mindset

Let Your Word Be Your Guide!

January 14, 2021 By Rosie 3 Comments

Chances are, you might have ever so slightly slid or even slam dunk fallen off your recently created, best intended, new years resolution. Don’t worry, I’m not beating on you for it. As a matter of fact, according to U.S News & World Report, you’re with a lot of other people. The failure rate is 80%, and most lose their resolve by mid-February, which is exactly why I’ve got a solution to your broken resolution.

Several years ago, I resolved to end this ridiculous idea. Why would I set myself up knowing that the odds are massively against me?

I replaced it with a new practice called “Word Of The Year” or “WOTY”. It’s a kinder, gentler, and I would argue, more powerful change agent that keeps you going throughout the year — making remarkable changes in your growth and attitude.

What’s in a word ?

Your word represents an idea/ feeling that you continually rise up to. Your word is kept top and center of all your actions and decisions throughout the year. What’s cool is that your word adjusts to each particular situation and different circumstance that comes along in your life.

Why I chose my WOTY

Truth be told, my word this year was exactly that. TRUTH. It’s the word that kept coming to me and so I decided it would be given the place of honor for 2021. Once you see how my word will fit into my life, you’ll see for yourself how to uncover yours.

My WOTY reminds me that my focus and my goals all lead with truth. It means that I will choose truth, being always mindful that I speak my truth. That I know the ultimate truth, which enables me to further my relationship with God. That I will seek the truth and not be blindly led my news or gossip. That I will allow others to experience their truth without judgement or trying to talk them into mine.

Wow, right? I know, it’s so expansive. My word has deeper legs than any single resolution I could have made. It’s easier to navigate and keep working with. It’s fun because I can watch myself learn and grow from it and can apply it directly to each life scenario I encounter.

How to chose your WOTY

So here’s what you do.

First reflect on it –

You can do this by visualizing what your perfect day feels like. What is your morning routine, how do you feel while you are working, how do you feel throughout the day? Think of a feeling (what you would want your perfect day to feel like) and look at words that match your feeling. Make a list of the world that speak to you. For example you can make a list like this:

action, balance, integrity, health, simplicity, peace, creativity, grace, patience, joy, fun, focus, growth…

…you get the idea. Use your feelings and look up words that represent it. Words you can aspire to and have fun with. Circle 2-3 words that jump out to you.

Second meditate on it —

Place yourself in a relaxed state. Set the scene with soft music, candlelight. Close your eyes and let your intuition flow. Let it do the work. Which word will be yours this year? Ask yourself what feels right, exciting, even a little scary? (and don’t worry, you can pick 2 if you’re really fond of them) This is a great way to practice your intuitive guidance – so let it lead the way.

Why it works

It works because it’s simple. It’s doable and it’s actionable. It’s fun and easy to keep your word with you.

Here are 5 fun and effective ways to keep your word:

1) Post it – You can write it on a post it note and stick on your refrigerator, bathroom mirror and computer. I like to make it into a book more.

2) Book Mark it – This is my favorite. I cut a piece of pretty paper to bookmark size, write my word, decorate with images and laminate it. You can do this at staples or your can purchase your own laminator. Big tip: I bought a laminator years ago for this very project. You can turn this WOTY idea into an annual family new year project

3) Frame it – My daughter does this every year. She writes her word, and the definition along with it – so she’s super clear on her goal – puts her frame front and center in her home so she sees it everyday.

4) Bead it – One year I even made a beaded bracelet with those alphabet beads you can find at the craft store. This is super fun, because your arm is never far from you. If you don’t want to involve yourself in making your own, there are companies out that there will do this for you – check out ETSY.

5. Rock it – Paint your word on a rock. Use your rock as a paper weight for your dest or decoration for your dresser.

The point is you want to make your word your point.

Your WOTY is expansive. It has the meaning you give it and can be applied to all areas of your life – remember the example I showed you with my truth.

