Your Time is In Your Hands

We all seem to live such busy lives. So busy in fact, that some of us forget to make time for us and then we wonder why we are constantly tired and feeling unfulfilled.
Time is the one precious commodity in our lives that we can never replace. Yet most of us live like we have all the time in the world.
Many of us wait until we complete our work before we love our life. This is a totally ridiculous mentality.

What are we waiting for?
There are no rules that say you must do ‘XYZ’ or have ‘ABC’ before you can live and love your life. We add these supposed rules to our lives and all they do is hinder us from achieving all our dreams and desires. They keep us in fear, poverty and judgement. They STOP us from achieving our greatness.

I’ve always loved Steve Job’s quote “If today was the last day of your life, would you want to do what you’re about to do, today?”
He asked himself that question every morning for 33 years and said that if the answer came back NO for too many days in a row, he decided that things needed to be changed.
I’d like to ask you that very same question… “If today was the last day of your life, would you want to do what you’re about to do, today?”

If you answered No, read on as today we’re going to explore ways you can change things. All leading to a place where you can start to ‘Live and Love Each and Every Day of Your Life.’

How to Easily Cross the Road

Creating as new life can be as easy as crossing a road. To highlight this, I’m utilising the five basic principles we learnt as kids about how to safely cross a road.

  1. STOP: The clock does not stop for anyone, yet to create a life that you love, the first thing to do is STOP. That is right, you must stop before you can move forward. That way you can gain clarity about your current life. It’s in the stillness that we obtain our awareness. It’s in the stopping that we can take that deep Loving Conscious Breath. You know the one ~ The one where you breathe deeply into your belly, filling it completely and then releasing it fully. Assisting you to connect to your true self. Your inner knowing. Then it’s time to….

  2. LOOK: Clarity comes when you truly look at where you are today. We are the only person we have spent our entire life with. Yes, so far, we have travelled every minute, every second, 24/7 with just us. So many times, we blame others for where we are. Though when we take a Conscious Loving Look, we see that our lives are the sum of all our past experiences, all our choices. We see the good, the bad and the ugly. Focus in on what you love about your life and what you don’t. Then, look to the past (left), for habits, beliefs and friends that you bring with you or maybe leave behind. Then, look to the future (right), for a new way of doing things. A new way for you to live and love your life. A new way of truly seeing. Then it’s time to……………
  3. LISTEN: Listening involves three major facets and when you’re constantly bringing them all together, you’ll be Consciously Lovingly Hearing. The three facets are:
    • The way you talk to yourself. Have you ever taken the time to listen to the way you talk to yourself? Is it more positive or negative? Would you say the same things to your bestie? Would they continue to be your bestie, after those conversations? Start to listen and then go back to Step 2 and look at where the chatter is coming from ~ your beliefs, the way you think, feel, social unrealistic stereo types, etc, etc.
    • Listening to others. Knowledge is power. A lot of what you know today has come through listening and learning from others. Afterall, we don’t know what we don’t know. Though how broad is your knowledge? Have you taken the time to listen to many different perspectives? Gathering all viewpoints assists you to best utilise the next facet of listening.
    • Listening to your inner knowing. Many times, we spend our time listening to others, taking their advice, course correcting to the latest trend, fad idea and we forget to listen to ourselves. To listen to what is right for us. To trust that we know what is best for us. To know our inner dreams and desires. To know what lights, us up and what dims our light. It is after all, Our Life. The more we tune into our inner knowing to more we will trust and know that we already have the answers inside of us. That when we listen and follow it, we will end up where we would like to be. Living a joyous, happy, prosperous and fulfilled life, with many loving and meaningful relationships.
  1. THINK: Now you are at the ‘Moment of Choice’. Will you continue living as you have been or will you choose to create your Conscious Loving Pathway? The Conscious Loving Pathway is where you consciously know, where you are now and where you’d like to be. It’s where you look at the GAP and think about how you can easily close the GAP. Designing the action steps required for you to bravely move along the Conscious Loving Pathway. A pathway that takes you to where you ‘Live and Love Each and Every Day of Your Life.’
  1. PROCEED: Congrats you have chosen wisely. Now you’re ready to safely cross the road. This is the easy part. You are Consciously and Lovingly aware. You now know what is best for you. The action steps required for you to succeed. You’ve moved beyond fear and easily take the steps. Many forget that in order to SUCCEED you must first PROCEED. They allow the thinking to STOP them and they never find the true JOY in their life.

