In my last article, I discussed ways to eliminate procrastination to better manage your time. Today, I’d like to share several strategies to increase your productivity. While I’m not going to send you out on a field trip, like last time, I do recommend having a jar of mini-chocolate bars sitting on your desk and I’ll tell you why later in the this article.

There are many ways to increase productivity, but the key here is to focus. Getting down and dirty in your project/task and focusing will allow you to get more done in less time. 

#1 Work When It’s Right for You!

I cringe every time I hear a someone say, “you must get up very early to get your best work done.” WHAT? Over the past 20+ years of owning successful businesses, I can honestly say I’ve never started my work day “very early”. You see, I’m not a morning person, so getting up at the crack of dawn is better
left for my roosters.

Let me explain. Understanding when you are at your peak energy level, this is when you will do your best work. For me, my work day begins at 10:00 a.m. because I know that I’m most productive between 10 and 2. This is when I schedule client calls, host training classes, do interviews, and anything else that
requires my full attention. After 2:00 p.m., I’m ready for a nap!

So you need to work when it’s right for you. Let’s explore ways of determining when you’re at your peak energy level.

One way of finding out the right time of day for maximum productivity is to keep a detailed list of your activities. Write down what you’ve done, the time in which you’ve done it, and how long it took you to complete it. Also, notice your mood during this time. If you’re sleepy and often get up to get a drink or go to the bathroom, you’re not fully focused. However, you’re completely in the zone and really kicking butt, then this is the time that you should pay attention to.

When you get a grasp on your peak performance times, you’ll be amazed at just how much you get done in less time.

#2 Remove Distractions

Removing distractions is the best way to gain momentum and to stay focused throughout working on your task. I suggest that you try removing all of the distractions around you like Facebook (gasp!), checking emails, cell phone, and really spend time on what you’re doing. It’s not fun, but imperative for getting things done.

#3 Get Chunky With It!

Now that you know when you should do your best work and you’ve removed the distractions, now it’s time to get chunky baby! This is where you take like-tasks and group them altogether. For example, if you have phone calls to make, group your call appointments together. If you have coaching clients, schedule them back-to-back. By doing this, you will remain in your mental zone and be more productive.

How do you do this? So glad you asked! Take out your calendar and chunk out blocks of time. Let’s say you conduct coaching calls on Tuesdays and Thursdays; chunk out a block of time for those calls. This way you’re organized, and better prepared to meet your clients’ needs.

Did you ever think that being “chunky” was so cool?

#4 Finding Help

Figure out ways that you can seek the assistance of others to do tasks that you don’t enjoy. There are many ways to do this without costing an arm and a leg.
You can develop a bartering relationship, take on college interns, hire a teenager, just to name a few. Bringing someone on board to assist you does not have to be a long-term arrangement, and can be done based on the project.

#5 Expand Your Knowledge Base

Regardless of the kind of business you are growing, it’s important to constantly expand your knowledge base. Consider home-study courses, joining a membership, or seeking help on a specific topic, which will then increase your productivity because of the fact that you’re receiving knowledge for which you can implement.

#6 Relax & Reward

If you really want to increase productivity, take a breather between your chunky times and reward yourself with a mini chocolate bar or two, or ten! By doing this, you will less likely become overwhelmed and be able to focus better on your projects, then follow them through to completion.

I hope these tips are of help to you so that you can become more productive in less time. As always, I’d love to hear from you, therefore please leave a
comment below.

I believe in YOU!

Over the years I have found that for many women in business, it can be hard to know how to market yourself.  While you may have no trouble crafting campaigns and conversations around a product or service, its the business of marketing yourself that can stump even the most savvy executives.  Many of us feel uncomfortable singing our own praises or showing the same passion we might for our brand, thinking its too self serving or egotistical.  But this simply is not the case.

Knowing how to effectively market yourself can make all the difference in getting that next piece of business, consulting contract, or product sale from your website.  It has everything to do with growing your mailing list, increasing your Facebook Fan Page, and networking with your colleagues for new opportunities.  And it all comes down to having your tool kit in order to market yourself successfully in any situation.

1. Business Cards: Contrary to what the digital age might want us to think, business cards definitely aren’t dead.  After you make that great first impression, make sure to leave something that makes it last.  Being memorable is a two step process, sharing your personality and professionalism and then making it stick with a business card that makes you easy to find in any channel that person might look for you.  Consider including a QR code that takes the card holder directly to your About Me page or About page of your website.

2.  Resume:  Like the business card, the resume is definitely not dead.  In fact, if you are applying for a job of any kind, contract or otherwise, you often need to follow an online process to apply which always requires an upload or paste of your resume today.  Having just recently updated mine, I highly recommend outsourcing this task to get you moving in the right direction.  There are all kinds of industry standards, formatting guidelines, and basic elements that matter in the world of HR and hiring a professional makes sure your resume is tight and ready to roll.

