Author: Angie Calcote

Lately, it seems everywhere I look, someone is talking about establishing a morning routine to set ourselves up for a successful productive day. Some of the most successful people in the country start their day, every day, the same way. Everyone from Rachel Hollis to Oprah has talked about their morning routines, and those routines include journaling. Journaling is a form of self-care that allows us to find clarity from our thoughts and feelings, get to know ourselves on a different level, and can be a creative outlet or just an outlet.

                As I’ve mentioned before I am a HUGE advocate for self-care. Self-care is the single most important thing we can do for ourselves. It doesn’t have to cost any money, and it doesn’t have to take up a lot of time. You can easily fit in 5-30 minutes of self-care every day. Some ideas include meditation, read your Bible, exercise, listening to music/podcast/audiobook, journaling, or soaking in the tub. All these things can be done for free and require minimal time to do them. If you do have more time to devote to a self-care practice you can add things together. For instance, I like to start my day by drinking my pre-workout supplement then reading a devotional book and writing in my journal for 20 minutes before I do my workout. This helps me start my day on a positive note. By clearing my head and getting my exercise in, I’m setting a positive intention for the day, and I feel a sense of accomplishment before the day really begins.

                Most people find journaling to be a daunting task. I know I did the first time I sat down to an empty piece of paper with the hopes of pouring my thoughts on to it. The concept of daily journaling is not new. There are records all the way back to the beginning of time where people wrote down their thoughts, feelings, struggles, and triumphs. But sometimes getting started is hard. Or maybe getting started is easy because you are excited, but you quickly begin to struggle with what to say.

That’s where I come in! I have compiled a list of 21 journal writing prompts. Why 21? Why not 30? I chose 21 because evidence suggests it take 21 days to form a habit. When starting a new practice, you must give it your all for the first 21 days, and then it becomes more natural because it’s a habit, and you don’t have to think about it as much.

                Before you begin your journaling practice, you must set realistic, journaling goals. Start small with a 5-minute goal. Read the prompt for the day and set a timer for five minutes. If you aren’t done at the end of 5 minutes keep going. If at the end of the week you are consistently going over the 5 minutes increase the time, if not keep it at 5 minutes and reevaluate the next week.

Day 1

Plan out your morning routine. What activities would help you start your day best? DO you need a cup of coffee before you can think about the day? DO you enjoy a morning workout? How much time can you give yourself in the morning? Get up an extra 30 minutes or an hour before everyone else and see what you can accomplish. Write down the plan and make it a goal to do that plan every morning for the next 21 days.

Day 2

Describe your strengths and weaknesses. How can you turn your weaknesses into strengths? Are they really weaknesses or things you don’t like about yourself?

Day 3

Do you have a happy place or a place you think of as safe? It can be real or imaginary. Describe it. What about it makes you feel safe.

Day 4

Think about your family’s traditions. They can be positive or negative. Do you look forward to them? Have you incorporated childhood traditions into your adult life?

Day 5

List 5 things you are grateful for and why.

Day 6

List 3 activities that bring you joy and why.

Day 7

List 2 things you generally say yes to and 2 things you typically say no to. Are there things you say yes to often that you should say no to? Are there things you say no to that you should say yes to?

Day 8

List 3 qualities that you aspire to and why.

Day 9

List 5 roles or labels you feel define you. Why did you choose these things? Are they your truth? Can they be changed? Can your perception of the role/label be changed?

Day 10

Write a letter to a loved one, living or past. It can be about anything. Do you want to tell someone how much you love them or a lost relative about all the things that have happened since they passed?

Day 11

Think of the one thing you need most right now. How can you communicate that need to a particular person?

Day 12

Think about your job. Do you have a traditional job, do you work from home, or do you stay home and manage the family? Do you get satisfaction for what you do daily? How would you change it?

Day 13

Think about your relationship with food. Do you feel you have a healthy or unhealthy relationship with food? Do your feelings affect the foods you eat? Do crave certain foods when you are stressed?

Day 14

Revisit your morning routine. Have you stuck with it? How has it changed? Does something need to change?

Day 15

Think about a time when you felt an emotion very strongly. Was it a positive or negative emotion? Did you have a physical reaction to the emotion? Did the emotion affect your interaction with your environment? What did hear and smell? By expressing your emotional state through your physical experience of it, you’re able to probe into the heart of it.

