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Lifestyle Choices and Habits of Confident and Successful People

It looks as though some people in life are playing their cards right. Most of us know someone in life whose confidence and outlook we admire. They are happy, self-assured, successful, energized and they appear as if they haven’t a worry in the world. Cruising through life looking like everything is a breeze, they can whip a five course meal together without stress or complaining. They bring you course after course with a smile on their face looking the whole time as if they didn’t lift a finger. You may find yourself intrigued and relaxed in their presence. They are in charge – but what is their secret? And what are they doing to make you think that their life is perfect? If some people can go through life feeling like this, why can’t we all? A great quote from one of these people comes from Benjamin Franklin: “Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of the mind than on outward circumstances.” Our relationships, how we feel and our success all starts with our perception. Ever notice how negative people are always blaming something other than themselves and have a hard time relaxing?

Many years ago I attended a seminar by a motivational life coach/speaker Raymond Aaron. Raymond coaches people to be their best, expect the best and never ever give up. He is an amazing mentor who shines a light on all of our dark places. His goal is for his clients to become successful and gives them the tools and techniques to do just that. One of my first sessions with him was quite fascinating. He said that to be the best we can be we need to clean up our messes. What on earth did that mean? He literally wanted us to clean up the physical messes. His reasoning was that to create the life you want you cannot clutter it with mess, because it clutters your mind. If you are disorganized in one area of your life you are probably disorganized in all areas. Having clutter in our physical lives doesn’t allow for our true potential to shine through and fogs our decision making and motivation.

I took a look in my purse after the session and it was a mess. No wonder I couldn’t find anything. So I began cleaning up mess after mess. First the purse then the kitchen drawers, the garage and finally my office. Bam! I was finally organized. Once I cleaned up my outer surroundings the internal impact was immediate; I felt clear, organized and left with only one thing to do – continue bettering my life. I finally knew where everything was and I felt renewed. Raymond reminded me that to be creative you have to make space both inwardly and outwardly. I felt like I had a fresh start. Start by donating and throwing away things you don’t need – just get rid of it! When we have too many useless things in our lives we are much more likely to feel out of control and hopeless. Ask yourself if you truly need those boxes that have been sitting in storage for years.

Once I cleaned up my outer messes I got hooked on finding ways to improve my life. I then turned my focus inwardly and decided to clean up something else; the people in my life. This may sound harsh but in life there are many people who detract from our positive energy, slow us down, or simply waste our time. You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Just like airplane safety procedures; you must take care of yourself before assisting others. And so I began. I used my personal motto and that is: “You have to help me grow or you have to go!” Your friends are a reflection of you. I wanted people to challenge me, love me and support all of my endeavors. If you only hang out with negative people, how can you ever expect to have a positive outlook? I needed to weed the garden of my life and water those special flowers. This exercise helped me truly appreciate the relationships and amazing people in my life.

Once all of the inward and outward messes got cleaned up I felt like I was brand new and full of energy and love. Most profoundly, I was motivated. If you could take care of the things on your mind right now, what would that entail? It all starts with one step at a time. Clean up the mess!

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Top Health Benefits of Eating an Apple a Day

We’ve all heard the phrase “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” but is there actually any truth to it? The phrase dates back to the 1860s out of Wales. It has evolved from: ‘‘Eat an apple on going to bed, and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread.”

Ancient Romans boasted about the health properties of Apples and it also ties back to Ayurvedic medicine from 1,500 years ago. They certainly were on to something back then, and there’s a reason the phrase still holds strong today in its simplified form. Essentially all fruits have tremendous nutritional benefits, apples were likely singled out years ago because they are easy to grow and can be stored for a long time, but let’s not negate their tremendous benefits.

Apples are full of beneficial health properties. For starters, they have some of the highest concentration of antioxidants out of all foods. No other fruit can compare to the vitamins and minerals in the cholesterol and uric acid lowering apple. Old apple varieties (that turn brown quickly) are especially rich in polyphenols which actively counteract free-radicals.

Apples contain pectin, a soluble fibre which helps reduce our cholesterol levels and help maintain a healthy digestive system.

Chewing apples stimulates our saliva production which has a host of health benefits for our mouths, namely lowering the levels of bad bacteria and reducing tooth decay.

A 2011 Dutch study found that consuming apples and pears may help prevent strokes.

Another study in 2012 by Ohio State University found that eating an apple a day significantly helped lower the levels of bad cholesterol amongst middle-aged adults.

