Live It Up eNews!

June 2009  

Coconut Curry Prawns 

Slice an onion thinly, and begin to fry in a hot wok oiled with grape seed oil, and 1 tablespoon curry powder, 1 finely diced red chilli, and 3/4 cup long thread coconut, and stir frequently over high heat.  

When onion is half cooked, add 2 cloves of garlic finely sliced or diced, 3/4 cup broccoli (small pieces), 1/2 cup asparagus, 1/2 a red capsicum finely sliced, 2 cups cooked peeled prawns and juice of half a lemon.  Stir and toss until vegies are crisp and tender and serve with brown rice.

Quote of the month

Bette Davis (1908 - 1989) 
The Lonely Life, 1962

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Give him a call on 3368 3235 and see him at Red Hill.

Dear Reader

Another busy time flies by, as I catch up with gorgeous grandchildren, do some ballroom dancing, and think about that book I am going to write.  

Recently, I heard Rachael Bermingham who is the co-author of 4 Ingredients and several other books, speak at one of Terri Cooper's Networking breakfasts.  That is one inspiring lady who is an absolute dynamo and puts me to shame in the productivity stakes.  I even got to taste-test some gluten free recipes which were great, and they only had 4 ingredients!

So, if you want inspiration and motivation, the key is to take action of course.  Action will help with self-esteem issues too so read on in my article below.

Until next month, Live Life 2 The Max!  Narelle

Self-Esteem:

to hold yourself in high regard!

© Narelle Stratford 2009

What stops you from having high self-esteem now?  

Let's see how many boxes you tick:

1. I compare myself to others and always fall short.

2. I tell myself any one or more of these:
   "if my boyfriend hadn't left me, I'd be happy"
   "if my mother would just accept me, I'd be happy"
   "when I get my degree, I'll be happy"
   "when I get this job, I'll be happy"
   "when I get this finished, I'll be able to relax"
   "when I go overseas I'll be stress-free"

3. Your turn, fill in the blanks:
   "when I ....................... I'll be ......................"
   "if .............................., I'd be ....................."

4. Rather than wait for negative or critical feedback from others, I freely and often give it to myself:
   "I'm such an idiot"
   "I hate myself"
   "I'm so dumb who would want to hire me?"
   "I'll never get a boyfriend, I'm pretty boring"
   "I'm such a loser, no girl would date me"

5. Not content with that, have you ever delivered yourself the ultimate blow:
   "Why was I born?"
   "I hate myself"
   "I wish I was dead"

If you are living with the negative impact of these defeating thoughts and feelings, you cannot feel good because your inner child, your subconscious, your child within (whatever you call him or her) will feel miserable in response and of course your self-esteem will plummet.

Simply, if you stop yourself comparing yourself with others and realise it is okay to just be, that your worth is not dependant on what you do, but just on being yourself, you are a step closer to feeling good about yourself.

If you can value your own opinion and hold fast to yourself and treat yourself with respect, you will be another step closer to higher self-regard.

When you validate yourself, appreciate yourself and care enough about yourself to do the right thing for yourself, you will be showing practical love and affection for yourself... and your self-esteem will blossom.

In Australia, we have suffered the tall poppy syndrome for too long.  That old syndrome that says if someone is doing well and standing up and out of the crowd, we had better chop their head off (take the head off the tall poppy!) and put them down.  Because we wouldn't want them getting too big for their boots now would we?

The damage was done because we couldn't allow ourself to do big things, better things or great things because we risk losing our head.  

The tall poppy syndrome came about because in Australia in the early convict settlement days, if you stood out from the rest, it wasn't a good thing and brought trouble and despair to all concerned.  BUT THOSE DAYS ARE GONE NOW, and it is time to say it is OK, it is GOOD, it is GREAT to excel and shine and stand out.

So praise yourself, and love yourself (give yourself a kiss) and approve of yourself for even the minor things, and especially the major achievements.  You will then stand out in your own mind and that's where you are most important.

 Master's Wisdom!

"I love winter, I get to snuggle up and 
get lots of pats for no reason at all than I am loved."

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