Mindful Monday

Mindful Mondays: Creating Space for Your Peace of Mind

November 6, 2017 By Yvelette Stines

The end of the year is coming soon. With the holidays, this means extra responsibilities and stress. Regardless of the holidays, most of us are overly stressed and this can create many health problems.

It is important to create space for your peace of mind.

Yes, you have time.

No, you shouldn’t feel guilty.

Yes, you can say no to create the space for calmness.

No, this shouldn’t be your norm.

It used to be my norm and I didn’t even know it, it all came out on June 5th. I share space and teach people how to live a calm and healthy life through wellness techniques and writing. After this date, I realized that I had some work to do before I saw the breakthrough I needed to help others.

In the past, I can admit I was always the calm one in high stress situations. I would meditate, go for walks, feel better, and calm down. I didn’t realize that I was attracting these situations and people in my life where I thought, I needed to heal them, and it was an internal call to heal myself. I was calm based on the circumstances that I was in. I was calming everyone else down, but the withdraws didn’t match the deposits. Stress and anxiety took over more than I realized and it was ready evict itself.

June 5th, I woke up from a four-hour surgery (should have been two) once I was moved to my bed I had a panic attack to the point where I almost went into cardiac arrest (per the nurse). I remember waking up, being rolled down the hall, being moved, pain and then it started. My sister grabbed one hand in the calmest voice saying, “Be calm, it’s okay, just breathe it will be okay.” At that time, I couldn’t breathe. On the other side my friend had stronger words for me “if you don’t pull it together you will have a bigger problem, if the numbers on that machine go any higher.” Collectively, both of their words helped me find my breath to calm down. I realized from a holistic level, my body had to release more and that was the only way it knew how.

I know stress is a part of life but it doesn’t have to be your norm. You can reclaim your peace of mind daily to make it a habit. It is critical for your well-being and those you love. If you think you don’t have time. I suggest that write down everything you do during the day and the time it takes. There is something you can give up to create time for yourself and find the peace and happiness you deserve.

Let me know in the comments, what do you do to create space for your peace of mind?

Do you want free tips on living calm? Sign up for Mindful Mondays.

Peace and blessings,

PS. If you are in the Detroit area tune into WXYZ Channel 7 during the 8:00 am hour. I will be sharing wellness and beauty tips for Healthy Skin Month.

Yes, Gratitude Can Change Your Brain and Health

August 21, 2017 By Yvelette Stines

There is a shift in the brain when it comes to being grateful. Here are some things that the brain reveals about gratitude.

This article is from Greater Good Magazine.

With the rise of managed health care, which emphasizes cost-efficiency and brevity, mental health professionals have had to confront this burning question: How can they help clients derive the greatest possible benefit from treatment in the shortest amount of time?

Recent evidence suggests that a promising approach is to complement psychological counseling with additional activities that are not too taxing for clients but yield high results. In our own research, we have zeroed in on one such activity: the practice of gratitude. Indeed, many studies over the past decade have found that people who consciously count their blessings tend to be happier and less depressed.

We set out to address these questions in a recent research study involving nearly 300 adults, mostly college students, who were seeking mental health counseling at a university. We recruited these participants just before they began their first session of counseling, and, on average, they reported clinically low levels of mental health at the time. The majority of people seeking counseling services at this university in general struggled with issues related to depression and anxiety.The problem is that most research studies on gratitude have been conducted with college students or other well-functioning people. Is gratitude beneficial for people who struggle with mental health concerns? And, if so, how?

We randomly assigned our study participants into three groups. Although all three groups received counseling services, the first group was also instructed to write one letter of gratitude to another person each week for three weeks, whereas the second group was asked to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings about negative experiences. The third group did not do any writing activity.

Read the rest here.

I have a daily gratitude practice and it has helped me shift my mindset.

Let me know in the comments, do you have a gratitude practice?

Peace and blessings,

Quotes On The Positive Side of Failure

July 10, 2017 By Yvelette Stines

If you think you’ve failed, think again. This is a learning lesson, stepping stone, and path to your greatest comeback ever. As long as you learn and understand the lesson, great things can come out of failure. Here are some quotes the positive side of failure.

“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” – Ken Robinson

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” – Paulo Coelho

“Failure is the key to success; each mistake teaches us something.” -Morihei Ueshiba

“Try and fail, but never fail to try.” – Jared Leto

“Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.” – Lance Armstrong

“It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” -Bill Gates

“Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. One fails forward toward success.” C. S. Lewis

“I’d rather be partly great than entirely useless.” – Neal Shusterman

“Giving up is the only sure way to fail.” – Gena Showalter

“If you don’t try at anything, you can’t fail… it takes back bone to lead the life you want.” – Richard Yates

Peace and Blessings,

Mindful Mondays: Accomplish Your Goals in Four Easy Steps

June 5, 2017 By Yvelette Stines

We all have goals that we want to accomplish. Some people are practical where others have a long list of goals, look at the list, get overwhelmed, and then do absolutely nothing. I used to be the laundry list goal setter with a small time frame so my ego would allow me to feel accomplished. This resulted in lack of focus, burnout, missed moments, and the empty feeling of what’s next. I can’t speak for everyone, but progress takes time, it is a journey and I encourage you to enjoy the steps as you get to the destination.

