by Corné | Dec 7, 2023 | Empowerment, Habit, Health, Motivational
If you’re trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, the holidays can be a real setback. Watching your diet is next to impossible with so many Christmas feasts to tempt you. Germs are hard to avoid on a train or plane ride to visit relatives. And, if traveling doesn’t make you sick, a little too much Christmas eggnog just might. Follow this advice to keep yourself feeling happy and healthy this holiday season.
* Whether you’re hosting the family Christmas festivities or simply attending, keep yourself focused more on fun traditions and activities and less on dinner and dessert.
* Go light on the gravy. Using less sauce or gravy on your foods should lead to a healthier meal.
* Don’t underestimate a healthy breakfast. A good breakfast can keep you from feeling hungry later in the day and resorting to less-than-healthy Christmas treats.
* Stay away from holiday stress. Stress makes you feel anxious and irritable, and even harms your immune system.
* Plan fun family activities that get you moving. Sledding or ice skating are both fitness-friendly options.
* If you plan to travel using mass transit, carry sanitary wipes with you and wipe down surfaces in your area. Make sure you get the armrests, tray table, and seat belt buckle.
* Keep yourself active, even if you’re traveling. If you have to wait for your flight to be ready to board, walk around the airport terminal rather than sitting to wait.
* Chew gum after eating a meal to help resist the urge for after-dinner snacks.
* If you’ll be staying in a hotel this holiday season, try to find one with a pool or fitness center. This will give you a place to get active in between family functions.
* Drink plenty of water. It’s easy to forget to stay hydrated during a busy holiday season, especially if it gets cold where you live.
* Instead of candy, encourage your family to eat fruits like apples and oranges. They’re a healthier way to satisfy cravings for sweets.
* If you’re going to be drinking wine or eggnog, make sure you know your limits. A Christmas morning hangover can be devastating, especially if you’re going to be around excited kids who want to open presents.
* For every alcoholic beverage you drink, try to also drink a glass of water. This will leave you feeling hydrated and hangover-free the next morning.
* Consider using a fitness app on your smartphone to set fitness goals and keep track of how much exercise you get over the holidays.
When all is said and done it’s important to remember not to get down on yourself, in the event you “slip up” during the Christmas holiday season. After all, it’s typically the time to spend with family and friends enjoying yourself.
You can always get back on track after the holiday is over. That’s what the new year is for, or so the experts say. If it makes you feel better, you can even try to be a bit more health-conscious in January and February. Things usually have a way of evening out!
Have a Blessed Holiday Season and stay Safe!!
by Corné | Jun 13, 2020 | Habit, Journey, Self-Care
If you break down Self-Care into 5 categories or types, you will find it easier to identify exactly which areas you need to focus on.
PHYSICAL SELF-CARE
Physical self-care involves activities that will improve your physical health. Examples of some of the activities are, a healthy diet, staying hydrated, exercise, enough rest, practice good hygiene. The result will be that you feel ‘sharp’, motivated, healthy, and happy. Sometimes it is simple things, that is having the biggest impact.
EMOTIONAL SELF-CARE
Emotional self-care is caring for your emotional needs, by identifying and nurturing your feelings, your conscious inner state, and your intellect.
Having an awareness of how to take more care of ourselves emotionally can serve you well when things get difficult. This type of care will look different for each one of us.
Do not suppress your emotions and ask yourself what causes these emotions. This knowledge will empower you, to focus on the positive ‘triggers’ and reduce the negative ones.
You will have to learn how to put your own needs first, without being selfish. You will have to start believing in your own abilities and capabilities.
Mistakes are an inevitable part of life and they help us grow and become better. Each time you make a mistake, acknowledge where you went wrong, and work to improve it in the future. Most important of all, forgive yourself!
PSYCHOLOGICAL SELF-CARE
Psychological self-care can also be called, mental self-care. Mental self-care includes doing things that keep your mind sharp. Activities that help declutter your mind and reduce your stress levels.
Learn more about a topic that really interests you. Do something you love, for example in the form of a hobby. Spoil and/or pamper yourself. Feed your mind positive thoughts. Make a list of all the things that you are grateful for.
SPIRITUAL SELF-CARE
Spiritual self-care is the activity we engage in to find and nurture a sense of connection to a Higher Power (God) and meaning in our lives. It all comes down to self-love and compassion for ourselves and others.
Understanding who is and what drives you can be a constant struggle. Goals and aspirations may change throughout the years, but there is always a central focus that is the main motivation behind everything you do. The goal is to identify what this is and honor it with what you focus on in your daily life. Identifying your true self starts with honesty about what you love and what gets you excited about life.
PROFESSIONAL SELF-CARE
Professional self-care is self-care that is related to your work life. That includes practicing self-care while at work and adopting self-care practices that lead to a healthy work-life balance. It is meant to reduce overall stress regarding your career.
So to be able to practice self-care, directly benefits individuals, their families, and society.
Peace, Love & Kindness,
by Corné | May 10, 2020 | Empowerment, Habit, Inspirational
I did a quick count before I started writing this post. I have at least 360 Applications on my iPad. I supposed that qualifies me as an App-addict 😀
I am one of those people who, if I need some information now, it must be only one click away.
It was a difficult decision and took a little bit of thought, to pick my top 5 used applications.
