ChristinaForst.com

March 28, 2024:  Spring may have finally sprung…  At least the new weeds in my flower beds think so.  I stepped outside this morning and there was a sweet smell in the air.  Gotta love a spring morning right after a fresh rain.  When was the last time you took just a couple of minutes to enjoy the start of a new day.  Above our back door we have a sign that says “today is a good day for a good day”.   I am still reading “You can heal your life” by Louise Hay and my goal is 10 pages a day and I’m getting myself back on track.  Last night I was reading a chapter on Prosperity.  Do you know that the universe will give you what you ask for and think about?  Let that sink in a minute…  If all you think about and talk about is hard times and drama that is what the universe will send you.  One of the first steps for prosperity is to accept the idea that you deserve it.  Then you have to allow yourself to receive it.  Next time something good happens or someone gives you a gift (no matter the size or value) don’t question it, but rather just say Thank You.  Now I’m off to have a great day because I told myself it was going to be one.  

Positive affirmation: The Universe has my back.  Everything I need to manifest my desires are lining up for me right now. 

March 14, 2024:  Have you heard the old saying about March… In like a lion and out like a lamb?  Is it just me or do you think the lion might be dressed in a lamb costume?  One day it’s sunny and next it’s snowing, then yesterday I’m pretty sure it was doing both at the same time.  Of course let's complicate things from our own point of view.  For those Star Wars Fans (like me) do you remember when Obi-Wan tells Luke that Darth Vader killed his father.  Then in the following movies he finds out that Darth Vader is his father and Obi-Wan says I told the truth from a certain point of view.  What if we looked at things from a different point of view?  Or maybe multiple points of view?  Take something going on in your life right now and try looking at it from another point of view.  Does that change your opinion about the situation?  This next week instead of asking “what's the worst that can happen” lets ask ourselves “what's the best that can happen”.  Turn those frowns upside down and have a great weekend.

February 28, 2024: Here we are at the end of February (almost) . It's a leap year so 1 day to go.  This past week has been a great one.  We did 2 essential oil classes for Boise Community Education and met some really nice people.  They have inspired us on our topic for the next session of classes.  Essential oils are so beneficial for everyone in one way or another, but there is a myth that quality essential oils are too expensive.  With true 100% pure oils we really do just use a drop at a time.  I love assisting people on their oil journey and of all the things I do it’s my favorite job. March is just a few days away so I was working on prepping my calendar and goals for the month (you know fun stickers and all).  I was looking at what my 5th top strength is and what it means and why it fits me.  The strength is Individualization and the theme description says “You are intrigued with the unique qualities of each person.  You have a gift for figuring out how different people can work together productively.”  Everyone is good at something and we just have to stop talking long enough to listen to find out what.  Make a point to look for the good in everyone and give encouragement whenever you can.  Now onto March and the spring.

February 21, 2024: Wow we rolled right past Valentines Day and are already half way through this week.  My brain is bouncing between things much like my schedule.  I have gone from 2 HOA annual meetings to start the week to 2 Community Education classes for essential oils the next 2 evenings.  Not to mention talking with my partner about new ideas for expanding services and options at the dog center.  Sometimes it’s best to just hold on tight for the wild ride and I’m totally feeling that this week.  I have been thinking about my strengths (per the Clifton Strengths Assessment) and I bet you won’t be surprised by my top 5:  Responsibility, Communication, Achiever, Harmony and Individualization.  Of course while everyone's order of strengths are different, we do overlap.  I have been thinking about my top one of Responsibility and what it means for me.  The theme description says “People who are especially talented in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do.  They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.”  This is so true for me and may very well explain my need to be in control of certain things.  On the flip side this strength has a blind spot of overcommitting and I am learning that sometimes the best answer is NO.  Until next week…

February 5, 2024:  Can’t believe it’s Monday again already.  This past week I have been working through my positive affirmations and expanding on them.  I am still reading “You can heal your life” by Louise Hay and while my goal is at least 10 pages a day, I haven’t been on track every day. This book is thought provoking and I would recommend it to everyone as a good read.  When it comes to self care there are so many things that fall under that.  It can include cleaner eating, exercise, meditation and personal pampering just to name a few.  In the past I thought of self care as bubble baths and foot soaks, and while it can be some of that I have found that meditation and reading are the most beneficial things for me.  I’m working on setting time aside for myself and letting the answer machine get the call.  I am part of Gen X (Born 1965-1979) and we are the generation that went from phone cords to the first cordless phones and call waiting to the current non-stop access to information.  There are times that I just enjoy the silence.  There is a difference between being alone and being lonely.  I challenge you this week to relax in silence even for just a few minutes a day.  You might be surprised by the benefits. Until next week…

