Keep the week going strong. The holiday weekend is fast approaching ( we all know you have been thinking about it). This is a good time to focus on the present and what you can do today.
Make a list of things that you know need to get done before the weekend. Write them down and get them taken care of. It will make your weekend more enjoyable and you can focus on having a great time.
It’s easy to look ahead to a long weekend. I am guilty of it! I actually did this yesterday. Having discipline to complete tasks in a timely manner will give you freedom to enjoy everything you are looking forward to! Try to be as present as possible, even when things are not going great. Live in the present, accomplish your goals and enjoy the life you create with your actions!
It’s summer and you can feel it with the 95 degree temperatures! On these days, we mostly crave light and refreshing meals. Keeping with that theme here is a wonderful light and crisp fruit salad.
You can substitute any fruit to your liking. Feel free to mix and match to your taste buds!
Ingredients:
4 Cups Watermelon
2 Cups Fresh Strawberries
2 Large Peaches cut into wedges
1 Cup Seedless Grapes, halved
2 Cups Blueberries
Fresh Lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh chopped mint
1/2 lemon, zested
1 Tablespoon honey
Directions:
Combine watermelon, strawberries, peaches, grapes and blueberries in a large mixing bowl.
Whisk lemon juice, mint, lemon zest, and honey together in a small bowl; drizzle over the fruit mixture and toss to coat.
I am always on the lookout for some new good reads. Below are some of my favorites.
I have read or are currently are reading all of these books. I find them all to have a great benefit both in the business world and in the personal realm. We will discuss some of these in more depth later in the blog!
Go ahead read over the descriptions. See if they interest you. We will dive into a few of those books in more depth later on. Explore their benefits and what we can possibly take away from their pages.
Weekends are a great time to relax and unwind. It is the perfect moment to unplug from your phone, iWatch, computer, tablet, TV. Doing this could be tough, but it has its rewards.
Take some time for yourself outside of electronics.
It’s important to take a break from the electronics from time to time. Try to do a full day. When the sun is out go out for a walk. Leave the headphones at home and enjoy the sounds of nature. Take mental photos and enjoy a conversation with a friend.
Connect with the outdoors at least once a week. Your body and mind will thank you.
Saturday. A day to get up early, exercise and eat a healthy breakfast without having to rush off to work!
Or….sleep in. Grab some coffee and try to fix that hangover. Whatever boat you are in or even if you’re somewhere in the middle here is a great recipe!
It is super easy and only has a few ingredients. What’s not to love?!
Greek Yogurt Pancakes
1 c. flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
2 eggs
1 2/3 c. Greek yogurt
Directions:
Combine the flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, stir the eggs and Greek yogurt, then fold it into the flour and baking powder mixture, forming a thick batter.
Pour batter on a sauté pan and cook over medium-low heat, using a silicone spatula or spoon to smooth out the batter into a 1/4-inch thick pancake shape (since the batter won’t spread easily on its own). Look for a the edge of the pancake to start to round out, forming a lip that you can easily slide a spatula under, after about 1-2 minutes of cooking. Lift the corner of the pancake, and if the bottom is lightly golden, slide the spatula all the way under and flip the pancake.
Cook until both sides are lightly golden. Repeat until you’ve used all of the batter.
Today’s post is short and sweet. It comes from an interaction I had last night with someone I had only met two times previously.
We will not delve into the specifics here. However, the take home point from the conversation is simple and profound.
You never know the positive impact you are having or have had on someone’s life. When you are being true to yourself and speaking from the heart great things result.
Even if the interactions have been minimal or you thought it was a run of the mill conversation.
Be yourself, smile, be positive, be reliable, live in gratitude.
Too many to list here and really they are all the same
At a young age we try everything with no fear. For better or for worse we give it a try. Dancing, singing, picking up things, throwing things. Along the way our “Lizard brain” (thank you Seth Godin for bringing it to my attention) is responsible for our primitive survival instincts, think fight or flight..or FEAR!
Constantly telling us we can’t do what we want. The lizard brain affects us because it doesn’t like achievement, risk or change. It holds us back from what we really want. You can only overcome it once you are aware of it. Well the good thing is…you are now!!
Think about a time you were scared or nervous to do something new. Then once you did it you wanted to do it again and again?! The lizard brain was scared of this new idea and wanted to hold you back. However, once you achieved it the rest of your body said “That was amazing Kev, let’s do that again!!!”
I am not going to say what you need to do to overcome your fear. One reason is because everyone has different fear for different reasons. The other is if you take my advice and then it doesn’t work….you are going to say “Well, Kevin said to try this and it didn’t work. I can’t do this. I am going to stop trying” (That isn’t Extreme Ownership, which we can learn from Jocko Willink. We will discuss that later in this blog 🙂
Think about what is holding you back from doing something you love. Nervous about the reactions from others? What will others think? Will I do it wrong? Will I be rejected?
