From Resolutions to Meaningful Promises for Health and Wellness

Wellness Wednesday with Life and Weight-loss Coach Flossie Alexander of You Can NOW! Coaching.

Three years ago I decided to KICK the New Year's “Resolution” concept to the curb! ! What does that mean anyway?! It has developed a bad rep over the years! Why? Because nobody really keeps them!! I decided then to call any New Year Resolutions my  "New Year's Promises to Myself" if it meant anything to me.

As you all know, my life has gone through many changes over the last three years. The biggest is in November 2006 when I celebrated my second anniversary of "finding myself" and getting healthy losing 165 pounds.

When I decided to give my so called New Year's Resolution an overhaul, that was a very significant accomplishment in my life.  I made that “Promise” and I stuck to it! I thought long and hard before that facelift came about.  As I went through the rolodex in my mind I went through the many years of resolutions: lose weight, eat better & exercise were always repeated.

Why hadn't I keep those resolutions? Perhaps it was the word resolution itself that hindered me, I thought.  We have used that word so many times, it really has lost it's meaning! It  has simply what we use at year's end because ... well, because everyone just does it!  The day I couldn’t fasten my seat belt, when I maxed out at 325 pounds, was the day I PROMISED to treat myself better!! So I would like to encourage each of you to search for something with similar meaning in yourself when it comes to achieving your weight-loss goals ... then give your own resolutions a much needed overhaul!



My 2006 New Year's Promises (which I have accomplished every day since)

1. I PROMISE to love me NO MATTER WHAT (which is the key to getting healthy).
2. I PROMISE to put myself first and do what is right for me (which is the key to getting healthy).
3. I PROMISE to put a smile on my face EVERY day because there is always something to smile about (which is the key to getting healthy).
4. I PROMISE to be there for those that need lifting up when they are down (which is the key to getting healthy).
5. I PROMISE never to let anyone or anything make me feel insignificant ever again (which is the key to getting healthy).

I do believe those are all promises I can keep for the rest of my life!! As I did In 2006, I am ushering in 2010 with a smile on my face and a skip in my walk!

HAPPY 2010 – THE YEAR WE ARE ALL GOING TO WIN And GET HEALTHY!!!!


Yours in Health

Flossie Alexander
Life/Weight Loss Coach
You Can NOW! Coaching
Where Results ARE Typical!


About Flossie: Flossie is currently a member of the National Association of Professional Women and Toastmaster’s International. She is a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Coach and a Certified Wellness Coach with a successful track record in leading organizations and individuals into achieving healthy lifestyle goals. After overcoming obesity, losing 165 pounds in 18 months, she has developed a passion to help others through public speaking and one-on-one weight loss coaching. Visit Flossie at http://www.youcannowcoaching.com to start creating your new healthy lifestyle and lose unhealthy weight permanently.

Lessons from 2009 and Growth in 2010

Greetings to all my wonderful readers out there!

I hope you all enjoyed a Christmas celebration filled with lasting memories and love! With three days left to before we enter 01.01.10 I wanted to sit back for a minute, grab a nice hot cup of vanilla chai and think about all the things that happened - or perhaps didn't happen - in 2009.

A lot of my friends have shared their victories with me (gaining employment, launching businesses, etc.) and their seeming defeats (loss of a job or second income, death, divorce, etc.) and all I could do is smile through it all. Why? One, because I'm genuinely happy for their victories and I know that what appears as a defeating or hopeless situation will eventually reveal a victory to be had. Besides, being hateful about someone's success or sitting with a look of despair is not going to help or hinder the situation. It might cause the loss of a good friend or two though.

So last night I started thinking about all the lessons I learned in 2009. I mapped all the "good" things and the "bad" things that happened and I came up with two conclusions:

1. There are no good and bad situations. There are only situations. The labeling of a particular situation as good or bad is completely up to the individual. The situation itself just is. If we simply experience the ebb and flow of what life brings our way we will find our selves in a much happier place. Why? Because we will have developed the ability to enjoy the up moments and accept and overcome the not so up moments.

2. The bad times do not last. They may seem like nights of never-ending shadow and gloom but eventually light always pierces the darkness and we see relief and can move on with our lives. Additionally, I'd like to think that with serious investigation we should be able to pinpoint more 'ups' than 'downs'. If not, then there's something that needs mending and I think everything, in some form or fashion can be mended.

Those are just some of the things I learned during 2009. So what's on the agenda for 2010?

EXPANSION & GROWTH! 

I'm going to employ a 4-step method to do just that; here it is:

Reflect - Basically, what I discussed above. I'm looking back at the past 365 to what what worked, what didn't and what was wasted away. I'm going to sit down and write a list of these things and keep them on the wall over my desk so that I can always have a reference to keep me on the path to expansion and growth.

Regroup - For this step I'm going to access and reaccess all the activities that didn't prove useful or ended up just being time wasters. These things will either be recycled (take the good elements of the activity and repurpose then into something useful) or discarded altogether. This is what I call regathering or reclaiming your energy.

Pursue (Not Just Plan) - Most of us do a lot of planning - I "plan" to lose weight or I "plan" to write my first book. Heck, I '"planned" on becoming a professional blogger way before 2009 (chuckles)! Yes, planning is important but not as important as implementing that plan. Remember it's called action, not plan-tion!

Succeed! - By ding the things above I can all but guarantee that I will be successful - or at least more successful - at achieving my goals in 2010.

