Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Teachable Tuesday



Stu-dent:  
1. A person formally engaged in learning, especially one enrolled in a school or college; pupil
2. Any person who studies, investigates or examines thoughtfully.
It is from Latin studens diligent, from studere to be zealous

I am both a formal student currently pursuing a degree, but have always considered myself a lifelong learner.  How about you?  Do you have a thirst for knowledge, always learning new things from the internet, digital media, books, audio, anyplace?

To me, when you stop learning, you’re dead.  One of the greatest privileges is to be able to constantly absorb new things via any method available to you, and to simply shut off your brain and let it melt from your ears as you watch reality show after reality show until your butt becomes part of your couch is a downright sin.  Learning keeps you young and vibrant and interesting.  There is ALWAYS ALWAYS something new to learn and apply to your life.  Sure, we all have our nights when we are so exhausted all we can do is pour ourselves out of our cars, crawl into our homes at the end of a busy day and manage to get upstairs and flop into bed.  I’m all about the occasional “veg out night”.  But try to learn at least one new thing each day, then incorporate that fresh, new knowledge into your life.  It’s fun!

And it doesn’t have to cost you a penny.  You can be a $avvy $cholar without mortgaging your lungs for student loans.  Today I want to pass along to you a website that was recommended to me.  It’s called Open Culture, and it offers links to 700 free cultural and educational online courses from top universities.  That’s a LOT of free learning!!! 

I hope today you will take advantage of these offers and choose to take one of these courses.  Please write me and comment if you do – we’d love to hear how it’s going for you!  And if you want to learn more about yourself and how to design and realize your education dreams, consider life coaching with me!  Give me a call or email today!

Remember, your brain is your sexiest and most vibrant feature – exercise it NOW!!!

Blessings,

www.coachlindabush.com
609-311-9833
linda@coachlindabush.com

Monday, April 29, 2013

Makeover Monday


The Beauty of Camping in Cape May
I had the most wonderful weekend camping – the weather was 110% picture perfect!  It was relaxing, unstressed and had no specific agenda or “gotta do this, be there, see this, accomplish that” schedule.  It was simply a time to gaze at the campfire, smell the smoke and pines, listen to the birds and enjoy the natural beauty.  This is the kind of weekend that restores me on many levels. 

However, last night my sleep was filled with stress dreams.  These are the dreams I have when I’m overloaded and juggling and feeling, well, stressed!  I am lost, I can’t see well (my vision is partial or blurred), I’m not wearing the right clothes, something is lost and I can’t find it.  Last night I couldn’t find my clothes that I was supposed to wear to work, I was late, my car was lost, and I stopped amidst all the insanity to look at a bakery and decide I wanted a jelly donut, a chocolate donut and a roll with butter.  I had the same type of stress dreams all Friday night, but there I also was eating mass amounts of chocolate throughout the dream wherever I went.  Eating is a new part to the dreams.  (I know, I probably need serious therapy for these deep-seated anxieties.) Yes, my dreams of stress always surface to tell me that, while the surface of the waters is smooth, the depths are in need of some work.  On top of everything else the weather this morning is cold, dreary and drizzling rain.

I have two choices… let the stress and lackluster weather get to me and mold my day and mood, or I can make this day over and choose to bring the calm and joy from the weekend into my week.  I choose MAKEOVER!  After all, aren’t makeovers taking the good you have to begin with and just enhancing it and bringing out the best?

To begin with, I selected the photo you see here from my weekend and put it up as my screensaver so I have it in vision all day long.  Next, I took all my paperwork and put it on the floor and made it into a campfire and I’m going to grill hot dogs over it at lunchtime.  Okay, maybe not… but at lunchtime I will take a few minutes to step outside and simply breathe.  It may only be a moment or two just outside the doorway.. but I will breathe the fresh air and remember the sunshine and the smells of the campsite.  Finally, I will take a few moments this morning to organize my week – figure out what things are priorities, what things can wait and I will make steps towards being proactive in these tasks, as well as building in time for me.  Perhaps that time for me will only be a few minutes here and there as I can fit in, but I will choose those micro-vacation moments nonetheless.  A cup of tea, three extra minutes in the shower just to feel the warm water wash away the day, 20 minutes to read… and especially build in time to get to bed on time and rise early so I won’t be in manic morning mode.  These things cost nothing but are a gift to yourself that are crucial to your well-being.

