Start a Positivity Campaign

Positivity is something we all want. I want to be more positive in my interactions and I know a lot of people feel the same way. Positivity is something we especially want with our own selves…I want to treat myself with the respect and good vibes I’d give a close friend. It doesn’t always happen.

I’m following a positivity campaign from now on. I’m making it my priority to be positive about myself, even to the point of being embarrassingly so.

Stage one: I only have positive things to say about my looks and body. No more negative comments no matter what the motivation behind saying them. There is no good reason to put myself down. And if a negative thought creeps in, either out loud or in my mind? I have to do 25 jumping jacks. (Or 25 squats if I’m bra-less…). This physical movement won’t be a workout but it will get my body moving and hopefully break the thought.

Another part of this positivity campaign: treating my body to heathy foods, exercises and habits. I’m committed to fitness. I will exercise 5 days a week no matter what. I will count my calories and track my eating to find any major unhealthy habits. I will eat small meals throughout the day.

I feel more positive already. How can you start a positivity campaign?

Detox 101

Detoxing (and the can of worms it opens) is fascinating to me.  There are many unhealthy visions and motivations when it comes to detoxing–you could want to do so for quick weight loss, aka unhealthy body image and suffering type reasons, and therefore follow unhealthy mindsets and detox practices.  There are also many well intended and healthy ways to go about detoxing.

Healthy Reasons for Detoxing
  • To allow your body to heal
  • To rid your body of toxins
  • To meditate on life
  • To kick start healthy ways of eating
  • To nourish your body and feel better mind, body and spirit
  • To change with the changing of the seasons
Healthy Ways to Detox
Detoxing can last a day or a month.  The important thing to remember is you don’t have to follow unhealthy practices to detox.  One of the great detox methods is to eat only veggies for a few days; or to eat only vegan, unprocessed foods; or to have smoothies and simple broth soups.  You want to give yourself some nutrition and calories, especially if you’ve been eating many processed foods and/or have never done a detox before.  Here are some great articles and resources on detoxing:
Happy detoxing!
xoxo pia

Best Hikes in San Diego

20130218-175736.jpg

Hiking is great fun. You get to experience nature, breathe in fresh air, burn calories and feel rugged all at the same time. And depending on who you’re with or where you go, it can be just as easy and fulfilling as a social visit to Starbucks. Here are some great hikes in San Diego that don’t require long drives or specialized equipment:

  • Iron Mountain
  • Mount Miguel
  • Mission Trails Peaks: Cowles Mountain, North Fortuna, South Fortuna, Pyles Peak and Kwaay Paay
  • Woodson Mountain
  • Torrey Pines Reserve
  • Stonewall Mountain
  • Balboa Park Trails

    • For more San Diego County Peaks, check out 100 Peaks.

    What are some good hikes in your area?

    xoxo pia

    99 Ways to Enrich Your Life

    “Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.”
    -Lemony Snicket

    We can enrich our lives in many different ways. Obviously! The question is how do we want to enrich our lives? Yes, going to fast food joints, watching hours of tv or being around toxic people are usually easy, but are they enriching? If being well and living well are your goals, here are 99 ways to enrich your life:

