Thoughtful Thursday – December 7, 2023

My intention is to post a Thoughtful Thursday column each week and share some of the insights I have learned in the past week. Here are some of the things I’ve learned this week:

1. Celebrate your unique journey. You are a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Celebrate your flaws as part of your unique story.
2. Conquer the comparison game. Comparison steals your joy and peace.
3. Embrace the power of now. Understand the true value of now and embrace each moment. Find joy in the little things and live a life filled with purpose and passion.
4. Cultivate a grateful heart. Gratitude is a mindset. Train your mind to always see the good in something to bring yourself more joy and reduce your anxiety.

5. Transform fear into action. When you do something you’re fearful of, you will boost your confidence and growth.

6. Build a vibrant community. Surround yourself with people who support you, challenge you, and inspire you to be better.

7. Empower yourself. You have the power to change your life. You can overcome adversity and achieve greatness.

• Bloated vs. gaining weight.
  • bloating= burping, farting, and/or constipation. When you’re bloated, your gut bacteria is off balance. The biggest tip when you are feeling bloated or distended is to not wear pants with buttons on them. Wear stretchy pants. Bloating can be caused by foods. Bloating can also happen when you’re swallowing a lot of air when eating too fast.
• Foods that cause bloating in many people: brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, sparkling beverages, gluten, dairy, artificial sweeteners, sugar, and alcohol

• The gold standard for food-related gut discomfort is an elimination diet followed by adding that item back to your diet to see if that is causing your bloating.
• If you’re already bloated, don’t go for raw vegetables like cauliflower and broccoli. This will cause further bloating.
• Ibuprofen or aspirin will make you more bloated if you’re already bloated.

• Give your gut more rest than the (up to) 8 hours you’re sleeping. Stop eating at least 2-3 hours before bed to give your gut more time to rest. Try to aim for 12 hours a day of giving your gut a rest from food.
• Morning routine to reduce bloating: fasting (have I fasted for 12 hours?), fitness (any type of fitness, such as a 30-minute walk), then fermented and fibrous foods
• The best form of debloating is exercise. Exercising in sunlight produces short chain fatty acids.
• Your first meal of the day is your best chance to improve your gut and hormonal health. A perfect breakfast would be something like yogurt, nuts, berries, and ginger tea. A tofu or egg scramble with veggies is also great. Ginger and peppermint (even as a tea) can make your gut bacteria happy.  

• Location has energy. Time has memory. When you do something in the same place at the same time every day, it becomes easier.
• Take the tv out of your bedroom so that you are not using your bedroom as a space for being wired into something. It’s important to use your bed for only sleep and rest.
• Your sleep is impacted by how you live when you’re awake. Slowly drink warm water first thing in the morning to kick off your digestive process.
• Two hours before bed, lower the thermostat to between 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature in your room impacts your sleep.

• Cave-like darkness – blackout blinds and no lights. Darkness helps to stimulate the production of melatonin, a hormone that helps you fall asleep and stay asleep until you complete all sleeping cycles. Darkness promotes relaxation, which helps you fall asleep quickly. The brain is very sensitive and can detect even the slightest amount of light and stop the production of melatonin, which plays a huge role in helping you get quality sleep.
• Circadian rhythm – when you get bright light in the morning, it can help you feel more alert during the day and helps you fall asleep faster in the evening. If you’re exposed to bright light within two hours of your bedtime, it can make you less sleepy and fall asleep later. Get exposure to sunlight within the first hour of waking up.
• Getting a good mattress plays a role in quality sleep. Find the right material and support for you. 5-7 years is the average life of a mattress.

• Yoga nidra + deep breathing exercises to lower your heart rate, your blood pressure, and stress levels to help you drift off to sleep
• Know the best sleep positions. This chart is from Healthline.

• Decide what matters to you in this moment. Come up with a big picture goal and consider the one thing that would make everything easier or better.
• What do I want to be? What do I want to experience? What do I want to have?
• Once you have a goal, break it down into actual steps and deadlines.

• Decide whether you will have a paper or digital to-do list and hourly or daily or weekly layout.
• Block out scheduled time for the task!
• 2-minute rule – if it takes less than two minutes, do it right then and there. Don’t add it to your list.

• Limit your to-do list to four or five doable tasks at a time. Don’t add to it until you’ve checked something off.
• Pick something to let go. When you choose what to fail at ahead of time, you’re really changing your mindset and won’t feel like you’re failing. You’ll see it as a reminder of your values in this moment and what you’ve committed to.
• To-do lists exist to serve us.

1. Have some savings. Create a gap between your income and expenses.
2. Have 6 months of expenses in an emergency fund in a high-yield savings account.
3. Pay off all your debts except the mortgage.

• Contribute up to the company match in your company’s 401k.
• Once you’ve contributed up to the company match, contribute to a Roth IRA
• Once you’ve contributed the maximum amount to the Roth IRA, go back to contributing to your employer’s 401k and work toward hitting the maximum contribution. Most people are not able to contribute the maximum due to their incomes/expenses. I am in this boat!
• If you have maxed out your 401k for the year, max out your HSA account if you are eligible for an HSA.
• If you have kids and are contributing to college expenses, contribute to a 529 plan. Some parents try to target around $200,000 total for funding a 529 (college plan)! Others don’t contribute to a 529 plan. That decision is up to you.
• The next step is to pay off the mortgage.
• Once the mortgage is paid off, open a taxable brokerage account. Invest in low-cost index funds across a broad market.

The podcaster discourages listeners from investing in target-date funds. There are very large bond mixes in them and they tend to be conservative in their allocations.

I look forward to reading, learning, and sharing more with you soon!