Don't Let Anything Stop You

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Many of you who know me are aware of the 35 medical conditions I have and the amount of medication it takes to keep me as healthy as can be. I just read an article that I think would be good for you to read. This lady walked off so much weight and it got me to thinking about what I do for weight loss. Here is the link for the article www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness
_articles.asp?id=1211

Myself, I cannot lift weights, run in marathons etc., due to 4 chronic back conditions and other pain related issues. However, I do have a Walker and since getting that walker, my weight loss has gotten better. I'm able to walk without pain, or very little pain at that. I put my music in my ears and away I go.

Being "handi-capped" is not fun, but it does not mean you have to give up what you enjoy and I have ALWAYS enjoyed walking. Thanks to the inventions of walkers and the people who pay for these assitted devicess for living, I am able to do what I enjoy most for my weight loss - walk with my music in my ears.

At home, I do have some very light weights - 2 lbs. I do want to use them after a while. My physiotherapist gave me several pages of stretching demos that I can do as well. I can work my legs and my arms, but it is the core that I will have issues with. However, it does NOT mean it won't get worked.

We do not choose where our weight will come off of our body. It seems to have its own mind in that regard. People have commented by saying, "have you lost weight?" I honestly didn't know. After seeing my doctor I found I was down by a total of 39 pounds to 276 with clothes on. That took about 5 months to do which is a good average.

Now, if I can do that in the winter with my Walker and by taking the bus, I can barely wait to see what happens when the nicer weather comes and I can walk to the places I tend to go to, or just get out for a walk on those nice days. With my medications stable, me being stable emotionally and even physically right now, things are looking up as my weight is going down..

So don't give up. If you have to use a Walker or a cane to help you do what it is you love and what you do to lose weight, do it without shame or embarassment. I was embarassed at first but peoplel understand. When I tell them I feel bad that my walker takes up so much room on the bus they tell me that it is quite appropriate for me to have it and to not worry that nobody minds. These are very kind people.

And for strengthening, I can SIT and do my arms and my legs and I can do SOME standing exercises. When I see my family doctor this week on Friday, I am going to ask him what kinds of strength exercises would be okay to do with 2 pound weights or resistance tubing.

Remember the poem DON'T QUIT and memorize it. It will help you when you are feeling like you just can't make it. And if you don't know the wonderful poem, I'll put it here for you.

God bless you on your healthy journey. Remember that you are not on a diet, but a journey to a healthier lifestyle and ultimately, a healthier YOU!

REMEMBER THAT THIS IS THE ORIGINAL POEM AND I DID NOT WRITE IT.

Here is the original poem in it's entirety:

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

- Author unknown

Believe in yourself or no one else will believe in you.
Imagine your goals and see them happening.
Laugh and learn from your mistakes rather than getting all worked up about them.
Love yourself and enjoy your journey to health and love the people who are on your side, cheering you on.
Wish the best for those who are on the same track you are. Don't be resentful or jealous if they meet a goal before you. Be happy for them and let that motivate you.
I have no picture of FAITH, but have faith in yourself and those who encourage you and support you for without faith, you'll go nowhere.
BELIEVE!!!!!!!! then RECEIVE!!!!!!!!!!!

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Back Online....Well....sorta :)

Thursday, January 28, 2010

I am back online, trying to catch up on a gazillion things like emails from friends and of course all the SparkMail!!!!!!!
I missed you all very much and talked of you often, encouraging people to check out the site.
I say I'm SORTA back because I am still unpacking and trying to get organized amidst my regular doctor appointments, volunteering in February, attending a group starting in February called Mindfullness, and regular trips to the Canadian Mental Health Association for appointments and other things.
So I'm still VERY busy. I cannot promise to be on everyday nor can I promise to post anything new to the teams I lead. And to the teams I lead, I thank you for your patience over the last 2+ weeks. I ask for your patience just a little while longer. I will be back and I have found some wonderful things to share with each one.
So bear with me just a little longer and I'll be back in full swing.
By the way, I lost another 14 pounds bringing my total weight loss to 39 pounds in about 6 months. Praising the Lord for that because I wasn't even trying!!!!!!!
Love to all, stay safe.
Sheri

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Will Be Offline a while

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Hello and happy new year to all my friends. I'm writing to let you know I will be offline and not responding to emails of any kind until AFTER JANUARY 15 which is my moving date. Chances are I'll get back to "normal' about the end of January.

I know the people on my teams are great people and can do without me for a month. Support each other and keep the teams going. Remember how far you have come and be supportive to the new members who join, which will be many between the new year and Spring.

God bless you all and keep you well. I'll let you know when I am back by the next blog I make.

