Life is full of choices. Choices are full of results, consequences. So even if your choices were made with the best of intentions, if your life has brought you to a place that you don't love, you have two choices- stay where you are, or make a change. You have the choice to change your life. Changing your life sounds like this massive task that requires years and years of work, boat loads of money, and a lake full of boats. But the reality is that changing your life starts with something completely free and available to you- a choice.
If you're feeling stuck, trapped, or otherwise unhappy, you have to make a change so you can flourish. Life isn't meant to be endured, it's meant to be lived, after all. So you have to make a choice. The choice is easy- "I choose to change my life". The how is a bit more difficult. Let's break it down...
Health Coach Carlie
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The world doesn't care if your life is the same every day or if you face a new adventure every time you wake up. The world will keep spinning on its axis and revolving around the sun whether you wake up on the right side of the bed or tossed and turned for 6 of the 8 hours your were in bed. Here's the thing. Science is great- right? Facts are cool. But life is not a science (okay, so technically maybe it is, but not how I mean it...) There is no formula to making your life exactly what you want it to be. There's not an equation I can work out to become a beloved actress, or dancer, or anything else I dreamed of being as a kid. The chances of anyone accomplishing their dreams probably isn't great, actually, if you want to bring science into it. You know, sociological factors, etc.
But you still have a choice. It's up to you to love your life or hate it. You can fight the current or you can go with the flow. You can be bitter that you missed out on an opportunity in your teens or you can make your twenties worth it. You can be mad that your twenties are gone, or you can embrace your thirties. You get my point, right? The world will keep on turning whether you make your life amazing or not- so make your life amazing. It's your choice, after all. :) Here's a good way to start-
The world will keep on turning, so you might as well make it amazing. Health Coach Carlie Maybe you just moped and your dog ran in with muddy feet, chased by your 6 years old with muddy... well, everything. That sucks. I get that we are all super blessed just that we have the internet access to read someone's blog about life sucking- but really, sometimes life sucks. Whether it's big, disastrous things going on, or just lots of little things that add up to a mountain of small rocks beating you down, it's true. Sometimes, life sucks. Sometimes, life is hard. But I'm convinced that even in those times, there's something we can do to stay positive.
Health Coach Carlie Alright mamas. I get it. You just washed the windows & your little one is breathing on them and drawing smiley faces. Smudges kind of suck, right? But what if that smiley smudge is how your little one says "I love you"? Well, I won't blame you for your momentary annoyance at a chore perfectly undone. But I've been reading this book recently that gave me an idea to share with you all. In Hands Free Life (Stafford), Rachel discloses a night when her daughter asked her to name twenty things she loved about her. It was bedtime, and there was a whole list of chores to do before she could go to bed, but Rachel decided to just list them. It took only a minute or two, but it made her daughter feel loved.
So, what I want to share is that story, with the lesson I found in it. Chores will be there in the morning, so don't waste the opportunity to love. Whether your little ones are all grown up and moved out or if you've only just started your family, you still have time to tell them why you love them. Kids moved out for college? Write them a letter and stick it in a care package. Elderly parents living in an assisted living community? Same thing- or maybe visit for bingo night and you can supply the good-luck charms. No matter how busy you get, there is always time to love. Health Coach Carlie I'm sure you've all made a long list of resolutions, or made the decision to rebel against the norm and resolved not to make any resolutions! If you're the latter, this might not be the post for you- but if you've made even one resolution this year, please take some advice.
If you've already messed up, it's okay. Today is the January 6th, and I've failed at one of my goals 3 days now. That's not a great percentage of success, but at the end of the year, if I succeed at half my days, that's 50% better than the previous year when I didn't try, isn't it? Failure doesn't mean you have to quit. In fact, that's when you get to test your resolution! If you've made a resolution to quit smoking, keep quitting smoking until you succeed at quitting smoking. If your resolve is only as strong as your successes, you'll never succeed. So, my dear friends, please, remember that your resolve doesn't have to be a failure just because your resolution is hard. (Also, please make resolutions that aren't entirely unrealistic, like winning the lottery...) Be well, Health Coach Carlie Hello to the mamas and non-mamas alike!
Some of you may know that I've been vegan since March of 2013. Since that time I became fascinated with all things health and wellness, because that's when I started learning how everything was so connected. Foods affect more than just your big picture health... it affects your mood, your energy level, your allergies, everything! But there are a lot of people who misunderstand the simplicity of veganism. And for the sake of my clients, I promote a plant based diet- which is different. But if they think I'm promoting veganism, they assume they can't do it. For them, it's more about change than anything. If you've always grown up eating a certain way, or living a certain way, change is scary. But if what you've always done isn't working for you, then don't you owe yourself a change? Even beyond the fear of change, they think it's too expensive. That being said, I want to share something profound about eating a plant based diet. It's available for everyone. It's not something that only A-list celebrities can afford. It's not something you have to spend hundreds of dollars a week to do. In fact, eating a plant based diet is not only the best thing you can do for the planet AND your health, but it's actually much, MUCH cheaper than eating an animal based diet! This misconception about veganism, or a plant based diet, comes from the belief that food products are the same as food. They're not! Food products are processed things we eat. If you're vegan or plant based, you know that those products tend to have a special label on them, which increases the price (because they have to be certified vegan by an outside company). In addition to that, veganism is a niche market, which makes those companies able to charge a premium. For actual foods that aren't processed food products, you don't need a special label. For actual foods, you go to the produce section and pick it up, then pay. That's it. No massive ingredient list to decipher, no special labels to search for, no obsessive worrying about cross contamination. There is a lot I want to bring up from here, but this whole post was inspired by Cheap Lazy Vegan on youtube, so please watch her video to learn 10 tips for eating a plant based diet on a budget! Click here. Thanks for reading, and be well, Health Coach Carlie Happy August everyone!
Today I am reminiscing on last summer, when I spent two whole months traveling. It's a rare opportunity, which makes it extra special. I'm thinking about the experiences I had, and how precious the memories are to me now- but they didn't all feel that sweet at the time. This has gotten me to thinking about rear-view mirrors. I recently heard on a tv show "everything looks better in the rear view mirror" (referring to the past), and it struck me as so true, but sad. Today, while I'm missing my friends in Brazil and crunching numbers like mad to see if I can go back next year, I'm thinking about how much I struggled during that trip. The struggles themselves are not what's important, here, though. The thing that's important is that those struggles, at times, kept me from seeing the beauty around me. Those struggles prevented me from taking it all in, from loving every moment in my international paradise. Things could have been more beautiful, kind, loving, peaceful, joyful, and all around incredible if those struggles hadn't held me back. But did they have to? So what I want you to take away from this post is that no matter where you are or where you're headed, rear-view mirrors make everything look better. (Even things they shouldn't...) So no matter how tired you are, or how many chores you have to do, or how bland every day life might seem, it's time for us to learn how to savor the moments. Taking your kids to sports practice can be a time for you to sing together, or cooking dinner for your family could be a time to teach your little ones how to cook with love. Or, if you're like me, being depressed in Sao Paulo can be a time to learn to love yourself, be gentle with yourself, and open your eyes to the beauty surrounding you, even if you can't feel it. That's all I wanted to say today. Life is hard. But life is also beautiful. Be well, Health Coach Carlie Someone commented on my recent post about chocolate asking if there's caffeine in all dark chocolate. So I did some searching for the numbers, and here's a little chart I found.
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Health Coach Carlie
I'm the Health Coach of Craving Wellness, and lover of all things motherhood! Archives
January 2017
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