Achievements in action!

Dear All,

The other day I posted about Rita Emmett and her different outlook on New Year's resolutions by looking at achievements instead of all the things that you didn’t do or should have done…..boohoo.

Here are some of mine. What are yours?

Achievements of 2011:

- Got my motor boat license at last after 15 years! It's never too late!

- Took indoors rock climbing courses

- Attended my oriental dance class regularly (versus once in a

  blue moon!) and actually made some progress! DUH! ; )

- Found a new power plate coach and kept up with it twice a

  week for 8 months in a row!

- Declutterred hand bags, shoes, clothes, towels and bed sheets

- Paid off an old dentist debt

- Learned to let go

- Attended a one-week personal growth course in Boston

- Attended the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics’s Annual

  Meeting in San Diego

- Started my blog

- Read the Secret by Rhonda Byrne

- Spent some quality time with my friends in Boston and my family in L.A.

- Started a Gratitude Journal - love it!

Goals & Objectives for 2012:

- Start my own book club (first meeting already next week!)

- Get my blog to grow and have a positive impact on people's lives even if tiny!

- Get my motorbike license

- Keep up with my power plate classes and add yoga at least

  once a week (doing good so far!) plus reintegrate pilates into

  my fitness routine

- Attend the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics’s Annual Meeting

  in Philadelphia in the Fall

- Have more faith in life and worry less! ; )

- Surround myself with happy, positive and enthusiastic people

- Stretch out of my comfort zone starting off with a trek in

  Patagonia and by taking a right at every intersection possible

  (see picture)

What are your goals and objectives for 2012? Whatever you decide to do, I wish you to take a right at the intersection in your life whenever possible. And if too scary at first, try at least one. Rome wasn’t built in a day. You can start over your life every day, one day at a time, one small step at a time.

Carpe Diem! (=seize the day!)

Kim

Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter (@Kimschi) for more bits and pieces. ; )

No New Year's resolutions! Only achievements!

Dear All,

I hope you enjoyed wonderful Holidays and started off the New Year on the right foot. A big part of the holidays is reminiscing about what we did in the past year, what we want to do better, improve or do differently and making New Year’s resolutions. Personally, I don’t like resolutions because they have a negative connotation often focusing on deprivation rather than achievements. I think it is much nicer to think of all the good things we did and just look forward to doing more. I like what Alicia Keys wrote on her facebook wall: “To me, the Best part of the New Year is making the choice to keep the good things and let go of the rest!” Now that’s what I’m talking about. And to help you in that direction I am posting below a tip sheet from Rita Emmett, a woman whose book The Procrastinator's Handbook (see my Recommended Readings) truly changed my life. I hope you will enjoy it:

Happy New Year
At this time of year, we tend to think of new year's resolutions, new starts, and sometimes regrets. The regrets are often about those things we never got around to doing.

Sometimes we set impossibly high goals and sometimes year after year we make the same resolutions that we know we won't keep, then we start to think of ourselves as failures, losers or worthless worms. That frame of mind doesn't lead to ANTICRASTINATION; it more likely causes us to NOT try new things or to simply give up trying anything.

Let's kick off 2012 on a more positive, productive note. Instead of setting goals, look at the past year and focus on all the good things you did that you can be proud of. Write them down. None of this has to be huge. Just think of the things that make your life good, the way you want to be living it. For example:

• Took part in a new project at work
• Had fun building a snowman for the first time in ages
• Read The Procrastinator's Handbook
• Donated blood
• Had some good times with friends and family
• Volunteered for a community fund-raiser
• Went dancing
• Began a recycling habit
• Paid off a debt or invested some money
• Learned something new on the computer
• Re-connected with an old friend
• Spent time on a hobby
• Went to church
• Exercised
• Took a wonderful drive with the family to enjoy the fall colors
• Learned to relax
• Counted your blessings
• Read The Clutter-Busting Handbook, cleaned out a closet & donated lots of clothes to a worthy cause

These are just a few random examples with hopes this list might trigger some ideas for you. Take your time, write down everything you can think of that you are happy to have done, leave the paper out for several days, post it on a wall or a mirror and enjoy adding to it. As you list your positive achievements of 2011, let yourself wallow in feeling good about yourself, your life, and your accomplishments.

Doesn't that sound like more fun than making up a ton of resolutions? Don't forget that old saying: "Success breeds success". As you wallow in feeling good about your achievements, you just might find the energy and desire to move forward on something you've been putting off for a while (or a lifetime).

If that should happen, here's a question you can also write out and stick up on a wall or mirror (It's one of my favorite questions to ask at the beginning of a new year).

What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

May 2012 be the very best year of your life.
Happy New Year.
Rita

Rita Emmett
www.ritaemmett.com
REmmett412@aol.com

Up next I will tell you how I went about this and hope you will share with me too!

Have a great week-end!

Kim

Follow me on Twitter (@MyKimsChi), Pinterest and Facebook (Kim's Chi)

Last day of the year - a perfect day to be grateful!

