Self Improvement

How to Develop a Body Neutral Mindset

February 20, 2022 by Joi Leave a Comment

Have you ever considered that the way you see your body can affect the way you view the world? When we see ourselves in a negative light, that often translates to how we view our opportunities, social life, and more. If you find yourself having negative thoughts about yourself, you’re not alone. In fact, roughly one-third of people feel anxious or depressed about their bodies.

Learning to develop a body-neutral mindset can improve the way you see yourself and the world around you. However, it’s important to keep in mind that viewing yourself in a negative way probably took years to master, so it won’t be easy letting go of the habit. To keep yourself motivated, consider setting goals with a friend or adopting a pet to help boost your mood when you get discouraged.

Body Neutrality: What is it?

Body neutrality is the act of viewing your body based on the ways it serves you, rather than the way it looks. With a body neutral mindset, instead of looking at your arms and saying “I love my arms, despite the fact that they aren’t as toned as they used to be,” you can look at yourself and think, “I love my arms because they help me cook, and cooking is my favorite thing to do.”

How to Develop Body Neutral Views

Overcoming negative feelings toward your body can take time and a lot of effort. Because of this, be careful not to criticize yourself for not doing so perfectly. There will be times you fall back into old habits, but it’s the choices you make after messing up that make the biggest difference.

1. Listen to Your Body’s Needs

Whether you’re one of the 57% of Medicare beneficiaries who suffers from high blood pressure or you’re out running marathons every weekend, listening to your body can help you develop greater compassion for what it can do. It can be tempting to feel the urge to work out in order to work off the calories you just ate, but if your body doesn’t feel well, you shouldn’t push yourself to do so.

Instead, practice listening to your body’s needs. When you feel the urge to get up and move, do so. When your body is craving a certain food, satisfy that desire without thinking about how the food will impact your weight.

2. Avoid Body Talk

Talking about your body (or anyone else’s) will only drive you to think about its physical appearance or inability to function in a way someone else’s can. To really establish a body neutral mindset, avoid participating in conversations focused only on the element of physical appearance.

3. Repeat Body-Neutral Affirmations

Repeating affirmations can help develop muscle memory in the brain that can be exercised when faced with a tough decision (like running another mile even if your body says it’s done for the day).

Print out the affirmation cards linked to below and hang them on your bathroom mirror so you see them often!

Printable Affirmation Cards

Developing a strong body-neutral mindset takes time and patience, but it’s not impossible. Taking the time and putting forth the effort to change the way you view yourself can help you stop being so hard on yourself and start living your life for yourself, rather than for what other people expect of you or your physical appearance.

A Goal Without a Plan is Only a Dream (Harsh but True!)

January 3, 2022 by Joi Leave a Comment

“A Goal Without a Plan is Only a Dream.” ~ Brian Tracy

A few days ago, I was at my dining room table, doing what I do every year in the days between Christmas and New Year’s Day – writing down goals I want to accomplish in the coming year. When I got to number 4 (one that involved doing a better job monetizing one of my blogs), the Brian Tracy quote above came to mind.

I’m used to my mind arguing with itself, so I was unfazed.

I immediately began jotting proactive, doable, and sensible plans beneath each goal… because dreams are beautiful and essential, but they don’t buy the cat food.

Have you seen the price of cat food these days?!?! To add to the issue, my little divas (naturally) refuse to eat anything except the high-end brands. You know, the ones that are so hard to find now that grocery stores are marking them up as high as possible?!

So, yeah… I planned my work and intend to work my plan.

At the risk of being redundant, this Brian Tracy quote is so good, I think it’s worth repeating….

“A Goal Without a Plan is Only a Dream.” ~ Brian Tracy

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones!
~ Joi (“Joy”)

One of my girls pointing to her favorite treat: Delectables Squeeze Ups!

