by Erin Owen | Mar 25, 2014 | Ezine
How strong are your backbones?
How clearly defined and well patrolled are your boundaries?
When you are really clear about what is okay with you, then it’s easier to draw a line in the sand and say to others: “Do not cross this line!” (In a nice way, of course.)
That line is a boundary, and your ability to clearly, consistently, and strongly uphold that boundary is a reflection of the strength of your backbone.
You can have many boundaries and many backbones.
Time management boundaries and financial boundaries are the ones that get most of us in trouble.
Struggling with Time Management?
If you say “yes” too often to requests for your involvement in projects, in community commitments, in helping your dependents do what they are fully capable of doing on their own, then you need to clarify your time management boundaries and strengthen your time management backbone.
It’s time to… let go of the idea that “it’s nice to be needed” because—reality check: you have TOO MUCH going on in your life!
Having weak boundaries and backbones drains your mental and physical energy. Can you afford to let that keep happening?
Stressing about Cash Flow and Finances?
If you do not have clearly defined savings and investment goals, if you do not have a clear idea of your monthly cash flow guidelines, if you make spontaneous purchases or find yourself saying “yes” too often to “just one more”, then you need to clarify your financial boundaries and strengthen your financial backbone.
It’s time to… put positive time and energy into what you want more of: financial security and abundance!
With clarity about your goals and what’s most important to you, you can create clear boundaries in your life. The more consistently you honor yourself, your plans, your dreams, the stronger your backbone.
Set-up a free 15-minute call with me to talk further about your boundaries and backbones here.
Here’s to YOU conserving and revitalizing your vital life force energy with clearly defined boundaries and strong backbones, so you can get more out of life!
by Erin Owen | Mar 12, 2014 | Ezine
My older son is addicted to Minecraft, an incredibly creative online game with nearly limitless possibilities.
In the beginning, we only allowed him to play in Creative mode. He could build without the threat of zombies attacking him.
But then he (and we) realized he could do even more in Survival mode, which required him to find his own resources (like seeds), so he could plant and grow his own crops for food. It also presented the challenge of evading threats from monsters and needing to survive the elements.
In Survival mode, my son has learned to be incredibly resourceful and resilient. It’s scary sometimes, but the rewards seem to be greater.
The other night at dinner, my husband posed the question: are you playing in Creative mode or Survival mode?
And it hit me: what a great question for us all!
When you have to put dinner on the table and pay the bills, you are often more motivated to be creative, resourceful, and resilient. When everything is safe and provided to you, it’s easier for your brain to become sluggish and to become lazy.
What comes to mind is the recently coined term “affluenza”—the disease of overconsumption and disconnection that comes from having everything provided to you.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m neither promoting poverty and suffering, nor trash talking wealth. (Nor am I equating Creative mode in Minecraft with affluenza!)
But, I do observe that the desire to have “more” is tightly connected with the culture of overwork in our world. The habit of working longer hours to make more money to get more stuff results in greater disconnection from oneself and those people who are most important to us. That disconnection leads to unhappiness and then a desire to have more stuff to make us feel better. A truly sad and unhealthy cycle.
So, maybe there is something to living in Survival mode. The question is: what is “just enough” and how can we ride that intelligent edge between being just comfortable enough and having too much?
I invite you to not only ask yourself whether you are in Survival Mode or Creative Mode, but also:
What helps you to feel truly alive in your life, motivated to keep striving, but—and here’s the key element—present and grateful for all who are in your life and all that you have now, in this moment?
I know what helps me to feel this way: the practices of yoga and meditation, as well as general mindfulness in each moment of the day while doing everything from observing my children play to feeling the temperature of the water when washing the dishes.
How about you? What helps you to feel this way?
I look forward to your reply!
by Erin Owen | Feb 18, 2014 | Ezine
If you’ve followed me for awhile, you know that I preach a consistent message: working harder is not the answer.
Well, I’m not the only one who feels this way.
Recently I interviewed Katrina Alcorn, author of Maxed Out: American Moms on the Brink.
Questions I asked Katrina:
- How we can have work that is compatible with having a healthy, enjoyable personal life?
- Can a more meaningful work life translate to having a more healthy and enjoyable personal life?
- Is empowering employees to make their own decisions a danger to economic performance?
- What can we as employees do to cultivate more meaningful work so that it can be compatible with a healthier personal life?
To learn How to Avoid Maxing Out, I invite you to read a brief transcript of part of our interview that aired on the Work and Life show on SiriusXM 111 business radio.
Here’s the link.
by Erin Owen | Jan 31, 2014 | Ezine
I’ve been feeling it. My clients have been feeling it. Have YOU been feeling it?
Whether or not you give any credence to the invisible energy that runs through you and connects us all in this universe, the fact is you are being affected in a powerful way by this energy.
I don’t claim to be an expert in Chinese astrology, but my years living in China led me to have a strong curiosity about the meaning and impact of the animal that influences my birth year & life, as well as the Five Element system.
2014 is the Year of the Horse. And more specifically is the year of the Yang Wood Horse.
This powerful new calendar year begins roughly today (January 31) on the Chinese calendar, and according to one expert:
To take advantage of what is emerging in your life and channel this energy to positively transform your career and life, I invite you to schedule a complimentary 15 minute call with me to talk about your dreams, your challenges, and your next steps.