Day 16

Think back on yesterday’s prompt. Can you do the same thing with your current state? What emotions are you experiencing right now? What is your physical response to it?

Day 17

Describe your relationship with your spouse or significant other.

Day 18

Describe your relationship with your children. If you don’t have children, reflect on your childhood relationship with your parents.

Day 19

Describe your relationship with your parents.

Day 20

Describe your relationship with your siblings. If you don’t have siblings, reflect on your life as an only child.

Day 21

Think about your friendships. Is there one that is more significant than the rest? Is there one that needs more or less of your attention?

Once you have completed these 21 days, I hope that you will find it easier to sit with your thoughts a moment and write about what is on your heart that day. If you still have trouble, consider making a list of topics as you go about your day. Thoughts that re enter your mind, events that have occurred, a theme in the service at church. Writing prompts are everywhere, you just have to stop and look for them. Just remember, journaling is for you. It’s not intended to be shared unless you choose to share it.

I challenge each of you to give journaling a try. I find it to be relaxing to reflect on my thoughts and experiences. To open our own eyes to ourselves and the beauty within.

Hey everyone! I’ve been on a little hiatus, busy with school and life and all the things! But I wanted to share something with you all that I have learned this year. As I have said before healthy living is a journey, sometimes there are bumps in the road. Stress happens, life happens, so many things can throw us off course, but the good news is that just like a road trip where you take the wrong exit you can get turned back around!

Last year was very difficult for my family and I. I fell off track with my goals and my nutrition. I exercised regularly, but I was not fueling my body. In January, I decided I was going to get back on track! Overall I am doing so much better however I had not seen results. There has been no added weight, but there has been a tug of war going on.

I started a nutrition plan the beginning of April that is helping me to see where I am going wrong. I am an emotional, or stress, eater. I eat sweets and junk when I am stressed because the sugars give me that happy feeling that I crave. I struggle with anxiety and depression. I go between not eating due to my anxiety to overeating. This is not a new behavior it has just been brought to my attention.

I say all that to say that I want to share with you a little bit of the insight I have learned from the past 21 days of food journaling. What is food journaling you might ask? Food journaling is the process of writing down not only what you eat but taking time to reflect on your emotions surrounding food. Now some of you will probably click on to another web page about right now, and that’s ok! Everyone does not have a negative relationship with food.  

For those of you that are still with me, this is how you get started! Step 1 get a notebook. Step 2 follow this plan every day for a week. Then reflect, you may want to continue this process daily, you may not notice any pattern, but you may find that you are eating a sleeve of Oreos every time your mother calls.

I partnered this practice with a nutrition program that includes a journal to get you started, recipes, meal plans, and a fantastic coach that helped me dig deep into what I am eating and why. If you are interested in learning more about that you can hop on over to Instagram and shoot me a DM @msangiecalcote or drop me a note on the contact page of this blog.

However you choose to move forward, I challenge you all to try this practice and find out for yourself what is holding you back from your goals! Tag a picture of your food journal, it can be the cover or maybe a part of your daily entry, either way, post it to your Instagram and tag me, @msangiecalcote!

Have you ever started towards a goal and a week or so in found yourself uninspired or feeling defeated? I know I have. I spent years trying to lose weight. I would get excited about the new diet all my friends were doing and jump on the bandwagon. We would all do great the first week or so, maybe even a month. Then, one by one people would fall off. They would have a slip and tell themselves they failed so why continue or get tired of depriving themselves of foods they wanted. Whatever the reason they never met their goal.

One reason we often do not meet the goals we set for ourselves is that our reason for starting towards the goal is not strong enough to carry us through. That reason is your “Why.” Why do you want this goal? What drives to toward your goal? What will keep you wanting and working towards the goal once the initial fire burns out?

When you start a fitness program, direct sales venture, or even decide to go back to school people will ask you “what’s your Why?”. We ask this to help you find your motivation. It also helps determine your success. If your Why is weak, then the likelihood of excelling or even meeting your goal is less than if your Why is strong.

