Theme Your Year

Welcome to 2014! Yes, I know it is already a few weeks in. You will realize by the end of this why it took me a few weeks to put this together.

I have plans to write about many things through InfoMusings - Life and Wellness. I have a growing list of things to share with you and to muse about. However, if there was a theme to the last quarter of 2013 it had to be "How many ways technology can slow you down." Or perhaps it was "Let's find as many ways possible to interrupt Paula." And the last possible theme, "It is time to practice every single stress management technique you have learned over 20 years in the last few weeks of the year." All of that means that life handed me many opportunities to practice what I preach about stress management, relaxation techniques, and managing pain. If there was a system that involved technology of some sort, it broke down or refused to talk to any other system. I became acutely aware that I have many things in my life not coordinating where needed with other systems. My email and calendar and task list and contacts list were not playing well together. I had systems slow down, refuse to work, go through battery life and more.

In addition, there were so many things trying to be on my calendar, from my family and from my work, that it became very difficult to juggle and so many events I would have loved to attend needed to be let go. I drastically shifted my expectations of what  I could get done in face of the onslaught from all directions on my time and abilities. I had to say "I'm sorry" quite a few times when I did snap at someone, or forget to do something or simply was unable to complete something.

Yes, a tough ending to the year. A few things became priority for me through this. I absolutely must get my technology squared away and integrated. I've been polling other business owners and technology experts for the best ways to get this done. I need to have software and apps in place that reduce or eliminate the double and triple entry from contact to email to calendar to task list.

In addition, it is very important that I create routines and systems to help manage all of my obligations, business and personal, in order to create time to be truly present for my family and myself.

I thought about the whole idea of New Year's Resolutions as I was planning what I was doing. I stopped making resolutions like this many years ago. They simply added to the stress in my life. Just knowing they were out there with expectations, hopes and goals attached to them created a pressure I did not need. Earlier this month, I read quite a few articles about resolutions. One idea caught my attention. It is the idea of having a "theme" for the year. Instead of having specific actions driving my schedule, it is being open to opportunities to express and explore that theme throughout the months ahead. This idea began to resonate within me and I have decided that is how I want to approach this year. But what to pick? Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am very good at seeing many possibilities in any situation. Most of the time, this is a good thing. At times like this, it is more difficult to pick something without setting some sort of parameters for myself. I looked back at the year and asked myself what it was that happened that I did not like, what did I want to experience differently, with what or whom did I want to spend more time or less time?

I decided that the many conflicting technologies and repetitions and so forth were making it difficult to connect with people, with my family, with my clients, with my self, and with my Source of spiritual inspiration. The lack of systems and routines meant that everything was done essentially "from scratch", taking up precious time for connections. After musing on these ideas, I chose the theme for my year, "Streamline to Connect."

It is vital that I look for opportunities to streamline my life in a variety of ways. Streamlining will free up time and resources (mental, physical and emotional), which will then allow me to more fully connect and be present with myself and others.

Some first steps include looking at software applications to resolve the contacts/calendar/email quagmire. I have made quite a bit of progress on that front. Other steps involve contracting with an organization to help me streamline my news and research feeds, allowing me to find what I need and choose what to share in which venue in a much smoother fashion. An additional area for opportunity is my overall organization and routine. I have started a conversation with a professional organizer and am looking at various ways to get some of the chaos around me tamed ever so slightly.

Tying two of the previous items together is a workshop I want to share with you. A big time waster and distraction is email. Many people have a hard time getting through their mail and figuring out how to organize it so they can find what they need and sort out the things they do not need. For help in this area, I recommend Escape the Email Vortex Webinar, a workshop provided by Ann Michael Henry, founder of Mise En Place. I attended a workshop on organization and found her to be an excellent teacher. She gives you what she tells you she will, and then more. Check it out!

What is your theme for the year? Have you made resolutions? What will you do this year to reduce the stress in your life?

Blessings!

Relaxation and Weight Loss

Original Post Date February 6, 2013 - As I was standing in the checkout lane at my local grocer, I looked over the wide array of magazines that were displayed. I looked at all the types that were there, from cooking to house decor to gossip and newsy types. I had a very good chuckle, there in the lane, as I realized that almost all had a feature article, if not the main cover article, on weight loss. Lose 10 pounds this way! Get tight abs and thighs that way! Get ready for vacations! New fruit helps melt away the weight! You get the idea. 


This obsession with weight and our bodies is amazing to me. I am both part of it and observing it. I, too, think about my body, its shape, weight and fitness level. Over the years I've tried a number of different things with varying levels of success. When I finally shed the main excess weight and kept it more or less where I desired, folks were asking me all sorts of questions about which specific diet I used or which exercise plan. My answer at the time was that I used both an easier and more difficult method. I got into my underlying issues of my body and weight and changed how I looked at food. Do I still need to work on these issues and revisit them? Yes, I do. However, I have found by looking at eating differently, I was more easily able to actually make lasting changes in food and exercise. 

So, how does this tie in to relaxation? One of the main things I considered was the way I ate in response to outside stimulus, also known as stressors. Stressors can be positive or negative, but they still stress the individual in one way or another. By applying what I've learned about activating the relaxation response, I've been able to change how I react to stressors that might encourage me to eat in a particular way.  Now there are some studies that show that those who reduce their stress can actually lose more weight. In a 2011 issue of the International Journal of Obesity, a Kaiser Permanente study showed a direct predictive relationship between stress levels and weight loss. 

In my practice with Inner Peaceworks, I look at excess weight and poor eating habits as symptoms of underlying unresolved stressors. Perhaps if we each took some time to understand more of why we eat the way we do, why we move our bodies the way we do, and why we feel the way we do about our bodies, we might find ourselves moving toward a greater degree of physical healthiness. Find a way to explore your feelings and thoughts about this. Perhaps you find journaling a useful tool. Perhaps you might do better with a friend or therapist. Explore this as you move toward health. You might find it easier than you expect.