7 Habits of Highly Effective People are habit principles you can use in most aspects of your life. I learned this from teacher and author, Stephen Covey who taught from his principle book: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Planning events is all about habit creation that builds confidence for the next event!
I can’t think of anything more work adrenaline-filled than putting on a moving-part event production. That’s how I felt when I would plan and then orchestrate large events with over 100 guests, where the habits from 7 Habits of Highly Effective People were put to good use.
Setting up event success meant planning milestone meetings with chefs and managers (and plenty of meetings with myself) with a 5 P’s mantra: Proper planning prevents poor performance.
That’s not a personal mission statement, but it’s a success value statement. In my event planning, I learned many powerful lessons that can be applied to personal change and growth.
On event nights, the party starts at the ready time or at least the staff and I have to be ready.
That’s when we know whether the prep work laid out hours beforehand pays off with a successful event. And this actually starts weeks and sometimes months in advance by planning menus, setup, and details with planners and chefs.
Each event is like its own wedding event even though it may have fewer mini-events and agendas.
The first two habits (of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) always took center stage to anticipate changes:
1. Be proactive
2. Begin with the end in mind
During the parties, when there were too many moving parts, being in the moment, keeping focused on the guests, gauging the temperature of the room, and checking in on the party host (be proactive) was part of event success (begin with the end in mind).
And in your daily life, you probably don’t plan events (or not in a live event space today anyway)…but most of us plan our daily event schedules.
So most of us are planners. On the calendar, you can (and may already) practice be(ing) proactiveand begin with the end in mind habits.
One effective way is, if you only have an activity that requires a bi-weekly (or bi-anytime) habit… and to succeed with those tasks, you could fill the non-weeks or time with another activity so that your mind has to search for the “either/or” activity.
If you don’t create a weekly placeholder activity then you could unintentionally forget/skip the bi-weekly intended one. The mind needs a replacement to substitute.
If it’s an every other day activity, then you could fill that same activity time for another activity, that follows a daily habit (or the habit stacking concept most of us have come to love and know from the more recent Atomic Habits by James Clear).
It’s much easier for the habit to stick (and for consistency to happen) when you have an “automatic” method programming your mind.
That’s easier and in event planning, that’s the “you got this” feeling in event planning when you’re on top of everything and proactive. You’re not writing everything down in those critical seconds needed to make a decision.
Most professions have these “make or break” moments. For a surgeon in a hospital emergency room, if the doctor has to look up procedural answers then, that’s not a good sign.
And in event planning that I know, being reactive with situations is crushing and it can be a snowball effect where the plates come out late or cold. And there’s a complaint about the room temperature and drinks.. and in those humbling times, you can’t wait until the end of the event, that’s only a matter of time.
To get to the proactive level takes planning, proficiency, and experience that creates confidence. And that starts from building consistent habits.
Consistency is the end-all, be-all that builds progress, and confidence and works for every important habit that I can think of at least. You consistently follow a habit. And when a better habit idea comes along, you replace that habit.
But consistency isn’t without downfall. It can be at odds with creativity, so consider looking at them as the yin-and-yang, or the sugar and the salt in baking that give the balanced spice in life.
And using solid principles like that from Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People can improve your effectiveness.
They can help you in life’s productivity and also deeper areas like finding your life’s purpose, a proactive choice that can easily get los in life’s busyness and commotion of what’s seemingly urgent but not important to you.
You’re headed in the right direction when you keep developing yourself and pivoting. You keep practicing new skills, putting one step in front of the other and looking at your compass.
The Universe is constantly guiding you and offering an invisible hand to help you and give you a hand up.
The healthy and growth mind set knows that a re-route is to help you move up in the climb of your life and get off the roller coaster ride.
If you begin thinking with the desired outcome end in mind, then your process in the middle is improved when you set your eyes on the end goal.
You can better Ready, Fire, and Aim.
And when you stay focused and open to feedback using habits #3 and #4 from seven Habits of Highly Effective People:
3. Put first things first
4. Think win-win
These days prioritizing what’s important is more blurred than in the past.
Most of us live a double life to some degree with our digital lives and real lives, so putting first things first (habit #3) is not the easiest thing and can be complex.
Both lives are authentic. Your sweet spot is what makes you stand out and the skills that you’re good at that are relevant.
The biggest competitor you could run into for a win-win approach (habit #4) can be yourself and your moods (we used to blame much more on others). We’re now a more openly aware and collaborative society.
Being able to give is a gift. It’s a win-win.
There’s a cosmic exchange when you give your energy away in optimism, and then the world dances. When you give your time (service) or money (generous giving), that can also create buzz and impact for your endeavors.
When you can start looking at how you fit in the world, not selfishly, but what you can give in the abundant overflow you’re given in personality, gifts, and talents, then you can grow to your highest and best use purpose (habit #2).
In self-awareness, then you can create a continuing growth environment (kaizen is the Japanese word in business terms) for you and others around you (habits # 5-7):
5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood
6. Synergize
7. Sharpen the saw
“You have two ears and one mouth,” I remember Author Stephen Covey saying in his workshops.
Listening is more importing than talking.
Habit #5 summed up: Hearing, selective listening, and active listening are 3 different processes. The first is naturally automatic, the second is tuning in/out when multi-tasking, and the third is focusing, taking notes, and coming up with unique ideas from what you heard in your frame of reference and experiences.
In my event planning days, if a client had an issue, it was best to listen to them, then give them available options based on what they communicated (habit #5) and let them decide which options to take (habit #6). Seasoned event planners know how to do that every time, and let those dialogues roll off their tongues (habit #7). And that way the client felt in charge and if things didn’t go as planned, then they owned part of the outcome. That’s the behind-the-scenes smoothness in event planning.
