“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” ~Albert Einstein
If I were to give you something that you valued, how would you feel? Appreciated? Loved? Respected? If you were to give me something that you know I valued, how would you feel? Better or worse?
Don’t we all really want the same things? Don’t we want to be loved, valued, respected, and appreciated? Deep down to the core, we all have this underlying desire to be loved, valued, respected, and appreciated.Continue reading
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“Every criticism, judgment, diagnosis, and expression of anger is the tragic expression of an unmet need.” ~Marshall Rosenberg
Although it was a while ago, I still remember it pretty vividly; I was walking from the terminal at the airport downstairs to catch my shuttle to my hotel, when I heard a woman absolutely screaming at the top of her lungs at her cell phone (or more accurately, the person on the other end of the phone call on the cell phone).
She was screaming — literally screaming at this poor person who happened to field her call at what must have been a credit card company. Apparently, for whatever reason, this woman’s credit card was declined, and so she was “stuck” at the airport with no apparent way to get out of there. Well, at least that’s what she was screaming to the person at the other end of the line.
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This spring has been super busy for me. Let me just start by saying I am usually busy, but this spring has been just so especially busy. It seems like I have a million things that I know I absolutely have to do, and then there are those things (like writing) that I don’t have to do, but I absolutely love to do them, and they fuel my fire to come back and engage in the madness once again.
Have you ever been in that position? Where you know there are things you have to commit your time to, but the number of items keeps going up and up? I’ve been looking for ways to decrease the time I spend on the mundane and unnecessary. One of the things I did was start really looking through my emails and unsubscribing from lists that are no longer relevant to me. I am not exaggerating when I say that I probably spent a good half hour of time per day sifting through (and just deleting) emails from my inbox, which I knew I had no desire to read. To be honest, either the messages don’t resonate with me or I no longer need to hear it. In some other cases, the only time I hear from some is when they want me to buy something from them or buy a product they are pushing, and I don’t need that right now either.
Even after I looked at ways I could minimize unnecessary tasks, I still stare at the list of what seems like a “million” things to do. One night, it all hit me, and I confess that I felt horrible until I got it right the next day. I am just glad it only took less than twenty-four hours to rectify the situation, but upset that it even required rectifying in the first place.
It was around eight at night, and my girls were in bed. Ava, who is four and doesn’t have school, will come back out, on occasion, and ask if she can sit with me for a while and watch television. While I am not a big television watcher (especially as of late — no time!), I love gathering her up and on to my lap to watch something that she enjoys. Well, this particular night was one of those occasions, where she came out and wanted to sit with me.
The problem was that I had already settled in to do my work. I was digging in, and I had a list of about four items that I felt I absolutely had to complete before I went to bed that night. There was a hard deadline — no flex at all. Ava came to me and asked if she could stay up with me. I said to her, “Ava, I have work to do tonight. You can stay up with me, but I have to work.”
She grabbed some of her “Barbie” dolls and started playing with them a bit, and then she asked me, “When you’re done with work, can we play?”
I said, “I have lots of work to do. I won’t be able to play for a long time.” I continued to work on the computer.
She played a bit more, and then asked, “Daddy, how about we watch a show on TV.”
I said, “You can watch, but I have work to do.”
I looked at the clock, saw that it was after eight, and finally said, “No, Ava…It’s late. You need to get to bed. Go to bed.”
She put down her toys, and without saying anything, she went to bed. Ava’s a good girl who listens very well without arguments.
With my head down in my computer, I continued to work, and then, it hit me. It was a sinking feeling…A “worried” feeling. It was a feeling of anxiety over everything on my plate. I started to grow frustrated and think about the drastic measures I had to take to just lift some time off of my “to do” list. I felt like a nervous wreck. I know I was tired, and that was 90 percent of it, but still, I was not feeling good about life in general at that moment.
