TGIF Everyone!

Have you been outside today?  It is so lovely!  This morning I went out for the paper (in my pj's, robe, and coffee (yes coffee in a mug is part of my morning wardrobe!!).  It was so pleasant with birds singing, geese honking, and a gentle warm and moist breeze that I strolled around my yard for a while.  Just appreciating life.  I was thinking that sometimes the circumstances and weather are harsh and seem to be merciless in their pounding, yet there is ALWAYS a return to more gentleness no matter how long winter really lasts.  I hope you all get to breath in some of the sweeter side of life today, especially you Bruce and Kym.  

I've had better days!

I feel like a boxer that is getting pounded one after another...right,left,right,left. It is amazing. I am leaving for vacation today, and couldn't feel much worse. Family issues, business issues, and about a hundred little bull*%#$ issues.

I keep thinking about you guys and what I said to Jean at our last meeting. "When you are feeling low, you need to reach out. Don't just let yourself spiral alone in your own head." That is what brought me to my computer. It is time for a little home cooking! I am noticing, even now as I consider what to write, that my perspective is changing the tiniest little bit. This is good. Now I need to spend a little time asking for some help from above.

Thanks for being there everyone. Internet service where we are going is spotty, but I hope to be in contact while we are away.

Be sure and take care of each other.

Focus on the Prize

My prize keeps me focused if I remember to be focused on the prize! Dylan's picture makes me smile and then I remember. Although Dylan was the focus of my original prize, I have recently acquired two new step granddaughters ages 8 and 10 who require a lot of energy for their summer activities as well.

Although the week is almost over my commitments were and are:

• Drink more water. I accomplished this and next week I'm going to commit to even more water.
• In spite of some daunting challenges at the scale, I committed this week to sticking with my nutritional plan. I was rewarded at the scale and will continue to persever through next week. I need to learn how to handle setbacks and not consider them the end of my resolve.
• Track food intake. I was successful here but will continue to keep as a commitment until it is second nature.
• Exercising 5 days a week was a commitment last week that I could not keep. I'm pushing through physical pains and 5 days seemed too much. Next week I will keep three scheduled sessions and work on stretching exercises at home on the off days.
• A new commitment for next week will be working on positivity and spirtual peace.

There are so many things that I am grateful for that I am going to start journaling each morning about the day before, and what and where I want to be the next day. I'm new at this journaling thing so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I will acknowlege what I am grateful for, i.e., today was a warmer day and the rain on my face felt renewing; my family is healthy and my one sister who isn't is on the mend; the smiles I receive when entering the gym and words of encouragement; supportive family; manageable burdens; and children who never give up.

I want to focus on the positive and disregard those things I can't change. For example: (1) Today I was depressed that I couldn't finish my work session -- an emotion to disregard. Instead, today I went to the gym when I didn't feel up it and did the best I could. (2) Today I kept all my Prize Club commitments - isn't that "My Prize" picture cute! (3) I felt badly that I didn't accompish my chores today due to physical ailments -- another disgarded emotion. Instead, I blogged on the Prize Club. I was upset that I couldn't be with my sister in Spokane who is in the hospital - another emotion to disgard. Instead, I talked to her in the hospital for two hours. And so on ... Lastly, I will organize my thoughts and attitude for the day. I have rambled on a bit but it has been very helpful to express myself to others who listen and understand. THANK YOU.

Mission Statement

Hey everyone!

My commitment for this week is to compose a mission statement that I can live by daily. I am excited to actually get something in writing and place it somewhere in which I can review it and continue to live my life the way I desire.

I am also committing to prioritizing 'the big picture' on a weekly basis and creating specific tasks to accomplish throughout that week.

It is certainly step by step for me, but with each step I become more inspired, focused, and I have a sense of accomplishment.

Have a great rest of the week everyone!

~Robyn~

Meeting news?

Hi Everyone, this is Noel out in Big Sky, Montanna, after a big day of skiing.  It snowed last night and today while we were on the Mountain.  It was my first time skiing in "powder" and my 6th time ever!  I'm really having a great time with it, especially because I get to be up close with these magnificant peaks.  Tomorrow we are going to Yellowstone for a day long "snow coach" tour to see old Faithful and a ton of sights.  