3.  LinkedIn Profile:  Once you have your resume in place, you can easily apply it to your LinkedIn profile and you are ready to roll.  If Twitter is like a bar and Facebook is like your neighborhood, then LinkedIn is like your bosses office and its all professional all the time.  Having a LinkedIn profile enables you to connect with colleagues, network and expand your circle of opportunity, and reach out for new opportunities of all kinds with clients and more. 

4.  One Pager:  A short version of a media kit, your one pager is a great way to give potential clients a snap shot of what you do.  It includes key projects, your influence as defined by your industry, and highlights that will set you apart from the competition.  I’m always met with a wonderful response when I send one in a follow up email giving that person everything they need to know I’m the right choice from the start. 

Take time to focus on these four tools and you’ll have know trouble knowing how to market yourself in today’s competitive and always changing business world.   Take each one individually, blocking time on your calendar to dedicate to the necessary research, creative input, outsourcing, and production.  Know that outsourcing can be money well spent and at the same time, you often get what you pay for.  Place a high value on how to market yourself ~ it can be the difference in your long term success.

Tell me ~ do you have a current resume and one pager?  How about that business card or Linked In profile?

I have a confession to make. I love reality TV and really, one of my favorite shows is starting up soon.  Any guesses as to what it is? You got it, Survivor!

There is just something about that show that draws me in. Part of it may be the competition as I tend to be a competitive person myself. But really, I think I’m drawn in to the story of each competitor. Their life story-who they are deep down inside and how that plays out as their world gets somewhat turned upside down. I’m amazed by what it is that separates the winners from the losers. And honestly, I believe there are some specific “actions” that separate these two groups. And really, it is these “actions” that either make us or break us in this thing called life. Today let me share with you the winning actions that I believe will undoubtedly bring you greater success in life.

Mental Fitness: When it comes to the game of Survivor, there is no other way to look at it-you have to be mentally fit. Day in and day out contestants are encountering a variety of circumstances that have separated the strong from the weak. Whether it is lack of food, water, insect bites, lack of shelter, clothing, injuries, horrific storms, enemies, etc., if you can’t hold it together, you will find yourself packing your bags and heading home. Those who last on Survivor are those who are mentally fit. And the reality is, the same can be said when it comes to life.

Life has and will continue to throw at us circumstances and experiences that we would never have imagined.

These can include:

Foreclosure

Bankruptcy

Loss of job

Sickness

Regrets

Failures

Mistakes

And truthfully, what separates those who will make it through from those who won’t, is being mentally fit.

Let me ask you some questions today:

When life takes an unexpected turn, what is your immediate response? Do you tend to blame the circumstances of your life on others? Or do you take personal responsibility and do what needs to be done? Do you have a “fighter” mentality meaning you will not let anything hold you down, or do you immediately give up and give in? The truth of the matter is the way you respond to the circumstances of life will reveal much about where you will go and where you will not go. You will either move forward or stay stuck for lifetime.

Keeping Your Eye on the Prize: Those who make it to the end of Survivor are those that always keep their eye on the prize. They never lose sight of what they are after. Their focus is intense. Think about it, anyone in their right mind would not endure the many “challenges” that the contestants endure on a daily basis, unless they know there is something bigger and better waiting for them at the very end. The same can be said for those who are successful during their lifetime.

Let me ask you something, do you know your “why” for living? Why are you here? What are you living for? What is the ultimate “prize” that you are shooting for in this lifetime?

If you don’t know your why, you will consistently find yourself chasing after many different things and yet, never having a clear focus. You will find yourself saying “yes” to many things that may ultimately have no meaning for you. In turn, you end up unfulfilled and burned out.

So today, ask yourself, what is my why for living? What “prize” am I after in this lifetime? Once you get clear about that, I can guarantee that your life will radically change because you now have a focus like never before.

Form an alliance: Those who survive on Survivor are those that form an alliance. They surround themselves with those who are in it to win it. They form a bond that will keep them going until the end. Basically, they have each other’s backs.

In life, you have to have a group of people surrounding you that not only believe in you, but also believe in your why. Those who will have your back no matter what. Those who will speak life into you. Those who will push you to keep going, even when you feel like giving up.

To be successful, you can’t be a lone ranger. You have to get a group of people around you who will support you, love you, pray for you, and see you through it all as you make your way towards the prize.

Do you have an alliance? Can you name the names of at least three people who have your back no matter what? If not, let me encourage you to start really thinking about whom you can form an alliance with. I promise, when you have people in your life who support you no matter what, you will find yourself going places you never imagined.

