Naturally Challenging: One Week Down! Stomping Past Self-sabotage!

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Phew, I made it through the first week! I posted a new blog post every day for seven days in a row. That is a new record for me. In fact, I’ve always been pretty pleased with myself if I posted weekly. However, this is not the time to rest on my new laurels (…perhaps a bit of an over-statement but you get the gist.) I still have 23 more posts to go after today.

Procrastination and I may have parted ways last week but that little devil, Self-sabotage, is still lurking around, waiting for a chance to strike. It’s funny because you need almost super human awareness to realize that it is even happening. It can look like procrastination but the difference is that procrastination usually stops you from starting something in the first place. Self-sabotage creeps in when you are going strong on a project. It happens like this:

7am

“I need to sit down and write…. but first let me take a shower,” (even though I took one a mere 10 hours ago.)

8am

“I feel clean! Now I can write… I am just going to check my email first… real quick.”

(Who even knows what happened between 9am and 11am…)

11am

“I know I need to write but let me just reorganize this cabinet right now because it is bothering me.”

All of the sudden the day is over, the post didn’t get written. Then the feelings of humiliation and failure come in and Self-sabotage reigns victorious. If I let that happen, I would have only myself to blame. Where does this self-sabotaging tendency even come from? Why would anyone do it to herself?

I am not a therapist but I suspect it is a way of dealing with insecurity. Putting things off after proving yourself capable of accomplishing them; seems to me, to be a form of self-denial. It is way of not dealing with the new potentially painful thoughts that might come up like:

“Yeah, I am making headway on my goal but does it really matter?”

“Will people care about what I write?”

“I am not making money from this. Should I be doing something else with my time?”

“What if I don’t make my goal? What if I do then what next?”

Usually once I start asking myself questions like these, my accommodating brain will bring up evidence or rather memories that will support these doubts and fears. I use the word “memories” because they are not actual proof of anything. Just because I failed to complete some writing projects in the past, does not mean I will fail this time. Also, remembering doubts and fears other people have projected onto me are not facts, regarding what I am truly capable of accomplishing. They are just opinions. (… And you know that old phrase about opinions!)

I feel pretty confident I am going to make it all the way through this challenge despite the shadow of self-sabotage, attempting to keep step with me today. I made myself a promise that I would do it for myself, no one else. It doesn’t mean that I am not watching the click reports like a hawk at times. In fact, I beam with happiness and gratitude whenever someone takes the time to leave me a comment. (…no pressure!) I just have finally figured out that it is my opinion that matters the most! I don’t need permission or approval from anyone else to do something. Knowing that now makes all the difference!

Does Self-sabotage ever stop you when you are making progress? Please leave me a reply in the comments section. I love hearing from you!

Many blessings to all,

Cynthia

Blessings to all,

Cynthia

Now for Something Completely Different… Naturally!

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A few months ago, I signed up for daily writing prompts on www.sarahselecky.com. I needed some external inspiration… and reminders I ought to be writing. Although, it is aimed more at fiction writers, I find her prompts have helped me to get my brain chugging.

Often, she will send out prompts that ask you to write a scene with seemingly incongruent elements like yellow sports cars and fingerling potatoes. My first reaction is usually, “what? how?” Then my brain sets about answering those questions. My pen flies over the paper (by the way, her rule is you must write by hand in a notebook) and suddenly it all makes sense.

Today’s prompt was more of a challenge than a scene:

Write about something that is too sweet. Describe without using the word “sweet” (obviously.)

Write by hand, in your notebook for at least ten minutes.

This is what I wrote:

My eyes grew wide as I looked at the triple chocolate mousse that the server placed in front of me. It looked so pretty in a silver-trimmed piece of glass stemware. The deep dark brown confection was whipped about an inch above the rim of the glass. Shavings of more dark chocolate graced the top in fragrant curls.

I felt a pleasant tingle of anticipation as I picked the spoon and slid it into the dreamy dessert. I placed that first decadent spoonful into my mouth and closed my eyes to savor it. I was transported to chocolate heaven for a moment. Waves of pleasure radiated from my mouth to my belly as that first bite melted.

I eagerly scooped up another spoonful. The second bite was good but perhaps a bit too sugary. My teeth began to hurt with the third bite. A hard pit formed in my stomach. The luscious bit of cool deliciousness turned on me in my own my mouth. It seemed to be assaulting my taste buds with a thousand tiny arrows. I forced my new frenemy down with a big gulp of water. Slight nausea rose back up. I set my spoon down and pushed my plate away. I was done!

Blessings to all,

Cynthia

Unnatural Necessity: Making the Daily Commute Delightful!

