Day 59 of 2021-Last day of February

 Happy Sunday and the last day of February. How are you doing today? So since this is the last day of the month, its time for the month end review. 

Take a look back and reflect how the month went for you. What did you accomplish this month? What were some of the lessons learned? What did you learn about yourself?

I like to take a few minutes to just journal and reflect how the month went. Its a great way to look back and just take a moment to reflect on your goals and accomplishments. The exercise to reflect is to celebrate the end of the month and all that you have done. 

The pandemic has not been easy on any one of us and I know that things are tough. But you are going through it and while it may not be idle, notice your strength and bravery in the midst of this. Take a moment to just give yourself a pat on the back. It is hard and you can do hard things. 

Gratitude is my favorite word. I am just so grateful for a lot. As you reflect on this last day of the month, take a moment to also list all the things that you are grateful for. There are many reason to give thanks every single day. 

Friends, hang in there. There is hope now that a vaccine is out and we all just need to practice patience. We already have been patient for so long and hopefully this time next year will look very different. 

So today I hope you spend sometime journaling, be proud of yourself, give thanks, have loving and encouraging thoughts.

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 58 of 2021-1% marginal gains

 Happy Saturday you all. Its raining here but hopefully will clear later in the day. I was on Facebook this morning and read an interesting article from CNBC about "The most mentally tough people apply the 1% 'marginal gains' rule.

The CNBC article written by Dr. Kumar Mehta states that:

Sir Dave Brailsford, former performance director of British Cycling, revolutionized the sport using the theory of marginal gains.

Brailsford believed that if you make a 1% improvement in a host of tiny areas, the cumulative benefits would be extraordinary. The theory of marginal gains (or, as I sometimes call it, “microexcellence”) has been credited for vaulting the British cycling team from a mediocre performer to 16 gold medals over two Olympics and seven Tour de France wins in eight years.

When I read the above, I began to think about how I could use the 'marginal gains' rule in my life. The article essential states that making marginal or 1% improvements where you can see specific results and are more manageable will eventually and collectively create a higher level of success.

I have talked in some of my prior posts about taking small steps. I have been a big believer in taking baby steps to reach any goal. I personally find making small improvements daily will create a bigger impact in the long term.

My intentions this year is to eat healthy. So for me that means less sugar and carbohydrates. I have not completely eliminated sugar and carbs but instead of eating the whole slice of cake, I only have a 1/4 piece or instead of having a cup of rice, I have 1/2cup. This may not seem like a big difference but in the long term, if I keep making improvements in my eating habits, I know that I will see and feel the difference. 

You really have to be mentally strong to apply the 1% rule. You also have to be so disciplined and not give in to your cravings. If you are working on your resolutions and they include eating healthier or weight loss, try incorporating the 1% rule and make increment changes. 

I also like this approach better since it feels less overwhelming. When we think of goals or resolutions most of us think and make big changes to see results. Making the big changes may not be sustainable long term and hence you may fall back to the old habits quicker. If you want lasting results, think smaller and more manageable changes. In the case of weight loss, I have seen people make drastic changes to their diet all at once and have been successful in loosing the weight, but a few months later they tend to gain it back. 

So instead of thinking big changes all at once, especially for weight loss goals, think small changes that will last. 

Good luck my friends! You've got this!

Enjoy your Saturday!!

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 57 of 2021-Pros and Cons

 Happy Friday!! I am so happy that it is Friday. What a week its been. How are you all feeling today?

So today I have been feeling a little overwhelmed since I had to make a decision as to whether I was going to accept a job. I did accept the job and actually felt relieved till.. I spoke to my manager's boss. 

So changing jobs is hard and reaching to that decision was not easy for me either. The very fact that I decided to even switch jobs now, in the midst of a pandemic, was a difficult choice but nevertheless I went through it and am glad that I did.

So I got a call yesterday from my managers boss and he basically wanted me to rethink my decision. As I was processing everything he was saying, I began to feel stressed and overwhelmed again.

So instead of thinking about it over and over again, I decided to list the pros and cons. Recently I have been either thinking and listing the pros and cons for any situation. You can really use it anytime you have to make a decision or to help you reach your resolutions. 

Its a great way to also hold your self accountable. When the pros outweigh the cons, you have all the reasons to go for it and if the cons outweigh the pros, then you perhaps lean the other way. By listing all of your thoughts in 2 columns you will be better able to judge and see the situation more carefully and then decide. 

I am a big proponent of using pros and cons. Yes, you can always talk to friends or relatives and they will surely lead you to making the decision or tell you what they think is best. But only you know what's best and only you can decide what is right for you. 

So I suggest, sitting quietly with a piece of paper and draw a big T. On the top of the page you can write the situation or decision that you need to make. On the left list the pros and on the right list the cons. Write everything that comes to your mind about the situation, and I mean everything. Once you have done that keep the paper aside for a few hours or a day if you can.

Then go back to it and review what you have written. Read each bullet slowly and think about anything else that you may have excluded. Now that you have the complete list, if one side has more bullets than the other, your answer maybe easy. If both side have the same bullets, then I would say go with how you feel deep down. 

Sometimes its very obvious but at other times, its not and that's when you need to really listen and feel what your heart is telling you. You never know if it will work out but if you feel strongly then do it. Your mind may not agree, but I know the heart and feeling will never lie. 

Its never that clear but by listing the pros and cons, it can make the reaching the decision quicker.

 No matter what you will be okay.

