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Energize your life: Dream Big!

I really want this new year to be special, don’t you?  2021 feels filled with possibility and the hope that was lacking in 2020. Even when we don’t have all the answers we’re craving; even though we are still living cautiously, life is moving forward and that’s a great thing. While we’ve had many restrictions on our freedom in the past year, I think it’s time to start dreaming again; to start planning again even if the timeline has to be adjusted.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Eleanor Roosevelt

We humans aren’t happy when we don’t have plans of some kind and that means using our beautiful imagination to create them. The great thing about the world we’re living in today is that we can actually have an experience without leaving the comfort of our home. I signed up for a virtual tour of Florence and Tuscany to remind me of an adventure my husband and I had a few years ago. I know it’s not the same as being there but I’ll get the feeling of having been somewhere other than my living room and that will hold me until we’re free to travel.

Science has good evidence now that virtual experiences, like the tour I mentioned, produce positive emotion, which helps to alleviate the stressors we’re all living with during this Pandemic pause. Nature programs, cooking classes and exercise classes not only relieve boredom but support the all-important social connections we all need to nurture wellbeing.

I wonder what’s on your dream list; what would bring you joy. Are you longing to learn a new language or brush up on one you haven’t used in a while? Are you dreaming of a face to face coffee date with a dear friend or a family reunion? Does your list include travel, an art or cooking class; maybe salsa lessons or are you interested in volunteering?

Dream lists are important because they give us full permission to plan without pressure. Our dream lists have been taken more seriously since Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson knocked items off of their bucket list in the movie of the same name. It feels good to plan something even if you don’t know when or how you’re going to achieve it. Having a list of dreams is enough to keep us curious and engaged as life moves forward.

Equally important, to keep ourselves inspired, is having a reverse bucket list or a reverse dream list. It’s an accounting of all of our accomplishments and achievements to date. We’re so conditioned to check items off of the To Do list and move on that we hardly recognize the dreams we’ve already brought to life. If you dreamed something and did it, that’s cause for celebration. Looking back allows us to recognize how powerful we are; how courageous and resilient we are. It’s also an indicator of where our joy can be found. It’s the fuel we require to keep us dreaming and doing.

I propose that we work on our dream lists. Start by doing your reverse dream list first and write down your achievements to date; then do your future dream list. Beside each item on that list, put one small step you can take in the direction of bringing that dream to life. Remember your dream list is just a guideline without any pressure and it’s always connected to infinite possibility. Let’s dream big and make 2021 our best year yet.

This Wellings blog by Kathie Donovan was exclusively written for Wellings Communities and appeared first on MyWellings.com.

in Healthy Aging Posted by Kathie Donovan

Candy Cane Cookies

Baking cookies is a fun way to celebrate the season. Click here to watch Welling’s Chef Robert share one of his favourite recipes, candy cane cookies.

Happy Holidays!

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened 
½ cup milk 
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 egg
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon red food color
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Steps: 
  1. Stir together 1 cup sugar, the butter, milk, vanilla, almond extract and egg in a large bowl. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Divide dough in half. Stir food color into 1 half. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
  2. Heat oven to 375°F.
  3. For each candy cane, shape 1 rounded teaspoon dough from each half into 4-inch rope by rolling back and forth on a floured surface. Place 1 red and white rope side by side; press together lightly and twist. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet; curve top of cookie down to form handle of cane.
  4. Bake 9 to 12 minutes or until set and very light brown. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle powdered sugar over cookies.
in Food and Recipes, Video Blogs Posted by Chef Robert Mills

Christmas Celebration

Click Here to Watch Now

Kathie’s Quarantine Cookies

Makes 3 dozen

In your mixer:

2 cups just peanuts peanut butter

2 eggs

2/3 cups maple syrup

1 tsp baking soda

6 tbsp flour (I use coconut flour)

Mix until combined well. Then go to town and add what you like.

I add Salad Topper mixed seeds and dried cranberries (get it at Loblaws in the vegetable area. Just ask for Salad Topper and choose the mix I mentioned here).

I add unsweetened coconut

I add salt caramel chips (they’re sooooo good) I get them where chocolate chips are found and if you can’t find them chocolate chips would be yummy too.

After mixing in your additions, put generous tablespoon size portions of the dough on a lined cookie sheet and press down with a fork.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. As soon as they’re out of the oven sprinkle the top of each cookie with kosher salt and don’t touch them until they’re completely cooled (or they fall apart and you’ll think the recipe didn’t work).

Enjoy and share with those you love.

in Food and Recipes, Video Blogs Posted by The Good Life With Kat & Nat

Light Up with Love and Connection during the Festive Season

The holidays are a time for celebration with those who are most important to us, whether it’s family by blood or family by choice. This year, Covid-19 may have thrown our plans out the window but let’s not be discouraged.  We’ve proven we’re resilient and we’ve learned that we do better when we’re connected to community. So let’s reflect on what matters most and make this a festive season one to remember, for all the right reasons.