Talk about setting a good mood not only for your day but week, yes?  Exercise those choose well muscles today to begin your day and week off right.  It is going to be a fantastic week filled with joyful anticipation of blessings right around the corner, good things and peaceful moments of lusciousness – choose it to be so, wild woman!

Blessings and pleasant unstressed dreams,

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Wild Women Wednesday


Wild women - you are beautiful and worthy and absolutely beyond priceless!

Blessings,
Coach Linda 

Toss the 'Tude Tuesday


Raise your hands, girls, anyone sportin’ a ‘tude today (as Patsy Clairmont coined in her book – be sure to search her videos on You Tube – she’s amazing)?????  My little ‘tude monster has been trying desperately to take control in the last several weeks.  Personally, I think she may be in cahoots with my hormones because I’ve had more emotional ups and downs than a merry-go-round horse on steroids!  And I have yet to explain the phenomenon of how all the little “annoy-me” gremlins know exactly when to come out from under their rocks to scratch their nails on the blackboard of my spirit to make me C-R-A-Z-Y!!! 

I don’t like me with a ‘tude.  I’ve written about it here before (click HERE and HERE), and I hate to admit it but it’s still a fresh topic.  I get a wicked mean case of the uglies when I’m in a ‘tude mood.  I get snarky, snippy and sarcastic.  Instead of a smiling and calm countenance gently graced by a quiet and gentle spirit (which is what I’m going for most days), my lip curls up, my eyes roll and my nose sniffs up like I’ve just gone past a mountain of manure.  In fact, that’s a fairly good descriptor of what my ‘tude is like – it STINKS!

I want to be one of those women that bless people when I’m with them – the kind that, when they leave, your world is just a little brighter and you feel warmer and happier.  I want to leave that kind of legacy… where people say, “Gee she always had a good/kind word for everyone, a happy attitude”… sort of the personification of a comforting hug.  Kinda like a combo of Mother Teresa meets Erma Bombeck meets your favorite grandmother/aunt – that kind of good.  Lately I’ve been more of a sour version of Joan Rivers meets Bridezilla meets Church Lady with a fierce case of PMS and a side order of perimenopause!  Like I said, girls, uuuhhh-gaaaa-lee ugly.

Sunday night I sat myself down and quietly took an inventory of things – of how I’d been acting vs. how I want to act.  How my walk didn’t equal my talk.  I remembered that it was my choice, always and always my own choice, on how I responded to any given situation going on in my life.  I could react and wind up with a major mood 'tude, or I could choose my mood ‘tude.  I’m tired of nursing my ‘tude – it weighs heavily, gives me frown wrinkles and works my last nerve!  I’m not trying to be Penny Perfect here, mind you… it’s not that I can’t get mad/sad/angry, etc.  But it’s what I do with those emotions that matters in the long run.  Do I let them control me, or do I choose to control how I handle things? 

I love Chuck Swindoll’s quote on attitude:

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.  Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.  The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.  And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes."

So I’m flickin’ those nasty little gremlins off my soul shoulders, kicking my mood ‘tude in her moody booty, and deciding to add altitude to my attitude and let my spirit soar high and free above the things that have been getting me down.  I’m taking a deep breath, praying for a strong and serene spirit coupled with a loving demeanor and heart, and singin’ along with Patty LaBelle’s great song “NEW ATTITUDE”!  I feel more beautiful from the inside out already.

Are you with me?  Exercise your mood elevator today, ladies, and give yourself a ‘tude lift!  There you go – looking GOOD!

Blessings,

Meet Me Monday

Coach Linda Bush

Just a quick note today – I wanted to let you know that I will have the privilege of being the guest lecturer this Thursday, April 25th, at the Whole Foods Market Princeton Wellness Club supper club!  Whole Foods is my favorite market in the world, and it is beyond exciting to partner with them.  Here’s what I’ll be speaking on:

Wellness and Life Transformation
 Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?  Tired of giving and giving to everyone else and then having nothing left for you?  Not sure where your journey is taking you?

This seminar will introduce you to the skills of how to embark upon a personal assessment into your own health and wellness, and give you some insight on how to discover (or rediscover) the dreams you had perhaps many years ago.  We will examine basic wellness principles and how you can introduce these principles into your life through manageable and realistic daily practices.  We will also explore creative methods by which to integrate the many areas of your life in order to align them towards transformation into the best YOU that you can become.