Dear All,

well as I told you in my last post, this time I want to talk about Gratitude. I'm sure you've all heard in the past that we should be grateful for what we have in life. Well it can seem hard at times when things are really not going well in our lives. Be grateful, be grateful ok and then so what?! I think I've learned one hard way these past years that being grateful is really important. And the important lesson I learned about it is that it's even better and more effective to be grateful when things are actually tough. I mean seriously, think about it: what's the challenge in being grateful when all is going well and you have everything you want huh?! I mean yes it's still important to appreciate all you have when life is really good, and we mustn't forget to do so. Being happy seems to be quite a challenge for many of us in our modern society. But for me, I found the real meaning of being grateful when things really sucked!

In the article I posted on my Facebook page this week about Gratitude - 5 ways Gratitude is good for your health (http://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/5-ways-gratitude-good-your-health), they pointed out the following reasons:
1 - Gratitude can boost your level of life satisfaction.
2 - Gratitude can strengthen your relationship.
3 - Gratitude can improve your mental health and vitality.
4 - Expressing Gratitude can help you sleep better.
5 - Gratitude can help you stick with your workout routine.
Well I've tested all of these, in particular the sleep one!, and definitely found this article to be quite on the dot. So if you need a boost to find reasons to be grateful, read it!

Now how do I apply Gratitude in my life? I mean do you have to think about it all the time, should you tell people about it? Well sometimes I do. One thing I love to do is to write a little note, in an e-mail or actually sending an old fashioned card, to a friend or family member, simply telling them I am thinking of them and that I am grateful to have them in my life and for all the support and joy they bring me. This usually brings a smile to my face and just knowing it will bring one to theirs too makes me happy. ; ) But the method that has really helped me in this past year and that was taught to me by a good mentor is to keep a Gratitude and Achievements Diary! I know I know!!!! I'm sure you're thinking "oh gosh! ANOTHER diary?!!!!! More homework?!!!! Don't we have enough to do in our already REALLY busy lives?!!!!!" Well yes and no. I think one thing we probably all struggle with in life is finding the balance between all the things we HAVE to do and all the things we really WANT to do and that actually make us happy. So here is how I found my balance about having a Gratitude and Achievements diary. I DON'T write in it every day!!!!!!!!!! ; ) This is not the type of diary I had as a kid where I wrote everything I was doing. hahaha
There are 2 questions I answer in it every time:
1 - the things I am proud I have accomplished
2 - the things I am grateful for
And I write in it whenever I want!!! Usually I try at least once a week. But sometimes less and sometimes more. It depends also how much I have to pour out. What matters is that when I write in it I make sure I write ALL the things I am proud of having done including the tiniest thing. And then this easily helps me transition into all the things I am grateful for because most times it clearly points out how or who helped me achieve those things. But most importantly I will tell you: I really try to write when I am having a bad day.......This is more of a challenge but a real helper.
Because when we are having a bad day is when it's easy to forget all that we've done to come so far and all the wonderful things we are lucky to have. And yes, I'm sure many of you are thinking? But do I really HAVE to write about it? Can't I just THINK about it? Well no you can't. Because your brain just doesn't function that way. When we put our thoughts down on paper (or on the web if you want!) it helps us sort through them, gives us a clearer view, and helps us get rid of all the fuzzyness in our head. Which we probably have even more of when we are going through a bad day. So WRITE IT DOWN!!!!!!! You may find it boring at first but give a shot just a few times. I am sure it will change your life in a month. It changed mine for sure. And of course it's a good excuse to go and buy yourself that cute book you saw in the store recently! ; ) Or even better, to use one that a friend gave you as a present and with which you didn't really know what to do with because it only had blank pages and you don't draw. That's what I did. And it makes me even more grateful because every time I write in it, I think about that dear friend of mine who offered it to me. So thank you Isabelle. Here I can thank her for her kindness and sweet thought for me too.

So I am not about Resolutions for the New Year as you will see in my next blog post. But I am about bringing positive changes in our lives, things that can make us happier, healthier, stress relievers, so with the New Year really just around the corner, perhaps you may want to give this a try in 2012 and I sincerely hope that it will just bring a little extra happiness in your life. Today I am thankful for my family, my friends, my apartment, my life, my good health, having a job, and all the beautiful snow that keeps on falling for the past 2 weeks at last and that just makes my country that much more beautiful and magical.

Best wishes to all of you for a Happy New Year's Celebration and I will be back real soon this time! ; )
Kim

Follow me on Twitter (@MyKimsChi), Pinterest and Facebook (Kim's Chi) for supporting articles, pictures, quotes and winks. ; )

A strange Christmas this year.....

