Category: Support This Cause

Gratitude Week: Thank You to All Experts

Now that Gratitude Week has come to a close, I want to extend a very special thank you to the 21 gracious, articulate, amazing experts and bestselling authors, who made this week possible.
My deepest desire is that these empowering gurus will change your life.
For my part, I know that I’ve been dramatically transformed just from holding these shows and hearing the remarkable thoughts shared by our guests.
Indeed, I’m feeling much better after accidentally smashing head first while running into glass. (In fact, I’m thrilled that my headaches are subsiding — concussion begone!) Learn about the origins of Gratitude Week on Gab with the Gurus by reading the press release about the event.
Please note that in all 5 shows for Gratitude Week, different angles were covered. And every show was equally fascinating, inspiring and helpful. So I urge you to listen to each and every show.
During Gratitude Week, you received insights on:
* How a practice of gratitude can completely transform your life.
* How being grateful can take you away from your pain
* How gratitude can help you to become creative.
* How grateful people are more optimistic.
* How when you are thankful, your grouchiness takes a hike.
* For what celebrities such as Alicia Keys and Morgan Freeman are grateful.
* How being grateful can help to diminish your stress.
* How an attitude of gratitude helps you become spiritual.
* And much more
You also received:
* Many wonderful, practical pointers on how you can fit gratitude your daily routine.
* Tips on how you can slip gratitude exercises here and there to enhance your happiness.
My heartfelt thanks goes to the following people:
Gratitude Week, Day 5: On Goal Setting, Creativity & Moving through Pain
* Cami Walker, author of the New York Times bestseller, 29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life and founder of www.29Gifts.org, a site that encourages people to sign up for a free 29-day giving challenges. Became more grateful after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a month before getting married.
* Dr. Larry Iverson, clinical psychologist and author of Unleash Your Success. www.DrLarryIverson.com
* Rabbi Irwin Kula, author of the award-winning Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life and recipient of the 2008 Walter Cronkite Faith and Freedom Award. (See Dr. Kula give great suggestions on “Oprah” here.)
Listen to Day 5 here: http://tinyurl.com/GratitudeWeekDay5-GabWithGurus
Here were Day 4’s wonderful guests.
Gratitude Week, Day 4: On Optimism, Managing Stress, Getting in Balance & Being Spiritual
* Dr. Terry Paulson, a psychologist, professional speaker, columnist and author of the new book, The Optimism Advantage. www.optimismadvantage.com
* Howard Martin, author of The Heart Math Solution and founding member of www.HeartMath.com, which researches the heart-brain connection and develops science-based solutions to reduce stress and improve performance
* Mary Treacy O’Keefe, co-founder and president of Well Within in St. Paul, Minnesota. Uses gratitude for stress reduction and spiritual growth. www.WellWithin.org
* Nora Firestone, journalist and founder of www.ThankingOfYou.com, a Web-based forum for posting (and discovering) stories of gratitude to “recognize, affirm and honor” the people who’ve made a difference in your life.
* Amy Weintraub, author of Yoga for Depression, founder of the LifeForce Yoga Healing Institute, and a leader in the field of yoga and mental health. Amy’s evidence-based yoga protocol is featured on the award-winning DVD series LifeForce Yoga to Beat the Blues. www.yogafordepression.com.
Listen to Day 4 – http://tinyurl.com/GratitudeWeekDay4-GabWithGurus
Gratitude Week, Day 3: On Celebrities, Gratitude Lists & Grouchiness
* Todd Aaron Jensen, an award-winning entertainment journalist, a Kundalini yoga instructor, youth baseball coach, father of six and author of the upcoming book, On Gratitude: 50 Celebrities on the Power of Giving Thanks (to be published Sept. 21, World Gratitude Day).