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 56 of 2021-Being kind to yourself

 Hello my friends! How is your day so far? How are you feeling? I am still trying to get more sleep at night but it just seems like no matter what I do, I can't sleep as much as I would like to and you all know how important my sleep is to me. 

So as I scrolling through my Facebook feed this morning, I came across a video from Mel Robbins and it was the exactly the words that I needed to hear. Mel said "the #1 was to improve your life is to be kind to yourself."

Now, I know that and I also wrote about that but when you are so sleep deprived its even harder to follow your own advice. But I know that my every day mantra has to include being kind to myself. I need to take care of myself. 

With everything else we have to remember these days like wearing a mask, sanitizing, cleaning, working, taking care of kids, teaching kids, dealing with social injustice and all else, we so easily forget that we need to first be kind to ourselves.

Friends, you need to make you a priority. As I woke up this morning, my mental chatter was not saying kind things to myself. I really was beating myself up. But then as I watch Mel Robbins video, it was perfect timing to remind myself that I need to only speak kindly and with love to myself. Nothing else will be accepted. 

No matter what you have going on, please be kind to yourself. Whenever you hear your own inner voice not being gentle to yourself, stop it immediately. Turn it around with only loving words. You need to notice it, stop it and turn it around. 

I also like leaving notes for myself daily as a reminder to be kind to myself. That's a great way to remember especially if you are feeling overwhelmed and stressed. Keep going back to your notes and reviewing it and reading it out loud to yourself. 

Be kind my friends. Don't beat up on yourself no matter what happens. Speak and think only kind words. 

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 55 of 2021- A nice walk

 Good Afternoon! So how are you feeling today? I went for a lovely walk this afternoon as I said I would if the temperature got to 60 degrees and it sure did. Here is a picture from my walk and boy was the sky so beautiful.

I loved taking my walk. It felt so good. Oh my god, I really wanted to go for a long walk but with my injury I had to turn around and come back but I am so glad that I did that I stepped outside for 15 minutes.

What did you do today? Was the weather nice where you are? Make it a point to go out and get some fresh air. You don't have to go far for a long time, even a short walk for 10 mins will make a difference. 

Enjoy this day. If the weather is not great where you are, just keep taking deep breathes. I stand outside for a minute and just take a deep breathe and even that makes a difference.

Hang in there and know that you've got this!

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 54 of 2021- My Injury

 Good Morning! How is your morning so far? Mine has been crazy but what else is new. I am still sleep deprived and last night was another night of no sleep.

When I went to the gym regularly I never had a problem sleeping but I have not been going for about a month now due to an injury. So last night as I lay in bed, I realized that not going to the gym has really affected my sleep patterns. Unfortunately, I can't go to the gym for few more weeks so I have to come up with an alternate way.

As I was looking ahead at the weather forecast, I realized that that tomorrow its going to be in the 60s which means its perfect for a nice walk.  So from now on, I will check the weather and when it is a little warmer, I decided that I will at least take a walk outside. 

Now I know some of you get your exercise outdoors no matter how cold it is. I for one, hate the cold so anything below 60 degrees is too cold for me and I will not venture out. 

At least, I know that since my exercise routine is not going back to normal for awhile, I will take a walk outdoors when the weather is nice even though it may not be that many days. But spring is in a month or so and then I will be able to commit more regularly. 

So what's the point of all of this. Well, its to really think about how you can pivot when your normal routine gets in the way of your resolutions and goals. So even though you were well on your way to achieving your resolutions and now something has come up, you can find an alternative. 

Its different if you are severely injured or something more serious has come up. You need to always put your self and body first and take care of it. I am referring to a lesser degree of seriousness as it relates to the thing that has come up. 

In my case, my injury just requires me to stay away from hard core gym exercises and the only thing I can do is walk. Now I could go the gym and walk on the treadmill but that was not even possible this past month. I had to let my body heal and now that it is healing slowly, I know what limits to push myself and when to back off. 

So the only thing I can do is take a short walk. I will still be sticking to my intentions of eating healthier and taking care of my body at the same time while it heals.

Injuries can really be so hard. The most important thing is to take care of your body so it can heal. Its more important to let your body take its time to heal and to not rush the process. Let it heal slowly. 

I say don't give up on your resolutions or goals, maybe take a break and go at it a different way and pace till you heal. Find what works and think about what other things you can do for yourself while you heal. 

When I could not even walk, I focused more on my mental health than physical. You can still work on building yourself slowly and focus on other areas. Remember resolutions generally comprise of not just one thing but looking at your whole self.

If any of you are injured like me, wishing us a full recovery soon! Hope you found this helpful.

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita 

Day 53 of 2021-Monday quote

 Good Afternoon! It is so cold and icy today. Hope you all are staying safe. How are you feeling today? I wish I can say that I am doing great. Did not get much sleep last night again so really trying my best to stay awake and alert for work. 

So I came across the attached image from Pinterest and wanted to share it. It is definitely not one of my favorite days but I do intend to make it count and give my thanks for what an amazing gift it is to be alive, safe, healthy and loved.

Even though I am completely exhausted, I am going to make today and every day count and why not. You should too because you are here and I am sure you have plenty to be thankful for.

So today's thought question is what are you going to do for yourself to make this day count? 

I am going to go bed early and spending sometime reading. 

Give it some thought. 

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 52 of 2021-My mood for today

 Happy Sunday! Hope you are enjoying your weekend so far. How are you feeling this morning? I for one had a great nights sleep and while I feel I am not completely caught up with my sleep from the last few days, I did wake up this morning in a much better mood.

