Day three of solitary confinement, and the dogs and I are plotting a prison break. . . Who knew that the hardest part of surgery would be . . . the recovery? Seriously? This is the part I was looking forward to enjoying! Seems I seriously underestimated my ability to relax, have fun, and just be. After taking away the cookies from my inner-toddler yesterday, I had to listen to why she was still having a total temper-tantrum. Turns out I was ignoring her need for attention and fun. My adult, responsible side had viewed this time off as an opportunity to study for my upcoming exam for coach certification. And if I felt up to it, maybe I would get some work done, too! So I told my husband, David, to go back to work on the Monday after, and I told my parents not to come. I didn’t stock up on books or movies. “I can read the books I have,” I said. “I can watch the DVD’s in our library,” I said. “I don’t want to distract myself from what I need to be doing,” I said. My inner two-year-old has had every right to kick-up her heels and throw an absolute fit. And now it makes total sense why she was falling into the cookies. It was the only outlet for fun I was giving her. Lesson learned. David will be hitting the bookstore for me this morning and I have the TV all set up for pay-per-view so I can watch a movie—or even two! And I have every reason to believe that the responsible side of me will still get in some studying and all my doctor-prescribed walks. […]
Tame the Inner Cookie Monster
My inner toddler seems to have taken control of my eating since my surgery last Wednesday and has turned into a bit of a Cookie Monster. This came about because my tummy wasn’t very accommodating for the first few days, so it seemed OK to enjoy saltines, ginger ale, and a few cookies. But as my body has gotten better in balance, my indulgence in cookies has only increased. Granted these are “healthier” cookies than normal. Before the surgery, my wonderful husband, David, made my recipe for peanut-butter oatmeal cookies, which have no additional fat from the peanut butter and just a little dark brown sugar and honey. When he mentioned making some chocolate chip cookies, out of self-preservation I went on-line and found a lightened up recipe that substitutes oatmeal for much of the flour and cuts the fat significantly. (And wow are they good!) While these are better choices that are fine for an occasional indulgence, they are still more calories than nutrition. After I set my intention yesterday to eat clean, but wound up having cookies for two of my meals (what works for me is to eat five to six smaller meals a day) and was sneaking in one or two more, I realized it was time to tame this beast and get back on track with my healthy eating. I really do want to be able to wear my jeans at the end of the week! What I would ask a client is, “What are the feelings that are leading to eating the cookies?” For me there is some boredom (which makes total sense because my activities are curtailed for the time being and David has had to go back […]
Look for the Garbled Message of Your Gremlin
Our thoughts are often our worst enemies. We hear the negative messages offered up by our inner critic and we accept them as true. And we feel bad. Stop yourself right there! Engage your logical side and ask yourself, “How true is this?” Chances are those flimsy arguments offered up by your inner Gremlin will begin to cave-in and collapse. Search through this mental rubble with the bright light of Truth—those Universal Truths that are true no matter what—and you will discover the issue the Gremlin was trying to lead you away from. Now you can choose a different—better feeling—thought that creates an entirely new path. I was surprised to encounter my Gremlin during the night Saturday. My first tipoff was negative emotion—which always means negative underlying thoughts. What I was feeling was . . . guilty! There was also lazy. Where were these emotions coming from? My recovery from a full hysterectomy on Wednesday is going so well that I’m having to sit on myself not to do too much. (Do you know how hard it is not to lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk? And I’m going to have to do this for four to six weeks?!) My Gremlin was speaking up because I feel good enough to help out around the house more, but I’m not. There’s also part of me that feels like if I do too well I won’t have the “excuse” to be lazy and I’ll have to do more than I want, which was swinging me back to guilt. Geez! The nonsense we can put ourselves through. Fortunately I know this is not the voice of reason speaking, so I’m thanking my Gremlin for its input, […]
Do What You Can Do
I just finished up the first of four (doctor ordered) walks today. Walking and drinking plenty of water are the two things my doctor recommended to speed my recovery from surgery, so my commitment to doing them is unshakable. There are other things I can do, too. I can rest in-between treadmill sessions, eat healthy foods that are easy on my stomach, and resist the temptation to lift anything heavier than a carton of milk (for the next four to six weeks!). I can also focus my thoughts on how well I am doing instead of fretting about the things I won’t be able to do for a while. This recovery period is temporary and I will be back to my regular workouts–and strength and energy–before I know it! Beyond doing these and a few others things, my wellness is beyond my control. I can support my immune system and healing process, but I can’t control it. Regardless of whether anyone else would see me right now and think “optimal wellness,” I can maintain my knowing that wellness is absolutely and completely mine. But I can’t dictate how quickly it will come or when others will acknowledge that reality. The absolute best thing I can do is spend the majority of my time feeling good—and doing what I can do—and letting go of all those things I can’t control. Too often we wrap our mind and results around the things over which we have absolutely no influence and ignore the things that we actually can do. One way to shift this dynamic is to draw a line down the middle of a sheet of paper and on the left-hand side, write down all the things […]
Thank You for All the Support!
