December 2013 – Jenna Jamieson, Author

Feel happy in the New Year!

By Jenna Jamieson | December 28, 2013 | Comments 0 Comment

A new year can often feel as though it is absorbed by everyone making new resolutions to visit the gym more often, lose weight, and eat healthier everyday, but these can be overshadowed by other great changes and new beginnings that can get you off to a great start in 2014! New beginnings and new changes don’t have to mean weight loss and diets, but can also mean being happier with yourself and your surroundings, so here are a few great tips I have gathered that make me feel happy, healthy, and keep the adventurous edge of life in me.

If you’re feeling the new year “blah” because the holidays are over and you don’t have the optimism and positive attitude to go along with the New Year, consider some simple changes that might help give you a new perspective or outlook. For example, consider painting a wall in your house or a specific room to have an accent wall or rearrange your furniture to give a room a new look.

Consider booking a spring or summer vacation in January so you have something to look forward to. Whether it be a small weekend getaway or a week at the beach or in the mountains, you will thank yourself for booking something. It will give you the motivation and energy to get through the rest of winter and build momentum as your getaway gets closer.

Allow yourself to be more open and honest with yourself and others. If you don’t want to attend the numerous baby showers, bridal parties, and weddings that you get invited to, quickly send back the RSVP card with a “no” response and cross that obligation off your calendar. If you don’t want to go, it will show, so there’s no reason to show up to someone’s party or celebration with a poor outlook or attitude.

Lastly, try to improve the characteristics and qualities about yourself that cause additional stress. For example, if you tend to run late for everything learn to get up earlier to pad yourself with additional time. While running late may seem somewhat harmless, it adds additional stress to your day and can cause you to be thrown out of your routine. It often makes you feel frazzled, which is typically carried throughout your entire day.

~jj

New Year, New Goals, New Rules aka Accountability

By Jenna Jamieson | December 17, 2013 | Comments 0 Comment

Hooray for a new year! Hooray for 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and so! Hooray for new goals! One thing that I love is setting goals for myself that are challenging and rewarding. Rather than making new resolutions in January every year I typically have goals each month for myself throughout the entire year. They can be simple goals such as setting a Christmas budget for myself in September, jotting down all the ideas I have for people on my Christmas list in October, and then finishing my Christmas shopping by the end of the first week in November. Further, rather than setting “negative” goals and resolutions I try to set goals that have a “positive” spin. So rather than setting a goal of losing weight, I would set a goal of eating healthier. For example, set a goal of eating out for lunch once a week and eating an apple with peanut butter or caramel with your lunch so your goal doesn’t become dreaded and can easily be incorporated with your typical lunch routine.

Weight and eating resolutions are typical goals every year, but all too often these resolutions fail, not because the person doesn’t try or doesn’t care, but because the person loses motivation when he/she doesn’t see instant results or becomes wrapped up in the chaos of daily life. While I know it is not New Year’s yet, there’s no perfect time to set new goals or resolutions for yourself. Rather than putting off what you can start today, make a plan, set your goals, and make yourself accountable for what you want to accomplish. One of my favorite sayings to remember is, “Why wait until tomorrow when you can start or do it today?”

So, rather than waiting until January to make a plan because you just want to “get through the holidays” aka eating the scrumptious candies and desserts and the exhaustion of finishing your Christmas shopping consider making yourself accountable during the holidays so you don’t feel so guilty in January. Many people feel guilty in January because of all the food, chaos, and stress from the holiday season. Then once New Year’s rolls around, people make resolutions to help make up for it. The problem with this is that we often tend to make goals that are unattainable in order to fill the gaps and inefficiencies from the holidays.

My suggestion is to START NOW! Happy day, month, and year of positive goals and accountability. Change starts now, not tomorrow, not next week or next month or next year. Change starts with yourself, not with an organization or group of friends, so start your goals today. You will thank yourself tomorrow for what you accomplish today. Cheers to the new year from me to you!

~jj

Conquer your stress…solutions for the holidays!

By Jenna Jamieson | December 13, 2013 | Comments 0 Comment

Today, I wanted to take a moment to talk about something that impacts everyone, especially during the holiday season, yet something that I and many others are guilty of not keeping under control. It is something that tends to increase during the holidays and is something we, ourselves, can typically control. What in the world do you think it is? If you guessed stress then you are right. Stress is something that we can control based on our response to things that are said, things that happen, and by how we choose to deal with daily trials and tribulations, successes and failures. It is something that can impact your health greatly if it is not managed and dealt with properly. Further, it can cause digestive problems, cramps, headaches, anxiety, exhaustion, and multiple other major and minor health concerns.

It is important to channel within yourself the proper tools that will help you control and conquer stress. Tools that are up to YOU to find, determine, and explore, because while I will provide suggestions and help, we all deal with stress differently. You have to find what fits for you (this is continuously echoed in my posts). Like everyone, I still deal with stress everyday, BUT the difference is I now know how important and helpful it is to have solutions to counteracting stressful situations.

So here’s a few pointers that I have been given and learned over time: 1) First, meditation can help even if it seems like an odd way to deal with stress. Trust me, I thought it seemed unfitting for me, but meditation can be as easy as sitting with your eyes closed and counting to ten, taking deep breaths to control your breathing. It allows you to cool off, release some steam, AND best of all, allows your heart rate to slowly begin to return to normal. Other great options include 2) drinking camomile tea (or other hot beverage) which has a calming effect, 3) removing yourself from the area that is causing the frustration and stress for 5-10 minutes, 4) taking a hot bath with sea salts (ease aching muscles) or peppermint oils (calming and relaxing effect). Of course, my ultimate way to de-stress is to 5) workout–run, stretch, weight lift, interval train. Exercising and working out is one of the most effective yet underutilized ways to take away stress. So, while the holidays, work, relationships, etc. can be the subject of great stress, REMEMBER that it’s how YOU choose to respond to the stress that makes it impact your life.

~jj

Using quotes for health inspiration :)

By Jenna Jamieson | December 8, 2013 | Comments 0 Comment

My inspiration this week comes from watching, listening, and absorbing the hardships, difficulties, stress, compassion (lack of) from those around me. I work retail so I hear a lot of scenarios, parenting, stress evoked responses, etc. throughout my day as well as from my own family, friends, and boyfriend. It is the holiday season, a joyous time, but also a time that typically includes heightened stress, chaos, and even sometimes frustration and disappointment. I completely understand the mixed emotions and feelings, but part of being healthy is maintaining a healthy view on life that allows you to succeed and be emotionally healthy.

Stress greatly impacts your health and if you don’t believe that, take the time to read some of the things stress can cause to your digestive health such as stomach pain. I can speak on this firsthand, as someone with digestive problems, it has been very important for me to learn to control my stress level each minute throughout the day to ensure I don’t further worsen my symptoms and health. Rather than going on and on about my own life learning experiences surrounding emotional stability, I want to use the following quotes to help show why exercise, compassion, and realizing that each person is facing an unforeseen battle for which we may not know is important to remember.

Quote 1: “Exercise is not a chore. It is a luxury to take time out of your busy schedule to take care of your mind and body.”

Quote 2: “Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.”

Quote 3: Wise words from Mother Teresa:

-People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.

Forgive them anyway.

-If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.

Be kind anyway.

-If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.

Succeed anyway.

-If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you.

Be honest and sincere anyway.

-When you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.