Speaking of mood, when I woke up I asked myself what type of mood am I going to be in today? Since I am in a pretty good mood, I decided that for today I will:

Smile more

Look at all the good that is around me

Be in a grateful state of mind

Be more playful with my kids

Spend sometime with me

Not let the small things bug me

So I have decided to essentially be in a good mood all day no matter what happens. I am going to constantly remind myself that I have the power to control my mood and act from that place of my intention.

So what type of mood are you going to be in today? You may have a lot going on, but you need to decide right now that no matter what, you will do your best to be in the mood that you want to be in.

You have complete control over your moods. You get to decide if today you are in the mood to pay more attention to your resolutions or goals, just have fun, keep laughing or remain down, sad and let others decide the mood that you should be in. Which one are you going to choose?

Friends, you have more control over your moods than you realize. Don't give in to the patterns that you are used to and definitely don't give control of your moods over to someone else to decide how you should feel.

You get to decide the mood you want to be in today and everyday. You have the power to decide and stick to it no matter what happens. That means, even if the day starts out great, other things will come up that can immediately affect your mood, but you would need to use your set intention as the anchor and come back to it. 

So for me, I will keep reading the 6 things I have above to keep reminding myself that this is who I want to be and show up today. No matter what, I will keep coming back to my list. 

So write down what type of mood are you going to be in today and keep it front and center with you. Keep looking at it throughout the day. You've got this!

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 51 of 2021-I am sleep deprived

Happy Saturday Morning! How are you all feeling today? I am super tired and only had about 5 hours of sleep last night. In fact, I have been averaging about 5 hours of sleep the last 4 days. Not ideal.

Now I love my sleep and am at my best when I get at least 8 to 9 hours of sleep. So you can imagine how I must be feeling today. The less sleep from the past few nights has really messed me up in a lot of ways. I have no energy or the focus to do anything..

So I am fully aware of how I am really not feeling my best and till I catch up on my sleep, I have decided to make a list of things of the things I will not do such as:

No important conversations

No important decisions

No talking unless I really have something to say

No important work

No organizing

No cleaning

No meeting people

So why should I bother with making this "No" list. Well, when anyone is sleep deprived, they tend to continue on with either loads of caffeine to get them through the day and somehow they keep going and going not paying attention to what the sleep deprivation is doing to their mental and physical health. 

A lot of us think we can get away with less sleep but sooner or late it catches up with you. Its such a false believe that getting less sleep is okay or believing that you can really get by with less sleep. No one can. You may end of making decisions or choices that you will regret. You will also not be as productive or have the right energy to do the tasks at hand. Another words, you won't be at your best.

So when I am sleep deprived I really feel it mentally and physically. It hurts my body and mind. Therefore, I would be really kidding myself if I say that I am okay and go about with my day as if I am feeling at 100%. 

So the best thing for me is to remind myself all the things I won't do. I list 5 or 6 things that I will not do till I am caught up with my sleep. Its a great reminder to first, take care of myself by going to bed early and second, nothing important till I have had 8 to 9 hours of sleep for a couple of days.

So whenever you have not had a good nights rest, make a list of things you will not do and stick to it. Once you get a chance to catch up on your sleep, then you can get back to normal to do's. Non of us can go on and on with less sleep and it will certainly start to impact all areas of your life. 

Friends, pay attention to your sleep and give your body and mind the rest it needs and deserves. 

So tonight I am planning on going to bed early and getting my 9 hours of sleep!

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 50 of 2021-50 posts already

 Wow I can't believe this is my 50th sequential post. I am really glad and proud of being able to post something everyday.

Winston Churchill once said "Never give up on something you can't go a day without thinking about."

Since the year started, there has never been a day since I was able to not think about this blog and think of ways to reach the public. Even though no one has read it, I still feel really proud within of being able to post everyday and I am truly grateful.

I keep thinking about how to keep the momentum going. Its going to be hard to do it everyday and things can certainly come up and get in the way. But I am going to do whatever I can to keep posting this daily. 

I feel the same way about eating healthier. I never want to give up on eating healthy and keep thinking about my choices. I am well aware that my emotions can and will get in the way, more often than I like but that is okay. I know and realize that I will never give up on something that I truly feel in my heart and think about.

How many of you feel this way about your goals? Do you think about it daily? If so, stick to your goals and never give up on them or you.

I have had this blog for a few years now but barely wrote anything. I am not sure why or what made me to start posting something everyday, even if nobody was reading it. That's okay, I thought but I can not and will not stop thinking about posting something daily for as long as I can.

So if you are constantly thinking about something everyday, pay attention to it and never give up!

Have a great weekend!

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 49 of 2021-Good evening

 Good Evening all! Hope you all had a great day. I was so swamped with work today and it was just so crazy. I have been so busy but lately its just been more crazy then usual.

But its evening now and the day is almost done. As stressed as I was, I keep reminding myself to mentally plug off and be present with the kids.

As hard as it was, I had to just shut my computer down. There was still so much work to do but it will be there tomorrow as well. I was feeling so overworked and just mentally exhausted so I really needed to shut down.

So tonight, I am going to just tune out my work and be present for my kids. I know for a lot of us, its so hard to be done with work and shut down. Setting boundaries is so critical all around.

The work will be there tomorrow so don't beat yourself up. Decide ahead of time what time you will shut down and stick to your schedule. 

