It's been over a year and a half since I have written in my blog. And it feels like something that should be picked up again. Many things have happened in this time including purchasing a new home and my engagement to my handsome, hardworking fiance. Also, I have started a masters program and changed positions at my job. All of these things have been great and I would like to see how I can be even happier...at home. After all, the home is the foundation of peace and comfort inside and in the external world. My next book will be Happier at Home by Gretchin Rubin. Her mission, as it is explained online at www.happiness-project.com is, "...to concentrate on the factors that matter for home, such as possessions, marriage, time, parenthood, body, neighborhood." What helpful tips will we learn?
I hope you will join me on this reading journey.
Charissa
Friday, January 25, 2013
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Feel Good, Right Now
Can you, right now, feel good without the use of drugs, alcohol, or food? These are the common sources to change our state temporarily, however, there are other more positive ways to do this. Tony Robbins, in Awaken the Giant Within, suggests to write down a list, here's mine:
Read
Zumba
Listen to upbeat music
Talk to a friend
Take a bike ride
Browse the internet
Research next travel destination
I'm guilty of eating when I'm bored or nervous. I am learning that there are other ways to fulfill myself besides self-sabotaging myself. I notice when I am browsing the internet, planning an event or future trip, or focused on work, food doesn't enter my thoughts. Interesting. Plus, it's way more fun and fulfilling to do these activities than to overeat. What things do you enjoy doing? What can you do right now to fulfill your inner cravings?
Read
Zumba
Listen to upbeat music
Talk to a friend
Take a bike ride
Browse the internet
Research next travel destination
I'm guilty of eating when I'm bored or nervous. I am learning that there are other ways to fulfill myself besides self-sabotaging myself. I notice when I am browsing the internet, planning an event or future trip, or focused on work, food doesn't enter my thoughts. Interesting. Plus, it's way more fun and fulfilling to do these activities than to overeat. What things do you enjoy doing? What can you do right now to fulfill your inner cravings?
Monday, June 20, 2011
Fake it! The Power of Movement
Have you ever noticed how you hold yourself when you are tired? Usually, shoulders are shrugged and posture is poor. Our movement and body posture plays an important role in how we feel. Anthony Robbins says in Awaken The Giant Within, that "Emotion is created by motion. Everything that we feel is the result of how we use our bodies." In other words, you can fake it till you make it just by moving your body.
The power to change your mood or emotions is in your hands. I play on a weekly kickball league. Last week I did not feel like playing. I was stressed from work and my body felt sluggish. It dawned on me that it's up to me to have fun or not. I began jumping up and down, warming my body up. Before I knew it, I was cheering my teammates on and having a great time. I changed my body movement to how I usually move when I am having fun and I ended up having fun. It was that easy.
What body movements can you do to change your mood for the better?
1. Erect posture - Feel confidence, strength, and health
2. Smile - Feel joy
3. Breathe deep - Feel peace
4. Physically skip - Feel fun
5. Laugh - Feel good, positive outlook
The power to change your mood or emotions is in your hands. I play on a weekly kickball league. Last week I did not feel like playing. I was stressed from work and my body felt sluggish. It dawned on me that it's up to me to have fun or not. I began jumping up and down, warming my body up. Before I knew it, I was cheering my teammates on and having a great time. I changed my body movement to how I usually move when I am having fun and I ended up having fun. It was that easy.
What body movements can you do to change your mood for the better?
1. Erect posture - Feel confidence, strength, and health
2. Smile - Feel joy
3. Breathe deep - Feel peace
4. Physically skip - Feel fun
5. Laugh - Feel good, positive outlook
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Positive Reinforcement
My boyfriend is notorious for not texting or calling back very quickly. Family members, friends, and myself have all picked on him for this. We just want a text or phone call back, however, this doesn't happen very often. I've nagged him about this many times. With enough nagging he does eventually text or call back for a few weeks, then he drops back into the old pattern. Anthony Robbins, in Awaken The Giant Within, states that positive reinforcement is critical if we want a new pattern to stick.