New Habits, New Years Resolutions, and a New Way of Looking at Both

December 4, 2021 by Joi Leave a Comment

“Good habits are worth being fanatical about.” ~ John Irving

I recently went down the rabbit hole-searching everything I could get my eyes on about new habits. Not to be confused with breaking old habits.. presumably bad since one wants to break their legs! That’s a whole other subject. I wanted to research the daylights out of new habits and I did just that.

I sought out information, opinions, quotes, graphs, and even infographics about new habits…

how they form
how long they take to become almost “automatic”
what gets in the way of forming positive new habits
how to set yourself up for success with your new habits
etc etc etc!

What got me on this kick? The first thought I entertained about New Years Resolutions. I happened to be thinking about getting yoga back into my life. Long story, short… For over 20 years, I did yoga daily for at least 30 minutes, usually more. Then I developed a hiatal hernia and quickly learned (the hard way) that many yoga poses and hernias do NOT play well together. I just stopped doing yoga altogether instead of wisely ditching the problematic poses and continuing with the rest.

What can I say… the fear of aggravating the hernia was greater than my common sense. Fear always, always, always trumps common sense when you let it.

Recently, I researched the subject and found that doctors, chiropractors, physical therapists, and other experts actually believe certain poses not only won’t hurt a hiatal hernia but may actually help by strengthening the region. So I began doing some poses that don’t involve rousing the sleeping beast (Lady Hernia) and fell in love with yoga all over again.

It’s been hard to incorporate it into my life, which is odd because it used to be as much of a habit as brushing my teeth. I found that some poses that I used to be able to easily hold for the count of 45 seconds made me as wobbly as a newborn colt after a mere 5 seconds. I thanked God, above, at that moment for making me a hardheaded gal who isn’t easily discouraged. Combined with always being up for a good challenge, I didn’t get discouraged (although it would have been easy to). I simply thought, “I’m making it a resolution to do at least 15 minutes of yoga each day… then build from there.”

Initially, I was thinking about this being a 2022 resolution, but then I thought, “Why wait?!”

I’ve been doing carefully selected yoga poses for a few weeks and can already hold most of them twice as long as when I restarted. Hey, that’s something!

I knew (from previous readings) that most people agree that it takes around 3 weeks to build a new habit successfully. So, with that reasoning in hand, it occurred to me – wouldn’t right NOW be the time to start thinking about New Year’s Resolutions, as opposed to New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day? If we start trying to form positive, healthy, new habits now, by the time the new year rolls around, we will have an absolutely beautiful head start.

Even if we only tackle one of our resolutions right now, if we make it a daily habit, it’ll free up more time and energy for other habits.

It also give us a healthy dose of much-needed confidence!

Make each moment count double! ~ Joi (“Joy”)

3 Simple Ways to Gain Get a Healthier Perspective on Life

June 13, 2021 by Joi Leave a Comment

What are YOUR Strongest Thoughts??

Stress and anxiety are realities of life and, quite frankly they always have been! I think we tend to think of them as new discoveries when, if we’re being honest, they’ve been around as long as humans have.

One of the worst things about feeling stressed and anxious is the fact that the feeling robs you of the beauty of the here and now. But, it goes even beyond this. Feeling stressed and anxious causes you to feel so overwhelmed that you lose, to a certain degree, any interest in tomorrow. It’s as though the overly-taxed mind says, “If today feels this bad, I sure hate to see what tomorrow feels like!”

This is why it is so vitally important to be proactive about dealing with stress. One of the first steps you can take is to decide… “Today is the day!” I will (not may) bring perspective back to my life and into my world. I will (not may) focus more on the people and things that truly matter in my life. My well-being and their well-being are too important to lose sight of!”

When you make up your mind to gain more perspective in your life and bring more focus into your own personal world, even the sun will look a little brighter!

Here are a few questions to ask yourself as you bring everything into perspective:

What are My Strongest Thoughts?

See the polar bear at the top of the page? He carries with him a wonderful quote by Craig Groeschel: Our lives move in the direction of our strongest thoughts.

