Do you often feel a sense of restlessness, or frustration, and yearn to have more meaning in your life? Many of us do, especially when we’ve experienced a major transformational event in our lives. This could come from a major illness, or an accident that could have easily taken your life, or a peak experience that suddenly shifted your world view and sense of self. And sometimes it can occur in the course of our mundane, everyday experiences: A woman who is washing the dishes happens to look outside only to catch a glimpse of the sun shining just so on a wet leaf of a tree. It creates a beautiful sparkle and in that instant, she has an inexplicable rush of delight, and awe… a sense of peace, joy, and a connection to life that she has never before felt so distinctly.

These events have the ability to transform us. Many may ask themselves, “Yes, but transform me into what?” This can be a source of uneasiness for many people. This is understandable because we’re naturally uncomfortable with the unknown, and how a new way of being might affect life as we know it – my home, my relationships, my job, my bank account, etc. So often what happens is that we put off or even abandon the conscious search for meaning and transformation out of fear, and our need to dutifully protect what we have worked so hard to achieve. We often view this as an either/or proposition.

This is only natural, but it doesn’t have to be this way. When we choose consciously to face and move through this fear, we find that it is really not about us having to give up those things we value most, but that we need to see clearly why we are clinging to them with such passion. The self-inquiry that I lead my clients through gives them profound insights into long held beliefs and identifies actions that they know, from a deep place, that they are being called to take.

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I am excited to announce that I will now be offering an inter- active assessment and coaching program called the Wellness Inventory.   It was developed by one of the leading pioneers of the wellness movement, Dr. John Travis.  In 1975, Dr. Travis opened the first wellness center in the U.S., in Mill Valley, California, and co-authored the Wellness Workbook.

The assessment leads you through a series of questions pertaining to 12 areas, or dimensions of life that inter-relate and play an important part in a person’s well being.  This includes lifestyle factors such as Eating, Moving, and Breathing (the categories are intentionally named to be broader terms than diet, exercise, etc.) and also includes Self Responsibility, Communication, Playing & Working, Thinking, Feeling, etc. This “whole-person” program was designed to help you gain personal insight into your state of physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being and can help you to:

• Discover your wellness profile in 12 dimensions of your life.
• Identify the areas in your life you are most motivated to change.
• Create a personalized wellness action plan.
• Access tools and resources to help you reach your goals.
• Create the desired changes in your life.
• Track your progress in reaching a higher level of wellness.
• Achieve a higher level of health, well-being and aliveness. 

The assessment can be done online, from the convenience of home, and usually takes 30 – 45 minutes to complete. The cost for taking the Wellness Inventory, and having access to the system for a whole year is only $39.95.  It includes setting up e-mail reminders (for whichever daily intervals you specify) that outlines the action steps you have assigned for yourself.  And there is a place to journal and record your progress, a Self-Study Center, and an extensive Wellness Resource Center – all accessible through the links included on the reminder e-mails.  The online support coupled with the optional personalized coaching offered by me, ensures a sustainable lifestyle change by providing regular support and accountability. If you would like to find out more about how you can get started on your own wellness plan, please contact Emmett at (512) 826-8301 to set it up now.

When talking to yourself, you are building your self-concept. As the sum total of the messages you give yourself about who you are and what you are worth, your self-concept designs your internal environment. A strong, worthy self-concept will create a strong, worthy body-mind. Your wellness depends upon your self-concept. Your self-concept is the sum total of the messages that you give yourself about who you are and what you are worth.

Sad and depressed people are sick more often. Two teachers work in the same classroom. One is continually negative. Failure is his home territory. The other is generally positive. She is grateful for every little success. The gloomy teacher contracts every illness that hits the class during the course of the year. His sick leave is used up in the first six months. The other teacher seems immune. She doesn’t miss a day. The crucial point here is that while both are working together on the same project, one continually reinforces the failings, the other capitalizes on the successes. It’s a question of attitude, based on the selectivity of perception. It’s a question of which messages one chooses to repeat: “I’m incompetent, frustrated, and not OK,” or “I’m likable, energetic, and capable.”