As I thought about my feelings for a moment, I realized exactly why I started to feel the way I was feeling. It was because I allowed my “to do” list to stand in between what my heart wanted. I let my work get in between me and my time with Ava. I put work before family.
That’s not okay with me.
Going to bed with a heavy heart was not enjoyable. Some may call it guilt; I just call it being “pissed off and regretful” at the same time.
The next evening, I made sure that I was available even if work was calling. The work can always be done, well after Ava has trailed off to sleep.
Since that evening, there have been a couple of times when I had an evening visitor. My lap is always open now. Even today, when I had a few hours in the middle of the day before going off to work for the evening, I took advantage of the opportunity to spend some quality time with Ava, watching some shows she enjoys.
No longer will I let a “million things” get between me and what is really important. My family always comes first, and now I make sure I remind myself of that. Time doesn’t move backwards. Brianna and Ava will only be young once. The “work” will never age; it will always be there. My heart knows where I need to be.
What are some things you refuse to let a “million things” keep from you? I’d like to hear what you value the most!
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“All that spirits desire, spirits attain.” ~Khalil Gibran
I remember back to my days as a chiropractic student and sometimes wonder how I got through it. I recall the three sets of national board exams that we had to take to get licensed to practice. The whole process was intense — we had about 600 questions to answer per part, and if you didn’t pass one set, you had to re-take it before taking the next set. Thankfully, I passed each set the first time I attempted them, which saved me a lot of time, money, and grief.
About a year ago, my wife found out that she passed her national board certification process to become a National Board Certified Teacher. Having witnessed all she had to endure to get I couldn’t help but recall how closely her experiences and trials and tribulations mirrored those of mine as I worked to get through my own examinations.
One thing we shared in common was a certain mentality during the preparation phase — it was something that I believe can make the difference between failure and success. We both absolutely refused to accept failure as a viable option. We would not allow failure to be a possibility.
To sum it up best, we were filled with the magic ingredient of desire. Desire was the difference.
When you are faced with a situation in which you stand to succeed or fail, take a moment to gauge your level of true desire to succeed. Are you at all okay with not reaching your highest objective or goal, or are you going to only accept one possible outcome, which is to do whatever it takes to succeed?
Sometimes we leave that little “escape hatch” in the rear so we can bail out if things start to deteriorate — like it’s an “abort mission” type of mechanism we construct for ourselves.
How can you close that escape route? How can you increase your level of desire so that you know absolutely and for certain that you will only accept the highest objective as the outcome? If you can picture yourself having accomplished what you desire, and if you can feel the relief and joy and pure satisfaction of doing what you intended, you will be suggesting to your subconscious mind that it has happened, and that your body might as well react accordingly and go along with it.
Without desire, we always give ourselves an escape and excuse for failure to reach our wildest dreams. With desire, we solidify and strengthen our belief in ourselves that not only are we capable of achieving our objectives, but that we’re willing to do absolutely whatever is necessary to reach our goals. We give ourselves absolutely no other option.
Where have you utilized the power of desire to accomplish a tremendous task? When has your lack of desire allowed you to settle for less than your best? Let me know. I want to hear about it!
Photo source: freedigitalphotos.net
Facebook user? Click the “Like” button below for daily inspiration, and I’ll even throw in an electronic copy of my popular “Antidote” to the mediocre mind as a “thank you!” (And I’ll do a little happy dance when I see you’ve liked my page too) 🙂
Facebook user? Click the “Like” button below for daily inspiration, and I’ll even throw in an electronic copy of my popular “Antidote” to the mediocre mind as a “thank you!” (And I’ll do a little happy dance when I see you’ve liked my page too) 🙂
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” ~Melody Beattie
Sometimes you just can’t escape “it.” Sometimes “it” falls right in your lap, and you have no choice but to deal with it. The “it” I am talking about is none other than that “difficult-to-deal-with negative energy.” Sometimes it is a result of people around you who are complaining or worrying about something. Sometimes it’s a self-defeating thought that enters the mind and no matter how many times you tell it that you’re not going to accept it, it keeps reminding you of its presence.
