"No Mistakes"

On Monday, I attended a Bikram yoga for the first time in a long time (Let's just say that the 20 visit punch pass I bought over 3 years ago still had 5 visits remaining!) and it felt fantastic.  I find Yoga to be an amazing way to connect mind, body and spirit - once you actually get your body to the studio!

When I worked as a personal trainer, I used to recommend yoga to my clients.  I remember one client in particular, who shared her initial yoga experience with me.  She felt that the class she attended felt far too serious and strict.  She shared with me that there were times during the class when the teacher and students would say "No Mistakes" in a slow drawn out way that almost seemed trance-like.  This seemed very strange to me, as it has never been my experience, but as we continued to talk about the class, a light bulb turned on and I asked her "Are you sure they weren't saying 'Namaste'?"  She wasn't sure, but fortunately decided to try the class a second time and the next time I saw her she confirmed for me that the class was in fact saying "Namaste" and not "No Mistakes."  Oh, how we laughed!  Her experience of the class was completely different the second time around as she understood the word "Namaste" instead of believing she was in a yoga class where mistakes were not permitted!

Lesson learned?  Despite having a less-than-perfect experience, learning to stay open and willing to try something a second time, may create the perfect opportunity to have a completely different (and more positive!) experience.  It sure did for my client in this case.  Namaste.

Life's simple pleasures...

On Sunday night, I couldn't shake my craving for a delicious dessert I'd had many years back at a pub in Edmonton - the decadent skillet cookie!  So after a quick internet search and brief stop at the grocery store, we had what we needed to make it at home.  It turned out fantastic!

mmm... warm skillet cookie - even better a la mode!

If you're a cookie lover like myself and feel like baking your own - click here for the recipe I used. Or if you know another version or modifications, please add your comments below!

Why are we happy?

Just a quick post for today - something to consider over the weekend!  This is one of my favourite TEDtalks.  Dan Gilbert poses the question: Why are we happy?  Enjoy :)

The great reveal...

For my 30th birthday, my sister planned a mystery weekend for us to celebrate.   I was told to pack a passport, carry-on bag and a dress - that's all I knew.  There was much excitement and anticipation as the weekend drew near, and I receive numerous texts from friends who were also eager to find out where I was going!  If you'd like to read all the details and planning that went into the event, as well as how we got into the 'pretty line' at the taping of AFV (which will air on March 4th!) you can read it here on my sister's blog: Funny the way it is...

The video below is of the great reveal!  As well as some of the other details of our trip - including some shuffling at 4am. :) Warning:  many tears were shed during the video, but they were all from sheer joy and excitement!  I'm a lucky girl to have the amazing sister that I do.  Thank you Adrienne - what an unforgettable birthday. I love you! XOX

The big 3-0

Well today's the day - I officially turn 30!  It's been a pretty amazing day/month so far - full of surprises (a trip to LA, lunches, dinners, flowers, phone calls, FB messages and texts.)  I'm excited for what this year will bring. In order to keep the the momentum going after such an exciting month, I've decided to challenge myself to complete a series of personal 30 day challenges. The source of my inspiration comes from this TEDtalk below:

Here are my 30 day challenges ideas so far:  mail a card everyday, no sugar, yoga everyday, no plastic bags, take a photograph, no driving, buy a stranger a coffee, and who knows what else! (if you have any ideas - please share them!) All I know is that I'm excited to live my life and continue growing in many ways.

  

"You can't change the cards you're dealt, just how you play the hand"

I turn 30 this month, and as such, I feel it is important for me to take all 29 days in February to celebrate the years that have past and the many more to come.  Naturally, I was excited to start my birth month celebrations when I woke up on February 1st - I just knew it was going to be a memorable month!  Needless to say, I didn't expect what was waiting for me when I arrived at work that morning.  My boss has unexpectedly travelled in from out of town and promptly handed me a letter informing me that my employment was being terminated effective immediately.  No warning, no reason - just pack up and get out.

I was completely shocked - was this really happening?  It felt like the rug had been pulled out from underneath me.  Like all I had done over the last two years meant nothing.  But as the shock wore off and my balance returned, I began to see the truth of my situation. I have my health, the love of family and friends, education, experience and a passion for improving myself and the world.  I also believe that opportunities present themselves in all sorts of crazy ways -  and that they rarely look like we want them to. I think Randy Pausch said it best in his Last Lecture:


"You can't change the cards you're dealt, just how you play the hand."