Hugs, love and peace to all until I'm back,
Sheri L. Adams

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SELF-ESTEEM - What It Is, How To Improve it, Why It's Important

Monday, November 23, 2009

©Sheri Liegh Adams November 2009

According to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sel
f-esteem Self-Esteem is a realistic respect for or favorable impression of oneself; self-respect an inordinantely or exaggeratedly favorable impression of oneself. It is basically your opinion of yourself, be it good or bad.

Other words used in relation to self-esteem include:
self-pride
self-regard
self-respect
confidence
morale
dignity
worth

There is a healthy balance between self-esteem and boasting. It's one thing ti know you have worth and another to be so haughty that you look down on other people.

A low self-esteem is also not a healthy way to live. You will be unhappy, have low confidence, and find it impossible to be who you want to be.

What Creates Our Self-Esteem?
Various factors make our Self-Esteem what it is. Your opinion does not have to be based on anything except that, but there are some typical factors that people rely on when it comes to rating themselves. These include your job and its worth; the respect or lack thereof from other people; your belief whether or not you are a successful person and what you base success on; how you see yourself (self-image); how you feel about your strenghts and your weaknesses; how you feel about your social status; how well you relate to others; the ability to make your own decisions or lack thereof, etc.

Creating A Healthy Self-Esteem
http://www.more-selfesteem.com/self_este
em.htm suggests the following:
1.Face your fears - challenges seem scary but your fears are usually exagerated. Facing your fears increases your confidence and boosts your esteem.
2.Forget your failures - learn from them. Avoid making the same mistakes again but don't limit yourself by assuming you failed before so you can't succeed this time. Try again, you're wiser and stronger. Don't be trapped in the past!
3.Know what you want and ask for it. Learn about being assertive - you deserve your dreams to come true!
4.Reward yourself when you succeed. No-one else will! Isn't everything easier when you take time to help yourself? Make a list of your successes and focus on the positive.
5.Talk - We often make assumptions about a situation or person which are not true. Your attitude and behaviour can be negatively affected so if you have any doubt or question ask and don't assume you know why or how.
6.Don't be defeated! Try something else. You are not going to be defeated by one failed attempt are you? Doesn't everyone fail before they succeed? All you need is a different approach. Good luck! I wish you happiness and success!

My Personal Experience
Affirmations: When I was first told about affirmations I laughed. Now, a decade later, I know the value of them first hand and how, with time and patience, they CAN and WILL make a difference in your life - if you really want them to.

What is an affirmation?
According to www.dictionary.com an affirmation is:
-the act or an instance of affirming; state of being affirmed
-the assertion that something exists or is true
-something that is affirmed; a statement or proposition that is declared to be true
-confirmation or ratification of the truth or validity of a prior judgment, decision, etc

It is the 2nd and 3rd definition we work on.
Most of our self-talk, the things that run through our minds without us even thinking about them, are negative thoughts.
ie. I can't do (fill in the blank); I am no good; I am not smart; I am not handsome/pretty, etc. Most of these thoughts run through our minds without us knowing it.

The idea of an affirmation is to change the way we think over a period of time. We didn't start off in life thinking negatively. Most of us had loving guardians/parents who told us we were good children, smart, could make lots of friends, we were loved etc. But even if we didn't have that positive nurturing, our own thoughts take over at a certain age.

What we do is take a negative thought, such as the ones above, and turn them into a positive and focus on them for a period of time. The important thing to remember about affirmations is that they are not going to work overnight but that they CAN and DO work if you are willing to work with them.

How To Write An Affirmation
I've learned many things about affirmations over the years and the following are the most imortant to remember:

1. Personalize your affirmations. Start with or use the words: “I,” “me,” and “my.” You are focusing on YOU and not other people so make it personal to YOU.

2. Write your affirmations in the PRESENT tense. Use I CAN, I AM, I HAVE to begin your affirmation. To use the statement I WILL is future, so do not use it.

3. Make your affirmations realistic. Don't be grandious in your thinking. For example, saying something like “I am in control of my life,” is not true. Nobody is ever in perfect control of their life all the time. Instead, try, “I have control over my decisions, actions and words most of the time.”

4. Be positive! Remember, you are turning the NEGATIVE into POSITIVE. One idea is to write down your negative thought and then write the complete opposite using the above guidelines. Retraining your brain is not easy, but keep it positive. It's not important that you believe it right away. Over time it will begin to replace the negative tape that runs through your mind, so be positive.

5. Make your affirmations short and easy. Long and winded ones will bore you and you are unlikely to remember them. You're not writing a poem, you're writing an affirmation. Keep it to one sentence.

6. How To Use Affirmations:
It is suggested to do the following:
-Write each affirmation out 10 X daily..
-Say each affirmation out loud 10 X daily.
-Visualize each affirmation as the person you are affirming to be.

