Self-Care | Live Happy

7 Tips to Travel On a Budget and Still Make Happy Memories

Studies show that spending money of experiences rather than material objects will make you happier. You’ll not only be able to create positive memories that will last you a lifetime, but it’s also an opportunity to strengthen your relationships with friends and family too. But if you are currently living on a tight budget, you may feel like you don’t have the means to take those trips that bring so much joy to your life. You will be pleased to know that visiting unique places around the world and having a fun holiday does not always have to be costly. You can still enjoy a meaningful vacation if you budget and plan well. Here are seven useful tips that you can use to take the trips that make you happy without breaking the bank. 1. Plan Your Trip Random and spontaneous trips may sound exciting but if you are traveling on a tight budget, planning is the way to go. You will need an itinerary that clearly defines where you wish to go and for how long, so research on the countries and cities you want to visit and the amount of time you are going to spend in each place is key. Pro tip: Travel During Off-Season. Not only do trips during peak seasons cost more, but you will also be in the midst of heavy crowds and loads of tourists. Summer holidays are something you will want to avoid. You can get quite a bargain on plane tickets and hotel stays during low-season period. 2. Choose Your Accommodations Wisely Opt out of expensive hotel stays and look for dorms, hostels, and guesthouses instead. If you are traveling with your family or friends, sharing rooms can also lower costs. If you are up for it and feel safe, sharing a room with other tourists can also be a good idea. You can make use of popular booking platforms (like Airbnb) to book apartment/home rooms ahead of time at nearly half the cost. Take advantage of any friends, family members, and colleagues who live in the area you are visiting to see if they would let you stay at their house during the trip. Plus, your trip may be less stressful on you if you are around good company. 3. Book Flights Ahead of Time Booking flights ahead and getting a good bargain on return flights will save you added hassle, time and money. Getting tickets nearly a year or even a few months ahead is a good idea if you do not want to worry about running short of money during your trip. When booking your flight, you can always: Pick a flight during the middle of the week such as Tuesday or Wednesday to get premium lower prices. Traveling midweek also makes checking in at the airport easier due to shorter queues. Book economy class instead of business to save up on those bucks. Pick a lower-budget airline with cheap deals and shorter flying times. Pack light luggage as hold luggage costs extra money. If possible, opt for a bus or train instead of an air flight to reduce costs even further. 4. Watch What You Eat If you choose to eat every meal from a fancy restaurant, you’ll burn a hole in your pocketbook quickly. Make sure to explore the area to see what you wish to eat and what it should cost on average. You can buy cheaper food and dishes from grocery stores or local markets. Cut down on unnecessary drinks and sweets and stay hydrated with water instead. If the place where you are staying has a kitchen, you might want to save money by meal planning beforehand and cooking something on your own. 5. Earn During Vacation Working while on a vacation or getaway is a brilliant way to recover money spent during the trip. Doing so can allow you to travel for months on end and explore to your heart’s content. A few ideas to earn extra money include: Turning into a travel vlogger to earn money through social media. You can resize video for Facebook or use other software to make your content more interesting. Offer to host other tourists. Teaching travelers skills like skiing during the winters. Teaching a language. Freelancing 6. Get Travel Insurance Travel insurance can be expensive but is worth it. You can get coverage for financial losses and minimize your financial risks during your traveling period. A good travel insurance plan will cover: Lost baggage. Stolen items. Emergency medical expenses due to an illness. Trip delays and cancelation. Missed flights or vehicle trips. Legal costs incurred due to accidentally damaging property or causing injury. 7. Seek Out Fun for Free Looking for free things that you can do while you are traveling to can help reduce your expenses significantly. For example, many museums or walking tours may be little to no cost as all. You can also reduce costs by carpooling with your friends or other tourists. This way the fare will be reduced by half or even three to four times the cost. Traveling for leisure should be full of fun and doesn’t need to be burdened by the constant worry of running out of funds. If you follow the tips above carefully, you can travel to nearly any part of the world without it costing you an arm and a leg.