* Ciji Ware, a former KABC radio commentator, who has been keeping a “Gratitude List” for 2666 days (as of July 7). Jotting down 3 things a day for which she is grateful helped her turn her life around. Ciji is also author of the book, Rightsizing Your Life: Simplifying Your Surroundings While Keeping What Matters Most.
* Sally Marks, author of the ebook, Erase Negativity and Embrace the Magic Within. She contends that lack of gratitude is probably the number one cause of grouchiness.
* Sue Lundquist, author of “I’m Thankful” and owner of the I’m Thankful™ Network, which is syndicated syndicated across the country. www.ImThankful.com
Listen to Day 3 – http://tinyurl.com/GratitudeWeekDay3-GabWithGurus
Gratitude Week, Day 2: On Optimism, Love, Empowerment & Getting “Enough”
* Dr. Stephen G. Post, director of the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care and Bioethics at Stony Brook University and author of Why Good Things Happen to Good People http://www.stephengpost.com
* Dr. Diana Kirschner, psychologist and author Love in 90 Days: The Essential Guide to Finding Your Own True Love. http://www.lovein90days.com
* Elizabeth “Lily” Hills, author of the new book, A Feminine Manifesta, which delves into how women have sabotaged themselves by being their own worst critics. It shares how the power of gratitude can transform your life, freeing you up to be the best of who you can be. www.AFeminineManifesta.com
* Sue Lundquist, author of I’m Thankful and owner of the I’m Thankful™ Network, which is syndicated syndicated across the country. www.ImThankful.com
* Erika Oliver, a Positive Approach Coach and author of Happy Crap: The Power of Positive Assumptions! www.erikaoliver.com
* Corinne Gregory, President and Founder of SocialSmarts, a nationally-recognized program for teaching kids and adults positive social skills, character and values, and author of It’s Not Who You Know, It’s How You Treat Them
Listen to Day 2 – http://tinyurl.com/GratitudeWeekDay2-GabWithGurus
Gratitude Week, Day 1: On Happiness, Forgiveness, Coping & Resolving Food Issues
* Dr. Philip Watkins, psychology professor at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington. Conducted research on how gratitude contributes to happiness, your ability to cope and be healthy.
* Dr. Philip Friedman, psychologist and director of the Foundation for Well-Being in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. Published three clinical research articles on gratitude and forgiveness as they relate to well-being and change over time using empirical measures (GQ6 and GRATS) www.ForgivenessSolution.com
* Dr. Sharon Livingston, a psychologist who helps people with emotional eating problems and uses gratitude as an essential piece of healing this problem. www.EmotionalEatingSecrets.com
* Robert Mack, positive psychology expert and author, Happiness From the Inside Out: The Art and Science of Fulfillment and a positive psychology expert. www.happinessfromtheinsideout.com
Listen to Day 1 – http://tinyurl.com/GratitudeWeekDay1-GabWithGurus
Here are the links to all 5 shows:
Day 1 – http://tinyurl.com/GratitudeWeekDay1-GabWithGurus
Day 2 – http://tinyurl.com/GratitudeWeekDay2-GabWithGurus
Day 3 – http://tinyurl.com/GratitudeWeekDay3-GabWithGurus
Day 4 – http://tinyurl.com/GratitudeWeekDay4-GabWithGurus
Day 5 – http://tinyurl.com/GratitudeWeekDay5-GabWithGurus
Please note that you can subscribe to Gab with the Gurus on iTunes.
Get more details by reading the following press release about Gratitude Week on Gab with the Gurus.
Stay tuned for another Gab with the Gurus Radio Show on Sept. 21 for World Gratitude Day and another show (date TBA) with a couple of gratitude researchers, who were unable to participate in Gratitude Week.
Also, here’s another recent Gab with the Gurus Radio Show about gratitude with Stephanie Gunning.

