What do you do when you are in a funk, super overstressed, and are stuck in this bad space? 

Affirmations are a self-help strategy used to prompt self-confidence and belief in your own abilities.  They're positive statements that can help you to challenge and overcome self-sabotaging  and negative thoughts. When you repeat them often, and believe in them, you can start to make positive changes.

Affirmation can help you shift your mindset.  Help you believe yourself even when you are fearful or have failed.   

Neuroplasticity, or your brain’s ability to change and adapt to different circumstances throughout your life, offers a clue to help understand not only what makes affirmations work, but how to make them more effective.

Your brain sometimes gets a little mixed up on the difference between reality and imagination, which can be surprisingly useful.

Creating a mental image of yourself doing something activates many of the same brain areas that actually experiencing these situations would.

Regular repetition of affirming statements about yourself can encourage your brain to take these positive affirmations as fact. When you truly believe you can do something, your actions often follow.

Using affirmation before any event, may help you feel more relaxed and help you avoid those negative thoughts or doubts that enter your mind.  

There are many ways to put affirmations into your daily habits.  Repeating an affirmation can help boost your motivation and confidence, but you still have to take some action yourself. Try thinking of affirmations as a step toward change, not the change itself.

Affirmation practices you can use: 

• Affirmations with Visualization . 
•  Affirmations help setting personal goals . 
• Journaling Gratitude with affirmation
•  Find a quiet spot and journal "I am….".   
•  Morning or evening routines
• Add in activity with your affirmations  

Trouble...

Stress and anxiety can feel like  carrying around a very heavy backpack.  It feels like you can’t turn off your mind whether it’s worry, anger, or the thoughts of everything that has to be done or all the demands on you.  Your chest gets tightens when you hear a text alert or a phone ring.  

As working women  caregiving you are stretched and stressed at the highest levels and your body and mind are going to show signs and symptoms of stress and anxiety.  If you stay at that higher level, something is going to break and affect your overall well-being.  

Find a morning routine and mindset can help reduce and release stress.

Start your day with intention and a fresh mindset.  Choose to fill your mind with happiness, gratitude and joy each morning.   

Each day is different.  If I know my spouse has an appointment, I might say,  Today, I’m going to be optimistic and grateful for his oncology team.  If I know I know I have competing priorities today and my stress will be high, I might say,  Today, I’m going to choose to take things one at a time.  

Find a podcast, audio book or music that lifts you up in the morning.   Avoid listening to news, checking your emails or social media before.   You don’t want anything to get in the way of your morning.  

Check out these resource:

• https://www.cathylvan.com/blog/10
• https://www.cathylvan.com/morningtips
• https://www.cathylvan.com/greensmoothie

When you stick with it, you will realize the rewards:

• You find yourself and start believing in yourself. Set the intention to be a better person and feel your mind, soul and body.
• You build confidence and pride in YOU by being consistent. 
• You feel a sense of accomplishment for doing something for you.  

Stop waiting for it to be the perfect time or the right place - it’s never going to be the best time to start something.    You...

In the hustle of caregiving, self-care often falls by the wayside, especially in the early hours when the demands of the day seem to pile up before the sun even rises. But what if the secret to managing stress and fostering well-being lies in the way we greet the morning? This is the empowering premise behind a recent episode of the Caregiver Cup podcast, where listeners are invited to delve into the transformative potential of morning routines.

The episode opens with a candid personal narrative, as the host shares a pivotal moment from six years ago that catalyzed a significant shift in perspective. This vulnerability leads to a broader discussion about the benefits of morning rituals for caregivers. It's not merely a list of tasks; it's about embracing a practice that has the power to ripple positive change across various aspects of life.

One key concept introduced is "habit stacking," which encourages caregivers to build momentum with small, consistent wins each morning. These wins, though seemingly insignificant on their own, compound to create a significant impact on one's daily routine. By introducing elements like stretching, meditation, and journaling, the host demonstrates how such practices have personally led to improved mental clarity and overall well-being.

As the episode progresses, practical steps to create a personalized morning routine are laid out. Gratitude journaling and embracing life's challenges—or, as the host refers to it, 'Embracing the Suck'—are suggested as tools to cultivate resilience. Furthermore, the episode addresses the common pitfalls that caregivers might encounter, such as overcommitting or selecting activities that inadvertently increase stress.

The podcast emphasizes assessing one's day in "zones," advocating for the integration of self-care into the first zone of the day to set a positive tone. The host's own rituals, shared across different seasons of caregiving, illustrate the adaptability and necessity...

How many of you laid in bed and wished that the world would just go away?   When I was growing up I remember that song…. Make the world go away,  (play)   I know I am aging myself.  

Yes it’s normal to feel like that on occasion.  But reality is, we have to get up and live our life.     

What does your day look like?

• A day of doctor appointments
• A day of chemotherapy or physical therapy
• Is your spouse having surgery today
• Is it staying home and taking care of your spouse
• Are you working?
• Are you trying to figure out how to get that appliance repaired
• Do you have to clean the house or do the laundry
• Grocery shopping
• Launching a new product in your business?

What is your mind saying this morning to you?   

• I am stressed
• I am anxious
• I am struggling 
• I am sad
• I am angry
• I am frustrated
• It’s ground hog’s day
• I am excited
• I am feeling joy

Our minds are incredibly powerful.    You can influence your mood each day.  

Your mind will welcome the easy way out like negativity (the downward) thoughts saying just go back to bed or stay in that sad mood.   It will tell you it’s ok and convince you of it..  

You'll have to work hard to get your mind to accept it’s positivity (upward) thoughts.  Sometimes it’s really really hard.   If I’m in a super duper downward spiral, I’ll tell my ind to take a hike.   “Hit the road jack and don’t you come back…..”  

Think of your mind as a muscle.  You will have to build that muscle to think upward especially in hard and challenging times.   If you want a 6 pack abs, you have to work at it.  

I am not saying you have to be happy or fake happy.  But you can find push through and find joy in your day.   You have a choice to wake up and make the best of the...

1. Venture outside. There’s nothing better than sun and fresh air to give you a boost. Maybe it’s a walk outside. I have 2 dogs that wait to be fed and then I have to let them out. I feed the birds.
2. Journaling. I do this in two different ways. Every morning I journal my gratitude. Those 5 things I am grateful for. Some days are easy and there are days where it’s harder. Don’t pressure yourself to find perfect gratitude. It may be a robin flying by or the color of the sky. Forming this habit will shift your mindset. The other way is journaling during emotional times. You can privately express your thoughts and emotions. I feel that i can release them a bit when i write them out.
3. Self Affirmations. It can be a part of your journaling ritual. They are a mental practice. I thought at first it was stupid and silly. You talk to yourself or write to yourself. But when I started...