Tips for Finding Motivation

I'm in the midst of a lovely mid-autumn day.  The sky is clear, the air crisp and my desire to do anything besides stay in my pajamas drinking coffee strong.  On days like these I know that I should be up doing something - working out, writing, connecting with others but my motivation for doing so is, or until a few hours ago, lacking.

Some days when I experience these feelings, I am able to power through.  I'll convince myself to go for a run because that is what I 'should' do.  I come back from my run feeling energized or a least as though I accomplished something positive for my body.   Or I'll convince myself to just write one page and see how I feel afterward.  Typically, I'm able to fill that page and my ideas flow into more.

But then there are days that I experienced today.  Where I just don't want to do anything beyond crawling back into bed and pulling the covers over my head.  At least that is where my external desires lie.  But another part of me knows I should and could accomplish more in my day. 

So I did allow myself an extra bit of time to linger over my coffee this morning.  But then I gave into one of my biggest motivators to accomplish things - my youngest daughter.  She regularly asks for 'Mommy and me days'.  She has for years.  These days involve time for just the two of us and she plans out a day of fun stuff for us to do.  My daughter has been asking for a mommy and me day for almost a month but our schedules have not been free for a few hours together.  So when I felt like doing nothing today, I thought of how lucky I am to have a daughter who helps me see the fun side of life wanting to hang out and planned for a day outside doing stuff together.

On our little excursion I took a lot of pictures of our time out together.  Normally I would try to be fully present with where we were, but it was my daughter's idea to share our time in a blog post...

Here are my tips for finding motivation to do more in the day when the inspiration is lacking...

•   have a shower and use citrus shampoo or soap – that scent is invigorating

•   get dressed in something beyond sweats - a nice shirt or scarf; clothing that makes you feel dressed up

•   get outside - fresh air has a wonderful way of waking up all of the senses

•   do something that gets your blood pumping even just for 5 minutes - exercise stimulates the body and the mind

•   spend time with someone (or an animal) who helps you find joy in everyday things (or be that person for yourself)

•   be grateful for the opportunity to immerse yourself in something you love

Fun Food Friday - Butternut Squash Tomato Soup

I love soups.  Fall is the perfect time to tuck into a soothing bowl of soup and with all of the vegetables at their peak harvest it is the perfect time for root vegetables or squash to take centre stage.  

I had a beautiful butternut squash which I usually enjoy roasted.  But today I felt like making it into a soup.  The problem, though when I make butternut squash soup it often takes on the texture of baby food and I don't enjoy it.  So I got thinking about the wonderful soups I do like and tomato popped into my mind.  Then a perfect thought came - tomato butternut squash soup!

Both tomatoes and squash are full of antioxidants and fibre plus a whole host of other benefits and they both taste amazing.  For this soup I wanted it to have a tomatoey italian type feel.  So I added oregano and some goat cheese.  The cheese added a lovely creaminess to it.  Not a bit like baby food!

Butternut Squash Tomato Soup

by Denise Boyd Dunlop

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

6075647

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 medium butternut squash peeled and chopped
• 1 can tomatoes
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable soup stock
• 2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoon sea salt
• approximately 4 tablespoons goat cheese

Instructions

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onion until transparent. Add squash and cook until squash begins to caramelize. About 2-5 minutes. Add garlic and oregano. Cook for 1 minute longer. Pour stock into pan and bring to a boil. Simmer until squash is tender. Add salt. Add tomatoes and bring to simmer, breaking tomatoes up with spoon. Using and immersion blender or regular blender process until smooth or slightly chunky.

Divide among bowls garnish with goat cheese and pepper.

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Work Out Wednesday - TRX Pikes

Continuing with my favourite TRX moves.  Move number 9 is the TRX pike.  This is a fantastic whole body exercise.  The momentum of the move is controlled by the abs, but you work your shoulders, upper back and quads as well.

The key to allowing this move to target the abdominal muscles is to move slowly throughout the motion.  If you try to rush through your exercise you will be relying on the momentum of the straps to move your back to the start position and will be over using your hip flexors to raise up to your pike.  During everyday activities and for people who run and cycle our hip flexors work hard enough.  By concentrating on the upward movement in your straps you can really isolate and work your abs.

Here are the steps for working through the perfect TRX pike.

