2012 - a year of Conscious Self Care

When I was in grade three my parents moved across town which meant that I had to change schools half way through the year. For anyone who has had to do this, they understand that it can be quite traumatic being the new kid on the block.

Two weeks into my traumatic experience something happened that would change the course of my life for the next 20 years. This one little event, which when I look back now seems so insignificant, managed to instill in me a belief that I was stupid and would never amount to anything.

On this particular day my grade three teacher was providing us with instructions on how to clean out our paper drawers where we held certain assignments we had completed over the term. There were some papers that needed to be placed in the bin and some we needed to hold on to.

I was obviously not listening and threw out some of the ones I needed to keep. Her reaction to my little clean out went like this.

She stood me on the stage where she taught from. She put the bin at my feet and sat the whole class down in front of me so that I was the centre of attention. She then made me pick out the papers from the bin one by one.  As I did this she proceeded to tell me how dumb I was and that I must be the stupidest little girl she had ever taught.  She further went on to say how I would never amount to anything if I couldn’t learn to listen now.

My whole world as far as I was concerned was laughing at me and I was crying my eyes out. So in my nine year old mind, my belief was that I was stupid because she should know right, she was my teacher?

I went from being a very extroverted confident little girl to one who would never draw attention to herself, and was shy and introverted. It changed my life for the next 20 years.

Conscious self-care is about throwing out those old limiting self-sabotaging beliefs and adopting new beliefs that provide us with a platform to thrive.

I changed my belief that I was not smart to ” I can learn anything if I want to”. From there, I started enrolling in every course I could find. I eventually graduated as a nurse, became a personal trainer, started my own business and now own a successful international coaching company with my husband with a Retreat and Day Spa. And all this from a girl who was told she would never amount to anything.

Our beliefs are not set in stone. We can change them in an instant when provided with the right framework and stimulation. I’ve worked with Personal Training Clients who were overweight and detested exercise who are now personal trainers themselves. All they did was just change one little belief which then created a ripple effect.

If you would like to hear a recording of the story of my third grade teacher and find out the techniques I used to turn my world around then click here for a free audio download.

Also if you have any similar stories about changing a limiting belief then I would love to hear them, share them on my blog or Facebook.

Filed under: Peak Performance

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I create a menu plan for the week!
Creating a menu plan for the week not only helps you to get organized, it also helps you save waste. How much food do you throw out because it has expired or you bought it thinking you would use it at some stage and never did?

Every Sunday I sit down with some favorite recipe books and create a menu for the week. It only takes half an hour and at the end of the process I know not only what we are going to eat for the week but also what I will need to buy. This saves me money at the grocery store because I don’t buy things I don’t need.

You need to look at your upcoming week and decide who is going to be home to eat meals and how much time you will have to cook your meals.  If Ian is away for a few days, then I know that I only need to cook for myself but I’ll make a serving for two so that I can eat it the next day for lunch or dinner, saving me time. This is great if you know you have to work late one night. You already have the main course cooked and you can vary it with a different side dish.
We have provided you with a great little tool called the ‘Enrich Food Planner‘.

On the front is a shopping list and on the back is the menu planner. When you work out what meals you will be preparing then you list the ingredients you will need to buy on the shopping list. This way you know that you will have all the ingredients needed to make the recipe on the appropriate day instead of wasting time racing to the supermarket to get what you need that day.

It may seem like a hassle to have to sit down and prepare for the week but believe me the energy it saves you in regards to time, money, environment, health and stress is enormous and once you get into the habit you will never want to stop.
My menu plan excites me
Food nourishes the body.  It is the fuel for life so you need to be excited about what goes in it. When planning a menu for the week, it’s good to look at recipe books and pick the recipes that make you look forward to that day. When you give your meal planning attention, then you are consciously making healthier choices instead of deciding at the last minute what to feed the family and then making the decision based on limited time and choices. This leads to eating fast food or what I call ‘same old same old’, meals that you revert to because they are quick and easy and you’ve cooked them a thousand times.

Exciting meals doesn’t mean restaurant quality or Masterchef induced dishes.   They are simply meals that make you go hmmm, because you know that they are healthy and that they are easily prepared according to your love or lack of it, for cooking in the kitchen. You don’t have to enjoy cooking but there will be meals that you love to eat that are not that painful to cook. With a little preparation and organization you can sit down to food that excites you.

My menu plan fits into my life and is realistic
This is where you need to be totally realistic and tell it like it is. If you have little time to cook then it’s no use planning a three course menu.  It’s not going to happen. If you have children that don’t eat what you like to eat, you will find yourself preparing two or three different meals.  Then it’s futile to cook a recipe that takes two hours to prepare because you will be too tired to eat it

When you decide on a recipe make sure that it fits into your lifestyle and your commitments for that day. There are so many cooking shows and websites now dedicated to great healthy easy options that don’t break the budget and don’t require a university degree to cook it. Spend some time finding recipes that you love to cook and eat and then create a filing system so that you can easily find them when you want to make them again. It’s also a good idea when trying new recipes to rate them so that you know if it was a winner or not.

