FeelGooder Asks: What Do You Want This Year?

January 7, 2011 by

FeelGooder has been online for a couple of months now, and since it’s also the start of a brand new year (and decade!) I thought I’d ask you:

What’s one thing you want to feel better about this year?

…and how can FeelGooder help?

I’d like to feel better about my seat-of-the-pants, off-the-cuff, swings-and-roundabouts-style financial state in 2011.

Image by spacedrops

It’s not that my finances are a shambles; it’s more that I never seem to know what’s coming, so my income and expenditure is all a bit random, which makes saving something of a challenge.

Wanting to get on top of it, and to know where I’m heading financially, seems a lot like an idle dream right now, but I’m pretty sure the good people in the FeelGooder community have a wealth (haha!) of experience and advice to share on finance, planning, and managing money.

What do you want to feel better about in 2011?

5 Steps to Transform Your Life

January 5, 2011 by

This post is by Brandi-Ann Uyemura of The Inspiring Bee.

Ask me where I was a year ago or even ten years ago and I’d say I was anywhere and everywhere hopping from job to job. Ask me who I was then and I’ll tell you I was lost.

Image by h.koppdelaney

Yet, here I am. It’s been a year since I decided to quit full-timing and finally listening to my inner voice that said, “You need to stop going with the grain and follow the beat of your own drum.” Yes, my inner voice likes to talk in clichés.

Never would I have expected that in a year, I would be self-employed as a full-time writer, get published in a magazine I admire, be a guest in a radio show, have five seconds of fame on Penn & Teller’s Bullshit, have one of my blogs picked up by US News or be an Associate Editor for Psych Central. Weird how life works like that, isn’t it?

But is it fate or faith? How about both?

Being your own advocate

I think transforming your life involves a lot of you in the equation. You know how Mahatma Gandhi said those famous words, “Be the change you wish to see in the world?” I think you need to be the transformation as well.

I used to have a friend or a relative say, “I wish I did _______.” (Hula, yoga, etc.) Whenever they said it, I got so excited and enthused. “I’ll do it with you!” I said. But what always happened is that I ended up taking the class by myself.

I could never understand why people had big dreams or even little ones, but then let the opportunity pass them by. But I learned that like a deer in the headlights, they became too afraid to be exactly what they want to be.

But to see change happen, you need to transform yourself.

If you are ready, the gifts of the journey are priceless, everlasting and valuable. And surprisingly, more beneficial than anything you could win from a lottery. When you become your own advocate and take initiative to change your life, the process of change transforms you as well. That’s the best part of the journey and the hardest part.

The good news is that if you’re on the brink of change and desire it but don’t know how to get there, these five steps will help push you straight into your own transformative journey.

1. Be a turtle rather than a hare.

There’s a seductive quality about getting where you want to go fast. It’s the purpose of freeways and the Internet. We’re impatient and we want it now. But change takes time. It might not take you ten years, like it did for me. But it will take longer than a day or even a few weeks.

Part of the reason why it takes so long to be the person you want to be or get the job you really want to get, is that there are often fears involved. You’ve taken this long to realize you want to change, but you haven’t. That usually means there are fears holding you back and preventing you from getting there.

So how does one get past the fears?

Start slow. Build confidence. Practice being the person you aspire to be. Act as if you were already that person. Take small steps to get to the dream and you will get there stronger, more courageous and better able to be that person after you’ve gone through the difficult journey.

2. Be quiet to hear the inner voice.

Meditate. Take long walks in nature. Practice yoga. Do whatever it takes to get away from the loud sounds of electricity piping through your computer. Spend enough time away from the chaos of daily life and your vision will become clearer. If you have the courage, listen to that voice. If you do so, I guarantee you will get there.

3. Minimize negativity and maximize positivity.

At the beginning of my career as a writer, I was insecure and doubtful of my talents. There was a world of better writers and I felt pale and insignificant in comparison. So guess what happened? I attracted negative people in my life. People who agreed that I wasn’t very good and that I would never make it in the world. I attracted clients who had as much confidence in me as I had in myself. And that wasn’t a lot. A flurry of publications and clients called and I got jobs. But I got jobs from those who either refused to pay me or made it difficult for me to get paid. I surrounded my outer world, by the voices that directed my inner one.