All of us are overworked so don't wait till it you have a breakdown. Its not worth risking your health and once you shut down your computer for the night, don't think about your work anymore. Do your best to be present for your family. 

One thing that always helps me is to take a few minutes to myself. So take sometime out to destress. Be present and don't forget deep breathes. You've got this! 

Alright family is waiting for me so till tomorrow. Have a good evening.

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 48 of 2021-For yourself

 Good Morning! Wow some major snow is on the way and in the Midwest they are still dealing with the snow storm from a few days ago along with the power outage. Hope and praying for everyone's safety. The storm will come and pass so hang in there. 

What's the one thing you can do today for yourself? I know that these days its such a struggle to do things for oneself especially this past year. Woman have a tendency to especially put themselves at the bottom of the priority list because we are juggling so many things at once. 

Can you do something for yourself today? Perhaps think about taking a nice long bath, relax and read your book, go for a walk or give yourself time to sit and enjoy your meal. What else can you do for yourself today?

I hope you are able to just take care of yourself. Its so easy to forget ourselves in the midst of all the chaos. Self care is the most critical thing that you need. Will do a deeper dive into self care in another post. It goes beyond taking care of yourself for just one day and it takes practice and constant reminders. 

For today, start with one thing that you can do and repeat tomorrow with one other thing and keep doing it. Remember yourself not just today but everyday. 

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

 

Day 47 of 2021- Not alone

 How are you all feeling today? Overwhelmed, stressed, feel like screaming or all of those and then some. Totally relatable and know that you are not alone. 

Sometimes it feels like you are alone and the only one who feels this way and that no one feels the same way that you do. It may help to remember that you are not the only one feeling this way. There are so many of us, including me, who feel this way. I've for one want to scream so loudly!!! 

Its too much for us to bear everything. The pandemic, home schooling, relationships, work and whatever else you have going on. Man life has been so hard lately.

So if you feel like your alone in your feelings, you are not. Yes, its true that the depth of your emotional experience is yours and only you know what it feels like to be in you. The experience is overwhelming but it may help you to know that there are so many of us in the same boat. 

We are all in the boat weathering the storm with the huge waves and we are just trying to keep afloat. All of our experiences and emotions are different and we all have our own versions of stuff to deal with. So if you feel like screaming, you are not alone. I feel the same way too and I am sure that many others feel that way.

What I am learning to do is to recognize and remind myself that I am not alone. While I may not know you and you don't know me we are in this together. Don't feel alone and know that is okay to scream. 

Right know I have a picture in my mind of standing on top of a cliff and screaming. Although I am sitting here, at home, in my little space or my timeout space as I like to call it, having that image is helpful. 

Being well aware that the pandemic is just bringing up a lot that would have not surfaced is allowing us to find a way to deal with things. I know that my intentions to eat healthy this year is something that I have been trying for years but never stuck to it. Somehow, this pandemic had given me that sense of urgency that I need to eat healthy. That can bring up a lot of overwhelming feelings but it helps me to know that there are also many of you who feel this way about your goals.

We are not alone in our feelings. We are just not. I hope that if you feel alone in your feelings, look around or talk to others. Do you have a group or one friend that you can talk to? They will probably tell you how hard this pandemic has been on them too. 

Its not just you, its all of us. We are all in the same boat. 

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

 

Day 46 of 2021-Mid Feb review

 Hello my friends! How are you are feeling today? I know many of you are off this presidents day so hope you are enjoying the long weekend.

So since we are mid month. I thought, just like last month, it would be a good idea to do a mid month review. How are things going? How are your resolutions coming along? Are you making great progress, slow progress or no progress?

No matter what I hope that you are proud of yourself. Do a little check in and see how are you are doing not just on your resolutions but also overall. I know its been so hard and so many of us are suffering and feeling isolated. The end of this pandemic will come and a new normal will begin. 

The pandemic will end in some way and people will go back to being a new way. Some will want things to be the same and others different. Think about how you want to end this month and what are some of the things you need to do for yourself.

I always like a mid month review and a month end review. The mid months sets you up for the next 2 weeks and the end of the month sets you up for the next month. 

A lot of us probably feel we like there is still a long way to go and there is. Most of us are still working from home and most schools are still not 100% open. But a year from now, things will look and feel different. 

We are need to reset and closely look at where we are in our lives. No matter what though, be gentle and kind to yourself and never loose sight of your dreams and hopes.

Mid month reviews, are a great way to not sure focus on things like your resolutions and goals but also things that you need to let go off. What would you like on your plate for the next 2 weeks? For me even when the pandemic is behind us, I will always keep up with the mid month and month end reviews for myself since I find that it helps me stay focused and disciplined. 

 I hope you take the mid month review helpful in some way. No matter what be gentle with yourself.

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 45 of 2021-Happy Valentines Day

 Good Sunday Morning! Wishing you all a very Happy Valentines day. Hope you all are going to enjoy this day with loved ones.

Did you know that the first Valentines day was in the year 496. Valentines day was thought to have originated from a Roman festival. Apparently the day gets its name from a famous saint named St. Valentine.

Now I know that with the pandemic I am not feeling like chocolates and flowers. Yesterday I created a card for both of my kids and it felt good to see the smiles on their face this morning when they saw the card.

Tension and stress maybe at an all time high being at home. Even if you don't feel like celebrating this day, try to just keep your rituals if you have one. It can be a simple card or just calling your loved ones, friends, kids or anyone and wishing them. 