Strong bones and a healthy brain – Apples contain boron, a nutrient which aids calcium metabolism, gives anti-arthritic properties and has been known to help sharpen our brains.

Apples are loaded with phytonutrients; Vitamins A, E, and Beta-Carotene. These nutrients can help prevent spikes in blood sugar and reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes and asthma.

Vitamin C – there’s no shortage of information on health benefits of Vitamin C, one of the best things we can consume for our immune systems which apples contain a good amount of.

Prevention of Gallstones – we get gallstones when we have too much cholesterol in our bile to remain a liquid. Diets high in fibre (go apples!) can help alleviate these conditions.

Better bowl movements – The fiber found in apples can absorb excess water from your stools and pull water out of your colon to keep the tracks moving smoothly.

When eating apples, make sure you eat the skin too. Many of the nutrients are actually located in the skin. I always recommend buying organic foods when you can, and some are more important than others; according to The Environmental Working Group, apples are one of the most heavily pesticide-contaminated produces. Always wash them thoroughly before eating them. Finally, apple seeds should be avoided by pregnant and nursing women as they are toxic when consumed at high doses.

 

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Should I Eat Fats? Truths and Myths

In this article I aim to shed light on some of the common misconceptions about fat. Our society has been wrongly led to believe that consuming fats are bad for us. Not only is that untrue, it’s dangerous. Good fats are needed by our bodies for a number of reasons. Here are just some of the more common myths we hear and why they’re simply untrue.

Myth: Eating Fat makes you Fat

Fat is an essential part of every single one of your cell membranes and is also required in order to properly digest fat soluble vitamins. We need good quality fats as a source of energy and to help manage inflammation in our bodies. Inflammation is one of the main reasons why we have so many diseases today. Eating “good” fats make us feel fuller quicker and longer – craving less of the foods our bodies don’t need. The real culprit to gaining unnecessary weight are sugars and refined carbohydrates (think white, processed foods) – when we eat sweets our blood sugar and insulin levels spike. Three things happen when we have too much insulin in our bodies: we’re constantly hungry, we block our body’s ability to burn fat – contributing to aging, and our body stores sugars as fats and we actually end up craving even more. By eating good fats like nuts, seeds, avocados, olive and coconut oil, we are less likely to have these cravings.

 

Myth: Saturated Fat is Bad for you

“Simplistic and inaccurate half-truths that serve advertising and sales efforts have created confusion. We need clear, factual information in simple English.” – Udo Erasmus, Fats that Heal – Fats that Kill

Not too long ago we were wrongly told that all fats are bad. People still make the untrue connection that eating fat leads to being fat; this is simply untrue and can have horrible health consequences. Saturated fats are needed by our bodies for a number of reasons. Study after study have continued to show that there is no correlation between consuming saturated fats and cardiovascular diseases.

Saturated Fats also help promote your liver health as they aid as protection from alcohol, drugs, and medications. Your lungs also benefit; your lungs are coated in a surfactant which is 100% saturated fatty acids. By not eating these fats, this layer can collapse your airspace and distress your respiratory system.

Saturated fats are also essential to your nervous system and ultimately the signals responsible for your metabolism and managing insulin releases. We also need saturated fats in our white blood cells to maintain strong immune health, and finally – our brains. Our brains are made mostly of fat (60%!) and cholesterol . We now know that we need essential fatty acids (like in your salmon) for proper brain and nerve function, but the bulk of the fatty acids in your brain are indeed saturated – we need to feed our brain these fatty acids!

 

Myth: Margarine is Better for you than Butter

There’s an old saying – You should never eat a food that has to pass through a chemistry lab on the way to your mouth. As we just touched on, Margarine was born when doctors started wrongly claiming that saturated fats were a no-no. True butter has one ingredient – churned cow’s milk. Margarine is highly processed and is primarily made with vegetable oil which is normally a liquid at room temperature. To make it solid, margarine usually is hydrogenated,  turning some of the oil into harmful trans fats which interfere with your normal biochemical processes. Even if margarine is labelled as trans fat free (they can make the claim if there’s less than 0.5 grams per serving), the oils margarine are made with are often high in Omega-6 fatty acids – which we already consume too much of. Other studies have even linked the consumption of polyunsaturated vegetable oils with a host of other problems; cancer, violence, and yes… even heart disease.