Let’s say your goal is to lose weight. You decide you are not happy with your current weight, size, body shape, whatever. Just the fact that you don’t like the way you look is often not enough to keep you on track. Yes, you can most definitely lose weight, but can you maintain that weight after the initial high of meeting the goal is gone. Most of the time the answer is no. Most of the time you reached your weight loss goal with a fad diet or some unsustainable plan because you wanted to see change right away and chose the path of least resistance.

Let’s take that same goal and change the Why. You want to lose weight, to have more energy for your family, to be more confident, and healthier overall. You start a sustainable exercise regimen that you can adjust as you progress and grow stronger, you begin cleaning up your diet, drinking half your body weight in ounces of water, and make lifestyle changes so that you don’t feel like you are depriving yourself of anything. As you begin to see changes its exciting and you work harder. Once you meet your initial goal, you continue your journey maintaining and surpassing your goals making new ones.

The second scenario shows a person who has more invested in their journey than just a change in their weight or smaller jeans. They want a better life for themselves and their loved ones. So I ask you, what do you want from your life? Are you happy where you are in life? Your job? Your health? If you are completely thrilled with your life, I applaud you! Most of us are happy on the surface but when asked can come up with something about our life we are not completely happy with.

My challenge for you is to take an in-depth look at your goals. Write them down. Decide which goal you want the most. Then write down a list of reasons you want that goal. Think about what made you want what it is you want. That becomes your Why. Then write down what you need to do to achieve that goal. Do you need to go back to school? Change your way of eating? Start exercising? Whatever it is, make a plan. You have to have a plan of action before you take any action or you cannot expect to excel.

Several years ago I participated in a yoga challenge during November. During this challenge, the participants were to take a picture of themselves in the daily yoga pose and post to social media. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and wanted to recreate it this year! Thus the Yoga Gratitude Challenge was born!

If you are interested in participating all you have to do is follow me on Instagram @msangiecalcote for the pose of the day. Then attempt the pose, snap a picture of yourself in the pose, and post it to Instagram (and/or Facebook) with a list of 5 things you are grateful for that day. The list of things you are grateful for can be small things like your daily cup of coffee, a hot shower, a good nights rest, whatever is making you happy at that moment. The goal of this challenge is for us to slow down and look at the little things in life that everyone else may not have.

Isn’t that the point of Thanksgiving in the first place? During the season of Thanksgiving and Christmas people often start to look at those less fortunate in their community. We collect toys and coats, serve food to the homeless, and are kinder to strangers than any other time of year.  But what if we took a moment every day to look at what we are thankful for in our lives? Would we appreciate the little things more? Would we appreciate each other more?

During the last 31 days, I have been doing a daily gratitude journal where I write down 10 things I am grateful for each day. It has really opened my eyes to the things I take for granted. Both of my parents are alive and healthy, my children, husband and I are healthy, I have a comfortable home and a car that gets me where I need to go. We have a lovely family and friends that check on us and celebrate with us.

I am blessed beyond measure, and I want each of you to see the blessings in your lives as well. To say the past year or so has been difficult is an understatement. My family has endured loss after loss, but we have made it through and have hope for the future.

I challenge you to join me in my attempt at sharing gratitude with the world, even if it is just the tiny amount of people who can see my Instagram post. I have shared a list of the poses for each day as well as links to descriptions and advice with each pose. Post your pictures with the hashtag #yogagratitudechallenge and your list of 5 things you are grateful for. Don’t get caught up in how you look in the pose, focus on the gratitude. I know that many of you are new to yoga and I urge you to give it a try. Yoga has done amazing things in my life, and I know it can do amazing things in yours.

November Poses

• Mountain Pose
• Chair Pose
• Forward Fold
• Plank Pose
• Downward Facing Dog
• Warrior I
• Warrior II
• Extended Side Angle Pose
• Triangle Pose
• High Lunge
• Reverse Warrior Pose
• Humble Warrior
• Cat Pose
• Cow Pose
• Child’s Pose
• Hero Pose
• Camel Pose
• Gate Pose
• Tree Pose
• Lord of the Dance Pose
• Wide Leg Forward Bend
• Goddess Pose
• Pigeon Pose
• Cobblers Pose
• Head to Knee Pose
• Seated Forward Bend
• Reclined Twist
• Half Lord of the Fishes Pose
• Boat Pose
• Savasana

We live in such an angry world. Everywhere you look people are hurting each other in some way. On social media people regularly attack each other’s political and religious beliefs, make rude comments just for the sake of being mean, and post things to get a reaction. In real life, we hear people mumble rude comments or openly mock people in public. Even our kids are rude to each other.