January 29, 2024:  Happy Monday.  We have been greeted with sunny weather and a high of 55.  Forgive me for being pessimistic but this kind of weather seems a bit early for the end of January.  I’m working on positive thinking, but I feel like we have more winter coming before spring finally comes.  I have been doing my positive affirmations this past week and I’m feeling pretty good about how things are rolling along.  Being self-employed has pros and cons and if I’m not careful I could sit in front of my computer doing busy work all day (and night).  I’m looking forward to a productive week ahead.  I will leave you with a couple things that have been very helpful for me.   During a training call a couple months ago the speaker gave us the advice of “Small In Daily.”  What this means is when you are working on setting new goals or changing habits it’s best to do something small daily.  Don’t try and change everything at one time or you probably won’t stay with it, but if you do something small and easy to do it’s more likely to stick.  The second thing is “Keep the main thing the main thing.”  It can be so easy to go down that rabbit hole, but if you can remember to keep on the main task you are more likely to complete it and that feels great.  I just love marking things off my TO Do list.  Good news to share…  I just kept the main thing the main thing and did something small today and with that will be able to mark posting my journal off my to do list.  Have a great week everyone.

January 22, 2024:  This past week has been wild weather from snow and freezing to rain and 40 degrees.  Much like the changing weather my “to do” list has been wild too.  January is a busy month for me in preparing annual dues statements and meeting notices for all my HOA clients.  Not to mention 1099 tax forms.  The process has been frustrating, because I have needed to wait on others to do their part.  Working with other people is hard sometimes.  There are things in life that are meant to teach us lessons and I feel this is teaching me patience and letting go of things out of my control.  So that’s the tough part… things out of my control.  Thank goodness for aromatherapy and positive affirmations.  I was able to spend time yesterday working on a mystery quilt I have been doing since Thanksgiving.  The final reveal was done a couple weeks ago so the mystery is over.  Well except the mystery of how long it will take me to finish it.  It’s about the process and not the race.  Remember the turtle finished too, just slow and steady.  

"Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious... and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."  — The statement that ends the film Meet the Robinsons, attributed to Walt Disney.

January 15, 2024:  Can you believe it, we are already two weeks into 2024.  Is it just me or are you also finding it hard to get back into your groove?  Those that know me well know that I’m a pretty organized person, but I’m having some trouble getting my thoughts organized for optimal efficiency.  I have been reading a new book called “You can heal your life” by Louise Hay.  The book is about using positive affirmations to help heal physical challenges.  As I look up things in the book there seems to be a connecting theme to all the suggested positive affirmations for me.  They all seem to lead to affirming that I am safe and create my own security.  While I know not everyone “believes” in this kind of thing I can tell you from personal experience that your mental and physical body is connected.  I challenge you to think about what may be happening in your life the next time you feel unexplained pain.  The mind is powerful and the body is smart when we give it the right tools.  I’m open to chat with anyone that's interested in learning more about the journey I’m on.  Have a great week.

January 1, 2024:  Welcome to 2024 and all the new things it promises to bring. I personally am looking forward to a fresh new year with no mistakes in it (yet). As we wrap up 2023 with a bow (or a rope attached to cement so it sinks faster for some) I want a take a minute to look back on a few things I learned this past year... Smiling can change things, even if you don't feel like. A simple smile can make you feel better and brighten someone else day. Personal growth is about how you handle challenges and not how to avoid them. Take responsibility for yours, but let others handle their own. As they say don't hide from the rain, but learn to dance and sing in it. May 2024 be the year we all learn to do both.

Isn’t March suppose to come in like a Lion, but go out like a lamb?  Here we are with about a week to go and I’m not sure the Lion is ready to give up yet.  I know that this saying is referring to the weather, but I’m feeling like a Lion ready to pounce.  March includes our wedding anniversary (31 years) and this year we have already had our oldest move out (still local thank goodness) and our youngest will be graduating high school in just a couple of months.  This past week I was honored to be able to attend doTERRA’s Leadership Retreat (virtual this year) and there was so many great speakers.  I Love the personal connection that direct sales offers.  While I can’t begin to tell you all the great things I heard and learned, my top 2 take aways include going Small In Daily and Keep the main thing the main thing.  Going Small In means to make simple changes that are so easy to do you actually do them.  The important part means doing them daily with NO days off.  Keep the main thing the main thing can help keep us focused on the right task with less diversions.  To quote Timbuk 3, "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades".  Okay, I’m an 80s girl at heart… 

Here we are a week after Valentine’s Day and heavy on my mind is why are relationships so much work?  Whether it’s a relationship between husband and wife, parent and child, boyfriend and girlfriend, brother and sister or friends and co-workers.  People are always in motion, and I don’t mean just physically.  We are either moving forward or backward but be assured we aren’t staying the same.  Events and interactions with others in our lives make sure of that.  It can make relationships even harder when one person might be moving forward (usually with self-discovery and grow) while the other person might be moving backward or at least in a different direction.  Sometimes a relationship with someone might be a seasonal thing.  I don’t mean like summer or spring, but a season of your life, like while your kids go to school together.  These relationships don’t usually end in a bad way, but rather you just grow in different directions and the relationship changes or comes to a natural end.  Other relationships should be brought to an end because they might be unhealth for one or both of the people.  Please remember that sometimes there are relationships between two good people that just don’t bring out the best in each other.  Don’t tear the other person down, just move on and allow them to move on too. 

Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way about relationships.
1. Communication is key.  In most cases you can talk things through, but don’t make assumptions about what you think the other person is going to say or do.
2.  Compromise is a necessity.  You can’t always have your way and sometimes you might need to take one for the team.
3.  Relationships aren’t always a 50-50 split.  Sometimes they are an 80-20 or 30-70.  When you are in it for the long haul there will be times that one person needs to help carry the burdens for the other person.  However, remember that relationships are about giving and taking so if one person is always on one side of the equation then that will put a strain on the relationship.
4.  Don’t pin your happiness on the other person.  If you tie your happiness to someone else and they let you down for whatever reason that’s not fair.  Be responsible for your own happiness and shortcomings too.
5.  Put your own oxygen mask on first.  If you have ever flown on a airplane you know what I mean.  They always give you directions to put your own mask on first before helping someone else.  This is good advice for everyday life too.  Before you can help someone else you need to help yourself.  Remember a drowning victim can’t save anyone else.

I know this is a longer post then normal and I thank you for reading all the way to the bottom.  Relationships are work, but the benefits by far out way the challenges.  Start by loving yourself and asking what I do to help someone else.  If we all have a serves heart think about how much more enjoyment the world would be.

As you may know I’m a Wellness Advocate with doTERRA Essential Oils.  This year the company is sponsoring a mantra for empowerment called Power to Be.  Instead of adopting a New Years Resolution that you probably won’t stick to past Valentines Day the are encouraging us to adopt a word or theme for the year.  Your word should be one that can be applied to any situation.  I have adopted the word INTENTIONAL.  My focus for this year is to be intentional in my actions, after all if you don’t really mean it then why do it.  What I have found so far is that “life” can get in the way of our goals and dreams.  We still need to set both, but sometimes it’s hard to get past the day-to-day stuff and do the things we really want to do.  I am working at making my actions in my business, my health, my household and relationships Intentional. 

in·ten·tion·al - /inˈten(t)SH(ə)nəl/ 
adjective
done on purpose; deliberate.

We have arrived in 2023 and as I see all the motivational posts about making this the best year ever, I have to wonder what are we even running for?  As someone that is self-employed, I feel like I'm always running to the next thing and I'm exhausted.  While setting goals is important don't forget to relax and enjoy the rewards of all your hard work.  Those that personally know me can confirm that I'm not a real runner and in fact hate running.  Then why am I always metaphorically running for others?  Like most people I have goals and ambition for my life.  So why do we allow others to sidetrack or derail us?  Are we trying to be helpful or is it about being needed or more likely about being in control.  Personally, I’m learning that being the person in control all the time is overrated and tiring.  Allowing others to take the lead can be very freeing.  So, I’ve decided to make this year about selfcare, enjoying things I already have and giving myself permission to say NO (when I really want to) and say YES to things that I want to do for me.  Here’s to 2023 and making it MY best year ever.

Here we are already at the end of 2022 and about to ring in 2023.  Not sure where this year has gone.  Do you ever get to the end of something and wonder how you got there already?  For me 2022 hasn't been like a childhood road trip where you ask, "are we there yet".  As I reflect on this past year and start making new plans and goals for 2023, I have to wonder about the things I meant to do.  Things like make time to meet with old friends, finish that quilt I started, sort old photos and work on our family scrapbooks, making selfcare a priority and of course advancing my business to the next level.  Earlier today I downloaded an End-of-the-Year Workbook provided by Hellofears.com (check her out, she is awesome).  This book is full of not only inspirational quotes, but also space to make notes about what got done in 2022 and help you set some goals for 2023.  While I haven't made the time yet to go through the workbook, I am looking forward to doing it.  Personally, I don't set resolutions for the new year, they are too easy not to do.  My focus for 2023 will be results... Instead of creating goals and to do lists I'm going to make a list of RESULTS that I want to see by the end of 2023 (or before).  I am finding that if you give yourself the right mind set the universe will bring things you need to accomplish your goals and purpose.  They might not always be what you thought you needed, but God is a pretty smart guy and loves us unconditionally (thank goodness).  Here's to a new year and I will sign off with one of my favorite quotes from the Anne of Green Gables books.... “Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it… Yet.”  Make 2023 the best ever.

Those that know me well know that I wear many hats, and there is always something to do.  Most people would say they are busy too.  Who are we to judge whether someone is or not.   I'm considered a busy person by most peoples standards, but don't we all have some flexible time?  Why do we ask people if they are busy anyway.  Most of the time what we really want to know is are they willing to give us some of their time.  Time has become more valuable then even money.  We are reminded by Grandpa George in the movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factor (1971)  that money is common and you can always make more.  But time isn't like that and the way we use our time can tell something about us.  Just a few things that I'm learning about myself...  I like to be in control of my time; we don't have to work all the time (even if we are self-employed); doing things that I enjoy can make me a happier and more relaxed person; and falling asleep to a movie on the couch can help me catch up on some missed sleep.  So the next time someone asks you if your busy be sure and know what time you willing to give them.  Don't let your busy schedule limit you on enjoying your life and loved ones.  Remember that time is limited and you don't get missed events back.