Celebrate this day for yourself if you are single. I believe that there is no better love than self love. Go get some chocolates or just spend the day with yourself.

Valentines day is just an interesting celebration. I mean I personally don't need a day to celebrate with loved ones but I do go with the idea. 

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 44 of 2021-Reverence

 Good Saturday afternoon my friends! So I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and there was Oprah live having a get together with participants who signed up for the new weight watches.

Now, I would usually not watch it and keep scrolling till I got to my favorite tasty videos. However, this time I decided to pause and listen for a few minutes and boy am I glad that I did.

I love Oprah and her super soul sessions. Today however she was talking about reverence. 

Vocabulary.com describes reverence as:

"Reverence is a feeling of deep respect or awe and it can also describe how you treat someone, particularly when used with the word with. To treat someone "with reverence" is to show them intense respect. Your friends may respect you for your loyalty, though they probably do not bow to you with reverence every day."

My interpretation when watching Oprah talk to her audience was that she was telling them to treat themselves with reverence. How many of us don't treat ourselves or our bodies with the respect and awe that it deserves? I know that I still have that struggle with my own body, but I have learned to re train my negative thoughts about myself and its a daily exercise.

I feel a lot of women may struggle with this too. We tend not to give ourselves the reverence we need and deserve. I actually love the word reverence and it is such a important reminder that I need to treat myself with reverence every day.

Gary Zukav said "When you see with reverence, you see holiness in everything." See the holiness is you and everything around you. As most of my prior posts have been focused on resolutions, how can you now keep moving forward or starting your resolutions with reverence?

I read an article where Debbie Ford said "If you have been suffering with physical ailments or even a spiritual emptiness, I want to share with you what I know to be true: The more love and reverence you give your body, the better you will feel. The more attention you give your sacred container, the more divine power it will be able to hold. To step into reverence for your body, you must pardon yourself for all you have done and not done to care for it. You must bless what works and accept and embrace all you perceive to be wrong. You must bring your attention to the beautiful job it does each day to keep in the game of life. And bless it for the opportunity it gives you to evolve your soul."

I think what Debbie Ford said above really sums it up well. Deep respect for your self, for your body and for what you want. You need to look in the mirror and bow to yourself, to your body and soul. Treat yourself daily with awe and reverence.

Life your life with reverence. Make that promise to yourself every single day. 

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 43 of 2021- Friday Quote of the day

Happy Friday!!!

The quote above was from my Facebook feed from a local radio show that has daily morning mindset quotes every morning. 

Remember no matter what the day holds, you have the ability to deal with anything. Just keep repeating that you do and you will get through no matter what.

I have a busy day at work so hope you enjoy your day! 

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 42 of 2021-I want results now

 Well Good Afternoon my friends! So what's going on? My kids had no school today and it was just raining! The weather forecast was totally off in predicting the snow. When I woke up this morning, I was expecting to see a few inches of snow but it was just rain. Well at least the kids were happy to wake up late this morning.

So how are you feeling today? I am feeling up and down but that's probably normal. We have good days and not so good days and I am trying to really focus on the good.

I have to say that I am really proud of myself for eating healthy especially this past week. I have been watching what I eat and I am able to control myself with portion size. I can get very impatient and want to see results fast. I look at myself in the mirror and keep watching to see of my body is changing. 

I know that it is changing on the inside but I have not seen results yet. My clothes still fit the same, but I have more energy. Now, I have also been averaging 8 to 9 hours of sleep every night so that is certainly helping with my energy levels.

I think its always good to do a check in with yourself to see how you are not only feeling but taking a pulse on how your resolutions are working out for you. We all want fast results, but a resolution to loose weight is not something that you can speed up or that you will notice results immediately. 

It does take about 4 weeks before you notice any change, and longer for others to see it in you. I know it took me awhile to put this weight on so it is natural that it will take sometime before I see any results.

But I am impatient and do tend to get discouraged when I don't see immediate results. This is when I focus more on the long term than the short term. My intentions to eat healthy is a lifestyle change and not a once and done deal but a forever deal with myself. So remember that is a deal to yourself.

I am looking for long term results and sustainability and not something that will just make me feel good for one month. So my friends, what I am getting to is you need to stick to your resolutions and have patience to see the results.

Now for those of you who kept your resolutions from the start, you should begin to notice the difference now, depending on what your goal is and how long you have been in it . But every thing you do counts, so don't just focus on the scale or a number. 

Focus on how your clothes fit and your overall energy levels and use other measures to help you gauge how you are doing. Don't fixate on one thing and take a broader look.

Progress takes time and you will have to trust yourself that you will see the results. If you are doing everything you need to, eating right, getting sleep, exercising, minimizing stress etc, then you are well on your way. 

Don't get frustrated that you have not seen results. The changes are happening from within and you will see it. It takes time, just like a lot of other things. So stay focused. You've got this!!

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 41 of 2021-You are doing the best

 Happy Humpday! The week is going by fast. So what is going on today? I am working this morning but also turned the T.V on to catch up on news and now its becoming such a distraction. Its time to turn it off!!

There is a lot going on with work and on the personal front as well and I often have to repeat to myself daily that I am doing the best I can. Isn't it so true!!! We are all trying and doing the best we can and that is good enough. 

There is no question and doubt that given the circumstances we are all in, we are doing our best each day. Your best can only be defined by you and no one else. No one can truly understand what you are going through so don't compare yourself to anyone else. 

The people you know are not you. They can empathize and listen to you which is great. We all need someone who we can go to. Someone who we can confide in, trust and share our stories without being judged. 

