Blogging at an all time low

Well, well, well. What can I say? Somewhere along the way…life got in the way of my blogging commitment. I’ve been busy at home doing renovations (they never seem to end), busy with the kids, and busy at work. But, it’s all been fun and enjoyable. I am happy to say, life is in a good place right now. Everyone around me is happy, healthy, and full of energy. You have to admit, this “phase” comes and goes, like a wild bikini style.

“Life with hiccups” has been a very dear friend to me. That is honestly the status I give to my blog…a friend. “Life with hiccups” listens to my every thought, shows compassion when I need it most, and brings in reinforcements in the form of my blogosphere friends (followers) when necessary. For all of you who come here to visit, thank you. A special thank you to those of you who take the time to leave a comment. After all, it’s the comments that distinguish our blogs from basic web pages, right? I’m glad I made the decision to start “Life with hiccups.” Blogging has been an outlet for me and it has turned my desire to write, into reality.

So, I know I’ve left my dear friend here, high-and-dry. But all dear friends are understanding. They come on board when you need them most, and they pick up where you left off, without skipping a beat.

Life is good, so live it while you can. Surely, none of us would prefer to live our lives online, when we’ve got friends and family to be with. Enjoy every day my friends…until next time!

 

 

Good Health vs. Wellness ~ Part 1

The components of wellness: be fit, eat right, think well!
Image source: www.harmonychiropractic.ca

Do you think good health, and wellness are created equally?

If you are in good health, does that mean you are well?

Wellness is one of those new buzz words in our society today. You’ve seen it, right? It’s this word we see posted all around us: in our our gyms, spas, supermarkets, and health centers. Like many of you, I walked past all those wellness posters, brochures, booklets, flyers, magazine headlines, and ads. I have to admit though, I always did a double-take. Clearly, something was resonating with me. In all honesty, I didn’t understand the true meaning of the word, wellness, either. I had always assumed wellness was a synonym for, healthy. Aaaaaand…since I’m the kind of person that never gets sick, I just kept passing-up on this wellness movement (watch where this arrogance takes me later).

The word wellness had a bit of a grip on me though. It made me curious, wanting to know more. I sensed I was missing-out on something big…and THAT is not my style! I enjoyed how positive and motivating wellness sounded when I said it to myself. I loved how the word felt when I gave it time to percolate in my mind. I knew I would explore it…when I was ready.

Well finally, the time in my life had come when change had become the norm. I decided I was ready to research wellness. So, I did what some of the world’s best researchers do…I GOOGLED it. I typed in, “What is wellness?” The first hit, took me to a website called (not even joking), Definition of Wellness. There, wellness is defined as, “a state of health, closely associated with your lifestyle.” I love how Definition of Wellness distinguishes between health, and wellness.

“While everyone agrees that the absence of illness is one part of being healthy, it doesn’t indicate whether you are in a state of well-being.”

When I read that line, my ears began to ring and my body temperature began to rise. I was officially inspired to push to get more out of life. Although I was free from illness, I had been feeling drab, tired, bored, experiencing joint pain, and lightheaded on a pretty regular basis. I wasn’t getting sick, or needing to see my doctor. I was healthy enough …RIGHT? Well, I decided that achieving this “sense of well-being” was a romantic goal to set for myself. It was time to start listening to my body and give it what it was missing.

I took some time to reflect on my health. I wanted to decide what it was that I truly needed, in order to feel…WELL! I wanted physical energy, strength, mental clarity, a positive outlook, enthusiasm, creativity, and the energy to persist. There were many of these components missing in my present state. But you know what? I often struck this yearning down with, “Gee Heidi, you have been LUCKY in your lifetime! You have never suffered from any major illnesses. You’ve only experienced the flu three times, and you get a cold once a year. You’re not on any medications for anything and you’ve only been prescribed antibiotics three or four times in recent memory. Heck Heidi, if the plague ever returned, you’d be the one not to get sick! You’ve been an athlete for most of your life going on to become a Windsor Lancer! You do work out (when you give yourself that time), and you’re not overweight. So, of course you’re healthy. It’s just too bad that you feel like a 70 year old some days.” Well, it’s that kind of arrogance that got me comfortable in the village of good health…but locked-out of the land of wellness!

The paradigm shift got me to begin researching, resourcing, and committing to a new lifestyle, but I did not want to do it alone. In fact, my hubby had already got started and now we’re teaming up to make this another turning point (much like the one I posted about in January) ! I have, neglected to mention that it was a very good friend of mine, who leading by example, has shown me just what changing your lifestyle can do for you. Through countless conversations she signaled there were clearly things I could change in order to rid myself of these chief complaints and cyclical problems. Her book recommendations and referrals to professionals began our journey to wellness. With a therapist, naturopath, chiropractors, and an iridologist on board…we’re experiencing massive improvements in our physiology, psychology, biochemistry and more!

