Guides

Ok, so after a snowed in week, I had a wonderful weekend with my family and a LOT of advice.  Which brings me to handling advice stress-free.  There's all the important things to remember like, they care about you, or they've had experience, or they just think they know what they're doing.  :)  However, even when it comes from an experienced loving place it can often feel to the receiver like an unwarranted intrusion, judgement, or just wrong.  I am learning in my own life that I need to hear the advice, and notice what I bristle at and then look at that again.  Generally the good advice that feels right usually is, the good advice that is off base usually is, and the good advice that just feels pointed is usually showing me a weakness that I can address.  I feel rather aware of my weaknesses this morning.  Can a good weekend do that to you? 

Health wise, I've received my own further push to become more healthy.  So, I'm working on a short-term 2 month plan for my family, thanks to some "advice" :)  Here's my questions that I'd love your comments on, is it better to start with bigger plans and scale back or start with smaller plans and move up.  I've read a lot about goals and setting reasonable ones so that you can feel success, but I've also love the quote by Thomas J. Watson - “It is better to aim at perfection and miss, than to aim at imperfection and hit it”  (when looking for my reference I found this terrific site.  Read some and be inspired) AIM

So maybe we need both, short term goals we can accomplish with a huge aim at the end.  Breathe in some fresh air, have confidence and faith, and stretch yourself!  (Figuratively as well as literally *smile*) 

Need some stretches? 
Doorway stretch - thanks to driving, computers, and other intricate work, most of us have forward rotated shoulders, give them a break each doorway you go through and hold your arms, hands up, 90 degrees and at shoulder height and lean in to stretch the front of your shoulders.
Neck and down stretch - another excellent one for frequent posture problems.  Extend your arm in front of you and extend your hand back towards your head and then lean your head away from the extended arm.  You should feel a stretch down the side of your neck and through your shoulder.
Stretch your calves and feet while at your desk - keep a can of food or better a tennis ball under your desk and roll your foot over it back and forth.  When rolling forward concentrate on stretching your heel down to stretch your calf, and when rolling back, rock side to side to stretch the arch of the foot.

If you need other ideas, let me know.  See you tomorrow.