And that helps in most ways when you work with others. If you fill them in with communication nd what you’re up to, there’s a greater chance they can fill in and help in ways you wouldn’t even know how, now.
Habit #6: 1+1=3 or synergy is exponential growth that happens when you have collaboration. And when you keep adding/evolving collectively to what you’re doing, then you’re getting better. By default, you’ll avoid the things you didn’t like or “been there done that,” and keep seeking newer, better ways for yourself. That leads to growth and…
Habit #7: Evolved learners focus most of their time on the present moment and not on the past or future that hasn’t happened.
They know where they’re at and that the past brought them to where they are today. And without the past, they would not have learned (from their history) what they need to do to improve.
And when you get out of the negative emotions of that headspace or focus on the happy memories, you can feel good and alive.
When you can reflect, you can see why things happened and how they helped you even though it didn’t seem that way when you were learning the lesson.
Everything happens for a good reason (believe that!) and sometimes that takes a little longer to realize… and, at every turn you are gaining a little more confidence in who you are becoming.
And you gain a clearer vision for the future and better strategies that you can better evaluate from time to time.
In events, dessert were always a must. Baklava was on the Mediterranean-Lebanese restaurant menus. We didn’t make baklava in-house, but you can with this low-sugar recipe. 🥮
Make phyllo dough from scratch! It's not as difficult as it sounds... and dare I say fun!
Course Dessert
Cuisine lebanese
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets
Ingredients
2tbspolive oil
1cupflour
1cupwater
pinch of salt
honey
chopped nuts
dates, orange, and cinnamon (optional)
Instructions
Making phyllo is a lot like making homemade pasta, but much thinner.
Make a mound and a hole in the middlle where you can add the olive oil and slowly add water. Knead for about 5 minutes and then form a dough disc. Let rest.
Roll out as thin as possible and then you can slip into the pasta maker if you have one, adjusting until you get to the thinnest setting (e.g. 1). It will look opaque but the hope is that there will be no holes.
Cut into strips that you will use as layers for the baklava.
For the baklava, you can brush honey and top with chopped dates and nuts (walnuts or pistachios work well) on every other layer if you make 7 layers ending with the top layer with honey and nuts. Sprinkle each layer with cinnamon and orange zest if you like (good for Ayurvedic Vata balancing!).
My first career job was in hotel catering. Those were the days where I learned the hardest management lessons. And as a young adult who was free to make choices, I could develop habits. These eventually evolved into the modern ayurvedic-inspired atomic habits I do today (that I share below).
You see… back then, it became obvious to me that I didn’t have a work-life balance as I missed all the new Friends (and my friends’) episodes, weddings, and any other current events happening other than the ones I was booking.
I didn’t have body balance (I was lucky I was young 😉). And I didn’t think about anti-inflammatory spices as they weren’t existing headlines in western world, metro-city area living.
Instead, I was surrounded by high-calorie, buttery-tempting, sweet foods from a daily chef-prepared food spread and kitchen where I spent most of my day.
I had a dilemma because part of me liked the rich foodie foods, and part of me just wanted to eat healthy every day. I knew I had to find a middle ground.
So when I left that job and decadent eating world and lifestyle, I entered another dilemma… Yup… fresh Doubletree chocolate chip cookies 🍪 that sat inches away from my office desk (how dare they!). They made for a good snack I thought back then, and was a filling breakfast, high-calorie meal.
Life back then was a blur.
My good habits were going to work, surviving, and trying to do better tomorrow. Little did I know that I was creating space for better work-life habits.
And life improved when I started getting a work-life balance after switching careers. I was able to have a normal work life more like my friends. Working on me, personal growth, the life I wanted, and getting better habits became real.
The previous work must’ve been a test and as far as I’m concerned, all that matters is I passed 😊
But that didn’t come without consequences. I had to replace bad habits I accrued working in a sometimes dysfunctional work environment and from my past.
And I didn’t become serious about better habits until I learned ayurvedic best practices and yoga (about 7 years after I went to a “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” workshop that Stephen Covey taught).
I think the habit stacking idea that James Clear introduced in Atomic Habits (I mentioned in last week’s post) is perfectly timed for what we need now in our complicated society and lives just so we can keep up with all of our habits.
Habit Stacking
Today, in a lot of ways, it’s much easier to develop and stick with healthy habits like eating healthier as we have better resources and tools (digital calorie counters), researched information at our fingertips, and better food options. It’s also easier to get distracted.
But if you focus and lean into the homecourt advantages in your daily surroundings, you don’t have to compete with your possible two critics sitting on your shoulder, and your digital devices staring at you.
Technology and conveniences help us develop automatic and consistent habits, that can eventually become a part of who we are.
Like: I have a writing habit, so now I’m a writer (and a blogger at heart ❤️).
Or, if you can prepare at least 1-2 healthy meals every day, you’re a health-conscious person. In his book, Clear describes these identity shifts as helpful for your atomic habits to take solid root.
For me in my story, I could’ve started a healthy way in my long, hotel workdays, starting each day with a homemade, healthy breakfast (not a cookie) and a light dinner if I had made the decision to create a process or system for healthy eating habits. (Not an excuse, but it’s extra hard for a Vata, as variety is our middle name).
That wasn’t my story though. That would’ve required body-mind agreement in the stressful life I had back then. And I wouldn’t have known how to begin in my life’s busyness.
And that’s how many of us are:
We delay our best life… We can fall into the trap of thinking, “I’ll get healthy (or happy) when… (fill in the blank with the perfect situation… retirement, kids grow up, I have kids, etc..). We don’t know we can do a little here and there to influence a lot.