Meditate on This: for this week I'd like to post a line from one of my favorite Japanese Animation movies called Shadowskill and it goes: "I am invincible! My Shadowskill is perfectly honed! (My favorite part of the mantra) The force of my blow has no equal!" Gotta love it! Hit me up if you need a translation of what the heck that means. [wink]

What are some of the lessons you learned in 2009? How do you plan on making a bigger impact on your goals for 2010? Talk to me! :o)


Have a PERFECT day!

Michael Stagg

A Clever Way to Increase Water Consumption!

Wellness Wednesday with Life and Weight-loss Coach Flossie Alexander of You Can NOW! Coaching


We all know it's important to drink enough water. Staying hydrated can make us feel more energetic; gives us glowing skin and will help our bodies metabolize fat. Developing a consistent water habit is a form of behavior modification too. Water helps to keep the hands and mouth busy, so snacking is less.

When you're actually thirsty it can mean that you're already dehydrated. In the midst of a busy day it's sometimes hard to remember to drink water.

Last week I was working with my client Tina. We were talking about how the scale seemed to be "stuck" and she was talking about how she'd had a busy week. Tina had not been as focused on her program and mentioned that she'd not been drinking as much water as she normally does too. I know from personal experience that drinking plenty of water makes a big difference in your weight loss results.

Tina and I talked about getting re-focused on her nutrition, habit changes and exercise. Tina is one of the most creative people I've ever known and has woven some of her creativity into her program. She told me that I could share her trick for staying focused on drinking water.

Each day Tina places a series of rubber bands around her glass - one for each glass she plans to drink. As she works, the rubber bands around her glass remind her to drink water and also help her keep count of the number of glasses she's had. As she finishes each glass she just removes a rubber band. By the end of the day all the rubber bands should be gone.

Thanks for the great tip Tina!

Yours in Health

Flossie Alexander

Life/Weight Loss Coach

You Can NOW! Coaching

Where Results ARE Typical!

About Flossie: Flossie is currently a member of the National Association of Professional Women and Toastmaster’s International. She is a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Coach and a Certified Wellness Coach with a successful track record in leading organizations and individuals into achieving healthy lifestyle goals. After overcoming obesity, losing 165 pounds in 18 months, she has developed a passion to help others through public speaking and one-on-one weight loss coaching. Visit Flossie at http://www.youcannowcoaching.com to start creating your new healthy lifestyle and lose unhealthy weight permanently.

Remember Those Less Fortunate - Blankets for the Homeless

“The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving.” - Albert Einstein


As some of you may know, either from reading this blog or from knowing me personally, my family and I were homeless for about three years. In that time we learned a lot about allowing ourselves to accept the kindness of others but more importantly how necessary it is to give of ourselves. 


Even in a state of homelessness we were able to buy a cup of coffee or a sandwich for those less fortunate than us. When we could not afford to buy it for them we shared what we had with them. Today as I was checking my Twitter account I came across this post at Surrender40 asking for a donation so that they can purchase blankets to distribute to the homeless for Christmas. I won't deny that this post made me tear up as I thought of the days of our own homelessness and though we were not on the street some of the places we stayed didn't have blankets to offer us and so we slept as close as we could to one another to keep warm during the winter months.


If you are able I ask that you visit their page here and donate as much as you can. You will feel great about the contribution and will be providing the comfort of warmth for someone less fortunate.


Meditate on This: "I give of myself knowing the Universe will reciprocate it back to me tenfold."


Have a PERFECT day!


Michael Stagg

Life's Lessons as Powerful Fuel for Weight-loss Goals

Wellness Wednesday with Life and Weight-loss Coach 
Flossie Alexander of You Can NOW! Coaching

This is so simple that you're likely to dismiss it as obvious. I agree that it sounds like common sense, but it's not commonly applied. When you really put this idea into action, you can push your results through to the next level. 


In a nutshell here's the lesson: 


 In life you will always have your ups and downs, successes and failures. Sometimes things go well for you...sometimes they go poorly. When you succeed or fail, there's always a cause. You can backtrack your results to figure out what caused them. You might not be able to do this perfectly, but you'll usually have a pretty good idea of the contributing factors. 


What caused you to become motivated and put a plan into action? What factors contributed to being consistent with your nutrition? How were you able to stick with a regular exercise program? What went wrong when you lost your focus? What caused you to return to old habits? Once you know the contributing factors to your hits and your misses, your goal is to deliberately do more of what causes the successes and deliberately do less of what caused the failures. 


Of course some of the contributing factors may not be under your direct control, but some of those factors will be. Focus your efforts on what you can control, and don't worry about what's outside your control. Take these steps to recreate successes and develop a plan that fits your lifestyle. 


Is it hard to stay focused on your goals? Do you hate to look in the mirror? Does each Monday mean a "new diet"? Coaching can really help. Learn what's driving you away from your goals and finally have what you really want.

Yours in Health,


Flossie Alexander 
Life/Weight Loss Coach 


About Flossie: Flossie is currently a member of the National Association of Professional Women and Toastmaster’s International. She is a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Coach and a Certified Wellness Coach with a successful track record in leading organizations and individuals into achieving healthy lifestyle goals. After overcoming obesity, losing 165 pounds in 18 months, she has developed a passion to help others through public speaking and one-on-one weight loss coaching. Visit Flossie at http://www.youcannowcoaching.com to start creating your new healthy lifestyle and lose unhealthy weight permanently.

It's Good to Be Good

With Christmas season in full swing people are bustling about searching for gifts for their loved ones and friends. Although it's the season of giving and miracles sometimes those less fortunate than ourselves get "lost in the hustle" and do not receive the consideration and love that we so easily extend to others.