Whole Foods Wellness Club, Route One, Princeton, NJ
The Whole Foods Wellness Club provides an inviting environment where members are empowered to make educated and positive lifestyle choices that promote their long-term health and well-being through coaching, delicious food and a supportive community. Click on the photo to the left to get to their website.  I have worked with them before on several health initiatives and have always been impressed with their knowledge and their heart to help people. It's a wonderful place to shop, eat and learn!  I highly recommend becoming a member of the Club.  Please come and join me!

Blessings,
Coach Linda Bush





Friday, April 19, 2013

Tire Therapy Thursday


Last night I was driving home singing at the top of my lungs and, as I pulled into my garage, I just sat there for a minute until the song was over.  I felt really good, which was especially surprising because this has been a particularly rugged and stressful week for me.  In fact, it was the kind of week where I had frequent bouts of volcano virus.  You know, your stress builds and builds inside you until you feel as if you are going to completely explode and if even one more teensy-tiny thing happens or someone even dares to look at you cross-eyed – BOOM!  You will become the physical embodiment of the reenactment of Mount St. Helens erupting, spewing forth all that stress and anger and bottled up ugly like verbal lava explosions.  Oh yeah… you know exactly what I mean!!!

It got me to thinking… my car is often my place of therapy. 

It is a place of comedy, where I listen to podcasts or CDs or talk radio that makes me laugh out loud. When I am in traffic sometimes I see abstract humor as I look to the left and right lanes and watch people dealing with the commute, or one another.  

It is a place of mourning, where I can cry alone and in safety.  Many times I have wept behind that wheel as I have found refuge driving/stopping near a river nearby or a lake or just a park area.  I’ve cried on the road as well, because sometimes it hits you when you can’t just pull over. 

It is a place of sanctuary and worship, where I have raised my voice in praise and song to God and worshiped Him.  It is also where I have screamed and cried in prayer to God when I couldn’t understand His plan.  I recall one rainy night in particular where I sobbed and the tears pouring down my cheeks matched the rhythm of the raindrops beating down on the windshield.  I held onto that wheel for dear life and shook it so hard, choking out in broken screams my heartbroken prayers through searing emotion pain until I though that poor wheel would surely come off in my hands.

It is a place of learning, where I have read audio books and listened to educational CDs and radio programs/podcasts and recordings from my college classes.  It has been my university on wheels – did you know most folks spend approximately 12-2,400 hours a year in commuting?  That’s about the equivalent of one-two university semesters.  So your car can become your scoot-about school as you use that time to learn. There's something about using that time in bumper-to-bumper traffic usefully that takes the edge of the commuter stress off a bit.  You don't feel so victimized by it when you're actually in class behind the wheel.

It is a place of primal scream therapy, where I have just screamed and yelled – no words, just blowing off steam.  It’s also been just a place of decompression as I used my commute time to wind down from a long day and transition into my non-working life.

It is a library as well - sometimes at lunchtime I'll go sit in my car and read while listening to soft instrumental background music.  I'll eat my lunch in my own private little dining area (on those times when I need to be alone) and escape the day with a good book, or use this time to catch up on my homework reading.  Your car is also a perfect place to find quiet time to journal and think - your thoughts can flow privately without the distraction of interruptions. 

It has also been a conference/meeting center, when I catch up with friends on commuter calls (yes, I have a speaker and a Bluetooth earpiece), or talk them through a rough patch of their own, or seek their advice and comforting words. Ah yes, and this is definitely a time when it turns my car into comedy central - I have amazingly comedic friends!

It’s funny but I never realized how important this function and role of my car has been to me over the years.  Imagine… the door locks and suddenly you’re in your own little world of therapy and shelter… a refuge of glass and steel (and speed and power) where you can be you, and deal with life, and think and dream in safety and without judgment.  Whether you’re in your own garage/driveway/street or in a parking area in your favorite getaway spot… it’s your asylum.

Today, exercise your therapy muscles… get in your car and just sit in silence for a few minutes, then take a drive and make it your own center for healing and analysis and centeredness.  It will give you a whole new appreciate for your therapy center on wheels!

Blessings,




Thursday, April 18, 2013

Wild Woman Wednesday



Wild women embrace life, including whatever season it may be.  Right now in NJ we’re finally enjoying the spring, which at some point I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen again!  It is a time to look out and see life and color, to smell the fragrance of the flowers peaking out of their beds of slumber and to feel a renewed sense of hope. 

As I mark another year of living, sometimes I get a wee bit discouraged that my face has more laugh lines than last year and I’m obviously not EVAH going to get carded again if I request a glass of wine at my local pub.  The only card I may get asked for is my AARP card when I ask for the early bird special!!!  It’s highly doubtful that anyone not legally blind will EVAH call me “Miss”.  In an age where we continue to worship youth and devalue aging, it happens.  The other day I was watching a cosmetic industry leader's commercial that claimed their fabulous face food worked wonders on the skin and for any ethnicity.  They had four beautiful women representing their diverse audience of users… but oh, did I mention THEY WERE ALL 12???@?@?@  I’m sorry, but these girls have barely hit puberty, and they need wrinkle cream???  Helloooooooo?????  

Its okay, I’m back now.  Probably shouldn’t have thrown my shoe at the screen, though…

Anywhoooo… Here’s a little something that I want to toss into your day – CELEBRATE YOUR AGE!!!!!  Girlfriend, you MADE IT!  If you have a birthday, CELEBRATE IT ALL WEEK LONG! 



To help you get in the mood, I encourage you to watch the new PBS documentary Age of Champions for free from April 18th-28th.  It’s the story of five competitors who sprint, leap and swim for gold at the National Senior Olympics, including a 100-year-old tennis champion, 86-year-old pole vaulter, and basketball grandmothers!!!  I love it – these folks are my heroes.  If you aren’t inspired by these folks (and especially them golden grannies), girl, check your pulse because you must be dead!

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE their motto:  

WINNING NEVER GETS OLD!

Wild women are winners, remember that!  So get ready to be inspired, moved and then getcher buttup offdacouch and move it/groove it/celebrate your life each and every day.  Exercise your ability to LIVE JUICY!

Love and blessings,

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Tips 'n Tricks Thursday

Hi guys!  I've been away for a few days at a wonderful women's retreat in Cape May, NJ, and then a few days celebrating my birthday in beautiful 80 degree sunshine weather!  Yes, Wild Women needs multiple days to celebrate, donchano?

Today are some simple, fun and fabulous little tips and tricks that came through my email recently.  They will save you time and effort, and every wild woman needs that!  So here you go, exercise your timesaving and "Who Knew?" muscles and enjoy!

Blessings,
Coach Linda

(remember to share our blog with your friends!!!)
MY FAVORITE TIP!!!!!

And don't eat so much that the pants don't fit later on!



Okay this one is a little scary - if I eat too many Doritos will I burst into flames?

And then you can truthfully tell the dentist you've been flossing!!!

Looks pretty, too - and don't forget to eat the grapes - a serving of fruit!!!!

My second favorite tip



It also keeps the telltale crumbs off your fingers when you're trying to deny you had cookies!



But we all know that you must watch the pot if you don't want it to boil, right?





Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Wild Woman Wednesday

Today in the Pilates Reformer studio
Wild women get it done... maybe not today, or tomorrow... but they persevere and quitting is NOT an option.

In yesterday's blog post I wrote about losing weight. In my late 20's and into my early 30's I had an eating disorder.  Then I went in the other direction and gained over 50 pounds. Yep, either direction food was my drug of choice, I guess.  I chose to remain unhealthy and obese throughout my 40's. I whined about not being able to lose weight and I threw many, many pity parties for myself. 

But the bottom line was, I wasn't ready to commit to doing what it took to change. It was the decade of my "Frumpy Forties".


Seven years ago...
Then at exactly 49-1/2, I got fed up... with my unhealthy life/body. I got sick and tired of being sick and tired. I got sick and tired of hearing myself make those same, lame excuses and compromises and didn't want another decade like the one I'd just lived through so I chose to change. I chose ME. I chose the goal of doing my best to be "fabulous at 50, sensational at 60, sexy at 70 and on!!! I went to my doctor, joined a gym and chose a new lifestyle of exercise and healthy eating choices. Seven years later I'm still working that plan in every area of my life and I am an ongoing work in progress. I'm now a certified life coach, personal trainer, and Pilates/Pilates Reformer instructor.  With God's grace and help I'll continue to keep striving towards these goals and dreams He's planted in my heart and soul as long as I have breathe to say YES!!!