Giving it all you’ve got:  And lastly, when it comes to winning on Survivor, you’ve got to be willing to give it all you have. Season after season there have been countless examples of medic having to come in because a contestant gave a challenge everything that was in them. They refused to give up because they were tired, worn out, scared, fearful, etc. They would give it their all.

And the same holds for you! Now please, don’t get me wrong. I don’t recommend that you work and work until you make yourself sick. That is never a good thing. But, you must be willing to give your best in every situation if you want to succeed in life. Don’t allow yourself to settle for average. Don’t allow yourself to settle for 75%. Give everything you have and watch your life take a different turn. Too many people in our world today are ok with settling for average. Imagine what life would be like if everyone did everything with excellence. We would be living in a different world today.

So in closing, let’s recap what it takes to not only be a survivor in this thing called life, but also what it takes to truly succeed like never before:

• Get mentally fit
• Keep your eye on the prize-know your “why”
• Form an alliance
• Give it all you have

Believe me, when you begin incorporating these survivor characteristics into your life, you will be well on your way to truly being a winner and a survivor!

Believing in You!

Jen

I haven’t met one parent yet who thinks they’ve ‘got it down’.  For a long time I thought I must be the only parent who feels like I haven’t a clue most of the time.  Lately, though I’ve been asking other mom’s and dad’s – ‘Do you know what you’re doing?’

 Yes. You can laugh!  I am!

The funny thing is that sometimes we feel as if we have to appear all-powerful or at least infallible in front of our kids.  To admit that we are really shaking inside when faced with a stubborn and amazingly-logical argument from our pint sized family members might just bring down the whole family into a state of utter confusion and chaos, right?

Yet, I don’t see a great upside to bluffing our way through.  Have you ever had an argument with your child only to realize about half way through that you no longer have any idea where this conversation is headed?  Or at the very least where you’d intended to LEAD the conversation?

Leading without fakery or manipulation is a tricky business inside the ‘survival organism’ that is a family.  How do we remain leaders when we all experience insecurity and sometimes can’t come up with THE answer?

 There is a simple, yet humbling solution.

 Admit we don’t know everything. And insist on respect anyway.

What I am suggesting is that a real parent…a parent who lives in the real world, that is…doesn’t have to hide behind fake authority to maintain a healthy, happy home!

The authority our kids need is a human one.

How many times have you felt betrayed and let down by figures in authority around you after you discovered their hypocrisy?  Let’s forget parents for a second. I remember having long broken-hearted discussions with my friends several years back after our pastor admitted to having an affair with a church member.  Yes, this is an extreme example.  Yet how much more affected are the members of our own family if we’re leading a double life—even just the double life of pretending we know more than we do.

Over the past couple years as I’ve coached several families who’ve shared with me how shocking this concept was to them at first.  The idea that our authority isn’t based in WHAT we know but HOW we act in our family is rather revolutionary.

Let me suggest this exercise to help you remember what your family is based on.  It’s not about coming up with the right answer in a split second when you get that glare from your teen or toddler (their about the same right?) it’s about having a consistent go-to modus operandi that you can use to maintain the function of your home. 

First: write down ‘house rules’

This has more in common with a mission statement than a long list of rules.  This list is the bottom-line expectations of everyone in your home.

In our home we posted on the fridge these bottom line basics…

1. No hitting, pushing, shoving or hurting
2. No name calling or arguing
3. No disrespect
4. If anyone crosses these lines, they need to be in ‘time out’ until respect is re-established
5. We always end every conflict with amends and forgiveness

Second, practice a ‘go-to’ phrase

This is a must for couples and kids too.  Whenever these basic limits are ignored the response needs to be simple and straightforward—and repeated EVERY time (to avoid the trap of negotiating, arguing and logical objections of every shape and size!)

Mine is something along these lines:  ‘This is unacceptable behavior.  Stop now or we’ll need to be apart for a bit.’

The hilarious thing is this works with all ages and all relationships.  This statement isn’t about discipline or determining who is to blame or who really did what.  It simply addresses the immediate, observable behavior and requires a shift.

This simple statement also clearly establishes that mom or dad are still in charge without having to be right…or wrong…or even to know what the heck is happening!

Third, come back around to the situation later

A very wise mentor told me once that the most essential aspect that transforms negative or damaging household conflict into an opportunity for greater connection with our kids is the mop up.  Restitution. Amends. Apologizing. Asking for forgiveness.  Whatever you call it, reconnection between all parties is essential!

This still doesn’t require us parents to be detectives.  WHAT happened (still) isn’t nearly as important as HOW we all work through the disrupted feelings and interrupted harmony.

