Tag: exercise

Channels

Today I thought I would share with you several of my favorite YouTube channels and why I love them. The list is varied, because I have a lot of different interests, but each one has inspired me in some way, and each one has taught me something different.

Fitness:

I love to exercise, and in the past, I have used the Beach Body videos and app. But last winter the budget wouldn’t support that as an option anymore, so I had to try something new. I turned to YouTube and wow, there was a ton of options there, and they’re all free! My favorite one is called Juice and Toya. They have a huge variety of workouts, from 10 minutes to 45 minutes, videos with weights for strengthening, cardio videos, stretching, core, everything I need. I like how they have their videos set up and they’re easy to follow along with.

Art:

As you may be aware, I love to paint. I know I don’t know everything there is to know about watercolors, so I love to learn about art and follow along with other artists. I follow several artists on YouTube, but my favorite is Emily Olsen Art. I also subscribe to her website for a small fee because she has way more content, tips, helps and tutorials there than she does on YouTube. But her YouTube channel has a ton of information and simple paintings as well. I learn so much from her and enjoy both the YouTube channel and her website.

Digitizing:

I digitize all my own art. This is the process of taking the original, taking a picture of or scanning it, loading it on a computer and then color matching it with the original so it can be utilized in a variety of ways, the most common being prints. The basics of digitizing weren’t hard to understand, and for a lot of my paintings I didn’t initially need help. But as I have learned more, seen others do more, and desired to try some of these new things, I needed help. I like the Photoshop Training Center for this purpose. I learn best by watching someone else do it, and following along, and this has been immensely helpful when I get stuck. One thing I did learn while looking for a channel was to make sure they’re using the same photoshop program I’m using. Some things are similar across the board, and some things vary from program to program.

Gardening:

This one I haven’t done as much research in, and I only have one channel that I am subscribed to. However, I do watch various channels on occasion, of gardeners up here in Alaska. This one however is my favorite, and she is down in Arkansas I believe. It’s called The Seasonal Homestead. I really like the way she does her videos, the fact that she is just open and out there and shares the good and the frustrating and bad. It’s real, not just the best parts. I also like that it’s their whole family. My kids and husband are not interested in being in my videos for the most part (except the yard cleanup one), but on The Seasonal Homestead they all get involved and it’s fun to watch.

Dogs:

I love dogs. Even before we got our puppy, I enjoyed watching dog training videos. I love seeing how quickly a dog can respond to the right kind of training and how much happier they are when they are well trained. The owners are much happier as well! My favorite Dog training channel is Will Atherton Canine Training. I love his approach to dog training much more than a lot of the channels I have found, and since my daughter has had her puppy, this channel has helped us immensely.

Lastly, I have to give a shout out to my nephew Ryder. He has created a fun YouTube channel called MrRyderDie. He posts videos quite regularly, and he is so fun to watch. He is just getting started but is having fun with all of his content, and I enjoy watching what he comes up with each day. He enjoys gaming so there are a number of those kinds of videos. He also enjoys sharing a variety of aspects of life and the things he is doing on his YouTube channel, so there’s a variety of content to watch.

These are some of my favorites on YouTube, I subscribe to quite a few more, but these seem to be the ones that I go back to over and over again.

Priorities

Many years ago someone told me to write my priorities down and then rank them from most important on down. I thought I knew what my priorities were well enough, but did so anyway. I think I really did know them, but writing them down and then putting them in order not only helped me see what was really important then, but has influenced how I make decisions and why, ever since then.

Our priorities should govern our lives and everything we do. We can set new priorities as we progress, so they aren’t set in stone, but there are some that shouldn’t be negotiable. When we have good priorities, it helps us to set better goals, better boundaries, and to achieve more conscientiously in our lives. I love to exercise, and eat healthy. When people ask me why I look like I do, I start talking about exercising and eating right, and they quickly stop me and say, you just must be blessed to be fit. Actually no, it is a priority in my life to be healthy, and so I take the steps to be so. Sometimes people set priorities and then feel like they are restrictions on themselves, I notice especially in the fitness department. Eating less food, or exercising everyday is viewed as an inconvenience, or as a punishment. Priorities aren’t punishment, rather, a means to an end.

