Miracle Morning

I woke up this morning to JJ Virgin's podcast where she was interviewing Hal Elrod, the author of Miracle Morning. The thing that stood out the most to me was when he said that once he started getting up in the morning instead of hitting the snooze, he started accomplishing his goals and his income doubled! That makes sense to me. If you get up first thing and focus on the important things and "frame your day" as JJ called it, you can't help but succeed. It seems to be one of the top practices of the most successful people. I would like to say that I jumped out of bed right away and got with it, but I hit snooze a couple more times. It's a bad habit that I want to break, so I think I'll start by reading the book! 

Discipline - The Power of Habit

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

I love connecting with positive people online (and in person). I have some friends that share the most uplifting posts on Facebook. Today, my virtual friend Bruce Fowler shared his friend's post who shared quotes from the book The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. (Isn't it cool how you can learn through the power of social media?!)

Here is the part of the post that spoke to me:

"Unfortunately, many of us had discipline forced upon us as children. Naturally, we rebelled against an externally imposed structure. We were not shown that true discipline always comes from within, and the motivation for that urge is love. When we are doing what we love, when we are pursuing something that has meaning, discipline comes naturally... discipline liberates rather than confines you." ~ Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit

The word discipline has always struck terror in my inner child. I spent a lifetime running from discipline because I had discipline in the worst sense of the word forced upon me as a child. When I grew up, the word discipline was like a landfill where I tossed my pain from childhood. I stayed as far away from that word as I could.

Whatever definition you give discipline, look at the other end of the scale and that is where you would find me. I didn't use discipline in anything including myself or my kids. I ate what I wanted, I exercised if and when I wanted to, I spent money on whatever my kids or I wanted leaving bills unpaid, I worked when I wanted and I didn't tolerate anyone who tried to force discipline upon me including my employers. I quit jobs I loved because I refused to have any authority figure reigning over me doling out commands. I didn't discipline my children and wouldn't let anyone else discipline them either including their father. If he tried, it would cause a fight. I paid a high price for rebelling against discipline which extended beyond me to my family.

It took many years of personal development for me to accept that discipline can be a good thing and is absolutely necessary for success. The shift I had to make in my mind was away from associating discipline to external control and punishment. Even the dictionary defines discipline as punishment: "The practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience"... "Control that is gained by requiring that rules or orders be obeyed and punishing bad behavior"... "To punish (someone) as a way of making sure that rules or orders are obeyed."

Discipline = Punishment, Discipline = Control, Discipline = Obey, Discipline = Rules, Discipline = Pain... that was my association that made my innate flight or fight response kick in like nothing else I have ever experienced in my life. Even writing about the word and long-associated definitions makes me want to rebel.

Once I started studying personal development and successful people I realized that there is an entirely different meaning of the word discipline. It doesn't have to be a form of punishment. It can be for your greater good. Merriam-Webster also includes this expanded definition: "To train (yourself) to do something by controlling your behavior" and "To train or develop by instruction and exercise especially in self-control." It is this definition of discipline that I have come to respect and am becoming acquainted with after a quarter century of running away from it.

The post reminded me about the type of discipline that empowers you to pursue your passion and live a life of meaning and purpose. I was inspired to immediately get the referenced book, "The Power of Habit" so I can discover more about how to develop the discipline it takes to live my best life, reach my highest potential, and of course share my insights to help inspire others to live their best life too!

"Once you understand habits, it's like someone gave you a flashlight and a crowbar and you can get to work." ~ Charles Duhigg

What I found most fascinating about The Power of Habit is how it shines a bright light on discipline. No longer is it a dark, enforced obedience, but a neural pathway in your brain that is developed by your daily routine.

So, armed with this deeper understanding of habits, I am creating new habits that will help me stay on track with my Vegformation journey. My morning routine will include exercise just as brushing my teeth and taking a shower are part of my morning routine. I made an appointment to get a mani/pedi which I will use as a reward for my new habit of exercising first thing in the morning. I think I'm going to like this new way of forming habits!

Kathy G

facebook.com/vegformation

NEAR HIT 3 Feet From Gold

Have you ever had a near hit? Most people think about near misses - barely avoiding disaster. I think of near hits - barely missing success. Near hits when I was so close to the sweet spot of life and didn't even realize it.