    1. Love Yourself. It all starts with self-love. Hard but worth the pursuit.
    2. Exercise Your Body.
    3. Take Risks.
    4. Start Your Own Business.
    5. Watch a Documentary.
    6. Go to an Art Museum. Better than that, go to an art museum and spend 30 minutes looking at one piece.
    7. Journal Write.
    8. Spend 5 Minutes Savoring One Quarter-sized Piece of Dark Chocolate.
    9. Read. See the quote above.
    10. Listen to Classical Music.
    11. Adopt a Pet.
    12. Cut Your Own Hair.
    13. Sip a Hot Mug of Herbal Tea.
    14. Travel.
    15. Hike.
    16. Hang Around People Who Care About You and Have Habits You Want.
    17. Meditate.
    18. Write Down Your Ideal Day.
    19. Learn to Play a Musical Instrument.
    20. Skydive.
    21. Go Vegan.
    22. Meet Your Soulmate.
    23. Keep Your Identity After You Meet Your Soulmate.
    24. Learn to Salsa. Or ballroom dance or dance hip hop.
    25. Take a Class at Your Local Community College.
    26. Eat at an Ethnic Restaurant You’ve Never Tried Before.
    27. Watch the Sunset.
    28. Take a Yoga Class.
    29. Brainstorm Ideas.
    30. Volunteer Somewhere on a Regular Basis.
    31. Listen, Really Listen, to People When They Talk.
    32. Walk a Dog for an Hour.
    33. Get Rid of Negative Self-Talk.
    34. Become an Expert on Your Hometown.
    35. Stop and Smell the Flowers.
    36. Learn the Basics of Cooking.
    37. Go on a Detox.
    38. Solve a New York Times Crossword Puzzle…even if you have to Google different clues.
    39. Shop at Goodwill.
    40. Make one of Julia Child’s Famous Recipes.
    41. Take a Vow of Silence for a Day or a Week.
    42. Read an Autobiography of Someone You Respect.
    43. Laugh More.
    44. Go See a Play.
    45. Listen to Podcasts.
    46. Run or Walk a Charity Race.
    47. Treat Others How You Want to Be Treated.
    48. Stop Using Technology for One Day Every Week.
    49. Set Goals. For the month, for the year, for 10 years.
    50. Eat More Veggies.
    51. Learn to Sew.
    52. Stop Gossiping.
    53. Prepare Your Breakfast the Night Before.
    54. Help Someone in Need.
    55. Use Positive Mantras.
    56. Text a Friend What You Love About Him/Her.
    57. Write a To-Do List and Follow It.
    58. Stop Right Now and Appreciate Your Surroundings.
    59. Drink More Water.
    60. Think the Best of Other People.
    61. Constantly Improve.
    62. Try New Classes at the Gym.
    63. Write Down Ideas as They Come.
    64. Keep a Notebook with You Always.
    65. Smile.
    66. Live Simply.
    67. Be Kind.
    68. Get Rid of Negative People and Toxic Things in Your Life.
    69. Drive Below Speed Limit in the Rain.
    70. Write a Blog.
    71. Use Your Library Card.
    72. Follow Your Passions.
    73. Learn a New Language.
    74. Watch an Old Movie.
    75. Recycle.
    76. Stand Up for Your Beliefs.
    77. Go Listen to the Beautiful Sounds of a Symphony.
    78. Buy Clothes You Absolutely Love…don’t buy something because it’ll be adequate.
    79. Spend Time Focusing Inward.
    80. Read About the History of Something that Interests You. They have books on the history of many things!
    81. Don’t Get Stuck. In jobs, in relationships, in ruts.
    82. Write Down Your Dreams.
    83. Organize Your Closet.
    84. Take a Drawing Class.
    85. Let Change Happen.
    86. Tour Official Government Buildings.
    87. Clean Your Computer Desktop.
    88. Sit at a Coffee Shop with a Book.
    89. Listen to Old Crooners like Frank, Dean and Sammy.
    90. Stop Caring What People Think.
    91. Be Calm.
    92. Go See an Opera.
    93. Walk to Do Your Errands, Not Drive.
    94. Take a Road Trip with No Destination in Mind.
    95. Stay Open Minded.
    96. Stay Positive.
    97. Spread Love.
    98. Breathe.
    99. Bask in Life.

    xoxo pia

    Make Love with Valentine’s Day

    “Where there is love there is life.”
    -Gandhi

    Valentine’s Day means a lot of things to a lot of people. It means presents to the spoiled; loneliness to the singles; fun to the popular. While no one can tell you how to feel, heed this advice. Love. No matter if it’s a spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend, parent, sibling, friend or yourself, spend the day basked in love.

    Life is tough. There’s no way around it. You can be up one day and down the next. What makes life is love. Keep a feeling of love for you and those you interact. If we can all manage this loving, our lives will be wonderful and the world will be a much better place.

    xoxo pia

    20130213-180353.jpg

    25 Ways to Exercise at Work

    Who doesn’t love the amazing feeling after a hard workout at the gym?  You may feel tired but you also feel exhilarated, accomplished and healthy.  Sometimes it’s hard to get to the gym on the average workday, especially with frigid weather once we leave work.  Lucky for us, exercise is great in all forms.  Here are some fun ways to get your exercise on at work:

    • Walk to tell your coworker a message rather than emailing or messaging.
    • Clean your desk.  With dust and last minute projects, you can be the most organized employee and need to clean off your desk every week.  It burns calories!
    • Use your lunch for a long walk or run.
    • Participate in any activities your office sponsors.  Do they do a company 5K? Do it! Do they hold a contest for March Madness? Participate!
    • Do 20 jumping jacks every hour.
    • Walk in place while talking on the phone…or at least stand up and talk.
    • Get a stability ball to sit on instead of a chair.
    • Bring exercise clothes to work—exercise before you drive home.  This will help to avoid traffic as well.
    • Take your own boxes and deliveries to your office instead of making maintenance do it.
    • Do desk pushups when you need an energizer.
    • Clench your stomach at your desk.
    • Take your committee meetings outside.  Most don’t have a busy enough agenda to require the meeting to take place in the executive conference room.  Walk and talk.
    • Instead of driving for food, walk somewhere.
    • Walk in your office’s neighborhood on your breaks.
    • Park farther away.
    • Walk up the stairs to get to different floors.  Who wants to use elevators anyway?
    • Sit outside on your lunch.  It’s really cold out there…your body will burn more calories than sitting in the break room!
    • Get a treadmill desk…you know you want one!
    • Eat foods that burn more than they supply calorie wise, like grapefruit.
    • Personally meet your appointments rather than having the front desk send them to you.
    • Seated dancing.  It’s fun to dance around in your seat—it’ll burn calories and you’ll look like a natural born dancer (John Travolta anyone?).
    • Do calf raises while waiting for the copier.  Stand on your tippy toes, hold, go back to flat feet.  Repeat!
    • Use a stress ball—helps build strength in your hands.
    • Stretch.  Stand up and stretch every 30 minutes.
    • Organize a free staff yoga.  It would cost minimally to have a yoga instructor come to your office once a week for a free staff yoga.  Other companies already do it; organize one for your office!

    xoxo pia

    Healthy Super Bowl Snacks

    Super Bowl is coming this weekend—are you planning on staying healthy?  Just because everybody else eats junky doesn’t mean you have to ruin your health.  There are many ways to feel happy and satisfied without filling up on lard and other unsavory ingredients.  If you’re hosting the big party, try incorporating some of the following healthy snack ideas into the menu.  If you’re simply attending a grand bash, bring a dish so you have at least one better for you option.  Even if you don’t know which teams are playing or how anyone can get into sports, give yourself some healthy munchies to enjoy the festivities!

    xoxo pia

    Change

    “Maybe the past is like an anchor holding us back.  Maybe, you have to let go of who you were to become who you will be.”
    -Carrie, Sex and the City

    Jobs take a major toll out of me.  Maybe it’s my personality (my empathy, my desire to achieve and to be the best I can be, my no nonsense approach to things); maybe it’s because I was raised by entrepreneurs.  All I know is I get weighed down being in a job that doesn’t teach me anything and is full of drama.  I can’t live like that– to me, life is too short.

    I’ve lasted more than a year and a half at my current job.  That’s pretty long for me.  I needed a change…I quit.

    I made sure to get all my ducks in a row first:

    • A little savings.
    • Started selling janitorial for my family’s company.  I so want to keep improving myself for the business world.  With this, I am learning sales, setting myself up for comfortable income while pursing my endeavors and helping my family.
    • Signed myself up for 3 real estate classes at my local community college so I’m on the path to get my real estate agent license.
    • Started a company with my wonderful boyfriend with the intent of helping the Museum where we used to work and all the other cultural institutions in San Diego.  We love the cultural scene in San Diego and want to see it thrive!

    Change is exciting.  Change is new.  Change is good, especially when you need it.  Sometimes you have to let go of who you are to become who you will be.  What can you do to bring positive change to your life?

    xoxo pia

    Make it a Practice to Breathe

    Do you ever stop to breathe? In moments of high stress, breathing is one of the best things we can do.

    I get very anxious during stressful moments that are out of my control or even in my control. For instance, I was driving today in heavy rain and there was a lot of traffic on the side streets. (I avoid freeways because I’m not a very experienced driver. In fact, if I could walk, bike or take public transportation in San Diego, I totally would and forgo using a car!). I didn’t know where my final destination was and therefore ended up in the far right lane when I had to turn left on every single turn. I ended up going way beyond where I needed to go and couldn’t take it. I started my deep breathing and chanting. I am fine. I am in control. The world isn’t going to end. Breathe and release. Relax. I am okay– things are okay.

    I actually relaxed! I was so proud.

    Make it a practice to practice breathing. Take deep breathes and calm yourself when you’re stressed about long lines at Starbucks or a frustrating customer at work. It makes a world of difference to your health and your life.

    xoxo pia