Bullying is a real issue, and I’m sure most everyone has dealt with it in some form. When we think of bullying, we usually think of teenagers being hurtful to each other, but it doesn’t start or stop there.

My son is six years old, and I’ve seen signs of bullying since he was 3. Sometimes it’s something someone has done to him, but sometimes it’s something I’ve seen him do to someone else. Kids don’t realize the impact that their words have. They are quick to say things like “I’m not your friend” or calling the child that came to school in new glasses “four eyes.”

It’s not always words either. Recently my son got in trouble for flipping up a little girl’s skirt at school. He’s 6, and his response, when questioned why he did that, was “I thought it would be funny.“ We had a good talk about this, and I asked him to imagine if someone had done something similar to him. I asked him how it would make him feel. He said he would not have liked it.

I think it’s essential to remind our children, and ourselves, what it feels like when we do hurtful things to others. In this crazy, busy world we often let our emotions get the best of us. We snap at our spouses, yell at our children, and even talk down to ourselves. One of my favorite quotes is “In a world where you can be anything, always be kind.“

I challenge you this week to take a moment and look for opportunities to be kind. Notice how you interact with others. Smile at strangers, take a breath before you respond if you are stressed, and listen to what you say to yourself.

Well, it’s official Fall has finally arrived! Yes, even in the deep South we are enjoying a little fall weather in the early mornings and late evenings. It is my favorite time of year. For me, fall has not actually arrived until I feel that crispness in the air. Even if everywhere you look you see pumpkin everything.

Personally, I am not a fan of pumpkin spice anything. I prefer the comforting creaminess of caramel and chocolate, and the toasted gooeyness of marshmallow. These types of sweet sinfulness start to arrive long before the nip in the air, and I find myself splurging a little too often.

This year I chose to be more intentional in how I am living the last 3 months of the year. I am participating in a #last90days challenge put on by Rachel and Dave Hollis. The idea behind this challenge is to end the year with the same intention and motivation that we often start the new year. In the challenge we are striving to follow Rachel’s 5 to Thrive by getting up an hour earlier to have time for ourselves, exercising 30 minutes a day, drinking half our body weight in ounces of water daily, giving up one food category that is bad for us, and doing a daily gratitude practice.

Every weekday morning at 8am Rachel and Dave hop on live stream to offer inspiration, motivation and answer questions. One day last week Rachel was talking about how she was receiving notes from people who had already fallen off the wagon in one area or another. She was encouraging them to not take this as a failure but to just pick up where you left off and keep on moving.

One statement she made really stuck with me, that was “Why can’t doing better be enough?”. So often we set these lofty goals for ourselves only to fall off track, beat ourselves up, and ultimately give up altogether. Why can’t we just be proud of the progress we have made instead of focusing on our shortcomings. Why can’t we move on from eating a cookie, piece of cake, or an entire bag of Oreos without sabotaging our progress for the rest of the day, week, or even quitting over one slip?

Think back to when you were young, and you were having trouble learning to ride your bike. What happened when you fell? Your parents told you to try again, or maybe sheer determination made you get up and try again. My point is you didn’t give up because it didn’t go exactly as planned. You persevered and worked until you got it right!

That’s how we should approach our health and wellness goals as well! We should not allow ourselves to lay in the dirt and refuse to get up because things didn’t go as planned. We should move past that lousy choice with a determination that the next 5 decisions will be better. We must strive for progress, not perfection because nobody is perfect! We are all going along this journey of life making choices every day, some good, some bad. Hoping to make a better way for ourselves.

But as Rachel says “Hope is not a strategy.” So we have to start each day, each week with a plan to succeed. So I challenge each of you to start tomorrow, because you don’t need a new week, a new month, or even a Monday, to start a new habit. If the 5 to Thrive sounds like too much, start with one of them for 1 week then add another the next week and before long you will be living your life with more intention and happiness.

P.S. if anyone is interested in joining the #last90days challenge you can sign up here. If you are interested in following Rachel or Dave, you can look them up on Facebook or follow them on Instagram @msrachelhollis & @mrdavehollis.

