We Unleashed the Power Within

I've told this story a few times and shared it with team mates on Facebook, and I had every intention of copying and pasting what I had shared, but for the life of me I can't locate the posts.

My husband has been a huge Tony Robbins fan since his early 20's. Me, not a fan, only knew he was some sort of life coach. I had seen his picture before and seen him in the movie Shallow Hal.

My husband had caught wind that there was going to be an Unleash the Power Within in Toronto, just 3 hours from us. He was excited, but at the same time, questioned being able to go. He had just been called back to work a month or so prior after being laid off for those 18/19 months. So we were in some heaving repayment of late bills. Out of curiosity, he called to find out ticket prices. General admission was $999/person. That's more than a months mortgage payment. But stupidly, my husband was optimistic.

We always got "junk mail" from Tony's organization and really, it just sat around and never got opened. Always some class or seminar in Fiji that we couldn't afford.

So weeks were passing and its getting closer to the date. Agents are calling us now offering a lower price so they can fill the final seats left. The offer was $750. Still couldn't afford it. Another offer was called to us days later. We could both go for $499, not each, for both. Wow. Maybe this IS something we could afford.

The fun part now! I'm sitting on the couch one night thinking I really need to clean up the junk mail. There sat a Tony envelope. I figured, I'm going to open before I toss it. You'll never guess what was in it. Actually I didn't even know what they were at first. Two VIP tickets to Unleash the Power Within. $1299 tickets. I showed them to my husband so he could confirm if they really were tickets as he's been to an Unleash the Power Within once prior. They were tickets. Real tickets, that sat there for weeks, through all the phone calls, the hope, the questioning where we were going to come up with the money to go. We somehow knew we'd get there. But instead of sitting behind 1000's of people in the back, we were in the VIP section sitting 12 rows back.

Now the big question is, how did we get these tickets sent to us? We have no idea. No one has ever said they helped us. But someone did. And it was life changing. That was in the summer of 2009 and we have always looked back at the MANY wonderful things that have happened to us in that year and into 2012. Tony lit the fire! Our fire has fizzled a bit, but we have the tools and we just need to take a moment to apply them again.

It was an amazing experience that I got to share with my husband. I got to walk on fire. I got to meet some great people. An experience I will never forget!

The list - Body, Mind and Soul Makeover

You can't overcome things if you don't face them.
Deal with them.
This is my year. This is my list.

1. Get a grip on the yoyo dieting. 
2. Instead of focusing on losing a set number of pounds, I need to focus on when I get to a better weight, I do something I've never done before. There's a 5k coming up on May 18th. That gives me over 3 months to prepare and I have no excuse why I won't be able to do it.
3. Be accountable for what I put in my mouth. So what I ate a Whopper Combo. Just have to kill it at the gym the next day. Easy!
4. Stop focusing on things I don't like about myself and put the focus on the things I do like.
5. Be around people that have traits that I have or want in myself. No self doubting people. 
6. Let go of things from the past. I've moved on from a very negative subject, but it still lurks in the back ground. I need to discover what is truly going to push me beyond and forgive.
7. Adopt a more open mind. I will admit I can be very close minded. 
8. Learn about and teach my children empathy. Yes I'm empathetic, but my insecurities stop me from doing good things out of empathy. Does that make sense?
9. Break out of my shell and be crazy. A good crazy.
10. Walk with my head held high. I always walk with my head down and avoid eye contact.
11. Be a better mom. One that is not so easily irritated. 
12. Enjoy my children more. 
13. Relax.

I'm sure I'll be making revisions to this and adding more, but I'm happy to finally have some of these goals written down.

Emotions - Primary vs. Secondary

A few months ago, my husband and I caught the tail end of something on TV. I can't even remember for the life of me, what it was. If it was a "Dateline" type show or a documentary. It was touching on Primary and Secondary emotions and it was very intriguing.

One that really struck out was Anger. Anger is a secondary emotion to a few primary ones such as hurt, humiliation and frustration.

Anger is often called a secondary emotion because we tend to resort to anger in order to protect ourselves from or cover up other vulnerable feelings. A primary feeling is what is what is felt immediately before we feel anger. We almost always feel something else first before we get angry.

We might first feel afraid, attacked, offended, disrespected, forced, trapped, or pressured. If any of these feelings are intense enough, we think of the emotion as anger.

