Here's a sneak peak at Getting Unstuck.

Getting Unstuck - A simple guide on how to reduce your stress, accomplish more, and improve your overall health and happiness, step by step. By Joni Sturgill

There is no magic pill. Not for weight loss, not for health. Not for stress reduction or sleep. The effect of a “pill” is often temporary, with many vast and possibly dangerous side effects. Plus, if you’re not addressing the root cause of a problem in your body and/or mind, you are not “curing it.” To be healthy, calm, focused and productive takes effort, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. It doesn’t have to feel impossible. The key to success is:

1. Committing to change. Always remember that it’s your choice how to respond to your circumstances.
2. Changing, one step at a time. Acknowledge that it can be a slow process. Tackle one step at a time.
3. Compassion - for yourself. Accept yourself, even when you make mistakes.

So often we beat ourselves up because things don’t work out as we plan. We didn’t “succeed” in losing weight, we aren’t “doing” what we told ourselves we should or we have projects we can’t seem to finish. The self deprecation that accompanies our so-called losses only stresses us more, wearing down our immune system, and disconnecting us from our health and happiness.

That’s where this guide comes in. Read one section and take time to incorporate the tip into your life. Sometimes it might take a day, sometimes it might take two weeks.The book is meant to be cumulative, so try to retain as much as you can, as you progress. Ultimately, there might be some tips that don’t apply to you, and if that’s the case, simply let them go. There might be others that challenge you significantly. Keep practicing these ones. In time it will get easier and you will find a balance that not only works for you...but one that opens doors in your awareness...in your health...in your sense of happiness and accomplishment.

As always, use common sense for your body and your situation. Discuss any major changes with your physician. I am not, in any way, suggesting that you stop any medication or “pills” that you take, I simply want you to consider the possibility that (depending on your circumstances) you may not need it at some point in the future. In other words, don’t close any doors on your health. Allow your body and mind to be open to growth, change and wellness.

Overview of some tips:

Learn your triggers. What causes you to fly off the handle? What kinds of circumstances or situations really stress you out? Recognize them when they happen, and just try to become aware of how you feel in a “trigger” situation. How does it feel in your face, your shoulders, your chest, your belly? What about your mind? Simply developing this awareness is a huge step toward transformation. Learn to recognize and tell yourself, "this is a situation that causes me stress. I feel myself tensing in my jaw and in my shoulders." When you learn your triggers, you can start to reprogram your reaction to such situations. Eventually, you'll handle them with ease. I experienced this myself when I was in my 20's. I realized that I had road rage ...(more in the ebook)

Practice Breathing. 

Breathing exercises can reverse your stress response. Chronic stress can lead to a whole host of illnesses, from heart disease to cancer, so learning stress management is key in improving overall health. Breathing therapy has been successfully applied in the treatment of the following conditions: feelings of tension;  hyperventillation; burnout; headache; chronic fatigue; sleeping problems; concentration problems; anxiety and phobia; panic disorders. The best breathing technique for dramatically reducing stress is ... (more in the ebook)

(Other tips in the ebook...details to come!)

Eat Green Vegetables

Know the Difference Between and a Project and a Task

Spend Time in Nature

There's much more to come. While you're waiting for the ebook to be complete, take one or two of these steps and try to incorporate them into your life. See what happens!

“Everything changes, nothing remains without change.” ~ Buddha

Sometimes we have to go with the flow of where we're being guided... and accept there is a reason we are on the path we're on ... even when it's challenging ... even when we don't get our way. This is often when we can experience the most growth ... in times of difficulty. But you have to be open to the experience. You have to open your eyes and heart to the many lessons you can learn from each situation. Resisting those lessons ... is resisting what life is offering you ... and is setting yourself up for pain and misery.

This year has been one of major change for me, personally. Around every corner is a new experience to address and digest ... separation, divorce, selling my home, the death of my dog, and managing life as a single mother. I've had waves of resistance and fear, and waves of surrender and acceptance. Moving onward, I know what feels better ... I know where I can feel peace. I know that I learn a lot more when I allow myself to let go, relax and see where this path leads. I feel a true inner happiness when I trust and have faith that I am right where I'm supposed to be.

All this talk of surrender might lead one to question ... is it always better to be passive? Should I never stand up for myself or fight? What's the point in trying if I have no control over anything and I'm supposed to just go with the flow?

Surrendering does not mean you're giving up or inactive. To surrender is simply to accept the situation you're in. Sometimes you do need to stand up for your rights, stand up for what's right, or take action for what you believe in. This is part of surrender too. To fearlessly and calmly move past the "I wish this didn't happen to me" stage, and to accept where you are. Own it. Breathe it in. Then you can decide if you need to take action or if you can let it go and not respond at all.  

"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."  ~ Winston Churchill 

 We plan out our lives. We set goals. We hope and dream. This is part of the human experience and often how we find happiness in life. But sometimes things don't happen in the way we expect. Thinking about the seasons always helps me. We are never stuck in a perpetual winter. It may feel that way sometimes, but spring always comes. The sun will come out after the rain. So surrender in the storm. Accept that change is part of the natural ebb and flow. Soften into life's challenges and awaken to a new perspective ... that everything is as it should be.

“We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aid, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn.” ~ Henry David Thoreau