"Stop Wishing... Start Going: Transforming Dreams into Action"

I wish I had a car like that 

I wish I had patience like my best friend 

I wish my arms were as toned as hers 

I hear these thoughts and desires in my own head from time to time. These thoughts can be materialistic, these thoughts can be internal, or these thoughts could be for external validation. That is what they are though.... thoughts. Some of these thoughts/desires are connected to a STRONG desire, while others come in for a split second and leave because truthfully- they aren't important. When you have a STRONG desire for something- it is very possible to create inward change and transformation that will reflect into your external world. When this happens you start shifting your daily habits, commitments, decisions, thought patterns, and mindsets to align with your desire. However- many people never get past the desire part. They can't make the connection that these desires are important, strong, and needed for improvement on your current self and to align with your ideal self and long term health. It's easy to make excuses, narratives, or quit before beginning. For many- this could be due to lack of confidence, failure to manage time/priorities, setting too high of expectations, or allowing yourself to stay victim to your surroundings, negative mindsets and belief systems.

In my 20s I WASTED so much of my time wanting and desiring everything, but refusing to take action, establish commitments, and make decisions that aligned and were positive deposits into the ideal version of myself.

Your daily choices, habits, behaviors, decisions, and commitments that you make can either align with the ideal version of yourself, or continue to push you away from that ideal version of yourself.

I find it so valuable to talk about the difference between desires vs what you actually NEED to become the best version of yourself. I wasted so many years in my 20s making 10,000 choices everyday because I wished for so many things, but never took the time to decide if these wishes, wants, and desires were in alignment with the highest, happiest, and most ideal version of myself.

On top of the 10,000 desires I had, so many of my wishes and desires were conflicting to my ideal self, goals, and overall well-being:

• I wanted to be social and have a large friend group AND go to the gym 5x a week and reach my ideal goal physique.

• I wanted to work on my professional life and chase my dreams of being a full time business owner AND work full time as an athletic trainer.

• I wanted to eat healthy to reach my goal physique AND go out every weekend to eat and drink with friends and socialize.

• I wanted to give everyone the shirt off my back everyday all day AND have the time and energy to invest into improving myself

In my twenties I desired to be social AND super fit. While some people can manage this to a certain degree- when you start dedicating time and energy into your physical health it's hard to socialize all day every day as well. Everyone needs human interaction, and to be amongst the company of others. Socializing is great for your overall wellbeing but if you choose eating out and socializing all the time over movement and exercise this could actually be a negative deposit on your overall health. Socialization can incorporate movement, exercise, and healthy activities, so they can be done at the same time, but for most people-socialization occurs around a dinner table, with drinks, and outside of the gym/nature. So in order to be social and fit- your habits, choices and behaviors around this may need to shift. Maybe socialization starts to look like Sunday morning walks with your girlfriends, or hiking days with your friends. It's important to note that if you prioritize other activities and obligations over exercise- you aren't in alignment with being a healthier and happier person regarding your overall wellbeing. If you neglect your physical health- this can cause long term problems down the road. So start asking yourself- are some of your current desires conflicting? If they are what one is more important to you, and your long term health?

In my twenties I desired to work full time as an athletic trainer and become a full time business owner. I burnt myself out trying to pursue both because I didn't have the mental, physical, or emotional capacity to work 40 hours a week, and be 100% invested in my own business. I chose to chase my dream of having my own business, and still work some hours as an athletic trainer so that I can use my degree which fills my cup, but also have to time and energy to build my dream business. You only have so much energy to invest into yourself, your family, your career, and your passions. You have to choose how to utilize this energy. Only YOU have the power to know what balance is needed with your personal life, professional life, daily diet/nutrition, fitness/movement, and passions. If one of these areas of your life feels neglected or is overly poured into- you may need to start changing some of your priorities to achieve more happiness, prosperity, and balance in your life.

In my twenties I desired to eat healthy to reach my goal physique, and go out every weekend so I could drink with friends. Again- conflicting desires and habits. If you are trying to reach a goal physique or achieve weight loss/fat loss goals- you are going to have to make a change to the daily eating habits and behaviors surrounding nutrition. I used to go out to eat and not make the best nutritional choices 2-3x a week after eating healthy the rest of the week- all to blame it on "bad genetics." It wasn't until I did some inventory and recognized I can't reach a goal physique if 3 out of 7 days I'm not even being MINDFUL of anything that I am eating. You have to make sure that you do some personal inventory on your daily habits and make sure that they align with your wishes and desires. You are not going to get there if your daily habits, decisions, and actions don't match up with your wants/desires. A lot of times you are going to find yourself desiring something, but refusing to change the habits to align with your desire. In this case you either accept you will not achieve your desire, or make the decision that you are going to make the change. For most- if it's actually important to you- you WILL eventually make that change to allow your habits to be in alignment with your desires. If you feel like they already are in alignment and still not seeing change- maybe it's time to do some personal inventory or talk to a coach or person who specializes in the area you are trying to develop in.