One of those near hits was about 20 years ago when I left a corporate job to start a food truck called Health Wagon Concessions. I sold healthy treats at fairs and events. I thought surely people would want healthy alternatives to the deep fried foods offered at the fair. How wrong I was. People give themselves permission to indulge when they go to these once a year events. Sales at Health Wagon were dismal and after two summers I was out of business. My daughter told me my idea was before it's time and I believe it. Look how popular food trucks are now! Of course most of them still sell junk food. I remember the first time I saw deep fried vegetables at the fair. I thought why didn't I think of that?! It would make a perfect transition food to the raw veggies I was trying to get people to buy.

So along with my failed business also went my resolve to stay on the health wagon. My health and career spiraled downhill. I adopted the attitude of if you can't beat them, join them and I went back to looking forward to elephant ears and sugar laden lemonade at the fair too.

That experience was a near hit. I was so close to my passion and didn't even realize it. Even though I fell off the health wagon both in my health and career, neither thought ever completely left me. It has been nagging at me all these years to get it together. And like sleeping beauty waking from a food coma, I am left with 20/20 hindsight and the realization that it's never too late to pursue your dreams. I was three feet from gold and unlike the guy who sold his dream to someone else in the Napoleon Hill story, the gold is still there, waiting to be mined.

Keep digging.

Kathy G
facebook.com/vegformation 

Three Feet from Gold by Sharon Lechter and Greg Reid

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Self Sabotage and The Bug

Have you ever heard that song by Mary Chapin Carpenter called The Bug? I used to think that was an odd song, "Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug. Today that song makes sense. 

Sometimes I can clearly see what I want for my life like I'm looking through a crystal clear windshield and all lights are green. Go, go, go! I can see the destination, but am not quite there yet. Still I keep moving forward full throttle and feel like a champ for every step I take in the right direction.

Then there are days where I feel like a bug going a hundred miles an hour head on into that windshield. Splat! All my windshield days feel undone on my bug days. 

Self-sabotage is a curious thing. What possesses one to do things that are not in their best interest like eat junk food or to not do things that are in their best interest like exercise. 

I read, study, and listen to the experts for hours on end. It makes perfect sense when I hear their advice, yet I still put crap in my mouth! What gives? How will I ever change this limiting behavior? 

I've been told to go easy on myself when I slip up and I've also been told that I really must not want to be healthy and lose weight as much as I say I do if I don't stay on track. It's a battle I tell ya. I never been addicted to drugs in the traditional sense of the word, but I certainly feel addicted to SOS (sugar, oil, salt) and believe  that it is every bit as addictive as the strongest pharmaceutical drug. 

I wish I could afford to go to rehab - someplace like True North, Happy Oasis, Tree of Life, or even the Holistic Holiday at Sea - to detox, reset my brain, and get past old self-limiting habits without all the temptation around. But, that's not an option for me at the moment, so I will just have to keep scraping myself off the windshield, keep flapping my wings, and keep praying that one of these days I will fly. 

Kathy G

facebook.com/vegformation 

Daily Report

Exercise 

50 Squat & Reach

Meals 

B - 20 oz water, Few bites of cold oats (yuck)

L - 20 oz water, couple bites of steamed potatoes with ketchup, then went to Taco Bell - Taco Salad, Fiesta Potatoes, 4 cinnabons (dopamine rush!)

S - 1 and 1/2 breadsticks with cheese dip

D - 16 oz water, egg drop soup, spring roll, veggies with fried rice

S - Onion rings, Chocolate shake

I have updated the food journal the next morning because I ended up eating more food. It was a bad day eating wise and resembles many other days from my past where I gave in to cravings for junk food. The mistake I have made in the past is thinking that there are few consequences beyond an upset stomach and some weight gain. It's a vicious cycle that I realize I need help to shake. I'm going straight to the top on this one and asking God for help. 

Gratitude Journal

Five Things I am Grateful for today...

1. am grateful for second chances ten thousand times over 

2. I am grateful for forgiveness and need to practice it on myself 

3. I am grateful to be going to church tonight with my best friend because I think some of my cravings are actually spiritual hunger

4 I am grateful my son is overcoming his addiction and is starting a new job in a few days. I am so proud of him for being a warrior 

5. I am grateful for the bug days as hard as they are it makes me appreciate the windshield days and my inevitable success will be all the sweeter!