Happy Healthy YOU
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Kelly Spencer - Happy Healthy YOU
(A wellness column by Kelly Spencer: writer, life coach, yoga & meditation teacher, holistic healer and a mindful life enthusiast!)
Over the holiday season, when my kids were home from university, we shared thoughts and aspirations of what we wanted to achieve and accomplish in 2018.
Having a mother that is a life coach and mindfulness teacher probably gets old for my children sometimes, as I encourage (repetitively and seemingly constantly) for them to reach higher, meditate, get clarity of what they want in their life, be mindful, and make plans and act.
Upon leaving back to their homes at school, my son sent me a note. He told me that he had a great holiday season at home, that he was so grateful for our family, that he thought I rocked 2017 and told me to “secure the bag” in 2018.
He immediately knew I wouldn’t understand his hip young lingo, so he followed it up with “Go to Urban Dictionary”. (This is something I do regularly when we chat, and he throws a new urban phrase or acronym at me.)
“Secure the bag: (definition) The bag being anything you want/desire. You must obtain it or accomplish your goal(s). Secure the bag.”
I immediately loved it.
Achieving goals can be difficult and sometimes overwhelming. It is somehow more believable that our life in the future will be as it is currently, than to believe that we can change, shift perspective, get clarity and go after whatever it is we desire. We can re-define our future at any given moment. For many, when we can not concretely hold our desired goals in the present moment, it is harder to imagine the goal as a possible reality.
However, if you can figure out what your 'bag' is and gain a clearer vision and insight of what it is you really want and desire in your life, then you are half way there.
Securing the desire happens when you create some habits and access tools that align with yourself and your believability of the goal and then you act. I often like to ask myself these two questions when I feel myself hesitant, reluctant or scared about stepping into to a goal.
1. If you could have any outcome, what would it be?
2. If you let go of all fear, what would you do?
Here are some tips for you to “Secure the Bag” in 2018:
Get clear in a positive way: Sometimes we have a clear focus on what we don’t want in our lives anymore. That focus gives the lower vibrational energy or negative thoughts room for expansion. Instead, start to shift your inner and outer dialogue to more positive intentions. Rather than “I hate my ______” get clear on what you desire and shift the thoughts and feelings to what you want to expand. “I will have a happy, healthy_______.”
Think like a little person: When a child or teenager wants something, they ask. If they hear no, they ask again and again. “Well why not?” They keep asking, not understand the limiting beliefs that the adult is placing on them. Tap into that a little bit. Instead of dismissing your goals and dreams as impractical, unrealistic or unobtainable, start asking “why not?” Be persistent with your inquiry. You are worth it.
Daydream... a lot. Dream it, see it, feel it. Studies have shown that there is a measurable energy to how we feel. Feelings are created by our thoughts. Start being more mindful of your thoughts and then tap into the feelings associated. For example, you dream of a happy, healthy... (fill in the blank). Instead of focusing on what you don’t have and how that feels, focus on your dream or goal and how it would feel when you obtain it. Tap into the feelings of what you desire. Feel gratitude for your dream as if the universe postal worker is already getting ready to pack it up and delivery it to you.
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“A real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken a new action. If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided.” - Tony Robbins.
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Align and Act: Through your obtainment of clarity of vision, your persistence to think and feel the goal is obtainable and your cultivating of positive vibrations such as gratitude, you need to align and act by taking steps every day towards your dreams. Create habits so you have a systematic way to move towards your desired goals. Plan, write it out, talk about it with a friend, see a life coach, do a dream board, make some calls, etc. Start acting, one step at a time towards securing the bag.
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“There's no reason to have a plan B because it distracts from plan A.” - Will Smith.
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No plan B: Think about it. If you had a plan B for everything (partner, job, home, car, friends, activities, goals), it would create a diversionary thought process that would constantly distract and keep you from focusing on what you have in front of you - Plan A. Creating back up plans that you would be willing to settle with, if you were unable to have what you truly want, will squish your unyielding motivation to go after what you really want. Stay focused on Plan A with clarity and feeling and gratitude. Be the kid that won’t take no for an answer.
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“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” - Nelson Mandela.
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Believe: Every setback, every challenge and every obstacle is preparing you for your goals and dreams. Do you believe strongly enough in your vision and in yourself? Most people give up quickly when they hit resistance or challenge. Work through it. Keep going. Believe. Celebrate the tiniest steps and overcoming of obstacles, as you get closer and closer to your vision manifesting and actualizing.
Persevere.
Be patient.
Go after it.
Secure the bag.
Now, when I chat with my son and give him my daily unasked-for mom/life coach inspiration, I say “secure the bag.”
Which of course, makes me super-cool and hip... in my eyes, anyways.
(If you would like to see an article on a specific topic, please email kelly@indigolounge.ca).