In my twenties I also desired to help anyone and everyone who needed it. I vividly remember reconnecting over a social media platform with someone I met at one of my old college jobs. She mentioned to me that she became homeless and needed help. As a person who feels every desire and intention to help others I gave her money because that is what she asked for. It turned into a weekly or every other day encounter for her to continue asking for money. She would claim that the money was needed to get to and from work. I helped her for quite a while until it got to the point she was asking so frequently that this started to impact my overall wellbeing, financial health, and mental health. I wanted to help her because that is the type of person that am I so I offered to buy her a bike to help her get to and from work. She refused just asking for money. I finally just openly and kindly asked her why she refused something that would help her get to work, and instead requested money. She got very reactive and said I was demoralizing her character, and told me I wasn't a child of god and that I should be ashamed of myself. It was at that moment where I recognized not everyone is going to value or deserve your help. At some points in your life you are going to need to help yourself and be selfish with your energy before helping others. Some humans don't deposit into your overall wellbeing and when you are around them they will drain you. Other humans come into your life to raise you up, lift you up, and make you feel brighter. These are angels walking on earth, and need to be constantly reminded that you are grateful and appreciative of them. There are very few people like them, and they are meant to come into your life, give you energy, help you see the world from a different perspective, and help you grow as a human. Both of these people are needed throughout your journey in life. Some to teach you lessons and to redirect your path when you are unaware that redirection is needed. Some to make you realize you are worthy of all that you desire, and others to make you realize you need to set boundaries and know your worth within YOURSELF. But as a human- you genuinely can't give to people without giving back into yourself. So make sure you take some time recharging your energy and being around people who help you recharge. This example I shared above was me setting a firm boundary of helping someone in the capacity that I could. My old friend reacting to me offering help different that what she thought she needed was a sign she wasn't grateful for what I offered her and the best that I could give her. She didn't deserve my energy, and a lot of people will come into your life in the same kind of way. It's up to you to decide who deserves you energy, and who deserves your absence.

Wrapping it up on Desires.....

I encourage you to pick alignment with your habits and desires. You want to make sure your daily habits don't conflict and steer you in the wrong direction of your ideal self. We all love the habit of watching TV or scrolling on our phones, but this conflicts with movement, exercise, and your overall health if none of your day is filled with exercise, healthy movement, and mindful nutritional choices. If you desire to be healthier for the long term (which most of us do) it's important you start deciding what actions, habits, and behaviors you need to start implementing.

Your long term health and overall wellbeing is a byproduct of your daily habits, actions, behaviors, and what you pour your energy into.

So take the time to make sure your desires don't conflict, and align with your long term health, and ideal self.

You are one habit away from reaching your desires. Stop wishing and start going.

Happy Habits,

Julie

"How to Maintain a Healthy Mindset with Nutrition and Exercise Over the Holidays"

Blog Post Written By: Juliane Volosky MS, ATC, PES, CWC

Getting present in the moment and spending time with family is what Holidays are all about.

Since the Holiday Season brings families together for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year, we spend a lot of time bonding around the dinner table. When the holiday season starts to fade away, and the celebrating, laughing, and gathering dies down... many of us start to face feelings of anguish, anxiety, regret, and remorse because of our diet and exercise during the holiday months. It tends to fall to the wayside, is nonexistent, or extremely out of alignment with our goals. While we were gathering with those we love and care about the most, we didn't monitor or practice awareness at all for our wellness habits including our daily diet, exercise, sleeping patterns, and hydration.

If you have found yourself in the spiral of losing sight of your diet and exercise over the Holiday Season, you are not alone. It's so easy to get caught up in all the obligations, commitments, events, and deadlines of the holiday season. You have 10 different holiday parties to provide a dish for and Christmas shopping to do. We do all of this while trying to maintain a healthy home life, professional life, and personal life. The "to do" list over the holiday season gets long and daunting, so when push comes to shove- we sacrifice some of our commitments to be able to handle all the other commitments on our short term Holiday to do lists.

