Have you noticed that we’re goal-driven these days? Everyone seems to be looking for improvement. Don’t think me obstructionist – I can see that we need to improve many aspects of our lives. From the food we eat to the things we buy, as a nation, we can be more conscious about our choices.

However, I’ve begun to wonder if we are missing something by not enjoying and appreciating what we have right here in front of us. My recent days are a perfect example. Here I am at 66 figuring out how to make my business successful. In fact, I could just take some time to appreciate the fact that I really don’t need to create a successful business – at least I don’t need to do it for the money. Oh, extra money would be nice – we could give more away if we had more coming in, but in truth, we do have enough to live on. So why am I looking for future success rather than enjoying what I have?

It a good question. Why don’t I just retire already? I can think of two reasons, and maybe by the time I write about them, I’ll have thought of another.

First, I do know that I can help people get healthier and or wealthier if I am successful with my current idea. That’s quite appealing – especially the healthier part. I know so many people whose health is jeopardized by their current eating pattern. I also know people who are looking for work and who could make the company I support a money-making project in their own lives. Actually, I guess that’s two reasons right there.

But there’s ano6ther reason. Since Jim has come out of retirement to consult with his old company, I would feel terrible if I am painting my toenails and watching soaps while he is concentrating on unraveling some code that makes MRI work. So in this case, it’s guilt that has me at the computer and at my desk, planning my success strategy.

What if I forgot all that and just loved my life as it is. What would I do with my time? What would I do with my knowledge? I feel like I have an obligation to use my time, talent, and knowledge and that is what is. I love my wanting to share these gifts. So, I guess I’ll put away my nail polish and hid the remote control and get back to telling people that I have some incredible opportunities for them to explore.

As a matter of fact, if you are someone who would be interested in a teleclass about health – how the systems of the body work and what you can do every day to promote optimum health – let me know. Thinking about this stuff is pretty much what I love about me.

I learned this lesson the hard way last week when I went skiing. I hadn’t been downhill skiing for five years even though I’d had new parabolic skis for three of those years. The day was a beauty – sunny, warm and many feet of fresh snow had fallen at Badger Pass. Jim and I were off to share a fun day. What more could a woman want?

If I had been paying attention to my mental chatter, I’d have known that I was setting myself up for a bad time. Why had I found all kinds of excuses to not ski for five years? What was going through my head as I dithered about our departure on the day of our proposed ski adventure? When we got to Badger Pass and learned that I did not get to ski free – even though I was over 65 and it was not a holiday, why didn’t I hear the voice that said, “Oh maybe I don’t have to ski!”

Other thoughts when through my head: “Maybe these aren’t my boots.” (If fact, they weren’t and therefore did not fit my new skis!) After several hours of frustration, thinking “I don’t know what I am doing since I can’t even put on these new skis,”  the lovely people at Badger Pass gave me a free ski rental and instead of jubilation, I thought, “Oh now I really will have to do this and I’m already exhausted!”

So I put on those rental skis and met Jim at the chair lift and took off up the mountain. Thoughts on that part of the trip were, “Gee these are too heavy!” “I hope I remember how to ski!” “I know I will go too fast and not be able to stop!” That last one was the prophecy that got me in trouble. As we slide off the chair lift, I panicked. I almost forgot how to snow plow. Then all the way down the hill, with many stops, I kept thinking, “I can’t remember what to do to turn!” You know that efficient little flick of the ankle that makes that shushing sound? Only my left leg remembered how to do it. I had to pick up my right ski and put it down in the right position. It was exhausting! I was exhausted. All that nay-saying and thinking I didn’t know what to do was coming true.

Really. I did know what to do, but I got exactly what I thought – an exhausting, difficult time where I wasn’t having any fun! What a bummer! Jim was great through it all, giving wonderful support all the way down the mountain. That was the only bright spot of the day other than the drive up and back!

The next day, a friend told me about a book, Skiing with the Whole Body, and he said such a simple thing, “Before you start, just think about how your body needs to move as you go into and out of turns. Then, while standing on the ground in my shoes, do a few of those moves.” Wow! I knew that. It’s something I talk about all the time.