If there was one thing I regretted most is that I didn’t learn how to shut off my negative thoughts, before I opened myself up to the world as a writer.

Be careful about whom you spend your time with and what words you let into your mind. They have the power to transform your life, positive and negative, if you let them.

4. Find your heroes.

At first, I needed support. I needed encouragement. I needed someone to tell me what I was doing was the right thing to do. I did not find this in family. I did not find it in co-workers. I needed to work on finding my own heroes.

When you’re new and vulnerable, look for heroes in friends, in biographies and even life coaches, if necessary. My blog also gave me the incentive to contact people who inspired me. It was passion that gave me the courage to email author Bonnie St. John, for example, or two bloggers who I admired from afar. Their responses gave me confidence that I was going in the right direction and motivated me to keep going.

5. Be open to possibility.

The shoes you are wearing right now may not be the shoes of your dreams. Those shoes could be standing in a pile of poop actually. But that will change, if you open your mind to the possibility of a better life.

When I was working at a corporate job, my mind was as confining as my uninspiring cubicle. I thought that there was no way I could be or do anything different.

But my life coach said, “Imagine, just for a minute, that everything you ever wanted, was possible. Just sit with it. You don’t have to change or make any steps toward that goal. But just see what happens when you let yourself be open to the possibility.”

Transforming your life means narrowing your goals, planning out the steps, creating a business plan for your career. But it also means dealing with the uncertainties, the fears and things that constrain you and put limits on your dreams.

When we allow the, “what if” in our lives as in, “what if I could be the person I believe I deserve to be or is meant to be,” a space opens up. Just thinking of the possibility could drastically change your life. It could mean you see an opportunity available you hadn’t seen before. It could mean giving you the courage to contact people who are already living the life of their dreams. When you begin to think you can versus you can’t, you start seeing life as possibility rather than limitation.

There are things in life that you can’t control. But changing yourself and your life are things that you can. Follow these steps and you will be on your way to life changing transformation.

Brandi-Ann Uyemura is a freelance writer and an Associate Editor who inspires others to live an inspiring life on her own blog The Inspiring Bee. Follow her on Twitter @2inspired.

Feeling Lucky? The Positive Effect of Talismans

January 3, 2011 by

This guest post is by Christy Smith, of ThinkBlot Communications.

It found me last summer. I was doing a bit of window shopping, and there it was on the arm of a mannequin in the window: a simple, black, metal cuff that said “Be Extraordinary”. As I put it on my wrist, I felt something shift inside me. I didn’t even look at the price tag; I bought it on the spot because I knew it was meant for me.

For years I’ve been drawn to objects that carry a simple “Be” message: be inspired, be you, be generous. At the moment when I saw that bracelet, I wanted nothing more than to be extraordinary.

Looking back, when the bracelet came into my life, I was standing at a crossroads. Open before me was the traditional path that I’d been following for years. There was nothing new or special about it—it was comfortable and well-worn. But I had caught a glimpse of another path, one that was uncertain, risky, and scary, but appealed to my deepest desire to do more with the gifts I’ve been given. I felt like those simple words, Be Extraordinary, summed up what I knew I needed to do if I was going to pursue that new dream.

I wear the bracelet every day, and now feel as naked without it as I do without my wedding ring. The bracelet is my personal call to action. It is my talisman for good luck in navigating my new path, and is a constant reminder that I should strive to do not just great things, but extraordinary things. This small object is the physical manifestation of my goals and dreams.

Why do talismans touch us?

The use of talismans goes back to ancient times, when people believed that certain objects carried mystical powers and harnessed positive energy. To be in possession of one granted you access to those powers. Talismans were used as protection from bad luck, and a way to focus energy on a positive outcome that the owner hoped would come to pass.

In times of uncertainty, adversity, and personal reflection, talismans become particularly attractive. They can make us feel like we’re giving control of our destiny to something outside of us. Even though we are still 100% in control, it’s within this illusion that we can drive the behaviors needed to achieve our goals.

Talismans can be any physical objects, like a photo, piece of clothing, or an item of jewelry. We may keep and treasure things that belonged to loved ones who are no longer with us because we feel the connection to them through those objects. Those connections bring us strength and comfort. We may assign significance to talismans that are given to us under special circumstances if we think that they will bring us the same type of luck or fortune that was enjoyed by previous owners.

