What are you reading today?

THURSDAY - Intellectual health -

I regret to inform you that I am not as well-read as I used to be when I was in 8th grade.  Sad but true.
When I was a kid I couldn't be found without a book in my hand.  I once was that loner kid on the playground hiding behind the school with a book.  Books were my best friends.  I read everything I could get my hands on.  I remember sneaking into my older brothers' rooms and stealing books from their shelves.  I was in 4th grade when I read the Lord Of the Rings trilogy.   I would hide in closets with a flashlight and a book. By the time I got to High School I had already read all of the required reading for English classes. Probably because I stole those books from my older siblings shelves while they were reading them for High School when I was in Elementary.  To my siblings - If you ever got in trouble for lost books, I apologize.  This is my 35 year late apology.

 My High School English teachers allowed me to test out of required reading.  Every. Single. Required Book.  Including the Scarlet Letter.  Already done. All done before the 9th grade.
    That's about the time I stopped reading books. It's also the time I started sports and Cheerleading and all that crazy extra-curricular stuff in life, jobs, homework, etc....  It's not that I became suddenly stupid.  I just got busy.  And it got worse from there.

    After college came marriage and kids and reading for fun wasn't something I did anymore.  I made time for reading my scriptures but that was it.  Apparently I am not alone.  There are multiple reports you can find online about Americans and book reading.  According to most research, after we leave school (high school or college), we quit reading books.Well, maybe not most of us, in fact it's really only a little over 25% say they haven't read a book in the past year. I would have fallen into that category until recently.
   
Okay, now back up....
I am not saying I don't read ANYTHING.  No.  Not true.  There is a LOT of information to be found on the internet.  I actually do a LOT of reading articles and studying topics of interest.  But books... eh... not so much.

There are many ways to improve your intellectual health.  You can take classes. Watch videos on topics of interest you want to learn more about.  You can read articles.  I love signing up for webinars. Another favorite thing for me is finding new fitness programs to get certified in just to learn about it and further my skills as a trainer.

Today I am working on picking up books again.  The really crazy thing, back in the day, I used to want a home library, a huge room in my house lined with bookshelves.  You know like on Beauty and the Beast when the Beast shows his library?  That was my dream room once.  There is something nostalgic and wonderful about flipping pages that you just don't get looking at a screen.


My love for books is returning.  

 I have a goal of a Book a month.
A fun way to improve both your social health and your intellectual health is to join a book club.  Meet together with friends and discuss the book of the month.

Today's challenge for you is to pick up a book.  What are you reading today? 

Let's chat about your pillars...

Are you aware of the pillars of health?  It's a concept I was introduced to over 20 years ago by some Japanese business men at a so-called "Sales training" meeting.  The company was Nikken Inc.  The training was their beginner level training called "Silver Training".  It was for their sales team, but I went because I wanted to have some self improvement.  I wasn't a Representative of the company  but, my dad, Larry Proffit, was the VP of Sales and Marketing and the was main Speaker and lead trainer for Nikken at the time, SO I got a free pass in.  Lucky me!

    The company is based in Japan.  They brought a weird way of thinking about business over here to us Americans.  It was interesting to note that at that "sales team meeting" not one word of sales skills or how to improve your business by increasing sales, was brought up.  We didn't even learn about their products that they sell at all!  It was purely Self-Care and self improvement.  They were big on creating a Life-Cycle plan or a HUGE vision board that mapped out 10 years of dreaming in Several areas of health.  They called this the "5 Pillars of Health".

The concept that you cannot be an effective sales representative for the company if you are not balanced in these areas of life, was the training for the weekend.  It was very revealing.  I did do my vision board/Life-cycle plan.  And I do have to say, most of that stuff I put on the vision board has happened.  It works.

Since that training, I have gone on and researched "pillars of health" and have discovered, there are a LOT of philosophies of what those Pillars of health actually are:

There are dozens more philosphies about Pillars of health out there.  Some get super complex.  I decided that my business needs to be simple and based around the basics.  I don't need my  life complicated anymore than it already is.
As I was setting Goals with my kids, I asked them what they want in some basic areas of life and challenged them to set goals in those "pillar" categories.
I changed them around a bit and made it 7.  You can create your own categories if you want or take it and adjust all of the above ones as you see fit.

