So I completed my ten days of meditation a couple days ago….it definitely became a habit!  I’ve kept it up and plan on continuing to do it every night before bed (or as needed).  I’ll admit, it was tougher than I thought to add in meditation every night…there were many late nights, especially while I was traveling, where all I wanted to do was crawl in bed and pass out.  But I still did my meditation…every night.  Even if it was only a 3 minute meditation, I still managed to get them in!  So if I can do it at midnight (when I had to wake up in a few short hours), then anyone can do it!!

I’ve noticed a few positive changes since adding it into my routine.  First, and the most obvious, is that I’ve been sleeping better.  I fall asleep faster because my mind isn’t racing with millions of thoughts, and I sleep through the night.  I wake up with a clear mind and my thoughts are much more positive throughout the day, as well!  That may not mean much to some people, but it’s amazing for me.  I have so many things to be positive for, but it’s often difficult to maintain that positive outlook all day, every day.  Meditation has helped me maintain that focus.

Another positive change I’ve noticed is that I’m much calmer…my anxiety is not quite as crazy as it can be.  I have a bad habit of overthinking things and going over everything in my mind again and again.  It. Drives. Me. Crazy.  Meditation has helped calm that down.  Another side effect is that my thoughts are much clearer.  They aren’t all jumbled up and all over the place.  I can’t tell you how amazing that is!  I seem to make decisions much easier, and I don’t go back and forth over what I should do, or worse, trying to figure out what is “expected” of me.

I’m so happy to get back into meditation and to have these amazing results, just in a few short days.  I know this is something I will continue doing and continue seeing great results!

I traveled to Charleston, SC last week, my home town.  It seemed to fly by!  I had so much fun and visited with a lot of friends I hadn’t seen in awhile.  I also got to see my family, which is always a plus!  And yes, I kept up with my meditation while I was there.  My aunt even asked me about it!  I hope she gets into it and sees the same great results I have!

It’s been nice to be home and get back into my routine.  I missed my kitchen and cooking and eating healthy.  Like I said above, I had a few late nights so I wasn’t getting my sleep and I was eating out every meal (obviously), so I know I didn’t always make the best choices.  Needless to say, I’ve had a few breakouts as a result.  But I know they’ll clear up now that I’m getting home and getting back into my normal eating habits!  The real takeaway is that I had an awesome week and enjoyed my time away!  Because in the end, we only live once!  So we may as well live it up :)

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend, and are getting some much needed rest and relaxation!

With love and wellness,

Whitney

PS – I had to throw this picture in because I think it’s hilarious. Meditation will help keep you calm…dating a crossfit chick helps too :P

Did you know it takes 30 days to make or break a habit?  Some of us have bad habits (think biting your fingernails or picking at your face/skin/scabs, etc.) that need to be broken while some of us have good habits we’d like to start.  A couple years ago, I only flossed right before going to the dentist, only because I didn’t want to get chastised for not having done it (and yes, my gums bled and they knew anyways).  So I vowed that I would start flossing and continue even after going to the dentist.  But it never stuck.  I’d do it for a couple days, then I’d get bored and would forget until the next time I went to the dentist.  Until a summer or two ago.  I read this awesome article about how it takes 30 days to make or break a habit.  I decided that I would try it.  I was a little skeptical…I had never stuck with it before.  But I tried it…and sure enough, to this day, I still floss every day.  The trick with doing this, however, is that you should only focus on one habit at a time.  More than that becomes overwhelming.  In reality, you can truly only focus on one thing at at time, so why stress yourself out trying to do more than that.  Besides, you can re-start this process every 30 days!!  And with doing it for 30 days, it gives you enough time to make it something you do without even thinking about it.  It honestly becomes a habit!!

What’s one thing that you’d like to work on over the next 30 days?  I mean, here we are, about to start 2015…let’s start it on a high note.  Do you want to set aside 30 minutes a day for self-care/love?  Do you want to start reading more?  Do you want to add in a daily exercise routine? Do you want to start going to bed earlier?  What about bad habits you want to break?  Do you want to quit smoking?  Do you want to stop biting your nails?  Do you want to stop complaining?

I know one of the big things that I do is complain.  I try not to, but it just creeps back in.  I have to really pay attention to what I’m saying every time I speak because the complaints kind of creep back in slowly but surely.  And the truth is I have an amazing life.  I have absolutely nothing to complain about.  Yes, I have bad moments/days, but that doesn’t mean my life is horrible.  I have a beautiful life full of wonderful people and I don’t want for anything (for the most part).  So my 30 day habit I’d like to break is to stop complaining.  It’s going to take a bit of work, but it’s what I want to focus on.

Let me know yours for the start of another beautiful year!  2015 is going to be amazing…there will be a lot of changes…but I’m so looking forward to it!

With love and wellness,

Whitney