To make changes, doing the small stuff regularly makes big differences (atomic habits).
James Clear makes clear (his name works for him!) 4 traits to creating habits that stick.
They are: make it obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying.
Your description of each of these will be different than mine but here is an example for creating a healthy snacking habit:
I purposefully set up a nice snack table (… festive decorating is part of the territory of someone who has worked in event planning 🎉). But you can set out a tablecloth and that would be just as good!
On the table, I set out a bowl of almonds or healthy nuts and other seasonal healthy snacks and fruits like baked apples and whole apples.
You won’t see a disguised trail mix, a bowl of M&M’s, or potato chips. That would defeat the purpose.
For the habit creation, I leave out healthy food items that can stay out (obvious food props) on a pleasing presentation (attractive display) that is convenient for a snack hankering (easy) and is enjoyable (satisfying).
And when it’s an afternoon snack or break time I can pull out any refrigerated items like this.
Healthy sweet snack: Sweet potato casserole with apple crisps, oatmeal, and lightly sprinkled toasted marshmallows.
You can take this same idea to other places or find a better way that works for you. In most cases, it’s up to you to create the work-life balance and lifestyle you want. Ideally, I try to make a short break, a small party. Life is short and I’m an Enneagram 7, so I lean into the enjoyable as a motivator and as often as I can.
…I have a smiling photo of me (on my about page) where I’m holding a Strawberry Twizzler, one of my favorite non-fussy sweet treats I can just pull out. You don’t see me holding a healthy baby carrot because that’s not a happy reward unless you’re a rabbit.
Carrots and almonds are the healthy snacks I default to the majority of the time. Because we all want a healthier body as an end goal, so beginning with the end in mind, I have a process (eating healthier most of the time) that supports that.
I keep the end goal in my mind as the compass pointing north.
If you want to be healthy and happy, and ultimately both, then maybe these unwritten rules can help you.
Let me start with… You can cheat along the way with unhealthy foods, but be mind-body aware that you are doing so, so you’re the one in control of your decisions. Make sense?
…Happy is happy (healthy or not), and most of us healthy-minded also want to be happy.
With my healthy identity, I’m no longer fully happy if I’m not overall healthy and I’m not happy if all I’m eating are bean sprouts and edamame pods. So having this happy-healthy (working with each other) attitude helps with daily micro-decisions that become overall atomic habits.
This mix of healthy and happy I believe is sustainable, balanced living and the right environment for creating healthy habits. Because if you diet or go to the extremes or deny yourself, then you can end up yo-yo dieting, quitting, or reverting backward. It starts out good and then is worse than when you started.
I use moderation as the measuring stick. So my internal dialogue can be something like this, where I ask myself, “is it satisfying enough?” or…”will a piece of fruit satisfy me now as much as a biscuit or cookie?”
And if you think you’re missing that gene or self-discipline, you’re not alone. But then you accept the consequences that instant gratification brings.
I know this isn’t new news, and if it’s a struggle for you, then it’s probably a touchy subject and especially if you’re trying to lose weight. But the less aspiration and more awareness you can apply to your situation, the more it can help to break down disconnects from getting you what you ultimately want in your life and what ends up happening.
Some may think who know me…”OK, that’s easy for you to say because you’re naturally trim.”
That btw, is a natural Vata body trait. But that’s not the complete picture…because back in my hotel catering days before I discovered my ideal weight, I fluctuated in my dress size.
Back then my daily dress size was at least a size or two larger, and I couldn’t fit into the clothes I wear today. There shouldn’t be comparisons because it’s all relative to your body because you only get one in your life marathon.
But, that’s how I know in my experience, that it is a healthy habit that makes the difference or at least gives you that edge to what you want, body and all. The body is important because without good health you can’t live your optimum life. And ideal weight is one of the medically accepted measurements to determine this. And low blood pressure is another.
So to me what our hearts look like is more important than how we look in jeans. So cardio is the ultimate for all. But to stay the same jeans size, here’s what I do:
I think of the small, regular daily habits as healthy ones that will make a difference (atomic habits principle)…and the rewarding, happy habits like having a weekly treat, as special celebratory ones.
You are better off when you stay sustainably moderate and don’t deny or go overboard either way. Staying consistent year-round is the ultimate test to seeing if a healthy-happy attitude (like I described above) is stacking into habits.
If you apply the 80/20 rule, then 5-6 days of the week you are eating healthy, and 1-2 days you can be roughly taking off. Like a yo-yo, you resiliently let your string out and pull it back in, and you say no thank you to any yo-yo fad diets that come your way.
I think it’s much easier to do this without keeping score. Your body is always keeping score, but you don’t know what the exact rules are or what the magic number is.
It’s a guess as to what your calorie balance or deficit goal is.…If only your body could give you those exact formulas at any moment?
So, in my opinion, artificial calorie counters or counting sugar grams take the enjoyment out of life when you could use that same useful time and energy to create natural atomic habits.
You can more or less feel the middle balance (and that becomes a worthwhile habit). It’s like training your brain to do quick math without a calculator, but much easier as you’re just using binary numbers 1=yes (eat) or 0=no (don’t eat).
In my world, that’s cutting down the sweets, cookies, and cakes (like those that used to be in open sight in my catering sales days). And now, not indulging in The Great British Bake Off recipes no matter how much I’m a fan of the show! The Jammie Dodgers will have to wait 😉
But I digress.
Healthy and Happy Atomic Habits
If we evaluate our current habits and see which ones are replaceable, tweakable, and what we want to happen, then we can have a balanced (healthy and happy) outcome in life.…And nowww we’re getting somewhere!