Sugar Addicts: Share Your Success Stories from Sadness to Sweetness

Calling former sugar addicts: Have you kicked sugar and refined carbs?
And are you a reader of SUGAR SHOCK! who was then inspired to remove refined sweets from your life?
Did cutting out sugar enable you to boost your energy, release weight, become more cheerful, have better relationships and get other amazing benefits? If your sugar addiction is a thing of the past — or is under control — we want to hear from you!
Share your Sugar-Free Success story with me so I can share it on this Sugar Shock Blog and other places. Please help me to encourage, educate and inspire other people.
Wondering what a Sugar-Free Success Story sounds like? Read motivational Kick-Sugar Success Stories shared previously on the Sugar Shock Blog.
* Jimmy Moore, who I interviewed recently on my Gab With the Gurus Radio Show
* Jaime Jackson
* Felicia DesRosiers
* Karly Pitman
To be featured as a Kick-Sugar Success Story on this Sugar Shock Blog and on other places, you should have either cut out or heavily cut back on your sugar and quickie-carb consumption for at least 3 months and achieved wonderful results. By sharing your story, you agree that I can publish all or parts of it on my Sugar Shock Blog, any other websites or in an upcoming book or books. You agree that I can use your name and photo and that I will edit your story for accuracy and readability. You agree that you are contributing this piece to help others and that you are sharing it without compensation. (Sorry!) To tell your sour-to-sweet story and to be considered for inclusion in this column, just write to me with answers to the following questions. Please also send photos — preferably before-and-after photos.
* Your Name (full or first name only), City, State & Country (or just list state, if you like) & Age (if you choose):
* Your Previous Weight & Height & Your Present Height:
* Favorite Hobbies & Activities Now:
* When did you kick sugar? Have you quit other foods, too? If so, what?
* What are the biggest BENEFITS you’ve received from kicking sugar?
* What was your rock-bottom moment before you decided you needed to change your diet?
* Just how bad were you feeling? What ailments did you have? Please be specific.
* Please describe any pivotal moments. For example, you could share something that happened in your doctor’s office, how you behaved towards a loved one (like I confessed in Chapter 1 of my book SUGAR SHOCK!), or what embarrassing event made you decide that it was high time to tackle your sugar habit, etc.
* What made you finally decide to eliminate sugar and refined carbs to help with your health issues?
* Describe the day that you finally decided it was time to break free!
* What were the very first 3 things that you did to prepare yourself to quit sweets?
* DS (During Your Sugar Days), what did you used to eat?
* Tell us how bad you felt. What was your lowest point? What was it like?
* What do you think most people don’t know about processed carbs that they need to know?
* How did you first learn about the dangers of sugars and refined carbs?
* Did you find a doctor or other health professional (acupuncturist, nutritionist, etc.), who understood all about how eating sugar triggers drastic blood sugar swings, etc. Tell us about him or her.
* What were your biggest challenges when kicking sugar and refined carbs? Please help prepare others for any potential pitfalls ahead.
* Do you have any favorite websites, blogs, books, organizations or support groups that have helped you to lick your habit?
* What are your best 3 tips and tactics to help other people kick sweets and quickie carbs?
* Please share some final words of wisdom, inspiration, encouragement or motivation to others who are thinking of cutting out sugar and simple carbs.
* Add your own question and response, if you like:
Please feel free to share this call for Confessions of Sugar Addicts No More on your blog or website, in your ezine, on your Facebook page or via Twitter. Please note that Connie Bennett, author of SUGAR SHOCK!, and the founder of the Sugar Shock Blog (http://www.SugarShockBlog.com) is compiling this collection. Please let me know if you’ve shared this call to action.
If you are not yet a success story but want to me, learn how to Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction in 6 Weeks.

Your Subconscious Mind is the Secret to Success: Listen Now to Program with Hypnotherapist Debra Berndt

Wow! I just listened to a fablous teleseminar about the how your subconcious mind is what’s responsible for your financial situation, weight, love life or other issues.
You have 24 hours to listen now for free to this amazing program in which Bob Doyle of The Secret interviews Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist and Love-Mind Expert Debra Berndt, author of the new book, Let Love In: Open Your Heart and Mind to Attract Your Ideal Partner (Wiley).
Catch a replay now of this eciting teleseminar/webinar, which delves into how even though you may CONSCIOUSLY desire things, your subconscious mind really calls the shots as to whether or not we’re actually going to take the necessary action or be in the right “vibrational space” to attract the things we want in our lives.
You’ll learn that where you’re at as far as your health, sugar issues, money, relationships, career… everything… has to do with your subconscious mind.
You know how many teachers talk about the power of positive thinking and how our thoughts create our reality?
Well, to achieve your dreams, it’s important for you to REALLY get clear on just how big a part your
subconscious mind is playing in YOUR game of life.
Listen now to this is exciting teleseminar/webinar, in which Debra will tell you how you can:

It’s International Coaching Week: Call Me Friday 3 to 5 pm EST

It’s International Coaching Week through Feb. 13.
In honor of this week-long global celebration of the coaching profession, I’ll be taking calls and giving YOU complimentary 20-minute Strategy Sessions for 2 hours this Friday, from 3 to 5 pm EST.
(If you call during that time and I’m busy, I’ll call you back by the 13th, when International Coaching Week ends.)
That’s right — YOU can call me, and I’ll call you right back so you can get a taste of coaching and how it can help you.
In your FR*EE Strategy Session, we’ll zero in on your goals and dreams, whether it’s kicking sugar, writing a book or finding the love of your life.
To get details on how to reach me for your complimentary Strategy Session, join my Facebook Smart Habits Fans page.
Originally founded in 1999 by ICF member Jerri N. Udelson, MCC, International Coaching Week is “a designated time each year for coaches and clients to educate the general public about the value of working with a professional coach and to acknowledge the results and progress made through the coaching process.”
This week is a “perfect time for coaches to get out in their communities and show people what coaching is and how it can benefit their lives.”
As my clients have found, coaching has been proven “to help people attain their personal and professional goals and those who use it can expect to see a solid return on their investment.”
Talk to you Friday from 3 to 5 pm EST? To learn how to reach me, get details at my Smart Habits Fans page on Facebook.

