The Mind IS Everything

"If you get the mind right, the body simply follows." ~Roman Price

I've heard Roman say this quote and I've always understood it, but today I truly experienced what he has been talking about. Today I went to school, then I worked the after-school program and after that I felt exhausted, but knew I needed to move my body. So I forced the negative thoughts out of my head and got my workout clothes on. But during my workout my thoughts were out of control. I was thinking of my homework, school, friends, and then writing a post about the mind out of control (ironic I know). My mind wasn't in the workout and it showed. I could not push myself as hard, my form wasn't as good, and I had much more of a desire to take breaks. I found myself stopping in the middle of my workout to think about what I am going to do next, instead of staying in the present moment and giving my body the workout it needed. After today's experience, I wrote an affirmation that applies to my mind during my workouts (and life in general). Here it is:

"When I find myself thinking about the future or past, I remind myself to focus my mind and energy on the present moment."

What to Eat When Traveling?

I apologize for not posting in so long! I went to Hawaii for a week and then when I returned home I had an extremely hard time adjusting to the time change. Finally, five days later, I seem to be back to my normal self. The fifteen hours of traveling each way inspired me to write this post.

Lesson One: Do NOT expect the airport or airplane to have tons of options or even any options. I flew into LAX (Continental terminal) with high expectations. For some reason in my head, I thought LAX would have a bunch of healthy food choices; smoothies, semi-decent salads. I was wrong. Thank goodness I made an amazing trail mix that I was able to snack on:)

Lesson Two: Plan ahead. As dorky as this may sound, it was really important. On the way home, I knew I would land in LA right at breakfast time. So before we left I went to a natural food market in Hawaii. I bought raw protein powder and a raw cacao gogi bar for my breakfast. Because I knew in the morning I was going to need protein and some superfood power to get me through the second six hour flight:)

Lesson Three: Stay hydrated. Drinking lots of water really helped me through my travels. Even though I hated having to pee so much due to my increase in consumption of water, I knew I felt a lot better because I was hydrated.

What do I suggest to bring for food?
~Individual Packets of Protein Powder (you can buy a water bottle after you get through security and you are good to go)
~Individual Packets of Peanut Butter or Almond Butter (bring an apple or maybe a whole grain cracker to combo it with)
~Fruit (apple, banana etc.)
~Make Your Own Trail Mix-fill your trail mix with what you desire! For me, I was craving raw cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds, raisins, and a bit of dark chocolate:)
~Greens Protein Bars
~Vigilant Eats (a gluten free, organic, oat based, cereal)

If you are in airport and you forget to bring food, Starbucks can be found practically everywhere and you can find a balanced choice there. I suggest the protein platter if you find yourself in that situation.

Hope these suggestions help with your travels:)

Motivation To Help Stay Healthy

Working Out. Being Active. Staying Fit.

I think deep down all of us want to be healthy. We want to look our best; feel our best. But we have to initiate the want. We have to motivate ourselves to stay healthy; to choose the veggies over the potato chips; to go for a run, instead of sitting on the couch and watching television. But how? What is it that is going to keep you from choosing the "easy road"; the one we have been habitually traveling down? For me, I pick a specific event that I want to look and feel my best for. That's what motivates me. When I am working out, I like to picture my workout goals. If I want to focus on the abs, when I am doing my ab routine, I'll envision the abs I want. Same goes for any other part of my body that I am looking to tone. Don't focus on the negative, instead focus on the positive. Focus on your goals. The more energy you put into achieving your goals, the more likely you are to reach them. It's that simple.

Stressed? Overwhelmed?

Sometimes I forgot blogging should also reflect on personal experiences. So I am here to reflect on my current state of feeling overwhelmed. Yes, I too get overwhelmed. But if I think about it I am choosing to feel stressed and go into the state of "Oh my goodness, there's too much work!" I think it's easier for us to feel stressed, then it is to take a step back and look at the situation. When I step back and look, I am better able to assess what I need to do-I then can decided what's important and what can wait. Sometimes I'll even write down everything I feel like I need to do, then I'll look back and see everything I wrote down and realize that I a lot of what I felt like I needed to accomplish, in reality, wasn't an immediate concern. I feel in our heads we tend to make things a lot bigger and of more importance, but in reality it isn't life or death, yet we make ourselves believe it is. For example, during my driving test, I was able to step back and recognize that if I failed (which I didn't) no one was going to die, I was still going to be okay, I would still have a home to come home to, and my family would still love me. Once I was able to recognize that, then I didn't feel so stressed. The test didn't seem so monumental. I think as teens we can get caught up in things that seem monumental to us, but in reality are very small compared to what's going on in the world. Here's what I suggest when you feel overwhelmed: Write It Down. Look Back. Recognize What's Important and What Can Wait. But do this honestly! You have to be honest with yourself. You do yourself no good lying and saying everything's important and you have to do everything right now. Everything will get done, and probably you'll do everything at a much higher quality when you're not stressed and attacking the situation from a practical and calm mindset.

How to Survive Your Road Test

Yes I somehow managed to survive and PASS my road test (may I add, by some miracle, as I was extremely nervous). I feel as if I have accomplished a major teenage milestone. Wow is it a great feeling (and a relief)! I do have some tips to stay sane before and during the test that helped me. One practice beforehand, but not right before. This is a personal suggestion as I am one who like to practices as much as possible the day before and then the day off just try to stay calm and focused, but if you are one who like to practice or study for a test the day of-go ahead. I, personally, knew I was comfortable and ready. I didn't want to practice the day of because I thought it might add to my stress (especially if I messed up). Two, stay in the present moment. I am one who will over think everything, but it helped me to stay calm by reminding myself to be present. I noticed I was making myself nervous over the test by trying to guess what would happen. So I turned it around by being aware of my thoughts and how they were affecting my nerves. This helped me to separate my nerves from my reality, so in the moment of the test I was able to be present and not let my nervous thoughts control my test. Last but not least, take care of your body beforehand-eat well and be well rested. Make sure your body has the best possible fuel to perform at it's peak performance. I know it seems silly that what you eat can affect your road test, but you want to be your best possible self and functioning at your full potential, so help your body out and eat well and sleep the night before (as hard as it might be). Some eggs with turkey bacon and fresh fruit or a protein smoothie are two great options to eat beforehand. One thing I suggest you don't do is leave the car running and run out when the DMV person tells you "you passed"-I did that and I really don't recommend it, but hey! I still got my license!