There are times, I admit, when I sense that the negative energy has permeated (and dominated) my consciousness. Sometimes it’s just a “gut” feeling that I am surrounded by it; sometimes I hear people talking about a subject that carries with it the negative energy. Other times, I know I am just so fatigued, and at those times I am just so vulnerable to those thoughts full of melancholy, sadness, worry, and fear. Oh how I especially despise those times of fatigue-induced negative thinking! 🙂
Fortunately, I have learned that there is a “place” I have learned I can go when the negative energy is unleashing its wrath upon me. It’s a place that I have created within myself that is walled with an attitude of gratitude. When I feel that negativity gets me down, I start to mentally create a list of all of the wonderful things I enjoy in my life, and all of the things I have come to appreciate.
I can start with my health, the fact that I have two wonderful daughters and a loving and caring wife. I can continue with the thought of how they all have good health, and how fortunate we all are to be alive and enjoy each day with each other. I can’t help but feel blessed that I get to stand before wonderful people on a regular basis and teach them a subject I love (anatomy and physiology), and that I get paid to do it. I feel so much thankfulness in my heart that I have a wonderful community of friends and family. I have a warm place to call home and food on my table. I can feed my family. I have a great life. I am so grateful for so many things. Once I start to mentally list all the things I am grateful for, I can’t help but chuckle at myself at the notion that I believed that negativity could temporarily take a hold of me…
The simple act of thinking about what we are grateful for is so powerful. It immediately takes us to an emotional state that embodies relief, pleasure, and gratification. It’s impossible to hold both positive and negative emotions within our consciousness at the same time. By flooding your conscious awareness with nothing but positivity, it’s like flushing out the negativity to the point where it almost seems impossible that it was even there in the first place. As soon as those “drops” of negativity start to fill our conscious “vessel” of thoughts, all it takes is another “flood” of gratitude to again flush them out.
The more often we can practice this exercise of going to this “haven” of gratitude, the more readily we can assume the position of being grateful. Just like any other skill, if we can learn to quickly assume a state of gratitude, we can quickly eliminate the negativity. It’s kind of like taking a “shower” of positive energy to wash away the negativity before it penetrates deeply within us.
What are some things you are grateful for? Do you have some aspects of your life for which you can immediately appreciate how wonderful your life is? I’d love to hear about what gives you that deep, profound sense of gratitude! Please share!
Join me for this week’s interview on Monday, March 18 at 12 PM Central!
To listen to the interview, click HERE! I will be welcoming Faisal Khattak, a.k.a. Big Dög, to my radio show this week!
Bullying is one of those subjects I don’t talk much about, but one that I hold nearly and dearly to my heart. In my personal opinion, a lot of the problems we face as an adult stem from either being a victim of bullying or being allowed to exhibit behaviors consistent with bullying without being stopped. Whenever I can have an honest conversation about bullying, I am all for it, and whenever I can talk to someone about stopping bullying at a young age, I am all in!
That’s why I am so thrilled to be welcoming Faisal Khattak to my show this week. I can’t wait for you to get a chance to hear what he has to say. One of the things I like best about his message is that he really helps young people become “Big Dögs” and empower themselves to avoid becoming a victim of bullying. If more people can learn what Faisal is teaching, we’ll have a lot fewer people on this earth who try to resort to behaviors consistent with bullying, and we’ll have many more empowered (and happy and healthy) adults too!
Faisal is a dynamic Anti-bullying Speaker and Certified Anti-Bullying Coach. He is an alumni of Baron Mastery Authentic Speakers Academy for Leadership. He is also Licensed Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, a Certified Hypnotherapist, and the author of the upcoming book entitled “The Bully Mind”.
