Happy Thursday! Yesterday we taught a session on Emotional Intelligence, and a big part of that is having Self Awareness. We used this graphic to help people dive into the root of their reactions and emotions. We usually only identify the core emotions in the middle of the circle, anger for instance. But anger can come in the form of frustration which can come from resentment. Or we might notice we are sad, but really it's coming from hurt that stems from feeling isolated. When we know the more specific emotion we are experiencing, it can help us respond more effectively.
So often we tell ourselves we're struggling because we lack willpower, motivation, or discipline. But if we pause and look deeper, the real issue may be stress, loneliness, overwhelm, disappointment, insecurity, boredom, or feeling out of control.
Many of us don't eat because we're physically hungry. We eat because we're tired. We snack because we're stressed. We give up because we're discouraged. We reach for comfort because we're hurt.
The more specific we can get about what we're actually feeling, the better equipped we are to address the real problem instead of trying to "fix" it with food.
The next time you find yourself standing in front of the pantry, reaching for a snack, or wanting to quit on your goals, take a moment and ask yourself:
"What am I really feeling right now?"
You might discover that what you need isn't food at all. You might need rest, connection, encouragement, a walk, a conversation, or simply some grace for yourself.
Self-awareness is a powerful tool because you can't change patterns you don't recognize. The better you understand your emotions, the better you can support your health goals and create lasting change.
Looking at this wheel, what emotion have you been feeling most often lately?
Yesterday we surprised the kids and brought home a puppy!! They have been begging for one for years and we felt like the time was right to bring one home.
Meet Angus 🐕 He's a Golden Retriever/King Charles Cavalier Spaniel mix. He's 11 weeks old and currently weighs about 8 pounds, he should be around 35 pounds fully grown. I know it will be an adjustment for a while as he gets potty trained etc but we are so excited. 😂 Wish us luck! 🤪
Cheese is good! I ate a block of chipotle oven baked cheese with lunch yesterday and it was divine. I love it, but know that it halts any progress I'm making, and will even trigger eating in excess to where I'll gain weight. It's sad but I have accepted it. If I eat it in small quantities with a meal, it's ok, but I really have to work to keep it in check.
What's your favorite cheese? How do you incorporate it? Do you see negative results when eating it?
Happy Sunday! Sharing a video today from our week, one of the highlights. This was Wednesday evening church, normally they have a more casual prayer meeting where someone plays the guitar, but they were doing some construction in the fellowship hall so they had their prayer meeting in the sanctuary. No one was there to play the piano so my my Grandma did it, she's been playing the piano in church for probably 80 years.
For context, she's 88, she had a really bad fall 5 years ago now and hit her head and ended up with a lot setbacks, similar to having a stroke. She has a lot of dementia like symptoms also (I am sure related to her Type 2 diabetes), she really can't read music anymore, and she has trouble seeing well, and she needs to wear hearing aids to hear but hates wearing them, so on this night she didn't want to wear them. My 93 (almost 94) year old grandpa takes care of both of them on their farm. Anyway, on this night she sat down on the piano and led worship as people called ...
In case you are not on Instagram or you missed it, here is the kids first and last day of school pictures. And of course including their amazing teacher @ChrisSpath
Last year Nathaniel had the biggest growth spurt but this year it definitely was Penelope with the biggest change. She's looking very grown up 😭
Accountability for June 3rd:
For lunch I had some scrambled eggs, just to get something in my stomach before I played pickleball. The last 2 days I have not exercise and today I really had to push myself to go play because that little voice in my head was telling me not to. I did play pickleball and had fun. When I got home, my husband and I went for a walk.
Then for supper I fired up the grill and cooked ribeye a long with some cheese bread.
Today was rough day. I felt so snackish. So I made a big ol ribeye with 4 eggs. I also made one of Courtney Luna's dutch babies...My daughter and I enjoyed that off and one today we just kinda nibbled on it. Honestly, we are so busy the next 3 days that I think I just needed a day to putzz around. I plan on fasting till Saturday evening. Tomorrow my Mom gets the keys to her new house...wohoo.