Here are the categories I decided were important for balanced life, health and success:
1 - Spiritual
2 - Physical
3 - Work/ finances
4 - Emotional
5 - Intellectual
6 - Social (friends/community)
7 -  Family relationships

I might be a "fitness Professional", but what I have discovered is that when someone is out of whack in one of those areas of health, they have a difficult time reaching their fitness goals. As a personal trainer I found I was dealing with people that had loads of "baggage" and garbage built up in other areas of their life and until they released it or dealt with it, they struggled to feel good, drop weight or develop healthy eating habits.  It's my belief that true physical fitness/health is a result of feeling amazing about who you are and what you are capable of.  This comes as a result of repaired relationships with God, family, community, wealth, emotional well-being and  your relationship to money too.  It's all connected.  I guess the relationship can be flipped and you could say that your financial well-being could be the result of balance in the other areas, and so forth.  Your health in each pillar category is increased and becomes better as the other pillar categories come into balance.
  I left the business of Personal training because I was tired of helping people get the perfect butt when they were just unhappy with their marriage.  The perfect butt and waistline wasn't going to fix it.  I was tired of dealing with unhealthy people with unrealistic physical expectations that really needed a more well-rounded approach to true wellness.    I no longer consider myself a personal trainer per se.  I am a wellness professional today.  I focus on whole wellness over physical perfection.

   As you read this blog and follow me, you will see me focus on addressing the "pillars of health".  Each day, I am striving to focus on just one area of my life to improve. In a perfect world, all 7 would be addressed daily and worked on.  But baby steps is a great place to start.  So, each day, I challenge you to look at just one area of your life and improve in that place for that day.

Sunday - SPIRITUAL  - How is your relationship with God?  Do you take the time to pray, meditate and listen to his desires for your life?  It is my belief that we have a supreme being that cares about our well-being who reaches out to us.  It is up to us to listen.  You may have a religious affiliation or not.  I believe all of us are children of God.  Have you taken the time today to build on that important relationship?  It is up to us to listen quietly and reflect on the love he has for each of us.  I know that as I have done this, I have found inspiration for my life and the path I need to take in all other areas of health.

Monday - PHYSICAL - I do believe in movement daily as well as balanced nutrition all week.  Not just once a week.  But Mondays are a great day to start again with planning your meals and workouts.  A strong, healthy body helps boost your immune system and rid yourself of the blues.  Move and re-commit to your fitness and nutrition plan every Monday.

Tuesday - WORK/ FINANCES - Take this day to look at your career and financial goals. Are you going the right direction?  Are you saving money?  Is your business healthy?  What adjustments need to be made today or what action plans need to happen to bring you closer to your dreams?

Wednesday - EMOTIONAL - Do you think before you react?  How are you managing stress?  This is a good day to be a little more aware about your emotional responses to people and situations.  What do you do when someone cuts you off in traffic?  Or that crazy coupon-er that takes too long at the grocery store in line in front of you?  How is your emotional well-being?

Thursday - INTELLECTUAL - Do you take the opportunity to learn something new?  Are you reading any books? Taking an on-line course?  What are you doing to ignite that amazing brain of yours? Your education should always be a priority.  Have you taken time to learn from masters in the field of your interests and hobbies?  Or how about learning something new that you have never tried before?  How will you ignite your mind today?

Friday - SOCIAL  - How is your relationship with your community? Your friends?  This might be a good day to connect to an old friend or find opportunities to serve the community. I have heard people say, "I don't have any friends".  So what about reaching out to others that also feel lonely?  Quit sitting in front of the screen.  Turn off the electronics for a bit and connect face to face with other people.  How is your social health?  Take this day and find one way to improve in that area.

