Tag: goals

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You Only Fail If You Stop Trying

This week I came across this quote from Tony Robbins: “No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow your progress, you’re still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.”

Weight loss

What do you think about that? You may be tempted to stop trying when things don’t seem to be moving as fast as you would like them to. You can fill in the blanks with any number of things:

You are not losing weight fast enough;

Your diabetes is still not where you would like it to be

Your blood pressure is still too high

Your cholesterol …

And the list may include things that don’t pertain to health. They may be financial, or job related or other personal goals. Whatever they are, keep trying. Don’t give up.

The reason is simple; every effort you make toward your goal brings you one step closer. You may not be able to see it yet, but you are gaining ground. Your muscles are becoming stronger, your endurance is improving, and your organs are responding in ways you cannot see.

Then one day you go for your checkup, and your doctor greets you with a big smile. Your numbers are better than they were six months ago! Your doctor is happy, and you should be too.

So, keep on trying. Keep setting the alarm to wake up half an hour earlier so you can workout. Keep passing up the sugary juices for water; keep adding a fruit and some green vegetable to your lunch box everyday, and one day when you get on that scale the numbers will surprise you. Try it!

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A diagnosis of type 2 diabetes can send your life into a tailspin. It can leave you feeling alone and overwhelmed, but it doesn’t have to. Join my type 2 diabetes network group and get the help and support you need.

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How To Succeed This Year

It’s that time again. You made it into 2022 and for some of you, you are determined to succeed with your goals this year. You are not going to make the same mistakes you made in 2021. Well, I sincerely hope so because researchers tell us that 75% of resolutions made in January usually end up in failure.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Happy_New_Year_2022!.gif

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. In fact, you should keep on trying, for giving up is a sure way of failing. So, if you’ve tried and tried repeatedly and still have not succeeded in whatever aiming at, here are some possible reasons why that is happening:

  1. Timing. Most people try to start on their resolutions in January (that’s why it’s called New Year’s Resolutions), but January is a tough month. It’s cold and dark outside —in the Northern Hemisphere— you have already gained some pounds from the holidays, and your budget may be tight, making it difficult to purchase healthy foods.
  2. Lack of planning. Your motivation may be high, but you haven’t made concrete plans to achieve your goals.
  3. Unrealistic goals. “I’ll lose fifty pounds in 6 months,” is an example of an unrealistic goal. Experts tell us we should lose no more than 2 pounds a week, and you do so by eating a lower calorie diet and regular physical activity.
  4. Lack of support. Anything becomes more doable—whether it’s losing weight, studying for an exam, or controlling your diabetes— when you enlist the support of others.

Now you know some of the reasons people fail at New Year’s Resolutions, you can simply reverse the above hints to help you succeed. And most importantly, don’t be too hard on yourself. Remember what I said about trying? The only way you can fail is when you cease to try.

What will be your turnback moment?

So, I wish you a Happy New Year. 2021 was awful for most of us, but thank God it’s gone. Let us look to 2022 with hope. Remember, nothing lasts forever. Best of luck in all your endeavors. If you need help and support, join my Facebook Network Group where you can get all the help you need.

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When Everything Seems Too Hard

The gateway to the gospel near Joppa

Have you ever wakened in the morning, looked at the clock, groaned and covered your head, wishing you didn’t have to get up? I daresay it happens to many of us–especially if it’s Monday morning. Yep, like this morning. I’m not making fun of your struggle, but sometimes life seems just too hard.

It was hard

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you would know I just returned from a trip to Israel. And while it was a bucket-list trip for me, it was hard. Someone calculated on his smart watch that we had walked 28 miles in 10 days! And the watch didn’t say anything about how many hills we climbed, and how hot the weather was. In one place, the mercury reached 100 degrees. Yes, it was hard!

What kept me going

But what kept us, kept me going, was a sense of purpose. Visiting Israel, walking in the footsteps of Jesus, was a bucket-list accomplishment for me. That is what made me get out of my bed at 5. 30 every morning, get dressed and board the bus. Would I do it again? You bet I would!

The apostle Paul’s difficulties

The apostle Paul, speaking of all the difficulties he and his companions endured while they were in Asia, said, “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1: 8 – 9). 

Rely on God

If trying to achieve your goals seems difficult right now, here’s what you need to do: Rely on God. If you read the New Testament, you would see Paul’s recounting of the hardships he endured –beaten, stoned, left for dead, imprisoned, shipwrecked, bitten by a snake– the list goes on and on. But all of these things happened that they might learn to rely on God and not on themselves. Trying to lose weight? Get rid of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, whatever? Medicines may help, but you must also trust God. He made you, He knows your body and He wants to help you.

