A New Decade

Okay, first New Year's resolution is to update my blog more. I've committed to this after receiving a lovely note from a woman named Christine from half way around the world telling me she found my words inspiring. Wow! Heady stuff. So I logged on for the first time in a month to find that I now have 3 followers! Thanks guys!

Part of why I haven't written anything recently is that I, like most of the rest of the world, have been super busy over the holidays. The other reason is that I kept trying to thing of something profound to say as a way to kick off not only a New Year but a new decade! Too much pressure!

But then I decided to take my own advice. The advice that I give to my clients all the time. Take action! It doesn't have to be the best action in the world or the ultimate action...just take action. Get moving....so here I go!

A bit of an update:

My yoga practice was going great until I went to Singapore for a Tony Robbins event, Wealth Mastery. It was my third Wealth Mastery but probably the most impactful in many ways. The speakers were outstanding and I really "got" a lot of what they said this time around. I'm rethinking my investment strategies a result...learning to trade stock / shares with the DMAS Trading System developed by Steve Linder and Foreign Exchange trading from Knowledge to Action out of the UK.

This was also my first Robbins event as a Senior Leader. I was very excited! We had 900 participants (more or less...they kept coming and going...something I'd never seen with Western audiences) and only 24 Trainers / Leadership. We were a small but mighty team and bonded so well. Truly worked as a team and did everything from running mics to turning on / off lights (we only had 4 crew).

I was good for the first few days but then time constraints got the better of me and I stopped my practice. It would only have been for a few days, but for the fact that I came back from Singapore with some sort of virus and barely got out of bed for a week!

But the week before and of Christmas I was back at it. Felt good to be on the mat! I'm starting to do shoulder stand again after my neck injury and that's feeling good. I'm still chickening out on dropping back by myself though. But my goal is to do it consistently by the end of March.

Unfortunately I'm sidelined from my practice again for the next 10 days. But this is self-imposed. Many of you know that I lost 22 kilos / 50 lbs 5 years ago and have kept it off. Until 6 months ago. I started to notice small but stead weight gain. My clothes don't feel that much different, but when I got on my scales I realised that I'd gained 9 lbs / 4 kg's in the last 6 months. And put 2 inches back on everywhere. Soooo,

Back on The Fat Flush Plan! This is the diet I used to take all of my weight off in 6 months. The first two weeks is a cleanse where you cut out all carbs, alcohol, yeast and most spices. It cleanses your liver and lymphatic system. I feel better the first week than I did the first time around...but am losing weight much more slowly...to be expected with only 9 lbs to lose. Actually...I'm going for 10 to get down to the unheard of (for me) weight of 135 lbs / 61 kgs. I'm 5'7" and that should be my ultimate. At 48 though I'm not sure that's attainable or sustainable. But I would like to have flat stomach and thighs that don't go bump in the night.

During this first phase the only exercise you can do is power walking...20 minutes per day. So I've been religiously doing that. And not even attempting yoga (I made that mistake the first time around and almost passed out). But another 2 week holiday won't kill me and it will only take a week or so to re build the muscle I will inevitably lose.

This experience though has helped me to realise just how cavalier I'd become about what I was eating. Wayyyy too much sugar and more carbs than my body can really handle. When it comes to weight, my genetics are stacked against me...with my mother and sister both being morbidly obese, along with both Grandmothers when they were alive. My father was overweight for all but the last 20 years of his life as well. So, I've really got to watch it.

Now my struggle is, to drink or not to drink! I decided to give up alcohol awhile back...and then decided that that was a bad idea. I do like to have the occasional glass of wine with friends. Unfortunately with my addictive personality that turns into buying a bottle to enjoy at home one night...and then several times / week. Not that I drink much...1 - 2, 3 max glasses. But still. It's not congruent with my lifestyle.

So...do I go cold turkey or do I use my NLP skills to change the behaviour of drinking at home. Still deciding on that one. Would love to hear your thoughts!

My last post was about dating. Not much to tell in that arena over the last month. In fact...nothing. I decided to take myself off of the online site I was on for two reasons. First, I was tired of meeting nice guys with whom I had no connection. Second, I realised that I was using that as a shield. I could hide behind doing a bunch of coffee dates and feel as though I was making progress.

My new strategy? If anyone has ever read one of my favourite books, "God on a Harley" you'll guess already! Do the things I like to do and do more of it. Get involved socially, surround myself with cool people doing cool things and meet lots of like minded men and women. Not only will I meet men who are better suited to me, I'll also make more friends. And who doesn't need more friends??

To that end...I met some really cool people at the recent Thought Leaders Conference in December. Definitely some people I'll meet up with again now that the calendar has turned over and people are starting to go back to work. I'm also thinking about taking up golf, will definitely take photography courses, and do more volunteer work. It's going to be fun!!!