Motivation is intrinsic, or is it?

by Cindi j Jeffrey | Dec 28, 2018 | Dreams, Fear, Inspiration, motivation, self-care, Wellness

Resolutions

December typically draws out a feeling of regret from failed resolutions. Humor me and take a moment to look back upon 2018 and assess your goals. Now, be honest with yourself…did you meet them? Why or why not? For me, this year was tough. I did NOT meet my business goals. Furthermore, here’s the hard truth. I did not meet my business goals as a direct result of not working hard enough. Ultimately, I wasn’t focused enough on what I wanted.

Ouch.

But that’s the truth. It wasn’t the lack of someone’s help or the result of my team not working. Consequently, it was me not doing what I needed to do to make things happen. So let me ask you again, did you meet your 2018 goals?

Motivation

On a positive side, I did meet some wellness goals, so that’s a win. However, I digress.

In truth, I used to wonder why people weren’t internally motivated. Naively, I also used to think that I could externally motivate people to make the changes they needed to. However, now I know better. Today, I realize that I can’t change anyone any more than someone else can make changes for me. That really sucks.

It sucks because I have many amazing ideas. I am chock full of motivation and inspiration. Furthermore, I may believe in you more than you believe in you, probably because I am not bogged down by the same old tapes that you are repeating. I see through the bullshit to who you can be if you only trusted yourself to make it happen. If only I could do the same thing with myself.

Intrinsic

When you were learning to walk, you didn’t quit trying every time you fell down. You got right back up and tried again (I love this analogy). That desire to move on two legs was intrinsic…it came from within. Somewhere in your life, you began to doubt yourself and those doubts are what is keeping you from reaching for more.

Tell those self-doubts to fuck off. You were created on purpose and you are NOT an accident. You have a purpose. What are you passionate about? Where are you when you feel the most alive? That’s what you need to do. Trust me, you aren’t too old and it isn’t too late. Dig deep, say some prayers and go for it. God wouldn’t put it in your heart if He didn’t want you to fulfill that dream.

Goals

It will still take work. You have heard the old cliche, that it begins with a dream. That’s true…however after that dream comes goals. Goals are brought to life when they are written down, so take a moment and free write what you would do if you weren’t limited by your own self-beliefs or current circumstances.

Now, write a workable time frame next to those goals. Be honest with yourself about what you can achieve and feel free to break the goals down.

Take a look at what you have done. You, my friend, have just created a plan for your dream to come to fruition. That takes courage and many people do not even get this far in their planning.

Go make it happen and let me know when you hit your first goal!

Hormones – It’s not all in your head!

by Cindi j Jeffrey | Sep 30, 2018 | Fitness, Inspiration, mom, Wellness

What is wrong with me?

Fatigue. Mental Fog. No libido. Disappearing lean muscle. Do any of these sound familiar?

I am talking about real fatigue, like the kind where you can’t keep your eyes open in the afternoons, even after laying in bed for 8 hours the previous night. Notice I didn’t say you slept the previous night, and chances are you weren’t having sex either, because you are just so fricken exhausted!

And mental fog? Listen, I know that we all walk into a room and forget why we went in, but this kind of mental fog is a tad more extreme...its the kind where you need your vitamins in a daily display case so you can remember if you… Click To TweetIt’s the check your toothbrush kind to see if it’s wet because you can’t remember if you already brushed your teeth today.

Let’s be real, as much as you love your son’s overstuffed bear, you really don’t want to BE ONE. Where in the F__K is all the fluffiness coming from? You work out, you eat well and the muscle keeps melting away. You have a whole closet full of clothing that you can’t wear and you really don’t want to purchase the bigger sizes.

WTF?

My story

While my story may begin differently than yours, my frustration may be the same. I had my children at the ages of 39 and 40 (gasp). Following the birth of my second child, I had surgery on both of my hands…shortly after I healed, I began working out and kept injuring myself; which derailed me every time I started getting momentum. It also left me feeling defeated.

Within 18 months, I had three abdominal surgeries, including a hysterectomy and the recovery was awful. Actually, I am not sure I ever fully recovered from that final surgery. I was depressed, fluffy, exhausted and unhappy. Once again, I was determined to work out and signed up for a 5K. I began training with a friend and dropped some weight…until I experienced two stress fractures from carrying my child down a mountain in the rain…

Right?

Soon after, I began experiencing planar fascitits and after 18 months of therapy that included a boot, injections and physical therapy, they wanted to perform surgery. Additionally, I had been experiencing extreme joint inflammation and I just fricken hurt. I HURT ALL THE TIME. My doctor took a blood panel, which showed a high ANC so she sent me to a neurologist, who diagnosed me with fibromalygia. I knew within my whole being that there was something else going on.