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Delightful Commuting? Okay, that may always be a bit of stretch but there are ways to make the daily crawl better. Trust me, I’m an expert! I’ve been driving on average three hours a day, five days a week for two years and 10 months. The first year really sucked but I have learned a few tips and tricks that I will now pass onto you.

Tip #1: Be prepared

Shit happens sometimes. When you have over 30 miles to cover each way like I do, you’re going to be late from time to time. I live on an island. So, when there’s an accident (or two or three) you just sit at a total standstill for a half hour, utterly trapped. However, if you’re already running late when you encounter a mess like that… you’re going to be massively late and you don’t want that to happen. So, make sure you are out the door in enough time to reasonably make it to work.

Tip #2: Get as much as you can done before you leave

This is something I just learned recently. The morning is when you will have the most energy. If you are like me and spend easily half the day at work or going to and from it, you’re going to be tired at night. I usually come home, shower, eat dinner, relax a little and go to sleep. Exercise is not going to happen at night for me. I would also recommend that you do something every day that makes you happy before you leave. So, you’ll have something to smile about on your way to work.

Tip #3 Make your nose happy

I am a fan of aromatherapy. I have an arsenal of essential oils that I use daily on me, around me and sometimes in me. I diffuse scent in my car as well as my home. You can too. All it takes is a little diffuser that you can plug into your car’s cigarette lighter socket. I can change the scent in the car to suit my mood (or improve it.) Stuck in traffic, I might go with lavender. If I feel sluggish, I might reach for grapefruit or peppermint. Peppermint, by the way, is really great for motion sickness!

Tip #4 Make your ears happy

I used to listen to news throughout my whole commute. Big mistake! I often felt crabby and irritable or sad by the time I got to work, about all the miserable things being reported that I felt helpless to change. Now, I mostly listen to audiobooks. A long commute is a great time to indulge in your favorite genre, finally “read” the classics you never seem to get to or take time for self-improvement. Of course, there is always music. Just make sure you’re paying attention and not playing a big air guitar or dashboard drum solo!

Tip#5 Stretch when you get out of the car

When you are stuck, seated, in your car for a long time, you tend to want to jump out of the car and run into your destination. Try slowly making your way out of your vehicle. Stretch your legs and rotate your feet before standing. Then stretch your arms overhead, shifting your weight to both sides and stretching up from center. Rotate your shoulders. Twist from side to side. Have you ever noticed your dog or cat doing this when they have been curled up for a while? It’s natural for them. Try it. You’ll like it!

Tip #6 Change up your route from time to time

Familiarity breeds contempt. Taking the same route five days a week, every week, year after year, can feel relentless, repetitive… boring! Change it up sometimes. Every once in a while, I’ll go a little out of my way and drive home along the water. Seeing the water always makes me happy. Instead of stopping for gas when you get home, pull off the parkway where the traffic backs up and get it early. You’ll get a little break and ensure you won’t leave it off until tomorrow because you were too tired when you got home. Also, it’s good for your brain! (More on this in another post.)

I hope you found some of these tips helpful. What do you do to make your commute bearable? Please leave a reply in the comments section. I would love to hear from you!

Blessings to all,

Cynthia

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Natural Way to Start the Day: Summertime Smoothie

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Summer is the season of the green smoothie! You can get all your ingredients fresh from the Farmer’s Market. The best foods for our bodies are the ones that are available in season. Getting fruit and veggies from the Farmer’s market ensures that they were grown locally and that they were picked when ripe.

I start every morning with a green smoothie. (When I didn’t get to make it yesterday. I really REALLY missed it!) Here is what I have been putting in my blender lately:

Summertime Green Smoothie Recipe

Two big handfuls of Kale

The juice of a quarter slice of lemon

One peach, stone removed but skin intact

One cup of almond milk

One banana

Two tablespoons of Chia Seeds (These are rich in protein and fiber!)

I usually just throw it all in the blender and whirl it up. If I remember I will soak the chia seeds in the almond milk first. (Soaking seeds speeds up the time in which you digest them.) Most of the time, I just toss them in the blender with everything else. They still get the job done!

Another variation on this recipe that I like is to replace the peach with a few slices of melon. I try not to go overboard on the fruit. Although it is healthy, spiking your sugar first thing in the morning might have you crashing soon after you get to work.

Do you drink green smoothies in the morning? What do you put in yours? Please let me know in the comments section. I would love to hear from you.

Many blessings to All,

Cynthia

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Natural Lady: Red Raspberry Leaf to the Rescue!