And isn’t this what we all desire to teach our kids anyway? Life isn’t fair. Often people won’t always listen to all your arguments or all your wonderful ideas either.  Those we respect don’t always have all the answers. But we can all get along anyway.  We can form deep and meaningful relationships when we learn how to act respectfully in the midst of conflict, then later processing the disagreement.  Our families should be the safest place to practice this, don’t you think?

Here is to all of us, real-world parents—human, imperfect, without all the answers, but with just a few tools to stay ahead of our ever-smarter and ever-faster kiddos.  (Least it feels that ways sometimes!)

Gallery walls are great for a number of reasons. They…

1. can fill a large, open space

2. are less expensive than large wall art

3. are visually interesting

4. work well in a variety of decorating styles

Beyond that, gallery walls work in almost any space in your home.

Bathroom.

Living Room.

Kitchen.

Stairs.

Bedroom.

Additionally, gallery walls don’t just have to be made up of framed images.  They can have plates, letters, numbers, empty frames, plaques, mirrors, maps, crosses, unframed posters, framed fabric, or anything else that can be hung on a wall! 

Depending on your style, you may prefer a more eclectic look and might try mixing random shapes, objects, and frames on a wall.

Or, you may prefer a cleaner, more streamlined, matchy look.

Either is great and has the ability to completely change the feel of a space!

Get creative with your gallery wall–use it to display your kids’ artwork or family photos or even to create a message center with cork board, chalk board and hooks.

If you’re daunted by gallery walls and feel that it’s just one big puzzle that you’re not good at putting together, check out this gallery wall display idea sheet from Ann Beck photography. It may help you with placement and spacing.

go HERE for a larger version of this sheet

The biggest tip that I would give when creating your own gallery wall is to play around with spacing and layout of objects (to be hung) on the floor before putting a bunch of holes in your wall.  Once you have it all laid out on the floor, transfer the objects in the same layout onto the wall.

If you’re a really big perfectionist (like me), you may even want to cut out paper in the same shape and size as the frame and then pin or tape it to the wall.  This will help you with nail hole placement as well.

Have fun!

Jenna

It seemed appropriate to start my relationship with you; busy moms, business women, and all the beautiful women in the world who are wearing so many hats, by giving you a unique way to add 2 hours to your day.

If someone had shared this with me ten years ago, I would have been skeptical at best, and laughed it off at worst.  But today, after exploring and discovering the power of eating from God’s garden for well over ten years, I can honestly say that adding 2 hours to your day is only one of the almost unbelievable benefits of saying goodbye to the SAD (Standard American Diet) and embracing a diet high in raw, living foods.

I used to think this had to be an extremely hard way to live, especially getting your family on board and finding the time to learn a completely new way of eating.  And I won’t tell you that there isn’t a transition period; I’ve spent untold hours developing a style of eating that I love and that works for me, including making new recipes and studying the raw food lifestyle in depth.  But when I first began this journey, I didn’t have the kitchen equipment all the “raw foodies” had, nor did I have the time or money to develop recipes or create a “raw food kitchen”.  I just knew I was an emotional eater which left me overweight and depressed, and I knew I couldn’t try one more diet because I was always left more disappointed and defeated than before I went on the latest fad diet.  So when I heard Dr. George Malkmus from Hallelujah Acres share his testimony of overcoming cancer with raw foods, I was intrigued to say the least.  And since that day when I heard Dr. Malkmus speak (a divine appointment for sure), what I’ve found is that embracing a high-raw food lifestyle has literally transformed my life in every way possible…spirit, soul, and body.  If you want to read my full story of a 50 lb. weight loss and finding freedom from food addiction and emotional eating, you can go here: My Story

Increasing your intake of raw and living foods doesn’t have to be hard, and it can actually become fun not only for you but also for your children.  My little 3 year old niece started making green smoothies with me and now she asks me if she can have one without being prompted.  My 20 month old nephew literally starts shaking with excitement when he sees me making a smoothie because he loves my recipes so much.  And I can’t tell you what it does for my heart to see both of them drinking their greens and superfoods in a way that they love and with ingredients that nourish their little bodies in the highest way possible.  So, knowing how busy you are, I want to give you a few tips so you can easily and quickly begin incorporating more raw foods into your diet.

1. Drink green smoothies for breakfast.  All you need is a decent blender, fruit, and greens.  Start simple, use fruits you love, pure water, and fill your pitcher with organic spinach or some other dark leafy green.  That’s all you need really unless you just want to get a bit more fancy.  You can add things like bee pollen, green superfoods, or other available add-ins that will make your smoothie a powerhouse of nutrition.  Just remember you don’t have to add those things for your 3-ingredient smoothie to have your cells singing for joy in the mornings!
2. Eat a big salad for lunch.  Make your own, or order one at your favorite restaurant and don’t be shy about asking them to create a big salad for you with lots of different greens and raw veggies in it.  I even request cut up raw veggies at Mexican restaurants to eat with the salsa.  Most restaurants are accommodating about these types of requests.
3. Buy some raw superfood bars at your local health food store for snacks, or better yet just eat your favorite fruit and a few raw nuts when you get hungry in between your meals.  Just be careful what you buy at the health food store – it’s not always healthy!  Make sure you get bars that say raw on them or you may end up with just another processed food that isn’t so great for you.