Live Happy's Tips to Say Goodbye to Clutter

Wellness

Say Goodbye to Clutter and Enjoy the Freedom of Letting Things Go

Clutter not only junks up your space, it also seriously messes with your health, happiness and productivity. According to studies from Princeton University’s Neuroscience Institute and UCLA’s Center on Everyday Lives of Families, our overstuffed homes rob us of focus, drain our energy, spike stress levels, invite depression and leave us perpetually searching for our keys. But take heart. You can outwit clutter in less time than you’d think. Start with small steps to embrace the things that uplift you and dispense with those that get in the way. End the Paper Chase Find a basket, bowl or tray large enough to corral all incoming paper—mail, catalogs, school forms, coupons, receipts, invitations and warranties. Then marvel as your counters and tabletops magically resurface, and you can instantly find any paper you need. Go through the contents once a week with shredder, recycling bin and folders close at hand. Scan any info you don’t need in hard copy form, sign up for paperless billing and automatic payments and ditch manuals that can be found online. Edit mail preferences at directmail.com (free) and dmachoice.org ($2 fee). Think Small Choose a space you can clear in one short burst—a single shelf, a drawer, a section of a counter, a dresser top, even a laundry-burdened chair. Once done, declare that area strictly off limits to future clutter. Continue with a new spot each day. (Note: Moving the clutter to another space is cheating.) Lose the Baggage Give yourself permission to let go of incomplete art or craft projects lying around in varied states of disarray. Ditto for workout equipment, supplies from past careers or musical instruments you don’t use. You won’t miss their constant nagging. Trust us. Find a Good Home Shoes will pile by the front door until the end of time if you don’t add a rack, basket or other storage solution. Likewise, perpetually lost items— keys, eyeglasses, phones and wallets—also need a place to go. The National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals reports the average American loses a year of his or her life searching for things. We know you have better things to do. Think Digital You can’t work efficiently if folders, files and icons look like a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle dumped onto your computer screen. Neither can your computer. Dedicate 15 minutes a day for a week to reorganize, delete old downloads, archive folders, clean out your inbox and uninstall and delete apps you don’t use. Trim the Excess Most cooks utilize the same pots, pans and bakeware repeatedly, so edit to your chosen few. Place utensils and small gadgets in a container. If you pull an item out for use, wash it and return it to its original kitchen spot. With the exception of annual helpers like a candy thermometer or turkey baster, anything unused after a month can go. Box It Up Indecision is clutter’s best friend. Whenever you catch yourself saying, “I’ll deal with it later,” place the item in question in a maybe box that you seal and tuck out of sight for six months. (Put a note on your calendar when to check back in.) If you didn’t need or miss anything in the box in that time frame, take it unopened to charity that day. And on that note, if you stumble across a box of things you forgot you had, consider that donation decision already made. Write Away Gather all your pens, pencils and markers alongside a paper pad to test with scribbles. Select 20 winners, then donate the rest. Buy from Home “Shop” your own wardrobe as though you’re in a boutique seeing each item for the first time. Select only those items that you’d buy today. When finished, hang your “purchases” back in the closet; bag unselected items for consignment or charity. Don’t panic if your closet looks spare. You’ve just done yourself the favor of identifying your core style—a feat comparable to upgrading from a department store’s jam-packed clearance rack to the must-have apparel on the mannequins at your favorite boutique. Live with your capsule wardrobe before filling in the gaps. And look for a common thread among your rejects to avoid future error. Clear the Calendar Unnecessary appointments or meetings count as clutter, too. Only spend time on things that matter to you. Celebrate Simplicity After each holiday, cull decor that didn’t make it to this year’s party, whether ornaments, an inflatable yard witch or that whimsical set of Easter Bunny plates. What you do with the surprise discovery of any chocolate treats is up to you. Supply Only the Demand Save time and money by gathering duplicates, such as batteries, sticky notes, lightbulbs and rolls of tape. Keep what you’ll realistically need in the next year and donate the rest. Got 5 Minutes? Nab empty cardboard boxes and grocery bags for recycling. Unsubscribe from three email newsletters (of course you’ll want to keep Live Happy’s). Toss expired products and empty containers from the medicine cabinet. Recycle mismatched plastic containers and lids. Clean the car using one bag for trash and another for items to relocate. Outwit Common Clutter Cons I might need that. If you haven’t used it in a year, it’s not serving your needs. Hypothetical uses infringe on how you really live. It’s an heirloom. You can love Grandma without loving her crystal. Realize the tug is about the memory, not the thing. Take a photo or keep just one goblet, then pass the rest along. I paid a lot for that! Maybe so, but now it’s costing your peace of mind, too. I don’t want to waste. Donating extras is sharing the wealth. I could give that to so and so. With few exceptions, don’t get bogged down in a Plan B. This article originally appeared in the October 2018 edition of Live Happy magazine.