Less Time and Just As Effective:
Get some Blank Recipe Cards, Colourful Pens and Stickers and Your List of Personal Affirmations for Your Situation.
A - On each recipe card, write out one affirmation. Use bright colours and stickers to decorate it and make it look upbeat and positive.
B - Put completled cards in a recipe box.
C - Everyday at the same time get your Affirmation Cards out and read each one out loud 3 times, in front of a mirror if possible. Some people keep an Affirmation Journal and write each affirmation out once for a reference book.
D - Place a copy of all your affirmations on one sheet of paper in places you visit often: the refridgerator, a mirror, office desk, etc. When you see them, you will be able to practice a few.
E - Another way to use Positive Affirmations is to record your personal affirmations using your own voice and then listening to them the same way you would listen to a guided meditation or a Book on Cassette/CD.

Some simple examples of Positive Affirmations
I am a happy person.
I enjoy my life.
I make friends easily.
I am a likeable person.
I have good qualities.
I am free to choose the life I want to live.
I deserve to be happy.
I like myself.
I love myself.
I accept myself unconditionally.
I respect myself.

PERSONALIZING AFFIRMATIONS
To personalize your affirmations, start with or use the words: “I,” “me,” and “my.” You are focusing on YOU and not other people, so make it personal to/by/about YOU. Then follow the above rules.

Everybody is going to have different affirmations because nobody has the same issues to deal with. The key is to personalize YOUR affirmations for YOU and YOUR NEEDS. Don't ask people to write affirmations for you because they will see you different than you see yourself.
I have seen a major difference in my life since working with affirmations. I'm living proof that they do work if you are willing to work at it and give them the time it takes to retrain the brain.

I still work on affirmations to this day because there are always going to be issues that challenge how I think about myself and how I feel about my worth. Our worth is not how we compare to another person but how we compare to what we think we should be and what we are.

Remembmer that your Self-Esteem is a vital foundation of your life, and having a positive Self-Esteem makes lliving more pleasant, peaceful and playful. It affects how you think, act and relate to other people in everyday living. Working on Self-Esteem is like watching the wind blow grey clouds away and seeing that blue sky and its bright sun smiling at you.

So let's get working on increasing our self-esteem and see more smiles in life and more glasses half full rather than half empty. Skies may be grey, but behind every grey sky lies the beautiful blue canopy we long for. Working on your self-esteem using some of the ideas here is like watching the wind blow the grey clouds away and starting to see that blue canopy with its bright yellow sun smiling at you. Work at it and eventually, you WILL smile back. :)

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Putting Peer Pressure In Its Place!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Putting Peer Pressure In Its Place
©Sheri Liegh Adams
September 4, 2007

Young people today are faced with more peer pressure points than any generations I can personally think of. I may be wrong, but again I go on my knowledge of what I see and what I hear from older generations.

It seems that the older generations, such as my Grandparents and my Parents, knew their place and knew the consequences if they went out of bounds. However, today’s young people are confused.

The government and social activists groups have intervened on behalf of the younger population who sometimes cannot speak up for themselves. While I applaud their efforts, I also think the measures have gone way too far for our young people to handle.

Growing up in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, I knew my parent’s rules and I knew the house rules. We were given the 3-Strikes Option. If we did something wrong for the very first time, we were calmly sat down and it was explained to us why it was wrong. Usually it would harm us in one way or another or we could end up hurting ourselves or others. If we did that same act a 2nd time, we were warned that if we did it again, we would be spanked. And true to their word, if my brother and I went so far as the 3rd time, we did get spanked.

In today’s society, my parent’s would be considered abusive parents. However, I am not sorry I was spanked! Am I crazy – no; however, I am thankful. I am thankful enough that my parents took the time to sit me down, explain it all to me AND that they kept their word on disciplining us. I do not regret one spanking I ever got. I cannot count on 2 hands the number of friends my brother and I had who envied us that our parents disciplined us so. Their words still cut to the core of my being when I think about them: “Well, at least your parents care enough to spank you! My parents could care less where I am or who I am with and what I am doing.” That cry rang out from dozens of my friends and my brother’s friends over the years. So much so, that at one point or another, each of them asked my parents if they could come and live with our family. My brother and I were blessed.

Kids today, I believe, have too much freedom and they know just enough of their rights to be dangerous to themselves and others. They know that if their parents or guardian lays a hand on them, the care-giver can be charged with child abuse. My question is this: do they really know the difference between child abuse, and a parent’s love? What teenager can truly understand that when they are still in school learning the basics of education? No teenager is fit to be a parent. How many young people look back on their actions only to regret a decision they made which made them parents before their 16th birthday? Watch some of the TV Talk shows and you will see enough to make you understand, these kids don’t know enough about life to decide for themselves on every aspect of their life.