I will share with you several of my priorities and why they are what they are, and where they are in my ordered list. Your list will look different than mine, but I want you to really think about what is important, why, and how you are going to get to where you want to be. It takes effort, but disciplining yourself will help to make you who you desire to become, but doing nothing about what you want will keep you where you are.

First priority: My relationship with my Heavenly Father, and as appendages to that, with my Savior Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. These relationships are the most important thing in my life, because I want to go back to live with them, and that responsibility lies solely with me and no one else, so it is totally up to me to maintain that relationship. No one else can do it for me. What do I do to work on that, it’s actually pretty simple, pray, lots of prayer. I pray all the time. Sometimes formally, but mostly in my mind. Read my scriptures daily, usually takes about 30 minutes. And lastly, try to emulate my Savior in all I do. I fail often, but I have made progress. Progress is what it’s about, not perfection right now.

Second Priority: My family, first my relationship with my husband, second my kids. These are the most important relationships I have on earth, and I want to get back to my Heavenly Father with them, but it takes all of us working individually to do that. What do I do to work on this priority? My husband and I try to go on a date at least once a week. Sometimes it’s dinner at home without the kids, sometimes at a restaurant, sometimes its a trip to watch one of our kids play sports, but we get the drive together and hotel room alone. Sometimes it’s going with him to get materials for his job, that happens a lot of the time. I also try to listen to what he’s interested in so I can ask intelligent questions, and actually understand what he’s doing. I spend time at his job sight helping, and usually get to clean it up regularly. Today, I am typing in the truck as we drive to look at a job. My kids learn, or hopefully learned they were a priority as I spend hundreds of hours volunteering at their elementary school in various capacities. Making their education a priority all the way through, even though it meant schools twice as far away as the normal schools because of the opportunities. Hiking and biking in the summer. If they have a hike they want to do, or a place they wanted to visit, we try to get there. Playing games on a regular basis, and teaching my kids about Jesus, so they can make good choices. Participating in the activities they want to participate in and finding the money to do so, even when it’s tight.

The next few priorities aren’t in a particular order as they all are of equal importance to me.

Being healthy. We all have genetic predispositions to things. Those things might kill us in the end, but, I always tell my kids, I want my genetics to kill me, not my lack of taking care of myself. I want to postpone all the genetic problems I might have for as long as possible. What do I do about it? I exercise 6 days a week (Sunday is a day of rest). I strive to make healthy choices in what I eat. This one is harder as I love food. But for the mot part we eat pretty healthy.

My Church. Going to Church is important to me as it makes my week go better. Also, we always have a job, and making sure I do my job is really important as well. What do I do? Well, obviously go to church, but I also do my calling, which right now is an early morning seminary teacher. That happens at 6:30 am Monday through Thursday. I am grateful I team teach with a friend. We enjoy the kids, and it has been one of my favorite callings. I also help out when I see a need or am asked to help with other activities or meals, etc, and check on several other people in my area regularly to make sure they are doing well.

My business. This is important, not only to me, but hopefully someday, it will benefit our families income. I enjoy art, I enjoy sharing my art. I also have enjoyed my blog, learning about new products, and sharing my interests with others. I am still trying to figure out a lot of how to move forward, but I am enjoying the journey for the most part, and love it when I get feed back from people, whether it’s suggests on a new product, something I could do better, or just people enjoying what I do, it helps motivate me to continue.

Everything else comes after these few priorities. You don’t need to have a ton, but you do need to know what you want in life, and how you want to get there. A lot of my goals stem from what is important to me, or new things I want to learn about that may some day become new priorities. Priorities can help to guide your life, make decisions easier, and give you a reason why you do things they way you do. Priorities and goals go hand in hand. If anyone ever asks you why, be enthusiastic about it and share, you never know who might need ideas or help getting started. If someone thinks what you want in life is dumb, ignore them. It’s not their journey. And when someone tells you their goals, encourage them, help them if you can, everyone needs a cheerleader once in a while. Whatever you do, go write them down so you know exactly what they are. I would love to hear some of your priorities and how you make them priorities in your life.