Distressed woman with her face in her hands

Self-Care

Overcoming Anxiety in an Anxious World

I used to suffer from chronic overthinking. A couple years ago I went through a mini phase of extreme paranoia. I found myself rabbit-holing down a deep, dark path of doomsday predictions. Everything from potential volcano eruptions or major 9.0 earthquakes, tsunamis, meteor strikes, killer bugs, more pandemics, losing everything I had worked for, to nefarious leaders with dark agendas, and robot takeovers—every day was filled with, “What is going to rear its ugly head today and try to harm us?” When the alien invasion started to be a very real possibility in my mind, I realized all logical reasoning had gone out the door. I was deep in it, manipulated by conniving fear, all under the guise of, “I am being prepared and educating myself.” I told myself I was getting ready for the next big thing that could happen, not realizing that this was full-blown fear that had manifested itself into a preparation project. I’ve seen in my own private coaching practice and in doing research for my book Return to You: 11 Spiritual Lessons for Unshakable Inner Peace, that so many of us do this, chronic overthinking, especially when things are uncertain. Since we don’t have control over anything outside of us, we tend to worry our days away trying to maintain control of our inner world. This causing more anxiety and prevents us from feeling safe. Overthinking means that you dwell on an event, a person, a feeling or an idea so much, that it completely consumes your thoughts and can ever ruin your relationships and personal wellbeing. To stop the chronic worry, I started to turn to my spirituality and daily routine. Practicing mindfulness and compassion was key to transforming the fear into faith with love. It is all about intention. We can fill our days with worry and fear-based thoughts, or we could choose hope, happiness, and love; we can unplug from the “system,” that promotes separation and worry and stop consuming so much fear-filled media, and instead drop into my heart. We may feel hopeless and powerless against the negative forces in the world, but we have more power than we’ve been taught to believe. Wayne Dyer said, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” So maybe instead of worrying the easiest path forward is to shift our perspective from worry to wonder. These steps can help. Step 1: Drop from your head into your heart. Our thoughts are powerful directives. They will either help us or hurt us, depending on where we give our attention. The mind will analyze, judge, blame, and try to make sense of the world, but your heart trusts, allows, and loves. There is no point in trying to change the world, but there is a point in changing your thoughts about the world, and this happens when we drop from our head into our heart. It’s often been said that our thoughts create our outcome, so if this is the case, we must ask ourselves what we are thinking and projecting about the current situation. If something is causing you dis-ease, go inward to your heart and see what your thoughts are about that situation. Feel your feelings and recognize where you’ve been trapped in fear or blame. We can escape our pain by giving up all thoughts that are derived from attack, blame, or shame. We are never trapped in the world we live in, because as soon as we shift our thoughts, we can change our experience. Step 2: Turn your resistance into assistance. Instead of resisting things in your life you don’t like, channel all the energy into assisting. Where can you help others and turn your pain into purpose? Go inward and ask yourself, “What is coming up for me and how can I channel this energy into support for others?” You can stabilize your focus by assisting others and helping those in need. Sometimes we don’t have control of what is happening, but we can take a step to help the world. Instead of festering in your discomfit, shift into action and be of assistance to others. Being of service is the highest form of happiness and will help you stay focused on the big picture—that we are all in this together and we need each other. Step 3: Judge nothing that occurs. Deepak Chopra said, “If you and I are having a single thought of violence or hatred against anyone in the world at this moment, we are contributing to the wounding of the world.” When the world seems to be turned upside down and nothing makes sense, it can be so easy to fall into judgment and blame. With so much angst, there can be a lot of separation. Adopt a mentality of compassion and kindness by practicing nonjudgment and compassion for all. Today, practice nonjudgment with everything you see. As you live in a more neutral state, watch how aspects of yourself and life start to feel better. Step 4: Hold up the energetic mirror. Look at what is triggering you and causing you distress. Hold up the energetic mirror and ask yourself, “How is this showing me what I need to heal within myself?” Your external world is a reflection of your internal state, mirroring the deepest truths of your soul. Use this time to recognize all areas and relationships and situations that feel strained. Heal your past by connecting to it in the present. You have a divine assignment not to take things personally. Look at who and what is triggering you and what it is bringing up for you. When you feel your feelings, you release them, and as you do, you connect to the deeper message they can bring. Using the energetic mirror will help you reconnect with your true self, the pure light and love within. We can choose peace, but it must start on the inside. You can access freedom from fear right here and now. No matter what is happening outside of you in the world, you can be calm in the chaos as your inner world is the only world you truly have control over. Excerpted from Return To You: 11 Spiritual Lessons for Unshakable Inner Peace. Sounds True, April 2022. Reprinted with permission. Shannon Kaiser is a world-renowned spiritual and self-love teacher, speaker and empowerment coach. A bestselling author of five books on the psychology of happiness and fulfillment, she guides people to awaken and align to their true selves so they can live to their highest potential. Shannon's newest book, Return To You: 11 Spiritual Lessons for Unshakable Inner Peace, is a complete guide to Shannon's most effective strategies for tapping your innate wisdom and stepping into your true power. Named among the "Top 100 Women to Watch in Wellness" by mindbodygreen and "your go-to happiness booster" by Health magazine, Shannon lives in Portland, Oregon, with her rescue dog, Chance.

