Do you need a #TempleDay?

We’ve been discussing progress with goals and resolutions recently with a number of clients.  Sometimes a great start and bags of enthusiasm can fade.  It’s a good idea to revaluate your progress if any feelings of disappointment or setbacks come up to prevent you from straying from the path you've set yourself.  We want you to learn to dance in the rain ;-)

When we set goals we mainly do so because of how we think it will make us feel on achieving them as well as how we will feel during the process of attaining them.  Occasionally we might set some milestones or general expectations in our goals that we don’t achieve as quickly as expected.  Alternatively we might not experience the feelings that we expected on achieving the goal.  It’s during these minor setbacks that the real power of your will comes to action to ensure you don’t fall into the trap of becoming distracted or giving up and returning to old disempowering habits.

It’s a set of behaviours that’s also associated with an “all or nothing” type of thinking seen in some people.  So we've created the idea of a #TempleDay to get those of you who are waining back on track to being and feeling awesome during your journey through life!!
The concept of a #TempleDay is to decide that today, tomorrow or some fixed date in the future will be a dedicated day where you enjoy focusing on your Strength Temple by being mindful of your #7Pillars.  For those of you new to The Strength Temple or our 7 Pillars philosophy let’s recap!

The Strength Temple is our name for your overall being!  Not just your physical body, but your feelings of wellness, energy, joy and abundance.  It’s how well you give to yourself and others.  We achieve results in our Strength Temple through focus on what we call our 7 Pillars.  The 7 Pillars are Movement, Hydration, Flexibility, Mindfulness, Nutrition, Environment and Breath.  We provide programs to allow progression to mastery in each of these areas and this journey creates an incredible life and sense of being!

So if you ever feel like you’re losing your direction try just dedicating a single day, or even a shorter period of time, such as a morning, to focusing on your 7 Pillars.  Let’s consider this in the form of an example to give you an idea.

Jane had been really excited at the turn of the year and had completed the Strength Temple Goal Setting workshop and set some really awesome goals for the year ahead.  These had focused on feeling fitter and healthier by taking up a gym membership and setting some goals around running a half marathon in July.  She got off to a great start and had been eating cleaner and gradually building her miles running.

After a few weeks and a very enthusiastic start, Jane started to find some of her new habits were becoming more of a chore than a pleasure.  She found she was getting bored running on the treadmill and had reverted back to snacking on the wrong foods whilst at work.  Feeling disheartened she began to skip running sessions and by the end of January had pretty much reverted back to her old lifestyle.

If any of this sounds familiar to anyone - that’s cool.  Much of what we need to do when setting goals is change old habits and this can be challenging!  The key is to modify any feelings of setback and find ways to refocus and remind yourself why you wanted to progress on a path to a better you in the first place.

We advised Jane to be mindful of her self talk (that little voice in your head that can sometimes chatter negativity at you!) and to have a #TempleDay.  She picked the coming Saturday and arranged to do a number of things that would allow some focus on her #7Pillars and bring her back in alignment with what she was looking to achieve.

From the moment she opened her eyes in the morning we reminded her to take deep cleansing breaths and gently stretch as she reminded herself of the gifts already present in her life.  She focused on the fact that she was warm and in a comfortable bed.  She reminded herself of the support of her family and friends and remembered how fortunate she was to be holidaying this year in France.  After reflecting for a moment, she woke and immediately made her bed.  This is a great habit to set yourself up for a productive day and reflects a sense of order in your environment.

She then progressed downstairs and started her day with her usual coffee, but included some freshly filtered water to drink when she woke up to feed her hydration pillar.  She showered using her favourite organic products chosen for their aromatherapy actions and prepared for a long walk in the countryside with her dog.

Jane chose a route that she hadn’t tried before and took some friends along for the walk.  She made a conscious effort to be aware of the wonders of nature around her and went for her walk at sunrise to experience the wildlife she didn’t usually get to see.  She focused on listening to birdsong and ensured that she maintained positive breathing techniques.  The walk wasn’t rushed.  It was an exercise in living in the moment and enjoying the pure energy of being alive!

On the way home from her walk she visited her father for tea and to pick up some fresh, organic produce from his vegetable garden.  Kale, Cavalier Nero, Carrots and Leaks were in season and on returning home she made herself a delicious green smoothie to kick start her day and pay attention to her nutrition pillar.