Time is in your hands. You can spend it wisely or waste it. It’s entirely up to you. Though the best reward comes when you spend it wisely fulfilling all your dreams and desires. Apart from being very rewarding for yourself, you become the example for others to follow.

Isn’t that what life is all about…….. assisting others to find an easier pathway so they too can easily cross the road and ‘Live and Love Each and Every Day of Their Life?’

Until Next time……………

With Love & Gratitude

 

 

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It’s Been a Lot Easier Than Imagined

This Saturday the 29th June 2019 will mark my 26th week of being alcohol free. It was my choice. 2019 is my year to stop drinking alcohol.

Yahoo I’m halfway through achieving my goal and I have to say it has been a whole lot easier than I ever thought it would be.

With the only time that I wish I could have a drink is when I’m sitting at an airport. I guess it’s the ‘Holiday Mentality’, you know, time to celebrate. And normally that would mean with alcohol!

Today I’d like to share with you my reasons for deciding 2019 would be an alcohol-free year, my journey so far and some ways for you to follow down the same pathway, if you so choose.

My Three Main Reasons

  1. Raise My Vibration: Many of you reading this, may know that my beautiful son Dan, suddenly and very unexpectedly passed away in July 2011. Nearly eight years ago! I have this great connection with Dan, he is always showing me signs he is travelling with me. Though it came very apparent to me, that if I wanted to connect with him on a higher level, I needed to raise my vibration and keep it high. Alcohol lowers your vibration and it also takes three days to leave your system. Whilst I was no longer drinking every day, as I did when I was a CFO of a publicly listed company, I was drinking a minimum of three times per week, which meant my body was never alcohol free.
  2. Be Heathier: For many years I have been slowly releasing excess weight and I wanted to get to my ideal weight by the end of 2019. I knew that when I drank alcohol, my food choices were less ideal and that was making my goal 2 steps forward, 4 steps backward.
  3. Create Better Relationships: The second pillar of Live Love By Design is ‘All About Your Relationships’. I felt that when I consumed alcohol I was never as ‘present’ as I would like to be. I would forget things that were said and I wanted to be living my life true to the everyday concepts that I was teaching others.

What Prompted Me to Start The Journey

In late July 2018, my husband and I returned from our four-week overseas trip. We had been to the UK, Poland and Prague, spending time with many different friends and as you can imagine we consumed huge amounts of alcohol.

Upon our return, we cut our intake down, though I was getting many signs that it was time to go alcohol-free. Of course, I initially fought it. I liked drinking (so I thought) after all.

Then in mid-November, I was chatting with Kirsty, a lady who was helping me with my marketing and she started talking about how she had been alcohol-free for four weeks and how easy it had been. She ended the statement with “I’m not sure why I am telling you this.” Of course, my response was, “I know, I am meant to hear this and have the conversation.”

And we did. Kirsty shared with me that she had read Allen Carr’s book “The Easy Way for Women to Stop Drinking” and that after reading the book it truly was easy.

I immediately knew this was a gift from Dan. So, I purchased the kindle version and started reading it.

The first thing Allen said was “that as long as you are reading this book you can keep drinking.”

So, I read slowly!!

I kept moving my alcohol-free start date. After all Christmas was coming and we had a lot of planned celebrations. Then my friend was coming in January to visit, then something was planned for February, March etc etc.

Yes, I quickly realised that there is always something planned and I started to wane on my resolve to go alcohol-free.

Though Dan had other ways of convincing me that 2019 is the best year for me to be alcohol-free.

The Event That Convinced Me, I’d Just Had My Last Drink!

On the 30th December 2018, my husband and I caught up with two other couple friends at the Skiff Club in Manly. We were there about four hours and whilst we had a few drinks, I was OK to walk back to Manly…. Well so I thought.

The harbour foreshore pathway is quite uneven and had a few pebbles on it and as I was wearing heels (always wearing heels), suddenly I went straight down and landed on my right knee. My husband was shocked and shouted, “I did not think you were that drunk” to which I replied, “I’m not, I just lost my balance on the uneven surface.”

Maybe I was a little drunk!!

As I put my hand over my knee, my whole palm became covered in blood. We hobbled to a cab and went home. My husband assisted in bathing it and in hindsight I really should have had stitches.