Begin with the end in mind! Imagine what it’s like to have completed your goal and how it is along the way. I knew that and I totally forgot to do it! Instead I ended up sabotaging the fun outing with Jim because I didn’t remember that I get what I think!

I ordered the book, and vowed to try it again. Maybe even this year, if the snow holds out!

© 2009, Jacqueline Hale

We set goals every day. Sometimes it’s a little one like,” I’m going to clear off my desk,” and other times it might be a big one such as, “I’m going to go back to school and get a Masters degree!” The first thing I always tell coaching clients about goal setting is to begin with the end in mind. In other words, imagine or describe how this goal will look in your life when you have reached it. Do a little day dreaming!

In the case of the desk suggest above – imagine your desk as clear and orderly. Actually see it in your mind’s eye.

Think about how you will feel sitting at that desk.
·    How do you feel as you complete tasks?
·    What is your energy level as you sit at the orderly desk?
·    How’s your motivation for keeping it cleared?
·    Will you work faster or smarter?

All these questions just to motivate you to organize your desk! You’ll be amazed how well it works, especially as an anti-procrastination tool! Try it.

Now what about those big goals? They take a little more preparation – as they should. Getting a Master’s degree should take more thought than clearing your desk! Here are some guidelines for setting and reaching big goals.

Again, begin with the end in mind. Regarding the returning to school, imagine what you will do, who you will be when you complete this degree program. See yourself in your family and in the world with that degree.

Do you have more credibility?
·    How do people respond to you?
·    How do you feel about yourself?
·    Do you believe in yourself more? How does that affect you day-to-day?
·    What doors open more easily or wider?
·    What career advancements have come your way?

Goals that take longer to accomplish often require continued motivation. Here are some tools to help you stay focused as you move forward:

1. Acknowledge your source of motivation. What is it that you're working for? Why do you want to accomplish this particular goal?

2. Educate yourself. Discover what to expect – the pot holes and the smooth sailing aspects of getting where you want to go.

3. Enlist support. Going it alone is a recipe for failure. When you have companions along the way and discuss the journey with them, you will reach your goal faster and have more fulfillment as you go. This support could be a group of people with the same goal or a group of people who each have different goals but support the other group members. And finally it could be one person or a entire family who has your best interests as heart’s desire!

4. Your environment is paramount to your success. Create the work and living spaces that are motivational and conducive to success in the particular area of your goal and the path to it.

5. Write down your goals. This is often repeated wisdom. Write your goal and the motivations you have for reaching it. Even create a little story about how you will live your life once you reach the goal and then read it often! 

Here’s to a successful life!

© 2009, Jacqueline Hale

How is a sane person supposed to know what to do when even the doctors don’t agree? I was listening to a program about one of the statin drug’s beneficial side effects on Talk of the Nation on NPR. At one time there were three doctors discussing inflammation and lowering cholesterol and why one drug in particular had interesting results. The only thing these doctors agree on was that patients should first try life style changes before resorting to a statin drug. They gave a few seconds lip service to a nature means of reducing chronic diseases and spent many minutes disputing each other’s approach to using a drug that many natural health practitioners distain.

Many doctors are far too interested in prescribing a pill than babysitting their patients to reduce their weight and increase their exercise. It is difficult to inspire compliance, especially when it’s easier to just write something on a piece of paper and say, “see you in six months for a blood test to see if this improved anything and to monitor the potentially harmful effects. Of course, that little handful of pills costs hundreds of dollars every month! And we wonder why we have a health care crisis!
I know—I’m being cynical. This is why I don’t usually write about health and doctors. I find it hard to keep my irritation and frustration out of the discussion.