A confidence boost

We’ve all heard the stories about athletes who wear a certain item of clothing each time they compete, performers who insist on having certain items around them before they go onstage, or artists who need a special object in order to create. The behaviors all stem from the same kind of belief. It’s a bit superstitious, but nonetheless many feel that consistently creating the same environment will drive the desired level of performance.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal detailed the story of a wig that was being passed between cancer treatment patients. Each of the previous owners of the wig had fought their battle against cancer and won. The wig brings hope as it is passed along the chain from survivor to current patient. The wig carries with it each woman’s story, and is considered a powerful good luck charm for each new recipient.

Trying to debunk the mystery

Of course, there’s nothing mystical or magical about the power of a talisman beyond the energy that we give it. It becomes the outward manifestation of our inner motivations, wants, and needs. Using a talisman is harmless to the extent that we draw positive energy from it in our times of need. Our talismans are there for us on even the darkest day, to give us a sense of comfort, security, and hope.

Science now is starting to dig into these superstitions, with surprising results. Barbara Stoberock, Thomas Mussweiler, and Lysann Damisch from the University of Cologne published earlier this year the results of their study, which concluded that people who used good luck charms during the research study performed better on tests. The researchers theorize that those participants had higher confidence in their abilities. There was nothing about the charms that actually led to better performance—other than the participants’ belief in them. This research implies that talismans are a classic example of the placebo effect. But why knock it if it works?

I know that my bracelet doesn’t actually confer special powers onto me. The results of my actions, good or bad, are completely my own. I don’t blame the bracelet if I make a bad decision, and on the flip side, if something wonderful happens, I take full personal credit. But I wear it all the same. I like having the symbolic reminder, and it makes me happy when I look at it. And still every day, I work to Be Extraordinary.

Christy is the founder of ThinkBlot Communications and is a self-diagnosed Pollyanna. She is currently exploring the ways we can create positive self-dialogue to achieve our goals. She can be found at Twitter @thinkblotcom.

FeelGooder Asks: What Made You Feel Good In 2010?

December 31, 2010 by

It’s the last day of the year! Today, we’re asking:

What made you feel good in 2010?

One thing that made me feel pretty amazing in 2010 was the birth of my nephew.

This is one happy baby

He’s the first grandchild for my parents, and he was born while my 95-year-old grandfather was still alive and kicking—and ecstatic to have a great-grandson.

We have a fabulous photo of my nephew, sister, mother, and grandfather together, and like most family photos, it says a lot. The photo tells of battles fought and lost, burdens shouldered, concessions made, and rifts healed. It says the unthinkable can be made real. When I look at it, I tell myself: if this is reality, then perhaps anything is possible. That’s a pretty good feeling.

What about you? What made you feel good in 2010?

How Not to Be a Ridiculously Rude Person

December 30, 2010 by

This post is by Parker Lee, of HowtoMingle.com.

“You will eat noodles tonight. And you love cupcakes. I don’t care what you say! You’ll eat it and love it.”

What if someone always thought and spoke for you? How would that make you feel?

What if I told you that most people do this, and you likely fall into this category? There’s an epidemic ladies and gentlemen, and it’s called being a ridiculously rude person.

There are two types of rude people in this world: the kind that loves to be one, and the kind that has absolutely no idea that they are one.

You and I have been guilty of speaking and thinking for others and, without our knowledge, people have been calling us names that would cause grandma to gasp!

Let’s be real. Deep down inside we want people to like us. Heck, we want them to love us!

So let’s be besties and make that happen, and together, we’ll have people lining up to be a part of our crew. We’ll call our gang, “Parker and friends,” no? Okay fine, we’ll work on our crew name later.

But first, I need to give you the 411 on the two most common mistakes on how most people are coined Ridiculously Rude Person. Then, I’ll give you some tips on how to be friends with anyone, any time, anywhere.

Conversational mistake #1: talking from The God Perspective

The God Perspective involves talking about facts. For example: “New York is great. It’s a big city. There are a lot of taxi cabs there.”

