Dogs Help Us Live Healthier Happier Lives
Happy Dog Month! This month we honor our loyal, tail-wagging companions and the amazing ways that they enrich our lives. Beyond being the source of endless cuddles and joy, dogs are natural catalysts for positive routines and help us improve our personal well-being. They encourage us to embrace routines, self-care, and self-love in a way that benefits both them and us.
The impact that dogs have on us goes even deeper. Many studies have shown that having a dog can lead to a longer, more fulfilled, and happier life. The presence of a dog is synonymous with companionship, an unwavering bond that combats loneliness and elevates our mental and emotional states. Scientifically, dogs have been found to lower stress levels, reduce blood pressure, and increase the release of oxytocin – the love hormone. Whether it’s a walk through the park, a game of fetch, or a cozy evening on the coaching, every interaction with our dogs contributes to positivity in our lives.
Let’s take a moment to appreciate all the reasons why having dogs is truly amazing:
- Unconditional Love: Dogs have an unparalleled ability to love us with all their hearts, no matter what. Their loyalty and affection create an unbreakable bond that warms our souls.
- Stress Relief: Spending time with dogs has been scientifically proven to reduce stress and anxiety levels. Just a few minutes of cuddling or playing fetch can turn a tough day around!
- Increased Exercise: Dogs are natural fitness buddies! They encourage us to get moving, go for walks, and explore the great outdoors together.
- Social Connection: Having a dog opens doors to meet new people and form meaningful connections. Dog parks, walking trails, and pet-friendly events become perfect opportunities to make friends.
- Emotional Support: Dogs are excellent listeners and offer a comforting presence during challenging times. They sense our emotions and provide genuine support without judgment.
- Improved Mental Health: Interacting with dogs releases oxytocin and dopamine, the “feel-good” hormones, which can boost our mood and overall mental well-being.
- Joy & Laughter: Whether it’s their hilarious attempts at catching their tails, their enthusiastic zoomies that defy all laws of physics, or their adorable confusion when encountering their own reflection, dogs remind us to embrace the lighthearted side of life.
- Security: Many dogs possess protective instincts, making us feel safer and more secure in our homes. They alert us to potential dangers and are loyal guardians.
Dogs have a profound impact on our lives that reaches deep down in our hearts. Dogs have proven to be much more than just pets, these loyal companions are sources of unconditional love, stress relief, and emotional support. Having a dog encourages us to create healthier routines and overall live healthier and happier lives.
7 Tips To Reduce Your Stress <5 minutes!
A small amount of stress in our lives can be a good thing, like having a deadline inspires you to complete a project in a timely manner. The problem is that most of us have chronic and consistent stress that never goes away. When stress becomes chronic or severe it can quickly create problems for your mental, physical, and emotional health. Long-term stress is often a contributing factor in many health conditions, including heart disease, lung disease, and even increases the risk of accidents. The good news is there are things that we can do to reduce stress to help us live happier lives!
Read these 7 tips on how to reduce your stress in less than 5 minutes:
- Long hugs (greater than 30 seconds): long hugs release oxytocin, which promotes feelings of relaxation, increases happiness, decreases stress!
- Grounding: sometimes called earthing – getting your skin to touch the ground. We are bioelectrical beings living on an electrical planet. Walking barefoot, laying on the ground, and wading in shallow water are all great ways to reduce your stress.
- Dancing & singing to music: Singing and dancing your heart out for a few minutes is a great mental reset technique! Choose a song that makes you feel happy.
- Do something tactile: this is a great way to activate your senses, which gets you out of your head and back in your body. To do this, simply focus on one thing you can smell, hear, touch, etc. Maybe it’s petting an animal or smelling a relaxing essential oil, etc.
- Quick burst of exercise: doing a few minutes of exercise is a great way to boost your mood, boost your energy, and reduce stress & anxiety! It’s as easy as 1 minute of jumping jacks or running up and down your stairs a few times.
- Body scans & progressive muscle relaxation: close your eyes for a minute and focus on your body. Starting with the muscles in your head and moving down, focus your attention on all of the muscles throughout your body. Notice how each muscle feels and then relax each muscle. If you are having a tough time relaxing a muscle, squeeze it & relax. The goal is to breathe into your muscles to reduce the tension!