The next day, as I was unable to drive to see my Caring Energetic Healer, I called her. Once I finished telling her the story, she said “well we have been talking about this for a while, maybe it’s time for you to start your “alcohol free” time?

As she uttered the words, I knew instantly that she was right, my fall had been a sign and more than likely Dan pushed me (he so has the power to do just that), so I would stop flip flopping and stick to the plan.

I quickly finished Allen Carr’s book and the rest they say is history!

Sunday the 30th December 2018 was my last drop of alcohol.

 

Easy Ways For You To Follow Suit (If You So Choose)

I get it. You actually think that you would rather die, than give up alcohol. Your whole social life revolves around it. I know. I have lived a similar life. Though I am here to tell you that nothing changes socially when you decide to live alcohol-free.

Though mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, relationship, career and financially wise, everything changes.

Yep you no longer wasting your days, your money and you always feel great. No longer having to apologise for things you may have said or for not remembering a conversation.

Here are some easy things to do if you so choose to follow suit:

  1. Read the book: Allen Carr’s “Easy Way For Women to Stop Drinking” ~ it’s brilliantly written. He highlights that you are receiving no benefits from drinking alcohol. I know you can list a million right now. Read the book and you’ll see that there are none.
  2. Set the start date: This is the easy part. All you must do is commence then and do not move it for anything. There will always be a something that is happening in the future that will delay you starting.
  3. Keep your decision to yourself: Ok you can tell a few people though not many. We are social people and we always want everyone to be social with us. Unfortunately, social means drinking alcohol. Start off by telling people you are having a day and/or week free from alcohol. When they try to persuade you otherwise, ask them to please respect your wishes. Just keep doing this all year. They will soon realise that you’re no different when you’re alcohol free. Actually, you’ll be a whole lot more fun!
  4. Choose a new favourite drink: I’m still working on this one. Unfortunately, most substitutes are full of sugar. You must do your research and read the labels. I have noticed that I can sit on one drink most nights. You sip slower. Soda, lemon and lime is good with a dash of cranberry juice…. Only a dash otherwise it’s too sweet.
  5. Notice all the benefits: This is the most important step. When you have a long list of benefits that will keep you going, especially when you sometimes think “God, I’d love a drink now”, like at an airport. Weigh your “alcohol-free benefits” up against your drinking alcohol benefits (none after you’ve completed step 1).

Thank you for reading this post.

I have loved writing and sharing about my six-month alcohol-free journey.

If you decide to start your own alcohol-free journey make sure you read the book quickly. The sooner you start receiving the benefits from being alcohol-free the sooner you’ll start living and loving your life.

Promise!

Until Next time……………

 

With Love & Gratitude

 

Till Next Time……….

 

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The Best is Yet to Come

Yesterday I was living in my “All About Your Relationships” pillar. I spent most of the day with my six-week old grandson, Rafael and some of the day with his parents.  

Rafael and I had a great day together. His mum was out for about six hours, getting her hair done and generally enjoying some M.E. time.

We went for a long walk along the Brisbane river, where he slept soundly most of the time in the fresh air.

I decided to stop for lunch at a local fresh produce café. Three ladies in their early 40’s sat down at the next table next and I must admit, I became intrigued with their conversation.

One of them had recently turned 40 and the others were saying, “even though you look great, it’s really sad to be losing your youth. How the best years were from 27 to your late 30’s.” They had all decided that really, life was just about over and that they really did not have much to look forward to!!

I had a chuckle to myself and thought, ladies the BEST IS YET TO COME.

I remembered back to all my major “0” birthdays. How much I did not like the idea of turning 30, 40 or 50. Though how different it was when I turned 60.

Yes, that is right I was looking forward to 60.

Ladies, your 50’s are when you come into your true essence. It’s your time to truly shine. To live and love life.

The greatest realisation I had was when I was around 55. I suddenly realised that “I am the only person I will spend my entire life with, so why was I putting myself last and giving up on my dreams.”

I was surprised that it took me so long to realise this.  And yesterday when I overheard the ladies talking, I realised again, that the sooner we all get to discover our True Essence, the sooner we get to Live and Love our life, every single day, with no regrets.

Where we look forward to what life will bring us tomorrow. Knowing always that the best is yet to come.

No matter what age we are!

The True Essence of Life

To assist you find your true essence (sooner rather than later), here are my constant actions that are consistently front of mind, so I can live my life, true to the person I was born to be.