When you speak in the God perspective, it’s easy to start an argument, because you’re trying to define reality, which is not something we can do for anyone but ourselves.

Conversational mistake #2: talking from The You Perspective

Here’s an example: “You know, when you’re in New York, it’s really big. And when you have to get across the city you can take a cab because there are a lot there.”

If the person you’re talking to has never been to New York or any large city, they will not be able to relate to what you’re talking about. Even though they will mindlessly nod along to your story, no genuine connection will be made (the only exception to this rule of thumb is when you know the person has a history on the subject you’re discussing).

People who speak in The You Perspective assume reality for others. This is not an attractive thing to do, but many people talk this way by default.

Solution: talking from The I Perspective

I encourage you to speak from The I Perspective. Doing so makes you relatable. It’s more important to speak in a relatable way than to try and relate to everything other people say. Speaking from The I Perspective is an important part of leading an interaction with someone else. It’s sexy. And I know you wanna be sexy!

An example? “I like New York because I think the people are friendly and I enjoy the taxi cab lifestyle.”

This will be a challenge if you have been trained to speak from the other perspectives I mentioned. But in the social world, The I Perspective is king.

Why Should I?

Speaking from The I Perspective is how friends talk to each other. It’s like constantly giving your opinion. Let’s talk about speaking of our own opinions.

Speaking of your opinions using The I Perspective is very powerful, because your opinions derive from your personal experiences, which shape our values and beliefs.

If you speak from your opinion, it will allow someone else to speak from their opinion. Do not take this for granted.

In revealing to you their opinion, your conversation partner expresses their values and beliefs—their own life experiences and, on a deeper level, their triumphs and heartaches. This is real talk—an emotional connection that’s powerful, yet subtle. Use this for good, and use it well.

And last but not least: be honest. I believe in honesty. I will never lie to you, or anyone for that matter. I believe in being real, and the real secret to attracting people into your life is to be honest with yourself. People relate to honesty. People relate to others who are real, uncensored and raw.

Let down your guard, embrace who you are, and be proud of it. This is something that took me some time, after years of trying to be someone I wasn’t. Now, I can truly say that I love myself, my life, and who I have become. And from dealing with hundreds of clients, I know that it’s a rare and magical thing to say. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Parker Lee is a writer and coach who teaches people How to Become a 24/7 Attractive Person. He uses what he had learned through various self-development seminars, and his own life’s experiences to successfully coach hundreds of clients all around the world (New York, L.A, Amsterdam, Singapore, Manila to name a few) in the areas of: Conversation, Self Development, and Dating. Parker Blogs at HowtoMingle.com. You can sign up for his free, ebook, “Howtomingle101: Your guide to meeting and connecting with anyone, anytime, anywhere.”

Solve Business Problems In Your Sleep?!

December 28, 2010 by

This guest post is written by Anita Karlson of AnitaKarlson.com.

For as long as humans have existed, dreams have been a source for inspiration—and part of the mythical and mystical sphere. In ancient times, it was the spiritual and religious teachers who would tell followers what their dreams meant. Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) was the first psychologist who started looking at our dreams in a scientific way.

Over recent decades, the realms of our dreams have been the subjects of a number of studies. We can now measure the chemicals active in our brain during sleep, and we can monitor where brain activity occurs. We have learned that our dreams are doorways into our subconscious mind, where we can access information which is otherwise unavailable to us.

When we’re awake, the dominant chemicals in our brains are serotonin and noradrenalin. These chemicals are associated with realistic thinking and the ability to reflect and draw logical conclusions. In REM (rapid eye movements) sleep, where we dream, the levels of these chemicals are reduced to zero. Other chemicals then dominate our brain. These chemicals are responsible for creating strong emotions and the ability to make connections between isolated thoughts, allowing us to find new and creative solutions to tricky problems!

How to remember your dreams

First things first: you need to remember your dreams if they are to help you. If you already remember your dreams, great! Skip this part. If not, read on.

Remembering your dreams is not as difficult as you might think. Within a week of practicing, most people will be able to remember at least part of their dreams. There are lots of books and articles on how to remember dreams. I can recommend The Dream Workbook by Joe Friedman.