So, enough of my news, how are all of you?  Looking back on the meeting what do you each recall that has stuck with you most?  I'd love to know.  This is a week of gratitude for me, and I include all of you in my appreciation and have thought of you much.  Based on Lorrie's posts, I know you discussed organization of the blog and see that we can post pics!  You picked a great one, Lorrie!!! I would be posting one right now, but we didn't bring the correct cable for our camera to connect to Tom's computer!  Maybe we can borrow one, and I'll send you a Mountain View.  

My commitment this week was singular -- to pray daily.  The way I see it, if my spiritual life is my priority, it makes everything else in my life more positive, meaningful, and balanced.  It's working beatifully for this vacation, but I also believe that back in my "regular" environment, it's going to remain number one.   I plan to find ways to enhance this sense of peace that comes from tending to my spirit with care and time daily.   

I am far less anxious.  Yes, I know vacation is supposed to do that in and of itself.  But I find that many things about travel and so-called "taking it easy" have often made me and others with me a bit anxious! (anyone else?)  I'm noticing that little things like waiting longer than we "should" for something just doesn't get under my skin like it used to.  I'm also not feeling this internal pressure that I should be the one who takes care of everything when in a group of people (as if I could or anyone wants that!!).  It's really nice.  I'm in a wonderful geographical and spiritual place at this very blessed moment.  I wish the same for us all.  

I'd love to hear back from some or all of you regarding what's working for you or not, and what's primarily on your minds whether in relation to the meeting or just this week.  Miss you and look forward to seeing you soon!  Noel

The Prize Club: Great Meeting!

Thank you everyone for joining us on Tuesday Night. Yvonne, we missed you and hope you are feeling better. Noel, we missed you and can't wait to have you back. Stacy, it was great having you for the first time.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed our time together. We are having varying degrees of success using the Prize Club concept. The fact that any of us are having success means there is some power here. I hope those whom are struggling are inspired by those having some success. I, for one, am there for anyone that needs help.



I want to mention again that small, manageable commitments are important. They should be easily doable and should be moving you closer to your Prize. Commitments can be tough without accountability, and we are here for you should you choose to ask for our help.

Lorrie, once again, laid a great one on us. Her comment "I realized that, if I'm not happy now, when am going to be happy? I am healthy, my family is healthy, I am in a great relationship, if not now, when?" How powerful! Taking stock, focusing on the positive and making a decision about who she is and how she is going to approach her life is just spectacular stuff. Thanks for sharing, Lorrie. I can't tell you how happy I am that you are where you are. I must say that a large part of the reason you are where you are is because of the choices you made. Wouldn't you agree?

It would be easy to say, "Well, sure, if I were in her situation, I would be happy too." The reality is that Lorrie made her bed. She quit a job she had become disillusioned with. No easy thing to do. The path of least resistance would have been to keep it for the security. But she took the risk and left. She has always exercised, but not like she is now. Her choice was to train more often, harder and longer. She has always eaten reasonably well, but made a decision to be more conscious of her diet. Her Prize has clearly become more important than the short term, so called "treating myself". She is down for the real thing, her Prize. As I have said before, it is soooo worth it!

My personal happiness is based on the choices I make.

-I am not trapped.

-I am not a victim.

-My ego is unimportant and needs no protecting.

-I cannot see into the future, I can only do my best today.

-Making the most of today matters.



Getting out of myself and making a small difference in the lives of others is the key.

Labeling your Post by Category

Here I am again! 

Another question brought up was how we can divide our posts into subject matters.   As you can see I added a Labels section.  At the bottom of your compose window you will see a  "Labels for this Post"  section.   Enter a label that already exists ( or create a new label) and blogger will group the posts together.  Labels might be: Weightloss,  Organizational tips, Goal Setting, etc.. Keep it simple!    

"Show All" next to the "Labels for this Post" will display all of the current Labels for this site. 

I started a 'How To" Label for future technical posts about the blogger site. 

You can also add a Title to your post, so that when you display the labels, the title will show to .   the Title can be entered  above the tool bar of your compose window. 

I am still working on  profile picture displaying automatically.  I am sure there is a way.   Right now I only now how to upload an image each time I post.  Let us know if you figure it out! 

Add a Picture To Your Post

Hello Gang!   

Peter asked last night if there was a way to put a picture in your post.  After you open your post option, if you click on the third icon from the right of the toolbar, you can hit the  "ad image" icon (right beside the check spelling icon).

