Exercise: A little bit's better than nothing

September, for me, is a month of chaos.  

New schedules begin, a slew of commitments I've been talking about all summer suddenly materialize.  I have a slew of new students, clients, and artistic projects.  There are less daylight hours.  Staying grounded and sticking to an exercise schedule can be very difficult.

So, today's post is a little reminder.

All studies show that even a little bit of exercise will improve your health.  That walking 10 or 20 minutes a day actually is VERY beneficial compared to not being active at all.  

For most of us, this is a difficult way to think.  We want to get back into the best shape of our lives.  We feel like the choices are either work out like a fiend or not work out at all.  The truth is, not exercising at all is terrible for your health.  

So, your mini goal is to remind yourself to get little bits of exercise during the day.  Take the stairs.  Take a walk during your lunch break.  Move your body in some way.

And if you need some pointers, here's a link to 10 ways to increase your daily physical activity, one of my earliest blog posts.  

If you've found some success incorporating small amounts of physical activity during the day, I'd love to hear about it.  Either post here or email me.  

You got questions?

My dear readers,

Do you have topics you'd like to see covered in this blog? Which posts have you particularly enjoyed and would you like to see more of?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Tips for playing well with others

If you're working to build a healthy relationship with someone else, be it a partner, a friend, a family member, or a coworker, you might notice that the path is fraught with bumps and detours.  For today, let's talk about the four relationship destroyers (as defined by Dr Brad at the Daily Worth):


criticism
             contempt
                             defensiveness
                                                    disengagement

Hugs never hurt, either.

If you really look at your behavior, you will note that at least one of these nasty little guys creeps in upon occasion.  Here's a quick set of tips for consciously cutting the relationship destroyers out of your life.

1) Notice when these nasties creep up on you.  Is it when you feel threatened?  When you don't get what you expect? When you're running late?  During breakfast?  When you didn't get enough sleep?

2) Ask yourself why you default to this behavior.  What is it about the situation that particularly brings these out?

3) Create a scenario in your mind where you are put in one of these aggravating situations.  Now imagine yourself responding in a different way.

4) Take action.  Instead of following your same old script the next time you're in that situation, consciously choose a different response.


Choosing a different response and creating new habits will not happen overnight, but if you can work to change your behavior consistently, you will find that the relationship in question improves significantly.

Any other ideas for changing negative behavior in your relationships?  Share below or shoot me an email.