I recently came across a quote from www.about.com which says "Don't worry about being the best; worry about being the best you can be."

To start putting an end to peer pressure, ask yourself some questions. These questions are for all ages and genders and can be used for any peer pressure situation.
1. Is this something I really want to do?
2. Will I regret this after doing it?
3. Is this a safe thing to do?
4. Will I get in trouble with the law and other authority figures if I do this?
5. Is somebody going to get hurt if I do this (emotionally, physically etc.)?
6. What is my gut telling me...do I really feel good about this?
7. Do I really want to conform - aka - be like somebody else or do I want to be uniquely me?
8. Is EVERYONE really doing it? EVERYONE???
9. Would a true friend challenge you to do something you really don't want to do? If they say things like "you are no fun" or "don't be such a baby," are they really worth having as a friend? A friend supports - not puts down.
10. Would true friends call you names, in any situation? A true friend would not end a friendship or put it in jeopardy over smoking, drugs, gangs or otherwise. That would be rejecting a friendship based solely on one disagreement.
11. If a person has to try and make you see their point of doing something, they are not convinced themselves that it is worth it. Sayings like, "You'll have more fun if..." or "It won't hurt you," should be red flags waving wildly in the wind. If you have to say it won't hurt you, it is not worth risking.

Finally, from a website called parenting.org, I found this last tip:
Have your child practice the following steps to resist peer pressure:

Look at the person.
Use a calm voice.
Say clearly that you do not want to engage in that activity.
Suggest another activity. Give a reason.
If the person tries to convince you, keep saying "No."
Leave or ask the person to leave.

Kids resisting the peer pressure that is out there begins in the home the child is raised in. If parents give into temptations, children are twice as likely to give into it on their "turf." But if parents can act out certain situations that are likely to come up, the child will have skills to use to combat these pressures. Do some role playing where the parent acts like the person who does the pressuring while the child plays his/her part. Act out a scene where drugs, booze or cigarettes are offered and act it out until you are satisfied as a parent that your child can walk away from that scenario without hesitation.

Have regular talks with your children about the pressure they will face. Explain to them what is likely to happen, what is likely to be said to them and ask them to explain how they may handle it. If they have a good solution, work on role playing. If they are unsure, give them some solutioins, words to use, and reasons why that certain pressure is dangerous. Give them examples of people who followed that path and their outcome.

Teach your child to think for him/herself. Teach them to ask questions in their mind to evaluate whether something is right or wrong. For example: Is it wrong? Why are they wanting me to do (fill in the blank)? Does it go against the law? Am I tempted to go along with them? If so why and what would I really get out of it? Will it harm me/others in the short/long-term? How will I likely feel about myself afterwards?

And lastly but most importantly, have a good, open, honest relationship with your children. The more they know they can come to you about anything, the less likely they are to fall for the traps of peer pressure. Affirm that your child is smart, makes wise decisions, has been taught the difference between right and wrong. Tell them how much you love them and appreciate them. Acknowledge their feelings in all situations, even if they have made a wrong decision. Allow them to express themselves in letter form if they don't feel strong enough to talk out loud with you. Then when you have read the letter, sit down and calmly discuss the child's concern.

I'm not a parent, but I've babysat for many years, I've worked with teenagers in many youth groups and been part of role playing games about peer pressure. I'm here to tell you, I remember them so I have no doubt the kids remember them.

Kids need Healthy Role models and that begins with parents, grandparents, teachers, mentors, guidance counselors etc. If they see you out partying, drinking, getting drunk or high on booze or drugs, or of they see you smoking cigarettes and giving into the pressures of your friends, what are they likely to do? The same thing. Children learn what they live. So start living the positive example you want your children to be.

Another thing you can do is become pro-active by writing your school boards, local governments, provincial or state governments and federal governments about your concerns. Whether you want to believe it or not, hand-written letters get more response than 1000 typed ones. How do I know? I hand-write the governments every year about concerns I have and typically, I get a letter back, hand signed by the person I mailed it to. Not stamped signed, but hand signed.

Start standing up for your child and start making the right decisions for YOUR life and perhaps your child will learn to make the right decisions for their life by following your example. Children learn by what they see more than what they are told. As Genie in the Disney movie Aladdin said, "BEEEEEEE YOURSELF!!!"

Now it's your turn. How are you going to put an end to peer pressure in your life or in the life of a child you know?


Be yourself and make your own fashion statement.


Have a wide variety of friends who are successful at what they do without having to follow a peer group. Be part of a group of friends where you can be you without any pressure to be like someone else.


Have friends that are glad to have you for who and what you are...right now.

This includes all you adults reading this. :) My friends.

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