- Deep breathing: it only takes 3 long deep breaths to reduce the stress in your body! You can simply take long, slow, deep breaths filling all of your lungs or you can focus on box breathing where you breath in for a count of 4, hold your breath for a count of 4, breath out for a count of 4, and hold no breath for a count of 4.
Try one of these stress management techniques out today!
Choose Happiness Today!
Happiness is amazing for your health! It improves your immune system, decreases your blood pressure and reduces stress in your body! However sometimes it’s tricky to feel happy when you’re stressed or unhappy in life. Thankfully it’s still possible to choose happiness no matter what the situation!
Here are some tips on how you can shift your mindset to choose happiness!
- Choosing happiness is NOT about ignoring negative emotions! It is very important to feel your emotions even if they’re negative! When you resist or ignore your negative feelings, they persist in your life and tend to get even louder. If you want to release negative emotions, it’s important to honor your feelings by acknowledging their presence and accepting the fact that they’re there. When you acknowledge and accept your negative feelings, you allow them to be released.
- Visualization is a great tool to shift into a feeling of happiness! Taking a moment to visualize things going well in whatever situation you’re in gives you a mental and emotional boost. The great thing about visualizing yourself as being happy is that the brain doesn’t know the difference between the visualization and reality. So not only are you normalizing the feelings of happiness in your body, you’re actually convincing it to shift into an emotional state of happiness to match the visualization!
- Gratitude is an excellent way to embrace your happiness. No matter what is going on around you, it’s possible to pause and find gratitude for things around you. If you’re in a negative situation this can be tricky but it’s still totally possible. By choosing to focus on gratitude, your choosing to see the silver lining in the situation and you’re consciously choosing to be happy in that moment!
- Positive affirmations & positive internal monolog are a great way to shift into happiness! Choosing to have an upbeat attitude and say positive things to yourself is encouraging and supporting. When you practice this you can have a great day and feel good no matter how much things seem to be falling apart around you. And similarly, positive affirmations are also programming your brain with positive things. Whatever we repeat to ourselves is programmed into the subconscious and it’s the job of the subconscious to make it true and find where it’s already present in our lives!
How is your self esteem? Here’s some self esteem boosting tips!
On a scale of 1-10, how high is your self esteem?
Having low self esteem can negatively affect many aspects of your life. It may interfere with normal day-to-day activities and even hinder your ability to create relationships. Low self esteem can affect both your personal and professional life in big ways. The good news is that there are ways that you can boost your self esteem!
Here are some things you can do to change your perception of yourself:
- Think positively and writing down 10 great things about yourself
- Reach out to loved ones and friends to ask them what they think your best qualities are
- Surround yourself with a positive and supportive people that are cheering you on
- Incorporate more physical exercise into your routine because exercise releases endorphins
- Do something with a purpose because helping others is a big boost in self esteem and gives you a greater sense of purpose in your life
- Plan and be proactive about what you need to focus on. Procrastinating or putting things off until the next day is a drain on self esteem and can make you feel overwhelmed
- Listen to your body – rest when you need to! We can often push ourselves which makes us feel drained and can cause us to focus on the negative aspect of ourselves.
- Make sure you eat right because nourishing your body is a necessity to have balanced emotions and mindset.
- Set time aside for yourself because self care is an essential aspect
If you’re having trouble looking on the bright side or want support in moving past some tough emotions, reach out to Kitty! She can help you start accepting and releasing the negative emotions and together we can start thinking creatively and help you figure out how to move past it!
Schedule a mindset coaching call with Kitty today!
How are you setting 2022 up for success?
How are you setting your new year up for success? January is the perfect time for reflecting on 2021 and planning what you want in 2022. Intentionally planning what we want to achieve in the new year makes us much more likely to reach our goals!
Here are some ideas of how you can set yourself up for success and be intentional on what you want to create this year!
- Vision boards: Vision boards are a fun way to see your goals on paper and put your big dreams out into the universe. Creating a visual representation of your intentions and goals that you can look at everyday is a great way to program your subconscious mind and shift your mindset to success.
- Writing out your goals – Journal on your goals and write down everything you want to achieve this year (and beyond!). Then choose the most important things on the list and create an action plan of how to get there. This will help you stay focused on what you want and give you the steps to get there!
- Creating intentions (themes you want to focus your year around): Set themes to focus on this year. Will you be bringing more gratitude into your year? Maybe you want to focus on being calm and centered. Take some time to think about how you want to show up and how you want to feel this year and set that intention!