Live Happy's Tips for Preventing Decision Fatigue

Wellness

Do You Have Decision Fatigue? Here’s What It Is and How to Prevent It

Standing in the grocery store at the end of a long day, it’s not usual for me to feel irritated and indecisive. The question that puts me over the edge: “What’s for dinner?” I’ll do anything I can to divert that monumental question to my husband. Ask him to run to the store, or text to see what he’s in the mood to eat, or what I should grab. Anything so that I don’t have to face a decision that doesn’t just impact me, but everyone in the family (who all have their own strong opinions on what should or should not be served). Why is it that I can function all day, juggling work, kids, and home, but some days the thought of dinner feels like too much? The answer is decision fatigue, and if you’ve ever found yourself stressed, frozen, irritable, or just plain exhausted at the thought of making a decision, you’ve faced it too. What is Decision Fatigue? Decision fatigue is defined as “difficulty in making a good decision experienced as a result of the number of decisions one needs to make.” The more decisions you make in a day, the harder it can be to make those decisions. Your brain has a limit and if you surpass that limit you can begin to feel the effects. We make a crazy amount of decisions each day. It is estimated that the average adult makes 35,000 decisions in a day, according to Dr. Joel Hoomans, an Assistant Professor of Management and Leadership Studies at Roberts Wesleyan College. From the mundane—what should I wear or eat for breakfast, to the complex—planning a work project, or deciding where to enroll your child for school next year. What makes understanding decision fatigue difficult is the limit of decisions you can handle in a day is not set and can vary. Factors that can influence your rate of decision fatigue include how rested you are, the food you’ve eaten, the amount of stress you are facing, and how much you are trying to handle on any given day (while multi-tasking may feel necessary at times, it is can be very draining for your brain). Individuals struggling with ADHD, depression, or anxiety can also experience heightened levels of decision fatigue. Making a decision involves multiple networks in your brain working together. The networks involved in making a decision are the same ones that contribute to your executive functions. These functions are the high-level brain functions that dictate your ability to sustain focus, override impulses, think, learn, plan, and make decisions. High-level functions of the brain also require high amounts of fuel to support their actions. This means the more you’ve done in a day involving your mental capacities, the less fuel you’ll have remaining to support thinking and making decisions. If you struggle with challenges related to ADHD, anxiety, or depression you may be more likely to find yourself facing decision fatigue. Here's How to Prevent Decision Fatigue Next time you find yourself stuck when facing a decision, remember this—decision fatigue is your brain’s way of communicating with you. Your brain is telling you that you’ve reached your limit. To push past this limit successfully your brain needs extra support! If you’re able to, press pause on your decision and take time to implement one of the following energizing strategies first: Rest - a quick nap, mindfulness meditation, or a good night’s sleep can go a long way in providing your brain a chance to recharge Eat - a high protein snack that includes healthy fats such as avocado is a quick way to provide more fuel to your brain Exercise - 20-30 minutes of exercise that engages your muscles and spikes your heart rate can help to increase your ability to focus after exercising Switch gears - if something is causing you stress, taking time to set it aside to engage in something enjoyable, like time spent outside, can help you come back to face the challenge feeling more refreshed Connect with a friend or family member. Taking a few extra minutes out of your day to connect with someone you care about can help to recharge your mood and energy! Thoughtful planning can help to reduce your frequency of decision fatigue: Use the weekend to plan outfits and meals for the week, to reduce the number of decisions you need to make during your work week Make your biggest decisions first thing in the day, when you are rested and fresh Create habits and routines whenever possible to minimize the little decisions (do your grocery shopping first thing Saturday morning so you don’t need to decide that week when to go) Create to-do lists that include days and deadlines to minimize procrastination (which creates more decision fatigue due to stress and a backlog of decisions!) Don't Make Decision Fatigue a Family Habit If you’re a parent, keep in mind that decision fatigue is just as real for our kids as it is for us! Our kids also face days full of demands and stressful decisions. Next time your child melts down when you ask what they want for dinner, know their brain is showing you they’ve had enough for one day! Implementing the same strategies that help you, can help support your child’s needs as well. We can’t make the stresses and challenges in life go away, but we can work to be better prepared. Knowing how to identify your threshold for decision fatigue and what to do when the moment strikes will hopefully set you up for success in your 35,000 decisions tomorrow. Weekends are a great time to address decisions such as meals and outfits for the week, reducing the number of decisions you make during your work days. Save the big decisions for times when you are fresh and focused - first thing in the morning, or after you've eaten or exercised are great times to tackle the more challenging decisions, or longer lists! Dr. Rebecca Jackson is currently the VP of Programs and Outcomes for Brain Balance, where she designs and implements programs focused on strengthening the brain to optimize human performance for a variety of ages and abilities. She has been featured on national media outlets, including ABC’s The Doctors Show, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Forbes, Business Insider, TODAY, Huffington Post and more.

Technology

6 Hacks for Better Digital Wellness

So what is "digital wellness?" For me, it’s all about maintaining a “tech-life balance” by understanding how digital technology affects four pillars in my life — focus, mental health, physical health, and relationships — and how to balance these using technology while minimizing the negative effects. Here are some of my favorite small hacks that anyone can do to help: 1. Have a phone-free bedroom. Daunting to some, easy for others. One study suggests that doing this can improve happiness, quality of life, sleep, and relationships, and reduce anxiety – in just one week! 2. Put the phone away when engaging in conversation or doing work. One study suggests that the difference in productivity can be as high as 26% when comparing having the phone on the desk to having it in another room while performing a task. 3. Be a role model. Do you get frustrated with your kids always being on their phones? Or colleagues scrolling through meetings? Be the change you want to see! It is a lot easier to help others change by showcasing the desired behavior ourselves. 4. Turn off “Self View” in video meetings. Not your video, so people can still see you, but just so you don’t see yourself! It introduces stress and removes focus from the conversation. 5. Manage notifications. Determine which apps have the right to take your attention. Turn off any non-essential notifications or use functions in the phone to batch them. It has been found that just turning off email notifications can lower your heart rate and stress. 6. Consider your information intake. Staying up-to-date with news and events is important, but think about how often and how much information you consume. Think critically about whether the information actually is essential, adds value to you, changes your decisions, or just makes you feel worse. You can find tons of advice and resources and officially take the Digital Wellness pledge at digitalwellnessday.com (May 6). However, the takeaway here is that you can do any and all of these hacks any day. You don’t need a special day to take stock of your tech-life balance. Taíno Bendz is the founder of Phone Free Day and his own consulting business, and his message on mindful and intentional technology usage has reached and inspired hundreds of thousands of people around the world. He is a public speaker, workshop facilitator, and conducts research on digital technology usage. His latest book, Tech-Life Balance: 101 Ways to Take Control of Your Digital Life and Save Your Sanity is scheduled to be released in October 2022