As you make these small changes, you’re going to start noticing a difference in your energy level, particularly as you add more green foods.  Raw seeds and nuts are wonderfully nutritious as well, but they’re heavier raw foods and not as powerful at changing your energy levels as greens. 

You’ll find you need less sleep, you wake up “ready to go” and feeling much more light and energetic, and you get more done during the day.  As you notice these changes occurring, it will attract you to exploring an even higher level of raw and how to up your intake of living foods even more, and before you know it, you’ve literally added 2 hours (or more!) to your day. 

Pinterest is the latest social media darling and with good reason! In Shareaholic’s January Referral Traffic Report, Pinterest was found to be a BETTER traffic referrer than YouTube, Reddit, LinkedIn, MySpace or Googe+ combined for many large retailers who have a Pinterest presence.

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard just like the corkboards we had in our rooms as kids and you may still have in your home or office. I have an old one with all my children’s art work from over the years on it. Pinterst has taken this same concept and create a social networking site that allows users to create photo collections online – like an online scrapbook. It is primarily a photo sharing website where the members are allowed to create albums pertaining to a theme or pattern. The interesting part it that it is taking the social media world by storm!

Pinterest is great opportunity for brands because it can be a portal for their products, services and even their content. It is a chance to lead with content and let social interaction take a secondary role. Brands will be able to see what people care about instead of who they care about. The market research alone could be invaluable from a branding perspective! Are you there yet? If not, this is how you get started.

If you are on Pinterest, you probably want to know some tips and tricks that will help you maximize your presence there.

10 Tips and Tricks for Business Users

1. Build Content Rich Boards Around Your Niche

You want to build content rich boards and curate your content just as you would on any other social network. Pin your products and your content to themed boards on Pinterest with shortened links that allow you to track your Pinterest traffic. Make sure that you are presenting your products, services and content in a visually appealing way because this is what will draw people’s eye. They aren’t reading the subtext in other words. Stand out, be creative and most of all; be unique!

There is no rule on how many boards you can have but I suggest at least 8 boards with 9 pins each because that is the ‘view’ that people have when they come to your site or to use designer term ‘above the fold’. Don’t leave your boards empty! After those first 8 visible boards, people will have to scroll down to see more. When someone clicks on your profile, you want to give them a good first impression. You want them to know that you are active, engaging and have great content.

2. Branding Your Business

Make sure that you feature your business name on your profile. If you are branding your business name, you might want to have your business name as your Pinterest profile username. In the “About” section, include a brief description about who you are and your interests. This area is like the bio area on Twitter and should be short but provide a good description of your business. Connect your account with your Facebook and Twitter accounts. This will create links underneath your about section so that people can find you on other platforms. Don’t forget to include a link to your website!

3. Like Other People’s Pins

You might want to like other pinner’s pins that may not be useful to your audience or your board content instead of repinning them. Anytime you like someone’s pin, it will show up in their activity feed. This may grab their attention and get them to follow you.

4. Use The Hashtag (#) to Define Words For Search Results

This works exactly as it does on Twitter in the sense that you can use a hashtag to define keywords in your pin description. For example, if you want to be found under the keyword ‘travel’, use #travel in your description. This makes it easier to be found and will create more followers as well. More followers = more exposure.

5. Mention Other Users

You can mention others in your comments or pin descriptions to get the attention or to recognize someone specific. A ‘mention’ is very similar to Facebook and Twitter. Type the @ symbol before starting to type the name of the person. A drop down box will appear and your choice should be displayed there for you to select. One quick note on this…you can only mention users who are following you on at least one board. When you mention someone using this method, they will get an email and the @mention will be linked back to their profile.

6. User Pinterest’s Browser Extension

If you are using Google Chrome, you can install the Pinterest browser extension onto your toolbar. This is a great way to quickly pin things you see while surfing the Internet. Once you have installed the extension, you will be able to simply right click, choose Pin this Image from the drop down and be able to choose the board that you want to pin it to. If you see a great pair of shoes, you will be able to pin that image to a board on your Pinterest account. Not only will it pin the graphic but it will link back to the originating source.