Developing Habits

Habits can be hard to develop, and bad habits can be hard to get rid of. Last week I wrote about some of the goals I have set for myself. Today I want to talk about habits that I have developed because of the goals I have set in the past. One in particular, that has taught me more about setting goals and establishing habits, is that of physical exercise.

17 years ago, at the beginning of the New Year, I set a goal that is familiar to many people every year. I wanted to lose weight. I decided the best way to go about doing that was to exercise 5 days a week. I bought several workout videos, I think the first of which was called The Firm workout. There were weights, steps, a weighted bar, etc. Those workouts started hard, but as I kept at it, I actually started to enjoy those workouts. Fast forward 17 years, and that one goal, that one thing I persevered in doing so long ago has become a habit. Do I miss days periodically, yes. Do I beat myself up about it? No. But I also don’t allow myself to get out of the habit. I make sure if I miss a day, it’s only one. Now, with the streaming options online, even when I’m out of town I can find some way to exercise, so I don’t miss. Through this process I have learned a lot, not just about exercise, but about myself, and how what I have learned applies to so many situations.

I learned that if I want something bad enough, I will work for it. I think sometimes we set goals that seem nice, that other people are setting and look fun, or that maybe we know would be good for us, but our hearts really aren’t in it. So we need to make sure those goals, those habits we are developing are appropriate for us, and that we have thought through the steps we need to take to accomplish them. I think that every goal hits a wall at some point. Everything that is important to us will be hard at somewhere in the process, but that doesn’t make it less worth while, that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be accomplished or that we can’t accomplish it. It just means we have to press forward, even when we don’t want to, even when we might not see the next step ahead or it feels like we are stepping out into the dark, because the end result will be so much better than where we started.

Through my exercise, especially lifting weights, I also learned that no matter what we do, we need to increase in some sort of strength. Whether it be weights, our ability to read, to paint, to excel in our work, to be a better parent, no matter the goal, it requires some sort of increase in mental, physical, or spiritual strength. When we lift weights, we get sore. I have been sore enough that when I drop something on the floor, I’ve looked at it wondering if I really needed it bad enough to bend over and pick it up! But at no point did I look at my workout and say, “I think I’ll save myself some soreness and just not exercise today, or I’ll lift lighter so I don’t hurt.” (Remember you need to know your body well enough to know what is a good sore, and when you are actually hurting yourself, don’t hurt yourself!) I know that by breaking down my muscles, I am actually building them up. When we set goals, we need to remember that at some point it’s going to be hard. We’re breaking down who we were, and becoming something better. Don’t give up just because it’s hard.

I have applied this knowledge to many aspects of my life to develop habits that benefit me on a daily basis. But one particular area has benefited greatly from the understanding I have gained through exercising – my understanding of my purpose here on earth, who I am, where I’m going and how to get there. We each have trials in life. They come in all varieties, and we all have them, no matter how perfect someone’s life may appear. I have heard people say, “If God really loved us, this wouldn’t be happening.” Through my life and the Gospel of Jesus Christ I have learned that one of the purposes for us being here is to see if we are willing to follow our Heavenly Father no matter what. How are we supposed to prove that if we flit through life and nothing bad ever happens to us? Just like our physical muscles, our spiritual muscles need to be worked. If our patience is never tried, how will we know if we have patience, and how will we improve upon that if we don’t even know where we are. If our faith is never put to the test, how will we know if we truly have faith, and how would we strengthen it if we never trusted in the Lord. Do I have enough of a testimony of the Atonement of Christ to repent, and to allow others the same opportunity? Our spiritual muscles need as much, if not more, exercise than our physical body. Trials aren’t fun, challenges are hard, but they are also great opportunities for growth. Set goals ahead of time to develop habits that will help you through challenges and trials, increased faith, regular prayer, daily scripture study, helping others, etc. These habits increase all our spiritual capacities more than we may realize at the time. They strengthen our foundations, so we can stand no matter what.

There are many kinds of goals. Each goal will not only teach us about that goal, about ourselves as it concerns that goal, but as we develop those goals into habits, we can learn so much more about who we are than just that one particular thing. Looking for the knowledge we gain can help us apply that knowledge to so many situations. Accomplishing goals helps us know that we can, it gives us confidence in our abilities, in who we are. Remember, we’re breaking down who we were and becoming something better.