The most important thing is the intention you set while drifting of into sleep. Tell yourself repeatedly that you want to remember your dream. Then when you wake up, lie completely still and search in your memories for fragments of dreams. Often, when you can remember one image, others will follow easily.

Have a notebook and pen ready next to your bed, and once you have remembered the dream or sections of it, write it down. If you don’t write it down, chances are you will have forgotten it within a few hours of getting out of bed.

How to understand your dream

You are the only one who can interpret your dreams correctly. As each individual is unique, each of us will have unique dreams. There is no encyclopaedia you can look up to find out what the different elements in your dream mean.

If you dream about a bench, it’s not just any old bench. It will be a specific bench that you have specific memories attached to. It can be the blue-painted bench your dog ran into when you were a child. Or it can be the broken, rusty bench on which you kissed your first girlfriend. Whatever bench you dream of, it will have a different meaning for you than the bench I dream of will have for me.

The best way to start understanding your own dream language is to write a dream journal, and analyze your dreams. There are several approaches to analyzing your dreams: one is the technique of associations. Pick one of the main elements of your dream and write down all associations that come to your mind. Or you can focus on the emotion you have in your dream and find situations in life where you feel the same emotion. With time and practice you will be able to interpret your own dreams.

How to have a solution-oriented dream

Once you’re able to both remember your dreams and make some sense of them, you can aim to have a solution-oriented dream.

Pick a business problem that you can’t seem to solve. Then take some time trying to find solutions to the problem while you’re awake. Think it trough, analyze it, and write down your thoughts. Then formulate the problem in just one short sentence.

Before you go to sleep, take a few minutes to sum up the problem in your mind, and as you drift into sleep, tell yourself that you want to have a solution-oriented dream that solves the problem. Use the short sentence you made earlier for this.

When you wake up, write your dreams down and start to look for the connection to your problem. Often, it’ll come as a complete surprise, and sometimes you will not be able to see the solution immediately.

If you can’t see the solution, try running it by a friend! Often someone else can have valuable input, however remember that you have the solution yourself. If what the other person suggests don’t resonate with you, then discard it as the solution.

Try repeating the process, and aim for another dream on the same topic. See if the next dream sheds some light on the issue from another angle.

My solution-oriented dream for attracting more clients

When I started to work part time as a Reiki healer, I had problems finding clients. I made a web site, I hung up posters, and tried as best I could to advertise. But somehow the clients just were not coming my way.

One evening I decided to try for a solution-oriented dream. One hour of thinking and two pages of notes later, I drifted of into sleep repeating to myself: “I want to remember a solution-oriented dream that shows me how I can attract more clients.”

In my dream, I was walking trough the rooms of a house which I was thinking of buying. Suddenly one of my best friends appeared. I was happy to see her, and remembered I had a magazine with an interesting article to show her. She started to read, and suddenly she smiled and was talking very excitedly, which made me very happy.

She took the magazine and walked into the next room, where a couple was sitting at a table. She showed them the magazine and they were all talking very excitedly. As I stood by the window and watched the couple leave the house they stopped to talk to someone in the garden. They were leaning over the magazine and again talking excitedly.

When I woke up I quickly realized what the dream was telling me: my friends and family could help me attract clients by word of mouth! And here I’d been totally focused on trying to find clients by hanging up posters, optimizing my homepage, and running a few ads in local newspapers.

Dream a solution

You might have to invest a little time and effort into making sense of your dreams. But once you start to understand your dream images, an entire new universe will open up to you! Have you ever dreamed a solution to a problem? Share your experience in the comments.

Anita is blogging about how to live a more natural, healthy and balanced life. Sign up for her newsletter and get weekly tips directly to your inbox.

FeelGooder Fitness Tweak: Single Mom Needs a Little Push

December 26, 2010 by

Lisa H. is one of my favorite people on Twitter. She is warm-hearted, funny, a Florida Mom with three kids, and someone who has a super-busy schedule.


She home-schools her kids, and works full-time from home as a freelance writer and professional blogger.  She gives 100% to her kids and her career. She just needs to give herself a little attention too.

The situation

Lisa’s not unhappy with the way she looks, but would like to get a little more toned. She also has noticed her blood pressure has been creeping up and finds herself stressed out at times. She loves fruits and vegetables (good) and also likes cheese (not as good!). She’d like to find ways to cook healthfully without spending as much money at the grocery store, and she mostly cooks from scratch.