As a victim of childhood bullying himself, Faisal wants to put a stop to bullying once and for all and help those kids who feel the same way he did as a child in Pakistan when he was bullied and molested at age five. He lost his confidence and voice. And he desperately wished he had someone to talk to. But there was no one to help and he continued to be bullied all through his school years.
Faisal wants to be the voice for all those kids who are raped and teased every day. He feels strongly that no child has to feel helpless and alone. He learned the hard way how important it is to build bridges and repair any gaps or disconnects in communication between parents and their children and now he is actively helping families faced with bullying.
Faisal lives with his wife and two young daughters in New Westminster, British Columbia. He previously lived in Oklahoma where he studied computer science and opened and operated several successful small businesses.
To find out more about Faisal and the great things he has to offer this world, please visit his website, www.BothSidesofBullying.com.
Please join me for our discussion about a very important topic! You won’t want to miss it!
Facebook user? Click the “Like” button below for daily inspiration, and I’ll even throw in an electronic copy of my popular “Antidote” to the mediocre mind as a “thank you!” (And I’ll do a little happy dance when I see you’ve liked my page too) 🙂
“Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.” ~Mahatma Gandhi
I am in the middle of preparation to run a marathon — a full marathon — in May. It will be my first. It was last year that I ran my first competitive race in about twenty years, and then I backed that one up with another slightly-longer run and then the “Tough Mudder” event in the fall. I learned something from each of those experiences. From my first run, which was two miles, I learned that I can run okay in a competitive environment. Without trying all too hard, I got second place (out of something like three or four people) in my age category. That was pretty cool. I also learned that while I placed in the two-mile run, when comparing my time to those running the 5K at the same event, I still wasn’t all that fast (most of the “faster” runners ran the longer race). Still, the cool bobble-head trophy I got for placing in that race was cool.
During my second competitive run, which was a 5K, I learned that I could push myself to run faster over a longer distance. My pace was much faster than my two-mile run a couple of months prior, so if I would have run that pace in my previous run, I would have come in at first place for my age category (provided that the first-place finisher in the two mile ran the same speed). Even with my improved time, I placed right in the “middle of the pack” for my age group. During the “Tough Mudder” event, I learned that some things that appear to be pretty scary are just creations of the mind, and if you can overcome your mental objections to doing something, you can physically do anything you put yourself up to.
Speaking of mental objections, I have historically mentally objected to running outside in cold weather. However, I would rather run in cold weather than run on a treadmill in the basement at home, and I needed to start ASAP with my training, so that meant that I had to make sure that I dressed warmly so I could tolerate running in the cold. During my training thus far, I have been running in colder weather than I have ever believed I would run in, and it’s because I dress ridiculously warm. I wear two base layers underneath another three layers of clothing. If I look silly, I don’t care, because I am way over caring what other people think. 🙂 With two pairs of socks on my feet and a warm mask on my head and face, I am good to go and toasty warm no matter how cold it is.
All things considered, even though I have gotten back in the swing of running in competitive events and overcoming mental objections and making arrangements to tolerate cold-weather running, there was one seemingly physical obstacle looming large that I felt was working against me; it was my ability to run at what I consider a “decent” pace, especially over a longer distance. My biggest worry coming into this whole “running a marathon thing” was that I would be still running six hours after I started, with more distance to go.
I have always known I am a fast sprinter, but distance running has always been an issue for me. If I were to run a two or three-mile race, I could put in a decent time, but anything beyond that I could just forget about running it at what I would consider a reasonable pace. I would have a hard time cracking into the 11-minute-mile pace, and if I wanted to run a 10-minute mile, well, I could just forget about it. Running an 11-minute mile for 26 miles would result in me running a four-and-three-quarter-hour marathon. That’s if I can keep up that pace! I have a hard time doing that over much shorter distances.
This worried me greatly. Just as evidence that the universe will conspire to make things happen for you, I was asked to teach a college anatomy and physiology class for my former college professor, while she’s on a sabbatical. It just so happens that one of my students in that class mentioned that she runs a lot. “A lot” turns out to be “every day.”
