Personal Growth Cafe

Do you groan when you think of trying to lose weight and exercise?

Most of us do! Unfortunately, for so many, the very idea of losing weight breeds negative thoughts and feelings.

You may even feel as if it’s an impossible challenge.

After all, who wants to think of climbing on those machines in the gym for 30 minutes to take off the pounds?

Or even worse, doing sit-ups at home. Yuck!

If losing weight has become a drag, you need to rethink your strategy.

You’ll be glad to discover that you don’t need to go to the gym to lose weight and get the body you want!

Here are five simple activities that will help you get healthy while having a blast:

1. Play group sports.

One great idea for losing weight the fun way is to play group sports.

Next time, instead of dragging yourself to the gym and those dreaded machines, check out the recreation center in your area.

Start playing soccer, softball, volleyball, or basketball.

With these activities, you’ll be burning off the calories while enjoying yourself at the same time!

2. Go for a walk with your friends.

Another great way to get active and improve your health is to start walking with friends.

Meet during the week to take a brisk walk together, either in the morning before your day begins, during lunch, or in the evening after work.

Schedule your walk into your day as social time.

While you’re walking, take time to catch up and chat with each other.

This way it feels more like a social experience instead of exercise.

3. Dance.

Dancing is another great way to burn off mega calories while you have a great time.

You’ll get your heart pumping, and you’ll enjoy an awesome total workout!

Take a dance class.
Go out to a nightclub where you can dance the night away.
Get some dance videos so you can dance at home.

4. Beautify your yard or cultivate a garden.

Gardening and yard work are both activities that burn calories so you can lose some weight.

Planting flowers or vegetables, pulling weeds, raking, hauling dirt, and doing other gardening chores can really help you get in shape.

When you’re squatting, bending, and yanking out those weeds, you’ll be working muscles you didn’t even know you had!

5. Play with your family.

Even something as simple as playtime outdoors with the family can help you lose some pounds and stay healthy.

Whether it’s running, Frisbee, or playing tag together, just having fun with the family can give you some much needed activity.

Visit a park and go hiking on the trails.
Climb a tree in your backyard.
Go swimming or skiing.

The possibilities are endless!

You’ll have fun spending quality time with your family, and teaching your children a healthy lifestyle as well.

Although these activities are fun, regular activity and eating a healthy diet go hand in hand when you want to lose weight.

You can’t count one weekend of gardening as your exercise for the week.

Vary your activities for more fun, and do something to get moving every day.

Consistency is the key to reaching your weight loss goal.

As you can see, exercising and getting in shape don’t have to be boring or unpleasant.

There are plenty of easy activities you can do to lose weight, improve your health, and have fun!

How do you feel about your current weight?

What activities are you doing to keep yourself fit?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

Also, as your gift for taking this to heart – and this is profoundly important… to us ALL – go to UnitingPlanetEarth.com/ignition/ and do the Uniting Planet Earth 7-Day Quick-Start Ignition Program… and Allow it to Transform Your Life.

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February 3, 2019February 28, 2018

How To Reprogram Your Subconscious Mind

Many people go through their lives without understanding why they make the same mistakes, follow the same patterns, and live in the same ruts.

They aren’t happy with their present situation, but they seem to be unable to make any lasting changes.

Are you one of these people?

Perhaps you’ve attend seminars, read books, and taken courses, but, in the end, fallen back into the same dysfunctional patterns you’ve always followed!

Why does it always turn out this way?

We struggle to make permanent changes in our lives because we input information only into our conscious mind.

Here’s the problem: your conscious mind is not what directs your behaviors and belief system.

To change your behaviors, you must first reprogram the hard-wired center of your mind: the subconscious mind.

How Does Your Subconscious Mind Work?

The subconscious is the largest part of our mind. It contains all the messages we’ve received throughout our lives.

It holds millions and millions of thoughts grouped into clusters that form beliefs, mindsets and character traits.

The relationship between the conscious and subconscious minds is like an iceberg.

The conscious mind is represented by the visible tip of the iceberg, while the subconscious is represented by the gigantic lower portion of the iceberg hidden from view.

You can’t see the subconscious in action, but it certainly has a major impact on the voyage you take in your life.

The subconscious is the place where all of your learned behaviors reside.

Once you learn to walk, you don’t need to consider how to lift and place each foot to take the next step, do you?