It becomes the foundation you build upon. Unlike a resolution which is specific and sometimes narrowly focused, your word grows with you. You’ll find it less restrictive and you won’t throw in the towel on it. You can use your word in your daily meditation journaling or as a mantra to keep you focused.

Don’t sweat that it’s not the beginning of a new year at this moment or that you need to wait for next new year’s eve to hit go. Right now is the perfect time to begin this fun new practice that will take you thru the rest of this year feeling focused and good about what you’re up to.

Your assignment if you choose to accept it – Keep your word and use your feet (aka take action).

Your “BUT” Stops Here

June 27, 2019 By Rosie Leave a Comment

Yes, my ass is on the line here. I’m the first one to the left. (That’s me in my 2nd figure competition) You may say, not bad for a 53 year old ass, BUT…..

I realized during a recent conversation with a friend that my BUT had gotten way to big.

It was time to pull back and access the situation.

Unless you’re Kim Kardashian, you may not be proud of your big but(t). As a matter of fact, you may not want to admit that you have a huge but(t) that is causing a lot of unnecessary stress to your life.

Take a deep breathe because what I am revealing here may be challenging for you to hear. This self reflection stuff (aka: taking ownership of the things you do) is not aways easy. It takes a big girl to realize she’s got a big BUT(T) standing in her own way.

How often do you catch yourself saying, “I would, BUT….”?

I bet it’s a lot more than you care to admit. Let’s be honest, naked and vulnerable right now. Your big but(t) may be in your way and holding you back from living your fullest and best life.

There are 2 ways that your big but(t) can hold you back. One is physically and one is emotionally.

Let us address the physical BUTT first.

If you are feeling that your butt is too big, you’re being self critical and most likely not participating in extreme self love and care. When you truly embrace self love and treat yourself from that loving place, you don’t pick on your body parts.

You don’t compare them or judge them. When you are fully in the process of extreme self love and care, you treat your body with respect. Not only in what you think about it, but also in how you talk about it, refer to it and feed it.

Extreme self love allows you to practice acts of kindness towards your body.

Consciously choose food that is good for you and treat your precious body well. When you eat healthy whole unprocessed foods (I call these naked food), your body responds well.

Continued eating in this loving style brings you easily and gently to your perfect weight. Perfect because deep down you’ve lightened up knowing that you have treated your body temple with the divine care it deserves. It’s a great feeling when the scale, the numbers and the size no longer matter. Being true to yourself is the only thing that counts.

So where in your life are you allowing self sabotage, self denial, lack of self care and love?

What has to change for you to put your self love first?

Let’s address the emotional BUT.

This one is a true pain in the BUT(T). When you suffer from this, you create big ass blocks to the things you really want.

Because putting a “BUT” into your command sentence allows you to play it small. The thing you attach to the end of your “BUT” holds power over you.

It has the perfect amount of power to stop you from getting the very thing you say you want. There’s one reason we use this BUT for stopping us. It’s because you are afraid. You’re afraid of that thing you want either because you don’t believe enough in yourself to think you can have it or you’re scared you’ll look stupid if you don’t actually succeed.

Either fear based reason butts you right up against a wall and stops you.

Using my body building figure competition as an example, I had a very big BUT staring right at me. Here’s how it sounded.

“I want to enter a figure competition…

but I’m too old,
but I have too much weight to lose
but I’ve never done it before
but what if I start and I can’t finish
but what if I look like an idiot on that stage?

I could have easily picked anyone of these 5 but’s and hung on to them. They could have worked as a grandiose excuse and opportunity to play my life small. Today instead of writing this blog, I would be wishing I had done it and filled with a whole lotta regrets.

Thankfully I did not attach myself to the fear and instead I let go of the “but”.

I stepped up on my stage!

That one moment of the baring of the butt, transformed my life in ways I could not have imagined at the time. What appeared to be a physical transformation ( and it was) was more profoundly a spiritual AH-HA.

