Does a New Year have to mean a new you?

The much anticipated 2013 has arrived (yes we survived the apocalypse - well at least I think we did!), and another year begins. But what will this one have in store for you?

Many people take the opportunity to make resolutions to themselves;

• to start something

 

• to give up something

 

• to try to be better at something

 

• to learn something

 

However come the end of the month, or maybe even that’s being a little generous, maybe by today… many of these will have become a distant memory or worse still an object used to remind yourself of another failure.

But this doesn’t have to be the way for you – there is another way…

It’s a while since I have given you a coaching challenge, but this is a great way to set up the year ahead

Coaching Challenge

Why not use this time of year to reflect on what has gone before, take these learnings and carry them forward for an inspirational new year?

Give yourself 30-60 minutes to think about the following:

1. What went well
   What were your successes, what were you proud of, what were your greatest achievements?

 

1. What lessons did you learn
   These could be great lessons and new skills, or they could come from something more painful, either way you know more now than you did this time last year!

 

1. Actions inspired
   What are you inspired to do, to learn, to create to explore, to move forward with?

 

What went well?
To remind yourself of what went well you might want to look back over your calendar or diary. You can include:

• Any achievements you had – no matter how big or small include them all

 

• Classes you attended

 

• Weight you have let go off

 

• Bad habits you have removed from your life

 

• Good habits you have introduced

 

Lessons Learned
Reflect on the lessons that you have learned during the past year, these may have come easily or they  perhaps took more learning, don’t be tempted to see these as failures but as the opportunity to change and not do them again…

Actions Inspired
Now look back at your notes from the first two points. As you reflect upon your successes and lessons learned what do you want to take forward with you into 2013?

These can be habits or changes that you are pleased with and want to continue with, perhaps you want to make changes through your lessons learned or perhaps you feel ready to create some new positive habits?

Try to list at least 5 – 10 actions that you want to create or take forward with you as we embrace 2013.

Have fun and enjoy!

I’d love to know what you are taking forward into 2013 – just comment below x

Free Book Giveaway

Are you feeling lucky?

Would like to win a copy of my book

‘Turn Your Shine On:
Your Raw Food Journey to Health and Happiness’?

If so it’s simple…

All you have to do is sign up to my free 33 day Kickstart program

Each day, until the program begins I will be giving a Kindle version of my book away to a lucky winner (That’s at least 8 lucky winners)

And if that wasn’t enough tomorrow and next Sunday there will also be a winner who receives a hard copy of my book

That’s means there will be at least 10 winners!!

All winners will be picked random

What are you waiting for?

To learn more about the 33 day Turn Your Shine On Kickstart program click here

Food – Are you on a high or a low

Our relationship with food, is at best complex.

Over the years I’ve worked with hundreds and hundreds of women, and each one of them at some point in their life had an issue with food or their body image.

In fact most of these women had put their life on hold whilst they battled with their weight, saying that they would make their next move, take the next opportunity etc… once they got to their magic dress size or lost a certain amount of weight.

Can you relate to this?

Shining Challenge

I want you to think back over your life and chart the Highs and Lows of your relationship with food.

• Get a large piece of paper and along the bottom of it put the years or your different ages, then up the left hand side of the page write the word ‘high’ at the top and ‘low’ at the bottom.
• Then scan throughout your life and mark on particular highs and lows that you’ve experienced over the years.
• As you look at your chart do any of your highs or lows with food coincide with events in your life or perhaps different diet plans that you have followed?

If yours looks anything like mine does it will have its highs and lows, in fact mine looks like a very exciting roller coaster ride!

If like I was, you’re ready to get off this rollercoaster I have the perfect announcement for you…

I’m delighted to let you know that it’s finally Ready!

My new Step Up, Clean Up program is ready.

This is a 30 day program where you will shape up your body, your life and get your future in order.

So, if you are ready to get off the highs and lows of food and are ready to Step Up and Clean Up click here

Welcome to Shine on Raw

Happy Birthday to Shine on Raw!! 