Of course not! Your subconscious mind automatically controls your steps.

Your subconscious learns behavior through repetition and practice.

Just as it learned to control your footsteps when you learned to walk, it also controls your footsteps in your life’s journey based on what you’ve reinforced throughout your life.

The good news is you can reprogram your subconscious mind by inputting and reinforcing new thoughts and actions!

There are several different techniques you can use to tap into the subconscious mind and reprogram how it works.

Here are some strategies you can use to change your mind and change your life:

1. Affirmations.

Affirmations work to change your subconscious mind by using positive, personal, present tense statements to override the embedded negative thinking.

By repeating these positive thoughts, you can create new pathways in your subconscious, giving it new attitudes.

Then your subconscious causes you to act in new ways that agree with these new attitudes.

For example, repeating: “I choose healthy foods at each meal” can change your mindset about what you eat and why!

2. Visualization.

Visualization is the act of creating detailed mental pictures that depict a desired outcome so you can see success for yourself.

These images stimulate the subconscious into accepting them as reality, which then directs behavior accordingly.

Top athletes around the world use this technique during game-time.

3. Hypnosis.

Some types of therapy work with the subconscious mind, including hypnosis.

Hypnosis works by easing you into a state of extreme relaxation.

Once you’re in this state, the conscious mind releases its grip, and the subconscious mind is easier to access.

While under hypnosis, it’s much easier to reprogram the subconscious into accepting new thoughts as reality.

4. Subliminal Audios. You can use subliminal audios while you sleep.

The conscious mind listens to music or someone speaking on one level, but the subconscious mind hears another layer of information recorded underneath the audible portion.

When awake, the conscious mind is distracted with the audible portion of the audio, making it harder to tap into the subconscious mind.

Using techniques like these can help you reprogram your subconscious mind and remove the burden of the negative thoughts buried there.

Imagine the freedom of living your life without the automatic dysfunctional behaviors you’ve had driving you for years!

When you transform your negative outlook into a positive one, you can accomplish so much more.

In doing so, your mind will be released from negative programming, allowing you to excel and succeed throughout your life.

How are you staying motivated?

How often do you resist change because of fear of making mistakes?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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February 3, 2019February 28, 2018

Positive thinking won’t let you do anything but it will let you do everything better than negative thinking will. – Zig Ziglar

February 2, 2019February 28, 2018

How to Maintain Healthy Eating Habits

Are you struggling to keep your resolution to eat healthy, nutritious foods?

Once you’ve set a goal to maintain healthy eating habits, how do you go about actually achieving that goal?

The good news is that once you do something consistently for only a few weeks, it becomes a habit.

Here are some simple techniques to help you avoid those tempting junk foods so you can make wise and healthy decisions in your daily routine.

Strategies to Avoid Temptation:

1. Am I hungry?

Ask yourself if you’re really hungry or if you’re eating out of convenience or emotion.

Many times you probably aren’t as hungry as you think, so try to get involved in a different activity instead of snacking.

2. Water, water, and more water.

Drink a lot of water each day.

Not only is this good for your whole body (both inside and out), it can actually make you feel full.

Also, oftentimes when you think you’re hungry, your body is actually thirsty, so keep yourself well hydrated.

3. Try chewing gum.

Putting something in your mouth like gum or hard, sugar-free candy can help convince your brain that you’re eating!

4. Divert your energy.

Instead of putting all your energy into making two grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon, try taking a walk or doing something that requires you to use your hands, like knitting or woodworking.

It’s pretty hard to do these and eat at the same time.

5. Allow yourself snack time.

Choose healthy snacks instead of chips and salsa or chocolate bars.

For snack time, try eating celery, popcorn without butter, fruits, or a make-your-own trail mix with raisins, nuts, and dried fruits.

A good hint for snacking is to have healthy snacks readily available in your home, and unhealthy snacks completely out of the house; that way, the healthy stuff is easy to grab.

How to Choose Healthy Foods:

The next time you’re off to the grocery store, use these tips to help you choose the right foods and avoid the unhealthy stuff.

1. Stay away from preservatives.

You don’t need that Twinkie that can outlast any environmental disaster!

When you learn to read nutrition labels and ingredient lists, you’ll find that there are many snacks that are full of preservatives.