I was checking out this article on CNN.com entitled The Power of Giving, Not Getting and began to think about all the homeless people, the sick and shut in as well as the elderly that do not have anyone to celebrate the holidays with and it saddens me. Mind you, my philosophy is to give daily, not just on holidays, but I've strengthened my resolve to do more giving to those that cannot do for themselves. I'd like to encourage all of the MIIS readers to do the same. As the article suggests, it will go along way toward your own happiness if you put a smile on someone else's face first.

Meditate on This: I will give, from the heart, to those in need.

Have a PERFECT day!

Michael
MIIS

Eye of the Tiger - Let it Rest!

Greetings MIIS Family,

It seems that everywhere you look - online or off - someone is talking about the so called Tiger Woods scandal. I'm not going to go into great detail about all the allegations; that's been done enough already. What I want to do is write about what most are not, perhaps because it's not as newsworthy: Tiger's humanity.

I know I've raised a few eyebrows with that phrase but I really want to voice my opinion about this whole thing. First, Tiger is a human being and regardless of his status he is still pone to make mistakes like the rest of us. If he were just some run of the mill golfer or any other average Joe no one would care, outside of his immediate circle, what he did.

Secondly, who are we - the average Joe/Jane TV viewer - to judge Tiger for what he's accused of doing? I'd bet that more than half the people that are snapping and snarling about how much of a bad man Tiger is have or are currently doing the same thing or something similar. How much better the world would be if we offered up a prayer or kind words for Tiger and his family that encourage healing and a sincere recognition of the pain caused (to himself and those around him).

In today's society it is much simpler to jump on the bandwagon with everyone else and blame him as though we know the man personally. None us, save for those closest to Tiger know the true story and what's behind his alleged actions. Even if it's confirmed that he's done exactly what the media has claimed who are we to judge him?

Finally, today I say we free ourselves from wasting our energy on judgment and refocus it on something more productive...like, I don't know...celebrating Christmas? I mean it is the season to give, right? Let's give Tiger some peace so that he and his family can sort through this difficult moment in their lives. As a human being doesn't he deserve it?

Have a PERFECT day!

Michael
MIIS

Image: AP Images

Maximize Weight Loss Goals with Exercise

In a recent study of 52 obese men with an average body mass index (BMI) of 31, Canadian researchers demonstrated the power of exercise as a weight loss tool.

One group of men dieted, consuming 700 calories per day less than they needed to maintain their weight. Another group walked or jogged on a treadmill at 80 percent of heart rate maximum for about an hour each day, long enough to burn off 700 calories.

After three months, both dieters and exercisers lost the same amount of weight - about 16.5 lbs, or eight percent of their body weight.

Exercisers, however, lost more abdominal fat (4.2 lbs) than dieters (3.3 lbs).

Exercisers also did not lose muscle mass the way dieters did, and got the added benefit of improved cardiovascular fitness.

A third study group kept their weight stable by burning off 700 calories per day with exercise, but making up for it with an extra 700 calories of food.

Although these men did not lose weight, they did lose visceral abdominal fat, which may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

So the moral to the story is get out and get going! Diet alone may take off the weight but diet combined with exercise is a sure fire way to maximize your weight loss. The folks at You Can NOW! Coaching can assist you in getting the most out of your fitness routine or work with you to design a plan to fit your needs. Contact us today!

Yours in Health

Flossie Alexander
Life/Weight Loss Coach


About Flossie: Flossie is currently a member of the National Association of Professional Women and Toastmaster’s International. She is a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Coach and a Certified Wellness Coach with a successful track record in leading organizations and individuals into achieving healthy lifestyle goals. After overcoming obesity, losing 165 pounds in 18 months, she has developed a passion to help others through public speaking and one-on-one weight loss coaching. Visit Flossie at http://www.youcannowcoaching.com to start creating your new healthy lifestyle and lose unhealthy weight permanently.

New Blog: Half the Man I Used to Be!

Hello to all my WONDERFUL readers!

I've decide to chronicle my weight loss journey in a separate blog which you can visit here:

Half the Man by 2010

If any of you out there in My II Sense land are working on developing a healthier you please connect with me there and let's share the health. :)

Meditate on This: "It's effortless for me to eat healthy".

Have a PERFECT day!

Michael
MIIS

Surviving Bad Holiday Eating Habits

Grandma’s apple pie with an aroma you can’t resist. Mounds of mashed potatoes calling your name.  Pork & Beans with the prized fat swimming in the middle.  Mom's potato salad slathered in mayonnaise. Pudding with the fixings and delicious.  Candy galore.  How do you survive the calorie-latent holidays without gaining 10 or 20 pounds?  This is a question we have all asked for decades and seem to interestingly forget we even thought about it when the Holidays finally arrive.  Here are some concrete tips  to stay in control of your eating and not have to worry so much if your pants are still going to button a week from now.

    * Start the day off right with a hearty breakfast - Eat a big breakfast full of nutritious food the day of the special family gathering (which I might add you should be doing every day anyways!). Oatmeal with some fruit and a veggie omelet cooked in olive oil will start your day off just right!

    * Have a mid-morning snack - Find the veggie tray that your health-nut cousin Mark brought.  Instead of drowning it in ranch dressing, dip your veggies in some hummus.  You could also make the wise choice of hijacking some wheat crackers with some turkey and cheese (did you happen to bring it in case there is none?).