What I am most interested in is health without doctors. Since I have historically gotten conflicting advice from doctors, I avoid them and their prescriptions. I look for natural ways to maintain my health, and so far, I’ve not only avoided serious illness, I’ve also avoided prescription drugs, including antibiotics. My current health program consists of the following:

·    Eating sensible amounts of nutritious food, organic when possible
·    Drinking lots of filtered water – lots
·    Taking a few supplements and vitamins, just to be sure
·    Sleeping eight hours a night, and taking a nap if I get sleepy during the day
·    Walking 30 minutes (at least) each day and discovering something new on every walk
·    Practicing stress reduction such as conscious breathing and addressing problems when they arise
·    Being insightful every day by journaling, acknowledging life’s richness, and sitting silently for 10 minutes or so

Of course, if I needed the help of a doctor, I’d seek it – eventually! I mean, if a truck ran over me, I’d encourage the paramedics to take me to an emergency room. If I had appendicitis, I’d agree to surgery. And if I had a heart attack, I’d work really hard to find a cardiologist who thinks holistically. In the meanwhile, I am following my own advice – I live as though this is the only life I’m going to get!
© 2008, Jacqueline Hale

Well, here I am in the Holiday Season – a time when I usually get together with my daughter and her friends to bake cookies and make caramels and fudge. And here I also am – at a weight reduction plateau. I lost 40 pounds a few months ago and have been stuck at that weight for so long that I’ve forgotten my original elation at my success. I have had some success. I’ve succeeded in staying stable during many opportunities for heavy snacking and sumptuous meals (think travelling in Italy with friends and a week of Thanksgiving hoopla with our daughters and you get the idea about pasta a pumpkin pie).

I’ve been happy with my food plan and exercise. This program is how I melted 40 pounds of fat in the first place – why have I not continued on that successful path? So today, I was taking my usual morning walk and a little voice in my head told me to walk by the circuit exercise place I used to frequent. As serendipity would have it, the Saturday manager was putting out their sign and we started chatting. She invited me in to give me a free pass for the month. FREE. That’s a price I like, especially for exercise. Generally I think that housework and gardening should be exercise enough and that no sane person should need to go anywhere and pay money to get more exercise.

But maybe that is exactly what I need to shed those stubborn 20 pounds. I don’t know if it will do the trick, but I’m going to find out.
 
© 2008, Jacqueline Hale

At a Leadership Conference I am attending, last night’s homework assignment. was to discuss something "hot" without: 

   Exaggeration 
   Sarcasm 
   Animosity

When the assignment was given, I thought, "There are several topics I couldn’t discuss within the confines of those rules!" Here we are, the week before the big, long-awaited, hotly contested Presidential election and there are things I just can’t talk about with someone from the other side!

Well, guess what? My group of five dinner companions decided to talk about - who else - Sarah Palin. Two of us admitted up front that we didn’t think we could abide by the rules while discussing that topic. But one guy, a West Point graduate who had a career in Special Ops, said he was undecided about who to vote for, and that convinced me to accept the challenge. Our group made another rule. We had to say something we admired about Sarah Palin and something we didn’t like. Leader that I am, I volunteered to go first.

I was afraid I would just sputter with frustration but in fact I spoke with passion and convincingly - and I stayed within the rules. Everyone else did the same and with apparent ease. What surprised me was how much I agreed with everyone. We all were fair. We all have positive and negative things to say. And I probably wasn’t alone when I thought of how much better the whole country would be if the media and the candidates themselves would speak with civility. What if questions are answered with respect? What if points made are acknowledged and misunderstandings are corrected?

During this long campaign, I’ve been painfully aware of how people line up behind their candidate and listen to only those who have the same point of view. During the last election this tendency caused a giant rift in my own family. After my side lost, I wrote about how I wish there was more communication between the different sides because surely there were things we could agree on.

What ensued was a fight. I wish I could say it was a snowball fight but it felt to me like a rock fight. People quoted their favorite statistic and thought the other guy must be crazy to believe what they believed. I was as guilty as anyone in this overheated discussion. Instead of creating a bridge between people with differing opinions, I created and participated in a clash that to this day has been a wedge between me and my brother and sister-in-law and their children. How different things would have been if we had begun by setting the rules of communication I described above!

I feel I tried to mend the fences - or at least build a gate through them, but there’s no communication these days and that makes me very sad. I will try again now that I have a different view. In the meantime, I hope that Special Ops, West Point grad guy was swayed appropriately by my point of view.