Saturday - FAMILY - When was the last time your talked to your mom or dad? Brother?  or Aunt or Uncle? What about other family member you have been out of touch with.  Would it be weird to pick up the phone and reach out over the miles to say "I miss you and I love you.  Remember when....?"  Take today and reach out and touch someone.  Was that AT&T's slogan back in the 80's?  This is also a great day to take the kids on a hike or a date with your spouse.

That's it.
Those are MY pillars of health I will be focusing on as we work together to build a happy, healthy  life.  I guarantee that as we work on these pillars of health, you will see increase in fitness results, joy, and peace.  This is the secret formula.  I am telling you!


Are you ready for true bliss?  I know I am.

 - Blessings,
       Michelle

Crazy negative responses to Oprah today...

This image of sheep will make sense if you keep reading.  Because right now, it seems rather silly.
Here are my thoughts today.  I was sitting here enjoying Oprah Winfrey interview Tracey Morgan on her series "Super Soul Sunday:"  I was enjoying Tracey discussing his life experiences and how being in a car accident changed him and his perception on life. I was touched.

I made the mistake of reading other people's comments.
I should have known better.  UGH!  While most people were uplifted and were commenting about the great story and inspiration they were receiving, there were those few... those very few...  who were idiots.  Yes, I am using the word idiots.  I am probably wrong.  I am sure those negative individuals probably just have a different life experience and have no idea what they are saying is so ridiculously wrong.  Let me let you peak into their comments:

"Oprah should interview real people not rich folks who we real people can't relate to."

"Tracey Morgan is just a rich actor, He's not relatable."

"We need to hear from real people."

Etc...

I am sure Oprah or any person who has thousands of viewers is used to the negativity that comes with putting yourself out there for others.  It comes with the territory, I know,  I know.

ANYWAY....
What  I learned from those folks making the negative comments was that if you have a profession that you worked hard at, like Tracey had (apparently those people missed that part of the interview), once you get rich and famous you are no longer human and have nothing to offer the rest of the world of average people still "slumming it".

Uhhhh.....

I'm confused.
OK folks.  Here's the deal, you can choose to learn anything from anyone anywhere of any background, color, social-economic status, gender, nationality,.... uhhhhhh.....

what else?

YOU decide if you can learn or you can shut your mind down because YOU decide if you are unteachable.

Tracey Morgan and I are very different people.  He is a black man, comedian, with a youth history of drugs and alcohol.  I am not.  He's got a lot more money than me and has been divorced.

I am a white woman, Mormon, never touched a drop of alcohol or drugs in my life, only been married once, can't even stand most of Tracey Morgan's comedy, Living in Utah, still rising out of financially rough times.  my life is VERY different from Tracey's.  But I found myself riveted to his story of triumph.  I loved his testimony of God's role in his life.  I found myself learning and growing from what he had to share with the world.

Did you know the thing he is most grateful for in life is... LIFE everyday?

It's a beautiful sentiment.

As I was listening to him and loving what I was gaining, I was reading a few comments about how he was unrelatable.  And yet, there I was finding him very relatable to me.  A white, conservative female in Utah living a lower class lifestyle was finding a Black comedian living an upper-class life after rising out of Drug use and alcohol and a broken marriage....  I found him relatable.  I was learning while a few other closed their minds because they chose not to see the similarities or they chose not to learn because apparently they believe you can only learn from someone who is in your exact shoes.  It's a sad state of mind.

That brings me to the picture of the sheep above.

I am blessed with a very wise mother.  I grew up on a ranch in Wyoming.  My uncle and grandpa raised sheep and cattle.  As we drove down our 2 mile dirt road, we were often stopped by a herd of sheep crossing the road in front of us.  I remember the time my mom took the opportunity to find all the life lessons she could think of while watching the sheep cross in front of us.  "sheep and teenagers are a lot alike...."  she went on with her analogy which I don't really remember.

My mom took opportunities often to teach us metaphors for life from the animals on the ranch or anything she saw in front of her.  I learned from my mom that you can learn any life lesson wherever you choose to look for one.  If I can learn about life from a herd of sheep, surely I can also learn from a man who rose out of rough situations to stardom!  Right?   We look different, we think different, We are very different.  But he has something to offer and I can choose to see it or reject it.