I would be an ass, (sorry I couldn’t help myself) if I let you off the hook here.

Ask yourself what it is you want for yourself if you could just do it without any asinine excuse getting in your way.

Where in your life do you let your “BUT” interfere?

What would happen if you deleted that concept from your vocabulary list?

How would your life improve?

What scary thing would you step into?

I love self reflective questions.

In my Happiness Intensive Program, questions are key. How else do you get the answer if you don’t ask the question?

Scary is good…even though it sure doesn’t feel it at the time. Things that scare you are like a set of keys for opening all kinds of doors that lead to opportunities.

For me, standing on that stage, was the catalyst for publishing my book, Sleeping Naked After 4o, and the basis for what I share with you now.

If your self conversation is stuck in the fear zone and loves to talk you out of things that set your soul on fire, check out the Happiness Intensive. Because I belief with all my heart that

When we get to the naked truth of who you are and what you are here to do, happiness follows every time!

I hope I’ve inspired you to do something that scares you,

Soul Growth Lessons

June 10, 2019 By Rosie 1 Comment

Soul growth lessons don’t always come in boxes. This time though, my soul lesson came with a truck full of them.

For the past 2 years, 80% of my material belongings lived in a storage unit.

Due to a certain circumstances beyond my control, (the details aren’t the important part of the story, so I’ll keep it short for the sake of your time) I was forced to move from my apartment. It was a quick and unexpected exit so storage seemed the best option for this transition time. Only a few items remained with me.

I spent months crying over not having my stuff. Always seeming to be needing the thing that I couldn’t get to.

It took time to process what happened and make decisions on what I wanted for my life. Two years to be exact! In those 2 years, I got to feel what it felt like to be without my “beloved stuff”.

The good news is that I survived.

The other good news is that I learned huge lessons along the way as part of the bigger plan. Patience, compassion, forgiveness were on top of that list. Shockingly, me the woman with hundreds of shoes, realized that I don’t “stuff” to be happy.

This week, I consciously chose to reunite with my belongs and take them out to be with me.

While it felt like a fun shopping spree to peak in the boxes at what I hadn’t seen in 2 years, my state of happiness didn’t change.

When large events happen in our life, there in that moment we get to learn more about ourselves. The move out 2 years ago was very traumatic for me. I’ve moved many times in my life and most of them not for happy reasons. I could have allowed this move to shift my consciousness back to the trauma of why I moved.

But this time was different. I chose to break that old pattern and to do it differently.

This was a great move. It was great because I chose to make it that way. I chose to make it a fun adventure and not attach meaning to any of it.

How cool that we get to do that! With the gift of free will, we always have the opportunity to choose differently. That’s what I call freedom.

The challenges you currently face may feel hard right now. If you dig a little deeper and allow the lesson to come to the surface, you’ll understand that all was divinely guided.

You’ll realize that lessons come for your soul’s growth. That self reflection enhances your spiritual growth and well being.

I am so grateful for all of it, for the rediscovery of my books and shoes and clothes that I had forgotten about. But mostly for the profound lesson that happiness resides inside of me; not in any material object that I have or don’t have in my possession.

Has there been a challenging time in your life, where you realized the lesson was your biggest gift?

I hope there was something here for you. Share and comment below.

Psst… remember, your only job is to light up the world with your brilliance. Get on it!

Seven Simple Steps for Springing on Self Care

March 4, 2019 By Rosie Leave a Comment

It’s time to Spring on some self care!

Let’s be real. Winter can knock your socks off and throw off even the most well intentioned plans of maintaining any form of self-care. Yes, this is really us… Roc and I … in our favorite winter position.

I’m just not a fan of the cold. I find myself asking winter after winter, why am I living in the north east.

Even if you are somewhat fond of the crisp cool air, your thigh high leather boots, and pretty falling snowflakes as they brush past your window, things feel more difficult on colder, darker, wintery days.