Many people have spent a lifetime turning gold into garbage–using what is called the Midas touch in reverse. Someone says, “I like what you’re wearing tonight.” Internally the other questions, “So you didn’t like what I wore last night? I suppose that means I’m not OK.” A supervisor remarks, “This is good work.” The “garbagecollector” remarks to herself, “So everything else I’ve done has been bad? I’m just an incompetent person.”

Continually replaying negative messages ingrains them deeply into our consciousness. The more they accumulate, and the stronger they take root, the more our self-concept is weakened.

These inner conversations are often referred to as the “internal dialogue.” This is you talking to yourself all day long. This is your judgement of yourself and others which goes on from morning till night, and even in your dreams. This is your endless creation of categories, boxes, in which to safely place everyone and everything. This is what tires you out. This is what furnishes the stage on which you will act out your personal drama. Changing the tone of it is a process of heightening your awareness. As you realize how frustrating and exhausting so much of this “talk” is, you resolve to let it go. When you can accept what it is doing to you, you decide to do something about it.

You can set aside a few short periods each day in which you simply listen to your inner dialogue. Make a list of the negative messages you frequently hear yourself making. Realize how they are affecting your view of yourself and your world. Make a list of counter arguments, and start plugging them in.

Building a more worthy self-concept might well begin with learning to accept compliments. These golden nuggets, or strokes, are being handed to all of us all the time. Even if the people in your immediate environment don’t seem to be giving them, nature itself is showering them continually–a fresh breeze, a purple/orange sunset, a spring rain. Simply opening your eyes, and cultivating gratitude as a way of being can show you many good things to talk to yourself about. Make Thanksgiving Day happen every day of the year.

–Article provided by Wellness Inventory commentaries and Healthworld Online.

 

To be a hero in our time is to journey toward the only territory that remains unexplored, the deeper more subtle realms of the human experience.

Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “… if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unimagined in common hours.  If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be.  Now put foundations under them.”

Once we hold the preciousness of life and the possibility of human flourishing near and dear, its remembrance no longer fades with the busyness of daily life.  Then all thoughts, speech, and action begin to be measured by a different standard.  Rather than patching together an ordinary life and ordinary health from the partial opportunities laid out by our current culture, we begin to demand more from ourselves.  We are willing to set out on this new adventure in search of life’s greatest treasure, the flourishing of human health, happiness, and wholeness.

Despite the overwhelming body of evidence about the life-depleting effects of stress, unhealthy food consumption, and sedentary habits, Americans continue to score low in these areas. It suggests to me that the motivation to change must be internally driven by the person who somehow becomes conscious that there is a part of their life that can no longer be ignored.  Unfortunately, that motivator is often a serious illness.  But it doesn’t have to be that way.

I had to share this article from Yahoo that I read today, especially after reading the last profound paragraph:  “We cannot, with any hope of success, continue to devise a world that fosters ill health, and encourage people to navigate through it as if it weren’t there. Eating well, being active, and in general taking good care of oneself and one’s family must lie along paths of lesser resistance.”  Click here to read the full article.

Recently I saw a bar graph that showed 71% of all cancers can be attributed to lifestyle factors (as well as 70% for stroke, 82% for heart disease, and 91% for diabetes). And then I had a memory of visiting a woman in the hospital recently diagnosed with breast cancer.  As she lamented about how her husband was (at the same time) dealing with prostate cancer, and all the other family members who had been affected by other cancers, she asked, “when are we ever going to figure out what is causing all this cancer?.. And all this research money is being spent, and we still can’t cure it”.

Obviously, this is a very sensitive topic. I would never want to add feelings of guilt (or blame) to someone’s anguish when they are in the midst of such a crisis. I certainly knew that this was not the appropriate time to bring up a discussion of lifestyle factors as they pertain to cancer. So the subject quickly changed to something else.

