3. One Step at a Time: Now that you know your values and have assessed where your life is out of alignment, just start making small changes to get into alignment. It might not be easy to change careers now, but you can start researching that career that would make you feel like you are making a difference, you can take a class in something that interests you, you can take up a new hobby, repair an old friendship, spend more time with your kids, de-clutter the house, paint a room your favorite uplifting color…. there are a number of “doable” things you can take on right now. Once you start adding these values driven things into your life, you will start to experience happiness and you will find all of your decisions start somehow bringing your life into alignment even more.

I said earlier in the post that these were easy steps -for some they are and for some they are not. If you are stuck, I highly recommend hiring a personal coach to help you through it. A coach will help you stay focused and will be a non-judgemental sounding board and above all will be on your side and want for you the same happiness you want for yourself.

I am pleased to say that I am happier now than I ever have been in my life and that is because I know my own values and I am making constant efforts to live consistent with those values, but it is an ongoing journey… and I look forward to it!

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It’s September 7th already??? I intended to post to this blog at least once per week… every time I thought about it, I had other things to do and put it off until later -here I am a month later and am just now doing it.

The good news is I’m doing it now and I didn’t wait too long -but it makes me think about some of the things in my life that I really wanted to do, but just kept putting off until one day it was too late and the desire just kind of melted away. Like finishing my son’s scrapbook -somewhere along the way it came off the list and I never think about it (until just now, I just added it back to the list) -he just started 8th grade and I have done up until 5th grade, so I’m still good! And I guess that is the good news -you can always put something you really wanted to do back on the list.

What is really frightening, though, is the thought that there are many people out there who just never get around to doing the things that make them really happy -the things they are passionate about. All because the little day to day things get in the way and they just never find the time. My suggestion to them is JUST DO IT! The little things will still be there and half of them aren’t important anyway (I’m listening to my own advice!). We know that when you set a goal and follow your dreams, the laws of the Universe kick in and good things happen.

And then there are those who just follow their passions regardless of the consequences and somehow it all works out. One of my customers has a passion for film making -he’s young and basically self taught -he’s gotten the funding to make a film from friends and family and he’s just gone out and done it. He just submitted a short version of his scary film to a film festival and is waiting for some good news. Who knows what will happen, if anyone will like it (I do!), if he will be a famous director/producer some day (I think he will!), something great will happen -and who cares anyway… he’s doing what he wants to do and he’s doing it now. He’ll never wake up one day and say “I wish I had given it a try” -I hope I never do, either…

www.nystrangler.com

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I wish I could say this was my idea, it wasn’t -I believe I got it from a real estate coaching program I was a part of a long time ago -but it has stuck with me and become an integral part of my coaching.

Your Ultimate Scenario (US) is your ultimate life, it is your best possible outcome, with no limitations imposed on it. It is a detailed, clear, mental image of what you want your life to look like. I truly believe that anything is possible, it’s the Law of Attraction in action, if you have a clear focused picture of what you want. I ask every client to write out their Ultimate Scenario in as much detail as possible -right down to where they will live, how is their environment will be decorated, how much money do they will make (no limitations!), how many hours they will work, what kind of time they will spend with family and friends and what activities they do with them. Once they write this out I suggest that they share with me and at least one other person. Powerful things happen when you share your written goals with another person.

Once that US is defined, the planning and goal setting just sort of falls into place. It is an amazing tool to use to keep ourselves on track -is this decision consistent with my US? If your Ultimate Scenario is working from home and spending more time with your family, earning $100,000 per year or more in only 30 hours of work time per week -does it make sense to take that job offer for $100,000 with great benefits that involves an hour and a half commute into the city every day and travel?

Ultimate Scenarios are most powerful when looking at your ideal life, but can be equally useful in the planning of the details. Recently a client was stressed out about having to hire an administrative assistant for herself -after writing out her Ultimate Scenario of the working relationship she wants to have, the ad basically wrote itself.

In writing your Ultimate Scenario, keep the following in mind:

1. This is where you design your perfect life, no limitations -no judgments.

2. Be as detailed as you can be -it’s almost as though you are describing a vivid daydream.

3. Share your US with someone you trust. You are not asking for feedback you are just sharing.

4. Watch your life start to take direction and watch the Universe jump into action!

I have attached my Ultimate Scenario form and my Time Capsule form for your use. These have been very helpful for me, my friends and clients alike.

Time Capsule

Ultimate Scenario

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