So it’s been a few months now tending towards cozying indoors, cuddling up with less activity, a little (and a lot) more snacking, and skimping on the self-care. You could be experiencing dry skin, chapped lips, pounds up and mood down.

By the end of February, I’ll admit, I’m a cranky house potato.

So what are you going to do to add in some much needed self caring?

Open up the windows and let the light in. Start adding back those self-caring rituals that slowed down during the winter months.

Here are 7 simple and easily implementable steps to shake the winter from your bones and welcome spring with your best foot forward. I’ve even added in a *super easy* option where available. You’ll be left with no excuses for why you can’t pull your self-care off the couch and spring them into practice.

1. Drink a celery juice daily for a week (or longer) – Make your own celery juice by adding 5 stalks of celery and 1/2 fresh lemon into your juicer. A decent juicer (like the Breville) costs as low as $120. If investing in a juicer is not ideal, visit your local health food store, or a Whole Foods and have them make one for you. Studies show that celery juice can reduce inflammation and boost cardiovascular health. The perfect antidote for rebooting out of flu season. Celery is also easy to juice, inexpensive to buy, and the stalks have a great shelf-life in your fridge so you can stock up.

Finally the *super easy* option: drive to Trader Joe’s and stock up for the week on their already bottled cold pressed green juice (with super fabulous clean ingredients of kale, spinach, apple, cuke, celery, lemon and ginger) for only $3.99.

2. Get outside daily – Dress weather appropriately and get your butt outside. You can find 15 minutes to move your body. One strategy I have used is to set my phone timer for 8 minutes and walk. Once the timer goes off, I turn around and try to make it back in 7 min! Shaving a minute off is a fun way to hold me accountable for a “brisk” walk. Check out the trees and breathe deeply. Take some inspiration from Albert Einstein who said, “Look deeply into nature and you will understand everything better.” If you’re doubting that 15 minutes could matter, scientific research suggests that even a small amount of exercise – like that 15 minutes a day – could lower your risk of depression.

3. Breathe lavender nightly – Helping you relax and fall into a restful sleep, lavender has been found to help increase slow wave sleep, slowing heartbeat and relaxing muscles. It’s soothing and calming properties reduce stress making it’s use a perfect bed time enhancer. Simply add 5 drops of lavender to a diffuser and turn it on when you get into bed.

I am an essential oil girl- I love the stuff. The difference on the nights I use my lavender and the nights I don’t, is a difference in a good nights sleep. The stuff feels magical.

The *super easy* option: put 2 drops of lavender into your hand, rub your hands together, cup your hands around your nose and inhale. (be sure to use a top grade essential oil)

4. Put your feet first (at least) twice a month – Reflexology, pedicures…ahhh!!! Book the appointments. The *super easy* option: do it yourself by taking a small pail or tub filled 1/2 way with warm water. Adding in 1/2 cup epson salt, 1/2 cup baking soda, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 3 drops of frankincense or lavender essential oil and your feet and you’ve got a luscious treat!

5. Close your kitchen by 7 pm on weekdays – Closing down the kitchen at 7 pm is simple and super effective way to reduce unnecessary caloric intake. The after dinner snacking and picking adds up, potential an upwards of 200-500 extra calories a day. Snacking can become ever more mindless when we are distracted by the latest Netflix saga. If you stop the mindless evening snacking, you’ll be shocked at how those uncomfortable pounds fall away. Your body will also appreciate not having to work overtime to digest food while it’s shutting down for the nite.

6. Say grace before every meal daily – Regardless of your practicing faith, we can all agree that two or three words silent words of gratitude or a heartfelt prayer prior to eating can help improve your mental space. This serves as a daily reminder of how blessed you are to have food to eat as well as a loving send off to the food you take into your body. And it slows you down… a little reminder for more mindfully and lovingly feeding your body.