I am doing amazingly well after having a full hysterectomy on Wednesday. Even the doctor’s and nurses commented on how well I was doing before they sent me home yesterday. Other than being very sore, I feel good. And the soreness is no worse than how I have felt after a really intense workout. The doctor’s orders are to walk 4 times a day, and I have already completed my first 10 minutes on the treadmill, am showered, and feel like getting in a short blog. My big plans for the rest of the day include watching at least one Christmas movie, doing some light reading, and napping. Even though I’m feeling good, I don’t plan to overdo it. While I think being in good physical shape before the surgery and positively focusing on wellness have a lot to do with my recovery, I also believe the incredible support I have gotten from family, friends, and my fabulous readers has made a huge difference. Seriously, I have been blown away by the positive thoughts, prayers, and messages coming my way. Thank you all so much. I can’t tell you how much it has meant to me. Not only is this positive support a boost mentally, but there have been studies showing the power of prayer and intent. (If you are curious, check out The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World by Lynne McTaggart) I have no doubt that the gifts you all have been giving me have made a huge difference to my wellness and wellbeing. One of the things I’ve run into as a coach is that many people are really good at giving, but they have a […]
The Road to Recovery
I’m heading home from the hospital today after undergoing a hysterectomy yesterday. This is the interesting part for me—the part where I will want to forgive myself for not being able to jump right up and to do what I could just a few days ago. I will need to remind myself that I am where I am, and that where I am is OK. Recovery will be a process that may last a few days or a couple of weeks. I am determined to do what I can do, but will also allow myself rest and recovery. It will be interesting to see how quickly I bounce back, but whatever I do won’t be good or bad—it will just be what I do. When we can take judgment out of the equation—particularly negative judgment—it gives us the opportunity to be more present and experience where we are on the journey. Being present gives us clarity and helps us move forward on the right path. Where do you need to allow yourself to be exactly where you are? Together we can do it!
Catching the Wave
At 4:45 a.m. this morning, my husband David drove me to the hospital to get spade. We are to arrived at 5:30 a.m., with surgery to begin at 7:30 a.m. Surgery was scheduled to last three hours and I will spend another hour in recovery. By lunch time, I should be settled in my room, where I will spend the next 20 hours or so. By Thursday morning, I will be heading home. My goal today is to surrender to the process. To surrender and allow all the well-trained and skilled doctors and nurses do their jobs and see to my care. To surrender and allow Source (God, the Universe, All-That-Is—whatever works for you) to facilitate this experience on my behalf. And while I am surrendering, to consciously choose how I react and perceive what is happening. Really, this is a wonderful opportunity to focus on success! I know that surrendering and focusing on what I want will build positive momentum that will be like a tidal wave moving me towards my goal of optimal wellness Where do you need to surrender control of the uncontrollable to better meet your goals? Together we can do it! Photo by federico stevanin
Choose Your Focus
I’ll admit to some nerves this morning. Some of it is from my husband who told me last night that he is feeling anxious about my surgery tomorrow, which I think is pretty normal and expected. Some of it is my very full schedule today that includes an early meeting that is compressing my time to blog. OK, a lot of it is just that there is so much to get done today! Some of it is anticipating all the new things I’m going to experience in the next 48 hours and trying to follow all the steps that are required, such as bathing tonight and tomorrow morning with germ-killing soap, not taking anything—not even an aspirin—and not eating or drinking anything past midnight. Some of it is reminding myself that I can’t hit automatic pilot and accidentally put on lotion or forget to take off my nail polish, and then there is just trying to think through all logistics. Have I missed anything? As I sat down to write and felt those nerves, I reminded myself to take a deep breath and to choose my focus. I can focus those nerves into anxiety, or I can turn those butterflies into excitement that will help keep me focused and give me the energy to get everything done. I can make this stressful by focusing on everything I have to do, or I can make this fun by prioritizing and tackling those things that I want to get done. I can make this scary by focusing on the unknowns, or I can think of this an adventure and be confident in my well-being and the great care I’ll receive from well-trained doctors and nurses at a […]
Look for the Solution
Do you focus more on what you want, or what you don’t? What you like, or hate? What you judge good, or bad? Often we look for the solution by studying the problem. While we need to have a clear understanding of the problem, we then need to shift our attention to the solution. It’s looking at what will be rather than what is, or was. It’s focusing on what’s working, what’s right, and what’s the answer. The reason for this lies in the underlying energy. Focusing on the problem creates catabolic (destructive) energy, while focusing on the solution generates anabolic (constructive) energy. Just think about the feelings you have when you are looking at a problem. Let’s say you are in an animal shelter and you see a puppy in a cage that will be euthanized if it isn’t adopted. For most people, that can generate some pretty negative (catabolic) emotions, such as fear, distress, and even anger. Let’s say you see a family walk in the door and adopt that puppy. That probably changes how you’re feeling and generates positive (anabolic) emotions, such as satisfaction, peace, and even joy. When we’re in a catabolic emotional state, our body is generating harmful chemicals and hormones and other physical reactions, which actually impacts our minds making it harder to think creatively, generate ideas, or even recognize solutions. We literally need to release the problem and shift our focus to the solution, like turning a coin from heads to tails. The problem, however, is often so compelling and distressing, that we get stuck in it. It’s almost as if we’re afraid to take our eyes off of it because it might get worse, or it somehow […]
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