Self Love Exercise – Part 10

Posted on September 8, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Take time to write in your Radical Self Love Journal… & be sure to carry it around with you!

There’s no better feeling than carrying around a notebook full of your dreams, goals, prayers & wishes. Journalling has been going on for a long time for a very good reason: it helps us realise who we are.

This has been a fun series to write about! It has brought about self-awareness for me and expanded my way of thinking. One of these is that I carry around a note book that my former personal assistant Kitty called the “blue sparkly note book”. I keep it in my back pack and pull it out when an idea or a thought occurs to me. I have horrible short-term memory so it helps me to also remember little things I’ve promised to do and have a place to jot down when it’s done.

I am starting a new business when I get home later this month (I fly 1 week and 5 days!!! WOOT!!!) and my blue, sparkly note book has been a great place to journal my hopes and expectations for the business, business ideas that POP into my head, business ideas that I get from friends and family and bloggy friends.

I also use the journal to write down how I’m feeling about myself. It’s a great place to pat myself on the back, write down affirmations and gratitude. I also write down prayers, hopes and blessings for those around me. Prayers for friends on trips, helping others, going through surgery, running races, going through triumphs and trials… they are all written in my Blue Sparkly Note Book.

self love, self esteem, self confidence, journaling

Until we LOVE OURSELVES, we cannot properly LOVE OTHERS.

Do you keep a journal? What is the last thing you wrote about in it? Mine is a blessing for a fellow blogger who is running a triathlon today (Saturday)… good luck Sandra 🙂

Ciao!

Edited to add a pic of my Blue Sparkly Notebook 🙂

journal, blue sparkly notebook, self love

My Blue Sparkly Notebook!

Self Love Exercises – Part 8

Posted on August 30, 2012 by flamidwyfe

From the Feel Good Tribe
8. Don’t be afraid to change direction if you realize something isn’t working out for you anymore.

Wow… this is a hard one for many of us. Often times we stay where we are because it’s just easier, or we feel committed, or we have kids, or or or.

I had to do this last year when I was MISERABLE in Al Ain working for a crazy person. I SO, SO, SO wanted to stay in the UAE and Abu Dhabi and I hung in there as long as I possibly could and I ate away my misery and put on 25 pounds in 6 months on my already obese frame. It was awful… comfort eating KFC chicken AND McD’s french fries EVERY.SINGLE.NIGHT. Food I actually rarely ate in the first place!

But sometimes you need to bite the bullet and make a change for the positive. There were a few midwives that I worked with in Abu Dhabi who were so miserable that no one wanted to be around them… they complained about work and their home life constantly (this was at my first job there, the one that I really loved). I said to one of them one day, “if you are so miserable, why do you stay?”… she is still there… going on 8 miserable years, away from her family and home country… odd.

I am making a HUGE change… going home after living abroad for 4 years AND changing vocations… from midwife to health and fitness focus. It’s a big step. A scary step, but I’m doing it unafraid, because I know I can accomplish anything I set my mind to!

Ciao!

A quote from a post a couple of years ago (warning, grab the tissues if you read the post!). The quote is from my dad, who came to me in a dream my first night walking the Camino de Santiago in 2010:
“Sandi, sometimes going right isn´t always the right way to go”. ~ Thomas Sandelier, II

Here’s a pic from that day:

I would love to see how much easier it would be to do this walk without that extra 100 pounds!!! 🙂

Self Love Exercises – Part 6

Posted on August 24, 2012 by flamidwyfe

From the Good Tribe:

>>6. Take time to redefine your boundaries. These boundaries may be emotional, physical or mental; they may relate to work, relationships or your health. You might look at these areas of your life & realize that everything is going swimmingly, in which case, great! But you might examine them & see that you’ve got a bit of work to do.

Do you say “yes” when you mean “no”? Do you take on other people’s work or problems as if they are your own? Do you feel that in your relationship, the only person who ever compromises is you? It’s time to put your foot down & stand up for yourself. No one else can do it for you!<<

So this isn’t a problem for me here in China… but I am heading home in 3 weeks and 6 days and one of my previous problems was saying NO. For a couple of months now I’ve been writing out my goals for when I return home and affirmations to continue on the path of wellness… physically and emotionally. One of the things I will have to practice actively and intentionally will be saying NO. I’m a pushover. Always have been and I LOVE helping others, but often it is to the detriment of my well-being… so here’s an upfront notice to my peeps… I’ll be saying NO more often. It’s not because I don’t love you or have “changed” from living overseas, it’s because I must in order to maintain my sanity and be happy with our relationships… I’ll still say YES at times, but mostly when it’s good for me! Just setting healthy boundaries and loving myself… Got it? GREAT! I think it’s going to be awesome to be home 😀

Do you have a hard time saying NO?

Ciao!

Self Love Exercise – Part 5

Posted on August 22, 2012 by flamidwyfe

From the Feel Good Tribe…

#5 Start making a list of things you really want to do, but are slightly terrified about.

I wrote my Bucket List January 1 and updated it in April. It’s due for an update now, but it also needs a couple things added.

1. Start my diet and fitness business with the intention of it being huge. I have been working on the concept for several months with some wonderful friends, via emails and messaging. Between suggestions from several people close to me, we came up with a name on August 6 at 1212 pm 🙂
Stayed tuned for updates!

2. Successfully home school Sydnie for this school year. Her mom is doing it the first 4 weeks, but I’m involved even from so far away! I will take over the duties when I get home in 4 weeks and I’m super excited!!

I plan on updating my annual Bucket List later this week. Hoping my tummy troubles resolve soon, as I’m on Day 4 and exhausted from it! I’m on a train from Guangzhou to Hong Kong right now on a mandatory visa run, wishing my tummy felt better!

Ciao!