Keep your purpose in mind

Paul and his companions had a purpose–to carry the gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. They were not just going for a visit. In the same way you must keep your purpose in mind. Write your goals down and look at them every chance you get. Pray about them and watch God bring them to pass.

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Eyes Behind Your Head

Image by David Mark from Pixabay

Have you ever heard someone say, “I’ve got eyes behind my head?” If you are a mother, you’ve probably said it dozens of times when you caught your child doing something he or she should not be doing. If you are a teacher (as I have) you’ve probably had your back turned to your class, writing something on the board and said, “Johnny, get back in your seat.” Did you see him? No, it comes with intuition, or maybe just experience.

This morning my exercise class had already started when a young lady came in a few minutes late. She made a sign behind the instructor’s back to indicate she didn’t want the woman to notice her, but just then the instructor turned around. She was caught! I’m sure we’ve all been in a similar situation.

Image by alvaroas8a0 from Pixabay

What about animals? Do they have eyes behind their heads? A quick Google search revealed that only two animals can see completely behind their heads – the rabbit and the parrot. Their eyes are not behind their heads, they are on the side. but they can swivel 360 degrees so they can see their predators. Amazing, isn’t it?

I know Someone else who has eyes that allow Him to see not just 360 degrees, but everywhere, all the time. You guessed it. God! The Bible says, “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” 2 Chronicles 16: 9).  He sees us wherever we are. All the time. He sees our good deeds as well as our bad deeds. He sees our struggles and our cares. He knows when we are weary and when we are sad; when we are ready to throw in the towel and when we are ready to press on.

Will you trust Him with your burdens and your cares? Will you lay your plans, your goals at His feet and say, “Here, Lord, I cannot do this on my own. I’m turning it over to You. Please help me.” Try it and let me know what happens. And if you enjoy this blog post, please share it with a friend and sign up for my newsletter so you can receive more updates on how I can help you reach your health goals. God bless.

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monday motivation – do you keep your word?

A handshake is no longer binding

Disobedient children

Our scripture reading in church yesterday included this verse: “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey” (Exodus 24: 7) NIV. But sadly, very little time had passed after the children of Israel said this than they began to disobey. God became so furious He would have destroyed them had Moses not pleaded for them.

Just a handshake

Have you vowed to do something only to change your mind soon after saying it? Long ago, all that was needed for a contract to be binding was for both parties to shake hands. Nowadays, contracts are multi-page documents with language only a legal expert can understand. Why is that? Because most of us do not keep our word, we have to have something in writing that no one can easily dispute.

Keeping your word

How about keeping your word to yourself? Have you ever said, “I’m going to exercise four times a week?” Or, “I’m going to cut down on my sugar intake?” Or, “I’m going to add some vegetables to my diet?” Whatever promise you have made yourself (or others) and have not kept, ask God to forgive you and help you keep that promise. Your body is as important to God as your soul is. He wants you healthy so you can fulfill His purpose in this world.

Have a contract

Write your contract and put it where you can see it everyday

Go one step further and write a contract to yourself. It does not have to be several pages. Just one paragraph will do. When you write it, put it up somewhere you can see it every day. God gave Moses the Ten Commandments written on tablets of stone. That’s how important they were to God. Write your contract down because it’s important to you.

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Getting Rid of Self-Limiting Beliefs

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  • Stop comparing yourself to others
  • Take control of your thoughts. If you failed in the past, it doesn’t mean you’ll fail again .
  • Acquire knowledge.  Maybe you didn’t know all you needed to know in order to succeed
  • Talk to people who would help boost your confidence.
  • Write  your limiting beliefs in your journal
  • Then write what your life would be like if you didn’t have those beliefs,
  • Don’t give up!
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Wednesday Wisdom – What Are You Doing Today?

So, what can you do today that will positively impact your tomorrow? Can you eat an orange – as seen in the picture – instead of having an ice-cream bar? Can you drink a cool glass of water instead of soda or juice? Can you add some green vegetables to your steak and potatoes? Can you take a walk?

Do something today that will help you move toward your healthcare goals and watch your life change tomorrow. When you do it, why don’t you record what you did in your journal? Writing it down will make it so much more meaningful and set you on the path to doing more. Here are some journals to get you started, if you don’t already have one. The motivational quotes are  just what you need to get you started.

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Taking The Next Step

As I said in my last post, it’s now July and some of you may still be wondering what happened to those lovely New Year’s resolutions you made. Well, you are not the only one. We almost all do it. We make New Year’s resolutions to get healthy, to exercise more and to live a more happy and positive life. Then, as they say, life happens. We fall off the ball and eventually we’re right back where we started a year ago.