For many of us, the one area that we tend to neglect pouring energy into is our commitments to our overall wellbeing and long term health. Healthy eating, movement, hydration, and sleep all fall to the wayside. We give these healthy habits up because like I said earlier the task list of things to do over the holiday season quadruples in size, and something has to give in order for you to meet and reach all the deadlines and things that need accomplished before the holidays get here. We put diet and exercise at the bottom of our priority list, and neglect an area of our life that should be one of the highest priorities.

So what do you do to maintain a healthy mindset with your diet and exercise over the Holiday Season?

I personally get asked this question a lot. As someone who works really hard at being in the habit of a healthy lifestyle with my daily diet and exercise, I wanted to provide you with some tools and strategies that have personally helped me stay committed to my healthiest and happiest self for over 10 years now. So I am going to share 4 ways to keep a healthy mindset over the holiday season.

Tip #1 for Keeping a Healthy Mindset Over the Holidays: Stop Calling Your Eating Habits a Diet

So many of us look at our daily nutrition like an on/off switch. "My eating has been horrendous, I need to diet," "I am off the rails again, I need to go back to keto," "I can't eat any sweets- I started tracking calories a day ago." These phrases create a huge trigger and concern for someone like myself since I spent my early to mid twenties battling a severe eating disorder and a calorie obsessed relationship with food. When you feel like you need to be "on" again because you have recently been so "off" this is living life through an all or none mindset of thinking. We set ourselves up for failure thinking our eating habits should always be 100% perfect. We forget that progression is much more important than perfection. The minute you feel like you failed with your eating habits, most people throw their hands in the air and say, "Oh well, Ill try again next week."

Your daily eating habits should not have an on/off switch. You shouldn't be extremely on or extremely off with your eating habits, you shouldn't have foods that you label "diet foods" and "non-diet foods." Your relationship with food should be through a healthy lens. You shouldn't loathe family get togethers or social gatherings because you are anxious that you will "get off track." There is no such thing as getting off track if you are prioritizing the right balance of foods. Over the years I have began focusing on a whole food based protein dense diet 80% of the time- with foods I love and adore that may fall into the processed category 20% of the time.

You will not derail your progress with your fitness and nutrition goals if you eat what you want over Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Eve/Day, but get right back into a healthy lifestyle again with your diet and exercise after they are over. That doesn't mean you should look at the holiday days as a binge or an all out "IM OFF MY DIET TODAY IM GOING TO GO CRAZY," but you should enjoy the day, and understand that thanksgiving and Christmas foods are readily available all year around to you.

If you wait until the holidays to have these types of foods because you normally restrict yourself from them all the other days of the year- this is a huge red flag, and where most people start to develop a negative, scarcity, and restrictive mindset around food. I stopped living life through this lens when I focused on eating freely 20% of the time with the foods I love and enjoy, and stopped labeling foods as BAD! Any food can be bad even the healthy ones if you can't control the amount or portion you eat of it, and binging and having an inability to control your portions is usually caused by restricting yourself from certain food groups for long periods of time.

Your daily nutrition habits should be about making progress, improvement, and small steps to a better you each day. So let the holidays where you eat a little bit out of alignment go. The real roadblock over the holiday season is to allow one bad day of eating progress into multiple days or months of overly processed eating until the whole Holiday season is over. I tell my clients that I work with all the time- the quicker you can get back into alignment with your goals when you had a bad day of eating habits- the faster you will see results. It takes time and a lot of practice to repeat healthy eating habits and behaviors, so focus on the process of getting better- don't focus on being perfect.

Tip #2 for Keeping a Healthy Mindset Over the Holidays: Stop Allowing the Holidays be An Excuse to Continue Practicing Negative Deposit Eating Habits

Adding onto tip #1 of focusing on healthy eating habits as a lifestyle- I want you to remember that 1 Day of Eating is NOT going to derail your progress.

BUT- so many of us begin a downward spiral of back to back days, months, and years of negative deposit eating habits because the Holiday season breaks our healthy eating habits. We fall victim to the all-or-none mindset of thinking, and spiral downwards, and can't find the courage within ourselves to get back into alignment with healthy fitness and nutrition habits.