 

Myth: Low-fat Foods are Better for you

When fat is taken out of food, the taste often goes with it. Food companies replace this with sugar – which as we described above is actually worse for gaining fat than consuming fats in your diet. Many low fat foods are heavily processed and very low in essential vitamins and minerals. Relying on these foods can lead to deficiencies and many other health problems. On top of being full of additives and sweeteners, low-fat foods are usually laced with high fructose corn-syrup!

 

Myth: Eating Fat will Raise your Cholesterol

Recent evidence does not support this old claim that has been engrained in our society. We have anywhere from 1,100 to 1,700 milligrams of cholesterol in our bodies. Upwards of 75% of that can be produced inside of our bodies by our liver, the rest comes from our diet. Most people actually don’t see spikes in cholesterol from consuming cholesterol, and if they do, they are usually very short lived. The majority of the cholesterol in our foods actually can’t be absorbed by our bodies, and our bodies are really good at regulating our cholesterol levels; when our intake goes up our body simply produces less.

 

Myth: LDL Cholesterol is Bad

Low-density lipoprotein is known as the “lousy cholesterol”, as high levels are known to increase your cardiovascular risk. However, LDL cholesterol also acts as an antioxidant and is needed to waterproof cells and keep cell membranes fluid – our bodies do still need an adequate level, it’s when levels get too high that we have issues. Niacin (or vitamin B3) can actually lower our natural production of LDL which helps to keep our blood fats low. When this happens, we see an increase in cell metabolism which burns more glucose and prevents sugars and starches from turning to fat. You can supplement your diet with sun-dried tomatoes, paprika, bran and chicken to get a good dosage of B3.

 

Myth: Your Body Doesn’t need Fat

As we touched on above, our bodies simply need fats. But many of us are consuming too much of the wrong types of fats. The average North American’s daily caloric intake is comprised of roughly 45% calories from fat, whereas it should be 25-35%. Good fats like Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) are fats the body needs to build important structures like cell membranes.

 

Myth: Coconut Oil is Bad for you

Coconut oil is high in medium-chain triglycerides which help boost metabolism. They also contain lauric acid which converts to monolaurin – together these have positive antibacterial properties; fighting off bacteria, fungi and viruses. Coconut oil is also extremely heat stable unlike many other vegetable oils, making it ideal for high temperature cooking. Additionally, coconut oil can turn to ketone in our liver which provides energy to our brains. In one study, women who consumed coconut oil versus soybean oil actually reduced waist circumference.

 

Myth: Avocados are Fattening

While most calories from Avocados do come from fat, two thirds of those fats are the heart healthy monounsaturated fats (which are also found in olive oil). Monounsaturated fatty acids which help increase HDL and lower LDL. Avocados have been noted as one of the key contributors to the healthy Mediterranean diet. Not only do they contain healthy fats, avocados are high in fiber, beta carotene, folate and potassium. Plus they’re delicious!

Many of the above misconceptions have been big contributors to North America’s obesity epidemic. I’ve recently begun introducing my clients to a revolutionary diet program which aims to adapt and regulate your diet to bring your hormones and metabolism to their ideal balance. Click here for more information on Metabolic Balance.

What are your thoughts on consuming fats? Share your comments below

 

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Can’t Take a Compliment?… Just Say Thank You!

Has anyone ever given you a compliment and you immediately brushed it off as quickly as it came? The person may simply have been admiring something that they found positive in you, yet we are all too fast to dismiss the kind words. Or worse – we end up in a more negative state then we started off in!

This often leaves the other person puzzled as they were truly speaking from their heart. How come so many of us have so much trouble accepting compliments – and how can we take away something positive from these experiences? We have all had so many experiences in life that leave us jaded, and at these times most of us are really our own worst enemy. Without the right attitude, a positive intent can quickly turn negative and rob us of our vitality and our confidence. That doesn’t sound right – does it?

Wouldn’t it just be great if we could say “thank you” and truly believe it? Well you can. The next time you hear someone say to you, “I love your hair”, don’t run your hands through it and say something like “oh I haven’t washed it for a week,” just say thank you! At first you still may not find their words to be genuine or you may innately reject them off the bat, but the more you say thank you the more a funny thing begins to happen; A deep part of your self hears it and you start to feel good! And when you feel good you shine and radiate energy, leading to a snowball effect of positive emotions. Who doesn’t want that?