Maybe those negative comments on Oprah video were made by people who have never learned this amazing skill of learning from anywhere. 

I choose to learn.  I learn from everyone I meet.  Life is better when you see everyone as having something valuable to offer the world.

Take that challenge and try it out.  See if things seem better and brighter and more awesome.

My who I want to be when I grow up vision board...

I have at home on the wall above my desk, a dream board, or vision board. I have taken images and words that convey what I hope for in life and taped them onto a poster board for me to look at every day.  This is not a new concept.  I have done dozens of these over the years.  Almost every training seminar I go to suggests surrounding yourself with the imagery of what you want in your world.
"What you surround yourself with, you become."



So... with that in mind.  I took on a challenge to define myself.  To try to become who I want to be. What is it that I want?

As I was listening to a training video by one of my role models (Chalene Johnson) she suggested drawing a picture of who you want to be.  What is the image you want to portray.  Well.... I drew my picture.  I hated it.  Mostly because I am a lousy artist.  But also because I can't capture in a single drawing every piece of me I want to envision. and how I want to see me.

I began asking myself, Who are my role models?  Who do I want to be like when I grow up?
I started making my list of who I admire and my list of amazing women grew and grew and grew.  I found I admired people, not because they were perfect, but because they were unique, had amazing qualities I could learn from.  I found myself picking more and more and more.  Of course it would be impossible to be ALL of these women wrapped into one.  I can only be ME... whatever that is.  In the meantime, I can seek after qualities I want to improve in me.

Here is my partial list of people that have attributes of what I want developed in me when I grow up...

Mother Teresa, Servant of God

Shawna Kaminski, Fitness professional over 50 and rocking her style

 Chalene Johnson : Fitness professional and Personal development coach and more.

Marjory Hinckley, Devoted wife, mother and support.  Humble, sweet and a great example of quiet leadership. Loved life and family and God.   

Meryl Streep - Talented and natural in a world of hypocrisy and falsehoods  She stands out as a queen in her profession. I love her natural beauty. 

 Malala Yusafzay-  faced death in the face and still didn't back down from the principles she believed in.  She was shot for it. (And survived)

I have Oprah and Condoleeza on here as strong beautiful people that lead in unique and seperate ways.  

Suze Orman went from broke to financial guru.

Ellen Degeneres for her humor, love of life and ability to make everyone feel special. Oh and mad dancing skillz.

Oh and who can forget my amazing Mom?  one of the most talented and inspiring women I have ever met in my life.  I would say that even if she weren't my mother. a mother of 10 kids and as faithful a lady you will ever find who still knows how to party when the time is right or not right...  (all those irreverent giggles in church.... and parodies of church songs....  sheesh....) 

And my list of amazing women could go on and on and on.... all the people I have met who have inspired me.  There are too many to put here. I find God has surrounded me with the most amazing people.  I find something in almost everyone I meet that I can take and learn from and try to better myself.  I want to be like a piece of all of them.

So There you have it.  A snapshot of the kinds of women I admire and want to reflect when I grow up.  I want to be a great mom and wife and daughter of God.  I want to be generous and kind and seek to serve.  I want to be fun, and dance and smile and help others to do the same.  I want to be smart and lead and make changes.  I want to be fearless in the face of death when it comes to standing up for what I believe in.  I want to inspire people to change their lives.  I want to be strong and fit and healthy.    I want to be remembered as honest, kind and loving.  I want people to know me as a servant of God and having loved mankind.  I want to have done all I could do to make this world a better place to live in for future generations.
I know I cannot be all these people.  I will be Me.  I will be the best version of me I can be.  What that will look like on a picture???  I really don't know.  Certainly the photo I have here can't represent the whole me.  But it makes me giggle.  So it stays.

.  

I want to learn how to use Photoshop so I can put my face on this picture.

Who do you want to be when you grow up?  

What does your picture look like?