I only buy food according to the menu plan and to replenish low stocks of staples. By sticking to the shopping list, you will know exactly what you need to buy so you won’t be tempted to throw in that extra packet of biscuits as you walk down the biscuit isle. It definitely saves you money at the register and prevents unnecessary wastage.

I don’t have junk food in the house
If you are trying to lose weight then you are tempting fate by having a junk drawer full of all those forbidden goodies that tease you every time you walk past. It’s like sticking a bone in front of a dog and then telling it not to eat it.  It’s darn cruel, that’s what it is. If it’s not in the house then you can’t eat it.  Unless of course you get into your car and drive down to the 7/11 in the middle of the night and then I would say there’s a  bigger issue than a chocolate craving going on.
My kitchen is clean
The kitchen is sometimes the heart of the home. There is so much energy happening in that space and so it’s important to make sure that there is no energy loss happening as well. That’s why it’s important to have a clean and tidy kitchen. There’s nothing worse than walking past a sink full of dirty dishes and thinking, ‘oh I must get to those’.  Because each time that happens you’re losing energy.  The Fly Lady is a great website for learning how to keep your kitchen and house clean.

When you are preparing nutritious, loving meals for your friends and family you deserve a pleasant environment to work in. This space should be clean and free from germs that spread disease. Imagine if you went to a restaurant and after your meal you walked into the kitchen and saw dirt and grime and cockroaches. You would probably be sick so you wouldn’t want that kind of environment in your own home.

It may take a little time at the start but trust me, when you are organized the amount of time you save during the week far outweighs the time spent at the beginning.

The more organized you are in the little things means great rewards for the big things!

Filed under: Health and Wellbeing, Peak Performance

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If you want to be successful then it makes sense that your work space is a place which conveys that energy. It’s where you spend so much of your time and creativity and provides you with a deep sense of groundedness, inspiration and feeds you energy rather than zaps it from you.

Here are seven  ideas to help you go from clutter and chaos to creative heaven. The secret is to lean into it rather than change everything all at once and then not be able to sustain it. By just picking one or two ideas to start with you will be able to better manage the changes and as they become habits you can implement other ideas.

Idea Number One: It’s all in the name!

Whether you have a desk, an office or a room, call it a name that conjures up fun and wealth and excites you such as your creative space or your money magnet area. A desk is something that you work from; an artist table is something that you create with. An office sounds serious and all work, no play, the wealth play room say’s ‘this is where I make money and have fun at the same time’.

Have fun with the names, once you have thought of a name, print out a colourful sign and pin it to the door or your wall where you can see it every day.

Idea Number Two: A place for everything!

Clutter means blocked energy so make sure that everything has a home. A messy desk means you’re losing energy all the time. Only have the bare minimum on the bench and shelves, keep drawers tidy and fully stocked. Regularly file away papers, make it a habit every week to have a filing hour or pay someone else to do it. Delegate what you don’t like to do and do more of what you are good at.

Idea Number Three: Flowers and Candles just for you!

Treat yourself to fresh flowers once a week or pick them from the garden. They always brighten up a room and bring a bit of nature into your space. I love tealight candles. They are all over my home. Keep one at your desk or in the room and burn it during the day. Candles don’t have to be just for night time.

Idea Number Four: Ignite the Senses!

Burning aromatherapy oils are a great way to create moods and shift the energy. It balances emotions, reduces stress and increases confidence. Get a burner just for your office and burn your favourite essence every day. If you’re bored, burn peppermint, if you’re confused burn jasmine, if you are anxious burn bergamot. It is amazing the difference it makes.

Idea Number Five: Hydrate with style!

Keep a beautiful water jug and glass with lemon on your desk. My coach Christine Kane stated that having her water flask at her desk felt like hitting the gym so she suggested this idea and it certainly makes you feel like you’re hydrating in style.

Idea Number Six: Create a Manifestation wall!

The backboard of my desk is my vision board. I call it my manifestation wall and each day as I sit and type away I glance over at all the things that are making their way into my life. My new home, my career goals, people who I respect and admire, affirmations and love notes from my husband. It’s a great way to attract your hearts desires.

Idea Number Seven: Energise with sage!

Whenever I want to shift the energy I burn sage. It clears out all the negativity and neutralises it. I sage my money magnet playroom at least once a week. I do it more often if there has been a lot of people through or if I just feel slightly off.

Energy plays a big part in creating wealth so you want to make sure that the space where you create has the best energy in order to be able to do this. Plus when you are in this type of environment you are able to receive so much more inspiration and guidance. Your energy levels are higher and your emotions are more grounded.

Give it a go and see the difference it can make to you life!