As the drawing below illustrates, anger is like an iceberg in that only some of the emotions are visible. The other emotions exist "below the water line" where they are not immediately obvious to outside observers.

The hard part about being angry is the ability to control your actions. At least with me and I think, the majority  of the world. When we lash out, we're trying to make a point about how hurt we might be, or how you were humiliated.  Instead I think there needs to be a great focus put on the PRIMARY emotion. If you've hurt me, I need to let you know that you've hurt me and deal with it immediately before it turns into anger and with most people, there's not much time. 

I think there's many reason why we avoid addressing the primary emotion. Too embarrassed to tell someone they hurt you? I know for me, I'm sometimes too embarrassed to address my negative primary emotions as I think it makes me feel vulnerable. I'm a mama bear and when I feel like I've allowed someone to impact me negatively, I feel powerless. Not something I like to feel. Again, another thing to focus on my 2013 body, mind and soul transformation.  I have to let people know immediately that I've been hurt by them. Many times it may be a total misunderstanding, or not their intention in the first place. Or maybe I'm just hurt and really its superficial, and in that case, I need to keep my big mouth shut. 

So this year, things to keep in mind. Life is too short to live with hatred, anger and the primary emotion HURT. Deal with these things. Don't let them fester. Forgive those who have hurt you, apologize to those you've hurt. 

Some links on this topic for further reading:

http://www.creducation.org/resources/anger_management/anger__a_secondary_emotion.html

http://www.choosing-life-my-way.com/list-of-emotions.html

http://www.holisticdrugrehab.org/news/techniques-for-anger-management/

http://www.karunaweb.com/what-is-anger-a-secondary-emotion/

Meditation - Can you clear your mind?

Do you do it? I know it has its MANY benefits, but I struggle just sitting and trying to clear my mind. It's always, I need to do this, I need to do that.  Maybe with my total transformation that I'm going for this year, my better planning of days and being prepared will help give me that time that I need to just relax. Planning just seems like its the answer to everything! 

No, we’re not talking about your face, but your life. You’re cleaning and organizing your house and making better food choices, but what daily steps can you take to keep your mind clear and your spirits light? To stay focused on these and other important tasks, you need a clear mind. 

There’s no better way of clearing your mind than sitting quietly, focusing on your breathing, and mentally relaxing. If you’re thinking this sounds a lot like meditation, you’re right. Meditation doesn’t need to be a “spiritual” experience that requires incense or chanting. It’s about quietly focusing and clearing your head so you can better take on your day and your life! 

Now that you’re more focused on your daily tasks, lighten your mental burden by getting them accomplished. Cleaning out that excess clutter in your house felt good, right? Well, one of the biggest distractions is a buildup of unfinished tasks, whether they are at home or at work. Not only do they need to get done, but they weigh you down more and more. When something comes your way that you need to get done or want to accomplish, don’t wait until “someday”; get it done now, and you’ll never be weighed down again!

Sometimes there are things cluttering your mind that you have no control over. These may be hurtful memories from your past or worries about the future. Either way, you need to let go of these burdensome thoughts and feelings and move on. This may be easier said than done, but holding on to anger, regret, and anxiety will only eat you alive. Dwell on what you can accomplish and change in your life, and release what you cannot. Give your mind an extra boost of focus and concentration by starting your day with Confianza^™. Its natural, rejuvenating adaptogens will help you combat stress and fatigue and boost your energy. Your mind will thank you! 

More great tips HERE

Quitting time

It's amazing how easy it is to convince yourself to quit something the moment things start to get tough. I will admit I like things to be easy. I can get easily scared. I have to blame my insecurity for that. But my confidence is what I know I really need to work on this year. No more walking with my head down.

I resolve

So it's New Years eve. Have you made your usual resolutions? Is it to be 30lbs lighter in 6 months? Stop eating chocolate? Exercise more? Do you find yourself making the same resolutions year after year? I do. I think it's human nature. A new year gives us hope of new changes (when we really have the ability to change when ever we want to), a fresh start.

For 2013 I want to do it differently to ensure my success. Total transformation. If I can't succeed at transforming my mind, how on earth am I going to success on transforming my body. I believe all changes must come from the inside out.

I resolve to be a better person.

Are you really prepared to succeed in 2013? Accountability is what's going to help me succeed! I control my destiny!