Thoughtful serious african professional business man sit with laptop thinking of difficult project challenge looking for problem solution searching creative ideas lost in thoughts at home office desk

Resilience

Building Emotional Resilience When Dealing with Events Outside Your Control

There is a lot happening in our world today, and these last few years have spun us out of control. Anxiety is high anytime there is added uncertainty. Most of life is uncertain, that we can agree on. However, when our daily routines and the people, events, and circumstances we depend on for consistently are disrupted, how do we cope? The answer is through normalcy and celebration. Yes, as upsetting as this may seem to some, we must create and acknowledge life’s little joys, no matter how dire the circumstances. What works for you may not be what someone else needs. Can we stay open to allow others the experience and control they choose to create? We can, and our emotional intelligence will help. We can all increase or use our ability to understand, manage our emotions positively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict. Start with what we can control Recent events in Ukraine have forced families out of their homes, into shelters, and some into refugee camps. These events are the worst imaginable, and yet some still find life, love, happiness and joy through the smiles, songs being shared, and simple life events that are posted on social media. This is what so many fight for, work for, and believe in. The simple song of a young child being sung in her native tongue brought smiles, tears, connection, and a reprieve from the harshness of their current circumstance. A small kitten being rescued from a river with a willing participant and a cardboard box. Meals are cooked and shared. Many found care and concern for life still exists in our world. We are not a world only filled with disaster, hardship, and oppressiveness. There is a great need to find the simplest reason to smile, remember why so many are fighting for life and the life they are fighting for. This all is about what you can control. Often when in despair, we feel we have no control and therefore no hope. What is needed most in our times of struggle is just that, hope. Hope a future exists for us and loved, hope for the simplicities of life. Embrace all of your emotions This is not to say we as individuals, a society, and a world should not be reverent or respectful of suffering. We all process pain, disappointment, and disaster differently. The pandemic has created an atmosphere of survival and fear around the world. Many celebrations had to be put on hold, and some never happened. Birthdays, weddings, family reunions, even the celebration of the life of a loved one departed was taken. There has been a lot to feel sad about. Seeing people gathered in a small room with smiles on, a young girl proudly standing on a chair belting out “Frozen” during a crisis in her country warmed my heart as it did her onlookers and those with her. It was uplifting for sure. We all need moments to get out of the sadness, loss, and suffering. Being happy is a choice. Not one we want to make all the time or feel like we can. But we must keep happiness close at hand. We must provide opportunities for relief, moments of feeling hope, love, acceptance, and joy. We deal with events outside our control by controlling what we can We can’t control the weather, but I can plan for an umbrella. We can’t control another’s reaction, but we can control our behavior and make a choice for sharing love and joy. We can’t control a lot of life. This is not new. However, we reduce our frustration, stress, and anxiety by taking action on what we can control. For some, it will be a reminder that life is still good. For others, it will be a donation or a way to volunteer. For others, a vote. What can you control? What can you do that makes you feel just a little better? Maybe it will be watching a cat being rescued, a stranger donating a stroller or youthful reminder of a familiar song. We can choose to find moments of control, especially through connection and caring of others. We can choose to acknowledge a smile on another’s face and be reminded that there is hope, and happiness still exists. Stephanie Bolster McCannon is an Organizational Psychologist, published author of BolsterUp!: The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Happy Healthy Human, and CEO of BolsterUp, a well-being coaching company that supports emotional, mental, and physical mastery.

Nurse having headache and tired from work while wearing PPE suit for protect coronavirus disease. The wellbeing and emotional resilience are key components of maintaining essential care services.