Like most people, I personally used to have a terrible time accepting compliments. The turning point was during a trip to the Caribbean; My family had just given up our dream home when a close friend invited me and paid for a vacation to Jamaica. One day while I was there, I decided to go mellow out and relax at the spa. I wanted to treat myself but money was tight, and when I got up to leave my friend came in and informed me that the bill was paid for. Of course my first reaction was to dismiss this and say no – he had already done way too much. However, he simply put up his hand and said to me, “Jane, just say thank you”… and so I did.  I realized that by saying no to the gift I was only holding myself back. When we brush off compliments and acts of generosity we are only doing ourselves more harm than good. I realized that I had been doing this my entire life. Are we really meant to turn these things away?

We can all easily compliment others – We’ve all heard people say: “You made my day!” Every so often we’ll compliment someone who knows how to take it, and we’ll see them wiggle with joy. Well it is your turn. Many of us probably don’t even realize how many nice things are actually said to us – we tune them out and dismiss them.

Well friends, I challenge you to make a change and start reaping the benefits of feeling good! Today is a new day. Ask yourself how confident you are from one to ten. If you are not at the top and you have an issue accepting compliments, then start by saying “thank you” and watch what happens. Lastly start complimenting others – Words carry energy and have a tremendous ripple effect. By bringing a light to someone else’s day you can also brighten yours.

You are perfect just the way you are… just say thank you!

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Being Beautiful and Confident From the Inside Out


Everyone admires a rightfully confident person as they have something that we all want. They seem to walk through life effortlessly. But is confidence taught or is it caught? Being beautiful from the inside out is a process. Many confident people have created habits for themselves which they reinforce every single day. In this article I would like to talk about the first of ten habits that I use every day which maintains my sense of self and fills me with joy and a lust for life.

From early childhood I struggled with confidence and it took me years to feel good about myself. I observed the habits of others, questioned them, and began to adapt and make small changes in how I carried myself. I focused not on the negative, but on the positive. I began to create positive habits in my life without worrying what habits I should drop, as they began to disappear and found no room in my new found outlook.

There are so many things we can do for ourselves and our confidence. It is really up to you as no one else can do this for you. If you want change in your life then take these steps as life passes us pretty fast. Ideally each of us wants to be confident and never feel that we can’t do it. You can. I love to watch the Olympics on TV for two reasons. First, their athleticism is incredible and those who win knew they were going to win! They saw the gold medal in their mind’s eye and believed in it from a very early age. So it’s no surprise to me when they are the ones standing on the podium!

 Keeping your Eye on the Prize

When I was a teenager I was sitting on a dock in the summertime and I observed a seagull circle above the water. Around and around he went and then finally he splashed into down into the water and pulled out a fish in a seemingly effortless fashion. He kept his eye on the prize. This is what we need to do. First, know what you want and secondly never take your attention off of your goal.  Maybe you don’t know what you want? Then ask yourself: if you could wave a magic wand in your life what would you like to happen right now. Think about that. Maybe it is a new job or relationship. Life is like a restaurant; we have to put our order in. Once you know what it is, it is there for the taking – but how do you do that?  Your thoughts have energy and everything is energy. When you put energy into something it draws it closer to you.

15 Times a Day

The first exercise I would like to share with you is the 15 Times a Day Exercise. Write your goal down 15 times a day by hand every day until it becomes a reality. If you want a mate but don’t leave the house you will never meet anyone, so you have to do your part. By writing it 15 times a day magical things begin to happen. It can be a goal or a statement of how you want to perceive yourself; it could be “I am beautiful”, “I am Happy”, “I am confident”, “I am in a loving relationship”, “I am getting a raise”… When I first started this myself I was at a crossroads and did not know what to do. Someone told me about this exercise and I began to practice it. Mine was really long and it took me a long time to write it, but it was worth it.

It was, “I am happy, healthy, peaceful, prosperous, and live in an abundant spiritual and emotional world”.  Today my business is growing beyond my expectations and I am grateful for having so many loving and amazing people in my life. One week after I started this exercise I had an offer to join a medical team and two weeks later my father knocked on my door and handed me a gift of money. He told me that my 8 siblings and I were all getting the same amount. I was floored. My parents had never done anything like that before. When I wasn’t writing it I was saying it over and over in my head. Maybe it was by chance, but believe it or not six months later I won five thousand dollars in the Canadian Cancer Society Lottery. By repeating your goal over and over to yourself, you become a magnet – attracting things that help you make it a reality. It is so simple – you just have to do your part. If you want change then make change happen. No one can do it for you. You are going down a new road and so many surprises await you. Just watch what happens.