Hormones

Keep in mind, during these years, I was still a wife, a mom, and freelancer however I was exhausted. I could fall asleep anytime I sat down and my hips and joints just hurt. So I did some research and found a new doctor who took one look at me and tested my hormone levels. Turns out my testosterone was a whopping 17(that’s very very low, my friend). No wonder I was fluffy, exhausted and in pain.

After some research, I began taking bioidentiacal hormes and within two weeks, I was no longer needing an afternoon nap. It took some time, but I began to feel like a real person again. Granted, there are some days that I feel better than others, but isn’t that with all of us? I didn’t expect miracles, I just wanted to feel good again.

It’s not all in your head

As a trainer and empowerer, I am appalled at how many women struggle with this and are never given proper information. So many of us are given medications, instructed to eat less or told to work out more. All any of that does is bandage the problem. Honestly, when I was first introduced to bioidentiacal hormones, I was skeptical. However research shows that we lose our ability to create hormones with each decade…and as we are living longer, that often leads us to living miserably also.

Unfortunately, not every practitioner is open to testing for hormones, which in turn can be frustrating. Furthermore, even when they do test, insurance companies rarely cover the cost of bio identical hormones. I know women who have gone to physician after physician and have been diagnosed with a multitude of ailments, without ever having their hormone levels tested, let alone talked about.

Additionally, not all physicians test the same hormones, nor are the optimal levels consistent. No wonder we are all confused, right? And we can become peri menopausal in our 30’s, which may cause a change in hormones while we look completely fine. Rest assured my friend, it isn’t all in your head. If you know that something isn’t right, keep asking questions and demanding further testing. You deserve to look and feel your best at every age and you can’t pour from an empty cup.

Don’t be an asshole…try compassion

by Cindi j Jeffrey | Sep 20, 2018 | childhood, Inspiration, parenting, Relationships, self-care

Are you an Asshole?

Wow, that’s a brutal opener, isn’t it? The question stands though, are you an asshole?

An appropriate answer could go something like this: “well, I guess it depends upon who you ask”. And while there may be some truth to that, it’s unfortunate. Human nature has proven again and again that we tend to lash out at those closest to us, at those we love the most. The social worker in me says that we do this because we feel safe with them and can let our guard down. The wife and mother in me thinks that is a cop out. Shouldn’t we model compassion for all?

Compassion

When engaging with an asshole, the last thing we want to use is compassion. I get it. One riled up person often creates another riled up and pissed off person. Click To TweetHowever, what if you could diffuse the situation? Often times, being aware of our own behavior can assist in de-escalating the increasing anger of others…hence the expression “killing them with kindness”.

However, what happens when compassion doesn’t work?

That’s when we check our boundaries.

Boundaries

This is where it gets tricky. We want to be compassionate without becoming a figurative or literal “punching bag” and that isn’t always an easy thing to do. For many of us, we need to remove said asshole from our life before we realize how toxic the situation truly was. It is only at that time that we can look back and recognize said person for what they are…and thank God that we had the fortitude to remove said person or ourselves from the situation.

As adults, this is difficult to do, therefore, imagine the pressure our children go through. It can be difficult to empower our children to set appropriate boundaries when they witness adults being assholes to one another. This is where it becomes our responsibility to role model both compassion and setting boundaries.

Role Modeling

I have two boys who view the world drastically different. One of my boys doesn’t personalize anythings while one of my sons is very sensitive and tends to personalize the behavior of others, often resulting in relationship issues with his peers. He is compassionate and wants to resolve any conflicts passively. While I commend this approach, it also sets him up to become the product of ridicule from his classmates and we talk about establishing appropriate boundaries. Essentially we have discussed the following:

Show compassion, we don’t know what others are experiencing and perhaps he is acting out.
Ignore him. Focus on YOU and don’t allow him to have any control over your time at school.
Talk to the teacher about the situation.
Punch him…while this is not politically correct, if my son has demonstrated the above coping skills and things have yet to change for him, where else can he take this?

My point is this: it is difficult to teach our children how to deal with assholes when they watch everything we are doing. Let’s try a different approach, shall we? How about we show compassion to others when we want to become angry and lash out. We need to give ourselves time outs to cool off and demonstrate appropriate interactions with others.

After all, when I call it a day, I want to believe in my heart that I wasn’t an asshole…nor did I punch anyone.

Thoughts?

Let your voice empower

by Cindi j Jeffrey | Aug 17, 2018 | Fear, Inspiration, motivation, self-care

What’s in a story?

Everyone has a story to tell, however, too many of us silence the screams before the words are recognized or released. We downplay the significance of our experiences and tend to minimize the emotions as we smother them. We fail to see that our story is what makes us who we are, that each of our chapters is creating a beautiful tale to be shared with others…that perhaps our story will empower and give hope to someone else who is experiencing something similar.