    * Help set the table - If your grandma needs someone to volunteer to do the dishes, go for it!  The more active and social you are, the happier you are and there will be less of a chance that you will overeat.

    
* Portion control is key during the BIG meal - When it is time to eat the "big meal," serve yourself a little of everything so that you don't feel like you have been deprived of your Holiday food.  It really isn't so much what you eat, but how much you stuff yourself.  You will find out, a little of everything makes you feel more satisfied than a lot of one thing and studies show doing this, you eat less calories.

    
* Second chance at healthy eating - If you go back for seconds, pick healthier foods this time (if you can find any).  Make sure though, you really want it. (Did you have some water with that feast?)

    
* Bring your own healthy dish - If you have to bring a dish, bring one of your favorite healthy recipes so that when you go back for seconds, you know you will find something just for you.  More than likely, you won't need seconds if you have had enough to drink and you ate your food slowly.

    
* Take a little after dinner walk - After your Holiday meal, find a place to take a walk to get your digestion in full gear!  (Of course after you have helped clean up!)  This will help you feel lighter and more energized and this also counteracts the sugar fall you will have from eating the Holiday goodies.

Even though you are used to doing it and everything looks so appetizing (I think this is caused from the lingering Holiday Spirit), DON'T take leftovers home.  If you are having the get-together at your house, pawn the leftovers onto everyone else.  You don't want unhealthy food tempting you in the middle of the night.  (We all know that happens.)

If you do happen to be unable to resist the temptation to over eat just head on over to the  You Can NOW! Coaching site; I'll be happy to help you get back on track!

Yours in Health,

Flossie Alexander

Life/Weight Loss Coach

About Flossie: Flossie is currently a member of the National Association of Professional Women and Toastmaster’s International. She is a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Coach and a Certified Wellness Coach with a successful track record in leading organizations and individuals into achieving healthy lifestyle goals. After overcoming obesity, losing 165 pounds in 18 months, she has developed a passion to help others through public speaking and one-on-one weight loss coaching. Visit Flossie at http://www.youcannowcoaching.com to start creating your new healthy lifestyle and lose unhealthy weight permanently.

Half the Man I Use to Be

That's me in a photo with my friends Sandria and Mu Shemsu-t during Blog-a-Thon '09.

37. 5'10. 377lbs.

I never thought those numbers would scare me but they did. I recently went to the doctor for a check up (after not having gone in for almost two years! Schedule regular doctor's visits people, for real...) and found out that I'm borderline diabetic, have degererative joint disease and worst of all I had gained almost 45lbs!

They say ignorance is bliss; I mean if you don't know you can be happy, right? WRONG! Ignorance is what it is. I fought going back to the doctor because I didn't WANT to hear what I already knew: I'm severely overweight and need to drop the "other person" I'm carrying around in the guise of extra weight.

I felt a lot of things after leaving that doctor's office - scared mostly - but what i was pleased to find is  the feeling of excitement. Why? Because I had a great lifted off of me named denial and I was now ready to kick weight's ass to regain my health.

As fate would have it, I have already been blessed with someone that will be imparting the gift of renewed health to me...my fellow blogger Flossie Alexander of You Can NOW! Coaching! As if on cue she called me right after I got home and I told her the news. "UH, UH! We can't have that!", was her reply and now I'm on the road again to increased health. By this time next year I will be "Half the Man I Used to Be" in the above photo. My goal is to reach 277 by my birthday and be down to 220 by this time next year.

I may document my progress here or on another blog. I hope that my journey wil inspire someone else to take up the challenge to be half the person they used to be. Let it begin!

Meditate on this: I embrace a healthier me today and everyday!

Have a PERFECT day!

Michael

MIIS

You Deserve A Break

When we find ourselves going through a difficult time, we tend to put our health on hold; health as in fitness and eating the things we know we should be.  Taking care of ourselves is put on the back burner because it just doesn't seem as important as the next stock market crash.  It seems everywhere you turn, we are bombarded with negative news about the economy, our health, our health care costs rising, new diseases, old diseases, and the list just goes on and on.  If you aren't able to take a weekly vacation to "get away from it all", there really is no break from it.  Or, is there?

Working with people from all different social environments, I have yet to be presented with a situation where the client and I could not come up with a plan where they couldn't take  "a break" on a daily basis from their more than hectic life; to find a short interval in their day to mentally escape from the chaos that surrounds them to refuel and rejuvenate their mind.

The question really is, do we really need a full-blown vacation to feel renewed? refreshed? ready to start again?  The answer to that is, no!  (I am really sure this is one of the reasons why Calgon was invented, which proves my point.) Although, it sure is nice to go to our favorite vacation spot, sit on the dock fishing all night to reflect on life while listening to the crickets chirp, to feel the coolness of the night air on our skin, and to count the stars that you can't see in the city.  However, reality reminds us that we only get to do that a couple of times a year and that really isn't enough to keep us as happy as we were meant to be.

Ask yourself how often do you take 10 minutes just to stretch your legs and take a break from the stressful task you have been working all morning on.  I don't mean to go outside with a coworker to talk about how your day got started with the boring as heck manual you have to pull apart and put back together again, but to actually break away from it.  To go outside of the box you inhabit to explore your surroundings and stimulate your mind with something positive and new.

What was your answer?   Well, if your answer was no or not very often, then take it from me, YOU DESERVE A BREAK TODAY and EVERY DAY!  Yes, you!  It is a proven fact that if you break away for a 10-minute "hiatus," you come back revived and ready to go!  Who the heck wants to wait for a vacation to feel alive? To be at our best, it only takes 10 minutes for a brisk walk down the street to smell the aroma of the newly bloomed flowers to breathe some freshness into our day to help us take on the rest of the day as if it just started. 