My ABC’s to Break Free of Sugar & Other Bad Habits (Babits™)

Have you seen my video yet on YouTube, in which I shared My ABC’s to Break Free of Your Sugar Habit and Other Bad Habits?
Here’s a companion article to give you more information and tips to release your bad habits or what I call babits™.
My ABC’s to Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction & Other Bad Habits by Connie Bennett, CPC, CHHC
If you’re like most people, you’re often tempted by gorgeous, mouth-watering, nutrient-poor “treats”—dazzling donuts, colorful cereal or buttered bagels—and other bad habits such as excessive coffee-drinking, negative thinking, procrastinating and obsessive texting.
As I mentioned on my companion YouTube video, It’s certainly understandable if you feel tempted. Wherever you go and wherever you live, you’re inevitably bombarded by unhealthy foods, substances, thoughts and activities.
But I invite you to look inside and decide: Do you feel trapped or imprisoned by your sugar habit or other bad habit (what I call a babit™)?
And are you plagued by baffling health issues such as annoying weight gain, ferocious headaches or even type 2 diabetes?
I’m here to reassure you. You can escape from the prison of a bad habit.
In fact, I respectfully challenge you. Get out from under your sugar habit or other babits™ so that you can have a life that rocks!
You may be wondering WIFY (What’s In It For You?) if you overcome your bad habit. You can benefit in many ways!
You can get more energy, concentrate better, lose weight, become more productive, enjoy better relationships and so much more. And, as many clients have delightedly shared with me, if you cut out sugar and refined carbs, you even may be able to boost your libido!
So let me share my Double ABC’s to Break Free of Your Sugar Habit & Other Bad Habits (or what I call Babits™).(In my companion YouTube video, I share some of these tips. You’ll find more here.)
A is for Assume & Accept.
Just assume and accept that just about wherever you go, you’ll be tempted.
Your favorite aunt will nudge you to eat her favorite chocolate cake. You have to pass that vending machine at work. And no matter what, you’ll be taunted by candies galore while purchasing sundries at the local drug store.
But if you prepare for temptations—ones way more unhealthy than apples in the Garden of Eden—you can be prepared and always have healthy snacks on hand such as edamame (soy nuts), pumpkin seeds, hard-boiled eggs and sugar-free crackers or an apple (preferably organic) with almond butter.

Help for Sugar Addicts: Tips to Cut Back on Sugar

Would you like to lose weight, get more energy and possibly boost your libido?
Just kick sugar and refined carbs!
Admittedly, for many, that’s easier said than done, especially if you feel like you have a sugar addiction or carb addiction.
Of course, as my clients often admit and as I discovered back in 1998, quitting sugar can be quite challenging.
After all, for many of us, we learned to like the sweet stuff in our wombs! (Yes, one fan told me that when her mom was pregnant, she guzzled soda. Seriously, many of us are born hooked on sugar!)
So allow me to help you begin to break free. To get you going, here are three stories full of tips and tactics.
First, I invite you to read my Huffington Post Holiday Health story, 10 Tips to Conquer Your Cravings for Candies, Cookies Or Cakes.
Next, I encourage you to check out my 10 Ways to Kick Sugar article on eDiets.com.
And finally, I recommend that you read nutritionist Jonny Bowden’s fabulous piece, Top 10 Ways to Cut Back on Sugar.
Hope our articles help you. Let us know here. And if you have other tips, please share them with us, too.
For more help, I invite you to join the Smart Habits Fans on Facebook and to check out my book SUGAR SHOCK!

Food Diary Time: Soul-Searching Food Journal™ to Help You Now

At the end of the day, have you completely lost track of what you ate? Are you at a loss as to what sweets, culprit carbs or fatty snacks you’ve put in your mouth? Do you wonder why you’re packing on the pounds or feelingsluggish and unfocused?
Well, research shows that if you keep a food journal, you stand a greater chance of losing weight and achieving better health.
Indeed, people who’ve happily peeled off the weight — “Highly Successful Losers™,” as I call them — report that one of their Smart Diet Habits™ is to “Keep Track of Your Favorite Lab Rat™.
In other words, watch yourself as if you were lovingly monitoring the intake of your ailing beloved pet.
When you Keep Track of Your Favorite Lab Rat™, you don’t mindlessly shove nutrient-lacking non-foods into your mouth.
You begin to think before you eat, because you know you’ll be writing down whatever you put into your mouth — and will preferably (I hope, for your benefit) share it with an accountability partner.
To help you out, I’m sharing a food diary that I’ve created.
Feel free to share The Soul-Searching Food Journal™ with your friends, co-workers, gym buddies, bosses, hairdressers, fitness trainers, loved ones and even frustrating frenemies. In short, spread the link love, as some like to say. (Of course, please provide the proper credit though, as indicated below.)
The Soul-Searching Food Journal™ — © Copyright – Connie Bennett, Smart Habits Coach & Author, SUGAR SHOCK!