New Gym Routine

How can time serve you and me?

And what are the things that are growing in your life?

Isn’t it so that those are the ones that you give 

your attention to and that you nurture?

For our kids we say “brush your teeth, drink your water, shower or bath, it’s time to go out, it’s time 

to learn and finally time to sleep”.

Isn’t it wonderful how a routine can take us so far, when it’s daily, weekly and just an integrated part of our life?

You see, how time actually helps us in the way how over time we repeat the things that matter and that creates the bigger impact in our lives.

The thing that you want to change the most today, how well is it integrated into your everyday life?

What kind of simple things do you already do daily to nurture that area in your life?

When I think of an example, my new gym routine, here’s how I nurture this area daily, during my weeks.

On Mondays and Wednesdays I check that my one set of exercise clothes that I always use, is washed and dried.

After I found out how stretching helps me to keep up with my new hobby, I am committed to stretching daily, in the morning or at night.

No more hurting knees and legs that feel like logs from muscles that are just all jammed.

On Tuesday and Thursdays I’ve agreed with my husband that he is with our boys when I exercise.

For those days I’ve agreed with my friend that her dogs spend time with my family and we two go together to the gym.

This one is a game changer for me, no space for easy excuses, and I love that.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays when I come from work I also make sure to right away prepare kids lunch and snacks for the next day at school.

I also prepare my water bottle and put my exercise clothes ready to be changed.

Every day I can go for a walk or biking and on Fridays I can freely run if my body is not too tired from the weekly heavy gym group exercise.

Most of these daily or weekly activities are small and easy.

But if I didn’t do any of them, I could easily come up with an overwhelming excuse for not showing up in my gym group.

P.S. Photocredit to my beautiful friend Katia!
Couldn't do this new routine this smoothly without you!!

Sleepy girls new routine

I set a new sleep goal. And my why was a lack of ownership that I had been having for several
years in this area. For a longer time my husband was the one who had an earlier work shift than
me. So I had adjusted myself to just drag along with his sleeping schedule.

At night he would tell me, when he felt tired and we would need to go to sleep. And usually I would
be all grumpy about it. Not proud, but just telling you the honest truth here. As a night owl I was
growing up staying awake until midnight or even longer. So that was what my body was trained to
prior to growing up.

In the morning I wouldn’t have my own clock waking me up, but I would just rely on my husband's
alarm. So I experienced no ownership during the morning wake up either. What it did for me was
the illusion that I could give someone else responsibility for my sleeping routine. And it created this
thought in my mind that I couldn’t really shift my sleeping.

A few months ago I started applying what I heard from my high performance coach Brendon
Burchard, when he talked about the benefits of eight hours of sleep. I started keeping track of my
hours of sleep so that they would match the eight hours.

A few weeks back I was listening to creative coach Gloria Atanmo speak in my coaching program 

and she suggested that I give it a try to shift the sleeping routine one hour earlier. And see what 

happens. So I did.

This is how my new sleeping routine looks like. I go to bed now at 9 pm and I also always set my 

alarm to wake me up at 5 am. This way I get one hour of uninterrupted time to work with my content creation. I’ve been loving this new routine. The peace and quiet in the morning is priceless for a boy mom like me.

What I’ve also been loving is the ownership that I’m taking in the area of sleep. Now when the night
comes, I start feeling such deep contentment from just the thought of going to sleep early. It’s almost
like my body is telling me, how happy it is for this new change.

What is your experience with sleep? Is it an area where you experience having ownership or are you
like me and long for a change?

Your transformation can start with just one thought

Your transformation can start with just one thought.

For me it was the opposite of what I was experiencing deep within myself.

On the inside I felt like I was an orphan, even though I’m not.

But it was the experience of the broken path I walked as I grew up.

I isolated myself to feel safe.

“I don’t need anyone” I told myself deep down inside my heart.

Because that made me feel safe, and not to be abandoned.

So I basically abandoned myself before anyone else could.

I was helping others, but didn’t let anyone help me.

For me the transformation came in as a form of this thought.

I am so loved.

I had a moment where I forgot time and everyone around me and just felt this thought.

I don’t know how actual adoption feels like, but I can imagine.

But when the thought came to me, I felt like it was a moment of adoption.

Like I was adopted, as this thought came with such heavy, weighty presence.

It was the year 2009, and nothing was ever the same for me after that.

That thought started something in me, that is still taking form.

I walked with it, I pondered it while feeling like an outsider in a group.

Whenever the feeling of abandonment came and presented itself to me.

I embraced this thought as the true thought of myself.

I started telling myself, that I am experiencing abandonment as a self projected outcome.

I told myself that I should assume the best from people.

That they are not here to abandon me, but my broken thought patterns make me believe that.

It became safe for me to trust people again.

I started pouring into myself and let people help me.

I went to therapy in that process, read books that were healing and empowering and talked with trusted friends.

I can tell you that it took a lot of inner work and exercise, to believe this new thought I had.

But the process was so powerful.

I could start healing in so many areas in my life, slowly and with grace.

Why I love to share this with you, is the possibility of your thought coming your way just around the corner. 

Or encouraging you to walk with your thought, if it has found you already.

You are so beautiful and worth the healing you want to experience in your journey.

 And with healing you have the ability to build something new on that foundation.