  1. Love: Love and appreciate yourself. Spread the love factor all around you. Make every interaction come from a space of Love, where you: Listen without interrupting; speak without accusing; give without sparing; share without pretending.
  2. Gratitude: When you look for the lesson in every perceived negative situation, your troubles become blessings. You begin to appreciate everyone, thing and event in your life. Viewing them as they are, not even labelling them negative or positive.
  3. Create Experiences: The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of our soul. We fulfill this yearning by consciously creating and sharing memorial experiences as we journey, creating our true self.
  4. Evolve-Learn-Grow. The whole point of our journey is to continually evolve and the best way to do this, is through investing in our life-long education (mentally, physically & spiritually). The most powerful gift you can give to yourself is the knowledge that, through education; Who You Were, Who You Are and Who You Will Become, can be three different people.
  5. Be Positive. Talking about our problems is one of our greatest addictions. It’s time to break the habit and start talking only about your joys. The easiest way to do this is to see the positive in every situation, love and be grateful for everything you have. Realise that many people desire your life.
  6. Be Yourself. I love the saying “Be yourself as everyone else is taken.” It’s time to own who you truly are, all your flawed, quirky, imperfect self, along with your beautiful, amazing, awesome and magical self. Once you begin to show up this way, so will everyone else. I am looking forward to being part of that world. How about you?
  7. Live in the Moment. Begin to treasure the journey and not the destination. We truly only have the present, it’s our special gift, hence why it’s called the present. See the beauty that is all around you now, stop worrying about the future, as it’s beyond your control and will take care of itself – it truly is out of your circle of influence!
  8. Invest in Quality Time. This is as important as investing in you. Good relationships don’t just happen. They take time, patience and will contain the people who truly want to be together. Remember time flies, there are no refunds for misused time though as you are the pilot, steer your time, along a course that best serves you in your True Essence. ~ Now you know why it was so important for me to spend yesterday with my grandson!

When we live in our true essence, we know that life is a journey. One that has constant change. And the more we embrace the many stages the more that we truly know that THE BEST IS YET TO COME!

 

Till Next Time……….

 

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Are You Always Seeing Red?…. Maybe You Require More Green in Your Life!!

Recently, I read an article that stated if you are always angry you need more green in your life.
I thought WOW, that was me when I was a CFO of a publicly listed company.

I’d fly off the handle over silly little things. OMG, I remember skimming an email once, and firing back to the manager, “How dare you speak to me like that”, she immediately called me and said not sure what you read, though there was nothing in the email to warrant that response.

She was right, when I re-read it. Of course, I apologised, though our relationship was never the same, which was unfortunate, as I really liked her.

I was overworked, underappreciated and, working, eating (the wrong foods) and drinking too much.

Sound familiar?

The “more green in your life” comment really resonated with me as for the past four plus years, I have been green juicing every morning and I am a completely different person. So much more energised, fun, joyous and healthier.

Though, as I thought about the article, I went one step beyond their comments. Did you know that the Heart Chakra is the colour green?

I thought wow, that is so true, I did require more love in my life at the time, especially for myself.

If you’re been reading my blog for a while, you would have heard me say, many times, that you are the only person you will spend your entire life with, so why are you putting yourself last?

Yes, in our professional roles, we are replaceable. I know that is hard to take in, though it’s true. We tend to give so much and then you’re onto your next role, wondering when will there be time for me.

Now is the time for you to put yourself first. Don’t be the person who rises the ladder to find, that they are on the wrong ladder, or that they are alone, as they have burnt many of their relationships, or even worse that it has all been at the cost of their health.

Start to look after the most important person in your life, you require your body to take you the distance. Which nicely leads me into……………….

Start Consuming More Alkaline Foods
A great way to nourish your body, unleash the energy within, so you can easily digest and assimilate what you eat, is to look at consuming more alkaline foods.

I like to call alkaline foods, life-force foods.

In this age of nutri-bullets, blenders and juicers, it’s so much easier to consume your daily intake in one serving ….not that I’m recommending that, though, I have found over recent years that my morning green juice sets me up for the day, making sure that I have the energy to live my best life… My 10X Life!!