You probably shouldn’t buy the food when the ingredient list contains more than a handful of items.

Plus, if the expiry date isn’t until two years from now, it’s being heavily preserved.

2. Use the food pyramid.

The recommended food pyramid from the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gears you toward whole foods and minimal sweets.

Get a copy from the FDA and make your grocery list by following their guidelines.

3. Buy lots of fresh vegetables that you can use to make up a quick and healthy stir-fry with chicken, brown rice, or even soy products.

Buy easy to make salads where the lettuce and other veggies are already washed.

These are easy, quick, healthy, and they taste good.

The key is to choose vegetables that are dark green or orange in color.

3. Buy fresh fruits and do some research on how to tell when fruits are at their freshest and when they’re in season.

Try some of those exotic fruits you’ve always looked at but never purchased.

Make your own fruit drinks and smoothies for a healthy, delicious treat.

More Great Grocery Store Tips:

1. Shop in a circle.

Many nutritionists will tell you to shop the perimeter of the store.

Grocery stores are usually set up with their fresh foods, fruits, vegetables, fish, and breads all around the perimeter.

Preservative-laced foods are in the center and at the ends of each aisle.

2. Go alone.

Leave your children in good hands and go alone to the grocery store.

This way you can concentrate on getting only the healthy foods you desire without being pressured into buying junk.

Alternatively, if you do bring your children, be prepared to spend extra time teaching them how to spot healthy foods.

3. Make a list!

This technique is a tried and true method to avoid buying foods that aren’t healthy.

Stick to your list and, for fun, seek out healthy foods you haven’t tried before to tempt your taste buds

With some determination and strategies in place, you can achieve your goal to eat healthy!

By incorporating healthy changes into your diet one by one, you’re slowly creating a new habit.

Before long, you’ll be choosing healthy foods without a second thought, and those unhealthy foods you used to eat will no longer tempt you.

Once you discover the benefits and better taste of fresh and healthy foods, you’ll never want to go back!

How often do you have nutritious food in your diet?

What are you favorite healthy foods?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

Before you leave…

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February 2, 2019February 28, 2018

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes. – Marcel Proust

February 1, 2019February 28, 2018

How to Let Go of the Past and Move Forward in Your Life

In order to live a full and complete life, we must learn how to let go of past failures and disappointments and not carry them with us into our future.

Hanging on to pain, bitterness and disappointment from a past conflict is a heavy burden.

It affects your moods, attitudes, relationships, job and all aspects of your life.

Negativity eats away at your self-esteem and destroys any possibility of a life free from pain.

Fortunately, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel!

Your future doesn’t have to be a repetition of your past.

You don’t need to be destined to a life of pain, regardless of what you’ve already been through.

You can lay down your burdens.

It’s okay for you to be free. In fact, you deserve it!

These five steps will help you move forward and find the freedom you need to begin living a fuller, more enjoyable life, regardless of what lies in your past:

1. Talk about it.

Discuss your past pain, fear, disappointment or trauma with a trusted friend or family member.

Fully express the feelings associated with the situation: cry, scream, or do whatever you need to do to release the bottled up emotions in a safe way.

Until you really talk about the feelings connected to your past, you may not be able to move past them.

Once you’ve spoken the words, release them from your mind forever.

As hard as it may be, it’s the only way to free yourself from your past.

2. Use a journal. Writing in a journal is an excellent way to pour out your pain.

A journal offers the safety of knowing your words are just for you and won’t be read by anyone else.

Don’t worry about spelling, grammar, or even if the words follow a logical progression, simply write from the heart.

Physically writing your thoughts and feelings can release your emotions so you can move past them.

3. Seek forgiveness.

Many people misunderstand the meaning of forgiveness.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean what happened to you is unimportant or you’re saying it’s “okay.”

In fact, forgiveness isn’t about the other person at all.

Forgiveness simply means that you’ve made the choice to let go of the desire to exact revenge and punishment, and you’ve found closure within your heart and soul.

Forgiveness releases you from the burden of carrying the pain any longer.

By choosing to forgive, you can stop thinking about the past so it won’t control your future.

4. Seek professional guidance. You can choose to get help from a life coach or therapist.

The people closest to us aren’t always the best choice to help us work through our pain.

It may be difficult for us to fully open up about our deepest pain or it may be hard for them to step back far enough to help us through it.

