Friday, March 27, 2015

Appreciation

The last two weeks we have talked about appreciation.  Appreciating myself. A group member looked up the definition of "appreciate" and it meant to "ascribe value to and to recognize its impact."  Now take that definition of appreciate and apply it to yourself.  Not easy, is it?  The following came directly from the nugget last week and was so powerful as the discussion unfolded:

"We may have walked through much of our life apologizing for ourselves either directly or indirectly, feeling less valuable than others, believing that they know better than we do, and believing that somehow others are meant to be here and we are not."

That sums up how I spent a good twenty five years of my life.  This is also directly from the nugget and it is the encouraging hope for those of us still stuck in the place described above:

"We have a right and a responsibility to be here and to be ourselves.  There is a purpose, a reason and a intention for our life.  We do not have to apologize for being here or being who we are.  We have spent too much time being ashamed, being apologetic and doubting the beauty of ourselves.  Be done with it.  Let it go.  It is an unnecessary burden.  Others have rights and responsibilities, but so do we.  We are neither less than nor more than.  We are equal.  We are who we are.  That is who we were intended to be."

God, help me learn to love and appreciate myself.  Help me give myself validity instead of looking to others to do that.

Tool:
1. How can you validate yourself?
2. Define 5 things you appreciate about yourself.

I am excited to tell you that Christiane Matey, our HOPE Lifestyle - Nutrition leader has a new blog herself and welcomes you all to visit, make yourselves at home and ask any questions you may have.
http://mateychristiane.wix.com/thefitchef


Friday, March 13, 2015

Trust

Trust is something that most of us value.  I have a confidence when I can trust someone, or something.  I trust my car will start and that my lights will come on when I lift the switch.  I trust my sister and my best friend.  99.99% of the time these things are trustworthy in my life, so I don't spend much time concerned about it.  One of the most detrimental things that happened to us is that we came to believe that we couldn't trust ourselves.  On this journey of lifestyle change, one of the most important issues we face is learning to trust ourselves again.

I know what is best for me.  I know what is right for me.  If I am wrong, if I need to change my mind, I will be guided into that - but only by trusting where I am today.  I can look to others for support and resinforcement, but trusting myself is essential as I grow in health and wellness. 

I encourage you to challenge fear, doubt and confusion on your journey for they are the enemies of self-trust.  every step you take away from them are steps you take closer towards trusting yourself.  Learning to trust yourself again occurs one day at a time, one experience at a time.

Tool:
1.  When did you NOT trust yourself, and what lessons did you learn from it?  When DID you trust yourself, and what lessons did you learn from that?

HOPE Lifestyle - Fitness

Laura Trumbull teaches our HOPE Lifestyle - Fitness.  We will have a synopsis of her class now so that you can catch up on anything you miss.  http://hopelifestylefitness.blogspot.com/

Friday, March 6, 2015

Logical consequences

Our nugget from two weeks ago was titled "Discipline" so you can understand why I titled this post "Logical consequences".   Most people, including myself at times, run for the hills when they see or think about the word "disciple".  For most of the people in HOPE, this word carries many meanings, none of which are positive.  Children need disciple to feel secure; so do adults.  Discipline means understanding that there are logical consequences to our behavior.  It means taking responsibilty for our behavior and the consequences.  Mostly it means being where we need to beeed to be there, despite our feelings.  Ouch!  That last sentence stung a little bit.  Another important aspect of discipline that many of us often forget, is trusting that our goals will be reached though we cannot see them in the day to day thick of it.  This topic was so meaty in group that we decided to use two tools :)

Tool:
1.  Name three unattended areas in your life and how you might take a step forward toward discipline in each area.
2.  Name several logical consequences for my behavior. (This can be healthy consequences from healthy behaviors OR unhealthy consequences from unhealthy behaviors)

This week we talked about accepting ourselves.  For many of us on this journey, we are in the midst of discovering just who we are.  For so many years we lost ourselves in the wants, needs, desires and demands of others.  Our perspective and lens through which we view ourselves and the world around us has been distorted because of it.  It is incredibly hard to walk around wearing the wrong prescriptions and then having smudges all over the lens. Part of learning to accepting who we are means accepting where we are for the present moment - to accept our feelings, thoughts, flaws wants, needs and desires.  I love this quote by Carl Rogers: "The curious paradox is that when I can accept myself just as I am, then I can change."

Tool:
1. Imagine that you are walking around with those glasses on which are the wrong prescription and have smudges on them.  These smudges impact what we see, whether I am looking at myself, others or the world around me.  Name the smudges you see on your glasses right now where you are on your journey. 

Christiane Matey, HOPE Lifestyle - Nutrition Leader now has her own blog which will be a wonderful resource for all of us. It will also be an extremely helpful way for any of you who may miss the meeting to catch up. Her information is so incredibly interesting and helpful. Here is the link to Christiane's blog and her class this week. http://www.hopelifestyle.blogspot.com/