 
We forget sometimes that life is about living and we get caught up in the every day stressors that it throws at us and then we no longer are living it and it is living us.  If you have found yourself in this predicament, you need a healthy living lifestyle coach to get you living life again!  A healthy living lifestyle coach works with you to get you back on the path of feeling good and looking forward to another day, another week, another year!In he words of Jim Rohn: "Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live."


Be Healthy Every day, You Are Worth It!



Yours in Health,

Flossie Alexander
Life/Weight Loss Coach

About Flossie: Flossie is currently a member of the National Association of Professional Women and Toastmaster’s International. She is a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Coach and a Certified Wellness Coach with a successful track record in leading organizations and individuals into achieving healthy lifestyle goals. After overcoming obesity, losing 165 pounds in 18 months, she has developed a passion to help others through public speaking and one-on-one weight loss coaching. Visit Flossie at http://www.youcannowcoaching.com to start creating your new healthy lifestyle and lose unhealthy weight permanently.

The Weakening Effects of Being Judgemental

Greetings Readers,

My family and I recently started going to First Baptist Church of Indiana as a means to spend more time together and to strengthen our spiritual connectedness as well. A bus comes buy Sunday morning and picks up various families in our neighborhood and takes us to church then drops us back off after service.

As you would expect there are all types of people that attend attend such a large church because they visit a lot of impoverished neighborhoods to pick people up. So this past Sunday was the first time one of our daughters attended...she was NOT pleased!

The entire trip she complained about how "ghetto" the children were (a large portion of the ridership are kids attending without their parents - sad but true - and they do have difficulty with authority figures on the bus). I tried several times to calm her down reminding her that 1. she was unruly just like the kids she was angered by at one point and 2. it's futile to allow the actions of others to cause us suffering.

Long story short, we get home and I pulled her and another of our kids to the side and tell them that they were being just as negative as the kids on the bus - both of them looked at me in disbelief that I had said such a thing. I went on to describe how they were being overly judgmental of people they do not know. I further explained that some - no - most of the people attending First Baptist are right where they need to be receiving spiritual food that will hopefully lead to their enlightenment and salvation.

I wasn't done though. I continued to drill into their minds the fact that everyone is not on the same level spiritually and you can add to that the fact that not everyone has the same parenting skills to teach their kids better manners. I told them that there is a way to constructively get your point across without belittling the so called trouble makers.

Finally, when we are judgmental we are saying that we are better than the person or persons being judged and that's not the way to be. It weakens our our own spirituality when we do so. As the saying goes, when you point the finger at someone you have to remeber there are four pointing back at you.

Meditate on this: I will exert more understanding and compassion for those I do not agree with.

Have a PERFECT day!

Michael
MIIS

Freedom from the Message

Greetings Readers!

Today's Freedom Friday post centers on being mindful of the subtle influence of the media...Enjoy!

I was sitting with my grandkids watching Clifford The Big Red Dog - an episode appropriately titled "Food for Thought" - in which Clifford and his two friends became insistent on getting this paticalar dog food after watching a TV promo and viewing a billboard about the product. As the episode ensues the trio, after sampling the dog food, come to realize that what they see on TV isn't necessarily true, they can get strong and jump higher just by doing what they normally do and, most importantly, they should put more thought into something before they decide they want it.

How many of us have seen something on TV or saw something in a store window or on the side of a bus or on a billboard and immediately thought "I MUST HAVE IT!" I use to be like that...OK, I can STILL be like that. :)

Better question: how many of us, after getting the thing we wanted so badly felt like it didn't meet our expectations? That's how the media gets you. They know they we are emotional creatures, habitual creatures and they tap into that with every commercial, radio spot and billboard you see.

Are the ad companies wrong for doing this? Nope! I'd do it too to attract more buyers. The point is that we should be more mindful of the message behind the ad and ask ourselves serious questions before we go lopping the proverbial arm and leg to buy the newest iPhone, Vizio or Mercedes Benz.

I remember reading something in Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad book that mentions we should allow our money to work for us and use the assets we create to buy the luxuries we want...makes sense right? That way, our money is working for us AND allowing us to get the things we want.

Back to my point though: We need to free ourselves from being slaves to the hidden messages in ads that cause us to run like hungry dogs after every bone tossed to us. We need to learn the lesson behind delayed gratification and the pain of instant gratification.

And to think some parents say you don't learn anything from watching cartoons! ;)

Have a PERFECT day!

Michael
MIIS

Image Courtesy: NHPTV

My Apologies

Greetings Readers,

I must apologize for not posting as scheduled yesterday. I've been experiencing some health issues along with several other members of my family but it's nothing life threatening. For those of you that know me personally and have sent well wishes I'd like to offer my thanks. 

You can look forward to a post on health and wellness tomorrow from contributing writer Flossie Alexander as well as my Freedom Friday post. Meditate on this will be back in effect next Monday. Thank you all for your patience and continued support of the MIIS blog.

Humbly,

Michael

MIIS

5 Fab Ways to Boost Productivity

Ever wish you had more time in a day to get just a few more things done? Everyone could use an extra set of hand or at least some good productivity tools to make their day a little smoother. Below are  five suggestions to give your productivity a jump start!