We don't recognize that if our diet is off for one day that we will not derail or reverse our progress. However, most of us lose sight of our goals and commitments to a healthier lifestyle with diet and exercise for the ENTIRE holiday season after allowing ourselves to have one bad day, and continuing to use the holidays as an excuse for negative deposit eating habits. The leftover cookies, sweets, and processed food stays in our kitchen and environment cause it's there and we continue to partake in eating habits out of alignment with our healthiest self.

My old self used the holidays as a scapegoat, excuse, and false narrative to why I would fall off track. I was always telling myself and loved ones that I would get back on track after the holidays would die down. I would get all the bad foods out of my house after the holidays.

Red flag number one for me was not being able to control my sweets intake if it was in my house. If you live in a restrictive mindset and usually don't allow yourself sweets at all unless it's a holiday- you will begin the downward spiral to not being able to control your sugar/sweet cravings at all post holidays. If you spend your year eating sweets and deserts in moderation, and most days prioritize protein and whole foods- you will have a much healthier relationship with food around the holidays because you have a lens that these foods are always available to you and are "ok" in moderation. However if you live in scarcity mindset and tell yourself these foods are "bad" your mind will have an even harder time saying no to them when they are in your environment. You begin to eat all of that food item until it is gone because in your head you want them gone because you can't "control yourself" when that food is in your house.

After reading quite a few self help books because I recognized my relationship with food was falling into the restrictive and unhealthy category- I recognized that I was operating from a place of lack, and with an all or none mindset of thinking. If I wasn't 100% on I was 100% OFF TRACK. This derails a persons progress more than anything.

Why? Because we are humans. Progress isn't always going to be linear, results are not always going to be instant, and to become healthier takes a lot of repetition, consistency, and time. Knowing that healthy eating and seeing results will take a lot of time, consistency, and repetition is step number one to seeing long term results and sustainability. Anyone can go into a restrictive mindset or lens of thinking, deprive themselves from certain food groups, and lose a ton of water weight because they aren't eating balanced, and severely restricting calories. It's the people who start focusing on the process of healthier habits and exercise that will see long term results. They don't look at carbs as the enemy, and focus on eating the things they enjoy in moderation while prioritizing more whole food based food items and protein dense food items.

So stay consistent with your goals, habits, and commitments over the holiday season, and operate from a place of abundance and not lack. For me- I personally found my healthy mindset with diet and exercise when I began telling myself that I will take the holiday to enjoy time with family and friends. If I eat out of alignment for Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day that's okay, however I shouldn't treat everyday around the Holiday Season like Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. So enjoy the memories, and the food on the holiday, but don't stop chasing your healthiest and happiest self on all the other days surrounding the holidays.

If you feel like you have found yourself saying "I'll get back on track over the holidays," "I don't have time to work on myself over the holidays," "How do you expect me to improve my health with all the sweets and cookies around the holidays" It may be time to start practicing awareness and setting some guardrails around your daily eating habits.

Tip #3 for Keeping a Healthy Mindset Over the Holidays Set some guardrails on "special occasions"

Setting guardrails for yourself around the holidays is important. We can't eat out of alignment with our goals every day just because the holidays are here. You will not see results or progress doing this.

This was the hardest concept for me to learn. I remember every party, gathering, and social event used to be labeled as a "special occasion" in my book. With some personal inventory in my late 20s I realized that these "special occasions" were making negative bank statements on my ability to reach my goals, because I was labeling every social gathering as a special occasion. There is nothing wrong with eating out of alignment with your goals every once in a while, but if you are eating out of alignment with your goals almost daily, or a few times a week- you are not going to reach your goals or see results. In my late 20s you could find me eating out and drinking alcohol almost every weekend of the month. I couldn't wrap my head around why I wasn't reaching my goals at the time because during the week I was eating very healthy. With some personal inventory and some deep thinking- I realized that my eating habits as much as they were "on" during the week, they were not "on" at all during the weekend- so it was ME getting in my own way of reaching my results. The all or none mindset of thinking. If my eating was "on" it was 100% perfect, but if my eating was "off" it was 100% processed and out of alignment with my goals.

I had to start setting up guardrails on what special occasions were. I still enjoyed certain foods on occasions, but started practicing healthier eating habits even on weekends. I started focusing on high protein on the weekends, the same amount of veggies on the weekend, and I started limiting alcoholic beverages on the weekend.

The biggest shift also came when I started connecting in the moment choices with delayed gratification or with long term success. All of us want dessert every time we eat out, and fried food because it is so tasty, but I realized these in the moment choices are very out of alignment with my long term goals.