Have an attitude of wonderment and let the universe fill in the blanks. Set your goals, expect the best, allow for the unexpected and be grateful for the gifts that come your way.

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Energy: What is your Vibration?

Did you know that the average human vibrates at a rate of 62 to 68 MHz. This vibration is literally your electrical charge, which translates in energy. Bruce Tainio created a frequency monitor called a BT3 Frequency Monitoring system that measures the frequency and or the vibration of the body. The rate in which your body vibrates is affected by many variables however there are ways that you can consciously increase our vibration in very simple ways.

Often people think that those with “lots” of energy are just lucky but they make very specific life choices which increase their energy. Eating well, exercising and taking time off has such a positive affect on ones energy . Eating fast, frozen, fried junk and processed foods will deplete you as they have no energy left in them.

Emotions also have vibrations. When you are feeling happy or joyful you vibrate at a higher level. On the other hand when you are sad or angry you will vibrate at a lower level. Your immune system will drop when your vibration drops. When someone has a cold or flu they will vibrate at 57-60 MHz. Your body is even more susceptible  to cancer when the vibration is 42MHz or lower.

A negative mental state can drop your vibration by 10-12MHz and a positive mental state can increase your vibration by 10-15MHz. If one wants to increase their vibration then eating fresh ripe fruits, organic vegetables and drinking freshly squeezed juices will change the vibration. You can actually feel it when you eat these foods. These foods are raw and they contain great enzymes and energy absorbed from the sun.  Foods that contain medium amounts of energy are nuts, seeds, maple syrup, sprouted grains, cooked vegetables and raw sheep dairy. Foods that contain the lowest amount of energy are cooked grains like muffins. pancakes and any thing made from white flour. A BIG MAC has vibrate at a rate of 5 MHz vs. green vegetable which are 70-90 MHz; higher then your own body!

It is important to eat food in its most natural state. Your dinner plate should be full of colour. The more colour the more alive the food is and the more alive you will feel. Microwaving your foods will diminish the energy as well. So take some time to reevaluate your energy. You want to wake up feeling like a 10 and go to bed feeling like a 10.

Take the challenge…. eat whole live foods for the next 21 days and see how much better you feel!!!

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How do we learn to love ourselves? Toronto Nutritionist

The first time I met Joanne, she was overweight, sad, depressed and having financial problems. I had just launched my holistic practice and was discovering ways to successfully help people heal themselves. As our first session wound to a close, I gave Joanne an exercise as homework: For the next 6 weeks, she was to say, ‘I love myself’, ‘I love myself’, ‘I love myself’, as often as possible.

Joanne left with a little smile on her face. Six weeks later, when she walked in to my office, I honestly didn’t recognize her. She had lost 25 lbs. and was radiant. I asked her what she’d done to transform herself to that degree, completely forgetting the exercise I’d given her. When she told me how religiously she’d done her homework, I was blown away by the results and began to use the mantra on myself.

Nikki, another client, was a beautiful hair dresser, full of confidence and looked absolutely amazing. When I enquired about her history, she told me that she used to have low self-esteem. One day, she’d decided that from then on, she’d put on her best clothes every day. Hmm I thought I should try that as well. Within a few days, of donning my best clothes every day, people began to complement me on my appearance. At the same time, I was using my affirmation, ‘I love myself’. I felt that my cells were being changed with my new affirmation.

Then came Victoria. She’s a long-time friend with a lot of confidence. Several of us went on a trip to Jamaica. The first morning, we were putting on our bathing suits to go out to the beach. I came out in a one piece, but Victoria, who is a large woman, sauntered out in a bikini. She strutted down the beach looking stunning, radiant and confident. I thought to myself, why don’t I feel that way? Although, I was extremely disciplined and did some form of exercise every day, I realized I was very critical with myself. After observing Victoria, I decided from then on, I was going to enjoy my body and love it, warts and all.

Then I met Madeline. Madeline, a student of mine told me she lived every day like it was her birthday. Each day, she dressed as if she was celebrating her special day and because it was her birthday, she adopted a feeling of being special, just as one does on their birthday. As Madeline continued to apply her ‘birthday technique’ a deep love for herself developed. After, discovering Madeleine’s secret, I too began to live each day like it was my birthday.

Sometime later, after saying I love myself all day every day, and wearing my best clothes every day, and living each day like it was my birthday, it happened. Finally, I truly loved myself! I am not perfect, but I love and respect myself.