1. Stop Procrastinating - The biggest thing that hinders most people is the lack of any action at all. You can't get anything done if you aren't out doing it! The old saying never put off until tomorrow what you can do today applies here.

2. Evaluate Your Current Productivity Level - Once you get the ball rolling you need to know where you are before you can set goals for where you want to be. Make a list of all your primary tasks and daily obligations and see how many of them you complete in an hour, a day or whatever time frame is sensible to you. After compiling this data you can gauge where you can improve and set quantifiable goals for yourself.

3. Get a Smartphone - Back in the day a person could get a way with using just a desk calendar and/or a day planner. With so many people demanding information moment to moment a smartphone such as a Blackberry or Treo is a must for staying connected and accessing important documents and information fast.

4. Hire a VA or PA -  If all else fails and you just can't get organized then I highly suggest looking into getting either a personal assistant - someone at your beck and call to handle administrative tasks - or a virtual assistant - someone you can go to on a project by project basis when you only need a set of hands temporarily. I can work with you in both capacities; shoot me an email to sensiblesolutions6672@gmail.com with Assist Me in the subject line for more details.

5. Breathe, Relax, Let It Go - The most important thing for you to remember is to keep cool and  act, don't REACT, to your productivity challenges. Knowing you have a need to change your productivity habits brings you one step closer to solving them. With a little creativity you will be on track in no time!

Free Yourself!

Michael
MIIS

Every Experience Is A Success

The old saying, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again," is so true. It doesn't mean beat yourself up and try the same old way again. It means recognize your error and try another way - until you learn to do it correctly. Changing eating and lifestyle habits is no different.

When a child is learning to walk or talk, we encourage her and praise her for every tiny improvement she makes. The child beams and eagerly tires to do better. Is this the way you encourage yourself when you are learning something new? Or do you make it harder to learn because you tell yourself that you are stupid, lazy, or a "failure"?

Try a new way to reach your fitness and nutritional goals. Reach for support and give yourself the encouragement you deserve. Remember, you are learning new choices and creating a new lifestyle.

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

Flossie Alexander
Life/Weight Loss Coach


About Flossie: Flossie is currently a member of the National Association of Professional Women and Toastmaster’s International. She is a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Coach and a Certified Wellness Coach with a successful track record in leading organizations and individuals into achieving healthy lifestyle goals. After overcoming obesity, losing 165 pounds in 18 months, she has developed a passion to help others through public speaking and one-on-one weight loss coaching. Visit Flossie at http://www.youcannowcoaching.com to start creating your new healthy lifestyle and lose unhealthy weight permanently.

What Happened to Our Rhythm Nation?

"...Things are getting worse. We have to make them better. It's time to give a damn. Let's work together..." Lyrics from Janet Jackson's song Rhythm Nation



Link to Video on YouTube.com

In 1989 Janet Jackson released a critically acclaimed follow up to her Control album called Rhythm Nation. It was R&B's version of a protest album so prevalent in rap music of the day. The album addressed such political and social ills as racism, poverty illiteracy and homelessness and, to me, was her best album.

I was listening to Pandora radio the other day and this song played and it got me to thinking about society then and now and how things are getting so out of hand nowadays. What happened to rising up against social ills? has mass media done so great a job that we are too numb (or worse, too EXCITED by) to the mayhem and violence that plague our communities?

What happened to our rhythm nation? Are we so cold now that wed rush to download a video of a child being beaten to death but we can't lend a hand to help him? Is it more important to send pic messages and texts to our friends instead of calling the police?

Where is our rhythm nation people? Where are people that once upon a time would not stand for such foolishness? What happened to the time we wouldn't hesitate to stand up to inequality, racism and hate crimes? What happened to a time when our kids fought but not kill one another over the color clothes they wore, the brand of shoes they had on or which way their hat was turned? Where is OUR rhythm nation people! WHERE?!

I'll bet no one knows and fewer care. We're too busy worrying about our iPhones and BlackBerries. We only care about getting our hair and nails done so we can hit the clubs for some dance floor sex-with-clothes-on action. We're too busy chasing our next high or full pitcher of beer. We NO LONGER CARE!

We no longer care what happens to our kids. As long as they don't bother us while we're watching Family Guy or True Blood or some other nonsense on TV it doesn't matter. In fact, we no longer raise our kids anyway - the TV is their mother, their father is the Internet and their brothers and sisters are all hardwired into a system that preaches have sex, make babies, kill one another senselessly, it's all OK. The worst part of it is we buy right into it with them.

Well I can't take it any more. I WON'T take it anymore and I'm looking for others that won't take it anymore either...Hit me up and let's rebuild our rhythm nation!

Meditate on this: I will no longer stand idly buy and watch our society tear itself apart. I vow to make it better one day at a time beginning with me.

The True Nature of Advice

"Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't." - Erica Jong

We've all got problems and that's OK. It's part of being human. And like most humans we sometimes ask others for advice on how to solve those problems and that's fine. Advice isn't a bad thing. The trouble lies in the SOURCE of the advice. Follow me...


Here are a few scenarios where you can eliminate poor advice:


1. Taking relationship/marriage advice from your single/unwed friends - Why would you want advice from someone who has a history of failed relationships. If you want advice on how to keep a relationship going take it from someone who's actually IN a committed relationship longer than 30 seconds. There are a few people I know that are not in a relationship that can provide sound advice but for the most part you want to stick with couples and married folk.


2. Taking financial advice from someone who isn't financially stable - I've done this before myself so don't beat yourself about it. But think about it: you are looking into stocks and want to make an informed decision on your investment. What makes more sense? Asking your friend that has successfully invested in stocks for the past five years or Auntie Re Re who's idea of investing is visiting the local corner store to purchase new lottery tickets?