This is so incredibly true – it sort of fleshes out another great quote – You are what you think you are. Many people believe that, to a very real extent, we create our own destinies within our minds. While there are millions of other contributing factors, our tomorrows are absolutely touched by the things we think about and focus on today.

What thoughts do you return to again and again? If you’re quiet for 5 minutes, in which direction do your thoughts run? Before falling asleep at night, what (generally speaking) are your last thoughts? These are usually your strongest thoughts because you give them strength each time you entertain them.

If these litlte Hercules thoughts are negative or worrisome, they’re feeding negativity in your life and causing small problems to loom large. When you’re able to recognize these toxic thoughts for what they are, you can replace them with productive, positive thoughts. Try focusing on things you are thankful for, happy memories, things you like about yourself, or even things you’re planning to do that give you happiness, purpose, and peace of mind.

Are You Taking Care of Your Health?

When we’re feeling stressed or anxious, we often tend to lean toward unhealthy lifestyles and meals. Ask yourself if you’re making your health a priority. Are you eating too much junk food? Do you get fresh air daily? Do you enjoy nature and rekindle the wonders of feeling sunshine on your skin?

Are you eating plenty of vegetables, fruits, and proteins?

How about your vitamin levels? When is the last time you had a complete checkup from your doctor? Very often, when our vitamins and minerals are off (even just a little off!), it affects every single corner of our life. If you haven’t had bloodwork done in over a year, please consider seeing your doctor. Your stress and anxiety may be attributed more to your body than to your circumstances.

We handle things better when we are better ABLE to handle them.

A nutritious diet is also vital to good health and to feeling like yourself. You need the nutrients that come from eating a healthy diet to fuel your brain and body to do great things.

Also, it’s easy to overlook but be sure you’re getting enough water too. Being even a little dehydrated can make you feel miserable physically and mentally.

Fresh air, daily activity, a balanced and healthy diet, and (when needed) daily supplements can help you more than you could ever realize.

Are You Staying in Contact with Loved Ones?

Stress and anxiety are relationship busters. Not because others avoid the person suffering from them but because, more times than not, the one feeling stressed avoids others. There is a tendency to hide away from others when one feels stressed out. Many people offer up reasons and they may or may not be spot on… but, personally, I think people tend to avoid others when they feel down simply because they feel like they can’t handle “anything else.”

When you feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, you don’t want to put on a happy face or try to make your voice sound like you’re on top of the world when you feel like it’s on top of you.

While it’s easier to hide when you feel this way, it is of the utmost importance NOT to. You need your family and friends more than you may realize. Let them know how you feel – that you’re having a “bad day” (or week or month!). They want to help and, I’ll let you in on a secret, they may be feeling the same way! If that’s the case, you can help them by showing that it’s okay to admit when you need a lift.

Is Your Stress Controlling Your Life or Are You Controlling It?

This last question may seem overly simple but it is so vital. In fact, I want you to ask yourself these three questions routinely for a while until you’re able to HONESTLY give the answers you know you need to be able to give.

Please be proactive and take control of your stress and anxiety. Life is a big, beautiful place and I do not want you to miss a single moment. You deserve happiness and peace of mind and you deserve a healthy perspective on life. I hope and pray you will begin right this very minute creating everything in your world that you deserve. Don’t let stress or anxiety rob you of any more happiness and peace.

Reflect and Reevaluate: How to Find Your True Purpose in Life

September 24, 2019 by Joi Leave a Comment

by Delicia Warren

Around the world, 900 million people are unfulfilled with their work.

This results in many people feeling as though they have no purpose which, in some of the worst cases, can lead to feelings of anxiety and depression.

But, does purpose have to come from our work? Not always!

Have you been feeling a bit lost when it comes to figuring out who you are and what you’re meant to do?

In this article, we’ll look at how to find your purpose.

Learn a New Skill

While feeling low about a lack of purpose in life, it’s easy to go about a daily routine without any enjoyment.

Instead, why not pick up a new skill? Figure out what you’ve always had an interest in but never pursued.