It is a beautiful path and you decide how you journey on with it.

at the edge of new

I was breathing the air in

that knew no lack

it frightened and soothed me 

at the same time

for all my life 

I had fought to gain

what I thought was

scarce and running out

in that moment

my heart became

nurtured and healed

from deep within

and all that 

calm

gave a name for my

fear

all these years

I had believed

I wasn’t safe

to know no lack

so that was

the orphan me

and here stands

the one forever loved

Why does starting small seem so hard?

A lot has changed after I put on those running shoes.

I had decided to test a thought that when you repeat something 21 times it helps you to form a habit.

And there I was after several failed attempts to change my lifestyle in the area of moving my body constantly, but now filled with curiosity.

What would happen if I tied something so small, putting on my running shoes and if it was a good day, taking some steps on those muddy dirt roads in the country side of southern Sweden.

I had the mixture of feeling disappointed at myself but also curious about the possibilities, if this new thought I heard, would actually work for me.

Before I had started running with high hopes and big ambitions, aiming to cover as many kilometres as I could.

This time I was doing the opposite.

The kilometers were not at all important, just the thought of as many repetitions of starting to run. 

For me it looked like changing into a proper running gear and then giving myself a compliment of working like that towards my goal.

Why then did starting small seem so hard?

For me it was a combination of pride and lack of belief.

My identity was so tied to me not being “athletic”.

Yet I discounted the fact that I had been moving my body in other ways.

My own thoughts were the main obstacle, really.

And the way I interpreted who I was and was not, while tying my certain actions tightly into my identity.

Why did starting small change so much then?

Because what I did, was small and easy enough for me to repeat several times and the process led me to fall in love with what running eventually made me feel.

I felt like I was free to connect with myself on a deeper level. 

I’m sharing this journey with you, because I’m passionate about encouraging you in this path of finding the pieces in your life that you’re looking for.

I believe that you can start small.

And that it is not as hard as it seems, but actually simple and profound.

It is like a small investment in yourself that will pay off over time abundantly.

When you hit that small repetition road, write down to your phone, how many repetitions you have done.

And celebrate all of them.

Even the hardest days, when you were only able to prepare yourself for the activity you’re repeating, and that was it.

All those small physical efforts when repeated can interpret it to your mind, that this is actually who you are, like they did for me.

If you just put out the work.

I experienced it, as I started small. 

Even when hard times came and I paused my small repetitions, I was able to start over, because the task I gave myself was so easy and yet so important for me.

What task are you giving yourself?

Is it small enough that it feels easy on any given day?

Have joy in the process and let curiosity lead you along the way.

The power thought journey begins

Have you ever felt like you're stuck?

And then you've slowly found out that the reason for that almost constant feeling is a negative thought pattern?

I've been there most of my years, exhausted by the spiral of draining all my energy into constantly convincing myself that things could  c h a n g e.

Here's the thing, it was my thinking pattern that was to be changed. 

And from there the positive ripple effect would start to flow.

I started first with recognizing the root thought, as my main focus.

It's hard work and causes some pain, like truth about ourselves always does. 

Yet along the way it's been also so healing and freeing for me to figure out where I am at and starting to build the new thought pattern.

You can simply ask yourself this today, if you're looking for honest feedback from yourself, for where you're at.

>> What is the name of my pain? <<

Or, if that's too brutal to start with…

>> What is the negative thought that is constantly nagging at me? <<

Authentic self-discovery

Do you want to hear something vulnerable?

I'll share what happened, in just a sec.

But first, a bit of funny facts.

Can you imagine what I was wearing most of my teenage home-body-days?

Beanies of all kinds, the funkier, the better for those regular bad hair days.

And do you guess what I'm asking myself in this season?

If I'm okay with all the layers of myself, even that goofy beanie wearing girl.

Who mostly makes bad jokes (a.k.a. not funny 😂 although trying so hard).

And hides that sparkly, (maybe a bit annoyingly 😅) giggly side of herself in the crowd under a quiet, somewhat serious surface.

But I tell myself that all that hiding is just my fear of rejection in disquise.

Like for real.

A little while ago you might have seen some goofy videos from me in my socials.

And that's all because of that question.

I finally said yes to the possibility of being rejected.

I know you're kind, and my rejection experience would be just my own mind testifying to me that my fear is valid (although a lie).

And I would actually feel rejected by m y s e l f.

I would hear those cold words ringing in my ears out of my own making "just look at you, who would love you?! Really!?"

I've been working with these layers of old shame and rejection for several years and through several councelling seasons too.

And I can sincerely recommend talking with a good, kind councellor to heal the deepest pain, if you can relate to my experience on a personal level.

Through this journey, chapter after chapter, I've build further my ability to love myself and to accept affection.

Those goofy videos to my social media were born through the process of reminding myself that no matter what, I am loved.

And nothing I do or don't do, who I am or am not, cannot change that.

I just wanted to be real and raw.

In that "this is the goofy me, hello, nice to meet you dear" kind of way.

With no editing of who I am.

What I didn't realize was that on the other side of that door of authentic self-discovery waited such deep joy of just being myself.

No more, no less.

No masks on.

Maybe just one withered beanie.

I wanted to share you about this process of standing on one of the most vulnerable area I could find in this season, for one reason.

All this is to say, as an encouragement to that moment when you ask yourself authentic questions...

...that you're the only one who can open that door of your self-discovery.

Be kind to yourself.

And when time is right, also firm.

When you find yourself sitting with those questions echoing in your heart, remember this one thing.

You. are. so. loved.