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After reading Loralee’s article, “Hey Jealousy, Every Blogger Was a Newbie Once,” it made me think about ways to overcome that green eyed monster called jealousy.  It’s one thing that most people have to deal with, but it’s what you do with those thoughts and energy that decides where your own actions will take you.

When you get these feelings, do you wallow and sulk about how everyone else is getting all these fabulous offers and success for this and that, and just leave it at that?  Does seeing successful people make you sick if you’re not joining in the party?  Or do you think about the ways or things that you can take action on TODAY to get you to your ultimate goal of success?  Like Loralee wrote, “…EVERYONE has feelings of negativity, jealousy, inadequacy, the key is to try to make those turn into motivation and to not let them keep [you] from [your] goals.”  Part of having a healthy mindset is getting past negative feelings and forging ahead despite the obstacles of negative feelings to turn them into action and goals, if they are not already set or realized.

I certainly haven’t reached my goals of success, but I’ve just started blogging a few months back, and I am constantly trying to figure out ways to keep moving forward. The sight of success from others, motivates me to get there too.  So what do you do to turn those negative feelings of inadequacy and jealousy?  I’ve compiled a short list of actions (that I do as often as possible,) that you can take to overcome your obstacles and enter into a healthy set of thoughts and actions to realize your own potential.

Take action TODAY:  You know those things you put off and don’t really “have time” to get around to?  Check them off your list.  It doesn’t matter what it is.  Start small and just finish something.  I sometimes struggle with following through with things, and it takes a concerted effort to check something off my list, but when it gets done, boy does it feel good.  Once I’ve completed one thing, it gets me revved up to tackle more items on my to-do list.  Having a feeling of accomplishment is good for your overall being, and helps you realize that you are adequate and actually a pretty cool and awesome person.  Even if no one else sees the result, you know that you finished your project, and that energy can and will spill onto other projects.

Get Specific with yourself:  You see all sorts of people around you realizing their success, but what success do you want to see? Do you want to have a book published, or do you want to make a movie, write a script, or just be able to make a full time income working from home while your kids are running around?  How much money do you want or need to be making each month?  Make a list of what has to be fulfilled in order for your to feel successful.  Of course, these things may be a constant work in progress, but if you never put it in writing, you may just never realize what you’re reaching for.  Be very specific when drafting goals, and you will realize the pieces that are missing or that must be done in order to reach those goals.

Get help:  No, you don’t have to check yourself into a hospital, unless you are on the verge of a break down or something.  There are many resources for small businesses, but also don’t hesitate to talk to others that you see as successful and you would like to emulate, and ask them questions that you have.  Of course, don’t abuse that, but if you don’t ask, you’ll never know, and there are free resources such as score to get advice from other small business owners that are willing to help.  Also, ask different people and find out different perspectives to form your own idea of where you want to go, because one person’s passion may not be yours, and passion is important to success.

Eat Healthy:  A very vague statement, but there is much to be said about eating a balanced diet.  Our bodies are made of amino acids, and these are the building block of proteins, which are critical in the production of neurotransmitters that allow your brain to function and make all sorts of connections and make communication.  The important role of neurotransmitters is on mood, and can determine whether you are in a motivated and focused mood, or just feeling sedate and completely frustrated.   It’s crucial to know that if your body doesn’t have all the essential amino acids to complete cellular replication, then the body will actually stop protein synthesis, and will not continue until all amino acids are available.  Crazy, right?  Well, this can be attributed to bad moods and feeling of frustration, so make sure to get plenty of protein, whole grains, and even dairy in your diet.  If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, there are still ways to meet these amino acid requirements, it just takes more work.

Get Rest! I know I’m always cranky and think in a negative way if I haven’t gotten enough sleep.  Stop racking your brain over what to do next, or how you’re going to be successful, and just take a nap, or go to bed already!  You’ll feel refreshed, and will be happier and in a better mood to conquer the world.

Speaking of that, I’m getting pretty tired, and I still have tons of things to get to (tons of housework and more editing.)  I hope that this list is something you find useful, and will help you get passed the negative feelings of jealousy and inadequacy to help you manage these emotions into positive actions that will change your way of thinking and lead you into success.  After all, we all deserve to be successful.

Cheers!

~Hale Mom

*Disclaimer–Any statement in this post is solely for informational purposes, and should not be replaced for advice from a professional such as a doctor, dietitian, or nutritionist.

As a mother that makes her own baby food, and freezes the leftovers for quick meals, I wonder how other moms that make their own food deal with traveling.  Not only that, but I wonder what you do when you travel, and are having someone babysit your children for a little while.

As you may know, I’m going to San Antonio this weekend.  We’re going to try and have a relaxing day and night while my mother and father help us out and babysit baby bear.  Grandma and Grandpa are coming several hours just to give us a hand, and for that I am VERY thankful.