First of all, I am not giving my boyfriend positive reinforcement. No wonder it never sticks, there is no reward in me nagging him. Secondly, I give negative reinforcement by being upset with him for not getting back to me. Lastly, in order to turn this around, I need to give positive reinforcement right away. (This may sound like training a puppy but it sort of is, but it works, so why not!?!) Anthony Robbins says, "Timing is absolutely critical to effective conditioning." So, give positive comments or a reward as soon as something you like happens. This way pleasure will be associated with the act and the person will be more likely to repeat the behavior. As Robbins points out numerous times in his book, we are constantly looking for pleasure and trying to avoid pain.
What positive reinforcement can you give to yourself or others that would help patterns you desire to repeat? If you workout, reward yourself with a compliment or a pat on the back. If you resist a cookie, again, pat yourself on the back. Give positive reinforcement to every aspect of your life that you want to develop into a pattern. The goal is to have a more joyful and expansive life. We have the power to condition ourselves to the fulfilling life we desire. Give yourself a hug, a compliment, or tell yourself you love you.
First of all, I am not giving my boyfriend positive reinforcement. No wonder it never sticks, there is no reward in me nagging him. Secondly, I give negative reinforcement by being upset with him for not getting back to me. Lastly, in order to turn this around, I need to give positive reinforcement right away. (This may sound like training a puppy but it sort of is, but it works, so why not!?!) Anthony Robbins says, "Timing is absolutely critical to effective conditioning." So, give positive comments or a reward as soon as something you like happens. This way pleasure will be associated with the act and the person will be more likely to repeat the behavior. As Robbins points out numerous times in his book, we are constantly looking for pleasure and trying to avoid pain.
What positive reinforcement can you give to yourself or others that would help patterns you desire to repeat? If you workout, reward yourself with a compliment or a pat on the back. If you resist a cookie, again, pat yourself on the back. Give positive reinforcement to every aspect of your life that you want to develop into a pattern. The goal is to have a more joyful and expansive life. We have the power to condition ourselves to the fulfilling life we desire. Give yourself a hug, a compliment, or tell yourself you love you.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Taking Action
Opinions, beliefs and convictions..oh my! We take action once we become convicted. If you believe you should eat healthy but don't, you do not have a conviction. If you are convicted then you do eat healthy and possibly even work in the nutrition field. You are are convicted that health is a priority and that action needs to be taken to be healthy. What convictions do you have? You can create a conviction for any belief you have. This is a powerful tool.
Have you ever heard a vegetarian say they became one when they watched a video on how animals are treated? This video was a solid reference for action. What about seeing obese people and how it affects their movement, health and life? You can build your references to make any belief into a conviction for the betterment of your life.
What beliefs do you have that you are convicted of? Happy Memorial Day!
Have you ever heard a vegetarian say they became one when they watched a video on how animals are treated? This video was a solid reference for action. What about seeing obese people and how it affects their movement, health and life? You can build your references to make any belief into a conviction for the betterment of your life.
What beliefs do you have that you are convicted of? Happy Memorial Day!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
More Meaning Please!
What meaning do the events in your life mean to you? What beliefs do you have that have shaped how you see and interpret the world around you? Your friend may interpret a job layoff as the worst thing imaginable while another may see it as an opportunity. In Awaken The Giant Within, Anthony Robbins states that, "Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy." We have the awesome capability of seeing the world however we choose to see it.
A belief is a feeling of certainty explains Robbins. If you are certain you are sexy it's because you have backup evidence such as, "I have a great body." or "Men's heads turn to look at me when I walk by." These are how your beliefs are formed. You may have a fear of flying because of a movie you've seen or stories that you have heard, yet, flying is one of the safest ways to travel. We form our beliefs based on certain evidence we've picked up along the way.