In that window it will ask you to choose a file and upload.  You can also decide if you want that picture to always post or not. 

I hope this helps ! 

S'up Prize Club!?

Hey homies!

Peter, thanks for the suggestion about placing Prize Club as our home page for a little while. One of my goals is to become better organized and as we all know my mind can be easily distracted, ha ha!! I need to define time better so that I can accomplish more without feeling overwhelmed. Yes, I have a schedule and yes, I know how to block out time, however, if I don't make the time I block out specific (ie. blog for Prize Club) I can become easily distracted because I know that I have other things that I need to accomplish (ie. check/respond to email, update content on web, etc.). Sometimes I think that small tasks will only take a few minutes and I can get them done while I have the time, THEN I will blog or journal or take time for myself. And, before I know it, my hour of 'blocked off time' has become 15 minutes or even less! Ugh! So, I have been meeting with another team member to create a system that works for me. It has been helping tremendously and it is quite relieving. Even though I may feel like I have a 'million things to do', if I have it written down and set in my task manager with reasonable times to accomplish each task, then I can be very successful. My goal is to not become overwhelmed and 'chip away' at each task one at a time. It feels so great to cross things off of the list! Did I mention how very visual I am!?!?

I have a 'big picture' goal, which is what my wristband represents to me. My 'big picture' is more like my life's mission statement and then everything else falls in a separate category. It is a pretty cool concept for me.

I support and care for each and everyone of you. I admit, I am not great at blogging yet, but I will become better. I am very 'old school'. If there is a physical meeting planned and I am available, I will certainly attend, but if it is something I cannot 'go to', then the accountability is limited to myself and sometimes that doesn't work well :) However, with my strives to become better at organization and following through on my commitments, I will become better at holding myself accountable for the tasks I need to accomplish.

Thanks for the support and accountability!!

Peace yo!
Robyn :)

I'm Back

I took a break from blogging for a week or two. Several physical challenges are messing with my motivation, but "never give up" has been and is my motto. I think I have come to the conclusion that I must re-work my definition of success - especially in the short run. It has been so inspirational and comforting to read the blogs although my input has been scarce of late. Pete's idea of using this blog as a home page was especially useful!



I am truly so grateful that I have found a group of people (both staff and clients) like One-on-One and the Prize Club. Bruce, in particular, has gone the extra mile to speak to my spirituality and Megan and Lauren to the physical body. I couldn't be in a better place with people who care so much.



Many thanks.



I'm still working on the water, but my friend and I have worked out problems with honesty and compromise.


Hope to see you all Tuesday night.

I'm Finally Here..

This is Carol signing in...

It has been difficult finding open time on my schedule - to match open time with the only computer I have at my disposal to log into the blog.. But I finally made it - after help from Brett on getting me set up in Google. Thanks Brett.

My prize is "Peace". Because of the way I live my life - I do everything for others before I will do anything for myself. When this finally catches up with me (before I even realize things have spiraled out of control and negatively impacted my own mental, physical, and spiritual health) - I am left tired and impatient with others (my husband) - when it isn't anything he's done at all (usually :)). It is a direct result of me not doing anything for myself... and where I end up being mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually as a result. I must regress and note that I do run regularly - so this is one thing that I do for me.. but that really is about it; and one problem is, is that this activity is not overly relaxing since I typically train hard. What I need at least on somewhat of a regular basis, is just a small amount of "me time" - quiet time for reflection, for mental respite, for recharging, for refocusing on whats really important. This could be through reading, time with friends, listening to some of my awesome CD's and relaxing with a cup of tea or coffee. But the problem is - with my "routine" of taking care of everyone else's needs first - is that I don't make it a priority and then it ends up falling to the bottom of the list and never happening..

I have made an effort to read (spiritual and other) at least 2-3 evenings/week. This has been my committment. I've been doing pretty well with this, and it feels good to be getting some control back of my "me time". It is a small start, and all I can do at this point in time.

I have been able to execute the prize club steps/concepts well with my running, without fail..
I just need to apply this to my every day life. At some point, I want to share what I've learned with my struggles that I've had with running and how I have tackled and conquered the demons very successfully. Because I think it will help some of you - because they can apply to any situation..

All for now - Stay strong everyone.. I can't wait to read some of the great posts that are already out there, and I will get back to them when I can log on next..