But this experience affected me deeply. As a cancer survivor myself, I have learned that it is not an issue of self blame. It’s a question of: what can I become aware of in this very moment that could help my immune system be in the best possible shape that creates an environment where cancer has the least chance to survive? I consider that guiding question to be my own personal “Secret” for staying cancer free since 1995. Spending any time blaming myself for what went on in my past won’t get me anywhere. I always knew that.

Having such a crisis made me appreciate the value of my health at a fairly young age of 29.  It turned out to be a huge motivator for me to bring as many parts of my life into balance as possible. After surviving the trials of cancer (including its treatment), it is up to us to find a “new normal”. Many of us become preoccupied with learning all we can about adopting a new lifestyle that better reflects our newfound values after cancer.

Working on changing certain habits we’ve grown accustomed to doesn’t have to be drudgery, or something we continue to put off.  Why not approach it in an upbeat way?  Look at it as an exciting challenge that you know you’re up for.  And having someone to be there beside you, who has been there too, can make it even better!  So if you’re ready to make a new commitment for yourself and your new life, please get in touch with me. I would be honored to help you in any way I can.

Here is a link to a 3-minute animated video that shows how the coaching process works. Just click on the play button in the middle of the picture below to watch this simple, yet clever, representation about what the coaching/client relationship is all about.  Enjoy!

As workplace wellness programs are becoming more widespread throughout the country, the buzz is catching on. The bottom line of such programs is this: healthy employees tend to be happier and more productive employees. These programs range from simply offering information to workers, to subsidized healthy lunches, fitness education, and a company gym.  Read more

Does your company offer a wellness program?  If so, I’d like to hear from you about it.  Do you use it?  How could it be improved?

An important aspect of our health and well being lies in the actions we take in our everyday lives.  It can be comforting to know there is someone on your side that is eager to listen, encourage, and help guide you toward your goals on this deeply personal journey.

In my work with clients, I speak of using consciousness, or self awareness, as a crucial part of the process of initiating change.  Once your rational mind and your emotions are brought into play, then you are more able to effectively make a commitment to yourself and follow through to accomplish the changes you seek.  This kind of awareness holds the key to transforming the quality of your life and restoring wholeness.

We will look at what wellness means to you – however you may define it. And as we clarify your highest vision of well being, I will be there to hold that vision with you and to acknowledge your achievements along the way.

The beauty in using a coaching approach is that the motivation to change is always driven by YOUR wishes.  What many of us associate with change comes from a long history of others telling us we need to do this or that for our own good.  And this creates a reaction of going into a “protecting mode”, or a defensive and rebellious state.  So this approach has proven to be unsuccessful in most cases.  Instead, I encourage you to stay in a “learning mode”.  I continually ask… What do you want?  What is most important to you?  Then together, we design a workable plan to achieve your desired outcomes.

So we’ve all heard of Company Mission Statements.  But what about thinking of doing a Personal Mission Statement just for you?  This would be a paragraph that provides clarity and gives you a sense of purpose.  It defines who you are and how you will live.  It is a way to focus your energy, actions, behaviors and decisions towards the things that are most important to you.

I have one that I wrote many years ago while in graduate school, for my Spirit in the Workplace class.  Granted mine was quite lengthy, but I don’t believe in hard and fast rules about what they should look like.  I remember it just poured out of me after our instructor led us through a powerful guided meditation.  Here is what I wrote in 2001, and it still feels accurate for me all these years later:

“To strive towards congruency between my thoughts, feelings, and actions for finding and living in my own truth.  My first priority and emphasis is on being, rather than doing – and trusting that the doing will naturally follow as a by-product of living my essence.  That essence is a state of unconditional love and total acceptance of myself, as well as others.  By living in that truth, I will naturally create an intentional community by supporting and participating in the growth and understanding of others.  And through connecting with others of like mind and intention, I will gain a fuller sense of who I am, as well as who we are collectively as a whole.  I will be guided by my unending passions of curiosity and exploration… of both inner and outer worlds… discovering new concepts and ideas which support the spontaneous unfolding of human potential.”