Mind & Body
Big Shout Out to everybody who started 2022 with fitness goals. Look at you! A month into the year and you’re keeping it going and beginning to see some results. Hang in there! Consistency is Key. We can do this!! Never give up! Let this be the year you move beyond all the excuses and procrastination and start living your Best Life- Healthy and Strong!
Guest Contributor:
Milt Sharp, Cyclist, Social Entrepreneur, Community Economic Developer
The Power of Your Belief
At some point in time we have all heard the phrase, “If you can believe it, you can achieve it” and like so many clichés we hear and see from day to day we nod our heads in agreement, give it a thumbs up or like on social media, and continue scrolling through our feed never really taking the time to acknowledge the wisdom in the saying and internalizing the essence of its meaning.
Well, if you didn’t know it already, I’m here to tell you that the power of your belief has a great deal to do with your success in life as well as your health and well- being. It is ofttimes the driving force behind achieving your goals. When your belief is strong you are empowered to perform at your best and will remain steadfast in the face of difficulties. Stories abound of people who have accomplished amazing things in the face of what appeared to be unsurmountable obstacles. These people didn’t allow their environments, past experiences, failures, or negative thinking to get in the way of achieving their goals.
I’ve read about stories of self-fulfilling prophecies where doctors have prescribed what I refer to as “death wishes” to their patients by telling them they may only have a specific time left to live. I have also heard of patients who have received these prescribed “death wishes” and overcome the “odds” to go on to live healthy lives. In the case of both, the patient’s belief played a huge part in whether they’ve perished or survived.
A prime example of the power of your belief and its impact on your health and wellness is best demonstrated through what’s called the placebo effect. It’s defined as a beneficial effect produced by a placebo drug or treatment, which cannot be attributed to the properties of the placebo itself and must therefore be due to the patient’s belief in that treatment. Studies have been done with patients with different diseases and disorders where they are unaware that they were prescribed “sugar pills” for treatment. In more than 50% of the cases patients saw a change for the better in their health based on nothing more than their belief that the pill they were taking would make them better. We are powerful creators of our lives and the world that we live in. How magical is that!
I know it all sounds so simple. To a certain extent it is. Your belief is very powerful but by itself it is not enough. You must act with belief. It can be a struggle at times but there are things you can do to help strengthen your belief. Strive to be present and not worry about the past or the future. A belief that things will come together in time focuses you on dealing with the right here and right now. Doing your best in the moment with the belief you will achieve your goal and that everything will be ok strengthens your resolve and commitment to achieving that which you are working towards. Positively affirm yourself by being your own best cheerleader. Self-talk is real talk and how you communicate with yourself can really strengthen your belief in achieving your goals.
Our creator endowed us with a force and power capable of fashioning our lives for the better through our beliefs and their application. Going forward, how will you better use this power in your life? Make today the first of many dedicated to creating a better you. Strongly believe in yourself, act, and watch your dreams materialize into reality!
-Milt-
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Focus your mind on peace, remembering that what you focus your mind on will grow.
-Iyanla Vanzant -
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Back Again this Month
Donovan Green, Fitness Trainer
You’ll Be Glad You Gave this a Try!
The past month, I’ve been doing this short stretch workout as a warm-up routine. It’s awesome before/after yoga, cardio, or anytime you need to work out kinks in your back and legs. Mobility is key to successful aging and this routine supports that!
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My Life with a Fitness/Step Tracker
About five years ago I tried wearing a Fitbit to track my daily steps. Let me just say, it wasn’t long before I realized I hated it! The intermittent buzzing with notifications on my wrist was annoying and making me crazy! Rather than appreciate the constant reminder it was providing for me to move my body, I resented the pressure.
Fireworks!
Richard showing off 10K steps!
In retrospect, my life then was in a very different place than it is today. I was in a high stress, demanding job and struggling to find work-life balance. The free time I did have, I was using to write and finish my book. Writing is a very sedentary occupation, so logging step numbers, was virtually impossible. Bottomline, it felt like the tracker was adding a level of pressure to my life that I just wasn’t ready to deal with; so I stopped wearing it after a few weeks.
Fast forward to today, and my life doesn’t resemble what it was before. I retired from full-time work and found a great part-time job I enjoy. The book is finished and I’m having fun exploring what life could look like as a published author. After a year of destressing, I’m feeling more in balance (code: Libra scale). So, for my birthday, this past September, I decided to give a fitness tracker another shot. I got one I thought was cute, so that was a bonus point straight out the gate! 😊
That was September and its’s now February. I thought I would share how a fitness/ step tracker is fitting into my current world.
Pros -
- It helps keep you focused and accountable for your fitness
- It monitors your daily activity level; which has been very interesting for me to observe over time. There have been days where I thought I was more active than I really was. Duh!
- It’s also taught me that without being intentional about getting up and moving, my level of activity is very low.
- If you love a challenge, trackers can be a great motivator!
- I’m proud of myself when I have impressive numbers at the end of the day!
Cons -
- The occasional buzzing on my wrist; but it doesn’t annoy me as much as it did before.
- My preferred workout is yoga in combination with deep stretching. The tracker assigns less points to non-cardio workouts. This month I added a fun cardio dance workout to my routine and it has really increased my numbers. Plus the extra cardio is great!
- It’s frustrating when you think you’ve had an active day but the tracker says otherwise?
Takeaways:
Everybody is different!! The most important thing to remember with a tracker is that it promotes movement and therefore, can take your daily activity to the next level. For one person that might mean, a day with 3K steps is a great day, whereas another person can’t be satisfied with anything less than 10K. Although my yoga workout routine of 30 minutes 4 to 5 days a week doesn’t show me much love on my Fitbit, I do see a huge difference in my numbers on the days I miss a workout. Good to know!
What I’ve learned…combining yoga with some cardio is my sweet spot.
Bottomline- Thumbs up on a step tracker! In the struggle to do better physically and mentally we need every tool we can find to put in the arsenal. It’s really about having lots of little things working together and adding up that make a big difference!
-K-
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In Case You Were Wondering….
What Counts as Exercise?
There are plenty of ways to exercise aside from running laps and lifting weights at your local gym. For most people, moderate physical activity is enough to reap mental health benefits. Moderate physical activity is when your breath quickens, but you can still carry on a conversation. Here are some of my favorite options:
Walking outside
Dancing
Online workout classes
Yoga
Riding a bike
Hiking
Pushing a lawnmower
Vacuuming or mopping
Love to hear from You!
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