About Blog

Information and inspiration on psychology, coaching, motivation and living a purposeful life.

Check out Lisa's website: http://www.lisawalsh.org/ for free resources & information on the services which she provide as a coach & speaker.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

0 to 30 Minutes Running in Ten Weeks or Less

ELEVEN REASONS to get RUNNING

A number of my clients have followed the programme below and had great success, so much so that one has lost 15 kilos and is entering his first 10k Race in September. I actively encourage my clients to exercise, particularly if they are suffering with depression. Some of you may know that I started running a few years back and used the programme below to get started. I ended up competing in the New York city Marathon five months later, lost 10 kilos and as they say if I can do it, so can you! Believe me the first few weeks my sweaty red face was not a pretty sight, but once you get use to it you build up pretty quickly. The benefits of exercise are many and an activitiy like walking/running enables you to:

  1. Get outdoors and get Vitamin D through exposure to sunlight,
  2. It does not cost anything,
  3. You only need a pair of trainers and some sportswear
  4. Social aspect of seeing other people and life around you
  5. This programme only takes 30 minutes 3 times a week
  6.  If you have some weight to lose you will
  7. You naturally will gravitate to making more healthy food choices following this programme
  8. Mentally you will have more clarity and physically you will start to notice a difference
  9. Regular exercise can be as effective as antidepressants for mild to moderate depression
  10. Increases your self esteem as you prove that you can follow through on something
  11. and finally believe it or not it is ...enjoyable! 

The following running plan uses a one and two day break period. For example run Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Rest on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday when a gentle walk can often be beneficial although remember these are rest days. If any week is particularly tiring, just repeat it the following week

instead of pushing to step up to the next stage.

 

 
Week 1: Run 2 minutes, walk 4 minutes. Repeat 5 times

 
Week 2: Run 3 minutes, walk 3 minutes. Repeat 5 times

 
Week 3: Run 5 minutes, walk 2.5 minutes. Repeat 4 times

 
Week 4: Run 7 minutes, walk 3 minutes. Repeat 3 times

 
Week 5: Run 8 minutes, walk 2 minutes. Repeat 3 times

 
Week 6: Run 9 minutes, walk 2 minutes. Repeat 2 times then run 8 minutes 1 time

 
Week 7: Run 9 minutes, walk 1 minutes. Repeat 3 times

 
Week 8: Run 13 minutes, walk 2 minutes. Repeat 2 times

 
Week 9: Run 14 minutes, walk 1 minutes. Repeat 2 times

 
Week 10: Run 30 minutes. Repeat once and celebrate!

 

 

 
Read more:

 
http://www.beginrunning.com/plans/easy-running-plan-to-start-on/#ixzz1OZ3YTcvJ

 

 

 GET RUNNING and I would love to hear about your progress.

Friday, July 1, 2011

LISA WALSH SAYS PAUSE

Look
In
Side
Always

Weaknesses
And
Limitations
Stagnate
Happiness
Stop
And
You
See

Potential
Around
Us
So No
Excuses!

 

Take time to look at what is working and what isn't, then figure out how to make small and manageable changes in your life to live the life you truly want.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Listen To..

Listen to the Mustn'ts,child,

Listen to the Don'ts

Listen to the Shouldn'ts

The Impossibles, the Won'ts

Listen to the Never Haves,

Then listen close to me --

Anything can happen, child,

Anything can be."



By Shel Silverstein

Who do you listen to?

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Less Excuses = Less Stress

You can lead a life with less stress, more abundance and contentment. It starts with your commitment to see the things that are not working currently and then tweaking small changes to stress less. As experts in stress management we know with certainty that the stress you experience is down to the way you view situations. Some of us can handle difficult events and others can't, but that does not mean that you can not begin to change your reactions to the stress you experience.