I have a personal motto that fits with all I’ve learned from these four women: People have to help me grow or they have to go! And because of this, I surround myself with people like Joanne, Nikki, Victoria and Madeline.

Robyn Sharma is one of my favorite authors. He says that there are no extra people on earth. Everyone matters. Everyone has a purpose. Reading these words was the icing on the cake; I love myself and know that I along with every human being am special and unique.

What I learned from these amazing women can be applied by anyone. Try these techniques and you will be surprised by the results; I was. The changes will not happen overnight, but one day you will look in the mirror and discover you truly love yourself too!

In health,

Jane Durst Pulkys, BSc., R.N.C.P., C.N.P.

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Toronto Nutritionist – Winning Practices for a Healthy Body

Jane Durst Pulkys, www.creativehealth.ca, talks about the 5 winning daily practices for maintaining a healthy body weight.

In her video Jane explores the 5 key daily components that the successful people use to keep themselves at their optimal body weight; nutrition, exercise, hydration, sleep and stress management. Jane gives easy to follow tips for each practice to help viewers easily incorporate these essential habits into their daily lives.

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Toronto Nutritionist – Morning Protein Shake Recipe!

Hi I’m Jane Durst Pulkys, from www.creativehealth.ca. This is my absolute favourite morning shake recipe. This shake fills you up, provides your body with hours of energy and does wonders for your health.

The key ingredients include: Ground flax seeds, which provides the body with fiber and helps prevent high cholesterol and diabetes. Fresh fruit, which provides the body with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Beneficial oils, which provides the body with Omega 369’s, is anti inflammatory and improves skin and hair. Whey protein, which provides the body with lots of energy.

Protein Shake Recipe - Jane Durst Pulkys - Toronto Nutritionist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients: 

1. 1/2 cup pure filtered water

2. 2 heaping tbsp, Ground Flax Seeds

3. 1 1/2 cups mixed fruit

4. 2 tbsp omega oils (EFA – Plex by Flora)

5. 1 1/2 scoops TrueHealth protein powder

Directions: Add ingredients to a blender or large mixing container. Blend for 1 minute or until all ingredients are completely blended. Serves 1 person.

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Toronto Nutritionist – Jane Durst Pulkys – Finding Your True Purpose

I always wondered what I wanted to be when I grew up! Even at forty years old I still had no idea what my purpose was. During my search for that clarity a friend often asked me, “What do you love more than anything else in the world that you would be willing to do for free?”

As I began to explore this question for myself, I discovered my own unique purpose lay in something I’d always loved to do: cooking. Earlier in my twenties I’d attained a degree as a dietician, but after having three children, my attention turned to family and entertaining for family and friends. People always raved about my salads and special meals I prepared. That was a clue for me about what my true purpose is.

Later, my love of cooking and health drew me to get a degree as a nutritionist. Add a dash of this and that, I finally found my passion and my purpose. Eventually I married my purpose to my career to create an extremely fulfilling life.

Carol Adrienne, author of The Purpose of Your Life says, “The more you can actually experience the feeling of using a talent, the more you will attract opportunities for its expression.”

By using your talents and gifts, you will find yourself achieving more integrity within yourself.

Our purpose may not be our career, but in something much more intrinsic to our way of being. Life is a bit like a movie with a theme and characters. We may find that we are drawn along a certain theme in life to discover more about the purpose of the story we are in. Some of the themes that may guide us to our purpose are: travel, nature, environment, pets, food, mechanics or other themes that we have a strong passion for. Or we may find that a turning point in our life creates an urgency to explore health, finances or another area of life, therefore giving us more awareness about what we have a passion for.

Sometimes we are blind to our purpose because the idea of being different in the eyes of others is too much to bear. Perhaps we are meant to be a health practitioner, artist, writer or athlete but we allow the opinions of our family or friends to deter us from what would truly bring joy and happiness to ourselves and others. Too often we let another’s opinion dissuade us from investigating what we know in our heart may fulfill us.

One night while lying in my bed I asked myself, if I died today would I have any regrets? The answer was no! I’ve never let anyone else’s opinion get in the way of being the best me I can be. After many years, I did discover a way to serve in my career and in my life. Today each day is a joy as I serve life with my own unique gifts and talents as a nutritionist and coach.

Know that you have an important reason for being alive. You can make a difference. Begin now to explore the themes in your life and what brings out the best in you and others.  You can discover your own unique purpose through following your heart and trusting in that universal force within us all.

By Jane Durst-Pulkys

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