Available equipment

An elliptical trainer.

The plan: cardio

Lisa’s already doing one long walk a week with her kids in one of the local amusement parks in Florida. That’s great. Lisa, while you’re doing it, think about adding a little speed. Maybe you can “race” your kids from point A to point B to get a little goose out of your calorie burn. Unless you’re breaking a sweat, it’s movement … but it’s not cardio.

For the rest of the week, combine what you love with what you’d rather not do. Record one of your favorite shows, like “Glee,” and only watch it on the elliptical. Go for a minimum of 20 minutes, but if you’re enjoying the show and want to, go longer, and enjoy! Do this four to five days per week.

You mentioned that you can get stressed and you want exercise to reduce your stress levels. Think about the most stressful times of your day and time your exercise to coincide with that. Another possible way to use exercise is to think of it as a transition time. So, you could home-school your kids, do some cardio, and then move on to work. Try a couple of different times of day to see what works best for you.

The plan: weight training

Lisa mentioned she’d like her arms to be more toned, and to work on her abs too.

Pushups are the answer. Start from the knees and make sure you body is in a plank position. To get in the plank there are three things you have to think about.

  1. Squeeze your backside and keep it in line with the rest of your body.
  2. Pull your abs up away from the floor, and think about lifting your belly button up and under your rib cage.
  3. Your shoulder blades should slide down your back toward your backside. Don’t let them come up to your ears.

This should put you in an absolutely straight line—the “dart” position. Lower your body down by flexing your elbows until the elbows are at 90 degrees. Make sure you get to 90! Do as many as you can the first day to figure out your threshold. If it’s one, it’s one … just start from wherever you’re at. From there, add one more pushup every other workout. This will tone your arms, chest, and back.

Another great arm exercise is my Hollywood Arms workout. You can literally just use soup cans to start with but if you have one- or two-pound weights, that would be ideal. You don’t need a lot of weight here to get an intense arm workout—it took me a year to get up to three pounds! You can check out the video if you like.

Hold the weights in your hands, with your palms face-up. Your arms should be stiff but the elbows should have a slight bend to them, and your hands should be directly in front of your body. Start to do small, tight circles keeping the palms up the entire time. Gradually start to move the hands away from each other, moving them about 90 degrees to the sides of the body. Pause. Reverse the direction of the circles and very slowly pull the arms back to the start position. Repeat the set a second time with the palms facing the floor. These work great! I use them all the time with brides, fashionistas, and local celebrities.

Abs

We’re just going to do crunches to start. But I’m going to give you my secret weapon: kegels! Kegels are the stop-your-pee exercise that moms frequently learn after giving birth, but they’re also great at getting rid of that post-pregnancy bulge.

Lie on the floor with your knees bent, and back flattened against the floor. Put your hands behind the head, your loosely intertwined fingers supporting the base of the skull, and your elbows wide. Inhale to get ready. On the exhale feel as if you have bungee cords at the base of your rib cage pulling your ribs down towards your hip bones. Lift your head off the mat and flatten your back into the mat. This is just a basic crunch but I want you to feel the work in your abs. I don’t want you to just yank your head up with your hands and call that an ab exercise! Pull your belly button up and under your rib cage, and add a kegel! Do one long set of 15. Work up to 20 by adding one rep every other workout.

Once you get to 20, lift your legs off the floor into what we call “tabletop”—you have a 90-degree angle at your hip and 90 degrees at the knees, and your legs are together. Go back down to 12 reps and work up to 20 again. This will increase the intensity of the exercise. I’m using Pilates form here because it’s so effective for postpartum work. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how effective this is!

The second exercise here is for obliques. Focus on your core muscles again. Come up and hold the crunch position, focusing on your abs and your kegel. Your fingers should be lightly supporting your head—they’re not helping with the exercise. Pretend your have a dinner napkin on your tummy. Two corners are on your hip bones and the other two corners are at the bottom of your rib cage. Keep the belly button pulling up and under the rib cage and fold the imaginary napkin from corner to corner as if you were folding it into a triangle. Your shoulders and arms should be quiet—they’re just going along for the ride. All the work should be in the abs!