- Start a new healthy habit: Create a new healthy habit for yourself. Do you have a morning routine that energizes you and mentally prepares you for the day? What about an evening routine that helps you wind down and get ready for bed. Focus on creating a new habit that will improve your life and your health.
- Create a schedule that incorporates doing more things that you love: In this new year, intentionally plan a schedule that you love, incorporate more time with your family, work in gym time, and blocks to relax. Intentionally creating a schedule that you love will make you happier day to day and you’ll always have something to look forward to!
- Make yourself a priority with consistent self care: Many of us tend to push our self care to the bottom of our to-do list. Self-care is incredibly important for our mental health and overall wellbeing! By filling ourselves up mentally, physically, and emotionally as our top priority, we are more productive, happier, and have better lives overall!
- Sign up for Kitty’s Believe, Receive, Achieve program, an all in 3 month journey to shift your mindset and transform your life! You will create a vision of your dream life and learn the secrets tips on how to bring this vision into reality. This program is designed to help you identify what is holding you back and release these blocks so that you can start living your best, most empowered life. In addition to learning tools and techniques, this program will teach you how to implement small lasting changes that will make a big difference in your life. This group launches on January 31st and is filling up fast, so reserve your spot here now!
Gratitude Guided Meditation
Gratitude is one of the most powerful things you can do to create a happy, balanced, peaceful life! This means it’s a great way to start the new year off on the right foot! Check out my amazing gratitude meditation focused on giving gratitude to your body!
How to set your year up for success!
It’s almost New Year’s Eve, so now is the perfect time to start thinking about 2022! What are some things you want to do differently this year? What are some improvements you want to make in your life this year? Here are some tips on how to set your year up for success!
- Reflect on the last year: Think about what worked and what didn’t work this past year. Was your self care lacking? Or maybe you didn’t get enough fruits and veggies in your diet. Try some of these journaling prompts to see what comes up for you and what you’d like to change in the new year: What went well for me last year? What accomplishments did I have? How did I improve my life? What do I wish I had taken more time for?
- Choose one thing at a time to focus on: Be intentional with your list of to-do’s. When making goals ask why you want to accomplish one specific thing and work towards that.
- Start a gratitude journal: Journaling is an amazing practice and habit to get into. One amazing way to practice journaling is to create a gratitude journal. Write down one thing daily that you were thankful for even if it’s as simple as not being stuck in traffic that day. In practicing gratitude you’ll start to notice you’ll look at the world a little differently.
- Try something new: Trying new things will open your eyes to new opportunities. Try out a new sport like pickleball or a new type of exercise like Zumba. You might even find a new hobby that you love!
- Write a personal mission statement or mantra: Do you have a mantra for the type of person you want to show up as? Create one for the new year and remind yourself of it daily.
- Slow down to gain momentum: Take some time everyday to think, plan, and slow down. You’ll become more aware of your dreams, and goals and you’ll gain clarity to move forward.
- Make new connections: Attend a networking event or reconnect with an old friend. Meeting with others will open new doors, and provide new perspectives.
If you want any help creating new habits, shifting your mindset, or improving your self care, check out private coaching with Kitty. She can help you create lasting changes with ease! Schedule your complimentary 30 minute discovery call!
No Interruptions Day
December 31st is No Interruptions Day! Make a conscious effort today to limit interruptions. When you learn to redirect your focus towards completing tasks you can be more mindful about your actions and the work that you are getting done.
Minimizing interruptions is a great way to be more mindful and productive during your day. Today is No Interruptions Day so what better day than today to start to change some of your habits to become less distracted. Check out our ideas below to increase your focus:
- Minimize interruptions – phone on airplane / turn off notifications
- If you’re feeling overwhelmed or frazzled take a short break – go for a walk, or stretch the movement away from your desk will feel great and reset your mind
- Make a list: Having a list of items that you’ll focus on will help you stay on track.
- Focus on one thing at a time: Multitasking used to be all the rage but studies have shown that isn’t very effective. Set a time to focus on one task at a time, make it a priority to get as much done as you can in the allotted time you’ll be surprised at what you can accomplish!
- Declutter your space: Having a cluttered space can impact your focus and make it harder to concentrate. Take a few minutes to clean up extra clutter before your work day to eliminate distractions in your environment.
- Take short breaks: Setting time blocks and working short breaks into your schedule will increase your productivity and focus.
