Raising Energy Awareness

There are many aspects of health that can affect our energy levels. They include –

o Physical – what we eat and drink, exercise, sleep/rest routine
o Mental – how we think
o Emotional – how we feel
o Spiritual – how centred and hopeful we feel

The purpose of this exercise is to easily and quickly find an answer and direction as to why you may be feeling low on energy.

When you eat a balanced diet; including mostly fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, proteins, yogurt and oats your body will function much better each day. You will be able to sustain energy throughout the day rather than have ups and downs. It has been found very beneficial to each 5 small meals per day rather than 2 or 3 large meals. In this way you support your digestion and you feel hungry less.

Exercise increases our energy; this is a well known fact. People who exercise regularly are reported to feel better about themselves, sleep better and they are able to think better.

How you think and feel has an enormous affect on your wellbeing and energy. Have you ever found yourself worrying over something or stressed in your environment, only to find that at the end of each day you are absolutely exhausted? Then when you go to sleep your mind is racing and a good night’s sleep is impossible. The good news is that you can control this cycle.

There are many models and tools that show you how to think positively and raise your awareness to a place where you have choices. Discovering these and adapting them into what works for you is a valuable experience. Being positive is not just about having a set of positive affirmations; it is more about being aware of what your internal dialogue is telling you and making changes where you find thoughts that are not true or inspiring to you. Giving up the put downs is a good start.

Emotional health is so important yet quite often forgotten. If you are happy you feel good, you act with purpose, you even hold yourself upright and looking proud. If you are sad you feel bad, stoop and approach life with fear and caution. If you are grateful for all you have you see opportunities and are open to more and always seem to have the energy to get it. When you are caught up in not having what you want that is all you see and it is quite exhausting.

Having goals and focus has been said to be the driving force behind a lot of successful people. Knowing where you are heading and having hope for a better future can allow you to be centred; only using energy on useful activities and not on activities that leave you feeling drained of your energy reserves.

Most of all, there is nothing like having fun to feel more energised and a wonderful sense of wellbeing. Surround yourself with people, experiences and things that uplift you and you will find that each day excites you rather than drains and overwhelms you.

In closing a quote from Jerry Gillies:
’It takes a lot more energy to fail than to succeed, since it takes a lot of concentrated energy to hold on to beliefs that don't work.’

Kirsty O'Callaghan
www.unity-qld.com.au

What I Now Know (W.I.N.K) Is to look for the Awesome

How long has it been since you have stopped to smell those proverbial roses? Are you caught up in a life that just seems filled with chaos, drama and passes by in what seems like a complete blur?

I know from experience that it is really easy to get caught up in all those things that we believe are so important that we don't see, or forget to look for all those little things about life that are truly awesome.

There are times in all our lives that it can be really hard to find the greatness in anything, when it seems you are traveling a never-ending path of pain and suffering. That so called light at the end of the tunnel has been distinguished and seems to be completely non-existing.

Last week I came across a blog that has helped me to look for those things that can bring a smile to your face. You can start walking that path of happiness by revisiting a time when life was full of innocence and remember how it felt to experience something for the first time. The blog is called "1000 Awesome Things" and has been turned into two books called "The Book of Awesome" and "The Book of Even More Awesome".

I want to give you a small sample of the awesome things on this list.

- Real bearded Santa’s
- Using rock-paper-scissors to settle anything
- The smell of rain
- Eating cookies like the cookie monster
- Getting a trucker to blow their horn
- Baby’s toes
- The other side of your pillow
- Celebrating your pet’s birthday even though they have no idea what's going on

I am putting a challenge out there for you all to go to this site where I'm sure you will find something in this list that will give you a good laugh, or at the very least, bring a smile to your face. I'm sure there is something awesome there for everyone.

Lynda Alderton
For www.unity-qld.com.au

Finding Your High and Low Energy Times

Everybody has times during the day where you will feel more get up and go, mentally and/or physically, than other times.

Our bodies go through a natural cycle throughout the day which at times produces more output, at times needs rest or sleep and to slow down, occasionally requires energy for digestion and internal operations and frequently needs refuelling.

The best way to find out your best and not so good output times is to journal over the next week the following:-

-The time/s when you feel you think more clearly and quickly
-The time/s when you feel you have more energy to do physical activities
-The time/s when you feel you are hungry and thirsty
-The time/s when you feel you need to slow down
-The time/s when you feel you are tired
-The time/s when you feel you need to clear your mind
-The time/s when you feel you are calmer
-The time/s when you feel irritated
-The time/s when you feel focused
-The time/s when you feel you can take in and retain information
-The time/s when you notice that you have to read or listen to the same thing more than once or twice to have it sink it

After a week you may find a pattern emerging as to your high and low energy times of the day. Around this pattern you can appropriately organise your activities to get the most out of each days expectations; as well as being aware of your own self care needs.