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Any woman who has ever suffered from PMS and menstrual symptoms knows it feels like torture just to get through the day. Cramps, fatigue, headaches, bloating, food cravings, irritability… the list of crappy things that make life a trial for a week to two weeks every single month seems endless! It’s embarrassing to me that I didn’t know before this year, there is a natural remedy that helps mightily with all these symptoms, Red Raspberry Leaf!

I endured bad menstrual symptoms for decades. Although I always prefer to use natural remedies when I am ailing, it was hard to get through a really bad period without popping Advil or Pamprin. I would do my best to avoid it. I found some relief from cramps with Lemon Balm tea (an anti-spasmodic) but if I got a headache, it was all over, I reached for the over-the-counter meds. Then a few months ago, I was researching some other herb and came across Red Raspberry Leaf. It was a total coincidence that I am forever grateful for!

I was skeptical that one herb would help relieve all my symptoms but I was willing to try anything. Unbelievably, it worked right away. My cramps were gone within 40 minutes of taking it and stayed gone for many hours afterward. The fatigue and foggy head feeling lifted. I felt more like myself. You know how when you have when you have a bad period; you don’t even feel quite human? Gone! Mood swings- gone! Cravings- gone! (This is a big deal for me. When I have my period, I usually can’t get enough salt which, of course, didn’t help with the bloating.) Red Raspberry Leaf thankfully does help with the bloating too!

I don’t know if results are the same for every woman but I will share with you what I do. I take one herbal capsule each day, starting a few days before I expect my period to arrive. When I get my period, usually I can get by with one capsule in the morning and one before I go to bed. However, I carry the bottle with me and if I begin to get crampy, I will take another one, similar to how I used to take Advil, as needed. So far, so good! This has been working for me for my last three cycles. I have read other women prefer to drink Red Raspberry Leaf tea daily and that works for them. I like the sound of that but prefer the convenience of capsules.

So, if you experience painful, tortuous periods, you may want to give Red Raspberry Leaf a try. Please let me know what natural remedies you have used when you have your period in the comments section. I would love to hear from you!

Many blessings to all,

Cynthia

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Naturally Fit and Kind: Walk ‘dem Puppies!

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You know, I am hard-pressed to think of another activity that has more benefits than walking dogs. Yet, I haven’t had the best track record for doing it.

Chauncy and I walked twice a day, every day, back when we lived in my apartment. It was necessary. My yard was small and not fenced well enough that I was comfortable leaving him alone in it. When I moved in with family after Hurricane Sandy (and had to stay after the accident) I tried to keep up our walks for a while, now joined by my parents’ Bichon Frise, Lucy. I had to stop while I was healing. Since my folks have a fenced-in yard; the daily necessity wasn’t there. Other excuses like time, my long commute to work, snow and having the energy, also came up regularly.

Lucy and Chauncy do both love their walks! They actually cry and shake with happy excitement when the leashes come out after a long stretch without a constitutional. I would try to at least get them out on weekends but I knew it wasn’t enough. Then when I noticed that picking them was like hefting two big sacks of potatoes, I knew I needed to make sure they got more exercise. Quite frankly, I knew I needed to get more exercise!

Discipline, once more, has gotten me to arrange my schedule and organize my time in order to get them out every morning like clockwork. We’ve been at it for just over a week. Let me tell you, it may take humans up to 60 some odd days to form a new habit but it takes dogs less than five! As soon as I am done meditating, I now have two sets of dark eyes boring into me, imploring me to get my sneakers on faster.

Do you have a dog? If you don’t already do it; I would strongly encourage you to walk him, her or them daily. They will be fitter and healthier. You will be fitter and healthier. They will appreciate the opportunity to have a life outside your property. You will feel great about taking such good care of your furry kids. Atop of all that, there is something really wonderful about an early morning walk. It’s quiet and peaceful. You feel more attuned to nature. It’s an excellent opportunity to clear your mind or maybe count your blessings… starting with pets who give so much but ask for so little!

When was the last time you took a stroll with your pooch? Do you think you might try a daily walk? Please let me know in the comments section. I would love to hear from you!

Chauncy and Lucy at the ready!

Many blessings to all,

Cynthia

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Natural Pain-Relieving Beverage: Turmeric Milk

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A few months ago, I found out that my neck had been injured quite severely over the years. I will go into more detail on this in a future post but one of the things I found out is that I essentially have arthritis in my neck, as a result.

I knew that I wanted to find a more natural way of handling the pain, which at times could be quite severe. So, I started researching natural remedies and turmeric kept coming up again and again.

Turmeric is an Asian spice. You have probably had it in curry or commercially-produced yellow mustard. Turmeric is a natural anti-inflammatory. Curcumin is the component in turmeric that is most often cited for blocking inflammation and having positive effects in treating arthritis. Turmeric has also shown promising results in treating and preventing cancer, as well as, Alzheimer’s.