WHO CARES?! DO IT!
Everyone has something they are scared of in their life. Holding them back from success in either business or in their personal life. Step up to the plate, overcome your lizard brain and achieve things you never thought possible!
Only you can make changes to your life. You hold the key to overcoming your fear. Put a smile on, get pumped and achieve!
Yep, we have all said those before! I am willing to bet you made that statement before reading this blog. Or perhaps yesterday after you just worked for 12 hours and the copier broke after you spilled hot coffee on your lap, all while trying to nail down your next meeting.
I get it, fitting time to exercise can feel hard some days and some weeks. The key is staying on top of it and making a habit of at least two days a week. Why do I say two days? My belief is that if you start at something you can achieve those two days will turn into three or four. As your habit builds, so will the results and your investment in your health will be worth it.
The first few minutes are the hardest.
That is true, the first bit of getting your heart rate and body going are the most difficult. Depending on your choice of movement for the day after five or ten minutes you are going to start feeling better and want to finish what you started.
Once your heart rate picks up to compensate for your change in intensity, your blood flow will increase and so will your energy.
Researchers at the University of Georgia found that sedentary, otherwise healthy adults who engaged in as little as 20 minutes of low-to-moderate aerobic exercise, three days a week for six consecutive weeks, reported feeling less fatigued and more energized.
The more you can get into a routine with consistent exercise the more energy you will have on a daily basis. Not only will that exercise session give you energy for that day, it can carry over to the following day and help you get a head start on the next morning!
The next time you want to sit down on the couch and just ‘relax’ think about going for a short walk. Enjoy what this summer has to offer and feel better doing it!
Summer can be a tough time to get in a workout outside given the heat. It’s 95 degrees as this is being written! With that in mind here is a body weight Tabata workout you can do indoors if you can’t be outside and not succumb to machine monotony!
Tabata is a form of high intensity work. Regular Tabata is 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest repeated 8 times with one exercise (Squats or pushups). However, that can be very tough and boring as well. Below is a modified version of Tabata using more than one exercise and increasing the rest time to make it a little easier. If you are well conditioned you can stick with the 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. Otherwise, I would suggest starting with 20 seconds of work and 20 seconds of rest. You will rest for 2 minutes after each full Tabata set, then repeat that whole set 4 total times with the full break after each set.
– Rest 2 minutes after going through this set. Repeat the above work and the 2 minute rest 3 more times for a total of 4 sets.
A nice feature of the above workout is you can take it outside early or late evening when it is cooler. You just need a small patch of grass and some motivating tunes!
Chances are your alarm went off this morning and a few things came into your head.
S*** it’s Monday and I can’t sleep in
Traffic is going to be brutal
I’m really tired can I just lay here for a while?
Those are just a few samplings I have heard and experienced. Feel free to add you own. Then you can re-create from the sounds of it, a “beautiful and empowering morning!” (I am still getting used to this blog thing. So that was sarcasm if I didn’t lay it our clearly. 🙂
This isn’t going to be a rah rah rah you’re the best and Monday’s are awesome speech. Even though I am capable of delivering it. If you need one let me know!
It’s about using the tools you already have to alter your mind set and create greatness whenever your mind or body want to create doubt. We can bathe in self-depreciation and doubt all day because it is easy. What are you left with at the end of the day? A feeling of exhaustion, less self worth, and an overall bad attitude?
Make small changes to your mindset and self talk to create an unstoppable you. Instead of casting doubt on your talents, abilities and how terrible your week will be. Start your day with a positive affirmation and smile. You will be surprised how much different you will FEEL. The way you FEEL will dictate your day and the best part is. YOU can CONTROL how you FEEL!
Don’t believe me? Try one or all five of the following things when you wake up feeling crummy, stuck in traffic, just got into an argument, etc, you get the idea.
Smile (It’s really that easy)
Say OUT LOUD 3 things you are thankful for in your life. Insert them into the following sentence “I am so happy and thankful for…..”
Put on your favorite good mood song and sing along to the whole thing!
Think about what makes you happy everyday (children, spouse, pet, your car) Say out loud “Driving in my awesome 2004 Sebring makes me feel like a total badass”
Find a quite spot and breathe easy for 5 minutes. Each inhale focus on your breath. Each exhale smile
Life is about feeling. You can change yours in one minute or one second. Remember, you can only truly control you and your thoughts. So why not take those thoughts and make them positive? Make them life altering. Give your thoughts power to make you feel amazing and unstoppable! We are all full of greatness, don’t be afraid to dig deep and find yours.
For the betterment of you and everyone in your life….Dominate your DAY!!
Make it the best day!
-K
(I do realize I used some all caps words up there. Normally I stray away from that. However, those words are important and I would yell them at you if we sitting in the same room 🙂
Functional Range Conditioning and joint mobility specialist