You can lead a life with less stress, more abundance and contentment. It starts with your commitment to see the things that are not working currently and then tweaking small changes to stress less. As experts in stress management we know with certainty that the stress you experience is down to the way you view situations. Some of us can handle difficult events and others can't, but that does not mean that you can not begin to change your reactions to the stress you experience.


The affirmation below is by Dr Wayne Dyer and sums up concisely the excuse we often make and how you can replace it.





Start tweaking today and accomplish great things.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Think Highly of Yourself

Stop Procrastinating, Start Achieving



According to a recent poll 20% of the population are chronic procrastinators, does the following sound familiar?

“Making a decision for no valid reason to delay or not complete a task or goal you’ve committed too, and instead doing something of lesser importance, despite there being negative consequences to not following through on the original task or goal”.

If so you are probably a procrastinator, but don't lose heart here we will explore the reasons behind procrastination and most importantly ways to stop procrastination in its tracks.



Negative Self Talk

You may procrastinate due to your negative self talk. In my experience working with clients’ negative self talk is the number one thing that holds them back. Do you berate yourselves about things that you should or should not have done? Often we paralyse ourselves before we get off the starting blocks. If you are consumed with self doubt and criticism begin to become aware of the tapes you play over and over in your mind

Overcomplicating

Over 700 years ago, William from a village called Ockham surmised that “Entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity.” This has become known as “Ockham’s Razor”. This simple idea has become a universal tool for proving things in science, philosophy and psychology. The idea is that the process with the least amount of steps tends to be the one that will have the best outcome or as Elbert Einstein put it: “Everything should be made as simple as possible – but no simpler”. Overcomplicating is just another form of procrastination. We often do this when we are trying to avoid taking action, be it forever planning a project, researching our competition, developing a new service or product. This is often due to fear or lack of belief in our abilities which can lead us to procrastinate far longer than is necessary. In order to be successful you have to bite the bullet and deal with things in a methodical manner, but keep propelling yourself forward.

Complicating facets of our lives also helps shift responsibility away from us, as we try to blame other factors for out lack of action. If this rings true for you, try to become aware of when you are making things more difficult than they ought to be and gently question why you may be doing this. You may be surprised by the answers. Sometimes it can be because we don’t want to actually do the thing in the first place. If this is the case, look at alternatives or if it must be done, try to do it thoroughly and quickly, without overanalysing. As the saying goes “analysis is paralysis”. Don’t stay stuck, take some tentative steps towards your goal and you will reap the rewards. Not only will you feel a sense of accomplishment, but you will also have proof that you can get through things e

Intention

As Albert Schweitzer said “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” If not you are more likely to procrastinate.



5 Powerful Ways to Stop Procrastination in its tracks:

1. Identify when you are substituting a lesser task in order to avoid the more important task you have committed too. This is a classic way that many of us procrastinate. If you struggle with this, I suggest you read Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy, who states that you start your day by doing the tasks you like least first, so you can then enjoy the rest of your day more.

2. Become aware of the reason behind your procrastination, is it because of fear? boredom? lack of energy? lack of interest? Sometimes it can be because we are simply in the wrong type of job. You need to enjoy your work and if you don't you need to start thinking about how you can or find a job that suits your skills better.

3. If you find yourself reading e-mails several times without starting work on them or deciding what you’re going to do with them, make a commitment to read them once and either respond to them or delete them. I have a client I coach that deletes his entire inbox monthly. He says that if it is that important they will email again or call and it frees him up for more pressing tasks. You may not want to do something that drastic, but do become aware of your inbox and allocate a set amount of time daily.

4. Spending too much time on social network sites at work or at home? Allow yourself a set amount of time daily or twice a day for fifteen minutes and then log off! Easier said than done, but I promise you that you will save so much time.

5. Set some goals. We can easily let time runaway from us and as the hours turn into days, weeks into months and then years we need to question what we want out of life and if indeed we are getting what we want. If you are not satisfied with your life, you are the only one that can change it. Make some clear goals that excite you. Then set a time when you want to achieve them by and work consistently towards those goals.