But if you don't have that someone, you can still talk to yourself, nature, universe, god or whatever you believe in. Say it out loud and also say given everything that is going on, I am doing the best and that is good enough.

Believe that you are doing your best. It can hard during these times of isolation and loneliness. We can all feel down and really be hard on ourselves. But ask yourself, is it worth it for me to be so hard on myself? NO!

Even when it comes to your resolutions and goals, you know that you are doing the best you can, given where you are and that is good enough.

Don't be hard on yourself and take it easy.

So no matter what know that you are doing your best and that is good enough. Make that your daily mantra.

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 40 of 2021-Reel it in

 Good afternoon friends! How is it going? Hope you are having a good day. So how is your week so far?

I have been totally swamped with work and there is just so much going on overall. Been feeling a little overwhelmed with everything and my thoughts are racing at such a high speed and not in the direction where I want it to go. 

I know that I have some unsettled things on my mind that need addressing. I am not sure when to bring it up and how to. Since I am feeling overwhelmed, I am intentionally leaving it alone till sometime passes to allow my feelings and emotions to settle and then find a way.

The feeling is almost like when your fishing. You swing the bait in the water and when the fish catches on you reel it back. For me its like that with my thoughts today. I need to keep reeling it back in. 

Certainly in days like this (and there are many times), I know that I have to reel my thoughts back in. Now I don't fish and never have but I have watched people fishing and always thought of trying it one day. It fits as a metaphor for my thoughts today.

I know that when my mind gets so carried away, I need to reel it back in otherwise it just controls my day and that is not what I want, especially with current thoughts. So in order to stay disciplined in my intentions, I have to watch every thing I think, say and do.

Haven't we all had days like this and now more than ever. The pandemic has been so brutal and good in a way too. Its bringing out what has been deep inside and allowing us to face it, if we are willing to. 

So I am glad to say that since my thoughts are sprinting today, I have noticed it and reeled it back every time it gets far. I have to otherwise I will be acting on it and that won't be good for me. So the point is notice where you are today and if it helps, imagine someone fishing and reel back your thoughts.

If you are working on your resolutions today and your thoughts are just all over, reel it back in my friends. Don't act on anything that would not be helpful to achieve your resolutions. Imagine just pulling it back in. You need to for now at least and then find a way to address it. 

Hope you found this helpful! Perhaps, I really need to try fishing.

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 39 of 2021-Mini challenges

 So we just got done with a weeklong wellness challenge. How did it go for you? Which one of the challenges were new? Did you find any of them hard?

How are your resolutions or goals coming along for the year? Can you incorporate any of the challenges into your daily routine? 

I find mini daily challenges a great way to mix things up especially if those challenges align with your resolutions. One of the things that I have done is with my intentions to eat healthier is to incorporate a lot of the challenges from last week. 

A combination of many things will help you achieve your goals. Sometimes its looking broader rather than just one way. Eating healthier for me means no sugar and limited carbohydrates but if I can incorporate exercise to reduce stress, then it makes it easier to not reach for the chocolate or bread.

So if you are struggling to reach your resolutions, it's still not to late to make the necessary changes. Think about daily mini challenges that you can add to your routine that will help you reach your resolutions. 

Now it know its hard with the pandemic and all the stress already in our lives, but I for one will use this time to take care of myself. Its easy to brush off our goals or not take the simple small steps. You get to decide how you will come out at the end of this pandemic. 

Looking at reaching your resolutions more broadly helps with not just getting to the goal but also with all areas of your life.  If your goal is to loose weight, well there are tons of books that can help you. You might find that by reading daily for 20 mins gives you new insight or motivation that you may not know. You can target your reading to books or articles that are about your resolutions and learn new things on the way.

There are so many ways you can get creative with the challenge. Try to create your own weekly challenge and aim to achieve it. Get creative with your planner and think about mini things you can do to help you achieve your resolutions.

Some examples to help you can look like this:

Monday- No social media before 9:00am

Tuesday- Go meatless

Wednesday- Do yoga

Thursday-Reach out to someone who also shares the same resolutions as you and share your journey.

Friday- Spend extra time with your kids or loved one.

So for me, with my intentions to eat healthier this year, some of the mini challenges listed above directly impact my intentions and others are more indirect but still impact my intentions.

Remember, they are mini challenges and not meant to add more stress or work than what we already have on our plates.

So I hope this gives you inspiration to keep sticking to your resolutions.

Go at your own pace and do what works. 

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 38 of 2021-Wellness week day 7

 Its snowing again. The snow looks really beautiful but I am so ready for spring. 

How was the day 6 challenge to sit still? We need to incorporate more stillness everyday. 

Today is the last day of the weeklong challenge and its to read!

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Oh I love to read. Its my favorite hobby and when I am free, you can always find me reading. I can really get lost in a book. I read a lot of non fiction and enjoy motivational and self improvement books.

But you can read anything that you enjoy. My kids are required to read daily for 20 mins as part of their school homework. This should be applied to adults as well. 

Reading is my favorite past time and has other benefits. Reading improves your health and I think of it as food for your brain. Not only will you learn new vocabulary, but it will improve your health and helps you get a good night sleep.   

I know a lot of people who love to just sit in front to the T.V instead of reading. You don't have to read all day but spend at least 15 to 20 mins reading. It does not even need to be a book. Maybe its a research paper or an article. Find something that interests you. 

My favorite quotes on reading are below:

"The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." Dr. Seuss.