Science has proven that twinkly lights and festive decorations make us feel happy. Well it may have been a very small study, just in my home. So it’s not really scientific; more subjective. My husband jokes that he lives with a Christmas elf. I start sneaking the decorations out around mid-November. I love the simple joys of the season: sparkly lights and evergreen boughs. I love the preparation too but this year we’re putting a different spin on things and I want to encourage you to do the same.

While we’ll miss whatever celebration we’re used to with our loved ones, let’s be bold and focus on what we can do to make the most of the festive season with those around us. Ask yourself how you can show up for your neighbours and allow them to show up for you?

Instead of the annual Christmas gathering we host for our immediate neighbours, we’re organizing a stay at home potluck. On a specified date, each family will drop off two dishes on each other’s porch, we’ll set up a zoom chat to toast the season and enjoy a quieter celebration but a celebration nonetheless. Oh yes the food during the festive season is another favourite of mine. Many of us have our signature dish or treat and I hope you plan to share whatever your specialty is with your neighbours and friends. Every year, I make the plum pudding that my Mum and Godmother prepared as well as the white fruitcake my mother-in law made, so I can keep their spirit close at Christmas.

The fact that we aren’t as free to go shopping this year means that we can reframe that idea too. The real gifts of the season are kindness, empathy, compassion and love. These are gifts we all have an endless supply of and actually increase as we share them with others. A small gesture for a friend or neighbor, a donation to an organization that supports people who need it, especially at this difficult time, could be an expression of your kindness and compassion. Perhaps you could offer a card or a call, a package of goodies or a beautiful heartfelt smile. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. I encourage you to hold nothing back this year when it comes to sharing yourself with those around you.

This Pandemic pause has brought stress for sure and it’s brought beautiful gifts. We know now that we are better together and some of us have learned to appreciate support from neighbours and even strangers. Let’s all dig in and see where we can make a difference for those around us, to ensure that this festive season shines bright like the North Star.

This Wellings blog by Kathie Donovan was exclusively written for Wellings Communities and appeared first on MyWellings.com.

in Healthy Aging Posted by Kathie Donovan

Healthy Habits for Interesting Times

Do you find that you feel more tired or are more easily upset lately? Well you’re not alone. It’s called Covid fatigue because we’re all dealing with so much unknown and that can be exhausting.  In all of this, it’s easy to forget to take care of ourselves. I’d like to offer some ideas that might be helpful when it comes to either calming your energy down or lifting it up a little.

Remember that while it’s important to incorporate healthy habits, it’s equally important not to overwhelm ourselves with pressure to get it all done right away. Let’s be gentle as we navigate through this Pandemic together.

Move it or lose it

It’s important to keep our energy up by keeping our body moving. All it takes is about 30 minutes a day, which can be broken up into segments to make it more manageable.  This helps to strengthen our muscles and having strong muscles is good for our heart health, balance, stability and coordination. Remember dancing is considered movement, so feel free to dance around the room like nobody’s watching.

Don’t skimp on sleep

While doctors recommend adults get between seven and nine hours of sleep, as we age, we might require less shut eye. I find that I wake up in the night if I’ve had too much sugar, caffeine or alcohol, so I limit all three and expect disrupted sleep when I overindulge. One of the great contributors to good sleep is our first tip: exercise. Also having a set bedtime helps: consider setting an alarm for bedtime, so your body has a predictable rhythm. I think we all know that using devices right before bed is not a great set up for good sleep. If you find it’s a challenge to settle your mind down before sleep, consider an app like Calm for some free meditations, beautiful sounds and stories. It’s very…calming.

Laugh

Stock up on laughter whenever you can. Watch funny movies, enjoy jokes and share your laughter with others too. Reminding yourself of a time in the past when you laughed yourself silly will lighten you up and research tells us that smiling, even when we don’t feel like it has a positive impact on our brain. So….smile…say cheeeeese; embrace the good old belly laugh!

Keep your tank full

Be careful not to over serve others, while we frame it as being kind, sometimes we can deplete our resources when we give too much to others. I like to be generous and give from what I have in my overflow. I’ve learned to stick to the motto: help those who help themselves. I also make sure, when I can, to support organizations that help those who can’t help themselves.

Take your vitamins

If you asked, I’m sure your doctor would say that eating a healthy, balanced diet is a brilliant foundation for wellness. Especially during this stressful time, we want to maintain a healthy immune system. At any age, we might need to top up the levels on some vitamins and minerals, depending on our lifestyle and the season. It’s best to consult a professional, to ensure that your levels are optimal. Also, as we head into flu and cold season, stock up on your favourite remedies and consult your doctor about whether you’re a good candidate for vaccines for pneumonia, shingles and the flu.

Do your chores

It’s debatable whether making your bed as soon as you get out of it is the correct answer. In coaching we recommend it but some say letting the bed air out is good too. So take the pressure off on that one but do take care of chores around your home and do it, knowing that you are going to benefit.

Perhaps it’s sorting through clothes or photographs: both can be cathartic. Take care of dishes right after your meal to feel the sweet satisfaction knowing you won’t walk into a kitchen in need of a cleanup later.