Self-Care

How Resiliency and Wellness are Being Weaponized

Instead of doing more during a crisis period, give yourself permission to feel better during times of adversity. Recently we conducted a survey, asking people to describe how they were feeling today using one word. A resounding amount of people responded with the word 'DONE.' People have had enough. As a collective, we have all experienced varying degrees of micro and macro traumas since March 2020. We are permanently changed from living during COVID-19. We are seeing educators, health practitioners, and families pitted against one another. The divides around ideas, beliefs, values, and actions have become expansive. We are weary, wobbly, and discouraged. The feelings of numbness and hopelessness are a result from direct and indirect exposure to pain, suffering and uncertainty. It is hard to hold hope after such a long change season. And what is exasperating our collective weariness is being told that personal resiliency and self-care is the remedy. Band-Aids on Bullet Wounds Telling someone to be resilient or self-care themselves back to good when the world is on fire is like putting a band-aid on a bullet hole. It might stop the bleed for a millisecond, but the injury needs a proper intervention. As a scholar of resiliency and wellness, I am deeply concerned with how resiliency and wellness are being weaponized. Amid systems of corruption and deconstruction, plus social injustices, telling people to just be more resilient or up their self-care is cruel. The reality is that organizations, systems, and companies need also carry some responsibility in addressing the demands on their people. The demands are rising, and our supply of self-care is not proportionate. Professional care is also needed. Self-care is what we bring. Professional care is what an organization can do to mediate and address the stressors (more to come on that topic soon.) The Pace of Crisis Living Comes at a Cost We have experienced over 600 consecutive days of a crisis, yet many of our professional and personal roles and responsibilities still have us in the early crisis pace and mode. In the immediate aftermath of a crisis, people are on high-alert; change and responsive action are required. We are not future-focused. We are surviving at the moment and trying everything to minimize the blast radius. With all that is being asked of us, our plates are broken from the weight of everything, and now the platter we are balancing is starting to overflow too. We have moved from juggling watermelons blindfolded to juggling chainsaws on fire. I recently commented in a presentation that I feel as though I have brought a fruit roll-up to a knife fight. And in the weariness of our brains sizzling, our children missing key milestones, and being in another wave, WE feel we are not doing enough. We believe we are not resilient. Or maybe we are just tired of being resilient or living in systems that require this degree and scope of resiliency to cope. The Perpetual Loop of Waiting until Monday to Start As a behaviorist, I have a deep appreciation for the use of tools and strategies to help people adapt, cope, learn, and grow. I can also read the room, and I know the last thing people want right now is to do more. So, here is my invitation, let's try to take small, consistent, and purposeful steps towards looking after ourselves as we continue to work on regulating a hurting and broken world. This is for you to start to hold hope again. To believe that we will weather this storm and look after ourselves in the process. I invite you to give yourself permission to start feeling good again where you can, during this season of uncertainty and change, not waiting until afterwards to start getting back to those good feelings and thoughts. We are in a perpetual loop of waiting until Monday to feel better. This is a false promise we convince ourselves is true. Once I feel better, and the world is better, then I will be okay. We must find a way to be okay DURING the change season. This is for you, not the establishment. And what is terrific about this truth is that when you start feeling better, our perspective shifts from threat-tunnel focus to broader views, increasing problem-solving, critical thinking and innovation. And that is the mindset we need to solve the problems that are plaguing us right now. What are some of my program’s wise practices that can accomplish this? Let me tell you. Tools for Those Who Are Tired of Tools We are complex beings. We are feeling-factories who entertain over 65,000 thoughts per day. It takes a herculean effort to balance our emotional lives when we also factor in impulses, drives, lived experiences, pressures, a boss, with a side of occupational loneliness while also celebrating our familial roles, pets, oh and getting ready for the holidays! And yet, we still strive for a clean house too. Simply start where you can: I surrendered my need for a clean house to a clean kitchen, and it has done wonders! Who says this needs to look or be done this way? Challenge the belief that everything needs to be in order and perfect. Ask for help where you can. There is no shame in asking for help when the weight of your world cannot be supported with your two hands. When we are in a constant state of doing and giving, it may be hard to receive. Some may feel like it is easier just to do it yourself than explain to someone how to help. Pick your priorities and let the other things be good-enough-for now. Find micro-breaks where you can: There is no one coming to rescue us. We don't need saving. We need 5 minutes in solitude to drink a hot coffee or one great podcast that helps name what we feel and inspires us to keep going. Take 5 when and wherever you can. Hold empathy for yourself as you would for others: As you show kindness and gratitude for others, please share that with yourself. It is by showing empathy and compassion for ourselves that it can then flow onto others. You are entitled to a bad day. That doesn’t make you an ungrateful person. Recognize dual truths: You can love your life and need to cry. You can love your job and fantasize about owning an animal sanctuary. You can love the holidays and be looking forward to January. Honor all the behaviors! Even those maladaptive behaviours that are helping you cope; Thank you Netflix, rompers, pets, chocolate, venting sessions with that dear friend and Ted Lasso. Every behaviour serves a purpose. You do not have to fix anything or everything today or ever. You don’t have to grow, heal, and achieve every second of your life. Go for the ONE thing that will make you feel like you are living your values. Maybe it is reading a story to a child. Or perhaps it is getting a gift to the local toy drive. Or making time to walk your dog. Each day make sure that ONE thing is getting done. Often our value-based behaviours fall to the bottom of the never-ending list. Honor how much you have gone through and grown through. List all the things that you have discovered and learned about yourself these last 20 months. Celebrate it all. Give yourself credit and recognition for what you have done and continue to do. You may have also brought a fruit roll-up to this knife fight, but thankfully we are using our words, and it looks like we are going to walk away from this alive! Described as one of the most sought-after, engaging, thought-provoking, and truly transformative international speakers and scholars in her field, Dr. Robyne is a multi-award-winning education and psychology instructor, author, and resiliency. Dr. Robyne’s maiden book, Calm Within The Storm: A Pathway to Everyday Resiliency, released in March 2021, is now in its third print as it makes its way into the hearts and practices of people around the globe.