7. Take fifteen minutes of “You time” daily – “You time” can look different to everyone. It can look like drawing, doodling, listening to your favorite music, reading a book, or even just sitting in silence. You choose! However, do something that has no obligation to work or family — just for you. Give yourself the space to just be free.

So easy! I know you can commit to incorporating some or all of these things on a consistent basis. You will feel amazingly better bringing your new habits into the new season. Use this as a reminder that with most of the winter in our rearview, it’s a great time to reinvest in practices of self-care.

I’d love to hear what worked for you and what rituals you’ll be springing on! Please comment below.

Much love being sent your way,

I’m social. Come say hi @rosiebattista on instagram and facebook or email [email protected]

How to Get Good at Self Love

May 9, 2016 By Rosie Leave a Comment

Self Love is an art and a practice.

The thing about a SELF LOVE practice is that you get to be in charge of how it unfolds. You can’t get it wrong or screw it up. You just keep practicing.

Everything improves with practice. 30 years ago I taught myself calligraphy by practicing every day for a few hours as I rode the ferry boat home from my job in NYC. And I got good at it. Good enough to create a lucrative small business that I was able to do when my children where growing up.

There are many benefits to the practice of self love. With self love in play, you can be free from victimhood to any situation, circumstance or relationship. During every interaction or encounter you gain the skill to look with different eyes and see more clearly what is real.

The idea is to feel good.

Okay, I’ll admit clarity can sometimes be annoying in it’s eye-opening way. Being awake and aware shows you many new things. It can sometimes feel like a heavy brick flung at your somewhat hard head. But the gentler you become with yourself (this happens thru your practice), the more you observe without judgment what is really true. I share with you my own experience as I consistently and continually work on noticing the role I am playing in a situation. I notice what part I own, what belongs to me and what doesn’t.

I don’t always get it right.

Sometimes I feel like crap (that’s a sure sign that I’m off my path) and so I get back on it when I am ready.

This practice and awareness is what gives me immense power in my life.

I used to live a life of “Why would they do that to me?” and “How could you do such a thing to me? It would drive me nuts to try and understand why people did what they did and why I was hurt over it. You know the kinda crap I’m referring to. The kind that makes you feel like crap. The kind that give you no control. The kind that serves no one and that ends you feeling miserable, unlovable and not enough. It’s much easier to change your own thoughts, your own actions, your SELF. And quite impossible of you to expect to change someone else. Seriously it will never happen. They won’t change for you or because of you.

Expecting someone else to change is a set up for disappointment. The sooner you embrace that idea that Self love is the answer to the change you desire, the more power-filled you become. Self love is the ultimate life changer.

Once you have a practice going, everything in your life will feel and look better. I promise. It goes like that. So if you are feeling a little or a lot like a victim, no matter what circumstance or what person is causing you to feel angst, I invite you to indulge in a massive dose of extreme self love and extraordinary self care. Here are 3 steps that you can walk into right now that will put your directly on the path to self love.

1) Lose the fake stuff and get real.

Make a daily game out of your meals. How much of your meal can you make healthier, real and naked (food in it’s own natural form)? Ask yourSelf at every meal, “Is this the most loving thing I can feed myself?” At first this may taste weird, but with practice your body will change for the better.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

2) Become less interested in why you can’t.

Make a daily game out of your words. Can you catch the times you’re trash talking about how you can’t do something? Stop it. Don’t speak those words. If you start to think these thoughts about yourSelf, notice the thought, and let if flow by. Then replace it with a new idea. At first this will sound weird, but with practice your thoughts will change for the better.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

3) Fall in love.

Can you get real with yourself? Before jumping in the shower, can you stand in front of the mirror and look at it? Can you say “HELLO GORGEOUS” followed by one nice compliment to and about yourself? You CAN find something ! Your hair, your eyes, your lips. Pick that thing and focus only on that one thing. Leave the rest alone. At first this may feel weird and different but with practice you will feel better and better.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

Let me know how your PRACTICE MAKES BETTER and post your comment below.