Transformation – A Rocky Start

Posted by Jana Groscost Matthews | Filed under Transformation

As I step on the scale I have on seen this weight twice in my life – when I was pregnant with my two kids. As a fitness instructor during my 20’s, I thought I would easily maintain my weight throughout my life because I like to exercise and I’ve always led an active life. Now that I’m in my 40’s there is so much more going on physically, emotionally, and mentally. So finding the right combination in balancing these components plays a key role in success.

Exposing my goal in this way makes me feel vulnerable. Will anything change? Will I actually reach it this time? What if I fail? I’ve worked on this for over a year and the results are the same. It would be safer to set the goal, work towards it and then tell my success story after I’ve reached it. But I’ve learned the journey is the most important part of any transformation. So why do I feel this time things will be different? I’m not sure. Perhaps hope? We’ve all been told that accountability is an important part of reaching any goal. Perhaps putting my goal out there in a big way will help me reach it.

Even with my best intentions the process got off to a rocky start. I woke up with a sore throat on Sunday. My workouts for the past three days didn’t happen. Although I’m a bit frustrated, in the past I would have believed that forces were working against me reaching my goal. I could have thought, “Great, I’ve created a blog for this, and I’m doomed from the beginning.” But it gave me some time to think about the process differently.

I know I need to take a different approach than my old thought process of just eating better and exercising more. Einstein says, “Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.” So during my down time I’ve been asking myself, “What needs to be different to make the changes I want?”

Over the years I’ve learned there is one thing I can control – my thoughts and feelings. Do you realize that over 80 percent of our thoughts are unconscious? Yesterday I received a clue towards the solution. I was telling someone about this journey and she mentioned a program that Abraham Hicks offers called “Think and Get Slim.” So I looked at their website and watched a 9 minute video clip about the process, if you’re interested check it out at www.AbrahamHicks.com.

Esther talks about our thoughts and actions being upstream and downstream, and a metaphor of a reservoir being the energy and motivation used to inspire. If you think about it, moving upstream is swimming against the current; resisting the natural flow. And moving downstream is going with the flow. We cannot maintain moving upstream at all times. It is exhausting.

So I was thinking about any resistance I may have towards food or dropping weight and I remember hearing an interview a couple of weeks ago with tennis star Monica Seles. She has a book out talking about her lifelong challenge with her weight. She said, “My toughest opponent has been food.” According to the dictionary an opponent is an adversary. In an adversary relationship with food you’re swimming upstream in resistance. We have to eat! So during my meditations I will remove any thoughts or feelings that food is “bad” and replace it with creating a partnership with food.

Esther also talks about being vibrationally aligned with your goal. If I’m resitant to food or whatever the issue is, I create a vibrational tug-of-war between what I want and the end result. So, as I remove resistance, my energy shifts and the process of releasing weight becomes easier because everything begins to align to support the goal. The results will happen once the energy is balanced.

Tags: , , ,

Read more | Comments (0) | April 30th, 2009

12 Week Transformation

Posted by Jana Groscost Matthews | Filed under Transformation

What a relief to have another tax season behind me. Even with a well planned schedule, I still had clients with last minute returns. The final return was mailed to my client on April 10th and we flew to the East coast for spring break on April 11th. What a whirlwind! I’ll admit that during the last month my life was very out of balance. But now I’m ready to return to the heart and focus on the things that are most important to me.

One of the areas I want back in balance is my body weight. Although I was still actively participating in my exercise routine, I realized that my eating habits must have been out of balance. How do I know? Well, I gained three pounds during the month. Not a huge amount, but this is in addition to the ten pounds I already want to remove.

Why did this happen? Obviously, I made unconscious choices to eat things that were unhealthy or eat more than I should have. So often we make unconscious choices. Studies show that around 80 percent of our choices are unconscious. Wow, that’s surprising! We truly are creatures of habit.

When I was in my twenties it was much easier to alter my weight. Now that I’m in my forties, my life is more complicated. Back then there was just me, now the equation includes kids, husband, work, family and all the activities that come with it. With a busy schedule it’s easy to grab something simple and less healthy.

What’s it going to take to make this transformation? One of the obvious answers is making more conscious choices and breaking old habits. Stephen Covey says, “It takes 21 days to change a habit.” As a former fitness instructor I know it takes a bit longer to change the physical body. To remove one pound of fat you need to cut out or burn 500 calories a day for one week to total the 3,500 calories.

Fitness guru Bill Phillips has a great 12 week program helping participants reshape their bodies. Last year my husband Jason and I participated in one of his challenges. Although I made some changes, I have new goals I want to reach. It would be easy and safe to keep this goal to myself. Then no one knows if I make it or not. I’m including you in this challenge to provide inspiration into the process for something you want to change.

Are there areas of your life that are out of balance? Typically when there is an area out of balance, we compensate for it. How do you compensate for your imbalance? Do you overspend? Overuse drugs or alcohol? Exercise too much or too little? Eat too much or too little? Work too much or too little? Whatever the method of escape or need for fulfillment the result is the same – it provides an opportunity to feel bad about ourselves for our behavior.

Bringing balance into your life is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself. It’s a reflection of self-love. And building a healthy, loving releationship with yourself provides a solid foundation for everything you wish to attract.

What area of your life do you want to make a change in? Join me for the next 12 weeks during this transformational journey. What will your life look like if you bring this part in balance? How will you feel about yourself if you do it?

How do you begin?
1) identify what it is you want to transform (pick only one area)
2) a note book or computer to journal the 12 weeks (both the good stuff and frustrations)
3) commit to yourself to follow through for the 12 week period (you may feel like you stop and start but keep going)

Are you in?

Read more | Comments (0) | April 23rd, 2009

New Moon in Aries

Posted by Jana Groscost Matthews | Filed under Manifesting

According to Star IQ, the new moon in Aries is one of the major launching pads for the astrological year. It’s a time of risk taking and exploration, when looking ahead is more important than standing still. This lunation is colored by questions of selfworth and fears of economic contraction. However, the bright spirit of Aries is a reminder that we have the power to act positively and bring desirable changes into our lives.

This sounds like a fabulous cycle and it can be, however you must be willing to give something up in order to be able to manifest and experience everything this time has to offer.

In the northern hemisphere we have just stepped into spring. Spring time is a great time to clean out the old stuff that we no longer need. This is the time to dump the contents of your closet (both your actual closet and your emotional one) to see what you can let go of and perhaps you’ll find treasures that have been hidden away for a while.

As you work through your emotional cleanup, think about what thoughts, beliefs, and attachments you can now dump. Attachment to how things were, should have been, should be now, what you should have done, what others should have done, what you or others should be doing now. Each of these aspects keeps you stuck in the past instead of living in the present moment.

It is easy to keep your head looking backward with regret and blame; looking for ways to fix or patch it up. But if you’re looking back at the past, you will never see the opportunities of the future.

Spring is a time to say goodbye to the past and look forward at the opportunities opening in front of you. Some of these opportunities may not fit the picture of what you thought in your mind, but take note and try on new opportunities to see if it fits.

The changes may be subtle. Simply learn to observe yourself. Are your perceptions different? Are you responding differently? Are resources opening up? See what’s happening on a micro level that impacts your overall results.

Read more | Comments (0) | April 11th, 2009