My point is there is good advice and not so good advice. What makes the advice meaningful and useful is its source. There's a saying that states opinions are like #%$holes; everybody has one. You have to learn when to accept advice and when to ignore "the good opinion of others". Just as the CEO of a successful multimillion dollar company has his or her own team of trusted consultants you have to cultivate your own squad of top advisers. Most importantly you must learn to trust the highest qualified adviser of all - your inner consultant - because no one knows you better than you know yourself - NO ONE!


Meditate on This: I trust the wisdom of my inner self to always guide me in the right direction.


Have a PERFECT day!


Michael
MIIS

5 Ways to Change Your Life

Introducing the newest contributor to My II Sense: Flossie Alexander!

The truth is, that many of us never break free enough from our current habits to even attempt to change. We are paralyzed by fear and trapped in our habits. Others go through the motions of initiating change, but quickly fall back into an existing comfort zone, that is not very "comfortable". (Why would we want to change if we're comfortable?)

Clearly there are many important changes we could make to enrich our lives; we just don't know how to do it. As someone who makes a living by helping others achieve lifestyle changes, I offer the following insights:


What Is Important To You?
Many changes fail because what we are attempting to achieve something that is not really important to us. Before you invest in making a lifestyle change, take some time to get clear on what is really important. Do you want to have more energy to play with your children? Do you want to wear fashionable clothes? Do you want to feel more confident? Paint a vivid picture of what you want!

Create Space
A lifestyle change requires attention, time, focus, effort, and growth. If you are running at 100% capacity, you will not have the time or energy you need to change. To effect change you need to first free some space in your life to devote to your new goals and developing new habits.

Create A Plan
Once you have a clear vision of what you are working towards, break it into smaller, manageable steps and prioritize them. Don't try to do too much all at once. Start with the steps that are the most exciting for you. A small lasting change is the true victory.

Leverage Your Strengths
When you go about making changes, it is important to know what your strengths are, and build on them. Often we focus far too much energy on our weaknesses and shortcomings that make us feel powerless. Focus on your strengths and talents and feel empowered! If you are a great cook, use these skills to prepare satisfying and healthy foods. If you are a great at organizing, develop a schedule or a group.

Stay Focused
It is the intensity and frequency of our attention that reinforces the new perspectives and thought patterns that support our new behaviors. Do not try to make major changes all by yourself. Create a strong support structure around you that will keep you on track and moving forward, past all the inevitable challenges.



Flossie Alexander

Life/Weight Loss Coach


About Flossie: She is currently a member of the National Association of Professional Women and Toastmaster’s International, a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Coach, Certified Wellness Coach, who has a successful track record in leading organizations and individuals into creating and achieving healthy lifestyle goals. After overcoming obesity losing 165 pounds in 18 months, she has developed a passion to help others through public speaking and one-on-one weight loss coaching. Visit Flossie at http/www.youcannowcoaching.com to start creating your new healthy lifestyle and lose unhealthy weight permanently.

7 Amazingly Simple Ways to Evoke Change in Your Life

Our daily lives are chucked full of “To Dos”. A typical day can go something like this: Wake up, get the kids off to school, dress for work, don’t forget the expense report you’ve been working on, jump in the care to beat traffic, realize you left that expense report on the coffee table, go back for it, get stuck in traffic, late for work, get chewed out by your manager, work on a few accounts, lunch, more accounts, more yelling from the manager, leave work, pick up the kids, make it home, find the energy to cook dinner, skip it – order out, put the kids to bed, spend 20 minutes of “quality time” with your significant other (if you’re lucky) take a relaxing bath (again, the luck thing), go to bed, wake up, do it ALLL over again.
Sound familiar? I’ll bet it does. The unfortunate thing is we are so used to doing it that we don’t know or haven’t thought about how to UNDO it. Below I share with you seven REALLY simple ways to evoke change in your life and truly begin to LIVE it! Enjoy!

1.    Realize there’s a need for change – then ACT on it! – We tell ourselves everyday that there must be a better way to do things. We hold in depth conversations with family and friends (and ourselves) about doing more with our lives, living on purpose and getting unstuck. The problem is not that we don’t know we can achieve more. The problem is we don’t ACT on our feelings and insights. We just sort of hope things will begin to change on their own…well they WON’T! Once you make the realization that you want to truly start living your life then you have to put a plan into motion. You have to starting DOING!
 
2.    Begin living in the NOW! – Stop worrying about what happened in the past, it’s behind you. Reflect upon it if you must but stop LIVING there. Stop worrying about the future; it hasn’t been written yet. Sure you can make plans for the future but maintain flexibility with them. The only constant in the universe is change. If you’re plans for the future aren’t fluid they are doomed from the start. Beyond all that, the most precious place you can live in is the Now. It is the Now where you plan. It is in the Now that you achieve. There is no other time than Now!
 
3.    Release your need to control EVERYTHING! – There is no way you can control every aspect of your life. No matter how much we plan things out there’s always a chance that something can alter those preparations. What you must learn to do is adapt to change. Release your need to control things and watch how your day is transformed! You will have more energy for other things – worthwhile things – and your relationships with others will take a turn for the better.
 
4.    Focus your energy and GO FOR IT! – Center your attention on your goals and invest all your energy into their development, maintenance and completion. Keep reminders all around your home, job, wherever you can find space to keep you focused. This doesn’t mean you neglect one area of your life to improve another. You must find a balance between all your goals, your personal/professional life, etc.
 