So, my good friend’s guidance, lots of reading, and visiting wellness professionals has shown me exactly what Definition of Wellness is talking about…“While everyone agrees that the absence of illness is one part of being healthy, it doesn’t indicate whether you are in a state of well-being.” I am now beginning to feel the energy and mental clarity that I was truly hoping for. But, I have only scratched the surface.

As I leave you with this post, Good Health vs. Wellness – Part 1, I feel a renewed excitement over my journey to wellness. I was previously foolish, arrogant, and moronic for assuming I was as healthy as anybody could be, just because I was absent of illness. And for the record, the naturopaths and chiropractors were able to prove to me that not only was I missing out on wellness, I was by no means in a state of good health. Now I work to eat right, be fit, and think well. These are the components to wellness. I hope to tell you about how I am working towards this in, Good Health vs. Wellness – Part 2. Until then, I’ll do my best to put my heart and soul into wellness. Step one towards wellness for me was to, THINK WELL.

Nothing will come from having negative thoughts, except more negative experiences. I have read a pile of books over the past few months. The Secret was one of them. The secret talks about how,

“Everything is possible, nothing is impossible. There are no limits. Whatever you can dream of can be yours, when you use The Secret.”

What are your thoughts and beliefs about wellness?
Can you be terminally ill, but in a state of well-being? This question just might drive the motivation for a future post.

As a side note…It felt good to post today. I haven’t written in a long time and I did miss it. I hope some of my followers will drop-in to say, “Hi”.

 

All work and no play…

Source: www.zazzle.ca

Go on then, finish the words of my title.

“All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.” – Proverb

Work, work, work! It’s so easy for me to lose myself to work for hours and hours.  I bet many of you are saying the same thing. Then again, I might also find myself procrastinating for days or weeks. I hope some of you can relate to that also.  As a teacher, I get locked-up in the hours of planning, marking, and preparing lessons, activities, tests, and projects.  There is usually more hours of work than hours left for anything else in a day.  So really, “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy,” can be a simple reality… when I let it happen that way.

BUUUUUUT, every Monday night I refuse to be a DULL BOY! Oh no, I get off my couch, jump up to the bathroom sink, shave my legs, swipe on the deodorant, yank-up my wonderful spandex shorts, and then I’m ready for the final, crowning moment.  I pull over the iconic, midnight black Hurricane volleyball jersey.  Oh yes! It is time for me to drag butt to Monday night volleyball to play in the, Washed-Up Varsity Volleyball League.  Okay, that is NOT the name of the league…but it could be.  The London Women’s “A” Volleyball League is very well attended, with a total of EIGHTEEN teams!  The teams are made up of women, primarily in their mid 20′s, 30′s, and 40′s.  There are most certainly a few women in their 50′s too.  These are no ordinary women though.  We’ve got game!!!  Most of the women have serious experience having played varsity volleyball for a college or university. Many players continue playing beach volleyball, or in other competitive women’s or coed indoor volleyball tournaments.

My mighty Hurricanes are ready to receive serve.

We take the game seriously! Out there on the court there are bodies diving all over the place, balls gettin’ hammered to the floor, balls getting roof-blocked, balls getting scooped up as defenders barrel-roll out of their digs.  This is serious stuff, and it is GREAT FUN.  Every part of me still loves the floor burns on the knees, hips and elbows. I welcome the bruised knees and elbow, and I don’t mind the burn in the quads and hamstrings the next morning either.  But really, I could do without the shin splints and sore lower back

Monday nights are my night.  I give hugs and kisses to the kids and to Paul and I fly out the door!  There are those occasional nights where heading to volleyball for 8:30 p.m. seems like it’s the last thing I wanna do.  Knowing that it will be almost 11 p.m. by the time I roll back home can almost make me think twice.  But, the truth is, once I’m in the gym, warmed-up and serving the first ball… I quickly forget my original resistance.

Oh yah! Who said old ladies can't jump? Look at the low defense too! Sore quads tomorrow!

Although it feels good to work out at the gym, the camaraderie and healthy competition of Monday night volleyball is second- to-none. There are some teams who put their top legends out there, holding on to their dream for the Cup! But, most of the teams believe that all players have something to give every Monday night.  We love this time to PLAY.  For two hours, we forget we are moms, teachers, nurses, paramedics, managers, assistants, VP’s, advisers, consultants, engineers, etc, etc, etc.  On Monday nights, we are volleyball players! We have come out to PLAY and have fun. We still know how to push hard and give it our all.  That is what makes our games competitive and vibrant.  This is the kind of volleyball we, Monday night ladies, know and love. We play to win because that is what we know how to do.