"Reading is the gateway skill that makes all other learning possible." Barack Obama.

So even if you are not a reader, today is the day to start. Read away!!

Wishing you peace and happiness my friend from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 37 of 2021-Wellness week day 6

 Happy Saturday!

So today is wellness week day 6. Almost to the end of the weeklong challenge.

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You should be really proud of yourself if you kept up with the challenge so far. I hope that it motivates you to have these practices in place even after this week.

Today is all about meditation and the challenge is to find 10mins to sit still. Now, I have a lot more to write about meditation in general in another post but your goal today is to just be still for 10mins and focus on your breathe.

What I usually like to do is to breathe in for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts and exhale 4 counts. You can do whatever works for you.

There will be times when your mind will be distracted with thoughts but the challenge is to stay on your breathe. Use your breathe as the anchor and do your best to bring it back to your breathing each time your mind wonders.

Find stillness everyday in your life and if you look for it, its always there. We just need to notice the moments. 

I am keeping this super short, but I hope you find time today to just sit still.

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 36 of 2021- Wellness week day 5

 Good Morning my friends! Made it to Friday and boy is it going to be a busy one.

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Today is day 5 of our wellness challenge week and its 20mins of exercise. Its almost the same as the first challenge which was to move for 10mins every hour. 

You all know the benefits of getting some form of exercise everyday. I strive for at least 3 days of exercise at least 20mins. I have had to slow down quite a bit due to pain but I try to at least walk. 

I used to get my heart rate up but these days I can only walk. To add to todays challenge, try to get your heart rate up. I guarantee you will feel really good after the workout. 

I love these challengers and will certainly continue them even after this week is over. Its nice to add these to your routine and honestly it does not take much time to do.

Think of these challenges as investments in your own life. You are doing something great for yourself and it will really help your stress and mood levels. 

I hope that these challenges help you reach your resolutions. Remember small, simple steps. 

How are you all keeping with your resolutions? Hope that is going well. Don't give up!!!

Back to work and getting the day started!!! Have a great Friday you all.

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita 

Day 35 of 2021-Wellness week day 4

 Good morning. How are you all feeling this morning? How was wellness challenge 3? Make gratitude a part of our life daily and count your blessings everyday.

So today is challenge 4 and all about getting organized.

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Now, getting organized can feel like such a daunting task. How about starting small with maybe just your office space or where you work? It does not need to a full blown decluttering day but start with one area. There are so many benefits with getting organized and lots of good books written about it such as Tidying up by Marie Kondo, which I strongly recommend.

There are lots of areas in my house that I need to attend to. With the pandemic, its been hard to keep my pantry organized and my desk area clear. So I did get my desk organized and it has honestly helped me get more efficient and enables me to focus better on my work.

With the clutter that I had piled up, it was getting hard to stay focused on my job since I kept staring at the clutter. I knew that I had to get it cleared up and given that my desk is in my kitchen, it becomes the first place where I just pile stuff on.

Marie Kondo talks about 5 steps to get organized. The KonMarie method is:

• Discarding by category comes first. 
• Break a category into subcategories as necessary. 
• Keep only those things that spark joy. 
• After you've finished discarding, organize your space thoroughly and completely. 
• Do it all in one go.

I like the 5 steps and takes a lot of the guessing out on how to organized away. It is also pretty self explanatory. On my desk, I only keep things that bring a smile to my face. My work area is really also where I take a time out for myself so keeping it organized really helps me to just sit and destress. 

So when you think about getting organized, think about the ways to move things such that the place becomes inviting for you and makes you smile when you see it.

I think these tips are so great and they are simple. A lot of times we tend to overthink which makes us feel overwhelmed and then we never get to organizing. 

Pick one area today, take one simple step to remove the things not needed and enjoy the space. It does not need to take all afternoon if you just stay focused and do it all at once. If you stop midway, you might have a harder time getting started again. Maybe even plan on giving yourself a small reward if you do it. 

Hope you are enjoying the wellness week challenges and think about ways to incorporate these more frequently into your daily life.

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 34 of 2021- Wellness week day 3

 Good Morning Friends! Happy hump day. How are we feeling this morning? Those of you in the Northeast are probably trying to out of the snow. It looks so pretty. For us, school was cancelled so kids were sledding all day for the last 3 days! 

So day 2 is done. How was your day 2 challenge? Did you manage to eat more fruits and vegetables? Its a great addition to your weight loss resolutions so I encourage you to keep adding more fruits and vegetables to your meals.

So today is day 3 and all about gratitude.

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 The goal is really simple. Just list 5 things you are grateful for before you start your day and when you end your day. Gratitude should really be a daily exercise. There are tons of studies that show that expressing gratitude affects all areas of your life. There are emotional benefits, social benefits, health benefits, and many other areas.

Gratitude strengthens all areas and relationships of your life. Its so simple and yet so many of us don't express it as often as we should. A lot of us express gratitude for things like food, shelter, work etc and these are things we should be grateful for, but what about the person who delivered your groceries, or the fact that you had a life changing event that totally changed the course of your career and gave you that promotion. There are so many things we can give thanks to if we just look around.

We need to find gratitude not just in the everyday and the good, but also find the good in the not so great events that happen to us. Now, I am not saying you need to express gratitude when a family member pasts away, but gratitude for knowing and having that member be in your life and all the positive ways the person impacted you.