7. Pin Videos

Pinterest has recently added the ability to pin videos and not many people are using this feature yet so this is an amazing opportunity to stand out quickly in crowded marketplace. Currently Pinterest only supports YouTube videos and you can pin them directly from YouTube using the Pin It browser extension that I share above.

8. Pin Smart

When you pin an image, include a description with pertinent keywords hastagged. A good description will more than likely follow the graphic as it gets repinned so make sure that you include your business name in the description.

9. Optimize Your Graphics

Make sure you are using a graphic in your blog posts that is clearly associated with the content. In other words, do not use a graphic of a camel if you are talking about how to grill a great steak. Images that are really sparking a lot of pins on Pinterest are powerful visuals and tap into emotions in some way. You might want to consider adding a clear text description to your graphic so that it is clear what your content is all about; like the graphic at the top of this blog post.

10. Pinterest Has a Mobile App!

This is huge as it allows you to browse, pin, repin and even take photos to pin right from your phone! Search www.itunes.com for ‘pinterest’ and you will be able to download the app and start using it immediately!

If you would like even more details on Pinterest, I invite you to check out my new book; ‘The Quick and Easy Guide To Branding Your Business and Creating Massive Sales With Pinterest‘

Everyone knows Dr. Oz and the fact that he is now on national television, more and more people are tuning in for his advice. However, I watched a clip of a recent episode where he was sharing advice on alternative methods to relieve pain. Everything sounded great until he came upon a gigant spine that he was using to explain ‘back pain’.

Now, as a Chiropractor, I was instantly interested in what he was going to share with his ‘live’ audience and the millions watching. What I heard made me jump out of my chair! Not only did he mention that ‘back pain’ is mostly a result from a ‘slipped disc’ or a ‘ruptured disc’ he NEVER mentioned nerves, ligaments or muscles. Instead he proceeded to share his advice of applying castor oil and heat! Yes, you read that correctly, HEAT!! 

First of all you should never apply heat to an injured back, leg, arm or any body part for that matter. One of the main reasons for this is because what usually accompanies pain is inflammation and what should always be applied is COLD and only cold. In order to better explain the meaning of inflammation and the reason you should only use cryotherapy (ice therapy), I asked my husband, Dr. David Sutherland to share the meaning in this article. Enjoy!

A special thank you to Dr. David P. Sutherland for contributing this article

What is inflammation?

When tissue injury occurs, whether caused by trauma, viral or bacterial infection, heat, or any other occurrence, changes begin to occur in the injured tissue. Vasodialation (enlargement of the blood vessels), leakage of large quantities of fluid in the surrounding area, clotting of the fluid, and swelling of the cells, are just a few of the responses of the immune system. A walling off effect occurs which delays spread of the toxic substances, then Pac-man like cells called macrophages come in to eat the damaged tissues. Eventually the body absorbs the dead and dying tissue cells, and then healthy cells are left behind.

If inflammation is healing, why do we take anti-inflammatories?

Simply put, because of pain. The swelling, which occurs from inflammation, also causes heat and pain. Anti-inflammatories suppress the innate ability of the body to perform the process of healing described in the previous paragraph, but because they also suppress pain we are generally satisfied. Anti-inflammatories are necessary in many cases, much like antibiotics are necessary in severe cases of infection; however, just like antibiotics, there can be many side effects. Remember, when we take anti-inflammatories, we always lessen the body’s ability to heal.

What alternatives do we have to anti-inflammatories?

There are many doctors out there who will give you a list of nutritional and/or supplemental alternatives, from garlic or ginger, to more exotic, harder to pronounce dietary adjuncts. And though all of these have been found to be helpful, I have never experienced anything that has worked better, or quicker, than cryotherapy (ice, ice baby), especially, for musculoskeletal conditions. Not only is ice inexpensive and readily available (soft ice packs, bag of frozen corn or peas), but also it’s targeted and has no systemic side effects. When done properly, 10-12 minutes for small body parts (neck or extremity joints) and 15-20 minutes for larger body parts (mid-back and lower back), ice therapy can give quicker and better results for symptom relief, without interfering with the natural ability of the body to heal itself.

When should I use heat and/or exercise?

When you’re cold, and when you’re out of shape respectively. Although heat feels good, it can only increase inflammatory pain. If heat is used (dry or moist heating pads, hot tub or shower), always use ice therapy 20-30 minutes later or you may pay the price the next morning. As for exercise, who would jog on an inflamed ankle, or massage a swollen neck. Exercise, including supervised physical therapy, should never be used while the body is in an inflamed state; however, it should always occur after inflammation has been stabilized.

