Kindness to Yourself, Kindness to Others Guest Post By Annelise Dixon

As a former Head Start teacher, special education assistant and substitute teacher, I have a great respect for educators. Shaping the minds and hearts of youngsters is truly a labor of love and an awesome responsibility. 

I recently reached out to teacher Annelise Dixon on Instagram. I LOVE her enthusiasm and outlook. I knew I wanted to invite her to the DIY Mom Blog to share a bit of her contagious enthusiasm. Annelise was a doll and wrote this lovely piece on kindness. Who doesn't need more kindness in their life? Take it away, Annelise...

“Give me knowledge so that I may have kindness for all.” – Native American Proverb

Kindness is Crucial to Our Wellbeing and to the Wellbeing of Others

When was the last time you showed kindness? What about generosity, tolerance, compassion, support, friendliness and warmth? How often do you do a good deed without expecting anything in return?  These are all traits of kindness that are crucial to our wellbeing and the wellbeing of others.

We live in a world that is constantly being bombarded by the latest social media websites and technological advances. It is important, now more than ever, that we cultivate kindness to bring our community together rather than driving everyone apart.

Kindness – It Starts with You

The first step to increasing your kindness involves being kind to yourself. Develop your inner voice to be nurturing and forgiving rather than harsh and critical. Looking after yourself, valuing your unique personal traits, being proud of your achievements, and forgiving yourself if you make a mistake are all ways of being kind to yourself. Implementing these suggestions will build your self-esteem and a sense of satisfaction in your life.

Celebrate Others

Celebrate the successes of others as well as your own. Remember that we have all had different experiences in our lives that shape who we are. We need to show empathy and respect to others because we don’t know what they have gone through in life. Avoid comparing yourself to others, as this will only lead to competitiveness, jealousy and spite.

 

Kindness is Action

Some suggestions to increase your kindness are using good manners, avoiding making unnecessary complaints, and listening to someone with your full attention. Write a note to a student, friend, family member, colleague or employee expressing your gratitude to them. Jot down what you love about yourself and others. Smile and laugh more to build relationships of trust and respect.

Start practicing kindness today. It is possible to become a kinder person but don’t expect it to happen overnight. Start small with some of the suggestions in this post and build up from there!

“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible” - Dalia Lama

ABOUT ANNELISE DIXON

Annelise is a beginning teacher, working in Newcastle, Australia. She has a Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) and is currently studying the Master of Special and Inclusive Education at the University of Newcastle. Annelise is passionate about teaching music and reading. She also has a passion for learning as much as she can about topics and blogging about them! Annelise is inspired by the work of Nelson Mandela, Sir Ken Robinson and Paulo Freire. She hopes to inspire wellness and happiness in all people. Readers can connect with Annelise on her website.

DIY Mom Blog Healthy Living Series - My Health and Fitness Journey Continued

In the last installment of my Healthy Living Series, I talked about what led to my declining health and how I was forced to make some radical changes. This time I’ll be going into more detail. For anyone who may be experiencing the same or similar health issues, I want to assure you that you CAN turn things around. The important thing is to simply begin!

Like many women of a certain age, I had suddenly found myself having to work at staying fit. Hormonal changes, and lifestyle and diet changes had crept up on me without my realizing it. I’d long since recognized that gluten was a major irritant for my longtime IBS issues. I’d gotten control of the debilitating and agonizing bouts of IBS, but I made one big mistake. Gluten free foods do not translate to low calorie. Basically, I went hog-wild with the gluten free pasta, breads and other high carb foods simply because I'd found a gluten free way to continue eating them.

Then, when I began experiencing frequent bladder infections, I decided to ditch over-the-counter meds in favor of cranberry juice. In my mind, this was a healthy choice. Wrong again. Tons of sugar and carbs were lurking in those heaping glasses of cranberry juice.

Are you beginning to see a trend? Carbs were making me overweight, sluggish and unhealthy. Yet, I had no clue as to what the heck was going on…until I met with my cardiologist after my ER visit. The verdict? NO CARBS and MORE EXERCISE.

My blood tests revealed even worse news. I was pre-diabetic, had high cholesterol, severe high blood pressure and needed to turn things around ASAP or I was at risk for a heart attack or stroke. Truthfully, that ER visit, and my cardiologist, saved my life.

I was immediately put on blood pressure meds – two of them. The doctor also wanted to prescribe high cholesterol meds. I declined these, insisting that I’d gain control of this through diet and exercise. He reluctantly agreed.

That very same day I swore off carbs. ALL CARBS. And it was extremely tough at first. I was famished constantly. I had a low-grade headache for a week or so. But I stuck with it because I was committed to see this through.

Although I had been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia a few years ago, I slowly began an exercise regimen. I knew I could still walk and I’d always loved walking to stay fit. This was a natural choice for me then. Unfortunately, between the extreme Texas heat and the high instance of free roaming neighborhood dogs, I had to rethink my plan. The alternative? An at home walking fitness regimen. Who would have thought that you could actually get in shape and lose weight by walking in your living room? I can honestly say that this absolutely works. Check out Leslie Sansone’s DVDs. That girl can push the limits of walking for sure!

copyright 2018 Leslie Sansone

I began with fifteen-minute walking routines per day, without weights. Worked my way to longer routines and added free weights – first 1 lb and now I’m doing 3 lb weights. I know that’s not exactly heavyweight material, but it suits me fine. And it’s definitely working. Since my ER visit, almost two years ago now, I’ve ditched all meds except a half of BP pill. I’ve lost over 50 pounds. I have more energy now than I’ve had in probably ten years. I’m fit, trim and doing tons better. I chose to keep myself from being a statistic, stayed with my new diet and fitness regimen and I plan to keep moving one day at a time. I've added a few "good" carbs here and there, but I've kept them to a strict minimum.