How I approached it, was to go through my day, from start to finish. I came up with the following.
YOUVERSION
For me, my daily devotions, and my meditation time, is very important and non-negotiable. As it set the trend for the rest of my day.
You can use YouVersion online or download what you need. For when you are somewhere without internet availability.
Your all-in-one Bible App. Free of charge. Explore more than 2000 Bible versions, some already in the audio version available. Create Prayers. There is a huge collection of study plans available. Study alone or with friends
It is available for Android, iOS, Windows, and other operating systems.
My belief is, that when you pray, you talk to God. When you Meditate, you listen, and God speaks.
INSIGHT TIMER
The Meditation App with the world’s largest free library of more than 30k guided meditations, 5k teachers, and, a meditation timer.
Insight Timer is a smartphone app and online community for meditation. The app features guided meditations, music, and talks posted by contributing experts.
It helps you to calm the mind, reduce anxiety, manage stress, sleep deeply, and improve happiness.
Meditation has physical, mental, and spiritual health benefits.
Here is the link if you want to try it out: << https://insig.ht/SZfVpxUGurb >>
TRELLO
After I have started my day in the right way/manner, it is time for some planning and tasks to complete.
I prefer Trello to keep organized. I like the flexibility and creative way that you can use it. It makes planning so much more creative and fun. I am using the Free version.
You can organize cards into lists. The cards can be tasks, notes, projects, or shared files.
According to Wikipedia: Planning is the process of thinking about the activities required to achieve the desired goal. It is the first activity to achieve the desired results. It involves the creation and maintenance of a plan, such as psychological aspects that need conceptual skills.
Planning is a whole concept on its own. Something that I struggled with for a long time.
The best part is when you can tick off done tasks!
CANVA
<< https://www.canva.com/join/freedom-remind-classic >>
Canva is a graphic design platform that allows you to “Design anything” and “Publish anywhere”.
I do all my social media designs in Canva. It has beautiful design templates. Simple to use interfaces. It is available on the web and mobile. ‘Endless’ resources.
For someone creative, this is a must-have application!
JIGSAW
<< https://link.jpchd.veraxen.com/image:id=40180098809500000 >>
This is a free jigsaw puzzle game for adults. It helps millions of people all around the world, to keep their minds sharp. Choose a picture from the 10,000 HD collection of puzzles. Choose the number of pieces in a puzzle.
I enjoy this, after a long and/or busy day to relax!
Try them for yourself!
Peace, Love & Kindness
by Corné | Apr 27, 2020 | Empowerment, Encouragement, Habit, Journey, Mindfulness, Upliftment
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ‘LIVE IN THE PRESENT’?
A simple explanation of living in the present moment. It means letting go of the past and not waiting for the future. It means living your life, being aware of each moment, and that every breath is a gift.
Living in the present moment is important. There is no point to dwell on the past or being anxious about the future. The only thing we have control over is the moment you have right now.
THE IDEA OF MINDFULNESS OR BEING MINDFUL
“A mental state is achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment. While acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. Used as a therapeutic technique.”
Mindfulness is the quality of being present and engaged with whatever you are doing now.
Try to take the time to experience your environment with all your senses. Touch, sound, sight, smell, and taste.
Experience the moment and enjoy it!
OUR POWERFUL MINDS
The brain is the central processing unit of the body. It plays a key role in translating the content of your mind, into complex patterns of nerve cell firing and chemical release. That is your thoughts, feelings, attitudes, beliefs, memories, and imagination.
Your mind is part of the invisible, transcendent world. Of thought, feeling attitude, belief, and imagination. The brain is the physical organ most associated with the mind and consciousness.
Our brains are complex and powerful but do not have discernment ability. So, it cannot distinguish between ‘real reality’ and the reality we ‘feed’ it. So, we can ‘program’ our brains. We as human beings will ‘feed’ it with negativity. So, we must focus, on ‘feed’ and ‘program’ it with positive and happy thoughts!
WE ARE SEEKING CALM IN OUR HECTIC EXISTENCE
Now that we know that we have a major impact on the ‘programming’ of our brains. We must be very mindful, of what we are especially confronted with first thing in the morning. As this will have an unconscious impact on the rest of our day. What we are confronted with, the last thing in the evening. As this will have an unconscious impact on the rest of our evening. On how good a night’s rest or not, we will have.
THE IMPORTANCE OF A DAILY ROUTINE
With all the above information now known to us. We must consciously avoid negative inputs in our lives. Especially first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening.
That is why the practice of mindfulness, which does not have to be meditation, is so important. Meditation is a means to assist in practicing mindfulness.
My personal recommendation or opinion. A Meditation session first thing in the morning. For interest’s sake, there are many types of meditation. Meditation is a whole science on its own. And some Gratitude journaling, last thing in the evening.
A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE
I cannot emphasize the importance of practicing to be mindful / living in the present enough.
When you mastered that, it is a life-changing experience.
On top of the calmness and the enjoyment of every moment, there are countless health benefits.
It reduces stress levels, improves sleep, improves attention, concentration and memory, lowers blood pressure, helps reduce anxiety and depression, etc.
You do not have to take my word for it. Try it for yourself!!
Peace, Love & Kindness,
