Journey Day #2

The house was dark and quiet. The coffee tasted just right. It was a peaceful morning.

I opened the My True Value app and did the next two exercises. Today was focusing on self talk.

Before thinking about how to improve my self-confidence, I had heard about positive affirmations, but thought little of them. To me they seemed like a sugar pill, something to stir the emotions with no real benefit behind them.

So I decided to read about them, to see if there was any scientific reasoning behind them.

I'll leave the science talk for other websites, but the short answer is Yes, there is proof positive affirmations work. But you have to work at it being positive, and pair your thought with action to see the most improvement.

Now I am no stranger to talking to myself, I do it constantly. They say Einstein talked to himself all the time, so it must be a good thing, right?

But trying the positive affirmation felt awkward and embarrassing. I don't know why, no one else could hear me. Perhaps I was embarrassing my subconscious.

Don't I deserve to be talked to in a kind, loving manner? Don't I deserve to hear positive things about myself?

Yes I do.

And I will. I will start incorporating positive thoughts and affirmations into my daily journey toward self-confidence.

Will it be awkward? Oh yeah.

Will it be worth it?

Absolutely.

Mediterranean Diet Journey Recipe #1

257.

That was my cholesterol level the first time I got it checked. I had no idea.

I tried changing my diet, eating less red meat and more veggies.

I got it down to 232. Better, but still not good.

Recently my husband and I have decided to follow a Mediterranean diet. Lots of good fats and oils, less meat and more veggies and nuts.

Tonight we had Chicken with Tomato Balsamic Pan Sauce and a simple tossed salad with feta cheese.

It was flavorful and worked with the greens in the salad very well.

It was easy to cook, even if it did leave my kitchen smelling like balsamic vinegar.

Do you enjoy a good Mediterranean dish? I'd love to hear about it! Leave me a comment telling me about it.

Journey Day #1

I woke up at 7, was hoping for a quite hour or so but my daughter was already awake.

Last night I downloaded an app, My True Value. I'm going to try it out, but I can feel the negative thoughts tugging at my brain.

'This will never work.'

'You're never going to feel confident.'

Hmm I wonder if they're right. I have felt this way entire life, is it to late to change now?

Maybe, but I'm not willing to stop fighting. Not yet.

It was 8 before I was able to start on the app. It started basic enough, choose how you feel now, choose how you want to feel. I wonder if it means something that I wanted to choose all the options from the How Do You Feel Now section?

It ended it with setting up the stage. "I'm not doing this for my work, my partner or my friends. I'm doing this for myself."

Work was difficult today, a lot of self doubts and wondering what people thought of me. It's tiring, truth be told.

At 8 p.m I settled down and got back into my app. It had some reflection to do, and self care exercises that focused on being aware and present.

I'm suddenly realizing I don't have much time in a day by myself. The ten minutes I took to do the steps in the app, I was cooking a snack for my daughter, who also came into the kitchen twice to explain what was happing on TV.

I'm also realizing this is her third snack since eating dinner, but that's for another post.

Right now I'm on the lookout for a good morning tracker, either an app or in print. Any suggestions would be appreciated!