The only thing I’m worried about is baby food because this is our first time traveling since baby bear has started solid foods.  It’s going to have to be convenient, and easy for my parents to deal with, but the more I think about it, I don’t really know what would be the best option.  I suppose that I could just pack up some cubes, and put them in an ice chest–San Antonio is really only an hour or so away.  That should be safe, but then again, my parents didn’t raise me like that, so they’re going to look at me with crazed eyes when I tell them all the directions just to prepare a meal for our daughter.

Ok, so if I don’t bring her frozen food cubes, I guess I could always bring some of those food pouches along with us along with the baby cereal and that way I don’t have to worry about the whole frozen preparation situation.

My question for you, dear mothers and fathers: how do you travel with your child that is learning to eat solid foods?  Do you opt for jar food?  Do you make compromises to the way you do things at home?  What is the most important thing for you during traveling, or just having someone babysit your child?  Quality of food/nutrition, or convenience?

I need a little bit of advice on the best way to make this trip go smoothly and be convenient for all parties involved, so please feel free to give me any tidbits you may have, if you have the time.  Any advice is greatly appreciated!

~Hale Mom

But a pill may save me.  Women have the highest risk for osteoporosis, and I found a recently released article to offer some hope for women that fear they may fall victim to decreasing bone density and injuries as aging occurs, or for those that are already riddled with the condition.

I’ve often wondered if women that are in their reproductive ages, are generally getting enough calcium in their diets to support child bearing and breastfeeding.  If there is a deficit to begin with, then a child is conceived will take the available nutrients from the mother’s body, regardless of intake on the mother’s part, thus leaving the mother at a higher risk for degenerative diseases such as osteoporosis.  I guess I see it as an evolutionary way of keeping our genes going despite the mother, but I may be wrong.

In any case, since women are most often stricken with such a devastating condition, I’d like to help educate women that can have a chance at changing their odds for getting such a debilitating condition.

First, make sure to get enough calcium in your diet.  It sounds pretty simple, but when you look up the recommended daily intake for calcium, it is a very low amount, but the amounts should be consumed daily.  Women that are lactating or pregnant should be consuming additional calcium to meet daily requirements.  Also, remember that vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium by the body, so if you don’t go out in the sun very often for prolonged periods, you may also want to consider taking a supplement, with advice from your doctor.

Guess what, taking in enough calcium can also relieves the pain of PMS!  If you regularly suffer from PMS, then you may want to consider increasing calcium intake to relieve the symptoms.

Osteoporosis isn’t only a disease that affects women, it can affect men as well, but the toughest part about osteoporosis is that it isn’t recognized until large amounts of bone density has been lost.  Start early to help reduce your chances of getting osteoporosis and potentially having to take a daily pill for an undetermined amount of time.

To your health and strong bones!

~Hale Mom

Now, I’m all for the natural and gradual loss of weight, but what if you are severely overweight, and are facing life threatening diseases if your weight is not under control?

Well, I know several people that can’t seem to lose weight, and have contemplated getting weight loss surgery because they have been threatened with devastation and risks that come with having diabetes.

It’s a hard call to make, but ultimately each person should decide what is best for them, with consultation from a doctor.   If it comes down to your life and whether or not to get a simple procedure that would help shed weight, it’s probably best to weigh the decision (with the help from a doctor) and see if getting weight loss surgery is right for you.

What do you think?  Have you or someone you know had a weight loss procedure done?  Did the procedure have a positive or negative effect?

~Hale Mom

*Disclosure-This is a sponsored post, but the opinions above are mine and mine alone and have in no way been influenced by sponsorship.

For those of you that know me, I’m no vegetarian, and since I’m breastfeeding, I feel this even bigger need to consume enough protein to sustain a baby that gets an inch bigger every time I look at her.  That being said, I also have to consider the quality of the protein that I put into my body, because after all it’s not only my body that it affects.

One thing that I love about organic, natural meat is that there is a certain care taken of the animals that makes the meat taste just that much better.  I think the part that captivates me is that the animals are fed and cared for to avoid having to give them antibiotics and hormones to beef up their protein content, or to avoid serious infections.

There’s also the fact that most organic meats are raised on farms right in the U.S and are raised on self sustaining farms that are well cared for.  One thing about mass farmed and commercial protein is the conditions that they are raised is actually what leads to contamination risks such as salmonella and e. coli, and with as many recalls as I’ve been reading about, that’s enough to stay on the organic band wagon.

Do you consume organic meats, or produce?  What made you take the plunge and make the extra expense to go organic?  Are there any particular items that you don’t feel the need to buy organically?

If you don’t buy organically, what deters you?  Is it the cost, or is there not enough proof and information to justify the greater expense?

I’d love to hear your thoughts and insights!

~Hale Mom

*Disclosure-This is a sponsored post and the opinions above are mine and mine alone, and are in NO way influenced by sponsorship.