Here are 5 atomic habits you can also do if you want (that started small for me and made a big difference):
1.Daily Morning Atomic Habits:
Last time I talked about my morning yoga habit I created from habit stacking that took a lot of tweaking for my Vata self.
For you, maybe you just need to reframe and substitute “yoga” to “a stretching habit,” and then it’s doable and not a formal or intimidating practice that you’re not ready for.
When you get up, you’ve already stretched at least once or twice (so why not give a new name called “habit?”).
And from there, you can keep habit stacking, like doing a few situps or pushups, etc… your mantra here can be: a few adds up!
-Create a habit to be intentional for the day. Getting intentionally grateful for something or everything changed everything for me.
I used to have a weekly gratitude journal so I could really take in appreciation for the small stuff… and I mean small relative to my part of the world where people are blessed! (We all start somewhere as it keeps us humble, hungry, thirsty, and wisdom-seeking).
You can journal or simply look at a joyful image like a framed artwork, photo, or outside your picture window for inspiration.
In this place of gratitude, you find peace and contentment. There’s no room to complain. Or to put up with gossip. That changes your joyful outlook and what happens in your day as you create your next forward step. Don’t just look at what happens to you. See how you react and what your attitude and beliefs are, that will shape your habits.
-Check-in with yourself. Take at least 5 minutes in the quiet morning and scan your mind for any ideas and anything that isn’t in a place of appreciation for your day (or sitting as neutral thoughts)… remember, we all start somewhere.
Get up a little earlier if you have to, in order to claim your quiet minutes.
If you didn’t sleep well, shake off any negative energy, thoughts, and nightmares. You will be okay if you don’t hold onto those thoughts. Let your mind know that your skull is protecting your brain and your thoughts, so it doesn’t have to. I’m serious.
Forcibly if needed, let unforgiveness go. Let the world just be as is in your brand new day – no judgment or comparison to other days. That’s where peace is and you can save yourself the time from eye-shutting transcendental meditation (that I don’t do).
Decide to rise above your insecurities and let go of your worries. Shift to a loving higher road lens that ends fear. (I know because I started out in life afraid of just about anything and everything).
Reset to a day full of abundant possibilities that rely on your hopeful beliefs.
Then check if you feel something physically off in your body? Maybe your stomach needs food. Get to the bottom of what’s not feeling right, and stack onto your other healthy body habits like drinking water first thing.
And notice your bathroom habits in the morning. Are they regular? How can you healthily make them more regular? Depending on if you have a pronounced body imbalance, there are different fixes for each Ayurvedic body type.
Some interesting differences I can point out…
Vata, Pitta, and Kapha
Vatas are naturally alert, light sleepers, so having a lot of worrying thoughts is common. Not all worry is bad, but worry as a habit is.
As a Vata, we like a lot of variety. I think I could be a Vata poster child. Loving variety is my favorite Vata feature if I had to pick just one. But then there are times when this can go awry. Like if you’re in a relationship and your partner is a Pitta (a lot of men are).
They may not understand why there are so many different choices and cups of beverages around, and for different drinking desires.
For a pure Pitta, they like to drink their drink and move on.
A Kapha will leave things be and to what makes another happy (unless they’re not).
But that can be too stereotypical. …what was that movie line where the actor mentioned pigeon-holing or generalizing saves time, lol?
…ok where was I anyway?
Oh right.. we’re not just one type or the other and we can get imbalanced and change at any time. And that helps us build better habits.
As Vatas, we too have experienced impatience, being critical or more judgmental than usual, which are more Pitta traits. And have accumulated in every sense of the word (that’s more of a Kapha trait).
No one is 100% all Vata, Pitta or Kapha, ever.We can have our Vata, Pitta, and Kapha days and strengths or weaknesses (imbalances) happening all at the same time. But usually, it’s just one or two.
These human nuances I think are part of the fun in learning to read in Ayurveda 😊 (and not having to learn Sanskrit).
So then continuing on with habits… You (and I) can…
-Check in with breathing. After you’re fully awake, get in the habit of focusing on your breath so you can be more aware of this moment.
I often find I wake up with a slightly stuffy nose. If that’s you, practice breathing in and out of your mouth so you can get full breaths. See if that improves your mental clarity and from being slightly forgetful. Our brains (not just our lungs) need oxygen to optimally function.
You can also add a plant (adds oxygen), humidifier, and steaming (from the shower or in a pot on the stove). Watering can be part of the atomic habits you adopt for a more whole life.
2. Afternoon Atomic Habits:
Sandwich the news in the afternoon and early evening when you’re in the swing of things or eating lunch. I don’t recommend news in the early morning or late night (to start and end your day with other worries and gloomy thoughts).
Eating a heavier lunch will help carry you through at least part of the afternoon. I don’t combine breakfast and lunch (brunch). I actually eat breakfast, brunch, and lunch. And the afternoon snack already mentioned. And I add spices.
My body runs efficiently that way as I’ve taught it to work and burn calories when I feed it regularly, and it’s hungry for more.
Call it healthy snacking or what you want, but if you try small bites, that could be an atomic habit that works as it has for me.
I also turn music on in the afternoon and you may find that enhances your mood if you select the right genre.
3. Evening Atomic Habits:
Eat a light dinner. This works better for most body types because naturally, your body is winding down, getting ready for night and sleep that are just hours away. This is where I like to keep a light protein or plant-based meal based on the season. So that could be a homemade soup (low sodium) or a salad.
I reserve the lasagnas and similar heavier meals for leftovers. They taste better the next day anyway. I don’t eat the way I did growing up where we ate our heartiest meal at dinner.