So 80% of the time I began choosing and prioritizing home cooked meals over eating out, movement over being sedentary, and diet cokes and limes over alcohol. As much as I wanted to drink and eat out every weekend, I began to recognize doing these negative bank statement habits frequently and often over days, weeks, and months would not contribute to a healthier happier me, and my goal self.

Even though I have made healthier choices over the years with my nutrition and exercise- I am here to say that Balance is key. If socializing and drinking with friends does make you happy, and brings you happiness- it is okay to do it in moderation, but you need to really do some personal inventory and determine if you are doing this in moderation or in excess each month. Like I mentioned in tip #1 eating out with your family, celebrating holidays, and saying yes to desserts like your favorite piece of cheesecake will not derail progress if it is not being done frequently. But if this is being done daily, weekly, and a few times a week- it is time to set some guardrails for yourself- so that you can stay in better alignment with your goals.

Practice awareness with your in the moment choices, and make sure they align with your long term goals and health.

Tip #4 for Keeping a Healthy Mindset Over the Holidays Don't Eat Different on The Holidays & Monitor Your Hunger and Satiation Cues

You heard me use the term presence, awareness, and alignment quite frequently throughout this blog post, and even in my other blog posts.

Something I didn't recognize during the holiday season when I was younger was my inability to listen to my hunger and satiation cues. The first mistake I personally made over the Holidays was wait all day to eat because I wanted to save my appetite for Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner. I completely ignored my hunger cues so by the time dinner came around I was a 1/10 on the hunger scale, and felt like I could have ate 10 meals. When you are hungry you usually eat at a very fast and ravenous pace to try to fill yourself up quickly. It usually takes about half an hour to feel a satiation cue so you overeat and gorge yourself to where you feel sick. So some strategies and tips that have worked with me over the holidays to listen to my hunger and satiation cues are the following:

• Prioritize 30g of protein for breakfast or a high protein breakfast. DONT SKIP MEALS. This will help your hunger cues and keep you satiated which will help prevent overeating with your holiday dinner. Example of a 30g protein breakfast- 1 egg and 1 cup egg whites with avocado and cheese scrambled, 1 cup greek yogurt with mixed fruit.

• Stay hydrated throughout the day. This helps with satiation cues as well

• Move after dinner. This helps with digestion.

• Use a small plate during Holiday Dinners, and load 2/3 of it with your protein and veggie. The other 1/3 can your favorite dish or sides.

• Eat slowly and use the hunger scale. Don't eat until you are stuffed, only eat until you start to feel full. With time you will notice the fullness progress.

• Use the hunger scale to gauge dessert, and ask yourself if you really want it or only want it because it is there. A lot of times we eat for the sake that the food is readily available. If you aren't hungry take your favorite dessert home with you to enjoy when you actually are hungry, or split a dessert with a family member.

I hope these four tips help you this holiday season. It's not about having perfect eating or being on a "diet" it's about making your daily eating a healthier lifestyle. It's about prioritizing healthy eating and fitness EVEN during the busy times. It's about making progress and better choices than your last holiday season. If you really want to see long term results start operating from a place of abundance, and not lack. Make sure those in the moment choices aren't just for short term gratification, but also for long term payoff.

Happy Holidays!

Julie

Hunger Scale for Reference:

"The Impact of Presence: How It Shapes Your Success"

I sit here feeling called to talk about the term presence.

What is presence?

Presence to me is showing up for yourself and existing without attachments of your old self, and without fear of your future self.

When you are present in a moment- you are showing up for yourself at that very moment without allowing your actions, decision, choices, and behaviors to be persuaded or changed by the past or future.

It is easy to lose sight or fall out of alignment with your highest and most ideal self when you lose sight of the present moment. How many times a day do you find yourself having anxiety or fear about the future? How many times a day do you make excuses and narratives for your choices and behaviors because someone or an experience in the past broke you, so you created a barrier that even the people closest to you can't break through?

No matter how hard you try to stay present- it is inevitable that you will have to face fear and anxiety about the past or future. We (myself included) have a hard time admitting when we lose sight of the present moment, but we all fall victim to this all the time. Depending on how long we lose sight of the present moment, or allow fear and anxiety to overcome us- the more likely we are to never reach our full potential with feelings of peace, joy, and balance.

The more often you can become consciously aware that you are losing sight of the present moment, the happier and more at peace you will continue to feel. Being present is a secret superpower, and the more you can crack the code to staying present the more your overall wellbeing will improve. Presence is something you should fight for everyday.