I can’t tell you how many people I see doing obliques incorrectly! Do ten on each side and work up to 20 by adding one rep every other workout. As above, when you get to ten, bring the legs up into tabletop position.

This is a very basic resistance training program, but because of your high blood pressure I want you to focus on your cardio. It’s important to make sure that’s in check so you can give your kids the best Mom they can have.

As for eating on the cheap, I’m totally with you. I just bought Eating Well on a Budget by Jessie Price and the Eating Well Test Kitchen. It’s got great recipes broken down by cost per serving, and focuses on meals for less than $3 per serving. It also has a great section about stocking up your pantry so you have almost everything you need at hand.

Hope this helps Lisa. :et me know if you have any questions. If anyone else would like a FeelGooder fitness tweak you can contact me at my blog, LisaJohnsonFitness.com.

FeelGooder Asks: What’s Going to Make You Feel Good This Weekend?

December 24, 2010 by

For those celebrating Christmas, it’s may seem a bit of a loaded question, but regardless of what you’re planning for the days ahead, we’re curious:

What’s going to make you feel good this weekend?

This weekend marks the proper start of my holidays. And I plan to spend a large portion of them here:

One of the most relaxing places in the world

To me, Christmas means time off: time to relax, catch up with family and friends, and recharge the batteries. The hammock is the ideal place to take time out.

We live in the country, far from the burnished beaches that the Australian summer is supposedly all about, and the hammock reminds us of the great things we have right here on our doorstep. Also, there’s something decadent about luxuriating in the wilderness like this: it seems to fly in the face of—and let us appreciate—all the hard work we have to do through the year to keep the place livable.

But lying in the hammock on holiday really encapsulates the reasons we moved to the country: for the connection to the environment, to enjoy the space, and to have more time to relax. When I’m on holidays and in the hammock, all those dreams are fulfilled.

That’s me. But what’s going to make you feel good this weekend?

Sleep Well. Dream Big.

December 23, 2010 by

Sleep Well. Dream Big.

I say this every night to my son. I have since he was about two weeks old. The first night in the hospital after he was born I couldn’t believe how in love I was with this precious bundle, and how amazingly happy I was to have him in my life.

I wanted him to know all possibilities were before him. He could do or achieve anything. I wanted him to feel safe and protected. I wanted him to know he could recover and learn from his mistakes. How could I boil all that down?

It came to me after a few sleepless nights as a new Mom. It just drifted into my conscious and I knew it was perfect. Sleep Well. Dream Big. This, my son, is what I hope for you.

It means, be well prepared and take chances. Think about possibilities, not barriers. Stretch a little further than you think you can. Try.

I hope someday that he says this to his children as he’s tucking them in and giving them a kiss on the forehead. I hope he remembers it when he’s out of my home and my safety net and wants to try something new.

What do you tell your children? What words of wisdom do you want to pass onto them? We’d love to hear them.

Harness Transformational Courage to Change Your Life

December 22, 2010 by

This post is by Marly McMillen of NamelyMarly.

We are, all of us, descendants of immigrants. In fact, American scientist Carl Sagan once said, “For 99.9 percent of the time since our species came to be, we were hunters and foragers, wanderers on the savannahs and the steppes.” As humans, we have a voyager spirit. It drives us to journey to new lands.

But many of us today find ourselves stationed in our plot of terra firma. Maybe we make a move or two, but very few of us have made the life-or-death sort of transformational journeys of our ancestors. These were people who journeyed far, fleeing harsh conditions to endure a grueling passage that many did not survive to an unknown and possibly unforgiving new land.

Laurie Fabiano, the O Magazine-recommended novelist, wrote a fictional story based on people from her family who emigrated from Italy to the United States. In her novel, Elizabeth Street, Fabiano described the horrors from which people were fleeing. In my interview with Laurie, she told me, “It’s not like the people in my family were looking for adventure. They didn’t want to leave Italy, but they were starving to death. The poverty there was horrific in those days. It wasn’t like they said, ‘Wow! Let’s have an adventure and journey to America!’ And the journey itself was also horrific.”

If today we find ourselves too rooted in either land or life, how can we channel the spirits of our immigrant ancestors to journey to the life of our dreams?