Dr. David P Sutherland, is a Doctor of Chiropractic in Tampa, FL.  He loves educating and teaching everyone about the wonderful mechanism called our body and how we can help it to heal itself.  He has been in practice for over 15 years and enjoys helping others and spending time with his family. (Yes, this is also Dr. Daddy)

When you start treating yourself like you do your loved ones and make You a priority rather then an option, life will not only get Amazing, but you will  be continually filling yourself up and can then have even more to give and share of the “Best’ You. Somewhere along the line, you have started treating yourself as an option instead of a priority. It is a limiting belief to feel that it is selfish and that perhaps you aren’t worthy of loving yourself for whatever reason. It may be that you don’t think you are good enough. Well, God doesn’t make ‘Junk’ and he thinks you are worthy of being loved unconditionally. Look at the love that he has bestowed upon you! 

Tips To Keep Yourself Filled Up Continually

Shower Yourself with love, praise and kindness: 

No, I don’t mean that kind of shower, which reminds me I need to take one, lol. Shower yourself with love, praise, kindness, honor, respect, trust, and yes, here’s aBIGGIE…forgiveness. When you can truly start doing these consistently, your life and your relationships will take on a whole other meaning. It is okay to give yourself praise, I will say sometimes to my husband, “I am very proud of myself, for whatever it may be.”  Guess what, my husband has started to praise me, as well. I am not saying to be full of yourself, but giving yourself the acknowledgment of doing something well is very vital. When you do so, you are more likely going to have even more things that you may attempt to do, because of that. You have to be your own support system. It is nice to get it from others, but when you fill yourself up with everything you need, you now are in a place to start really giving and sharing the Best you!

Treat Yourself  The Way You Treat Others:

When you start treating yourself as a priority rather then as an option…others will start to do so. Think of all the things that you do for those that you love. Don’t you think that you,too should get those kindnesses as well from yourself? In order to be able to continually be able to give love, kindness, affection, trust, respect, forgiveness…you have to 1st start to be able to receive them from yourself. If you don’t feel you are worthy of them, then how do you expect others to give them to you?  When others see the difference in how you are treating yourself, they will start to do so, as well. The beauty of all of this is, that now you will have even more to give and share of yourself and thus, your relationships will begin to grow and flourish even more so and so will You.

Learn to Let Yourself Be: 

When life gets busy and hectic, take 5 minutes to go to your favorite environment and perhaps sip on your favorite beverage and just let your mind wander. Don’t think about all the things that you have to do, but rather bask in that very moment. By doing so, you start to rejuvenate yourself. If you work from home, this is even more vital to step away from your computer, your phone, etc. I do this at least a couple times a day if not more. I make myself my favorite tea and go on my front porch and just rock in my rocking chair. When you do go back to whatever it is that you are doing, you will find yourself  ready to take on any new challenges that might come your way. I find that I get even more creative after doing so. You are truly Amazing and you need to start treating yourself that way.

Develop a Personal Core Of Peace: 

Pray,  mediate, do breathing exercises, yoga or whatever it is that helps you to get to that peaceful place inside of you.  Journaling, along with some of the other things I suggest here brings clarity and focus…not to mention a very real peacefulness. I do all of these except for yoga everyday. When my day starts to slip away from me & get a bit overwhelming, I usually realize that I am missing not doing one or more of these and I immediately take the time to do so. Consider it your compass, and it will help you get to where you want to go without getting lost.

Be Present: 

One of the ways of continually filling yourself up is to ‘Live in the Now’! When you live in the present, you are not worrying about what you can’t  change about the past and you’re not preoccupied with the future. By living in the moment, you tend to make better decisions as your focus is on the present. It’s not to say, with having a busy life, that you don’t look ahead to your child’s soccer practice or what to make for dinner…what you can do is take time out of your day to devote a few minutes to going over your family’s schedule on a calendar and perhaps writing out a list of the things that are a priority. But always being preoccupied with all the things that you need to do, just makes for you to feel even more overwhelmed.

Practice Gratitude:  

Every morning as I go out on my porch and sip my coffee, I also have a BIG heaping of gratitude. If you can get grateful even when there is adversity in your life…now that is when life starts to take on new meaning. When my mother passed away a couple of years ago, we did not realize that from the time she was diagnosed with leukemia that she would be gone within 5 weeks or so. Just going with my gut, and canceling a trip to be able to fly and spend time with her gave me 4 of the 5 weeks to be with her. I had flown home after 2 weeks and then had to fly back a week later, but during those final 2 weeks, I remember feeling grateful that I did not miss those weeks with her. I also, remember walking down the hall of the hospital as I stayed there 24/7 and helped take care of her for the reminder of her time, I would say to myself, “Don’t live with any regret.” Being present and grateful actually made that time not only bearable, but even beautiful and at times full of laughter. We celebrated who she was as well as her life. And now I have a constant reminder of the value of gratitude in every moment of my life! 