During lab one day, I asked her if she had run any marathons. She told me that not only had she run marathons, but she has trained people who have run in marathons! She started asking questions about my training, and she finally got to asking about how fast I ran. I told her that I didn’t run very fast, and that I was having a hard time getting below a 12-minute mile. She then asked me what my “cadence” was, but I had no clue what that was. She said a cadence is a measure of how many strides you take in a minute. She said that I should try to maintain a cadence of 180 steps per minute. She added that if I got accustomed to running at that pace, I would start to run faster. That’s three steps per second! It sounded fast, but I thought I would give it a shot. At this point I would do almost anything to run faster…
So, I did some looking around online and found an awesome website, called www.podrunner.com, where you can download MP3s of music at a certain cadence, to use for training. I downloaded a track onto my iPod that had music set at a tempo of 180 beats per minute, and went out and did my pace run of the week at that pace. Holy cow — it was fast, and I was gassed. I ran at that pace for about three minutes, then I power walked for one minute, followed by a jog at a slower pace for two minutes before kicking it up to the 180 strides per minute again. I did this for for the four-mile run, and afterward I was really exhausted. The biggest surprise for me was that by the end of the run, 180 didn’t seem too bad anymore. It was almost as if during my “slower” jog I was inclined to run faster.
I went out a week later, and I was able to do the 180 cadence the whole time, with exception of my one-minute power walks, which I pre-determined to take while hydrating or “powering up” with some sort of carbohydrate supplement (GU) at each mile. I was able to do the 180 cadence the whole time I was jogging! Yesterday, I was scheduled for my pace run, and I did it again, running five miles, at 180, with exception to the power walks each mile.
To my amazement, I completed the 5-mile run at a time of 49:40! I did it! Not only did I crack a 12-minute mile, or even an 11-minute mile, but I cracked the 10-minute mile mark! I was thrilled! That was even in spite of running against some brisk winds and several hills!
After I thought about it, I realized the power of believing in myself. I had let myself believe for so long that I was good at running short distances, but not long distances. If you think about it, the key to running short distances well is by moving your feet more quickly (a quicker cadence). My “well, duh” moment came when I realized that the key to running long distances well is also by moving your feet more quickly. It makes total sense, but I had myself convinced that I couldn’t do it.
The power of belief cannot be overlooked. It was unfortunate that I had to witness personally that I was capable of running at a faster cadence before I convinced myself that I could run faster than I have ever clocked myself before as running. I should have known better, but I didn’t. Once I moved to consciously believing that I could run faster, I gave myself permission to do it, and then I did it!
Let me ask you — do you have any pre-existing beliefs that you feel you are holding on to? Are they holding you back from reaching your full potential? Are there ways you can convince yourself otherwise, so you can break through to achieve higher levels of performance or a higher quality of life? Let me know. I’d love to hear from you!
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“Don’t think of it; view the world from it, which implies that you are in it. Then feel the relief, the satisfaction, of being there. Do this and no power in the world can stop you from realizing that state.” ~Neville Goddard
Once every couple of months, I have the opportunity to take my younger daughter, Ava, to an art class for preschoolers. She really enjoys going to the hour-long class, presumably because she gets to paint, shape and mold clay, make bracelets, and have at a variety of other art activities she normally doesn’t get to try out at home.
At the art museum where her class is held, there is also a small café, where people can grab a bite to eat for lunch. As is customary on a Friday, I dine with Ava for lunch, and whenever we are finishing up art class at the museum, we stop by the café and eat lunch together.
This past Friday, as I was driving into town where the class is held, I asked Ava what was her favorite thing to do at art class. Her response was, “Eating lunch with Daddy.” It warmed my heart to hear those words. I was thinking the same thing — that the highlight of the class was actually the “after” part of the session, and I was delighted to hear she felt the same way.