We had coached Jane in balancing her lifestyle with some new hobbies and not making everything about nutrition and exercise.  Jane went shopping to purchase some new books on upholstery and did some eBay browsing purchasing an old armchair as her first project.

During the afternoon she prepared a meal for a dinner party in the evening prior to going for a run.  She decided to ditch the gym for the day and run in the local park.  It delivered some variety to her training and she did some research locally to find some other new routes to maintain variety in the future.

Her evening dinner party was very well received.  Jane made a number of dishes from our Strength Temple clean eating programs and she enjoyed sharing the love with her family and friends.

So that was Jane’s #TempleDay.  Yours might be very different!  They key is to do something that will address as many of your pillars as possible and to make it a day of sticking to your plans. 
Who knows, you might eventually decide to make every day a #TempleDay ;-)

In the mean time, we wish you courage in your journey.  Celebrate the great progress you are making and don’t forget life isn’t perfect.  If you get distracted, have a #TempleDay and get yourself back on track.

With love.

#respectyourtemple

Comfort zones and growth

Before you read this, just take a second to evaluate where you are on a scale of 1-10 with regards to getting out of your comfort zone?  Don't take too long, but evaluate where you are.  Got your score?  Great, lets crack on then!

So everyone’s heard of the Comfort Zone.  It’s that place where we don’t feel pushed or stressed by an activity or situation.  We handle it with ease and it’s where some people assume they do their best work.

So what does your comfort zone really look and FEEL like?  After you’ve read this paragraph, close your eyes and see if you can GO to your comfort zone.  Pay attention to the colours that predominate, the sounds that you might hear, the smells that might be present.  What does the place look like?  What do you see?  Is there anyone or anything else there.  What’s the temperature?  Indulge yourself and really take a moment to enjoy what this feels like.  OK, so off you go, close your eyes.  Stay there for as long as you like.  Then come back to me :-)

So how do you feel right now?  I bet you feel quite centred and relaxed and that's because being in your comfort zone is a good thing.  I’m not going to tell you it’s not.  The thing is, life is all about balance.  We NEED comfort in our lives, but we also need to feel stretched and pushed.  That’s right, it’s not just a "nice to have" or an option, we actually NEED to feel challenged.  It’s what creates growth and is part of feeling fulfilled and happy.

Tony Robins (widely considered to be one of the best coaches on the planet) refers to this as the human paradox.  We have a NEED for CERTAINTY and a NEED for UNCERTAINTY.

Reflect on this for a moment and let it resonate with you.  If this is a revelation for you - enjoy the insight and get ready to understand how we can actually enjoy this process, because whilst your comfort zone is great, it’s when we get outside of this area that the magic happens.

The key to getting outside involves a number of things based on your current situation.  The mere thought of getting out of your comfort zone can feel quite exciting to one person and yet fill another with dread and fear.  This is based on how you define these actions internally in the theatre of your mind, and how you anchor them to past experiences.

Moving outside is a bit like stretching your muscles.  If you aren’t used to it you should start gently and gradually.  As time goes on you will start to feel the benefits and can go a little further.  Over time you will suddenly realise that you are so far removed from where you were that it’s miraculous!

This applies to your personal situation as well as your career.  How many people do you know (perhaps even yourself) who have been made redundant only to find that they land a better job?  How many time in your life have you eventually been forced to take action on something only to find that things were better after you did?  You see your comfort zone can be a death rattle for progress if you're not careful.  We recommend you regularly take time to evaluate where you are and make plans to stretch yourself and grow.  Just small steps can expand your zone sufficiently to achieve growth.

The Strength Temple Mindfulness Pilar deals extensively with techniques to move you to a wider comfort zone in a staged way.  If you’d like to hear more let us send you cool stuff here.  We’ll let you know when our online program is ready to rock your world and take you to a whole new destination within your expanded comfort zone.

In the mean time, let’s revisit how you feel about the thought of pushing yourself and getting out of your comfort zone; are you motivated?  On that scale of 1-10 where are you now?

We always say at The Strength Temple that you should never leave an empowering thought or insight without taking action to progress what you’ve learned.  Why don’t you make some plans right now to do that little thing that expands your comfort zone.

With love from The Strength Temple.

#respectyourtemple