What I am saying is to offer gratitude in areas you don't usual do. Expand your thanks to outside yourself and look further like giving thanks to the cashier who asked you how you are doing when you were checking out at the grocery store. I think you get the point.

I keep a gratitude journal and try to write consistently for things that I am thankful for. Lately, I have not been doing it everyday, but I know that I will get back to expressing my gratitude daily. Like anything, it takes practice but I can assure you that you will start to see and feel the benefits right away.

Sometimes being spontaneous in giving thanks is a great way to brighten someone's day. Its not always what we are thankful for but also thankful to. Give the gift of thanks wherever you go and people you meet and just notice how it uplifts you.

With the pandemic, social isolation and everything else we have going on, our mental health is probably not the best right now. There are a lot of people who are suffering and mental health, anxiety are all issues that a lot of people are dealing with. It is so hard to give thanks during these difficult times, but I am sure we can all find one thing to be grateful for. Just one thing. 

Focusing on all the things you are thankful for hopefully bring light to your day. Its one thing to express gratitude, but another to try your best and focus on gratitude every day and as you go along with your day. 

Well, I know I am grateful for you all and for writing my 100th post. It took awhile to get here but I am in it fully. I am so grateful for my kids and where I am today. 

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 33 of 2021-Wellness week day 2

 Happy second day of February! If you are in the Northeast, hope you are enjoying the snow. Boy what a massive Nor'easter storm it is with some places getting over 2 feet of snow. Great day to stay indoors by the fireplace.

          

So day one challenge is done. Hopefully you can put a check mark on it. Today is day 2 and the focus is on having 5 servings of fruits and vegetables. We all should be eating more fruits and vegetables daily but a lot of us don't nearly eat as much.

Federal guidelines recommend adults eat 11/2 to 2 cups of fruit per day and 2 to 3 cups of vegetables. I know its hard to remember to eat your fruits and vegetables but pick fruits and vegetables that you actually like.

One thing you can do is to decide in the morning when and how much fruit and vegetable you are going to eat. It can as simple as having an orange for mid morning snack, an apple after lunch and maybe some bananas and grapes in the evening. 

For vegetables, there are so many options you can choose from and  add it to your meal plan for today. Eating fruits and vegetables should be part of your meals daily but we all know that we don't eat enough so plan ahead and always make sure you have it on your grocery list.

Its no secret that having having fruits and vegetables can reduce your risk of cancer, heart attack and help you live a longer life. 

You can get creative with your fruits and vegetables. I personally enjoy smoothies so I add a variety of fruits and sometimes vegetables to my smoothies. I enjoy eating vegetables and you cook them in a variety of ways so make it fun and mix things up.

Make it a challenge to eat more fruits and vegetables and I can assure you that you will really feel the difference. It also helps with weight loss so for those of you working on your resolutions, its a great way to loose weight.

My intentions for this year is to eat healthier so for me adding more fruits and vegetables is a must. I find that I really do need to more mindful with what I eat and instead of having cheese and crackers as a snack, having an apple will be a better alternative. 

Small swaps and it will add up. What can you have for a mid morning snack today? Remember the benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables and hopefully that will motivate you. 

So the mantra for today is eat more fruits and vegetables!

Wishing you peace and happiness my friends from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita

Day 32 of 2021-Wellness week day 1

 Good Monday morning my friends! Happy February!!!

How are you feeling today? Did you manage to get a good amount of sleep? How is the weather where you are? We had abut 5 inches of snow and it was just so beautiful!!!

So at my kids school, they sent out a memo that this week is wellness week. They challenged the kids to a wellness activity everyday for 5 days a week.

In an effort to upgrade overall health, I created a wellness week challenge for this week. See below:

As you know, I have been writing minute tips with the hopes of providing you with inspiration to pursue your resolutions or any goals that you set for yourself. Given the pandemic and all else we have going on in our lives, taking care of your mental and physical health is so crucial during this time. A lot of us are experiencing very high levels of stress and as you know having elevated stress levels causes all kinds of health issues.

So pay attention to what you are feeling. Don't ignore your stress or numb your feelings and really try to do things that will keep the stress down. I hope that this weeks challenge gives you the motivation to keep doing the challenge not just for one week but every week. Maybe you can even create your own weekly challenge to help you reach your resolutions.

So the challenge for today is to move for 10mins every hour say from 9:00-7:00pm. I wear a Fitbit so I have a reminder set for me that goes off every hour telling me its time to move. I try to get my 250 steps in every day for 8 hours but honestly there are so many days that I don't.

So the goal for me is to hit the 250 steps every hour and I actually am going to challenge myself every day this week to achieve the goal. If you are working from home, you know how easy it is to just sit still on your screen and to keep working. Take a break every hour and move around. It helps to just get up, stretch a little and walk away from your screen. 

A lot of us are on the screen probably more than usual and with all that is going on, its easier to stay glued to the screen. Take the effort and get up and move, set a timer if you need to. It will help you to de stress a little and refresh your mind. 

I know that when I am working on a problem for a long time that I just can't solve, I just walk away from it and take a walk around the house. When I come back, I feel so much more better and it helps me to see the problem differently and to solve it. 

So walk around the house, go check the mail, take the trash our or just stand outside, but move around. Also notice you feel before and after. Its not that hard but I also know its easier to just sit around especially if you are busy at work. 

Start small if you need to and note that moving helps you improve every part of your body. If you really want to upgrade your mental and physical health, start moving. Just 10mins every hour. You can do it!!

Wishing you peace and happiness from my heart to yours!

Peace,

Monita