© 2008, Jacqueline Hale

Life Coach
510-548-2585
jacquie@vibrancecoach.com

Some goals are easy. Others are elusive. What stops me from reaching the elusive ones? Myself, of course. I don’t set unrealistic goals. I don’t even set unreasonable ones, but some goals begin to feel unreasonable or difficult, and that is what stops me. I start to believe I can’t do it. As a coach, I know the next question, but for some reason, when I am wallowing in self-doubt, I forget to ask it. If I could do it, what would I do next?

Let me apply that to melting the last 20 pounds of fat. After only a few weeks of reaching the significant goal of weighing 40 pounds less, I am feeling a bit defeated about losing the next 20. It’s all around my belly and hips. Oh, OK! It’s also a layer of extra insulation over my whole body. Hey, I don’t need insulation. If I get cold, I’ll put on some fleecy togs, so that’s no excuse. The dilemma is: my belly really bugs me. I’ve caught myself thinking, “Maybe this is my normal weight. Maybe I can’t lose any more.”

There it is! That’s what stops me. I can’t lose this is the energy I am feeling and that is a guaranteed show stopper. Having realized this, I know what to do. I ask myself, “If I could lose that flab, what would I do next?” I will stick with my food plan. That’s a given. It really works. Then what? Sigh, I guess it’s those darn crunches and scrunches. How I resist them. What would make them more fun? Doing them somewhere that doesn’t smell doggish on the floor and where a dog can’t lick my face just when I’m getting into it. Hmm – up on the deck seems like a good place for that – until it starts raining – but that’s probably months away, so OK:

I’ll do those ab exercises on the deck, three times a week.

I will start my Strong Women Stay Young weight training again.

I will move a little faster and farther on my daily walk.

I will visualize my slim body every day.

I’ll remember my satisfaction the first time I tried on a smaller size and it actually fit – comfortably. 

I will breathe deeply and be thankful I have reached this wonderful plateau because I am far healthier than I was four months ago!

WOW! I feel better already – and maybe even thinner.

©2008, Jacqueline Hale

What is your wildest dream about your health? That can be a startling question because most of us feel we have little or no control over our health. We think we are bound by a genetic link with our parents and doomed to die of or live with whatever diseases and health problems our ancestors had. And if we have some health problems, we think our doctors and the pharmaceutical industry control our destiny. That’s absolutely wrong. You are your health’s best friend (and worst enemy!)

I have been involved with health all of my life. I worked in hospital labs in my early adulthood and later expanded my knowledge into the field of natural healing because I know that people have control over what happens to their bodies. You control what happens in your body; you just may not know you are in command.

Much of our bodies’ health originates in our minds. During our daily life, we set all kinds of goals such as getting to work on time, buying a new car, or having a wonderful vacation. The first step to reaching a goal is to intend to reach it. It’s the same for health, but most of us don’t go quite that far. We might make a resolution to exercise three times a week or stop smoking, but we rarely intend to have good health. Start with the big picture and then break it down to small steps.

An intention for health is the first step to being healthy. This was particularly important to me because heart disease caused many early deaths on my father’s side of the family and diabetes played havoc on my mother’s side. I was determined to have a different health picture, and I have! I’ve outlived my mother by nearly 10 years and am far healthier than my father when he was my age.

What’s my secret? Intention. I didn’t even know how to attain good health, I just intended it. You must intend to have what you want. Many years ago, I intended to be healthier than my parents and their parents. As a result, my medical history is boring: no allergies, no illnesses, no hospitalization other than child-birth, no prescription drugs, no antibiotics. I don’t give a doctor much to latch onto – except my weight.

Oh dear, weight has been my nemesis for 30 years. Since moving to California in my mid-thirties, I’ve steadily gained weight until it tipped the scale at 200 pounds last winter. That was a turning point. At that time, I not only intended to be healthy, I extrapolated that to an intention to lose weight. And I’ve done it, or I am doing it. I’ve lost 40 pounds and have 20 to go! Hallelujah! Success is a wonderful motivator. 

The first step is to intend to be healthy. You can do it. If you need help with the second step of creating a plan to become or stay healthy, you can contact me and we’ll figure it out. Call me.

Jacquie Hale
Natural Health Coach
510-548-2585
vibrancecoach@jacquiehale.com

©2008, Jacqueline Hale