Take today to really reflect on how you are spending your time. Are you letting too many distractions get in the way of your work? Following some of the simple tips that we outlined above will really help kick off your productivity and bring more focus and mindfulness to all aspects of your life.
Quick Self Awareness Exercise to Increase Happiness & Satisfaction
We spend too much of our lives living on autopilot, we are not consciously aware of our thoughts, emotions, and actions – they just seem to happen sometimes. We spend up to 95% of our lives in autopilot mode so the vast majority of our thoughts are not conscious. Unfortunately that means that most of our thoughts go unchecked and that’s where our limiting beliefs can negatively impact us. These thoughts are often insidious – the ones that are telling us we are not enough, the thoughts that are judging others and picking situations apart.
The best way to reduce the unchecked thoughts and limiting beliefs is by bringing conscious awareness back to our day. When we have awareness of our thoughts and emotions we can start to work on changing them to be more positive words and releasing our limiting beliefs. The best way to bring awareness back to our day is to notice what we’re noticing. Here’s an exercise that really helps with that!
“Notice what You’re Noticing”
Pause for 1 minute to ask & jot down answers:
What am I thinking about right now?
What am I feeling right now?
This is a quick exercise you can do a few times a day that dramatically increases your self awareness around your thoughts and emotions. There are a few ways to remember to do this exercise, and my favorite is to set a phone alarm to go off randomly throughout the day. When the alarm goes off, I take 1 minute to do this exercise. Another great time to do this is when you wash your hands and look in the mirror because this is a great time to check in with yourself!
Ask these questions with open hearted curiosity and without judging yourself where you are. Remember to show yourself some grace! This is a practice of self awareness and even the most self aware people will still find themselves experiencing negative thoughts and emotions. So any time you find yourself thinking or feeling something you don’t want to, instead of being upset with yourself that you’re feeling those things, take a deep breath! Thank yourself for noticing that you’re in a place where you don’t want to be and intentionally shift your focus to the thoughts and emotions that you do want to have. If you get upset with yourself, that is negative reinforcement, which only creates a situation that makes you want to stop doing the exercise. If you kindly thank yourself for noticing when you’re out of alignment, it is positive reinforcement to continue this journey of increasing your self awareness.
This simple exercise helps us increase our self awareness which helps us shift our mindset to be more positive, allows us to be more present, and increases happiness and satisfaction with life!
Self awareness journey has no destination so remember to enjoy the ride! And if you find yourself in need of more support around self awareness, thoughts, emotions, or limiting beliefs, feel free to reach out to Kitty for support (here is a link to a 30 minute complimentary discovery call)!
Gratitude is Great for Mental Fitness!
Practicing gratitude in your day to day is a great way to bring more happiness into your life. This simple act of changing your perspective can have profound effects on your mental health, physical health and can bring more positivity into your world. Make it a point to be aware of how you are reacting to situations and look at things from a new perspective. You would be surprised at all of the amazing ways practicing gratitude can impact your life. Check out our list below for how gratitude improves your life:
- Gratitude increases mental strength: Studies have shown that practicing gratitude can have profound effects on those who have experienced trauma. Gratitude can really help build resilience to better help your brain cope with stressors.
- Gratitude improves self-esteem: Those who are grateful are able to really appreciate and be happy for others accomplishments. These types of people don’t play the comparison game or feel resentment towards or jealousy.
- Gratitude enhances empathy and reduces aggression: Grateful people overall experience more positivity and are less likely to retaliate against others and have fewer tendencies to seek revenge or cause harm.
- Grateful people sleep better: Those that spend even 15 minutes a day reflecting on why they are grateful can get a better night’s rest than those who don’t practice gratitude.
- Gratitude improves psychological health: Studies have shown that gratitude reduces many toxic emotions such as jealousy and frustration. There is a link between gratitude increasing happiness and overall well being.
- Gratitude opens the door to more relationships: When you practice gratitude you’ll have a more positive outlook overall and an energetic personality that others will be drawn to. Your openness will help create new connections and other people will want to be around your energy more.
- Gratitude improves physical health: Practice gratitude overall has great health benefits. You’ll experience lower stress levels, and fewer aches and pains. Grateful people are more likely to take care of their health, exercise, and eat healthy meals.
Practicing gratitude has so many amazing benefits. When practicing gratitude you’ll be more open minded, overall healthier and will attract great things into your life!