Filed under: Peak Performance

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As an Entrepreneur for over 13 years now, there has been numerous occasions where I have worked my fingers to the bone and pulled an all-nighter to meet a deadline only to wake up feeling like I’ve been run over by a truck and my body parts have been eaten by wild dogs, (graphic I know but you get the picture).

Why do we do this to ourselves? Simple answer, because we are trapped in a “non sync factor” model instead of a model of peak performance which I call “sync factor success”?

If you’re wondering what ‘sync factor’ means it is like the ‘x-factor’ for entrepreneurs. It’s that magnetism and energy that people are drawn to because you are in the flow of life. You’re attracting situations and events which are synchronistic. You’re in-action and inspired and life is effortless. Energetically you have tapped into your success pathway and you are able to gain more clarity and respond to situations more effectively. You think clearer, have a deeper sense of wisdom and clarity and your intuition is alive.

So in this article I am going to provide 7 tips that are guaranteed to get you stressed and burnout real quick because this is what every woman in business strives for (NOT). They worked for me until I learnt how to release stress, tap into my gender specific energy system and plug up my energy leaks. Ultimately I learnt how to have ‘sync factor’ success.

1. Don’t listen to your body

Our greatest gift we have been given is our body. Having been trained as a nurse I have studied anatomy and physiology and every time I think about how our body works I am blown away. Your body will tell you physically when something is wrong. The tightness of the muscles, the cold that has just come on, that little niggle in the tummy, the tightness of the solar plexus, and the contraction in the chest. So many signs and if we are paying attention, then we won’t have to manage our stress, we can release our stress.

2. Do the wrong type of affirmation

I love affirmations. I have said them for many years. Things like ‘I am a money magnet’ and ‘I am a successful entrepreneur with a million dollar business’. What I have come to learn though is that when we say an affirmation the wrong way, it can actually stimulate the adrenal system and cause us to go into fight or flight mode. Now this is fine for men but for women it’s a real no no.

As women we need to start with ‘I trust’. ‘I trust’ tells our bodies that it is safe. When we are safe we can be in a ‘tend and befriend’ state.

3. Don’t start the day with your power rituals

Your morning power ritual will ultimately determine the outcome of your day. How you handle circumstance and events. How much energy you have and how creative you are can all be affected by how you start your day.

My morning power ritual consists of meditation, prayer, journaling, setting my intention for the day, exercise and a great breakfast.

It takes all of 1 hour and sets me up for Peak Performance.

4. Don’t participate in ‘TREE’ time

T is for Time. R is for Reflecting, E is for Energizing and E is for Evolving. Every week I schedule time spent by myself to reflect on the week so far. I usually have it in the bath with mineral salts, aromatherapy oils and candles as all this creates a calming soothing energy. I usually read something that adds to my life and I prepare for my next week and ask for guidance and inspiration.

‘TREE’ time is essential for growth and personal development.

5. Ignore energy leaks

Ever walk past the desk and think, ‘I must clean that’ or opened the drawer and not be able to find what you you’re looking for because it is so messy?

This is called energy leaks and it happens all the time. If you can imagine we wake up with 100 points of energy to last you through the day. Messy desk, there goes 3 points. Messy drawer, 3 points and so on. Soon enough you have used all of your points and guess what? It’s only 3 o’clock,  bugger!

6. Try and maintain work/life balance

Remember back when you played on a see-saw with a friend and tried to balance but your friend weighed more than you and so it was impossible.

Well I personally believe trying to create balance between your work and life is just adding to stress because it creates an either / or scenario. Meaning you have to give up something and put it somewhere else or get totally stressed out by feeling guilty that you haven’t spent time with the kids today or whatever it is you feel guilty about, so you leave work early and then feel guilty for the rest of the night about that action plan you never sent to so and so and then you stress about all the work you have to do the next day to catch up and on and on it goes.

When you are an entrepreneur you usually do it because you love it. It’s a passion so why try and balance everything when balancing only leads to stress?

Why not learn how to tap into ‘sync factor success’ and then life somehow becomes a whole lot less of a struggle and the issues that were issues before aren’t issues any more. Amazing!

7. Get your energy from your adrenal system

When we tap into adrenalin we go into fight or flight mode. This is great when we are being chased by a wooly mammoth but not so great for business. Men can handle more adrenalin than women. It is bio-chemically ingrained in their cells from when they really were getting chased by wooly mammoths. Women can’t handle too much adrenalin; it causes us to produce cortisol making us sick.

It literally causes stress, burnout and fatigue and ignites the ‘non-sync factor’ model. (Not good). So we need to release stress by keeping your body in a peak performance state.

If you would like to know more about the ‘Sync factor Success’ model then keep an eye out for more articles and videos on the subject. I am also producing a coaching course as well so I will keep you updated.

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Karina Stephens is the Mentor to enRICHed Women all over the world. She helps women enrich their lives spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally. If you are ready to take your life and your world to the next level, you can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at http://karinastephens.com.au

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Filed under: Peak Performance, Stress Management, Work Life Balance

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