Live Happy Revolution of New Year Resolution

Well-Being

Revolution of the New Year’s Resolution: A Real Soul Evolution

Good habits to practice to help keep your health and wellness goals on track. It’s early January. It’s dreary, misty, and cold outside. Members of my tribe slowly check in with me to say Happy New Year and inform me that they are doing a dry January or that they got up extra early this morning to get their workout in. Or that they are going to lose that extra weight they have been intending to take off. I cheer them on, support them, uplift them, but I cannot help but think to myself, what about after January? According to the Journal of Clinical Psychology, nearly 50% of Americans intend on making a New Year’s resolution but only 60% keep those resolutions after the first month and only 8% keep those resolutions for the year. Despite the intention to make positive changes to our lives every new year, such as losing weight, drinking less and getting more sleep, the success rate of achieving those goals is low. Intending. What exactly is an intention? Dictionary.com defines it as “an act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result.” So how do we change an act or an instance of determination into many, repetitive acts of intention. Enter the word we all know—resolution. Dictionary.com defines a resolution as “a formal expression of opinion or intention made,” and “the act of resolving or determining upon an action [or] course of action…” Even more telling is Dictionary.com’s “other words for resolution: resolve, determination, perseverance, tenacity; strength, fortitude.” These are the words you will need to carry you through to the end of 2022, not just till the end of January. It’s great to intend the night before to wake up early by setting your alarm, telling your friend you will do so, and getting to sleep a bit earlier. And it’s great when you actually do it. But how do you power yourself to make it a habit. What will give you the staying power to see your project through to the end, to stay the course, is resolution. Here are six good habits you can practice during the year to keep your health and wellness goals on track. Resolve Embedded in the word intent is the implicit I will try, or I want: the desire. But embedded in the word resolve is the solve—the Resolving and Re-soling of the problem or the project you intend to accomplish or achieve. Determination The word has a finality about it, and within it contains the word “terminal”—reminiscent of the last bus stop, the terminal. Resolution is what gets you to the last bus stop, the end goal. But of course, the journey is not about the end, it is the about the journey itself, the tale of how you got yourself to the gym after work when you were tired and hungry. Perseverance To persevere is to keep going even when you don’t want to or when you feel like you can’t. It is what peels you off the cozy, comfy couch. It is what pushes you past what you think is the bottom of your tank, only to find there is more. According to the VIA Institute on Character, perseverance is the strength most associated with life engagement and achievement, which both adds to your happiness and well-being. Tenacity Tenacity is holding on. It is what makes you put down the chocolate bar and pick up the apple instead. Apples are high in sugar, pectin, and fiber, and power you through workouts. Chocolate feels good for a minute while it melts on your tongue into silky softness, but then comes the sugar crash and hunger cravings. And no way to power yourself through anything. Tenacity is accepting the weak moments but staying the course because you respect yourself too much. Because you will be happier later. Strength Strength, like anything, has everything to do with practice. Even more than the physical muscle, you need to flex the mental muscle that takes your intention of making a healthy food choice, over and over, until you do it without much thought because it has become embedded into your psyche. Fortitude It takes bravery to admit your failures and to get back up and try it again. Fortitude is not perfection. Fortitude is knowing you may have lost the battle, but you will win the war. Even though your intention may have failed you when you overstepped the boundary of the one square of chocolate a day (one square becomes one row which becomes, gasp! the whole bar…), it is resolution which allows you to rein in your raw desires and stay the path. Practice Makes Perfect Healthy habits are no different from any other habits–they require commitment, practice, grit, and most of all, the boring daily grind repetition that is required to transmogrify your intent–your will–into your resolution–your real soul evolution.

Lifestyle shot of a woman cooking breakfast food on the stove.

Well-Being

5 Sustainable New Year Intentions That Stick

Reach your health goals in 2023 by practicing these lifestyle changes Nothing is more synonymous with the new year than coming up with resolutions. Every new year we get motivated and set about making goals to better ourselves. Many resolutions revolve around our health and taking care of our bodies, but will we be doing these “healthy” practices six months from now? Most likely we won’t since only four percent of people actually stick to their New Year’s resolutions. Why is this? The goals and practices that we set for ourselves in January simply aren’t sustainable. If you want to be able to keep your resolutions, the key is to set goals that you’ll be able to maintain. Here are five ways to help you transform your health in 2023 with sustainable lifestyle practices. 1. Eat a higher-protein breakfast Many resolutions tend to revolve around more healthful eating. However, it can be incredibly challenging to change one’s diet overnight. Cutting out processed fat, sugar and otherwise unhealthy food can be beneficial, but going cold turkey and maintaining a new, strict diet could be setting yourself up for failure. Instead, start by altering your diet with a higher protein breakfast. A study published in the International Journal of Obesity showed that eating a high-protein breakfast, can help control glucose levels, thereby providing a more healthful lifestyle. High protein breakfasts include foods such as eggs, turkey bacon, string cheese, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, chicken sausage or protein shakes (be careful of hidden sugars here) coupled with one serving of whole grain carbohydrates. 2. Physical activity Working out is a common New Year’s resolution, the trouble is that people try to go from zero to 60 the first week of January. It simply doesn’t work that way and can lead to fatigue and even injury. It’s best to ease into physical activity. The American Heart Association recommends that healthy adults get 150 minutes (30 minutes, five days a week) of aerobic activity. Try to go for a 30-minute walk after dinner a few days a week and work up to five days. Or, if you can’t walk for 30 minutes straight, start by breaking it out into three 10-minute walks or two 15-minute walks. The idea is to simply get started, but in a more sustainable way. Additionally, a recent study found that physical inactivity is associated with higher risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes, so getting in some moderate exercise could be crucial during this time. 3. Optimize sleep Sleep is when your body rests and repairs itself. By including sleep on your resolutions list, you can feel good about squeezing in some extra hours or even a nap. The CDC recommends that adults ages 18-60 get seven or more hours of sleep per night. Not only that, but if one of your resolutions is weight loss, a study showed that people sleeping 8.5 hours a night compared to 5.5 hours lost 55 percent more body fat while consuming the exact same diet. Plus, lack of sleep or burnout may increase risk of COVID-19 infection, so getting those extra ZZZs can be imperative to your health. 4. Optimize vitamin D Vitamin D is a vital nutrient that helps your body maintain healthy bones, is an anti-inflammatory, an antioxidant and protects muscle and brain activity. Taking a vitamin D supplement is a completely sustainable resolution that can have a tremendous impact on your health. Not only that, but a study showed that vitamin D deficiency was associated with a six-fold increase in severe disease from COVID-19 and 15-fold risk of death, so this is a healthful, timely and easy resolution. 5. Reduce exposure to synthetic chemicals Obesogens are synthetic chemicals that disrupt the endocrine system and may lead to weight gain and obesity as well as hinder your body’s natural immune response. They are being let loose at astonishing rates into our environment, with 10 million new chemicals released each year, which is more than 1,000 per hour. The five obesogens most commonly found in the home are Bisphenol-A (BPA), Phthalates, Atrazine, Organotins and Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA). Reducing exposure to these chemicals is as simple as paying attention to the types of products you use or bring into your home, making it an easy resolution to keep. If you’re not sure of your current exposure level, you can ask your healthcare provider for an Array 11 test. The Array 11 test measures a large range of environmental chemical toxins that are found in your system. This will let you know what type of exposure you’ve already had, and then as you make adjustments, follow-up tests make it easy to monitor progress of exposure reduction. These lifestyle changes can make your resolutions stick As you start making your New Year’s resolutions, remember that sustainable resolutions are best. It’s tempting to set ambitious goals, but that’s a sure way to get resolution burnout and set yourself up for failure. There are some easy things you can do to transform your health and lifestyle in 2023 without setting the bar astronomically high. Making simple adjustments like eating a high-protein breakfast and getting enough sleep are easy to do and easy to maintain. Try incorporating the five resolutions above for a new year that will effectively and simply transform your health. Dr. Chad Larson, NMD, DC, CCN, CSCS, Advisor and Consultant on Clinical Consulting Team for Cyrex Laboratories. Dr. Larson holds a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine degree from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Southern California University of Health Sciences. He is a Certified Clinical Nutritionist and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.