This was the humble beginnings of my fitness journey. I'm here to tell you that you can definitely do this too!

Next time I'll talk a little bit about the confusing topic of carbs, and how and with what to substitute them and a few other things. Please join me!

Why and How to Put SMART Healthy Living Goals into Action

© 2018 Susan Barton, DIY Mom Blog

In the previous Healthy Living Series article, I talked briefly about using the SMART goals technique to begin your fitness journey. In this article, I’ll share what led to my personal fitness journey and the steps I took to achieve the necessary results.

It’s important to remember that everyone is different. We’re all at different places in our fitness journey, in terms of weight, dietary needs and activity levels. What might work for one person, might not work for another. The important thing is to simply BEGIN.

My story…

As mentioned in a previous post, throughout my life, I had always been active and fit. Like most people, as I aged, I found that it took a bit more effort to maintain my ideal weight, but my physically demanding job helped immensely. When I left that job to pursue writing full time I had no clue how that would impact my health.

Suddenly, I was no longer the active person I once was. I sat at the computer for hours at a time. My eating habits changed. Add to the fact that I was fast approaching the age where women really need to be extra careful in terms of health, fitness and nutrition – it was producing the perfect storm.

I’d been experiencing palpitations, rapid heartbeat and even occasional chest and arm pain for several weeks, but I ignored these warnings and hoped they would simply go away. I’d always been a migraine sufferer, but when I woke up one morning with the mother of all migraines I knew something was wrong. My husband took me to the ER, where they ran some tests. It seems they thought I was having a stroke. YIKES.

Fortunately, it was not a stroke, but I was in serious distress. My blood pressure was an alarming 189/110 and had most likely been that high for some time. I’d sustained some damage to my heart. I’d be on medication for the rest of my life. I could very well need heart surgery at some later point. This was my wakeup call.

I was referred to a cardiologist immediately. He was a lifesaver…literally. After some additional tests, he sat me down and explained that it was critical to my health that I make some very serious lifestyle changes. Radical changes were outlined. It wouldn’t be easy, but it could very well save my life.

Although you might not currently be at this crisis stage, and I sincerely hope that you aren’t, you could very well be getting close to it and not even realize it. My goal with this series is to prevent you from getting to that point.

Next time, I’ll begin laying out my plan of action, what I did to achieve my goals, what worked and what didn’t and some other tips and pointers for anyone else who may be finding themselves in a similar health crisis as mine.  

SMART Goals Help You Track Your Personal Fitness Journey

Here's another post in my Healthy Living Series and it's a brief one!

Assessing your own personal fitness, diet and nutrition goals is the key to success when it comes to getting healthy. You must first define what you're attempting to accomplish when you begin your personal fitness journey and doing that with SMART goals is an excellent way to stay focused.

© 2018 Susan Barton, DIY Mom Blog

As shown in the graphic above, SMART is a mnemonic acronym for: 

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Timely

First conceived by George T. Doran, in his 1981 paper in the Management Review, the SMART method is now used by many professionals as a way to help clients and group participants stay focused and on task.

Getting fit and healthy means different things to different people. Therefore, your SMART goal answers will be your blueprint for getting in shape. 

Until next time, stay healthy and fit! 

Get Up, Get Moving, Get Healthy! Intro to the DIY Mom Blog's Healthy Living Series

This is my very first post in my new Friday Fitness, Healthy Living series, where, every Friday, I’ll talk about some of the unique challenges women (especially us “mature” women) face.

I decided to do this series because I’m living proof that you can break bad habits to become a healthier, fitter you. I’ll share my story in the hopes that other women just like me will benefit from my cautionary tale.

A little background on me…

In the past, I was health-conscious and fit. Truth be told, I had a very physically demanding job that helped immensely. But then, in 2012, I quit my job to stay home and go from writing part-time to writing full-time. I was no longer the active person I once was and that definitely took its toll on my body and, ultimately, on my health. My eating habits were atrocious and that made things even worse.

The result? A more than fifty pound weight gain and an unexpected medical diagnosis of severe high blood pressure, high cholesterol and pre-diabetes. I’d been experiencing chest pain and palpitations for a few months and, not surprisingly, when I dragged myself off to the cardiologist (yes, literally dragged myself since I had zero energy) I found that my poor habits had caused a minor heart valve blockage. YIKES! What had I done to myself?

Since I was determined not to add to the rapidly growing number of 50 something women who suddenly die of a massive coronary, I was determined to fix myself. I’d made this mess of my own body and I knew it was up to me to undo it. The heart blockage was there, and as long as it didn’t cause any real problems, it would stay put. But I didn’t intend to make it any worse.

My journey to wellness was slow at first, but that was to be expected. After all, my health problems didn’t happen overnight. Improving my health would take time. It was a process that took some fine-tuning to find what was right for me, my body and my lifestyle. And this is the key here – while I will be sharing my story of regaining control of my health, you’ll need to find what works best for you.

In the coming installments of this Healthy Living series I’ll be talking about my progress and addressing things like diet, exercise, practicing mindfulness and other key elements to gaining control of your health and well-being, so please join me on my journey!

*Please be sure to check back every Friday for Healthy Living updates!