Hello friends and welcome to your month of November! These final two months of the year (and the holidays within them) are incredibly important in life coaching circles. One reason is because we have just 61 days left of 2024. When was the last time your revisited your New Year’s resolutions? Ten months have passed since you set those goals. Have you achieved them? If so, congratulations! If not, what do you need to do to creation traction for yourself towards achieving them? Check out my goal-setting blog article here if you need help.
The other reason the holiday season is so important to life coaches is because we know it can bring a mixed bag of tidings; it’s not always just comfort and joy. If you have ever watched Chevy Chase’s “Family Vacation,” you know what I am talking about. Some stressors that routinely arise around this time of year include grief, financial stress, and family interactions. To limit stressors, setting and maintaining personal boundaries are definitely a tool in your “best-self” toolkit.
Acknowledge that time is a limited resource and go ahead and decline invitations to holiday parties if it stretches you too thin. One of my favorite coaches Robin Arzon talks about how her “yes” is either a “hell yes” or it’s a “no thank you.” It is even okay to limit the time you spend with family if it helps you keep your sanity! 🤪 Likewise, money is a limited resource. Set a budget for gift giving and stick to it. Your future self will thank you!
The other tool in my best-self toolkit is an attitude of gratitude. The importance of gratitude in happiness and health is well known. I make time for gratitude in my own life by journaling. I have gratitude journals both at home (on my nightstand) and at work (in my office) and I try to make time to write in them. Some of the journal prompts I use are:
What are you grateful for today?
What is going well?
What do you have today that the younger version of you wished for?
What made me smile today?
Who do I need to thank?
These journaling prompts help me cultivate an attitude of gratitude and keep me on the path to happiness and my best self. This is why I have chosen “Attitude of Gratitude” as the Elevated Fitness theme for November. It is not lost on me that the first holiday in the holiday season is one centered around giving thanks. Since we know the holidays can be a mixed bag of tidings, an attitude of gratitude can help carry us through all the way to the New Year!
This Month's Mantra:
"I am grateful for what I have now that I used to wish for. I am grateful for ____(fill in the blank)_____."
What I Am Thankful for and Excited About
🦃Montana's Got Talent ~ I am still on a high from getting to perform on the stage at the Wachholz Center alongside so many talented acts. We didn't win, but Mariah and I nailed our routine. I am incredibly grateful for to have such a big turnout of friends and family in the audience. Being supported in that way means a lot, truly! Thank you for your support!
🦃Pomegranate Season! Pomegranates are high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals and are low on the glycemic index (meaning they don't spike your blood sugar). Benefits include antioxidants, heart health, urinary health, exercise endurance, and more. I love to mix these up with avocado and smoked turkey!
🦃Thanksgiving This year, we will be spending the holiday in Helena with family. I will be offering to bring mocktails and a vegetable tray to ensure there are vegetables on the table (something that seems to otherwise get missed in my experience).
🦃Giving Tuesday After Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday comes Giving Tuesday. On this day of activism and generosity, my goal is to promote domestic violence resources for those looking for a worthwhile organization to donate to. Therefore, please check out this video and blog post I created in 2022 to bring attention to Kalispell, Montana's Abbie Shelter. I won't reiterate everything in the other article here but thank you if you have the time read the blog or feel called to donate.
What I Am Munching On
If you have been following my blog for a while, you know that I am always looking for ways to increase my protein intake. Which is why I am so excited to share this new find: Chocolate Bone Broth. I know chocolate and bone broth sounds funky, but don't knock it until you try it. This stuff is YUMMY! I have been mixing it up as hot chocolate for an afternoon snack, or with my yogurt as dessert. With 9.3 grams of protein per scoop (19 of the 20 essential amino acids), and sweetened with Monk Fruit, I am adding this as a tool in my tool kit to find my best self!
What I am Listening To
My favorite song to move to right now is the Beastmode by Yellow Claw. This song has some progressive builds in the tempo that are super fun to play around with, so we have been loving it in my exercise class! My suggestion: take three minutes right now to queue up this song. Then:
Find a child's pose.
When you feel the build in the music, set up a high plank.
When the music goes crazy, (still in your high plank), transition into a mountain climber / floor run.
Repeat one time. Just get curious about it, see if this will enhance your mood. I can guarantee it most certainly will!
My favorite guided meditation hits on a different vibration than the song listed above, so don't listen to these back-to-back. But definitely check out I AM Gratitude by PowerThoughts Meditation Club. This meditation is great in the morning to "connect your heart and soul with these spiritually empowering words and energy. Where focus goes energy flows." Enjoy🙏🌟
I am grateful to you, my community, for embarking on a journey to your best self along with me. Let's welcome November 2024 in, with gratitude, together.
Thanks for reading my article. The Elevated Life blog is dedicated to anyone and everyone striving to find an actionable route to their best self and highest potential, and I am so happy to have you here.
Article by Mindy Cochran. Mindy is a practitioner, teacher, and performer of aerial silks, aerial hammock, and aerial hoop; as well as a health columnist for Montana Woman Magazine. Her column shares expertise for elevating health & wellness which she has acquired through her certifications as a personal trainer, nutrition coach, and life coach. To connect with Mindy on Instagram, please visit: www.instagram.com/aerial.mindy; or visit her Linktree here.
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