This could be anything from art to pottery to dance or a new sport. Your purpose in life can come from a hobby, so explore interests outside of work as much as possible.

Pursuing a hobby can be expensive, but why not look for free alternatives such as a runners club, a new gallery opening, or a trial dance class?

Socialize with New and Old People

Talking to people around you may help you figure out what your purpose in life is. You may not be able to see what you are most passionate about, but others will likely know what makes you tick.

Are you obsessed with dogs? Perhaps you should work with Guide Dogs. Do you love nature? Why not find a job working outside? Are you a math wiz? Try retraining as a bookkeeper!

Meeting new people can help you find your purpose in life. If you love socializing, perhaps you should start volunteering in a care home. Talking to someone new can also help you bounce ideas around and maybe inspire a new business idea.

Tune Into Yourself

While searching for our purpose, it’s important to reflect inwards. Perhaps this involves journaling our feelings every day.

You may consider asking yourself a series of questions such as:

What gets you riled up?
What injustice do I want to fix?
What am I most effective at?
How would your best friends describe you?

By asking yourself a series of difficult questions, you’ll slowly get to know yourself better which will help you find your own purpose.

Figuring out who you are and what you want requires a lot of effort. But, check out this article for guidance.

Consider Meditation

You may have heard the old saying: “spend five minutes meditating every day unless you’re too busy in which case you should meditate for an hour.”

If you’re in a conundrum in life, then there is no better way to bring mental clarity than to meditate regularly.

Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years in the East and now people in the West are realizing how helpful this practice can be.

Even meditating for a short period every day can help you. Start with an app which will guide you and build up your practice from there. Alternatively, focus on wishing yourself happy and others too.

What If There’s No Purpose?

If you’ve spent a long period of time trying to figure out your purpose in life but have come up with nothing, perhaps it’s time to consider there is no purpose.

For some, this can be extremely daunting and worrying. But, for others, this thought can set you free.

Rather than search for an overall purpose, figure out how you can help yourself and others. In the meantime, you may improve your life and accidentally find purpose!

Seek Out Religion

Were you raised in a religion? Perhaps you can find purpose in your beliefs. If you’re not convinced by your religion, consider looking into others.

Most people stick to the religion that they were born into. But, this doesn’t necessarily work for everyone.

Consider reading about and exploring some of the other religions in the world. After all, religion is one of the greatest ways people find meaning and purpose in their lives.

Speak to others about their beliefs and perhaps they’ll inspire you to follow a different path in life.

What Is Your Ideal?

Figuring out your purpose can be as simple as working out what your ideal day would look like, how about your ideal month, year or life?

Once you’ve worked out exactly what you want your life to look like, don’t stop until this happens.

Surround yourself with people you love, do the activities you enjoy, make your every day as enjoyable as possible.

Make Small Changes

Perhaps you’re worried about your purpose in life because you’re stuck in a rut. Why not change up a few small things?

Don’t simply run away to Paris. Instead, make smaller changes to your diet. Perhaps it’s time to eat a planet-friendly diet?

Why not change up your routine and volunteer at an animal shelter? How about donating more money to charity?

Alternatively, you may want to make small changes to your personal life. Consider cleaning out your home to make it a wonderful place to live or spend more time exercising. Why not dye your hair to be the color you’ve always wanted?

How to Find Your Purpose? Never Stop Looking

If you’re still unclear on how to find your purpose, the answer is to keep improving your life until you’ve found it!

After just a few months, you’ll look back and, even if you haven’t found your purpose, will be amazed by how much your life has improved.

Have you found this article to be helpful? Check out the rest of the website for more ideas on how to find your purpose in life.

Bio: Delicia Warren is a freelance writer, passionate about the environment, organic farming and food production. An advocate for a holistic approach to the world’s problems, she has a particular interest in the small changes individuals can make to their lifestyle to minimize their environmental footprint.

How to Develop a Body Neutral Mindset

Body Neutrality: What is it?