Volleyball has always been my true passion.  It is the only love I have, that is older than the love of my husband (okay, that sounds weird).  I walked away from volleyball for years, to take a break from the grind, to focus on my career, and then start a family.  Coming back to it over the past few years has really made me feel complete. Sometimes, we let parts of ourselves GO, while we focus our energy and efforts on things we decide are more important.  Interestingly though, I would argue that we should always stay true to ourselves.  We should always give ourselves permission to do the things we love.

PLAY.  Like air and water, we all need it.  Without play, we are boring, uninspired, lethargic bags of slop. Like children, we need to play to be active, creative and thriving beings. We might think play is only rooted in children. But, play brings joy, spontaneity, and vitality to all of our lives – young and old!

Come to think of it, I would like to play more often…a lot more. Playing more would allow me to take my crabby pants off every-once-in-a-while.  I think my family might like that.  I wouldn’t want them chanting,

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

So, do you give yourself permission to play?

 

Heart and Soul

“Every single life only becomes great when the individual sets upon a goal or goals which they really believe in, which they can really commit themselves to, which they can put their whole heart and soul into.” ~Brian Tracy

“I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process.” ~ Vincent Van Goh

I have always respected, admired, and consulted those who put their heart and soul into what they do. Putting your heart and soul into what you do helps you to get the most out of life. The words of Brian Tracy (above) have reverberated in my mind time and time again. For life to be great, don’t we need to set goals and commit ourselves to fulfilling them? Our goals might pertain to our personal life– becoming a better spouse, parent, sibling, or self. Our goals could also pertain to our future, career, or health. All things considered, putting your heart and soul into things is a LOT OF WORK! So much of what we read, watch and view these days; is telling everyone to slow down, find balance, and get priorities straight. Yet, for careers to flourish and for families to be happy we seem to need to put our heart and soul into everything we do!

I applied for a new position in our school board as a Learning Coordinator for Literacy. The position calls for leadership, knowledge, skills, and drive. The Learning Coordinator is a person who is constantly networking, planning, organizing, designing, communicating, scheduling, researching, writing, and presenting. Geepers! It’s no wonder I was dying to get the job, right? I do these things all the time…even when creating a grocery list!

I love teaching. That is no secret to my colleagues or my students. I do put my heart and soul into the planning, research, pedagogy, and delivery of most things that I teach or present. So, when I saw the posting for a Learning Coordinator, I put my heart and soul into the application process too. When I got the call, offering an interview, I was tickled pick! I threw my heart and soul into the next phase of the process. I networked, consulted, researched…and I of course went shopping for a new suit and shoes You’ve got to read (or reread) my post about “public speaking“.

Well, the interview went well and I really felt good coming out of it. I put my heart and soul into developing a response to the case study, and then I confidently answered all questions. I put my heart and soul into this whole opportunity to share my knowledge and passion. When I stood up to leave the board room, I looked into the eyes of my panel interviewers and I was at ease with how I handled myself. They appeared to be satisfied and engaged with all that I had to say.

WE become great “…when the individual sets upon a goal or goals which they really believe in, which they can really commit themselves to, which they can put their whole heart and soul into.”

So, how did it go in the end? Well, I wasn’t selected for the Learning Coordinator position this time around. I felt pretty burned when I first got the news. I immediately began to analyze and reflect on the entire process…looking for a moment where I had slipped-up. It was in these moments where I felt the words of Vincent Van Goh (quote at the top). I had pushed through two weeks of planning and refining, and I came out of it feeling I had lost my mind.

I do play to win…almost always…but you can’t win them all! So, I’m warming up to the “rejection”. It has caused me to reflect on my career and my qualifications. What do I have under my belt? What am I missing? How can I make myself a better candidate next time? This is good. Because, now I’m laying the bricks for a new road. This reminds me of when I wrote the post, Today marks my fork in the…”Road Not Taken”. This time I’ll take the one less traveled. I’ll find new direction, and a new place to throw my heart and soul.

Over the past two days, THREE of my supporters used the phrase, heart and soul in emails and conversations with me. I feel as though this is the message coming back to me, reassuring me. Although I didn’t get what I wanted this time around, I did put my heart and soul into it. This is all that we can ask of ourselves. Do your best and leave nothing in the tank.

Well, other people need me to put my heart and soul into efforts on them. My kids need me, my husband needs me, and I need me. It is tough to…NO….It is unwise to… throw your heart and soul into everything, all the time. But, I think it’s okay to take turns in life. Today I’m going to put my heart and soul into this. Tomorrow I’m going to throw my heart and soul into that.

My new passion is good health, natural nutrition, and personal wellness. My husband started this journey towards natural health, and I’ve jumped on the bandwagon with him. But, that is a post to be written in the future.

What do you throw your heart and soul into?

IMAGE SOURCE: http://www.picsquare.com/buy/teddy-bear/Heart-and-Soul-C1600101-1393