I've been trying to reshape my body to be more toned. Except that I was basing this upon my weight on the scale. I was pretty bummed about the stand still my weight was at even though I was exercising every day. Finally, I lost 2 pounds and was so excited. My belief is that 114 pounds was too much for me while 112 made me feel so good about myself. My supporting evidence is that when I was 15 years old I was 114 and my family told me that I needed to lose weight. Therefore, this evidence became a belief based upon this number. As I was working out I was gaining muscle. So, my body was looking better, more toned, but my belief was stuck on the scale weight. How can I destroy this type of belief? What would it take to be happy with exactly where I'm at? Or will I always be looking for something different? The choice is really mine, and yours, to believe whatever the heck you want to believe.
"It's not the events of our lives that shape us, but our beliefs as to what those events mean." Anthony Robbins
A belief is a feeling of certainty explains Robbins. If you are certain you are sexy it's because you have backup evidence such as, "I have a great body." or "Men's heads turn to look at me when I walk by." These are how your beliefs are formed. You may have a fear of flying because of a movie you've seen or stories that you have heard, yet, flying is one of the safest ways to travel. We form our beliefs based on certain evidence we've picked up along the way.
I've been trying to reshape my body to be more toned. Except that I was basing this upon my weight on the scale. I was pretty bummed about the stand still my weight was at even though I was exercising every day. Finally, I lost 2 pounds and was so excited. My belief is that 114 pounds was too much for me while 112 made me feel so good about myself. My supporting evidence is that when I was 15 years old I was 114 and my family told me that I needed to lose weight. Therefore, this evidence became a belief based upon this number. As I was working out I was gaining muscle. So, my body was looking better, more toned, but my belief was stuck on the scale weight. How can I destroy this type of belief? What would it take to be happy with exactly where I'm at? Or will I always be looking for something different? The choice is really mine, and yours, to believe whatever the heck you want to believe.
"It's not the events of our lives that shape us, but our beliefs as to what those events mean." Anthony Robbins
Monday, May 2, 2011
Short Term Pain for Long Term Gain - Charissa Duskis
Do you want to lose weight or do something great with your life? Most of us do and all of us have great ideas that we haven't yet manifested. You may be driven to act based upon these dreams and goals yet find yourself too afraid or self-sabotaging yourself. In short, your short term vision is clouding your long term vision.
Anthony Robbins in, Awaken the Giant Within, explains that our motivations are directly linked with pain or pleasure. He says, "The problem is that most of us base our decisions about what to do on what's going to create pain or pleasure in the short term instead of the long term." How many times have you overeaten for the pleasure of now, instead of only eating what your body requires for energy and health? Pushing past the short term pain is what's required to reach our long term desires.
What action have you been putting off? I was beginning to gain weight because the pleasure of eating and not exercising outweighed my desire of fitting into my jeans. It wasn't until all my jeans were tight, I felt sluggish and tired did I decide the pain of weight gain was too much! I started counting calories, eating organic, healthy foods and exercising everyday. Now I feel amazing and am glad I pushed through the short term pain of exercise and discipline with my food. What short term pain are you avoiding that would bring about the long term change you desire?
Anthony Robbins in, Awaken the Giant Within, explains that our motivations are directly linked with pain or pleasure. He says, "The problem is that most of us base our decisions about what to do on what's going to create pain or pleasure in the short term instead of the long term." How many times have you overeaten for the pleasure of now, instead of only eating what your body requires for energy and health? Pushing past the short term pain is what's required to reach our long term desires.
What action have you been putting off? I was beginning to gain weight because the pleasure of eating and not exercising outweighed my desire of fitting into my jeans. It wasn't until all my jeans were tight, I felt sluggish and tired did I decide the pain of weight gain was too much! I started counting calories, eating organic, healthy foods and exercising everyday. Now I feel amazing and am glad I pushed through the short term pain of exercise and discipline with my food. What short term pain are you avoiding that would bring about the long term change you desire?
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