This is the very first post that I wrote – one year ago to the day: 

I am pleased that you are here to join me in the adventure to increase your Shine using raw foods. 

Shine is your natural state of being; harmonious and in alignment with nature and your higher purpose. However many of us have forgotten or lost contact with this connection. 

A major reason for this disconnect is our use of food. Instead of eating to nurture and nourish ourselves we have developed a very complex relationship with food and often use it to mask other issues. 

We may eat because we are stressed, to comfort ourselves or to celebrate. Some people don’t eat so that they can literally ‘disappear’ and not be seen by the world, others may eat to excess to build up a layer of ‘protection’ and others use food as something to control in a world that appears full of chaos. 

The food that we eat creates our body and the way that we experience the world 

So imagine what it would feel like…, how your life would be…., if your relationship with food was free of these issues? What could you achieve if the food you ate supported you, nurtured you and created a body, mind, heart and soul that was balanced, in harmony and aligned with your greatest purpose? 

• What would you do?
• What would you achieve?
• What would you feel called to do?

It is my suggestion to you that by following a lifestyle that contains delicious food in its natural state, full of life force and abundant Shine, will increase the overall Shine in your life. 

In my experience following this lifestyle is an amazing journey into self discovery where the possibilities are only limited by your own imagination. 

As with all good journeys there are three key stages: 

1. Get Ready – You need to focus and understand where you are starting your journey from, what condition you are in, are you prepared, and what tools and equipment do you have and what else do you need?
2. Get Set – You need to know where it is that you are going and importantly, why it is that you want to go there. It also helps to have a map so that you can plan and know what to expect.
3. Go – You need to take your first steps on your journey and have your tools ready in case you come across any obstacles.

If you would like a more focused outline to your own adventure I have put together a free e-course for you “The 3 Simple Steps that you must take to Shine on Raw”, to receive this all you need to do is fill in your name and email details in the box at the top of this page and you can have instant access to it. 

So where is it that you would like to go?

Kiss your life Hello

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln

Is it about time that you lived your life to the full?

Here are my top 5 questions to get the most out of your life:

1. Who do you love, and what are you doing about it?

Are you spending enough time with those you love, if not what can you do to change that? Are there old feelings that you are now ready to let go off?

2. Are you pursuing your dream, or are you allowing fear to stop you?

Do you know what your dreams are, what have you always wanted to do? Have you given up on your dreams or are you afraid of failing? If you are already moving towards your dream – Brilliant, keep it up!

3. Are you doing something that you feel matters and makes a difference?

Often we are busy, or don’t have time, but are you spending your days making a contribution that you are proud of.

Remember – How you spend your day, is how  you spend your life.

If you’re not sure ask yourself the question: “Will this matter in five years?”

4. Are you the person that you want to be?

Would you want to be your friend? Are you working on becoming the best version of yourself? It’s not easy to do this, and don’t be discouraged when you make a mistake or make an unsupportive choice, but be aware and keep striving to be who you want to be, who you want to be remembered as.

5. What are you doing so that you can live a life of passion, health and energy?

Learn to live a healthy life, filled with good foods and exercise – really take the time to find what works for you. This will lead to you having more energy in your life. You can then direct this energy into something you’re passionate about.

What changes are you going to make - will you Kiss your life hello?

How do your choices create your life?

Every choice you make creates you, your expression and how you experience the world.

Your choices create your life, so ask yourself the following questions:

1. How are your choices affecting your life?
Think in terms of your body, your relationships, your job, your hobbies

2. How can your choices improve your life?
Are there any changes, no matter how small, that you can make that will move your life in the direction that you would like?

3. How are your choices affecting others in your life?
Think in terms of your intimate relationships, your family, friends and your work colleagues

When you consciously make a choice, do what feels right and follow your heart. Try and listen to your inner wisdom and acknowledge what feels best, even if it does not make sense and you can’t see how it will work, just give it a try and you may be surprised at the results.

Have you ever followed your intuition and been surprised by the results?

Get your SHINE on

Sometimes in our lives we can feel lost and not sure where we should turn next.