So- I am going to share 3 tips and strategies that have helped me practice presence on a day to day basis.

Tip #1 Do some personal inventory and ask yourself why people are triggering you.

I know you are sitting here thinking.. what the heck does this have to do with presence? Over the last few years- I began identifying that the people who trigger and bother me the most- are usually mirroring and showing traits within myself that I do not want to face or accept are a part of me too.

For so many years I would get super upset with people who were wishy washy with their decisions or cared too much about what others would think. I would complain in my head about this, and tell myself I would never be that way. All to find out with some serious inventory and deep internal work- that I was this person, and people who were people pleasers triggered me because it was a dark trait of mine that I never came to terms or accepted within myself.

I would find myself in my early adult years committing to two parties on the same day because I couldn't say no, not giving my honest opinions to those I cared about most for fear of rejection, and focusing my time and energy into people who already had rejected me. I would reject people who were high value friends just to persuade the people who showed zero interest or investment in my friendship that I was worth their time. This came at the realization that I felt zero worth in myself, and rather than feeling peace from day to day I was faced with fear and anxiety constantly.

So I did some personal inventory on why these people continued to trigger and bother me:

Can you guess what happened when I swallowed my pride, and began to accept that my people pleasing tendencies were a flaw within myself?

I was able to get more present and learn to accept others for who they are- the good, the bad, and the in between. I became an encourager to others who had these qualities that I tried so deeply to hide within myself as well. I started seeing people for who they were... which is human. We all have flaws within ourselves, and we should learn to love and accept others for all of their characteristics.

If someone continues to trigger you, bother you, and disrupt your peace- before pointing your fingers at other people- do some internal work and make sure that the person you are criticizing and talking down on- is not just a mirror of your own insecurities. God will present these people in your life as lessons, and with time they turn into the biggest blessings because they force you to face the discomfort head on and grow.

When you take the time and do the work internally you will start to recognize that criticizing others, being jealous of others, and seeing flaws within other people is detrimental to the present moment. So tip #1 is to do some personal inventory when someone causes you jealousy or anger. Take a look in the mirror before you start talking down on someone. Do they have qualities you desire, or do they possibly have qualities that you are hiding deep within yourself that you don't want to admit you also have? You won't be perfect at personal inventory and healing through this type of inner work, but doing the work is what is going to help you find presence more often, and in turn a byproduct of peace, happiness, balance, and positivity.

Tip #2 Get out in nature and BREATHE

A lot of us spend 8-12 hours a day inside a building with the same environment, same job tasks, and same social encounters Monday through Friday. With time we begin to feel pent of aggression towards ourselves, our coworkers, and even at times our clients/patients/customers for no obvious reason. When we begin to have feelings of anger, resentment, and bitterness towards the flow of our day or others- it is obvious you have lost sight of the present moment.

Studies have shown getting up, moving, and getting out in the sunshine is a great way to release feel good receptors in your brain. Being present and recognizing when your out of character with your best self is step one. Step two would be to recognize if the habits and behaviors you are practicing are actually going to help relieve your stress for the long term.

Are these habits/behaviors you are practicing to reduce your stress positive deposit habits, or are they negative deposit habits on your overall wellbeing? If your resolution to stress continues to be processed food items, doom scrolling on your phone, binge watching Netflix, drinking alcohol, and laying around- your body overtime will make these habits and resolutions your identity and who you are at your core. This will in turn create a byproduct of anger, anxiety, frustration, moodiness, poor mental health, and poor self worth.

Your body and mind want to repeat what you always practice, so next time you are feeling stressed- I would urge you to get outside for 3-4 minutes, get some sunshine, breathe a few deep breaths, and reground your central nervous system and body through mindful healthy habits rather than negative deposit habits. The more you can practice positive long term health habits on a daily basis the happier you will feel.

Stressed? Try these instead

• Rather than eating processed foods- take a walk outside

• Rather than doom scrolling- do yoga, meditate, or journal

• Rather than binge watching a Netflix series- go on a hike with friends, then catch a movie

• Rather than binge drinking alcohol- prioritize protein, drink mocktails, and paint coffee mugs with friends

• Rather than scrolling social media- listen to a self help podcast or read a self help book

Tip #3 Practice Gratitude Each Day, and Have Faith...