And if you watch nightly media shows or television, end on neutral or warm and fuzzy thoughts. Watch a light-hearted comedy, cooking show, HGTV, or Friends.
4. Weekly Atomic Habits:
I moisturize A LOT. If you’re a Kapha, you don’t need to as much.
While I’m sitting down, I also make a list of revelations and progress that I made in the past week. They help me feel good and keep me focused on what I need to grow or start (that can become a good habit).
And I feed my mind-spirit with a weekly church where I hear stories and messages I can relate to (like podcast messages). I know I’m not alone. But I know a lot of people out there who feel they are.
So, frequently throughout the week in my quiet mornings and minutes I include outward prayer, higher intellect self-talk, and meditation as absorbing thoughts I get from the Universe while my eyes are open and I’m fully receiving and present.
I started this habit and process of attending church throughout the week, and spiritual identity around when my healthy identity changed. The practice makes everything else work and come alive.
5. Check Your Process (Are you missing anything?)
And FINALLY… homestretch here! For all of us, once you start a process you can recalibrate from that standpoint.
Like, when I restored my mind-body imbalances from Ayurvedic practical habits after I first learned what to do… and then I noticed sometime later, a new set of imbalances settled in.
It was like: Ok, you got this one down, nowit’s time to learn and be tested with another.
…Isn’t that how most of Life feels?
I found sometimes the imbalance combinations overlapped like feeling tired in the morning and anxious heart palpitations in the afternoon, and sometimes lingering irritation thoughts from a previous season.
So I started paying attention more from the lens of healthy Ayurvedic habits I formed that complemented my spiritual-faith-based ones. Daily and seasonal restoration work is now natural to me and doesn’t feel like work, but they too have become atomic habits, when needed.
…but I am ALWAYS checking to see (and aware) if I’m missing anything in life (similar to checking if a jean zipper is pulled up).
A balanced mind-body-spirit supports a healthy, whole lifestyle, where you’re open, but not unsure of the most important things about you and your life.
It’s never too late (or too soon) to find what completes you. And, I hope I inspired you to never give up on your healthy life and the small, atomic habits you can start that can grow wings especially if you believe the Universe has your back.
You just never know how a split-second and tiny action can help lead you to what you’re wanting most, and even when you don’t know what that might be right now.
Ayurvedic habits was introduced to me 13- years ago to date when I embarked on a new healthy way of doing life. Yoga was still a new concept to the western world. And I was about to start my first blog.
Those were the days before personal awareness,#metoo movements, and before western Ayurveda ways caught on with some (like me and maybe you?).
I’d been striving for balance ever since the day I realized I didn’t have any, and in my memory as far back as when the popular Friendssitcomshow first came on.
Those were pre-internet days where you never saw a laptop atthe Central Perktelevision set or anywhere for that matter ☕️
You and I can laugh at the wired phone cord that would be fun to untangle now. Phones back then weren’t wireless or smart. And watches were used to just tell time.
Technology and life are interesting in how it’s constantly evolving, and never going backward. Along the way, your tastes and wants can also change as you grow up.
I’m not a traditionalist, soI lean towards growth and doing things differently.
…but I started out ona traditional college to the corporate work-life path(with no work-life balance). And through life’s swerves, hidden turns, and purposeful career switching, I gradually turned around the tide.
You know when you don’t have the life you want when you run into dead ends, and that makes you search for the unknown. You know there has to be better if you use the right optimistic attitude. That btw, teaches you to steer away from sarcasm and Murphy’s Law thinking that was common during the Friends and Seinfeld show era.
Starting out in my career in hotel catering management taught me that not filling hotel rooms with guests was the biggest (opportunity) cost to the bottom line. I carried that way of thinking into my life even back then when I wasn’t aware. I realized not doing my highest and best use (that was taught in college) was my biggest loss.
That concept became my motivator to leave jobs I was unhappy or miserable with that had no rewarding path I could see for personal growth or in their business improvement.
In my late 20’s I wanted work-life balance, and to end the 50-60 hour workweek rut I was in walking around like a zombie in my downtime, that I started out with.
I kept the mantra running in my mind that I would not get my time back…and when I saw no way out, I found a way out.
And that’s how I switched industries into corporate tech office work. There I experienced newfound balance, and after I got a taste of that, I wanted more.
I went from not-so-healthy to balance, healing, and eventually wholeness. It was an overnight change that took over a decade.
And somewhere in that mix, the economic downturn hit where I went back to where I began in hospitality work. I had changed but the industry had not, so I moved on yet again.
…And that’s why I believe for everyone, Life is meant to get better despite the curve balls thrown at you.
Yes, you age, but you grow wiser and smarter. And you can adopt the right attitude if you help yourself to get there. I would never want to go backward in time.
…and I know now time can be underrated, and that it’s our most valuable asset (especially as you enter your 30’s and beyond).
I also now know that time is well spent when all 365 days of the year, I practice healthy and happy balance (that means green smoothies, food variety, and never changing Strawberry Twizzlers!). Plus, daily reset and renewal, and Ayurveda prevention and restoring ways.
….And that last one is what I’m most proud of for taking care of my body and mind.
Learning Ayurvedic habits was a new concept for me as a mid-adult who had lived around suburban malls and eating prepared foods in popular restaurants (and some that I couldn’t resist as I marketed their foods).
So then when I switched to Ayurveda I had choices (it’s not a diet, as I don’t believe in those). It encourages you to lean into your body’s natural desires, and often those are against the popular culture desires or what you think you want, like restaurant food (where you have no control over the cooking and ingredients).