(if you aren't familiar with Randy Pausch, I HIGHLY recommend you take the time to watch his lecture on YouTube)

So instead of complaining about the cards I've been dealt, I'm doing my best to look at the options of the cards I'm holding.  It's a big world out there, and there are tons of opportunities to create the life of my dreams - this job never defined me, although there were times I believed it did.  I've learned so much about myself over the last couple years and I want to share my experience in hopes that I can help others grow too.  Many of these lessons often came at the price of me putting a foot (and sometimes two!) in my mouth, so hopefully I can save you the trouble!  If I'm too late to save you the same trouble then at least you know you aren't alone!  Through this blog, I'm hoping to show that there is humour in some of our crazy ways, and that you can find a silver lining to many of life's curveballs.

Suspend your disbelief

If I told you I’ve seen a man run on water… would you believe me?  Or that I know someone who cured herself of an incurable cancer - without the use of modern medicine?  How about if I told you I had a money tree growing in my back yard?

I’m certainly not going to tell you you should believe everything you hear.  But what I would like for you to look at, is how quickly you may disbelieve what you hear.  My intention is that encourage you to suspend your disbelief long enough to consider the possibilities.  The ‘What if’ of an idea or situation.  What would is mean if you were to believe?

Back in the late 1400s, it was common practice to navigate the seas by following the shoreline.  Christopher Columbus, believing that he could reach East Indies, lobbied the Spanish courts for 2 YEARS and eventually was supported, in sailing perpendicular to the shoreline, straight out into the sea.  Now, although, he was mistaken and didn’t in fact reach the Indies – he still made a huge discovery that greatly impacted the world.  He dismissed the mainstream practices, took a risk and achieved something incredible as a result.

When tossing around the idea that people could fly, the Wright Brothers encountered wide spread disbelief.  But instead of buying into the cynics and critics, they dismissed the popular notion that it wasn’t possible, and explored the POSSIBILITY.  Yet again, our world looks much different today because of their courage and willingness to believe in something other than what was commonly accepted as true.

Both Columbus and the Wright brothers are amazing examples of people who didn’t buy into a popular disbelief of the people around them.  They tried something different and change the world as a result.  I think it’s fair to say that they strongly believed in what they were pursuing and followed their passion.  While most of us have very strong belief systems in various areas in our lives, I’d like to challenge you… not based on what you do believe, but on what you don’t.  Because despite the examples of Columbus and Wright brothers, I believe that the biggest disbelievers we need to face up to… is ourselves.

Consider for a moment:

• What would it mean if you believed that Jesus was a man who performed miracles?
• What would it mean if you believed human beings evolve from apes?
• What would it mean if you believed you could change the world? 
• What would it mean if you to believe in angels, an afterlife or reincarnation?
• What would it mean if you believed every compliment you received?
• What would it mean if you were to believe that everything in your life happened for a reason, there are no coincidences and that you are exactly where you are meant to be?
• What would it mean if you believed you could be a millionaire?
• What would it mean if you believed your love makes a difference?  That smiling at strangers brightens their day?
• What would it mean if you believed you are good enough, exactly the way you are?

While considering these questions, if you feel hope, peace, joy, or even a little bit curious – then I hope you are open to allowing those thoughts and feelings.  If you feel fear, anger or guilt – I’d like to also encourage you to allow those feelings, but perhaps be willing to explore them a little bit deeper to understand why you feel the way you do.  I typically feel the former of these two.  The more I recognized what could be possible, especially when it’s something I’ve previously discounted, I feel a real sense of awe and can receive all sorts of value from allowing myself to explore new ideas.  Now when I hear myself saying ‘that’s not possible’ I do my best to flip it, get curious and ask myself “what if it were possible?” 

I encourage you start listening in to where your own DISBELIEF SYSTEM shows up.  What does it hold you back from?  Listen for that voice that tells you it’s not possible or that you can’t, and allow yourself to consider… ‘What if it IS possible?’ or ‘What if you CAN?”.  Like Columbus and the Wright brothers, perhaps it’s time to push past those limiting beliefs, whether it be your own disbelief, or others. And the truth is, in order to suspend your disbelief, you don’t need to fully believe in a new possibility.  In fact you don’t really need to believe in it at all.  All you need is a moment of time where  you suspend your disbelief long enough to consider what it would mean, if you did believe.