This tip has been the most life changing tip for me when it comes to staying present. We all fall victim to autopilot throughout the week. You wake up, brush your teeth, eat breakfast, rush to work, complain about minor inconveniences, come home, make dinner, go to sleep, and repeat it again Monday through Friday. Day after day.

When we live in autopilot mode, we lose sight of the present moment. We live for the weekend, we live for that once a year vacation, we live for big events, but forget to focus and have gratitude for the little things on a day to day basis that matter most. The bed you wake up and make every morning was something you worked for and paid for with your own hard money. Or that bed you wake up and make everyday may have been gifted by someone who left it to you when they passed. That bed helps you recover and regenerate so that you can show up everyday and be a better version of yourself than you were yesterday. That roof over your head protects you, feeds you from the kitchen, gives you shelter, and is a place that brings you peace and balance after a long day. We don't usually end our nights focused on the great things god has planted in our life. Instead- we hyper-focus on the minor inconveniences. We lose sight of the abundant things because we allow the negatives in life to consume us. When we hyper-focus on the negatives going on in our lives it can get to the point that we don't even recognize all the positives going on around us. Our lens at which we view the world becomes dull, grey, and angry, and we aren't even aware of it because we spend five out of seven days of the week in autopilot, and not even being present.

I became aware that I was living on autopilot when I started focusing on the small wins of each day, and practicing faith over fear.

My faith over the last few years has helped me live in a more abundant lens of gratitude, peace, and balance. I will share the two ways I used to look at my life experiences. These lenses were not healthy, and not in alignment with a healthy mind/body/spirit, but I feel obligated to discuss them because it took me years to consciously recognize that I was seeing the world through this perspective.

The first way I would look at my life experiences was through a self destructive lens. I would link how others treated me to my self worth. If someone was mean to me I thought it was because I didn't deserve to be loved. I would tell myself and feel subconsciously that I was unlikeable. For the life of me I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that people who don't like you may have their own traumas and self inventory work to do. When you trigger people and they are mean to you when you don't deserve it- you have qualities or characteristics that they desire within themselves. However- they lack the motivation or desire to work towards these qualities for themselves. Instead of complimenting you- they criticize you. This makes you question your worth. I want you to know that you are worthy, you are loved, and you are enough. How someone feels about you and treats often times has nothing to do with you. So let that go. Be present for the people in your life who love you for you, who admire you for your strengths, and accept you for your weaknesses.

The second way I would look at negative experiences was with a victim mentality excuse based mindset. In life there are going to be times you have to give yourself grace. You give yourself grace when the storms start building up and pinning you into a wall more than you ever imagined possible. These storms in life make it hard to even breathe. These storms make you feel like you are doing your best, but it still doesn't feel like enough. During these times it's easy to let fear and anxiety, and anger hold a place in your heart. These times of needing to give yourself grace are the times you need to practice gratitude, find support in family and friends, and keep your faith strong.

However- the giving yourself grace can also downward spiral into allowing false narratives and victim mindsets to take over. There is someone to always blame for why things aren't working out for you. You are never the problem. You don't workout because of a different excuse and roadblock everyday. You don't prioritize what you really 'NEED' because you don't have "time." You allow yourself to be a victim to your circumstances constantly. This is not a period of giving yourself grace, because you aren't even in a healthy headspace, or practicing healthy behaviors and habits. You are just allowing life to rule you, and continuing to fall victim to self destructive habits, negative self talk, and criticizing others. I still find myself in this lens from time to time. However- the more you can find presence within each day, and become aware when you are practicing negative thought patterns, negative talk of others, and negative habits- the easier it is to get back to a more abundant lens of thinking, speaking, and acting.

So tip #3 is a long winded one. You have to be grateful for all that you have in the present moment even if you desire more. You have to trust all storms placed in your life even the ones that bring you to your knees are intentional. These storms are true tests to your character. This is the time presence is the most key. Allow yourself to be a warrior in a tough storm, don't allow yourself to fall victim to the storm, and make false narratives/excuses. Lastly-faith is key during all of life's storms. Faith helps you believe that everything is intentional and for your higher good. Faith makes you grateful when you start achieving more than you ever imagined. Seeing the world through a present and faith driven lens will help keep you grounded, balanced, at peace, and in a healthy space for the long-term. So tip #3 to finding presence is practicing gratitude, and having faith!

I hope these tips help you stay more present, more grounded, and in alignment with your happiest healthiest self! Thank you for tuning in! Keep working on presence!