Dear All,

well here I am at last: up in the mountains, the Swiss Alps, with my parents. After a hectic end of the year like all of you I am sure, I finally get to rest and relax.
This year is a very special and strange Christmas for us. Indeed it is the first time in pretty much my whole life that it's just the 3 of us. But you know what, life just happens and sometimes, or really most of the time, we should just take it as it comes, make the best of it, surf the wave and not fight it.
Personally I think it's a very good thing. Usually it's my brother, my 2 aunts, my uncle, my 2 cousins, and my grandfather and his girlfriend. Well not this year. This year is special because in June my grandfather passed away 1 week before his 90th birthday. But don't worry, personally I am not sad because I know he was so fortunate to have a long and healthy life and he left pretty peacefully and quickly. But it's interesting to see how such an event has changed all of our lives in the family and our traditions in a way too. Without talking about it, we all went about our way of doing our own thing this year for Christmas. My brother took off for his long awaited 1 year-long trip around-the-world with his girlfriend (follow them on http://www.discoveringpachamama.com/), my aunt and cousins happen to have a wedding in Israël TODAY, and my other aunt is just doing her own thing with her in-laws. So here I am with my parents having the most relaxed and stressfree Christmas ever probably in my life. No rushing through the malls this year for gifts, no fancy crazy cooking (although it doesn't mean we're not eating like kings as my mom is THE most amazing cook in the whole world!) and the best part: no fancy dress-up this year! hahaha I am soooooooo enjoying just being in my joggings. ; )
But the message I want to convey with this first real blog post is that I'm not saying I don't like all those parts of Christmas. Quite the opposite actually. People who know me know how much I love Christmas and go all out about it. But it's nice for once to have a break from it and to enjoy simply being with my parents and sharing a cozy atmosphere with delicious food, champagne! (you'll learn in the future that I'm not an alcohol drinker but I do love champagne!) and taking a nap before desert was served! What a luxury! ;)
My cousin called at midnight when we usually open up the presents. She was all emotional. It is a strange Christmas but I'm making the most of it because I know that next year we will all be together again and we will start new traditions and carry on the ones we loved sharing with my grandfather because after all, for all of us, what truly matters is Family and having the opportunity to be together during this special time of year. Since we all live in different parts of Europe it's pretty much the only time of the year when we actually get to see each other all together, except at sad events like my grandfather's funeral. And we definitely intend on not making sad events our only opportunity to be together!
Therefore I would like to extend to all of you my very best wishes for this Christmas. I hope that you are enjoying it no matter where you are, with whom you are, and no matter what you are doing, and that if yours is strange also like mine this year, you know each year is different and that the most important is to just live in the moment.

And do feel free to share your Christmas here with us. I would love to hear from you! What is special for you in Christmas or what is different about it?

Look for my next post coming up this week on Gratitude. I hope you will enjoy it.

Best to you and keep the energy flowing! Well right now I'm actually resting to recharge it. hahaha ; ) Maybe that's what we all kind of need to do at last at this time of year. I'm off for a nap!
Take care,
Kim
And follow me on Twitter (@MyKimsChi), Pinterest and Facebook (Kim's Chi) in particular for other little hints and winks.

Welcome to my brand new blog!

Dear All,

I am really happy and excited to let you know that at last I have decided to start my own blog! People always ask me how I do it to have so much energy, to be such a positive person and to live life to the fullest the way I do. So basically, here I will share how! You can follow me whenever you want, there will be no set rythm for this blog, no quote or tip of the day, only of the MOMENT. Because to me life is about going with the Flow, the Moment, and not always being on a schedule. Although I have a packed calendar and love to know where I am going and what I am doing in the weeks to come, I also go with my heart's feelings, desires and wants. Therefore I will post when I am inspired to share things with you, and not on a set deadline. I hope that this will be a feature that many of you will actually appreciate. I find it to be more real life! Life should not be about being on a schedule all the time. ; )

Now I want to tell you how I came about the name for my blog, Kim's Chi. I was born from a Swiss father and a Korean mother in Switzerland. Despite growing up away from Korea and my mom's side of the family I was lucky enough to still get to eat lots of delicious Korean foods including the spicy kimchi (a traditional fermented Korean dish made of vegetables with spicy red pepper and other seasonings). In Chinese "Chi" means "energy" or "life-force". And finally, my name is Kim! Therefore, as I wish to share with you things that "feed" my Chi it just made total sense and this is how Kim's Chi was born!

On this blog you will find anything that I find relevant to contribute to the stimulation of my Chi. From nutrition to exercise to books to inspirational quotes, conferences, speeches, persons or places. Come and join me to enter in my "Chi" zone and understand how and what makes mine work in the most positive way to live a full, enriching and energetic life! I hope it will help you stimulate yours in a great way too. As I studied nutrition in college and grad school, I will make sure that any information I post comes from a reliable source to which I will give you a link so you can go on and read more.

Well off we start now! I hope you will all enjoy sharing my adventure and I look forward to hearing from you. Don't hesitate to e-mail me with comments.

Hop onto my journey, enter my zone and an exhilarating life to you all!
Kim
Kim's Chi - where Energy is the Spice of Life!
Follow me on Facebook & Pinterest under Kim's Chi, and on Twitter under @MyKimsChi!