To avoid feeling overwhelmed, we can trick our brain by breaking down large tasks into manageable pieces. I suggest giving half an hour to a project, just to get into the process. It’s not a contest, it’s simply a goal, so don’t shame yourself if you don’t get things done the way your mind thinks it should be done and remember to be compassionate and patient with yourself.

Give compliments out like candy

I’d like to leave you with a little experiment that’s both easy and challenging. Given that most people are dealing with a lot these days, how about making a point to give compliments to people you encounter in your everyday life. For some, it may be the one comment they need to turn their day around. Compliments benefit the person you’re praising of course but I guarantee you’ll feel good and you’ll realize how powerful your words can be. The most important ingredient in this challenge is to be sincere when you give compliments; when you’re caring in this way, it impacts whatever environment you’re in whether it’s work or home life in a positive way. Not all conversations will be appropriate for this assignment but when you think of it or notice something, be sure not to hold back.

We’re all beautiful works in progress

I know we’ve been conditioned to think that if we don’t get it right or get it done right away, we’ve failed in some way. That’s a myth we need to bust. Nobody is perfect, in fact, it’s better to strive for consistency instead of perfection. Our job is to manage our thinking about getting things done and about taking good care of ourselves. Whatever we can do is enough but it’s important that we do something outside our comfort zone to stir up the energy, so that we can navigate not procrastinate.  Remember to be kind to yourself and fuel your attitude with exercise, laughter, fresh air and friendship. Accepting that we can’t control much right now, gives us space to focus on what we can do.  If some of these suggestions are new to you, why not give them a try, I bet you’ll feel better for it.

This Wellings blog by Kathie Donovan was exclusively written for Wellings Communities and appeared first on MyWellings.com.

in Healthy Aging Posted by Kathie Donovan

How to Challenge Limiting Beliefs

Are you afraid of heights, flying, insects, needles, storms or public speaking? If you are, you’re certainly not alone. Fear is as old as the human race and is deeply rooted in our operating system. Its role is to protect us against a perceived threat and may be as simple as mistaking the top of a cherry tomato for a spider or as serious as feeling that our life is in danger. 

In the spring and summer of 2020, it feels like we’ve been overserved with fear. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have more questions than answers and we feel uncertain about the future. While fear of the unknown is real, our thoughts about it are not always real. What we think is powerful and we need to keep in mind that our thoughts lie; they lie a lot.

Unfortunately we can easily buy into negative thoughts and if we want to enjoy life, even in this time of the pandemic pause, we need to take charge of our wellness on all levels. We need to eat properly, get rest, exercise, drink plenty of water and manage negative thinking to reduce stress.

It’s important to recognize when our thoughts are inaccurate. Credit goes to bestselling author and speaker Byron Katie and her method of asking ourselves four questions when those pesky negative thoughts attempt to take over. 

Choose one thought. For example: we’re never going to get out of this pandemic.

  • Is this (negative thought) true?
  • Answer: I really don’t know.
  • Can I absolutely know that it is true?
  • Answer: no.
  • What happens when I believe that thought?
  • Answer: I feel afraid.
  • Who would I be or how would I feel without this thought?
  • Answer: I would feel that I am in charge of my future.

It’s time now to turn the thought around. Ask yourself this question: what is the opposite of that thought?

Answer: We will get out of this pandemic.

American psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Amen supports Byron Katie’s method; he created the term ANTs or automatic negative thoughts, referring to the gloomy or complaining thoughts that seem to multiply in our mind.

If fear based thoughts have ever held you back from trying something new, again you’re not alone. The problem is though that these thoughts, left unchecked can create an undesirable result and steal joy, when we could be having fun. When we recognize our automatic negative thoughts for what they are, we can stop the multiplying and refocus our thoughts on something more positive.

Dr. Amen has several categories for ANTs (automatic negative thoughts), among them:

-Always thinking: when we think in terms of always, everyone, never, no one, everything and every time.

– Focusing on the negative: only seeing the bad in a situation.

-Fortune telling: predicting the worst possible outcome.

-Mind reading: we believe we can read someone else’s thoughts (and they’re not good) without them telling us or without us asking.

Dr. Amen advises that once we’ve identified the ANTs, we can remind ourselves that it’s simply a thought and that thoughts aren’t truth. Then we stand up to them and don’t allow them to limit our joy and finally we flip the ANT to a PAT (positive affirming thought). In the example we used earlier: ANT (automatic negative thought) we’re never going to get out of this pandemic. PAT (positive affirming thought) we will eventually recover from this pandemic and I plan to enjoy myself every day until we do.

As with any new habit that benefits our wellness, it takes training to chase away the ANTs; the great news is that as we practice, we take power away from negative thoughts and gain control over our attitude and ultimately our happiness.

This Wellings blog by Kathie Donovan was exclusively written for Wellings Communities and appeared first on MyWellings.com.

in Healthy Aging Posted by Kathie Donovan

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