Happy New Year from Thrive Wellness Coaching

"Dwelling inwardly for extended periods, we come to know something of the poverty of always looking outside ourselves for happiness, understanding and wisdom."

From Wherever You Go There You Are by John Kabat-zinn

Spices are important to cultures around the globe. They give the zest to a number of traditional dishes. Learn about popular spices in different countries and what they’re made from.

View this global spice infographic to mix it up.

Check out The Honest Company for natural personal care and cleaning products.

Ironman triathlete and ultramarathoner Brendan Brazier realized early on is his career that diet would play a big role in his overall performance. "Longer events really level the athletic playing field. It becomes more about training and the speed of recovery than about natural ability," Brazier says. "Nutrition allows you to train harder and recover faster." 

The refined white starches he had added to his diet to make up for the carbohydrates he was burning weren't increasing his energy levels as much as he had hoped. After extensive research, Brazier found that about 80 percent of recovery is linked to good nutrition. "Eating more doesn't always mean more energy. You can be overfed while being undernourished," he says. Brazier eased into a whole food-based, vegan diet heavy on healthy whole grains (amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat), plant proteins (hemp, pea, rice) and dark leafy greans. Besides increasing his rate of recovery, he discovered that this eating plan with frequent, small meals helped him be more productive and sleep better. 

Today Brazier guest lectures at Cornell University, has written three books, most recently Thrive Foods.

People often ask how the support of a wellness coach differs from the support of a spouse, family member or friend. 

Support from your loved ones is important, but sometimes things get tricky because others will be supporting you in a way that blends their agenda with yours. Take your mother as an example. Her style of support will be influenced by her needs of you because of your complex relationship. She loves you unconditionally, but she may have needs of her own related to how she wants you to behave or approach challenges. 

One of the greatest advantages of hiring a professional coach to support your goals is that your agenda, needs and solutions will be the only focus. 

Certified coaches are trained specifically to ensure they don’t prevent you from coming up with your own solution by offering their ideas or suggestions. 

Instead coaches use motivational interviewing to foster unearthing your own authentic solution, plan and action steps. Your own solution will always be more realistic and successful because only you intricately know all the influencing factors your lifestyle presents. 

Learn more about wellness coaching by scheduling a free session.

Read the full Psychology Today article, Be a High Performer (Not a Workaholic) in 2015, for those of you looking to work SMARTER, instead of harder and/or longer this year. 

The full piece provides practical advice to work smarter, rather than harder, with these four key shifts:

1. "High performers are proactive in creating their own value. Workaholics are reactive, thereby allow others to determine their value."
2. "High performers give 100% at the right time. Workaholics give 110% all of the time."
3. "High performers take the initiative every workday. Workaholics are reactive to whatever the workday tosses them."
4. "High performers put themselves first."

Sleep is very important for humans.

Sleep has a direct impact on our overall health, waistline, mood, energy level and ability to manage everyday stress. It also influences learning and memory retention, focus and willpower. 

Most people struggle with logging enough sleep because of life's demands. 

Check out this great infographic, "Turn Back the Clock and Wake Up Beautiful."

Any opportunity to make sleep more of a priority helps. Do you have time Sunday morning to sleep in a bit? Can you catch a lazy weekend nap? 

Research things that may improve your quality of sleep and/or commit to a gradually earlier bedtime. 

"According to researchers at Eastern Washington University, people who experience the most gratitude tend to:

1. Feel a sense of abundance in their lives
   
2. Appreciate the contributions of others to their well-being
   
3. Recognize and enjoy life's small pleasures
   
4. Acknowledge the importance of experiencing and expressing gratitude.

Whether or not these attitudes come to you naturally, paying attention to life's positives can train you to see more and more of them, which will help you learn to be more grateful. 


Acknowledging [things you are grateful for] —on paper, with words, or even in your thoughts—will help you cultivate an attitude of gratitude—and with it, a boost in happiness that will last year-round." 

Read more about cultivating gratitude.

We all have our own specific relationship and mental constructs related to money. Do yours leave you feeling secure and in control, or reactive, worrisome and frazzled? If you are like most people, the answer is probably a little of both. 

“Financial health is having a conscious and purposeful relationship with money that is satisfying and isn’t overly stressful,” said Brad Klontz, PsyD, a financial psychologist and director of research at H&R Block Dollars & Sense.

Working with a coach to define your financial values, and planning spending based on that foundation, can help in developing a greater sense of control and peacefulness concerning your fiscal future. 

Learn more about wallet wellness from this great article: What It Means to Have a Healthy Relationship with Money.