The people I admire most are those who work on growth and mastering themselves while at the same time serving others. They’ve defined their life purpose as making a contribution to others in meaningful ways. These heroes of mine aren’t perfect. [Read more…] about More Important To Grow Than Be Entertained
2bereu
I absolutely love personal development work because it empowers everyone who commits themselves to it. It doesn’t matter what your life circumstances are. If you use the tools that come with doing personal growth, you will improve your situation. You will see new and positive beginnings, rather than sad endings when life seems difficult. The only caveat is you have to use the tools.
Throughout my life, I’ve faced challenges that could have broken me. In truth, some did. But others didn’t because of two reasons. First, I kept doing the things that were making me strong mentally and physically. I maintained a positive attitude by practicing what I learned from listening to motivational speakers and life coaches. The concepts they introduced helped me to see possibilities and opportunities in every challenge. And I continued exercising and eating healthy during. It amazes me that this is often the first thing people stop doing when times get tough. I knew this would only make things worse down the road. I understood early how important it was that I stayed healthy and fit if I was going to come out better on the other side of the situation. The second biggest factor in thriving during struggles is my friends. They provided support that was unconditional, strong and enduring. There’s no way I could’ve made it through without them. As committed as I was to staying positive, negative thoughts occasionally seeped in. My friends were there to help me replace them with positive affirmations. I smile when I think of how loving they are to me.
We all experience ups and downs. How you fare during and after the downs depends on your mindset. You can make it through any situation and be stronger for it if follow these 3 tips:
- Work on your mindset by doing personal growth exercises. Choose a motivational speaker, author or leader who resonates you. Read or listen to them daily. This is exercise for the mind. You want being kind, seeing the good in others and sunshine in gray skies to become second nature. This comes with practice.
- Surround yourself with positive people who you can share your situation with without fear of judgment. These people can be anchor for you and a safe place to be vulnerable.
- Repeat one and two over and over again for life.
Life is good. If you don’t feel that way, it’s not life who has it wrong. It’s you. Shift your mindset. Be positive and an optimist. One of my favorite new quotes is: “It’s the end of the world”, said the caterpillar. “It’s just the beginning”, said the butterfly. Be the butterfly!
Stronger Mindset,
Keith
Words have power. They have the capacity to create or destroy. Martin Luther King Jr used his “I Have A Dream” speech to uplift a nation and paint a picture of love, connection and acceptance for humankind. [Read more…] about Become A Fanatic About Words
Opportunity is all around you and it’s constantly knocking. If you don’t see or hear it, it’s because you’re not looking and listening. Trust me, it’s there. The first step in taking advantage of opportunity is recognizing it when it shows up. The next step is taking action with hard work.
The key to being present to opportunity is an open and strong mindset. What does that look like? First, you have a beginners mind versus one of an expert. The latter hears almost everything from the space of “that idea won’t work, I’ve already tried that or that’s not better than what I’m already doing”. They only consider one to two things they can do differently to produce the result they want. But the mind of the beginner is a totally different thing in every way. It is open and coachable. It sees hundreds, if not thousands of possibilities in every opportunity.
This brings us to the next step in running with the opportunities life gives us. The saying goes, “When opportunity knocks, hard work answers the door”. That’s right. It’s not enough to simply see good fortune. You have to do something with it. Take the gift and apply hard work to it and you will realize the full potential of it. For most of my life, I couldn’t swim. Many people offered to help me. I made up excuses all the time of why I couldn’t do it. Then one day, I shifted my mindset and said yes to a teacher. To accomplish my goal of swimming a mile in the ocean, I had to apply hard work. I met with the instructor one hour per week each Friday. Then five other days of the week, I practiced the drills she gave me for an hour each day. The opportunity my coach gave me combined with my hard work produced astounding results. I did more than complete the triathlon swim. I disappeared a fear of water and learned a skill I will have the rest of my life.
Look around you. Who and what are the opportunities you’re ignoring in your life? What are you allowing to distract you? If you want great health, fitness and a toned body, the community that can help you achieve it is probably right in front of your face. Get present to it. If you want to shift careers or grow your business, the mentor who can help you pivot and accomplish your goal is probably already someone you know. Clear your life of distraction so you can partner with them. And once you’ve done these things, commit to the hard work it takes to produce extraordinary results. It will be worth it.
If you want to take your life to the next level, click here to begin one on one coaching with me today.
Be Strong!
Keith
While many meal plans for losing weight focus on restricting calories and giving you a long list on foods not to eat, research is finding that building the list of foods that we can eat, specifically several servings of fruits and vegetables per day is the best strategy for shredding pounds.
The key is to focus on foods that have a low calorie density. So what exactly does this mean? Calorie density is the number of calories in a given weight of food. Low-calorie-dense foods have fewer calories per bite. They also tend to be higher in satiety, which means they are high in water, fiber and nutrients. Bulk is what fills you up, and by eating foods low in calorie density you can avoid hunger.
One of the most common questions that I am asked, in regards to our 2BeRe-U nutritional recommendations are “Why do I need to be careful when it comes to nuts?” While packed with vitamins and heart healthy fats, they are high in calories. For those of us who struggle with portion control and/or emotional eating, nuts may not be a good choice to have in your daily diet. One ounce of almonds (20 to 24) has approximately 164 calories. Having knowledge about calorie density will help you understand why nuts and other calorie dense foods should only be considered in moderation for weight loss goals.
As the scale below shows, it is recommended to avoid or limit those foods over 920 calories/pound. One can easily do this by eating lots of fresh vegetables, salads filled with greens and veggies, a controlled portion of starchy vegetables, intact whole grains and legumes without the addition of salt, sugar, fat and oil.
Principles of Calorie Density
- Don’t starve and don’t stuff yourself. Eating a generous amount of low calorie dense foods will fill you up.
- Sequence meals by starting with an apple, salad or soup. This will help to fill you up.
- Don’t drink your calories. Liquids have little if any satiety so they do not fill you up as much as solid foods of equal calories.
- Dilute out high calorie dense foods by filling 1/2 your plate (by visual volume) with intact whole grains, starchy vegetables and/or legumes and the other half with vegetables.
- Adding vegetables to any dish will always lower the overall calorie density of a meal while adding fat and oil will always raise the overall calorie density of a meal.
- Limit (or avoid) foods that are higher in calorie density (dried fruit, high fat plant foods, processed whole grains, etc.). If you use them, incorporate into meals that are made up of low calorie dense foods and think of them as a condiment to the meal. For example, add a few slices of avocado to a large salad.
By modifying your daily nutrition plan to follow some of the calorie density principles, you will help to ward off hunger pains. Go ahead! Fill your plate — with low calorie dense foods and ENJOY!
Note: Calorie density (more calories per weight) is not the same as nutrient density (more nutrients per calories by weight). You want to aim for lower calorie density, but higher nutrient density.
Amy
One of the most common injuries people experience is to the lower lumbar of the back. Almost anything can trigger it. If a person is sedentary for long periods of time, they can experience low back discomfort. [Read more…] about 3 Exercises For A Strong Lower Back