We deny ourselves our voice when we deny our story. When we let the silence separate us from others, we inadvertently create voids rather than implementing building blocks. We create distance from those who could lift us back up. Unfortunately, with each building block, the walls become higher and our ability to reach out to others fades, leaving us feeling alone.

Lift one another up

What if we lifted one another up by releasing that voice and sharing our story? If we derived hope from one another? What if by reading someone’s story we learned how they overcame adversity and conquered their fears?

Wouldn’t that give you hope also? How empowering for the storyteller to know that their experiences are helping someone else while the benefactor gleens a spark of hope.

Hope for a better future. A chance to move forward and tear down those walls, brick by brick and word by word. With each release, a bit of light comes in and with each ray of light, there is a larger bit of hope. This is what we are doing. We are sharing stories and sharing hope.

Empower

Empowerment occurs when we use our voice. We speak up for yourself and we speak for others. Empowerment isn’t just a word, it holds the ability to provide hope for others. There is a lot of power in that word when you use it wisely.

How will you empower someone today?

Do you have an empowering story to tell? Send me an email and let’s chat about getting your story out for others to read!

What Wikipedia can’t tell you about this wellness supplement.

by Cindi j Jeffrey | Feb 2, 2018 | Business owner, Fear, Fitness, Inspiration, motivation, parenting, Supplement, Wellness

Do you need a SUPPLEMENT?

Not everyone needs a supplement, however, it is my opinion that the majority of people do. Why? We need to be filling at least HALF of our plates with fruits and vegetables at every meal to reach your peak wellness and meet the recommended nutritional guidelines. Although I know people who eat very well, I do not know one person who meets this goal on a daily basis without a little extra help.

As an It Works rep, I have access to amazing bioavailable supplements. For years, I would grab something off the shelf that looked like it might meet my needs. That was before I became aware of artificial fillers and less than accurate labeling. Furthermore, as I began looking at what was IN my supplements, I began to care about what I was putting inside of my body.

So, what if there was a way to DRINK your fruits and veggies every day and in the process, you would improve your overall wellness? Here are my top 5 reasons YOU should have this supplement every day.

Greens

This is my all-time go-to product. Out of nearly 40 products available on my website, this is the one I recommend to almost everyone I meet. Why? Because the benefits are amazing and for the price, you truly can’t go wrong, considering you will receive all of the following benefits are in one little serving.

Energize

Greens offer you natural energy via Matcha Green Tea. I love to drink mine during that mid-day slump when I used to grab something from a vending machine. This energy keeps me going through my evening activities without the sugar crash provided via other “energy drinks”.

Alkalize

Research shows that disease doesn’t thrive in an alkalized environment…it loves acid. Daily Greens minimizes the acid within your system and balances your ph. Personally, I have minimized my reflux medication after starting on daily Greens. The brilliant combination of potassium and magnesium also provides support for stronger bones and lean muscle.

Detox

It seems that everywhere you look, someone is talking about detoxing your system. Why? Because the toxins we ingest on a daily basis wear our body down. Imagine the sludge that is living in your body (actually, don’t) and how that impacts your overall wellness. A daily detox can build your immune system by clearing out those nasty little toxins, while also giving you additional energy via a daily gentle cleanse.

8 servings of Fruits and Veggies

8 servings of fruits and veggies in every serving that includes over 34 fruits and vegetables and 52 herbs and superfoods! When have you ever provided your body with the nutrition it craves? A side benefit of this supplement is a decrease in cravings because you are giving your body what it needs to function at an optimum level. Minerals, enzymes, and phytonutrients are all kept in their natural state in order to be easily absorbed into your body.

2Yummy flavors

Greens are available in two different flavors. Each one has a distinct taste and can be taken alone or mixed with something yummy.

Chocolate –I love these in my morning coffee or smoothies. For an extra rich treat, add it to hot cocoa. Who would have thought chocolate and veggies would be so yummy?

Berry -My favorite! I actually crave this flavor because it has such a unique taste. Add a dash of Mio, put in juice, a smoothie or mix with cold water!

Need more reasons to DRINK your GREENS?

How about this. The Greens blends are NON-GMO, Vegan, Soy Free, and Dairy Free. Greens also help me to balance my diet. I believe in mediocracy, meaning I don’t necessarily deprive myself of anything, however, I realize I need a balance. Greens give me that balance and peace of mind when I do go over the edge of unhealthy eating.

Greens are available in three different sizes to meet your needs. All ingredients are listed on my website, as are instructions for optimum use. I would love to send you a sample, and let me know of your interest in wanting to #beabetteryou.

I want Greens!

Next Entries »