Carol

The way I look at things

"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change", - Wayne Dyer

I don't know who Wayner Dyer is, but I am stealing his quote to share with you.  This one hit home for me.  Right up there with "if you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got. 

Changing  my pattern of behavior and how I think about food is so hard some days.  It is so much easier to continue with our learned behaviors.  These are behaviors and thought processes that over the years have become automatic , and easy, and ...... destructive!    

I am committed to working hard every day to change, to make better choices that is.  Some days it is so difficult.  I get tired of telling waitress that yes, I really do not want any dressing on my salad, or spending extra time at the grocery store reading food labels,  or  popping my own popcorn for the movies ( friends really give you a weird look on those days) .

But today's a new day and more and more of these behaviors are becoming easier.  My friends will now even warn the waitress ahead of time that they better write my order down 'cause I have alot of requests!! 

The way I look and feel about  food IS changing , and you know what?  The way I look and feel is changing too....

The process continues....... off to circuit class I go! 

Worth it!

Hello.  I'm so impressed with the great posts here.   They really inspire me and make me feel so lucky to be a part of this special group.  Thank you everyone!!!!  

When I look at myself with the kind of courage and clarity that Bruce and Mandie have shared with us so graciously, I too find so much I want to change.  It is so helpful for me to see how they address these things with compassion for themselves.  By compassion, I don't mean pity.  I mean they look at themselves seeing the "warts and all"  and don't hang themselves in excess condemnation, guilt, or self-punishment.  They still think positively about change for the better!!!  They demonstrate how to come out of this dark place because they keep their sense of self-esteem by being positive:  thankful, humble (not groveling), helpful to others, asking for and accepting help from others, focusing on the fact that they can turn around and take one step at a time towards the light!  I have much to learn about seeing clearly AND being positive at the same time.  I AM SO LUCKY RIGHT NOW!!  We all are!!  Group hug!!!

We are all Worth the changes and Prizes we choose.  "Work it, You're Worth it!" is they key for me.  Thank you all for reinforcing that powerful idea in me.  

I will be out of town on Tuesday, and I really regret that I can't join you all for the meeting.  I know it will be great as we inspire and help one another work our way to our Prizes.

Next Tuesday Meeting

Hey Bruce, I will be there for PC next Tuesday! Who else is coming?!

Gratitude

I have had some more "awakenings" in the past few days! Of course it is things I have heard before, but it is amazing when you actually take the time to apply some things, and actually take the time to process some things, what can happen!

I think the 3rd PC meeting Bruce went on to talk about gratitude and proposing the scenario that if Kym were on her death bed, how his mindset might change regarding all of her little idiosyncrasies versus how he had been currently viewing them. Were they still things that drove him crazy, left him resentful, bitter, and joyless......or were they things he came to accept, support her with, maybe even enjoy a little?! Why does it take an extreme situation to occur before we can go there on our own. Why would we choose to live that way, without a sense of gratitude, and looking for the positive in others; complaining day in and day out about how this person isn't living up to our expectations (that we have probably placed on them......that is a whole other issue for me that I will not get it to at this time :) )? We should instead think of embracing them for all of their warts, being grateful for what they do add to your life, and start supporting them in some areas where maybe they do indeed fall short and WANT the help!

It was an extension of the above conversation with Bruce that led me to his idea of "living gratitude." (Sorry Bruce I am totally stealing this one!...and thank you by the way!) The random, sporadic acts of gratitude and truly appreciating others, wanting to give what you can to those who need help, praising them in what they do, letting them know how much you appreciate their efforts......the list is endless. Again, Bruce coined it as constantly putting in "chips" in your "relationship baskets" with others. The question is: how active is your gratitude?

My big focus this week is just that: living gratitude. And guess what....IT FEELS GOOD! I hope this made sense. You know where to find me for more clarification!!

Top of Mind

Hi Gang,

i realized a few days ago that i signed up for the blog but hadn't done much with it since that day. So, my tidbit for the day is to suggest that you set the blog page as your home page on your web browser for a few weeks. Now, everytime i access the internet the blog stares me in the face. While this is the first writing i've done, i can say that i do stop to read the latest from each of you before i get on with the task at hand.

Let's call it "the little red bracelet to encourage blogging!"