I like to think of modern, western Ayurveda as a flexible lifestyle where you choose balance. You have a healthy plan and you enjoy what you like that you don’t regret.
For example, you won’t see me ordering or drinking a coffee drink with 53 grams of sugar. If it starts out that way, I will order most of the fat and sugar off, or just choose a black cold brew. That’s how I roll.
And that’s an ingrained habit.
But someone may say, “that’s no fun.” And I would say, “it is for me. I want to feel and look good, and for a long time. Then I can have more fun!”
We’re a much more health-conscious society now, but you still have critics and that can be the one sitting on your shoulder giving you internal debates on choices.
These days, I prepare at least 80% of my meals (and 100% in the past year). And Ayurvedic habits have helped me with balance, prevention, and restoration. And they can help you too!
Western Ayurvedic Habits
TheAyurvedic habits I do are not new to our western culture like they would have been a few decades ago. Like: theneti pot works for preventing sinus infections and doing regular yoga helps with balance, flexibility, and strength building.
Sanskrit is not my native or secondary tongue, so some rituals I’ve walked into that I wish I didn’t. Like: incense (…you might as well smoke a pack of cigarettes.. thankfully you rarely run into either and if it’s a certain church occasion where incense is, you know to expect it).
Another less than desirable one is chanting, like in a new yoga class that gives me an eerie feeling. I don’t participate. The mystical woo stuff doesn’t woo me.
I like to have my feet planted on the western ground unless I’m doing fun acrobatics (photo up top and here). Just kidding.
So some Ayurvedic habits and ways stuck with me and some didn’t, and from the beginning so I knew that they were meant (or not meant) for me.
And if you’re trying to figure out what Ayurveda or healthy lifestyle works or would work for you, then you can use your preferences as a natural guide if you don’t have a coach or someone helping you.
Essentially, Ayurveda is what’s healthy and natural to you, your body, and mind-body, so you can’t go wrong if it’s a healthy choice you like.
And when creating Ayurvedic habits, some habits need more practice to fully adopt than others.
In his NY Times bestseller,Atomic Habits, habit advice expert, James Clear, describes thathabit stacking is an easier way to have a habit stick.
An example of this is: I conveniently have a yoga mat rolled out near my bathroom with a side door, so that I can do a few yoga stretches before I start my day and after brushing my teeth (habit stacking). For some people, that’s enough of a reminder to create a habit.
But for a heavy Vatamind-body where routine (and sticking to the same way) is not a natural friend, Itweaked this idea to work for me…
A few days later after the novelty of the yoga morning activity wore off (and the habit broke), I rolled up half the mat, which triggered me to see the mat change when I had to look down so I didn’t trip over it.
That reminded me to do yoga. And thenslowly but surely I didn’t need to look down anymore because I knew where the roll ended. So I then took the half-rolled-up mat, and rolled it back down, and then rolled it in a different way several days later. I mixed it up. And now I have a mat under the mat to keep things interesting… and to keep me interested. That forced the habit to start, so it had a chance to stick.
I then reinforced the habit further with a set alarm. ...Phew! That was a lot for just one habit. But it’s worth it.
And you know what’s worth it for you, what works, and what it takes for you to create a habit! The harder part I think is figuring and finding out what habit to even start. And, knowing why you’re creating a habit.
Overall in the long run, when you do better habits, this keeps the healthy balance. You also improve and run your best marathon.
This is also how you keep growing. Keep trying new things (a Vata’s motto) until it becomes unhealthy or non-serving. Then in awareness of what you previously tried and want to improve, tweak again.
A good goal is to find what makes you happy, healthy, and whole, because without good physical and mental health, you can’t really optimally grow and contribute in your highest and best use way (maybe this is important to you too).
In the beginning, when I was forming Ayurvedic habits and concepts, I still felt stress or anxious even though I knew how to restore those feelings. I just hadn’t practiced enough.
And then I learned what worked for those symptoms and that became old hat like learning to ride a bicycle. And then I would feel other emotional symptoms like feeling irritated or judgmental. So then I fixed those.
While the symptoms were obvious, the changes were subtle (going in and out of moods). In those cases, I could’ve chosen to do nothing. And that’s what I think most people choose.
But that my friend (if I can call you that)… is not the highest-quality life, and maybe even semi-existence. I know because I lived that way in my no work-life balance-joy-robbing time that I will never go back to…
Feeling down, self-(fill in the blank ____), or negative thoughts and other big mood swings taking up mind real estate during prime leisure time and at night. But, I guess I was aware enough to do something about it. There’s always a silver lining.
For me, it would start with getting internally upset, angry, or irritated about something… and on and on it would spiral out of control spewing in my day and mood.
And I know that’s how a lot of people operate some of the time. And, that’s too much time!
There’s a much better way. 🎉
Transforming these ways has been worth going through the trials (to not lose any more valuable time), so that some of the time, becomes rarely or never when we learn better habits and ways.
These days, I choose peace. It’s a habit. Like most people,I have emotions running all the time and even more thoughts. And you can’t control how others behave towards you and some situations that happen to you. But you can control how you respond and react. So that’s what I do (and I encourage everyone to do that, so we can live our best lives now).
Ayurvedic habits allowed me to tap into daily peace, joy, and love that I already knew was there. That sounds so cliché and Hallmark card-ish, but that’s the nitty-gritty truth and what good habits can do for you.
You can get happiness (joy). Because if you find those things in you, your wants and feelings change. So the secret ingredient is getting healthy control over your thoughts and feelings. Letting go of the negative, and holding on to the good. And you can more easily get there if you’re healthy and balanced.