That feeling I got when Ava said the best part of class was eating together was just awesome, and it got me thinking about the things I enjoy most in my daily life. Sometimes I feel have to commit to what seems like a million other things, but the most meaningful things in my life are the simple things. I know that when my plate is full with commitments here and there, I find solace in knowing that the simple things that I really enjoy are waiting for me. Maybe it’s catching a favorite episode of “Phineas and Ferb” with Ava, or maybe it’s grabbing a quick but enormous hug from my older daughter, Brianna. Maybe it’s just playing a game with both of my girls. Even simply enjoying a conversation with my wife is a satisfying part of the day, because It’s a time for us to connect.
One of the best things about having these wonderful moments that are so meaningful is that I get to enjoy that pure bliss, and have it in my memory banks to remember. When I have moments that are full of stress or when it seems I don’t have enough time in the day to get everything done, all I have to do is virtually put myself back in the café with Ava for lunch after art class, or virtually take a seat across from Brianna as we play a game of checkers, or place myself virtually in my kitchen, standing by the counter, listening to Shelly talk about her day. When I put myself there, I am immediately at a better place mentally and physically. It’s the best part of my day that makes every other aspect of my day that much better.
It’s not enough just to “think” about those times, it’s really about “experiencing” those times, in the here and now. It’s about actually re-experiencing those same feelings of pleasure and enjoyment in the here and now. Those positive feelings will do wonders for the body. They will decrease the circulation of the stress hormones and de-activate the “fight or flight” response in your body, which is activated during tough times. They will promote growth and health, and promote a vibrant being, one that is ready to catch that second wind and keep pressing on.
What is the best part of your day? What feelings to you experience when you are enjoying the best part of your day? How can you use those feelings to re-experience them and help you get through the more difficult times? I’d like to hear what your thoughts are! 🙂 Let me know!
My younger daughter, Ava, turned four this week. I can’t believe where the time has gone! Ava is my little love bug, and at least a few times a day I get to engage in this type of conversation with her:
Ava: “Daddy?”
Me: “Yes, dear…”
Ava: “I love you…”
It’s music to my ears.
My older daughter, Brianna, who is seven now, is my little snuggle bug. She loves to sit next to me on a chair and “hook” the inside of my arm with her little elbow, nestling closer to me as we watch television or read together. I typically receive wonderful praise from her as well on a regular basis, usually as follows:
Brianna: “Daddy?”
Me: “Yes, dear…”
Brianna: “You’re the best dad in the whole wide world!”
It’s music to my ears.
Little did I know, besides basking in the wonderful chorus of my daughters’ voices, professing their love for me (which I greatly enjoy, by the way), I am also receiving a wonderful “side” benefit from my daughters’ loving proclamations!
Within the past week, I have been chipping away at a video of Bruce Lipton of his discussion of “Where Mind Meets Matter.” It’s a two-part video presentation, which you can find on YouTube (I’ll put the videos up here at the end of my post). During this presentation, Lipton describes how our body’s cells react to our perception of our environments. He describes how the cell membrane interacts with the environment.
In the second video, he goes on to describe how our bodies really have two reactions to our perceptions of what is going on in our environment. If the cells are comfortable and “happy,” then we are in a cellular reaction of “growth,” where we grow, regenerate and repair our body parts, and we are able to maintain good health because our body’s resources are able to support a strong immune system.
On the other hand, if our cells are unhappy, usually due to a perception of a stressful situation within the environment, our bodies have to shift from a growth reaction to a “defense” reaction, and the body shuts down the growth an regeneration and pulls support from our immune system, thus making the body susceptible to opportunistic pathogens.
Lipton says that the most powerful emotion which brings about the “growth” phase within our bodies is the emotion of love. When we experience love, our cells are vibrant in health, and they are at their peak of performance. Just think about how we feel when we experience the emotion of love…Think about how good our bodies feel when we are loved and give love to others.