A BIG thank you to Sugar Rush Baking Company for the beautiful picture of their even tastier treats!

Do you ever spend time alone, just relaxing? For most of us, we can’t imagine having the time to spend alone. We spend all day working towards our goals, taking care of our kids, our spouse, and our home. Many people to don’t realize the importance of self-care.

Self-care is the practice of taking an active role in one’s own well-being and happiness. When most people think about self-care, they imagine those fortunate people who can jet off to a spa for the week to unwind and reconnect with themselves. Who has the time or the money for that??

Self-care is a concept that I have only recently put into practice in my own life. Part of my self-care routine is my daily workout and fueling my body with healthy choices. There are many simple things you can do every day for yourself to ensure that you are living your best life. You may already do them, but it’s important to do these things with the intention of improving yourself.

For example, if you read your Bible daily, find a daily devotional that will help you improve in an area that you need most in this season of life. I enjoy the Bible app on my iPhone, it is full of beautiful devotionals for men and women. You can drink your morning coffee on the porch and watch the sunrise or in your favorite chair curled up with a magazine or book. One of my personal favorites is a long soak in the tub with a yummy smelling bath bomb and one of those new facial sheet masks. I know having any time alone feels like a pipe dream, especially those with small children, but I promise if you are intentional with your time alone you can find relaxation anywhere.

One way that I ensure I get my time alone every day is to get up one hour earlier than I usually would. I spend that time getting my workout in, but it could be used as a time to sit alone with your coffee or do the laundry so that you can have an hour later in the day for yourself. Now, this does not happen without intentionally going to bed earlier. Sleep is also an essential part of self-care. Most studies will say 8 hours of sleep is ideal and it is. But for many of us, that is not realistic every night. I have worked 12-hour shifts for a long time, and I am here to tell you many nights I’m over the moon excited to get 6 hours of sleep. So, do what you can to get 6-8 hours, preferably 8, every night and try to set up a routine. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day.

Another practice I have started recently is the practice of gratitude journaling. Every night I write down 10 things I am grateful for that day. Simple things like coffee, an unexpected text or phone call that made me smile, a hot bath with no interruptions, Wal-Mart having the coffee creamer I love. It can literally be anything! Taking this time helps me to realize just how fortunate I am. As children, I’m sure we were all told that there are starving children in some foreign land as a means to get us to get our vegetables, but the truth is no matter where you are or how little you have, there is someone that is praying for your life. There is always someone in a more difficult situation.

Taking time for yourself is not selfish, it is not unattainable, it is necessary for your overall health. The better you care for yourself, the better you can care for the others in your life. We cannot be present with our families if we are burnt out and exhausted. I challenge you this week to take a little time for yourself each day. Go for a walk, call a friend, drink your coffee outside, anything that soothes your soul.

There have been many times in my life where I was depressed, angry, or just miserable. I have suffered from anxiety and depression for as long as I can remember. Even when life is great, I find myself anxious. As I have journeyed through difficult seasons in my life, I have learned to manage my symptoms and have overcome them.

Anxiety is defined as “intense, excessive, and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations.” I used to worry about everything. I would stress about conversions that had not happened yet, the health of my children, my health, my parent’s health, and all sorts of things that were usually only possible not real. It disrupted my sleep, I ate for comfort, I cried, I would refuse to leave the house at times. I was a real mess.

After the loss of our daughter, I sought help from a counselor. She helped me work through my past issues with spousal abuse, my anxiety, and my grief from the loss of my daughter and also others. I learned that I never really coped with anything before. I had just gotten really good at bottling it all up. Which is detrimental to your emotional and physical health.

While in this season of loss I took leave from nursing, I prayed a lot, and I found yoga. For me, yoga helped to soothe the physical and emotional pain brought on by depression. I found an instructor in my area then went on to train as an instructor. I was a yoga instructor for about a year when inner ear issues began preventing me from enjoying my practice.

I have since been able to enjoy yoga again as a student, and I have also begun exercising in a variety of other ways. As I have said before, I started my fitness journey as a means to cope with depression and anxiety. This year I also began reading and listening to personal development books and podcasts. I have found so much worth in the information these people have put out into the world.