You'll need to log in to reply or make posts but you can read away to your hearts content just by doing what you do several times a day anyhow....going online.

best to all!
Peter

Mind games :(

Ok still having trouble signing into the blog as apparently they want me to stay as a “dashboard”….we will figure it out.

Anyways, I wanted to comment on some of Bruce’s latest posting regarding humility. Bruce wrote some really powerful things sprinkled throughout the entire post! I struggle with a lot of what he spoke about (sarcasm, how does everything affect ME first) but I also struggled with:

- placing expectations on others
- being judgmental of others with the simplest of tasks (because I could always do it better and faster ----EEWW!)
- thinking I can predict the future in knowing how others will react ( I must of thought I was pretty powerful!)
- shying away from situations because I think I know how they will react,
- coming up with 3 different scenarios on what I need to say based on how I think they may react.


Talk about confusing! There are tornados going on in this brain of mine and it is exhausting.
I am much better with this now, but I allowed such torment to continue with every interaction. I was so caught up in myself, that there was NO way I was ever able to truly listen to someone. I was always looking for ulterior motives and never really trusting what someone was saying. This is because I couldn’t conceive that anyone else wasn’t having the same kind of tornados going on in their head as well. One big game of defense. Pretty silly.


It has taken me a few years to piece all of this together and really narrowing it down to two things:
1. Getting out of myself
2. Trusting in others

“Getting out of myself” is going to be one long process, but as Bruce said the best remedy is giving to others. This is something I am just now starting to realize and embrace.

Prize Club: 7 Day Commitment

I am working on many other things, but I feel good about these commitments. I will keep them. It is working and I feel good.

7 day commitment:

1. Use my Prize Club wristband to help me remember what is important (my Prize) and what I have committed to before I eat.

2. HAVE A HARD AND FAST, WELL DEFINED ENDING TO MY MEALS. No picking from kids or anywhere else.

3. Be grateful and truly thankful for the food I have. I must take a moment to do so.

4. One sweet per week at most.

Please help hold me accountable everyone. Checking and asking if I am following these commitments to the letter would be very helpful.

The Prize Club: Humility

I am so blessed.

It is hard to believe that someone could really be grateful for their struggle with alcoholism. How could going through that gut wrenching pain be a positive? I mean, lying in bed at a California rehab facility in tears for days. Leaving my wife and kids at home 3000 miles away. I didn't feel humbled, I felt humiliated.

Thank God! Literally. Prior to that, my whole adult life was spent developing and protecting my massive ego. I didn't set out to be so prideful; it certainly wasn't by design. But, like many of my character defects, it slowly infiltrated my being and became who I was.

-I was always right.
-I always had to have the last word.
-I was incapable of truly listening and putting myself in another's shoes.
-I would manipulate situations with my superior intellect (what a joke!).
-I ceased taking risks so nobody would see me fail.
-I was supremely sarcastic (still working on that one!).
-In any situation, I would always first consider how it would affect me.
-I would artificially build myself up by tearing others down.
-Any problems in my life were someone else's fault. After all, how could I be responsible? I was too smart and too cool.

I could go on, but I think you get the picture. Not too pretty, is it?

I shared with you all at our first meeting how I have always struggled with low self-esteem and confidence issues. Imagine the person I was...an ego maniac with an inferiority complex! Yikes!

It was my struggle with alcoholism that got me low enough to get real. The cat was out of the bag...MY WAY WASN'T WORKING. I was empty inside. I couldn't massage the facts of this reality any more. It was at this point I could begin to get real.

With my ego blown totally out, I could begin to look at things in a brand new way. It has taken me a long, long time, but I am slowly getting it. I become more OK with myself every day. For me, the secret is humility and real gratitude. I am not the king, just another guy doing his best in life. I am grateful for this. I am grateful that I can now get out of myself and give to others. My petty little plans and selfish endeavors got me nothing but misery. Unfortunately, it took a lot of time and pain to realize it.

How much pain must you endure before you begin working on your character defects? Don't let yourself fall too far. Humble yourself, inventory what makes you unhappy and create a strategy for change. What are you waiting for? There is no magic pixie dust that is going to fall on you next week or next year that is going to make everything better. I will help you if you need it. It is my hope that each member of the Prize Club will take the time to do the same.

It is amazing how many of my problems have taken care of themselves since I started looking for ways to humbly serve others.