It has been found that following a routine that embraces your natural energy cycles can boost your performance as well as increasing your self esteem and confidence in your own abilities.

Kirsty O’Callaghan
www.unity-qld.com.au

W.I.N.K. (What I Now Know) There is a big difference between giving and sharing

Do you consider yourself to be a giving person? Is there a price you pay for this?

I was a giving person and I always thought this was a great part of my character. There was a definite price I paid. I didn't realize that every time I gave something to someone else I was taking something away from me. You know that feeling, when the events and people in your life slowly chip away at you until you feel yourself diminishing in size and stature.

So how do you actively participate in the relationships and the roles in your life without losing yourself or handing everything over? I believe I have found an answer for myself and hope that it might be the answer for others as well. I have decided to reword and rethink how I do things. I am no longer what I consider to be a giving person and have replaced that with now being a sharing person. I can now share myself with others rather than give pieces of myself away.

I have found that by doing this it has changed the way I view almost everything in my life and I no longer feel diminished, drained or burnt out. I am really looking forward to my future full of sharing.

To my little Sis; we may not have been very successful at sharing when we were kids, but I am grateful we have the opportunity to do better and change that as adults. Happy Birthday.

Lynda Alderton
for www.unity-qld.com.au

What I Now Know (W.I.N.K) How to make scars disappear

Do you have a scar you can't get rid of? Is it a scar that the rest of the world can see, or is it one you keep hidden from sight? Is it a physical scar or an emotional scar? Can you really have one without the other? Do you wear a cover or mask over your scar, so you hope no one will see?

I bare the scars both physically and emotionally from my past 20 surgeries. I thought if I covered up these scars and kept them hidden from sight, no one would see. I was so wrong. A physical scar may change how you look, but an emotional scar will change who you are. It will stop you from being the person you are meant to be, and doing the things you were meant to do.

So the question is posed - Can you really make a scar disappear? Do you attempt to have the scar removed, only to find you end up creating another scar?

For me it became apparent that my physical and emotional scars were now the definition of who I had become. When I stopped and realised that my life story was a sad one, I new that wasn't what or who I was meant to be. It has now occurred to me that maybe I could use my scars to inspire, educate and encourage others who also bare scars. I now believe I have these scars for a reason, so I will take the lessons I have learnt from them and put them to good use. Through doing this, I couldn't have been more surprised to find my emotional scars starting to fade, which also led to my physical scars no longer being a prominent part of my life. I certainly don't view them in quite the same way as I used to. My physical scars to me are definitely disappearing.

So here is my recipe for making scars disappear: -
* 20 tablespoons of hope (tip the left over despair down the drain)
* 10 litres of joy
* 30 cups of those people who love and support you
* 1 whole truckload of self-love
* 40 cups of gratitude

Mix these ingredients all together and completely submerge yourself in it for the rest of your life. Of course, good vitamin E oil won't hurt either.
My wish is that someday we will all be able to view our own and others scars in a different light, and that maybe we could even wear them with pride.

Lynda Alderton
for www.unity-qld.com.au

We have entered our blog in the Sydney Writers’ Centre’s Best Australian Blog 2011 Competition. We have also entered the People’s Choice Award, voting for this category will open on Monday 18 April 2011, so click vote for us. http://www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au/

Thank you for your continued support.

W.I.N.K (What I Now Know) That I am sick of being sick!

Are you sick of being sick? Are you sick of feeling the loss of control that comes with constant illness? I have shared with you all in my past WINK's, my struggle with illness, which has been a huge part of my life for over 20 years. I unknowingly became a person who only identified with being sick, dependent and powerless. It was a very lonely time in my life, as I felt the people around me, (as hard as they tried), couldn’t possibly understand how I was feeling both physically and mentally. I thought I needed people to sympathize with me and treat me with a "poor you" attitude.

The turning point in my life came when after yet another medical crisis, I met Kirsty, who's attitude towards me and my situation was, "that must have been awful for you, but what are you going to do now?" My initial response was to do what I was used to doing, which was to just wait until the next medical crisis pulled me under. It was all I had learnt how to do, and I had become very good at it. Somewhere in those 20 years I had stopped believing there was anything I could do about it.

Instead of going with my initial response, I decided there must be more to me than this sad story, so I dug a little deeper. I realized I had no idea what I could do to create a different outcome. Through my coaching with Kirsty and a lot of self-education I have learnt there is a whole lot I can do. I am working towards and putting in place some big changes. Instead of feeling like my body had let me down in the past, I now know that I won't let my body down in the future.

Lynda Alderton
for www.unity-qld.com.au