I add turmeric into certain dishes and often include it in my salad dressing. One of the tastiest ways that I have discovered to take turmeric is to drink it in a warm beverage. It tastes a bit like chai tea but a little earthier

Turmeric Milk:

One Cup of Milk (I use almond milk)

One Heaping Teaspoon of Turmeric

One Teaspoon of Honey

A Generous Sprinkle of Cinnamon

A Pinch of Nutmeg

Put the cup of milk in a saucepan and heat on low. Add the other ingredients. Stir until the honey is dissolved. Do not boil it! Just gently warm it. It should be pleasantly warm, not hot. Put in your favorite mug and enjoy!

Will you try Turmeric Milk? Do you have a favorite natural and delicious drink to deal with a health ailment? Let me know in the comments section. I would love to hear from you.

Many blessings to All,

Cynthia

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Naturally Determined: So Long Procrastination!

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We’re off to a strong start. Discipline has made it very clear that there will be no interlopers in our relationship this month. Procrastination and Excuses must be kicked to the curb!

“What has procrastination ever done for you that makes you remain so loyal to it?”

– Erin Sands

Awwww, sweet, sweet Procrastination! We’ve spent quite a bit of time together. It’s hard to imagine my life without it. Procrastination has always made it so easy on me. I don’t consider myself among the 20% of people who chronically procrastinate.* I know how to meet a deadline and work hard to avoid letting other people down. However, I have often fallen short on meeting my personal goals and keeping promises to myself.

Procrastination has shown me how to ignore my goals and ambitions by introducing me to The Excuses, who help me to justify my lack of action. (As a side note- I have always found it amusing that procrastinate, is a verb, since it means to put off doing something.)

Procrastination is like that well-meaning friend who would let you get away with murder. You know who I mean. He or she will tell you things like:

“Ah go ahead have seconds. It’s okay you have been eating SO healthy lately. This one time won’t hurt.” Or “Oh, it’s okay that you spent the whole day binge-watching The Real Housewives, you worked SO hard this week. You needed a break!”

Unlike like that well-meaning friend though, procrastination will always keep you stuck. Procrastination is so easy. Procrastination makes no demands on you. You literally have to do nothing! Procrastination will never force you beyond your comfort zone. Of course, procrastinating will never get you anywhere you dream of going.

So, bound by my commitment to Discipline, I wave goodbye to Procrastination and The Excuses. I remain determined to complete my August adventure of posting a new blog post every day… only 30 more to go!

What is procrastination keeping you from accomplishing? Let me know in the comments section.

Many Blessings to All,

Cynthia

* Psychology Today, Procrastination Ten Things to Know, Hara Estroff Marano, 2003

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Naturally Disciplined

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Discipline. (Sigh!) Discipline and I have a very, well, undisciplined relationship. It’s not Discipline’s fault at all! I take full responsibility. Discipline is not the one with commitment issues. It’s all me.

I am conflicted. I love the idea of daily practices and rituals and see the value in them. Yet, I also detest the idea of living the same day over and over. Afterall, what’s natural about practicing, rigidly going through the same steps repeatedly? NOTHING! Plants don’t need discipline to grow. The wind doesn’t need discipline to blow. The rain doesn’t do reps!

Alas, I am not a plant, rain or the wind (…but how cool would that be?) Growing as a human is more than just physical; we strive to accomplish goals and achieve our passions. These feats require discipline, I have accomplished goals in my life, throughout my on again/off again relationship with discipline but I know I can do more. In fact, I want to do more.

So Discipline… I’m ready to committ finally! Let’s start with writing, an area I have been particularly lax in lately. Every day for the month of August, my intention is to put up a new blog post. This should be interesting, depending on what else is going on. Some posts might be quite short. Some may be a trifle too long. Some might suck! Maybe some will be helpful and enjoyable. I hope so. Time will tell…

Please join Discipline and me for our August adventure. Check up on us often and see how we are doing.

Many blessings,

Cynthia

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

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Cynthia Lenz's Naturally Healthy and Happy Blog

Be healthy and happy…naturally!

Naturally Challenging: One Week Down! Stomping Past Self-sabotage!

Now for Something Completely Different… Naturally!

Unnatural Necessity: Making the Daily Commute Delightful!

Natural Way to Start the Day: Summertime Smoothie

Natural Lady: Red Raspberry Leaf to the Rescue!

Naturally Fit and Kind: Walk ‘dem Puppies!

Natural Pain-Relieving Beverage: Turmeric Milk

Naturally Determined: So Long Procrastination!

Naturally Disciplined

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins