The Beginners Guide to Feeling Good

How many times have you learned something life-changing and then say to yourself “if I had only known this sooner“? Follow that up with, “if I did, I would have been skinner, happier, richer”. You get the gist. We’ve all been there. Here’s the thing, we don’t know what we don’t know. I’ve learned lessons about feeling good the hard way, so you won’t have to. That’s why I’m here share the beginner’s guide to feeling good with you.

My eyes have been opened a little more every day and a series of small experiences have led to me being the happiest and healthiest that I’ve ever been in my life. I’m an average person, not a doctor. I share my experiences around feeling good to help others stop believing the lies you’ve been told your whole life about health and happiness.

Felling Good-The Lie

First, before I tell you how I came to live this happy and healthy life we should start with the Big Lie that we’ve been told repeatedly. The lie is that being Healthy, Happy, and Feeling Good is hard to do. We’ve been told that we need diets, books, apps, and products to achieve this. Feeling good is your birthright and it doesn’t have to be hard, I promise. I’ve started to lean away from this lie and started lean into wellness. My plan consists of a series of small things that make a significant impact.

What is Wellness?

Let’s start with the Definition of Wellness. Today I define wellness as taking care of myself mentally, physically, and spiritually. Did you know that the opposite of Wellness is Illness? At all times we are attracting wellness or illness. Which one sounds more appealing to you?

Feeling Good- Whats Holding You Back

Back to me being regular, until a few years ago my body, mind, and spirit were wounded. I felt bad, stressed, and tired most of the time. It may have been my unhealthy lifestyle that was holding me back. It consisted of the following:

• Diet Coke: Because seriously Diet is in the name. That’s Wellness, right?
• Diets: Again, if I want to be thin, I need to be on a diet, right?
• Ibuprofen: My body always hurt so the obvious choice was to medicate.
• Exercise Plan: Non-existent because I had been hurt at the gym, in a car accident, and by my heels.
• Stress: I had enough for both you, me, and everyone else reading this blog. I was simply too busy to have a wellness plan.

The perfect storm of excuses wrapped up with failed attempts to feel better had me paralyzed.

7 Truths About Feeling Good

My journey to where I stand proudly today is long and filled with important stories, I want you to hear. Stories that I think would prove that you can have a life of health, peace, happiness too. But today I’m going to keep it simple, and what’s easier to follow than a bulleted list.

• Pain Medicine: 5 years ago, I wanted to have a baby. It took us longer than expected to conceive. I believe that Ibuprofen caused the delay in getting pregnant. I say this because when I stopped taking it, soon after I was pregnant. That’s when I started questioning what I was putting in and on my body.
• Diet Coke: I read an article that linked Diet Coke to Alzheimer’s, dementia, and MS. At the time I knew several people that had parents struggling with these very same diseases. I quit diet soda cold. As soon as I cut all the artificial sweeteners out of my life and my coffee, I noticed that my body rapidly started to feel better. I was started losing weight, I was less tired, and started thinking clearer.
• Energy Drinks: During a routine check-up with my doctor and we were having a casual conversation about a young doctor that died in Wheeling of a heart attack. She gave me a frightening stat that there had been an uptick in young deaths due to energy drinks. At the time my husband was downing pots of coffee and energy drinks like it was his job. This time it was Eric that stopped cold turkey.
• Essential Oils: Almost 3 years ago I heard about Essential Oils from a friend who was selling Doterra. Honestly, I was hesitant, but I wanted to support a friend, and I knew how much better my body felt when I reduced the chemicals, I was putting into it. At first, I didn’t love the smell but what I did love was the amazing health benefits.

I was truly sold 2 years ago when I started applying oils on myself and my children every day before work and school. To my surprise, my kids weren’t sick at all that year. Not even one runny nose. What?! Chalk this one up as a win for mama! I was in. Now I use oils for tummy aches, itchy skin, sore muscles and so much more!

5. Mindfulness: A year ago I was having a routine appointment with my doctor when I explained to him that I was feeling stressed due to all the running I was doing. He looked me square in the face and said bluntly “fix this”, “fix this now”. If you don’t, this is going to end badly for you.

Seriously, could he be talking to me? I’m basically a superwoman. I can do it all. He encouraged me to practice mindfulness. I had no idea what that was. He directed me to stay in the present and then he was on his way to the next patient.

Left alone with my thoughts, I took to Google. I tried searching for Mindfulness Ohio Valley, Mindfulness Wheeling, WV, Mindfulness Near me. Nothing. I expanded my search for Mindfulness, and it opened me up to a whole new world of wellness that I didn’t even know existed.

Yoga, Meditation, Journaling, and Affirmations. The information gave me hope that I could live a life full of health, happiness and feeling good. Now I make time every day for my Morning Routine that is devoted to self-care and minimizing stress.

6. Chemicals and Toxins: Sitting here today I’m at a heightened level of awareness. I recently found out that the average person is exposed to over 10,000 chemicals and toxins every day before we even leave our house. I’m making the commitment to reduce the chemicals that I bring into my household and expose my family to. I believe by doing this will help us to live longer, healthier lives. My gut tells me there is a link between feeling bad, our moods, and what we put into our bodies.

You don’t know what you don’t know. If you have been thinking about switching your home to more natural products I highly recommend Melaleuca. The Household and Wellness products are Cleaner, Greener, and Less Expensive, delivered to your door every month.

What Comes Next?

Looking back on my Personal Wellness Journey has taught me that everything happens for a reason and the information will find you when you are ready to hear it. It was my time to unknow the big lie and be ready and willing to accept the 7 Truths About Feeling Good.

You only get one life to live, don’t waste another second feeling bad. Start Small, Feel Good and Stay Strong! You got this!