Living by Design: Strengthen Your Start Somewhere Mindset
Happy 2018! I’m starting a new series called, “Living By Design,” in which we will explore strategies that enhance our bodies’ ability to regenerate and restore. This inside-out philosophy will include learning the “why” of different health strategies as well as gaining a deeper understanding of blood test numbers and listening to the everyday signs and symptoms from your body. I am committed to helping you turn your “I need to” or “I should” into “I want to!” You can slowly, and virtually painlessly, change your health trajectory with small steps in the right direction.
Any behavior that becomes a lasting habit must originate from the inside-out, and it all begins with the right internal self talk. I have the utmost respect for Dr. Carol Dweck who has written several great books. My copy of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success is well loved — underlined, dog-eared, and highlighted with notes everywhere. It’s inspiring and practical information! Based on years of research and personal experience, Dr. Dweck found that students’ mindsets (how they perceived their abilities) was the key in their achievement and motivation and had a huge impact on their future success. Those who believed that their intelligence could be developed (the growth mindset) outperformed those people who believed that their intelligence was unchangeable (the fixed mindset). Because her studies were multi-year, this is absolutely credible research! It proves that you can strengthen your START SOMEWHERE mindset with simple strategies to increase your success rate as you adopt new vitality habits. I absolutely recommend this book!
Each week, I’ll be expanding on concepts and posting them in the daily Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday blogs. Then on Friday, the points will be summarized. Here are the points to remember from this week’s blog posts:
- Tuesday: Your healthspan is more relevant than your lifespan. Although our days are numbered, extending the number of quality years of living with purpose and vitality is within reach at any age.
- Wednesday: What fires together, wires together! As an experience is repeated over and over, the brain cell pathways for those thoughts and reactions get stronger and more automatic. Start firing with small, positive steps. Regardless of what is firing now, you can rewire it!
- Thursday: We all learned to crawl before we were able to run. Give yourself grace by STARTING SOMEWHERE with small, sustainable changes that don’t feel like deprivation.
Remember — the turtle won the race. It is never too late or too early to change your health trajectory and avoid or eliminate the cascading debilitation of lifestyle disease. Vitality begins with being fearless about your ability to impact your future. Join me as we START SOMEWHERE today. You can do it. I will help you.
Crockpot Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup (Salt & Lavender)
Feeling under the weather? This soup is a nice twist on the classic chicken noodle we all pine for when we’re sick.
You will need:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (organic/free range)2 large carrots, peeled & sliced2 sticks celery, chopped fine2 (10 fluid ounce) cans chicken broth or homemade4 cups vegetable broth (or water)4 cloves garlic, minced1/2 teaspoon dried basil1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning3 bay leavesJuice from 1 lemon (about 2 tbsp)Handful fresh parsley, chopped1 cup uncooked orzo (I use quinoa instead)Salt & pepper, to taste
Here’s the drill:
Prep your celery and carrot. Trim any fat off the chicken.Add all ingredients except for the salt & pepper, lemon juice, parsley, and orzo. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.About 30 minutes prior to serving, remove the bay leaves, shred the chicken with 2 forks, and add the lemon juice, parsley, orzo, and salt & pepper. I recommend stirring every 10 minutes or so because the orzo may stick to the bottom of the slow cooker otherwise. Serve immediately.
Strengthen your Start Somewhere mindset: “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” (Maria Robinson)