I am having trouble comprehending that it is almost Labor Day. 2012 has gotten away from me fast! I saw 5 Tips to Finish Your Year Strong on Mind Body Green and it really resonated with me.
I would recommend reading this article and giving Kim Shand’s recommendations some thought. I was especially drawn to #5 after my recent few weeks at work:
5. Create boundaries around your health and well being that no one is allowed to cross. We don’t always have an instinct to stand up for ourselves and, when we do, we often feel bad about it. Creating personal boundaries can be the single most transformational action you take this year. Implementing this strategy often means making difficult choices and saying “no.” It’s important to be clear with yourself and others as to where your boundaries are, and to resist the temptation to defend or apologize for enforcing these guidelines. “I’d help you fix your PC for the fifth time this month, but I’m not taking on extra projects right now.” “I agreed to organize that conference for you, but I realize I can’t give it the time it deserves, so I’ll find you someone else.” If you start to feel the guilt creep in, call it out for what it is. You’re feeling guilty about prioritizing your own well being! That’s not a good reason to change your strategy. Drop the guilt baggage on the side of the road. You are moving on to finish your year strong.
This is such great advice and soooo hard to follow. As I have mentioned several times in the past few months, one of the things I really want to do for me (and my health) is to learn to meditate and practice it! Maureen sent me a great website to learn more.
At Headspace (“The world’s first ‘gym membership for the mind’”), a subscription service with over 270 hours of available instruction, there are daily lessons and programs, as well as additional content and a great blog. These can be viewed on a PC or via a mobile app. The “Take 10” program is free so you can see if this works for you. The site has great graphics (and Andy “the Jamie Oliver of meditation” has a cool British accent!) and is easy to use. At Maureen’s suggestion, I signed up for Take 10 and will let you know how it goes. The intro and 1st lesson were less than 20 minutes in total and I really enjoyed them. The program pricing is pretty reasonable – Maureen and I were discussing that sometimes paying for something makes us use it. (I also really liked Andy’s blog post this week on holding a grudge. I may have a little crush on Andy – sorry Neal ;))
What do you think? Do you subscribe to any online paid services? If so, do you use them? If you are interested in meditation, check out the Take 10 at headspace and let me know what you think!
Links I Like:
– Lauren’s Nutrition Energy Newsletter has some great Fall Training Commandments (I kind of hate but especially believe #1 1) Weight loss does NOT usually just happen when training for a race. Instead, it requires careful planning to be sure you’re not eating like you would for those long runs, every day of the week! Thou shalt not eat like you have run 20 miles unless you have run 20 miles. Good reminder! (here are some tips on managing your weight and miles from Runners World, too.) Check out the rest of her commandments and 8 Great Work Out Foods by Lauren on Cotton Candy – and I am not just posting that b/c I had #1 for breakfast today. Well, maybe a little!
– I keep finding more awesome apps for my phone (and yours…) I need to do some spring – I mean fall – cleaning on my phone and try some of these from Daily Candy for Staying Connected or iVillage for organizing your home and life
– Another thing I want to make time for (25 hour day anyone??) is the “Top 20 Ted Talks“. Maybe I can watch one of those after each meditation (or before?)
– Do you know where your candidates stand? How about the other guys? Even if you’re politically savvy, it can still be tough to know where the candidates actually stand. Here to help is ElectNext, a free new website for determining which candidates share your views. (I have not tried this yet but it is on my list!)
Deals and a Chance to Win for a Great Cause!
– Like the Boss (Bruce that is) and helping people? Donate $10 to the Greater Chicago Food Depository and be entered to win two VIP passes to his sold out 9/7 show in Chicago!! (One entry for every $10 donated.) The drawing ends on Noon (CST) Sept. 4. ENTER HERE. (Not from Chicago? If you win, I know someone with an awesome guest room here.)
– Hey runners – Gearbuzz has a great deal (50% off) on Okabashi Flip Flops in cool colors. They look like an awesome post race solution!
– Gilt City has 50% off on Minted.Com What is Minted? Minted is a global community of independent graphic designers and an online store that prints and sells the best of their designs in the form of paper goods. They have great personalized items for back to school and cool holiday card designs if you are ready to get a jump on the holidays! (Not on Gilt City’s email list, use this link to register and get 20% off your first purchase.)
-City Sports is having a great sale on it’s outlet items for Labor Day – buy 2 or more items and use the code LABORDAY to get an additional 20% off of already low prices on a great selection of shoes, apparel and gear. (Heck there are tons of Labor Day deal codes for all kinds of stores – I found the prices and sizes on this one to be surprisingly good.)
Looking for new experiences? Daily Candy Deals has a great deal (67% off) on a chocolate making class with Chocolat’s Uzma Sharif in Pilsen and 50% off on Downtown Culture Passes in NYC (and lots of other great deals in major metros and online!) Travelzoo has $10 for a bike rental and ice cream in Central Park in NYC!
That’s all for now! I hope your long weekend is filled with friends, family and fun and some well deserved rest!