2013 was a FANTASTIC YEAR!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  WOW!!  

WHAT A YEAR FOR beLIeVE FITNESS!!  

WOW!!  Can you believe it is the last day of 2013?  I am still amazed at how quickly the year seemed to just fly by.  As I sit here today, I am overwhelmed with emotions.  I am so THANKFUL for each one of you and the POSITIVE IMPACT you have had on my life this year.  I am BLESSED to have the opportunity to walk along side of you-coaching and encouraging you along your journey to live healthy on a daily basis.  You are AMAZING!!  

I am anxiously awaiting the INCREDIBLE events that will take place in 2014-I BELIEVE that they are going to be AWESOME!!  Each of you have your own path/journey in life and I am excited to see where your path takes you in the new year.  Enjoy your ride.  You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and smile/laugh and enjoy it!!

COME ON GET HAPPY!!

I came across this today as I was readying.  As you finish out 2013, it could be a good time to think about how you can do things better in 2014-maybe it is to be happier.  I just wanted to share this with you-It is from IDEA Fitness Journal.

Want to live a longer and better life? Increase your happiness! Contrary to old notions that happiness is shallow or naïve, there is a growing body of evidence that happiness is beneficial for morbidity (risk of illness), survival of illness and longevity (Diener & Chan 2011). Diener and Chan’s research review suggests that high subjective well-being may add 4–10 years of life compared with low subjective well-being (and the years will also be more enjoyable than they would have been for less happy people, the authors note!).

So how do you become happier? Mary Monroe, a freelance writer in the Los Angeles area, shares some insights from happiness experts.

Exercise Helps

“Exercise may well be the most effective instant happiness booster of all activities,” says researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky in her book, The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want(Penguin 2007). A review of over 50 studies confirmed that there is sufficient evidence to show that even single sessions of activity can improve mood, and people who are more active are more likely to rate themselves and their mental well-being more positively (Fox 1999).

Move From Negative to Positive

In addition to exercise, you need to take in good experiences to feel happier and more confident. This helps you defeat the brain’s negativity bias, which is like Velcro® for bad experiences but Teflon® for positive ones, notes Rick Hanson, PhD, in his book, Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time (New Harbinger 2011). Mental activity, such as meditation, can reshape the brain and help it focus on the positive.

Train the Brain to Be Happy

You can also “trick” the brain to take in the good or to deeply savor positive experiences, says Hanson. He suggests that by holding positive experiences in awareness for 10, 20 or even 30 seconds, you can train your brain to remember them, helping to offset the natural inclination to forget the positive and remember the negative.

SIDEBAR: Cultivate Happiness

What helps someone become happier depends on the person, says researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky. “However, when we research strategies, the two that are often at the top of the list are physical activity and acts of kindness,” she says. “They seem to work better because they’re more tangible.” In fact, doing a kindness produces the single most reliable momentary increase in well-being of any research method tested by Martin Seligman, PhD, widely recognized as the father of positive psychology (Seligman 2011). He recommends doing one wholly unexpected kind thing tomorrow and noticing what happens to your mood.

Elaine O’Brien, MAPP, a University of Pennsylvania Positive Psychology Leader and graduate student at Temple University, offers these additional strategies for fostering happiness:

Express gratitude. “Gratitude is one of the most powerful interventions for well-being,” she says. “You can do simple things, such as write a letter of thanks to someone important in your life,” notes O’Brien, who is a group fitness instructor and fitness presenter.

Or try this exercise from Robert A. Emmons’s book Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2007): Bring attention to your breathing and, for five to eight breaths, say, “Thank you,” silently.

Focus on your strengths. Identify your strengths and use them in new ways every day. You can take online tests at www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu, in the Values and Action Inventory section, to identify strengths such as wisdom, courage, fairness, leadership, home, humor or spirituality.

Create meaning. Talk with friends and family about what makes life meaningful for you. You can create meaning together, as a community, through food drives or charitable projects; and by acknowledging meaningful moments, such as anniversaries, graduations or other accomplishments.

2013-WOW!!

2013 was an INCREDIBLE year at beLIeVE Fitness!!  I am very thankful for you and the POSITIVE IMPACT you have had in my life this year.  I am AMAZED at the progress each one of you have made during the year.  Success doesn't happen overnight.  For those of you who are currently facing some challenges or obstacles in your life, know that you WILL get through them.  You gotta keep your mind right, your head strong, and you must keep on fighting the good fight.  This is when your mind should start crafting your big goals for 2014.  I BELIEVE that the planning process is critical to success and I LOVE sharing what I've learned with you.  So let's start thinking about your goals for 2014-Let's make this happen!!  I am looking forward to continuing down the road of healthy living through out 2014.  

Happy New Year!!  2013 will sure be a year where we can start to make some changes-I came across this in my reading this weekend and thought I would share them with you.  As you spend time reflecting on 2012 and begin to prepare for 2013 and all the possibilities consider these 10 points.

1. Understand Your Present Situation

Do you feel connected to the real causes of your current situation? Are you aware of the 

challenges that are holding you back and preventing you from moving forward? When you 

fully open up and understand your present situation you build the awareness for healthy 

change. The truth that resides deep inside will set you free - allowing you to achieve new 

levels of healthy success!

2. Discover What's Driving You

Learn the core motivations that are driving your life. You have conscious and unconscious 

needs  that  are driving your positive and negative thoughts and actions. Now you will

discover the cause and effect of your ongoing drives so you can satisfy your needs. Learning 

what drives you helps to lead you away from destructive behaviors  that cover up your

needs, and towards actions that liberate you.  

3. Streamline & Simplify

The speed of our culture increases every day and the chaotic life demands can cause you to 

lose your focus on achieving your desired goals in a healthy manner. Learn how to 

restructure and reorganize your life—getting more done in less time by focusing your 

energy on what really matters. Streamlining your life will help direct the proper attention 

and energy to your next best step.

4. Tell a More Optimistic Story

Your personal story has been developing since childhood and through your ancestral 

history. The story you tell and how you tell it serves as the framework for how you view 

and interact with the world around you. How you tell your story is also a factor on how 

others perceive you. Learn how your story impacts your lifestyle. Learn how to drop the 

weight of the past and expand your optimism that attracts and manifests the life you want. 

5. Build a Supportive Team

Building a lifestyle where everything depends on you will lead you nowhere and only fuel 

an unhealthy future. Learn how to create and nurture a supportive team of personal and 

professional relationships that understand, accept and empower you to live with positive 

accountability and reinforced energy. Your success can be powered by the positive 

influence and support of others who share your goals. Building that team is an  essential 

element to your lifestyle success.