5.    Demand and track improvements! – Once you get things going you’ll want to be sure you continue making progress. To do this you can keep a journal of everything you’re doing daily, weekly, monthly or whatever works for you. Be mindful of things that don’t appear to be working in your life and make the required changes to get back on track. If you don’t see any improvement then you may need to scrap your current plan and draft a new one. Remember: DEMAND excellence and settle for nothing less!
 
6.    Get EVERYONE involved! – Discuss what you’re doing with family and friends and invite them to embark on their own quest for improvement!
 
7.    Rest, rejuvenate and do it all over again tomorrow! – Like anything the more you do something the better you get at it. The more you practice the steps above the better you will be able to affect change in your life. Make sure you take time to rejuvenate yourself by meditating or some other means to rest your mind and body. Then, get up in the morning refreshed and ready to do it all over again!

Meditate on This: "I vow to take back my life one day at a time."


Have a PERFECT day!

Michael
MIIS



Image Copyright for "The Dance of Life, the Dance of Death": JD Challenger as located on First People.us

3 Ways to Change Your World View

“You can learn a lot from people who view the world differently than you do.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo
 

I had a sort of epiphany the other day that came to me from my netbook and Mac computers. I was looking at my page on Twitter using my netbook but soon grew tired of viewing that 8.9 in. screen. I switched to my Mac’s 22 in. screen and the change was ENORMOUS! I could see all sort of content I couldn’t before – well, at least not without scrolling around on the screen.

It was then that I thought about how we look at the world, more specifically, our viewpoint of the world from a “netbook perspective”.   Sometimes we get caught up in how WE see things we forget that other vantage points exist. I’ve come up with three ways we can all improve our worldview; here we go!

1.     Know that your view isn’t the only one – Unless you’ve lived a sheltered life secluded from all of humanity since birth you know that your view of  “what is” is not the only one. Even if you did grow up in those circumstances it doesn’t negate the view of every other being on the planet.

2.     Realize that another person’s view is as important as our own – Does your belief that the color blue is the most beautiful color in the world make it so? Of course not. Just because someone feels, say red, is the most beautiful color should not upset you. You are entitled to your view just as they are entitled to theirs.

3.     Be more accepting of the views of others – This is easier said than done sometimes. Your belief in the almighty awesomeness of the color blue is strong and deep rooted; why would you want to accept that another view exists? Simple. It keeps you open to different possibilities of All The Ways Things Are! The more open you are to other views the more likely you are to understand that it takes ALL views to make the world go round. Who knows, you may eventually decide that red IS a more awesome color than blue – or maybe you both will decide that green is! Be open to the possibilities!

Meditate on this: I challenge myself to be more accepting of the views of others.

Have a PERFECT day!

Michael

MIIS

10 Weight Loss Affirmations to use NOW!

I've ALWAYS struggled with my weight but around the time I transitioned from junior high to high school I made a shift in my thinking and how I RELATE to food. With that simple change in thought patterns – combined with a new found love of weight lifting, affirmations and LOTS of visual information – I was able to lose weight and keep it off for several years. Now, as I 'm getting older I've decided to again dedicate myself to getting fit on all levels. Part of that plan is to reinstate my use of affirmations to reinforce my change in eating habits and workout schedule. Below are a list of 10 that worked for me in the past. I hope they are a positive influence on your fitness goals.

1. I choose not to overeat
   
2. My body is getting healthier and stronger every day.
   
3. Eating healthy is effortless for me
   
4. I'm happy in the skin I'm in
   
5. I enjoy a healthy relationship with food
   
6. My metabolism is strong and works well for me
   
7. Every day I make healthy choices about the foods I eat
   
8. I enjoy the process of being and eating healthier
   
9. I treat my body with the respect it deserves
   
10. I do all the healthy things I can to be healthier
    

Remember, in order for affirmations to have a positive effect you not only need to repeat them as often as you can but also allow the phrase to emerge from your heart as you say it. If you don't feel it then it won't work for you. Below is a great website full of other useful affirmations. Enjoy!

http://www.free-daily-affirmation.com/free-affirmations/weight-loss-affirmations.html



Have a PERFECT day!



Michael

MIIS

Make It Happen!

"There's no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love. There is only a scarcity of resolve to make it happen." - Wayne Dyer

This post is for those of us that know our purpose and ignore it. It's for those of us that, deep down inside, have put our true purpose on hold for the sake of meeting the status quo… It's time to do your thing!

For many years I have either denied what I've felt to be my purpose or placed false barriers up, telling myself it can't or shouldn't be done. Fortunately, the strength of your purpose is so profound that, regardless of what we do, it will eventually make its way to the surface. Why? Because it knows it needs to exist. It YEARNS to exist in a way that only our highest selves will be able to relate to.

You will know when you're ready to pursue your purpose. It's like lightning striking you at your very core. Somewhere in your innermost being simply clicks and you know that, "Yes, this is what I'm here to do!".

As Dr. Dyer mentions above, we can all earn a living doing what we love if only we possess the resolve to pursue our purpose with unbridled passion. We must claim our purpose and let no one deter us from it! This blog, the steps I'm taking to pursue my desire to help others through the profession of Coaching and everything in between are my way of affirming I and my purpose are one and I will NOT allow anyone to keep me from it. Will you be courageous enough to do the same? Of course you will! I have faith in you!

Have a PERFECT day!

Michael

MIIS