For the first 6 people who schedule a 15-minute with me, I’m offering two special gifts worth nearly $200.00:
To read more about the Year of the Yang Wood Horse, as described by Karen Abler Carrasco of the Western School of Feng Shui (quoted above), visit her wonderful blog post on the WSFS website here.
Here’s the 2014 being YOUR Breakthrough Year!
by Erin Owen | Jan 29, 2014 | Ezine
If you haven’t read Part I about the cleanse I’ve been doing or the format of the anti-inflammatory and detoxing program, head on over to that post here to get the background.
I can tell you that this way of eating is amazingly energizing!
I’ve been busy putting an offer on a new house, decluttering my entire house (top to bottom), staging my house for sale… and all while maintaining my business and being a mom of two growing boys.
My energy has been strong and consistent day-in and day-out, I’ve had little to zero physical soreness (despite hauling boxes and furniture up into the attic and hauling donations to thrift stores and “weird recycle” items to the city lot), and my immune system has been strong enough to resist the myriad bugs that travel into our house from the preschool and grade school my boys attend.
If you want to Access Your Higher Gear to get more done, eating and drinking “cleanly” is the way to go!
In this Part 2 post, I’m sharing more recipes to inspire you at home…
Recipe #4: Simple, Satisfying Pasta Dinner w/ Side Salad (Vegan & Gluten Free!)
Ingredients:
- Brown rice spaghetti
- Jars of Roasted Red Peppers and Deli-Sliced Mild Pepper Rings (green ones) – we used the Mezzetta brand
- Fresh cloves of garlic
- Salad greens
- Avocado
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Cold-pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Seasoning for dressing to taste (for years we have used the Country French Vinaigrette blend by Penzeys Spice every time)
Directions:
Follow package directions to make the brown rice spaghetti. While the water is boiling, finely chop by hand (or using a food processor and a wise eye to know when to stop so it does not become a paste), combine approximately 1 cup each of the roasted red peppers, mild pepper rings, and 4 cloves garlic. (Note: You can add less or more garlic, depending on personal preference.)
Add approximately 2 tablespoons olive oil to a sauté pan, warm up over medium heat, and then add the finely chopped pepper and garlic mixture. Sautee until warmed through and fragrant. Add more olive oil to make more “saucy”, if you like, but be sure to warm it up before adding to the cooked pasta.
While mixture is sautéing and pasta is cooking, wash and chop salad greens and add to a salad bowl. Halve the avocado, remove the seed, and peel once half. Remove the skin and chop avocado into bite size pieces. Set aside for a few moments while you ix up the salad dressing.
Mix 2 parts olive oil with 1 part balsamic vinegar (or another ratio to your preferred taste), then add a few dashes of seasoning. Use a small wisk or small fork to quickly blend until visibly creamy and blended.
Then – and here’s the secret to a super yummy salad – add the chopped avocado directly into the salad dressing to “soak” for a few minutes before scooping it one spoon at a time over the chopped salad greens. Feel free to add other ingredients to the salad to make it heartier: raw chopped veggies, nuts, even cheese if you’re not doing the vegan version.
Spoon the pepper-garlic sauce over a portion of spaghetti on your plate, then add a large helping of salad.
Note: My husband, who is not doing the cleanse, also add a few slices of baguette with butter on the side. I found the meal fully satisfying without the bread. You choose what works for you, but bread puts me to sleep and clogs up my digestion.
Enjoy!
Recipe #5: Savory, Delicious “White Chili” (Vegan & Gluten Free!)
The biggest challenge of this way of eating for me has been to cut out tomatoes. Yup, tomatoes. More difficult to cut out those round red things than sugar, alcohol, wheat, or soy. Why? In the winter especially, we made red sauces for pasta, use tomatoes in soups and stews and chili. Life with no tomatoes? I thought it would be impossible.
Until I found an awesome recipe for White Chili that was so completely satisfying it has now become one of our regular rotating recipes that fits into weekly and monthly meal planning. Try it and you too will discover how delicious it is!
I can’t take credit for the recipe, though, so I’m sending you over to another blog.
Before you go, though, please note the minor changes I made to stay the course with the eating plan I’m following this month:
- I left out the corn (but offered it on the side for my boys to add-in if they wanted)
- I seeded and deveined the jalapeno, and put it in “whole” into the pot, then removed it half way – but it was still a bit too spicy for my young ones. If you’re sensitive to this type of heat, or are trying to reduce internal inflammation, you can skip the jalapeno and it will still be plenty flavorful. In fact, anyone at your table who likes spicy food can put dashes of other hot sauces on their individual bowls.
Here’s the link to Girl Makes Food’s Vegan White Chili Recipe.
Otherwise, follow her recipe closely as the texture was AMAZING!
Enjoy!
NOTE: To get the first 3 recipes, check out the first post here.
Recently, I’ve been really inspired to teach more about how you can Access Your Higher Gear. If you too would like to know more about this topic, contact me to talk further.
Here’s to Boosting Your Performance with Delicious, Healthy Eating and learning how to Access Your Higher Gear!
Erin