When you can remove (and nip in the bud) non-productive or toxic feelings and moods as soon as possible, you can avoid mental stress and stress on the body that can lead to inflammation.
And maybe that’s why I’m passionate about a balanced life. Because I know it’s in the palm of each of our hands and the ticket to true life’s success and happiness.
It took me not having it to discover it in a much deeper way.
So when I tested out new habits from the better information I gathered, I found it worked like a magic wand over the imbalances I had. It was like a magic pill without any pills or drugs. I didn’t know I had so much power to control.
Thirteen years in, it’s very easy for me to tell what’s happening in or out of balance for the mind by actions, and for the body by symptoms. And since my 20’s I’ve always been discerning and aligned with living balancedas my compass pointing north.
But I know not everyone is like this and many do better with boundaries and strict rules. And some do better with something they can relate to, like this car and body analogy…
Car and Body Analogy
Your Body is Like a Car (except it’s so much more valuable and you only get one in your life).
When you’re getting your car regularly maintained, the car shop can ask a few questions, and they can tell what’s wrong based on the slight off-ness.
All cars are not exactly the same as no one body is alike, even though you and I could both be Vata.
And all cars have wheels and need energy to run. And all our bodies alike have the same running parts like a heart, brain, and skin, with differentproduct needs. Like, we all need moisturizers but in varying degrees to our dry vs. oily skin, and the ingredients that our specific skin likes.
And certain things happen as we travel around, like our bodies age and a car gets out of alignment with mileage and wear and tear. But the symptoms can appear the same. That’s why a doctor or a mechanic can diagnose ailments from inflammations or problems down the road.
And we humans living in our bodies can diagnose and restore our non-serious body irregularities.
When you have Ayurveda habits, you are intentionally preventing stress or letting your body get aggravated.
Next week, I’ll share my specific ayurvedic habits and routines and talk about the Ayurvedic body type habit nuances. If you want to be notified when that and future blog posts come out, you can sign up in the upper right-hand corner of the main/home website page.
Remember how you were feeling alive in your last dreamy vacation where you immersed yourself in a new culture you’ll never forget? Or maybe that was a staycation where you got time away for yourself to relax and do nothing, or just lay by the pool. I can relate to both!
And, I love rooftop views!
Beautiful rooftop view of Bologna, Italy
…When Life couldn’t be any better. Vatas love this Cloud 9 feeling from heightened senses in different places, Pittas love the getting back to productive routine, and Kaphas love their homey comforts and sleeping in their own bed again.
Life is good and one big harmony for everyone when you’re feeling alive and good again! And you can feel this way in all these different ways because you have all these traits in you (in varying degrees).
Wherever you are, take those feeling-alive dreamy vacation feelings with you. I do!
Sprinkle those joyful feelings throughout the rest of the 365 days. Here’s an example of a typical practice I have.
When I first start my workday, I look at a small framed piece of inspiring artwork in front of me (and I can take an inspiring desk calendar with me wherever I go). It puts a peaceful smile on my face. All is well. 🧡
I also keep a changing-up scenery screensaver on my computer. This is super important for a Vata! But if you like to see the same image over and over again, then find a framed image or words that inspire you.
For now, I have a Matisse postcard image in front of me that is just as good as if I took a look at the image in an original museum painting because I choose to see from the lens that I’m not missing anything.
Visuals are oh-so-important and especially so if you don’t have a vivid imagination. Colors play into the mix. That’s why people feel differently when they wear different color pieces of clothing. Do dogs react differently to different colors? You betcha!
I had one that loved the boldness of red (that’s the same color that bulls run to). And so do us, people. Except we’re a bit more refined and complicated with our color palette choices… more on that below.
As A Vata, if you are one like I am, you’re constantly changing things up and inspired to change at least the colors, if not the clothing style or the entire room (and hopefully your spouse or roommate doesn’t mind. Your dog won’t) 😉. Continue reading “Experience Feeling Alive Every Day”
Organic cold brew coffee is the coffee you can drink regularly if you’re a cuppa joe in the morning type of person and want to be more healthy.
You can use the information below s to make your organic cold brew coffee and routine. ☕️
Let’s break this down into two parts.
Brewed coffee (or the regular coffee process) yields a more acidic coffee than cold brew in the process.
So if you want a lighter feeling coffee with a medium taste, then cold brew has its body health benefits.
…And why I do organic coffee cold brew daily.
Then, the organic coffee part is important because the bulk of coffee is sprayed with pesticides that we’re ingesting.
And if you’re noticing brain fog or blips in short-term memory has got you these days and you don’t know why, if you do drink regular coffee (cold brew or regular brewed) then the coffee could be the offender.
Switching to organic coffee for a month is a good idea to see if you feel a difference.
Organic coffee to buy can be more expensive and slightly harder to source, but you get to ask yourself what your health is worth and if you want to make the additional search effort.
These are just a few organic cold brew coffee benefits:
☕️ You can make and drink cold brew coffee faster than you can wait for hot coffee to brew (and wait for it to cool some).
I describe below 👇 how you can make your own below if you’ve never made before.
☕️ Cold brew also has health benefits. It’s less acidic through the cold brew process than regular hot coffee or espresso. This is good especially if you have a sensitive stomach or gut lining, and feel heartburn effects from coffee.
☕️ With cold brew, you may not need to eat your first meal first before your first cup as it’s more gentle and doesn’t need the food buffer.
…Many of us wake up groggy and tired, and we want our coffee first thing. But first we need a soft pillow of food in our stomach, that’s not the preference when you’re not quite awake and ready yet for eating.
So that’s where cold brew ROCKS… and is ready for you as you can make the day before or batches days or a week in advance and refrigerate!