Believe me, I fall on my face regularly and I'm about the least perfect person you'll ever meet.  I struggle and fail and then succeed and celebrate along the journey.  I'm just trying to do my best like all of us... 

Since then my passion has been to help other women just like me discover their goals/dreams in life and help them design the path they need to reach those goals. It's not something that happens overnight... It takes hard work. It takes daily commitment, even on those days when your comfort food of choice is calling your name in the best sensual and sexy Barry White voice!! It's one step in front of the other.. along with the occasional two steps back. But you get up and keep going. Because the end you have in mind is a LOT healthier than the one you're sitting on now!

C'mon now -- let's be real here. Whatever your goal be it physical, spiritual, financial, relational, educational. What-E-V-A-H it is, wild woman, isn't it time to begin it?!?!?

If I could change, trust me, anyone can do it. I have been there, done that and baby, I burned that tee-shirt and did a celebration dance around the bonfire. You can, too. Choose you today. Choose to start fresh right NOW, to take that first step to your best you ever. Find that bold and brave wild woman that you know is inside you and choose to let her free.

You CAN do it. I believe in you. Now it's time to believe in yourself and put feet to that faith.

Blessings,
Coach Linda

Tad Late Tuesday


Whoops!  I was busy yesterday recuperating from a wonderful and blessed Easter/Resurrection Day weekend and didn’t get to the blog writing for the day.  It ran through my mind, but not through my fingers to the keyboard! So, a day late, here we go…(mea culpa!)

We are in the beginning of a new week, and a new month and a new quarter of 2013.  Yikes, it’s flying by, isn’t it?  Are you where you thought you would be three months ago when you made all those lovely and lofty new year’s resolutions?  Don’t sweat it – that’s the cool thing about beginnings – you can start over again!

Today, on the physical side of the house, I want you to get on the scale and weigh yourself.  Yes, stop being afraid of the number.  Put on your big girl panties and weigh yourself.  Okay… if you need to take them off and stand butt naked on the scale, I understand!!!!  Take every advantage you need.  Then PUT THEM BACK ON and get on with it.  No, stop leaning against the sink, that doesn't count!  Now that you know your weight, estimate where you’d like to be on June 1st.  That’s about 8 weeks away.  A reasonable and healthy weight loss is 1-2 pounds a week.  So… on June 1st, would you like to realistically be 10 pounds thinner?  It is workable.  Now go get a measuring tape.  C’mon now, stop looking like a deer in the headlights breaking out in a cold sweat.  Don’t let the numbers get the best of you.  They’re just numbers, and you need your base line in order to measure all the successes you are about to have in the next eight weeks to come!!!  Imagine how good it will feel when you see those numbers get smaller, and hear a sigh of relief escape from your lips, or a hoot and holler when you achieve that next goal.  Yeah baby!  Measure EVERYTHING – neck, bust, waist, hips, right and left thighs, calves, biceps, forearms, even your wrists.  Log it in and lock it away and pull it out again on May 1st. 

Look, I know what it’s like to want to face death before numbers like these.  I was 50 pounds overweight seven years ago, and it took me about nine months to get to hit my goals.  I’ve kept it off, too, but even that’s not always easy.  But you know what?  Nothing tastes as good as healthy feels, and I have learned that I can eat anything as long as I do it in moderation and KNOW THE NUMBERS by counting my calories and stepping on the scale.  I promise, I have walked over hot coals and the scale is much easier. 

Remember… it’s just a number.  It’s not a death sentence or an incurable disease or some horrific awful thing.  But it can be life-changing when you face it, deal with it, and then set up a plan (and WORK that plan DAILY) to change those numbers to ones that you want to shout to the world.  It is the very first step to what you want – a healthy and toned body that will take you anywhere you want to go! 

So here, take my hand, I’m with ya, sister!  Now walk with me, talk with me and let’s take that first step together towards a healthier and more wonderful than ever Y-O-U!  If you’d like me to be your personal cheerleader and coach, just contact me and I can do this with you.  Exercise your freedom from numbers fear factor!!!

Blessings,
Coach Linda
Wellness & Life Transformation Coaching
609-331-9833