There are numerous alkaline foods you should consume every day, though here are my top 12 favourites (the first 8 are in my morning juice):

  1. Kale: A single cup of Kale contains a total of 33 calories, 6 grams of carbs (2 of which are fibre) and 3 grams of protein. Kale contains very little fat, but a large portion of the fat in it is the omega-3 fatty acid called alpha linolenic acid.
  2. Spinach: Is regarded as a plant with remarkable abilities to restore energy, increase vitality and improve the quality of the blood. Spinach is also an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C and folic acid as well as being a good source of manganese, magnesium, iron and vitamin B2. Vitamin K is important for maintaining bone health and it is difficult to find vegetables richer in vitamin K than spinach.
  3. Cucumber: Cucumbers are naturally low in calories, carbohydrates, sodium, fat and cholesterol. There are just 16 calories in a cup of cucumber with its peel (15 without). You will get about 4 percent of your daily potassium, 3 percent of your daily fibre and 4 percent of your daily vitamin C. They also “provide small amounts of vitamin K, vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, manganese and vitamin A,
  4. Celery: The benefits begin with celery being an excellent source of antioxidants and beneficial enzymes, in addition to vitamins and minerals such as vitamin K, vitamin C, potassium, folate and vitamin B6. It lowers high cholesterol, inflammation, blood pressure, protects the liver and boosts digesting.
  5. Ginger: Most frequently used to aid digestion, ginger is believed to increase saliva and other digestive fluids, alleviating indigestion and associated problems such as flatulence. Fresh ginger is used for asthma, coughs, colic, heart palpitations, swellings, dyspepsia, loss of appetite and rheumatism
  6. Turmeric: Turmeric, the main spice in the Indian dish curry, is arguably the most powerful herb on the planet at fighting and potentially reversing disease. Turmeric dramatically increases the antioxidant capacity of the body and is a natural anti-inflammatory compound, it’s linked to improved brain function and assists in lowers risk of brain diseases.
  7. Alkaline Water: When it comes to health, water is kind of a big deal. In fact, no other substance is as important for our bodies. So, if you’re consistently drinking water, you’re already doing something great for your health. Alkaline water — water that’s less acidic than tap water —is rich in alkalizing compounds, including calcium, silica, potassium, magnesium, and bicarbonate. I love my alkaline water, though before you convert, I suggest you do your own research on this one.

   8. Love: Everyone knows that Love makes the world go around. Though I must say that whenever I consciously cook with Love or throw love into the mixing bowl, the meals and the drinks taste all the better. Have you ever noticed this? How the meals taste different, when you have time to make the meal versus when you quickly throw something together? Take a mental note next time – your body and family will thank you for throwing in this extra special ingredient.

  1. Avocado: Avocados are such a treasure trove of nutrients. They are a healthy fat food; good for the heart, a rich source of vitamin C, an amazing antioxidant contributing to cell protection from free radical damage. Helps to maintain a healthy appetite, especially when you swap butter for avocado. Rich source of fibre and contains Vitamin E.
  2. Capsicum (Bell pepper): Capsicum peppers are rich sources of antioxidants and vitamin C. The level of carotene, like lycopene, is nine times higher in red peppers. Red peppers have twice the vitamin C content of green peppers.
  3. Lemon: The health benefits of lemon include treatment of throat infections, indigestion, constipation, dental problems, fever, internal bleeding, rheumatism, burns, obesity, respiratory disorders, cholera and high blood pressure, while it also benefits your hair and skin. Known for its therapeutic property since generations, lemons help to strengthen your immune system, cleanse your stomach, and it is considered a blood purifier.
  4. Cinnamon: the health benefits of cinnamon can be obtained in the form of its pure bark, essential oils, in ground spice form (which is bark powder), or in extract form when its special phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and antioxidants are isolated. These compounds make cinnamon one of the most beneficial spices on earth, giving it antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-microbial, immunity-boosting, cancer and heart disease-protecting abilities.

There is so much research out there about the huge benefits of increasing alkaline foods in your eating regime. 

Which bring me back to the start, if you feel you are always seeing red, not truly being yourself, maybe it all comes back to what I said in last week’s blog….. What you eat today, walks and talks tomorrow.

Start consciously looking at what you are consuming, so you can easily come back to being the amazing authentic person that you are.

Be well, here’s to your GREENER LIFE ~ Love and Food!!

With Gratitude

Karen Chaston.
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PS: In the meantime, you may like to check out my latest e-book ~ ” How to 10X Your Life in 10 Days?

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