Live Your Best Life!

Emotional health is critical to our overall functioning. It impacts every aspect of our lives including our relationships, our careers, and our physical health. Often, this aspect of our wellbeing is not discussed or approached with the same care and urgency as we approach physical health issues.

The strategies I will discuss here are actionable items that do not require a lot of time each day. They can be implemented right away and, with consistency, will improve your overall emotional health. I am not including sleep, diet, and exercise in this list; however, getting 7-8 hours of sleep each night, maintaining a healthy diet, and having a regular exercise routine are three important components for improving emotional health. Science has proven it repeatedly, so in addition to the action items below, be sure that you are getting enough sleep, eating clean, whole foods, drinking lots of water and exercising regularly. 

Strategy #1: Mindfulness

This is one of the...

As humans, we spend so much of our time looking back or planning for the future and as a result, often lose sight of the moment we are actually in. Our human brain is wired to function like this. It likes to look back and analyze things that have happened in the past. It also likes to look to the future to plan and to look for potential danger, however, this often results in our feeling stress, anxiety, or worry. With all this activity, how do you get your brain to remain focused on the present moment?

With some effort, you can train your brain to spend more time in the present moment. There are many benefits to this including those listed below.

• Being present allows you to enjoy the here and now when things are going well.
• Being present allows you to experience and process difficult emotions when they arise.
• Being present allows you to have increased focus and attention on what you are doing today that will benefit your future.
• Being present allows you to form deeper connections...

What are the things that you do consistently on a daily or weekly basis? These are things that are likely habits you have formed in your life. There is both good news and bad news when it comes to habits. The good news is that the right habits can help propel you towards the things you want to achieve in your life. The bad news is that the wrong habits can really hold you back from the things you want to achieve in your life.

For example, you may have good habits around getting up in the morning, getting organized for your day, planning what you want to accomplish, and sticking to the plan. These are all examples of positive habits that will help you achieve what you want to achieve. Instead, you could also have a habit of numbing out watching television at night, staying up too late, waking up late, being rushed in the morning, and not having time to take the action you need to be taking in order to achieve your goals. In each of these situations, the daily habits mentioned...

Are you someone who anticipates gaining weight around the holidays? If you are, you are not alone! I think many people anticipate unhealthy eating and weight gain around the holidays which, when you stop to think about it, is not a good strategy. Our thoughts create the results we get in our lives. If we go into the holiday thinking we will gain weight, guess what will happen? You got it…we WILL gain weight. 

I am going to suggest a different approach for you to take this holiday season that won’t result in weight gain, yet won’t leave you feeling deprived either. The reason why most of us tell ourselves that we will gain weight during the holiday season is because we anticipate having food we would normally not eat available to us. We anticipate lots of delicious, yet not so healthy, side dishes. We anticipate appetizers and desserts we would not normally eat, we anticipate eating larger portions than we would normally eat, and maybe...

Are you someone who experiences stress or anxiety around the holidays because of family conflict or drama? I hear from so many who want to enjoy the holidays but don’t because of pressure, drama, and longstanding conflict that arises.

If you can relate, continue reading and consider changing this for good. First of all, this is a year where many people will not be able to experience the holidays as they normally do. While this is unfortunate, consider if it could also be an opportunity for you to change any negative dynamics. Really think this through. Are there people you don’t enjoy seeing who you can avoid seeing this year? Do you usually have to drive around to many houses so that you make sure you meet everyone’s expectations that you see everyone, while experiencing stress and pressure the entire time? Do you usually host large meals, trying to make everything perfect for everyone? Take a step back and consider if you want to do something different...

Do you eat mindfully? Mindful eating is a way of eating that helps you be more in control of your eating habits without feeling judgement or shame the way you sometimes do when “dieting”. It involves maintaining in-the-moment awareness of what you are consuming. Unlike a diet, mindful eating does not involve “rules of eating”. It is about observing what you are eating and then observing the experience of eating it.

There are many benefits to mindful eating. It can help you slow down your eating, support weight loss, help reduce binge eating, improve digestion, change your overall relationship with food, help you appreciate your food more and help you make better food choices overall.  When you are mindful about what you are eating, you are paying close attention to what you are putting into your body and why. Because you are looking at why you are eating, you will begin to raise your awareness about when you are eating for emotional reasons,...

On a scale from 1 to 10 (with 1 being none and 10 being explosive), where would you rate your stress level right now? Having a high stress level ongoing is toxic for your mind and body. High stress levels can cause people to overeat, to overdrink, to have difficulty focusing, to make poor decisions, to have difficulty sleeping, and can increase people’s risk for heart and other health problems.

I believe there are two ways of reducing stress levels. One is a quicker fix, but not a permanent fix. The second is more of a long-term fix. I will share them both and if you are someone who experiences high levels of stress ongoing, I would encourage you to try them both.

Quicker fixes for managing stress.

The following suggestions are things you can do when you are experiencing stress. Engaging in these activities will help calm your system down or help you release tension or help distract you from your thoughts that are causing you to feel stress. These are all great...

How do you hike up a big mountain? One step at a time. How do you run a marathon? One step at a time. How do you achieve a goal? One step at a time. It’s the same process. The steps can be slow and sometimes you might fall or backslide but if you keep taking steps in the right direction you will eventually get there.

In hiking a mountain, if you stop, you will be standing still in the middle of nowhere, looking up at what you could have achieved. Eventually you will have to make the choice to regroup and start climbing again or start hiking back down the mountain. The longer you stay standing, the less likely you will start pushing up the mountain again.

In running a marathon, if you stop you will watch other runners pass by you and you will never get to that finish line. The more you think about how tired you are, how much your feet hurt, how much further behind you are than others, or how much further you have to go, the less likely you will be to start running...

How to Manage Brain Fog

Brain fog is real for many people and it can impact overall functioning and productivity. Brain fog can occur as a result of lack of sleep, a poor diet, poor gut health and food sensitivities, medication you are taking, alcohol or other non-prescribed substances, thyroid issues, mental health concerns like depression and anxiety, stress, hormone changes or vitamin deficiencies. If you feel like you often have brain fog, you should speak to your doctor. You don’t have to feel like this ongoing.

If you need to wait to see your doctor, some first steps for getting relief from bring fog are:

Get 8 hours of quality sleep per night. So many people try to convince themselves that they can function on five or six hours of sleep per night and don’t realize the negative impact this is having on their overall functioning. Research consistently proves that adults need eight hours of sleep each night to function at their best. Anything...

As Simon Sinek said, “A boss has the title, a leader has the people”. I agree with this completely. Bosses are caught up in their ego, while leaders are caught up in the success of their employees. Leadership is about how someone interacts with their team and inspires them to join together to work towards a common goal. Every member of a team should feel like they have a voice and that they are leaders in some way and leaders should be concerned with impact, not status.

Have you ever worked with someone who did not even take the time to get to know their employees? Have you ever worked with someone who never asked for feedback or input from those “below” them? Or how about someone who would just not show up for meetings without having the courtesy to let others know they would not be attending? In my opinion, these are not qualities of good leadership. These are the qualities of someone who is taking their most valuable assets, their employees, for granted....