Photo Displays Person Holding Ball With Reflection of Horizon

Self-Care

Looking Back Over the Last Year Can Help You Plan for the New One

A new approach to self-transformation may be the key to reaching your goals This time of the year, there are millions of people who look back at the goals they set on New Year’s and often see where they fell short. Many people make resolutions at the beginning of the year, fall short in reaching them, and then beat themselves up when they get ready to go into the next year. One personal development coach says that’s the wrong way to go about improving your life, and she offers a whole new “zoom out” approach to successful transformation. We often get in the habit of just setting goals, not reaching them, and then being hard on ourselves as we set them again the following year. According to a study published in the December 2020 issue of the journal PLoS One, most of the goals people set each January focus on physical health, weight loss, and eating habits. Their large-scale study finds that one year later, 55% of the people feel they were successful with the goals they had set, and that there were two things that helped them be more successful. The first thing that made people in the study more successful was having approach-oriented goals, rather than avoidance-oriented ones. In other words, instead of making the goal to completely avoid something, people are more successful if they have a way to approach it that is healthier and more manageable, or if they wanted to avoid something they had an approach to successfully achieve that. Secondly, those who had some kind of support were significantly more successful compared to those who did not. That support can be in the form of a group, friend, or a personal development coach. When you have someone who can help keep you motivated and mindful, it will go a long way toward helping to achieve goals and dreams. Try a new approach to reaching your goals I have provided support and guidance to many people, helping them to transform their life. My approach involves looking back over the last year, but not in an effort to look at shortcomings or beat yourself up. Instead, it’s about viewing your life from a distance, seeing what you’d like to change, and then visualizing what you want your life to be like. Here are the steps to the “zoom out” approach to planning for the New Year: Get a journal and set aside some time for personal reflection. Get some perspective about yourself by zooming out and viewing your life over the last year. To do this, visualize that you are watching your life in a movie reel. Observing from a distance will give you a chance to be objective. Ask yourself some questions and write the answers in your journal. Ask yourself things like how the last year felt, what it meant to you, if there is a misalignment in what you see and what you want, what felt good and right, what needs to shift to be more in line with what you want, and what you want the next year to look like. As you perform this exercise strive to be objective and mindful but be gentle with yourself. If there are things you didn’t like that’s okay, this is the time to put them in the spotlight so there can be a shift. Visualize how you want the next year to be and write it down. With that visualization in mind, go into the New Year with a positive attitude, moving your life in the direction that you want it to be. Be gentle with yourself and just keep moving forward. When a new year starts it’s the perfect time for reflection and transformation. When you do this exercise you will no longer be stuck. You will have a visualization of what you want your life to be like and can help make it happen. By zooming out you get a different perspective about yourself and it can be powerful in helping with self-transformation. Katie Sandler is a popular impact coach and provides health and wealth coaching and personal and professional development. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in mental health counseling, has a strong foundation in mindfulness-based stress reduction, and has worked in hospitals and private practice. She previously spent time as a research assistant while at Johns Hopkins, focusing on purpose in life. To learn more about Katie Sandler and her services, or to see the retreat schedule, visit katiesandler.com.

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