My current favorite author/motivator is Rachel Hollis. After reading her blockbuster book, Girl, Wash Your Face, I found myself renewed. I have been on an educational journey for the past 2 years. It was shortly after graduating with my Bachelor of Science in Nursing and the sudden loss of my brother in law that I was introduced to Rachel’s book. I was at a very low point. I was burnt out from being a full-time wife, mother, nurse, and student for the past 2 years. I was contemplating delaying my application to grad school. I had decided early in the year to take the summer off from school. I needed a few months to relax, but at this point, I was thinking about a further postponement.

Through the wisdom in Rachel’s book and the podcasts that I have found by following her, I am proud to say I am enrolled in a Master’s program. Not only have I chosen to keep my original education plan, but I have also found the motivation to get myself back on track with my fitness and health goals. I am back to working out at least 30 minutes a day, drinking all the water, and eating all the veggies.

We all have moments in life that are trying to say the least. Some of us have been through pure hell. But, if you pick yourself up each day and be the best version of you that you can be, you can face anything. It will not be easy, change and growth are not easy. It is uncomfortable to put yourself in a position to fail. Failure is one of my most significant sources of anxiety, but I have learned that I have to put myself in a situation where I may fail in order to grow.

Nobody wants to fail, nobody sets out to fail. But we do it all the time. Failure is not the problem, not picking yourself up when you fall is the problem. Thomas Edison has been quoted, regarding the process of inventing the lightbulb, as saying “I have not failed. I have found 10,000 ways that will not work.” So, I encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and give yourself a chance to grow! Say yes to something that scares you a little. It may be a date, a project at work, a fitness challenge, anything just step out there and give it your best!

I am often asked the question, “What do you eat?”. People are always intrigued to find out that I eat everything!! I love food any way I can get it. BUT I do avoid processed foods, fried foods, and simple carbohydrates. “Clean Eating” is a term used to describe an eating practice where you eat “whole” foods, meaning foods that are in their purest state. No prepackaged meals or foods with additives or an ingredient list I cannot pronounce.

Carbohydrates or “carbs” are always a topic for debate, and I am not going to jump into that. I will say that they are an important part of a healthy diet, but you must choose them carefully. I choose brown rice instead of white rice, sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes, whole grain wheat bread over white bread. Bread is an important place to read your food labels because even “wheat bread” can be full of bad stuff. Some other great complex carb choices are grains like quinoa, and beans think black beans and kidney beans, and legumes such as lentils. These are also good sources of extra protein, quinoa has 8 grams in 1 cup, black beans have 15 grams per cup, and lentils have 18 grams per cup!

Fresh fruits and vegetables are an essential part of my diet. I love frozen bananas, frozen berries, or frozen pineapple in my shakes. I eat raw bell pepper strips, raw carrots, and cucumber slices as snacks sometimes alone and sometimes dipped in hummus. I love to roast everything from cauliflower to potatoes in the oven with a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. I use minimal seasonings and make seasoning blends and sauces from scratch.

My family uses a lot of ground beef, so tacos are a must as well as spaghetti sauce, homemade sloppy joes, dirty rice, and stuffed bell peppers. We raise a steer and have it ground into hamburger, so we are very fortunate to have grass-fed beef and the comfort of knowing where it came from. We do buy chicken at the grocery store, and we eat that often as well. We eat very minimal pork products mostly due to my inability to digest it but also because it lacks nutritional value compared to other protein options.

I also drink lots of water! My daily water goal is half of my body weight in ounces. So, if you weigh 180 pounds, your daily water goal is 90 oz. I know that sound like a TON but I promise if you try I bet you can meet and exceed that goal! You have to start small. If you never drink water start by replacing one soda or tea with a glass of water. If you drink water but aren’t sure how much. Start tracking it! There are lots of apps for this or write it down. Just set a goal for the day and keep challenging yourself.

As we continue through this journey together, I will share meal prep ideas, recipes for sauces and seasonings, and family meal ideas to help you get the hang of clean eating. I challenge you this week to take note of how often you are eating fruits and vegetables and take a moment to read the labels on your favorite foods. Just take note of what you are putting in your body.

Feel free to send me a note if you have any specific questions about clean eating or need guidance on something. There are lots of frozen options that are cost effective are real time savers!