1. Adjust your straps to mid-calf length.  With your feet in the straps face down set yourself up into a plank.
2. Once you have ensured you are in a strong plank position, wrists under shoulders, core and upper back engaged.  Slowly raise your hips by pulling your feet toward you with straight legs.
3. Once you have reached the peak of your pike, slowly lower the legs to your start position.  
4. Re-establish your plank and repeat for 8-12 reps.

The key to successfully completing this move is to go slow.  I typically raise up for at least a count of 2 and lower for a count of 4 focusing the entire time on core engagement.

This is an intermediate move so it is really important to listen to your body throughout the exercise.  If you feel any pinching in the low back or shoulders, that is your cue to readjust or stop the exercise.

Meditation

Meditation - This word is everywhere. Mainstream media as well as social media talk endlessly about the benefits of regular meditation practices.  According to multiple psychological studies it has been reported through a regular meditation practice you begin forming new neuropathic pathways within your brain.  The benefits of these new pathways has been related to many benefits to your overall health.


Some of the benefits you experience after eight weeks of meditation include lower blood pressure, strengthening your immune and experiencing a more relaxed state of mind.  Regular mediation practice has been shown to increase the amount of activity in your brain that regulates your emotions allowing you to respond in a more thoughtful manner as opposed to a reactive response.  In addition to these benefits meditation may also lead to improved problem solving abilities.  Remember the new pathways forming in your brain?  Thanks to activating different areas and thinking patterns, without even realizing it you have the ability to view situations and problems in a different manner.  


With all of those benefits who wouldn't want to give meditation a try?  

Well, most people.  Meditation can be work.  Its just like creating a regular exercise program.  If a new habit is not going to easily integrated into your day, you will find excuses not to meditate.  I used to attend bi-weekly guided meditations during my lunch hour.  When I was able to attend on a regular basis it worked great for me.  But often I found excuses.  The building was too cold, some of the other meditators were too loud or I just wanted to eat lunch.  


After I switched jobs, I no longer had access to the meditation.  I tried meditating on my own, just sitting in silence but I either fell asleep or my thoughts were all over the place.  But then I discovered Headspace.  I am not getting any type of promotional support or benefits from Headspace, I'm just reporting on what works for me.


I subscribed to this app a year and a half ago and have been using it regularly.  What works so well about meditating using this app is that it is so easy.  I have it on my phone so I can meditate anywhere.  Typically, I meditate first thing in the morning to establish a routine for myself but having the app on my phone allows me to meditate anywhere.  I have done my meditation on the beach, hotel rooms, even in the car on road trips while my husband drives.  Also you can choose the type of meditation you want to do.  

After the initial introduction there are series of meditations focusing on various areas such as happiness, stress, focus and so on.  Each series targets different patterns in your thinking and gently tries to reframe your thought process.


The most significant change in my frame of mind from having meditated as long as I have is I realize how temporary our thoughts are.  That realization was huge for me.  Andy Puddingcomb the creator of headspace points out the temporary nature of our thoughts and emotions.  After acknowledging sometimes, I am just having a negative thought but this thought temporary. I understood that new emotions and thoughts surface all of the time. I was able to reframe my outlook essentially lessening the severity of the bad mood if not eliminating it.


So what makes this meditation work for me boils down to these few things:

1  - It is easy.  On my phone, I click on the day I am meditating on and it begins.

2  - I have a regular time to meditate.  For me, its first thing in the morning while my coffee brews.

3  - I have a regular space to meditate in - my home office.

4  - Headspace tracks your progress and you get rewards for meditating for certain numbers of days in a row.  This feature is especially rewarding if you have a personality type that likes numbers based results.

A year and a half of a regular habit is pretty significant in my opinion.  I have missed a few days here and there from meditating but never more than 2 or 3 in a row.  I consider the time I sit a way to ease myself into the day.  I use this time to set my intention for what I want my day to look like and what frame of mind I see myself accomplishing it in.  

I'm not sure I can verify that meditation has saved my life or anything that extreme but I do know that my responses to situations have become much less reactive.  I don't feel a huge rush of 'negative' emotions during stressful situations.  I am constantly trying to improve and work on my focus.  There are days that I struggle to control my 'monkey-mind'.  During those times I try to remember to concentrate on my breath and try not to 'try' too hard.  I try to remember the 'blue sky' image that Andy teaches.  Just like when we fly in an airplane and rise above the clouds to a blue sky, underneath all of the thoughts and emotions we are feeling there is calm within all of us.