I am right in a period of my life where I can enjoy regular proclamations of love from my two sweetheart girls. I know this doesn’t last forever, so I will gobble up every moment I can! I also make sure that the love is returned; I tell my girls how much I love them, and how lucky I am to have such wonderful girls in my life.
Love is so very powerful. When we can extend love to others, we are helping them grow, and helping them maintain a better level of health. By being loving toward others, we can help reduce their stress and decrease the “defense” reactions that occur as a result. Love doesn’t have to be “romantic” love or even “paternal or maternal.” It can be a simple smile directed toward a stranger, or a friendly conversation in the elevator with someone who is riding along. It can be a polite gesture, like holding the door open for someone or allowing someone else to go ahead of you in the shopping line.
What are some ways you can express love to those around you? What are some ways you can help others live a healthier life?
Love is the answer! The expression (and receiving) of love is a way to health! I never thought my daughters could provide me with such a wonderful (and healthy) daily gift, but I am not complaining…It’s a great way to stay young! 🙂
As promised, here are the videos of Lipton’s presentation:
“Wear self love like a blanket of comfy cashmere” ~Anne-Sophie Reinhardt
Join me for this week’s interview on Monday, February 18 at 12 PM Central!
To listen to the interview, click HERE! I will be welcoming Anne-Sophie Reinhardt to my radio show this week!
We just celebrated Valentine’s Day last week. For most people, the celebration of the day is our love for others, which is so appropriate. So many times, we take other people, especially the people we’re closest to, for granted. We don’t take the time to let them know on a regular basis how much we truly and deeply love them. While every day could be Valentine’s Day, in reality it isn’t.
Don’t we sometimes take ourselves for granted too? Don’t we forget to tell ourselves how much we love ourselves? We often times are so good at reminding ourselves of our faults and shortcomings, and we ignore the good in who we are. Or, sometimes we feel that to tell ourselves how much we love ourselves we are being egotistical or narcissistic.
The reality is that we don’t give ourselves as much credit as we deserve, and we sell ourselves short. We tell ourselves that we are not deserving of heaps of love for ourselves, because if we feel we are deserving, there must be something wrong with us or we have some “unmet need” lurking out there somewhere. We neglect to offer ourselves some “self love,” and we suffer as a result. Ultimately, so many of our problems originate from self-image issues.
I am happy to say that today I am a healthy person; I am preparing for my first ever marathon! I just ran six miles yesterday, and I have run more in the past couple of weeks than I had in a week in a long time, and it feels great. It wasn’t always that way. I used to weigh 250 pounds. I was lazy, miserable, and unhealthy. Life was not as enjoyable back then. I certainly lacked self love and body love, and my suffering was tremendously great.
Having run the gamut, so to speak, of various levels of self love and body love, it provides me with an awesome perspective on how hard and how wonderful life can really be! I am so thrilled to welcome Anne-Sophie Reinhardt on to my radio show this week, because I know she offers such wonderful insight, perspective, and expertise on self love and body love, and I can’t wait to talk to her about it!
I came to know Anne-Sophie through a guest post on my friend Jodi Chapman’s blog last fall. I loved her message and visited her website. Since then, our paths have crossed across the “virtual landscape” a couple of times! We must have been destined to speak on my show! 🙂 I am thrilled to have her!
Anne-Sophie is an anorexia survivor, body image expert, self-love advocate and the author of The Ultimate Guide to a Healthy Body Image. Join her newsletter and receive your free 3-part video series empowering you to madly fall in love with yourself. If you haven’t already checked out her website, I highly recommend it!
Anne-Sophie has a book, which you can find on Amazon, titled The Ultimate Guide to a Healthy Body Image, and she is active on Facebook and Twitter as well, where she has already won the hearts of so many. I personally welcome you to join the large community of people already following Anne-Sophie on her wonderful journey by following her!
I can’t wait for our talk today, and I would really like it if you listened in as well! We’ll see you there!
