Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Harness Your Motivation!

Below are some simple, easy tricks to harness your motivation to reach all your healthy lifestyle goals!

1. Change your vocabulary. Saying "I want to workout" or "I choose to eat healthy foods" is much more empowering that victimizing yourself and saying "I have to..."

2. Make a list. Making a list of all the reasons why your healthy living goals are important is a great way to harness your motivation. List everything from "fitting into my 'skinny' jeans" to "being able to play with my kids". Reread the list whenever you need a motivation booster.

3. Share your goals. Sharing your goals with others is a great way to hold yourself accountable. Telling your family and friends what you're hoping to achieve is a wonderful way to motivate yourself because if you fail to reach your goals, you'll not only disappoint yourself, but you'll have to "explain" it to your friends and family.

4. Recruit a friend. So many of us aim to get healthier as one of our primary goals. So, why not reach out to a friend, sibling or spouse to accompany you on your journey. Teaming up is a fantastic way to get your butt in gear!

Best of luck : )

Friday, February 19, 2010

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Principles of Well-Designed Living

It's so easy to get caught up in our fast-paced lives and lose touch with what's truly important. When this happens (and it happens to ALL of us sometimes), it's really crucial to "get back to basics" and tune into your true self and what you really need and want from life. To do this, you have to hone in on the pillars of Well-Designed Living: health, happiness and home.

Health - your nutrition, exercise and fitness routines, how you feel physically, personal hygiene

Happiness - your true self, your hobbies, passions, career, social life, family, faith

Home - your immediate environment (i.e. your house) and also your global home and your impact on the earth

At Cailen Ascher Design, we feel these three broad areas comprise our lives. If these areas are in sync and work together, we have a zest for life and smiles on our faces. Yet, if they're imbalanced we can feel sluggish, unhappy, sad, tired or even become ill. That's why it's so important to routinely evaluate your lifestyle with these three components in mind. If you find you're spending so much time at work that your exercise routine is non-existent and your house rarely gets straightened, you're bound to feel depleted and frustrated. The first step is acknowledging the imbalance and then the next step is to proactively address it. Take a yoga class with a friend or your spouse, before dinner one night, ask your family to spend 15 minutes straightening, take a few deep breaths. Small changes = big results!

Happy, healthy living : )



For more information about Cailen Ascher Design or my book, Well-Designed Living, visit www.CailenAscher.bravehost.com or email CailenAscher@gmail.com.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Sharing the nest...

My boyfriend and I recently purchased our first home. It's been a whirlwind experience filled with lots of laughs, smiles and just a few little fights : ) Below I've listed some tips for anyone who is newly sharing their nest.

1. Acceptance. If you're moving in with someone, you obviously love and care about who they are. You accept and appreciate them better or worse....and worse can sometimes mean a different design sense! Realize that their style may not be completely compatible with yours, but learn to appreciate (or look beyond) it. If they have something that you find truly unacceptable, discuss it openly and be sure to ask if you have anything they would like you to reconsider hanging on to.

2. Compromise. Realize that you both are going to have to give up some things that you've grown accustomed to. If you both have a couch and only have room for one, you're going to have to decide whose to keep. Remember that your love and relationship are more important than furniture!

3. Bring in some new. Another fun, exciting and sometimes stressful part of moving in is purchasing new items together. Be sure to remain open minded and don't get offended if your partner isn't drawn to what you were hoping for. Finding a solution that meets both of your needs is much more important for the long run.

Hope these tips are helpful! Have fun decorating : )
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