☕️ If you gave up on coffee because it tears up your stomach or gives you heartburn, then cold brew coffee could be a good option so you can bring the healthy drink back. This point can’t be emphasized enough. ‼️
Or if you want a lighter cup of coffee during your day that won’t affect your sleep at night, cold brew coffee could be the way to go!
☕️ Cold brew coffee is great for hot weather days as your coffee is served cold. You make at room temperature and then refrigerate.
Making cold brew at home is also a mindful, relaxing activity. And it doesn’t have to end there…
If you know me, you know I like to zhugh up any food or beverages (probably from my catering background), so I’ll share how I do that too below!
What you will need for basic cold brew coffee:
-Ground coffee
-Mesh catcher (with a lip or rim)
-Coffee filters
-Spoon
-Water
-Deep bowl at least 6” high/deep OR pitcher with a large opening almost or just slightly larger than the mesh catcher diameter is ideal (but as long as most the mesh catcher sits inside the pitcher, it’ll work).
If you use a pitcher, you won’t need another pitcher to pour your finished coffee into as your cold brew coffee can go straight into the pitcher and fridge.
Cold Brew Setup:
Bowl: Find or buy a right-size mesh catcher that works comfortably for your cold brew coffee prep setup, where the coffee filter fits in easily.
Rest the mesh catcher to then rest on top of the bowl.
Set the coffee filter to sit in the catcher as flat or parallel to the table surface as best it can, so you don’t have coffee and water in the filter dripping or tipping over. Then you have your bowl setup.
Or…
Pitcher: You can put your filter/catcher ontop of a wider-opening pitcher. If you use a pitcher, you want most of the bottom half of the catcher to sit inside the pitcher so your coffee brewing doesn’t spill over in the sides.
So then you have your setup from one of the options above.
Good job!
Next, you can bring on the ground coffee grinds. See what I did there… ground grinds. 😊
I like to make cold brew coffee in the morning to get a good whiff of the coffee grounds, and as a sensory experience and relaxing mindful activity. 🧡
You can even pull out your setup the day or night before if you just want to make a cup in the morning or a batch for a couple days.
Mind you, the fresh-made coffee will be room temps warmer than when you refrigerate, but that’s actually better for your stomach in the morning when you’re getting your day started.
The stomach prefers room temperature liquids, and preferrably a big glass of plain water first.
And then in choosing coffee types, use ground coffee types. It’s easy to get enamored by coffee flavors, packaging, and brands, but be sure it’s “ground” otherwise they’ll be “whole” and you’ll need to make the grounds.
It’s better to use a mix of superfine ground coffee and a coarser ground coffee so the grounds don’t fall through the filter. Or find one that is just perfect for you and stick with it.
They stay grounded 😉
How to Make Cold Brew Coffee
To start making cold brew coffee, pour your ground coffee mix (about 1/2 cup to ¾ cup coffee grounds total for a large batch) in the filter. Every coffee grind is different. You can use less if you just want to make a cup.
You can start with 1/4 cup coffee grounds to make a cup or two of coffee. These will be the strongest cups from the grounds.
With a spoon, mix the ground coffees up a little in your catcher-filter setup before you pour in water to possibly prevent fine ground coffee from falling through the filter.
Pour cool water over the coffee grounds. Filtered water is good. The cold water is the process secret to keeping the coffee from becoming more acidic (healthy benefit). You can use room temperature water and it will be fine.
After you refrigerate it will be served “cold brew.”
In the beginning, the water will go through the filter fast and you will get a light brown/caramel trail of coffee water in your pitcher or bowl.
That won’t be the final coffee you’ll be drinking.
When you keep pouring into the catcher-filter, then the darker coffee color comes out that you were probably expecting.
Troubleshooting: If your ground coffee mix sends some of the grounds through the filter or you accidentally spill some grounds in your ready-made coffee, then you can simply start over with a new coffee filter in a second bowl.
The second bowl can catch the second round of coffee being made that sometimes can turn out better. Pour your first setup coffee and coffee grounds into the filter of the second.
So back on track… from time to time, take a spoon and stir the coffee ground and water in your filter, trying not to have coffee water overflow.
Keep pouring water as it filters down. And if you pour into a cup, watch it drip darker coffee after the first half of a cup or so.
More Coffee… thinking ahead for tomorrow
Then if you want to add more ground coffee, you can make a bigger coffee batch or a pitcher with your current setup.
This less potent coffee is good for lighter coffees.
…I like to make cappuccinos with after the first two cups of cold brew coffee.
You can make foam or froth milk (I find unsweetened coconut milk the easiest to get a good froth with a frother), or you can use a little whipped cream.
Then I add a dash of cocoa, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, or cardamom.
Oh, and one final cold brew coffee benefit: If you make cold brew coffee at home, you’ll never again be without coffee if the machine doesn’t work! You can always make your own instant coffee without a machine.
You can also pair your plant-based coffee habit to some great plant-based breakfast ideas to break away from the sugar breakfast habits or adding sugar to coffee. Sugar we know accumulates and works to destroy the biome.
So organic cold brew coffee and healthy eating together can be a better habit.
After you have your cold brew coffee setup, pour water through. The first 30 seconds of water pours will go right through. Examine if you're getting the medium to dark brown coffee color (if not, pour the watered down coffee into a temporary glass and then pour through again). If the coffee is too finely ground or too coarse, this can happen. If too fine, add/blend about a tablespoon of a slightly coarser ground coffee to the filter. This should even out the coffee grinds.
Keep pouring water and pour your first cup of coffee (will be the strongest). You can keep going until the cold brew coffee is weaker strength or turning lighter color.