It’s worth noting that we don’t have to physically uproot our families to revive transformation courage in our lives.

Elizabeth Gilbert wrote the book, Eat, Pray, Love as a sort of memoir of her multi-month journey to Europe as she was recovering from a divorce and rediscovering her own identity. During times of self-reflection and renewal, people choose to reinvent themselves in different ways. Some, like Elizabeth Gilbert, go on journeys. But that’s not always a practical option for everyone. Elizabeth says herself that it’s possible to transform yourself right at home. The trick is committing the time and energy toward that endeavor.

You may be considering a major life change like a new career or you may be looking for space and permission to finally write that novel. Or maybe you’d like to stretch yourself by running for the school board. Living a successful life is all about that: stretching yourself, learning, growing, and then learning some more.

How can you use transformational courage to help you along the way? Here are some tips for creating your own transformational journey.

Acquire satellites

After you punch an address into your GPS, “Acquiring satellites” is usually the first message you’ll see. That’s because the only way to get to where you’re going is to understand where you are.

Carl Rogers once said, “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” Create for yourself a Transformational Journal (any spiral notebook will do) and begin the first page with an assessment of where you are in your life. Write down areas where you’re happy, where you’re ambivalent, and other areas where you’d like to see some changes.

Become a wonderer

Have you ever pondered a “what if” question? What if you would have taken that advanced track in college? What if you would have jumped at that impromptu trip to Europe? Now it’s time to take that wondering spirit and apply it to your future.

Get our your Transformational Journal and on the next page, write this down:

“I wonder what would happen if I ___________.”

Then begin filling in the blanks. Julia Cameron, in her book The Artist’s Way at Work, suggests creating this Wonderer as an inner voice in your life. She says that you can “get to know and trust your Wonderer as an important guide to creative breakthrough.”

Set some coordinates

In the show, A Very Brady Sequel, Mike Brady says to his family, “Remember kids, a very wise man once said, ‘Wherever you go, there you are.’” Yes, it’s true, this is a quote from the Brady Bunch, but the point is still valid. Where do you want to go? Where do you want to be in your life?

Maybe you’ve thought about starting your own business. Or taking an art class. Now is the time to get some of these goals on a page. On page two of your Transformational Journal, write down some dreams you have for yourself, whether it’s improving an existing skill or learning something entirely new.

Define the standards

Are you looking for the freeway route or do you want to take the scenic side roads? There are certainly pros and cons to both; you just have to know what the priority is for your life. And remember, there are no right or wrong answers here: you can combine both speedy and sedate segments of your journey.

Maybe you want to sign up for a brief, two-day photography workshop, but take your time developing a blog to showcase your work. This is an entry for page three of your Transformational Journal. Write down the “how” of making your life course happen. Brainstorm ideas such as networking with people in the industry of your choice, to taking courses, to exploring websites that can help you learn more.

Pick a milestone

Setting some achievable landmarks along the journey can help you feel a sense of accomplishment along the way. Milestones can occur at any point in a journey, but their purpose is the same: to inspire the weary wanderer to stay the course. Think about the immigrants who braved brutal conditions crossing the Atlantic to come to the United States. The Statue of Liberty was a significant milestone for many of them.

Take another look at your Transformational Journal and on the next page write down some milestones that can help you know you’re on the right path. If you’re aiming to become healthier, then list ways that you’ll know you’re getting there, such as getting back into those jeans from last year.

Get on the road!

The longest journey begins with just one step. You’ve heard this many times before, but it remains true today. Don’t judge yourself in a negative light for taking even the tiniest of steps. It’s those tiny steps combined together that will get you to your destination.

We are all immigrants on the journey of life. Carl Sagan was right. We have been wanderers from the beginning. It’s in our DNA. The trick is cultivating those immigrant skills to lead us to the life of our dreams. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us.”

Marly McMillen has a passion for life, family, vegan food, and names. She writes about all of these and more on her site at NamelyMarly. Marly’s podcast, NamelyMarly, can be found on iTunes, where she interviews people about their names. The people she interviews include famous authors, models, and even the people she meets at the park. Marly is also passionate about healthy food and shares vegan recipes as well.
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