Going Dry - Follow Up

Time for the follow-up! It’s been more than a month since we decided to "go dry" and here is what happened. For each level that I thought alcohol consumption affected us, we have noticed great improvement J

1. Money - we spend money on wine, beer and tequila on a pretty regular basis: We saved about $150 per month between not buying alcohol and less eating out
2. Poor Eating - when we drink we make extra trips to the store to buy the alcohol, while there we usually decide we want junk food to go with our alcohol, so we spend more money to eat junk food and don't use the good food we have in the house: The poor eating has been reduced to about 10% of our diet as opposed to 30% before going dry. I think this is a good ratio as eating healthy 90% of time is a healthy balance.
3. Unwanted Habits - drinking on a regular basis the way we do encourages us to sit in front of the t.v. for a couple of hours every night instead of doing all the other things we are always saying we want to do; i.e. exercise, read interesting books, work on our respective businesses we're starting, etc.: This one was the biggest for us. It became very apparent to us just how much the alcohol consumption was affecting us physically and mentally. When we decided the dry spell was over and started having some drinks again, we both noticed how horrible the alcohol made us feel. We noticed these negative affects in the same night we drank and then the next day as well even though we only had two drinks each. We are now positive that drinking alcohol saps us of energy and motivation needed to pursue anything other than sitting in front of the t.v.

My motivation, energy and clarity increased ten-fold:

• I made a proposal to my boss to change my working situation
• I started a newsletter
• Created my Logo
• Found my Target Market
• Finished setting up my website.
• Created a Facebook page for my business

My husband also noticed the following changes for himself:

• He is finishing multiple projects and starting new ones
• He is less “groggy” in the morning
• He drinks more tea and water throughout the day
• His thoughts are focused on more things besides the next drink in the evenings
• His stomach has stopped aching at night
• He believes that he never would have known any of this if he hadn’t stopped drinking and then started again while carefully monitoring how he felt and acted.

This has been an eye opening experience for us both. I personally have decided that drinking alcohol will be reserved for special occasions and will not be consumed regularly like I was doing. My husband is much more aware of how it affects him and is choosing the times he consumes more carefully.

Here are my top five benefits for stopping or reducing alcohol consumption:

1. More Energy
2. Increased Mental clarity and Motivation
3. Improved physical comfort
4. Monetary savings
5. Improved out-look on life

If you are consuming alcohol more than once a week I encourage you to think about how it is affecting your life. How do you think your life could be different if you stopped? What goals and dreams could you achieve if you had the mental clarity and motivation needed to start taking action?

Wishing you balance and clarity in living your dreams!

Write a Book!

In the past three months I have encountered the idea of writing a book twice. Once through a webinar by Andrea Beaman about her Master Coaching in Action Program and again when I visited the website of one of the IIN lecturers Karen Witzig Rozell. Karen and her husband Drew wrote a book called Write Now.

According to both websites the reasons to write your own book as a Health Coach are; to get clear about the message you want people to know, narrow down your target market, attract the kind of people you want to work with and to increase your sales. You can use your book as a glorified business card!

I am intrigued by this idea and after thinking about writing a book for my Health Coaching practice I decided that just starting with the first steps; writing my thesis/mission statement and creating an outline, would really help me get focused on what I have to offer my clients. I will be able to answer questions such as: What am I an expert in and what will my clients gain from working with me? Once I have completed these steps I can then tailor my program around that message and have a solid direction to move in.

I believe this concept can be applied to other areas of life as well. Are you feeling like you are floundering or wandering aimlessly through life with no real direction? Or maybe you know where you want to go but the process of getting there is overwhelming and cloudy?

Try creating a thesis/mission statement and an outline for your life. What is the single most important goal in your life right now? Use that as your mission statement, now start creating an outline for accomplishing that goal. When you start filling in the pieces of your outline you will begin to understand the action steps needed to achieve your goal.

Here's a very simple example:

Mission Statement: Cooking with Greens is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.

Outline:

Chapter 1: Cooking Utensils

Chapter 2: Purchasing and Storing Greens

Chapter 3: Methods for preparing and cooking greens

Chapter 4: Recipes

When you fill in all the chapters of this outline you will have the knowledge and experience necessary to increase the greens in your diet and become more healthy. You can apply this strategy to going on vacation, getting the job you want, and any other goal that you have.

I will definitely be doing this for my Health Coaching practice and I encourage you to try it out for your own goals, see if it helps you get a clear picture of what you really want. Who knows, when you are done maybe you will even have a book to publish ;-)

Wishing you success in reaching your goals!

Primary Foods - Career - Part 2

Reference: Primary Foods - Career - Part 1

Just two weeks to get a response in writing! My boss took my proposal seriously and we were able to come to an agreement. My last day as a full-time employee will be on the 22^nd. After that day I will continue working on a temporary part-time basis at an hourly rate. I am very happy to say that is the outcome I had hoped for!

This experience has been empowering to say the least. Sending the email to my boss was very hard for me because I knew once I did, there was no turning back. I was scared to step outside of my comfort-zone and take a risk. I have never been a risk taker and living that way landed me in a career that I didn't enjoy and was sapping away the love and joy from all it was providing. Fear can be debilitating and it can rob you of your dreams. One of the most valuable things I have learned from IIN and something they say a lot throughout the curriculum is “Feel the fear and do it anyway”. It is okay to feel afraid but don't let it stop you from going after what you really want.

It is scary to follow your dreams, to step outside the box and move in a direction that is full of unknowns. However it is also exciting, energizing, amazing and life-saving to take a chance and go for what you truly believe in and live your life as you know you were meant to.  Since I made a decision to stop being “comfortable” and start living authentically for me I have had unbelievable energy and motivation. I am actively working towards getting my Health Coaching business started, I sleep better at night, I am completely motivated to take care of myself and I am finally losing weight! I know it’s going to be challenging from here on in and I am absolutely ready for it.

Are you ready to step outside your comfort zone, move forward inspite of your fear and take a chance at what you really love?

Wishing you strength and ambition as you follow your dreams!