Here are some daily exercises that you can do to truly start loving yourself unconditionally today!

* Look at yourself in the eyes in a mirror

* Continue to have eye contact with yourself                    

* Repeat: “I love you very much {your 1st name}, you are perfect just the way you are.”

* When you are having a bit of a challenging day, look at yourself in the mirror and ask, “How you doing, sweetie?”

I know some of you reading this are probably thinking, some people think loving yourself is vain, and I don’t want people to think that of me. But it really isn’t, as you are a person that has self worth. You need to start treating yourself with love and respect. When you do this, you will start to automatically find things to love and respect about yourself even more. During your day, say to yourself, “I love and accept myself,” and this phrase will continue to reinforce your self-worth! 

So, what does this have to do with my relationship with my partner or with my children, etc? It has EVERYTHING to do with it!!! If you don’t love yourself, how are you going to believe that someone can truly love you. I know in my past relationships and even in my first marriage, I couldn’t understand how the other person could possibly love me…it’s sad, but true! It wasn’t until I truly embraced who I really was and loved myself…that I finally believed that somebody could really truly love me. Now, when my amazing husband tells me he loves me…I believe him! 

Life is meant to be lived passionately, to really embrace it! The 1st step in doing so is to really embrace who you are…the Magnificent person that you truly are. I believe in you and I am rooting for you. 

I HAVE to go to the gym today.  Ugh.  I HAVE to go on a run.  Ugh.  I HAVE to lift weights.  Ugh.  I HAVE to eat more veggies.  Ugh.  I HAVE to drink more water.  Ugh.  I HAVE to go to aerobics.  Ugh.  I HAVE to…I HAVE to…I HAVE to….Ugh.

Let’s talk about what we say to ourselves around being healthy, exercising, and living well!  Words create, and the words you’re saying to yourself may be creating exactly what you don’t want…stress, unhappiness, overwhelm, negativity.  Ugh.  We say things that are less than optimal to ourselves because we’ve been doing it for so long, it just comes naturally!  So, you will need to make a conscious effort to change your vocabulary.  

Here are some words I try to avoid using in my vocabulary, and what I replace them with, just to get your creative juices flowing!

First up, “diet.”  I HAVE to go on a diet!  Ever said that?  How many times have you heard that?  Especially during this time of the year when everyone is making their “resolutions” (another word we’ll talk about!).  Instead of thinking about going on a “diet,” think about how you’re going to NOURISH yourself during the day.  Think about what yummy and nourishing things you GET to put in your body (an amazing machine made by God so you can fulfill His highest purpose for your life)!  “Nourish” has a much better feeling than “diet,” wouldn’t you say?  

“Exercise” is another word I have replaced in my vocabulary!  When you hear the word, “exercise,” what feelings are conjured up in your body?  If they are feelings of dread and ickyness, you need to replace that word.  Guess what?  Kids don’t “exercise.”  They PLAY!  It’s just part of their daily living.  They don’t take time out of their day to “go exercise!”  Right?!  They just play and exert energy all day long.  So, instead of “exercising,” go PLAY!  What do you ENJOY doing that gets your blood and oxygen flowing?  Do you love a sport…or, did you love a sport that has long been forgotten in the craziness of motherhood?  Well, it’s time to reignite that love!  Do you love connecting with nature?  Go on a hike!  Do you love hanging out with your kids?  Play tag and run around in the park!  Do you love being surrounded by other people who are getting in shape?  Then, maybe the gym IS a good place for you.  Do you feel a need to stretch your body and reduce stress?  Think about yoga or Pilates.  Whatever you do, don’t say to yourself, “I HAVE to go EXERCISE!”  If you’re feeling that way, it’s time to change your “exercise” to something that feels more like PLAY!

And, one more word that I avoid is “resolution.”  Since it’s the beginning of the year, I think it’s appropriate to visit this word for a moment!  When I think of a “resolution,” I think of something that is long forgotten by the time February rolls around!  Everyone jokes about the fact that “resolutions” don’t last.  So, why set yourself up for failure?  Instead of declaring “resolutions” for yourself at the beginning of the year, declare a new LIFEstyle!   What are you going to do differently in the New Year to create a happier and healthier LIFE, long-term?  What small changes can you make (that won’t overwhelm you into inactivity) that will bring you joy and fulfillment?  And, don’t think about it as HAVING to restrict yourself, or do more of something you don’t like.  Think about small things you can add into your daily routine that are doable (an invigorating walk around the block, an extra serving of well-spiced veggies). It’s not about a resolution.  It’s about a new way of LIVING!   

I challenge you to take a week and really pay attention to what you’re saying to yourself.  What words are you using?  Are your words creating the life you want?  If not, replace those unhealthy words with inspiring words, and see what a difference it makes!