All successful people work towards goals, so have you written yours yet?

Monday, April 25, 2011

What side of your personality do you show?

This is a great article from Deepak Chopra about the shadow side of our personality http://www.chopra.com/agnilight/jul10

The Shadow

The essential nature of the universe is the coexistence of opposites. We cannot be a hero if we don’t also contain a coward inside of us. We cannot be generous if we don’t also possess an inner miser. We cannot be virtuous if we don’t have the capacity for evil. Yet most of us have been conditioned to deny our shadow – those hidden places where we repress our guilt, confusion, and pain.

When we wall off the painful parts of our past, the shame doesn’t just go away, it festers and darkens into our shadow self. It seeks recognition and reintegration by erupting as self-sabotaging thoughts and behavior and even exaggerated dark dreams. We also may end up projecting these denied qualities onto other people in our lives. Have you ever known people who continually attract the “wrong people” into their lives? In reality, they are not attracting that darkness, but they are not willing to acknowledge it in their own lives. This is unfortunate because the shadow also comes with a gift: an opportunity to expand our personal awareness and experience our wholeness.

If we want to find our true self, we must dive into the shadow, recover the parts of ourselves that we have split off, and embrace the paradox of the coexistence of opposites. With loving attention, we can heal our past and harness the power of our fully illumined self. How do we do this? I have found the following steps useful:

Step 1: Stop Projecting.

Projection is an unconscious defense in which we ignore our own weaknesses and project them onto others. For example, we may feel incensed about a celebrity’s indulgent behavior because our shadow contains a hidden desire to engage in excess. Projection can take many forms, including jealousy, paranoia, arrogance, superiority, prejudice, and idealizing others. The instant you catch yourself projecting a hidden feeling, you need to contact that feeling and allow yourself to feel it. This isn’t always easy, so be patient with yourself.

Step 2: Detach and Let Go.

You have already begun this process by acknowledging your feelings. Now you need to release the negativity. The most direct way is to set the intention to be detached, centered, patient, and self-aware.

Step 3: Give up Self-Judgment.

While emotions are commonly categorized as “positive” or “negative,” in reality every emotion is valid in some way or another. But when you add self-judgment, any emotion can be damaging. Instead, begin to cultivate sympathy for whatever emotion arises in your experience. Instead of heaping judgment on yourself for what you are feeling, see if you can offer yourself compassion. Doing so will take the judgment out of your emotions and give yourself permission to be who you are.

Step 4: Rebuild Your Emotional Body.

Like our physical body, our emotional body can become diseased, tired, and flabby when it’s exposed to toxins and unhealthy influences. To keep your emotional body energetic, flexible, and a source of pleasure, it needs proper nourishment. Spend some time tuning into to your emotional body and ask it what it needs. If you have been holding on to emotional pain for some time, you may want to consider attending the Free to Love workshop at the Chopra Center, where you will be guided in a deep process for letting go of accumulated guilt, pain, anger, and repressed feelings that continue to create distress in your life. Learn more about Free to Love here.

As you practice these steps, be aware that even most confident, well-adjusted people will reflexively diminish the significance of their shadow side. This is instinctive self-preservation, because it’s hard to accept that we can have this dark matter in us when we have worked our whole life to build a personality around the ideals of love, compassion, and generosity. Nevertheless, when you can look at this material and accept it as part of you, yet knowing that it is not your true essence, then you begin a deep healing of self-forgiveness and re-integration.

Those painful areas that have been holding anger, resentment, and self-judgment no longer have to be shut away in the basement and can now be healed and brought into harmony with your soul. You will also notice that as the contents of the shadow become fully transparent to the light, you will free up all that energy in you that was locked up in your civil war, and it will now be available for more creative expressions and for a fuller appreciation of life around you.

Love,


Deepak

© Copyright 2010 The Chopra Center at La Costa Resort and Spa