Sometimes it’s just a matter of losing our motivation to continue. Reaching the goal might be taking longer than we hoped or harder than we anticipated. But there are things we can do to boost our motivation along the way.

Tell other people about your goal or invite them to join you.

Work on taking small steps every day that leads you towards your goal.

Celebrate your success at preset milestones. Did you go to the gym every day this week? Then treat yourself by going out with friends and don’t be afraid to brag about your success.

Work on changing your thought patterns as you work on the new behavior. If you don’t change how you think about eating healthy, you will likely have trouble maintaining it.

Have fun and laugh at yourself when you slip. But get back on track as soon as you can.

The statistics are scary. If only eight percent of people setting New Year’s resolutions are able to achieve them, then why do so many attempt them year after year and fail? It’s not because they are lazy. Often it’s simply because we set too high a goal or try to achieve too many resolutions at once.

Achieving your goals is a lot like taking a long trip. You wouldn’t set out without a plan on how you were going to get there, where you’d be staying or even what you planned to take with you.

So when you find yourself slipping, take the time to reassess and revamp the plan on how you are going to reach that health goal. Hit the gym, turn down that piece of cake and eat less processed foods. Give yourself a reward, and then get out and do it all over again tomorrow. It’ll be worth it when you finally achieve it.

Need help reaching and keeping your goals? Just fill out the form below.
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Why We Fail

Have you stopped and looked at your calendar, your watch or your phone lately? What do you see? We are now in July, seventh months past the day you made those lovely New Year’s Resolutions. Are you still struggling to get on track with your health goals? Do you feel like you have failed? Maybe you have – so far, but that doesn’t have to be the end of your efforts. You can still achieve the level of fitness you desire. Before we go any further, let’s look at some of the reasons you are not yet where you want to be at this time of year.

• High motivation with no real plan. Those New Year’s Resolutions don’t come with instructions. We can easily say, “I’m going to lose 20 pounds this year”, but that’s only the first step. To stay motivated, you need a detailed plan and often expert advice to be more likely to succeed.
• Setting unrealistic goals. Often we set unrealistic goals, such as going cold turkey from smoking or losing 50 pounds in 6 months. We sometimes set multiple resolutions that have nothing in common (like losing weight and getting out of debt) expecting to accomplish them all simultaneously. We set our expectations too high.
• Being too tough on ourselves. We have big expectations for ourselves, and then end up having an even bigger disappointment when our progress is slower than we expected or we have an occasional setback. This can cause you to give up.
• Lack of support or accountability. Trying to stay motivated on your own is tough. We’re social beings. We do better trying to reach a goal when we have support and are being held accountable for what we do. If no one knows you’re on a diet and fast food isn’t on your approved menu, the only thing keeping you away from the fast food lane is your own self-control.

Now you know what causes you to fail at your New Year’s resolutions. Making them work involves changing your behavior, setting realistic goals, having a system for reaching the goal, and having others hold you accountable. Do you think you can do that all by yourself? Maybe not. Why not let me help you? With eighteen years’ experience as an occupational therapist, I possess the knowledge and skills to help you take control of your life and achieve your goals. Just fill in the form below to schedule a free consultation.

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Wednesday Wisdom – Do Something Different

Hi everyone, it’s the second  Wednesday of the year. How is it going so far? What are you doing today to help you move toward your goals for 2018? I’m not just talking about health goals. I’m talking about any type of goal – relationships, work, health, spiritual, whatever.

When you wake up each morning, what goal do you have in mind for that day? Notice I said goal, not plan. You may plan to go to work today, and after work you may go to the gym. Yay! But those are plans, not goals. Your goal would be something you hope to accomplish. For example, I will walk 1 mile in 30 mins, 3 times a week.

If you get up this morning and decide to go for a walk without having a Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound (SMART) goal in mind, then you are not doing something different, and chances are, you will not stay on target.

So today, I challenge you – do something different. You don’t exercise? Go for a short walk. Eat something different. You are not used to eating fish? Try it. Don’t like drinking water? Drink one glass. After work you collapse in front of the TV? Try reading a book instead, or listen to some music. Do Something Different.

Will you?

This morning I read an article online about this woman who was talked into buying a 2-day health coaching program for a couple thousand dollars. Ridiculous, right? But this person says it happened to her. If you decide to do something different and sign up for my health coaching program, you won’t pay anything close to that, not even for 12 sessions, which is what I recommend you sign up for. And the consultation is free.

So, what are you waiting for? Do Something Different Today to bring your weight, diabetes, high blood pressure, pain and stress under control. When you fill in the form below, I will let you know how you can arrange for a free consultation with me.  Until next time, get up off that couch!

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