With this comes feelings of hopelessness and you may want to give up on projects, dreams or desires.

When this happens you need to tap back into your passion and pupose, tap back in to that which makes you smile and brings joy to your life – That which makes you SHINE.

My free ecourse ‘The 3 Simple Steps that you must take to Shine on Raw’ has a perfect exercise to lift your spirits and remind you of the activities that bring that spring back to your step.

Start by listing 15 activities that you love to do. Not activities you think you should do, or think others want you to do; the activities you would do if time and resources were not an issue.

Then complete the following table:

Can you identify any trends or patterns in the activities you love?

To learn more about this exercise and take a deeper look at how you can add more SHINE to your life visit the Free Resources page and grab your copy now! You will wonder why you waited so long…

You are not separate from nature

You are not separate from nature – You are nature

It has been easy to forget that we are nature as we have been brought up in a world where science and religion have seperated  matter, spirit, body and soul.

Science denies the soul and religion will have your soul separate from the body and the spirit as regarded as ‘above’ the every day world.

We are taught separation in all aspects of our lives. Body from spirit and ourselves from nature.

However when you think about it you can begin to remember that we are connected to all things, this is particularly easy to see when you think about nature. Consider the following:

• How do you feel when you are in a forest or other unspoiled and natural area?
• How do you feel when you are in a built up environment with little fresh air or natural light?
• How do you feel when you eat fresh food full of life and vitality (raw and living foods)?
• How do you feel when you have eaten processed and refined foods?

 

Do you find that you can live enclosed and on processed food for so long, but after a while you begin to lose touch with your deeper self, your soul? You may start to experience lower frequency emotions and feelings and parts of yourself start to become dull or numb.

However when you stay in touch with nature, and eat lots of raw and living foods, you feel fully alive and in tune with your surroundings. You start to experience higher frequency feelings and emotions and become much more sensitive to all around you. Synchronicities become part of your life.

We must once again learn how to tap into our inner self and listen to our inner wisdom. We must take responsibility and listen to and trust our bodies and not seek ‘truth’ from external sources.

Coaching Challenge:

Keep a diary of how the foods you eat and the situations and people that you have in your life affect your emotions and feelings. Are there any patterns?

1. Do situations or people have you reaching for particular foods?
2. Do these foods numb, stimulate or heighten your senses and awareness?
3. Do particular people or situations support you or limit your natural abilities and potential?
4. Do different environments bring out different qualities  in yourself?

Gratitude – What are you grateful for today?

Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation – Brian Tracy

Gratitude can come in two stages

1. Gratitude for your immediate circumstances and/or possessions
2. Gratitude for your very being – which is not reliant on stage 1

One is not better than the other, but I think it is interesting to see what stage you operate from…

Coaching Challenge

This challenge is very simple, but very powerful.

All you have to do is write down five things that you are grateful for each day for 5 days:

Today I am grateful for…

Just be Good to You

Before you know it another day has passed any you realise that yet again you have not done anything to nurture and replenish yourself. You resolve that tomorrow you will do better…

Coaching Challenge

For today’s challenge I want you to commit to being good to yourself and increase the activities in your life that nurture you

1.  Make a list of all the activities that give you pleasure.

These could include:

• Listening to music
• Dancing
• Reading a book
• Spending time with friends or family
• Spending time in nature

Remember that these may only take as little as 10 minutes, so can be squeezed into even the busiest of days.

2.  Keep a ‘Care’ Journal

For the next 7 days think of one simple way that you are going to treat your body with care and kindness. Make sure that you write down your intention for the day – this way you are more likely to complete  the activity.

Activities may include:

• Drink more water
• Eat an extra piece of fruit
• Get some fresh air
• Go to bed early

3.  Gratitude Journal

Write a list of 10 reasons to be grateful.

Each night, try and get in the habit of writing down at least one thing that you have been grateful for during the day. You could treat yourself to a beautiful notebook and keep this next to bed for you to create this new habit to increase the Shine in your day.