Seeking guidance from a professional gives us the safety of relative anonymity, which can make it easier to share our problems.

Often a coach or counselor can help us see a new point of view, which can help us move forward.

5. Use alternative therapies.

There are many techniques you can use to help change your mindset, which can be instrumental in leaving the past behind.

One method, known as EFT or Emotional Freedom Technique, uses the principles of acupuncture (without the needles!) to help you take the “charge” out of your feelings.

EFT is done by tapping with your fingertips on the meridian points in the upper part of your body.

The tapping sequence, combined with verbally expressing your feelings, helps break up the blockage of energy caused by the negative feelings, allowing you to release them.

Hanging onto past negativity isn’t necessary.

No matter what your history contains, you can learn to release it and move forward into a life filled with contentment and joy.

Find a method that works for you and begin, today, to let go of the past and move into the life you deserve!

What burdens do you carry from your past?

How can you learn from them and use what you learned to better yourself?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

Before you leave…

Please share the link to this post on your Facebook, Twitter, etc., and like it, and comment right here – THANKS!

February 1, 2019February 28, 2018

You were not born a winner and you were not born a loser. You are what you make yourself be. – Lou Holtz

January 31, 2019February 28, 2018

How to Find a Loving Relationship

Is finding a loving relationship on your mind?

Have you been disappointed in your search?

While it may seem like discovering the type of relationship you long for is beyond your reach, rest assured it’s not impossible.

There are many strategies you can use to help you in your quest for that special someone.

And once you find that extraordinary person who loves you for who you are, your relationship can carry you forward, together, toward your dreams and complete fulfillment!

Here are a few important tips to help you find the loving relationship you seek:

1. Know your own needs.

When looking for a long-term relationship, the first thing you need to do is clarify your own wants and needs.

After all, if you don’t know what you want, how will you recognize it when you find it?

Know who you are, what you want out of life, and what you absolutely don’t want.

Many people go out looking for a relationship with no clue what they really need or want in a companion.

When you’re able to figure out your own desires and know who you truly are, then you’re much more likely to find someone who fulfills those desires.

2. Be firm with your values.

It’s essential to stand up for the values you find important.

If your love interest has completely different core values, then you’re not going to be able to build a strong, loving, and lasting relationship.

You can still have a relationship with someone you disagree with on some issues.

However, the foundational values that you hold dear should be shared.

This could be your religious or political values, or whatever else is important to you.

3. Identify your goals.

What are your goals?

Where do you plan to be in five or ten years?

A relationship where both partners have very different goals will be difficult.

It’s important that you find someone with similar goals so you’re both heading in the same direction.

You want to come closer together as your relationship grows, not be torn apart by wildly differing goals.

For example, discuss important subjects such as children, career aspirations, and family life before jumping into a relationship.

4. Be true to yourself.

This is imperative if you want to find the loving relationship your heart longs for.

You should never settle for someone just because you want to be in a relationship.

Don’t allow your desire to have a loving relationship sell you short of what you really deserve.

If you’re not true to yourself, you’ll come to regret it later.

You may wake up one day and realize you’re not happy with your life, including the person you’re sharing it with.

5. Finding a loving relationship is possible – don’t let anyone, including yourself, try to tell you otherwise.

However, it’s important that you take the time to prepare yourself to attract your soul mate.

By following these tips, you’re putting yourself in a good position to spark a connection that will last for a lifetime.

It might take some time and effort to get to know yourself first, but the results will be worth it!

How important is the influence of love in your life?

When was the last time you fell in love?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

Before you leave…

Please share the link to this post on your Facebook, Twitter, etc., and like it, and comment right here – THANKS!

January 31, 2019February 28, 2018

Posts

Be the change you want to see in the world. – Mahatma Gandhi

Losing Weight Can Be Fun – Five Simple Activities to Get Healthy and Have Fun

How To Reprogram Your Subconscious Mind

Positive thinking won’t let you do anything but it will let you do everything better than negative thinking will. – Zig Ziglar

How to Maintain Healthy Eating Habits

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes. – Marcel Proust

How to Let Go of the Past and Move Forward in Your Life

You were not born a winner and you were not born a loser. You are what you make yourself be. – Lou Holtz

How to Find a Loving Relationship

My philosophy of life is evident in my actions.