Here are four mindful ways to accomplish your goals.

Write it down – There is power in the written word. As we write down our goals we are already setting an intention. I would start with writing down everything you want to accomplish. Then organize it into categories, once you are done pick one out of each category and then give yourself a time frame. From there write the goal and how your plan on accomplishing it.

Example: Write down the goal. Then write the deadline for the goal. Last, write steps it will take you to complete the goal.

When you break down the goal and the specific steps it helps you focus, accomplish the steps and see your progress along the way.

Review your goals – Look them over daily. This will help you stay focused and on purpose. With a daily reminder you have your goal in mind and will be less tolerant of unnecessary distractions. Each week review your goals and what you did to work toward accomplishing them. If you didn’t accomplish everything you wanted, be gentle with yourself and reflect. Write down the goal, and do a free write on why it wasn’t accomplished.

Celebrate – Honoring yourself and your accomplishments are healthily. If you completed all of your tasks treat yourself to something nice. You deserve it.

Gratitude – There is always a higher power, God, working along with you. Give thanks and ask for direction you will be moved to do certain things that will help you along your path. A portion of showing gratitude is sharing your gifts with the world. Keep the faith and know all is aligned for the greater good.

What do you do to accomplish your goals?

Peace and blessings,

When Your Vision Doesn’t Look Like Your Reality

May 22, 2017 By Yvelette Stines

Have you ever had a time that you were excited about something but didn’t know why? Have you ever felt the hunch that something great was going to happen but you didn’t see how? Many times we are told that we will do and/or become something and it makes no sense. This is where faith and trusting the process comes in.

Understand that where you are right now is not a snapshot of your future. You have choices that can help you change. If you set a goal that seems like a reach but you had a spiritual confirmation that it will happen, know that it is on the way. We have to go through the process to prepare and be able to handle and receive it. Have you ever had a time when you got something you wanted years later and you thought, if this came to me earlier, I wouldn’t have been able to handle it? Every step in our life is a piece of preparation so we will be able to handle the vision and destiny that is for our lives.

Many times when we are in a place that isn’t comfortable or it seems like the weight of the world is on our shoulders, these are lessons in strength to help us navigate our next chapter. There are times when there is a road block, then a cliff, then a … you get the picture. This is the test of endurance to see if you are ready to receive what you asked for. Pay attention to your language, how you treat what you have, the people around you, and the conversation with yourself. Act as if it is already yours, endure the tests, put in the work, show gratitude daily, and the victory will be yours.

There are many times when we have a vision and a plan and it doesn’t make sense to you and it definitely won’t make sense to others. There are some things that we need to keep to ourselves to seek understanding and the right steps to make the vision our reality.

If you know there is much room for improvement in your life, and you know that you are on a way to a breakthrough I encourage you to hold on, stay the course, and ask for direction in prayer and meditation. As you are waiting for the direction and answers, do your part to prepare.

Are you consistent with your current responsibilities? Do you show up and keep promises that you make to yourself? Are you reading books that will help you in the area that you want to grow? If you are determined to make the change daily, the rest will come. It takes the first step and shift in mindset from you.

There are times when we need to talk to others. If you seek advice from others, be sure to use discernment. If someone is consistently negative and/or inconsistent with their priorities, that is not someone you would want to talk to about your vision and dreams. Be patient with yourself, stay focused, keep the faith, and enjoy the ride.

Reflect and Write

What will you do this week to get you closer to your appointed vision?

Affirmation

I welcome and receive the opportunities that I am given

Peace and blessings,

Mindful Monday: Ten Affirmations for Peace of Mind

May 15, 2017 By Yvelette Stines

Have you ever had a time in your world when an hour felt like a day and a day felt like a month? When this happens and stress takes over, our mindset shifts. It is important to keep our thoughts positive. This will help our current situation and the future. If you are feeling out of alignment, and/or stressed there are some affirmations that will help you create some peace of mind.

An affirmation is “a statement or proposition that is declared to be true.” When you use affirmations it can change the whole perception of your reality because you are speaking a positive statement into existence. This is why it is important to be mindful of your words and the conversations that you have with yourself and others. Do you speak kindly to yourself? How do you speak about others? There are times when our words feed us, so keep them positive.

When stress seems to be taking over, here are some affirmations that you can use to calm down and have some peace of mind.