challenge – The Paleo Squirrel

Ah, April!

“Ah, April”. Here we come! The first few months of this year have been tough for both of us for our own reasons. We’ve been struggling, but pushing through for the most part. We have not been thriving as our best selves though. It’s been a dark, heavy, tough start to this year. The sun must rise to shine again though.

Let’s all take a deep breath or two and relax into “Ah, April”! Its a new month, and that means a new challenge, a new opportunity. This new month also begins on a Monday too! Could the stars align even more for a fresh start?!

We are particularly excited that the first day of this new month is April Fools Day! It is such a light, airy, and playful reminder to make time for more fun and play. Not everything needs to be so serious and strict all the dang time. Breathe and relax a bit!

“Ah, April”… Here we are. Join us this month for a fresh, relaxed dive into some healthier habits that will bring about a happier you!

This month we commit to and challenge you to take a relaxed approach into bringing some positive change to your daily life. Follow along this month in our Facebook Group to see our progress and share your own! You can also share with us here through comments as well. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Ah, April!

“Ah, April”… Here we are. Join us this month for a fresh, relaxed dive into some healthier habits that will bring about a happier you!

MORE March

March feels like a better time to start the new year. It’s finally warming up, the snow and ice is melting, and if you’re lucky grass may be green! Not to mention, January and February were kind of a doozey. Heck, even the first couple weeks of March had a little bit of a doozey vibe too, but its finally dissipating.

We declare March “MORE March”. Let’s take this month to focus on what we all need a little more of in our own lives. This could be anything from water and veggies to downtime or play time. This can also change from week to week, heck it can change from day to day, and that is okay!

We challenge you to check in with yourself, do a little assessment and see what it is that you need a little more of in your life. Find out if you need some more water and make it a goal to drink an extra cup of water a day. Check in with yourself each day or week, see what you need more of and see if you’re sticking to adding a little more of that each day.

Don’t forget we are here to help. Check in with us on the Facebook Group to share what you need, how you’re adding that in daily, or to chit chat about some ideas to help you figure it all out!

Ice Cubes Are A Little Messy When They Melt

I have been really struggling lately. It’s like my good brain and bad brain are battling. The last few weeks I’ve been working really hard to make sure I’m doing the things I need to do for me. I’ve been journaling, meditating, exercising, eating better, drinking all the water, reading. All. The. Things. I’ve been checking off a list of these things daily to make sure I’m doing most of them on most days. Majority wins, perfection is not real. This is really great right? If you read that you’re likely thinking wow shes doing really well, that’s awesome.

Here’s what you’re missing though. Every day I’ve been releasing this negative ass energy from somewhere deep through attitude about work and people in general.

I’ve become a bit nasty and it just dawned on me this week. It’s like a mini reality smack to the face really and it hit hard. I have been doing all of these things trying to do the right stuff that I need to do, yet the nastiest bits of attitude just keep popping out, especially in places they hadnt before. I got really upset about this last night. Did some arguing, yelling and screaming, and of course crying. It felt really good to get those negative emotions out, but it also made me have to sit and face this. I’m facing it now as I write this in the middle of my workout.

Typically in the past I’d be consumed by this negative energy and beat myself up for feeling like this when I’m doing all this positive stuff. I’d tell myself its obviously not working because of this negative outburst so why even bother? As I shift my mindset I’m learning to ask my self truthfully why am I bothering? I’m bothering because I KNOW that this is right. This is what I have to do. I know the positive energy I feel and radiate comes from doing these things. I know that releasing that negativity is just a part of the this process. That negative energy needs to get out and go somewhere. While I may not be very good at getting it out constructively yet, I’m getting it out. It’s not sitting inside and stewing and building and feeding my bad brain.

I read my current favorite analogy in a book called Atomic Habits by James Clear recently. It went a little something like this:

You can put an ice cube on a desk in a room that’s 25° and it wont melt. You can heat the room slowly by 1° to 26° and it wont melt, to 27° and it wont melt, to 28° and it wont melt, all the way to 31° and it STILL wont freaking melt. One more degree though, the same slow incremental change you’ve been doing, to 32° and poof, it’s a whole new world. The ice starts to melt.

This spoke so much to me. If you’re still with me you know that at 29° I typically call it quits when really all that needs to be done is a just a little more consistency! I think my mini negative outbursts and the negative break of last night may have been my way of heating up my internal ice cube. Now, its finally starting to melt. I feel a little better today. I have some side effects from the break last night, but that’s normal. Ice cubes are a little messy when they melt. I think my good brain and my bad brain maybe had to battle it out a bit to keep turning up the heat so the melting could finally begin. I think it’s going to be okay.

Nikki

“WOAH! I Feel Good” ~ THE James Brown

GUYS! It’s February! I’m not sure about you, but I usually tend to hitch a long ride to nowhere on the struggle bus during the month of February. SO! To help try and combat that for me and for you we are running our monthly challenge this month as FEEL GOOD FEBRUARY!

Feel Good February is all about increasing our awareness of what makes us feel good inside and out and then simply doing more of that!

February is always really hard for me. The holidays have passed, all the fun excitement of the new year has faded. It’s dark and it’s cold. Frick February, right?! Instead of succumbing to the usual February Shame Spiral why not focus on lifting ourselves and others?

Why not remember what the warm sun feels like as it dances across your face?

Why not compliment a stranger?

Why not lend a helping hand to a friend or neighbor?

Why not remind yourself of the sweet tickle of grass between your toes?

Why not get your blood flowing with some movement?

Why not express your creativity?

There are so many little things we can do regularly that will help us feel good. It’s so easy to get caught up in the dreary ick of February, but anything worth having or doing doesn’t come easy.

Challenge yourself. Push yourself. Improve yourself.

Tell us one thing you can do regularly that will help you feel good! We DOUBLE DOG DARE YA to do it most days this month.

Check in with us here, on our Facebook Page, or in our Facebook Group!

We want to hear from you, learn from you, share with you, and grow with you! xo

New Year, Better You!

Do you usually make a New Years Resolution or two? Maybe you set a new goal or decide to adopt a new hobby, or finally take a stand against some bad habit you’ve been meaning to break. Regardless of the specifics the New Year almost always seems to spark something in most of us. If you’re anything like me then that spark also may fade pretty easily after a few weeks or so.

Sticking with it is so much easier said than done. So, to help you find what works best for you to keep you on track to slay all day almost every day check out what has worked for us!

First things first. List all the stuff and things you want to do or change.

Once you acknowledge the different areas that you want see something new try to prioritize what may be the most important to you or something that may bring you the most joy.

After you prioritize your list, pick O N E thing to start with. Yes, one! Sometimes when we pile our plate so full of all these awesome goals and changes that plate gets a bit heavy. You know what happens. It’s overwhelming and then you give up little by little or all at once.

We’ve also found that one of the key factors to sticking to your new habits is your S K I L L S! Yep, you read that right. It takes skills to create a new habit. It takes skills for that new habits to eventually become routine. It takes skills to add a second new habit after you’ve mastered the first. Take a few moments to think about what skills you need to start and follow through with a new habit. Once you’ve got the skillset figured out you’ve got to determine how to sharpen those skills! We can help with that too 😉 Let us know in the comments what skills you may need to sharpen and let’s brainstorm some options to help!

Anything is possible, people.

Start small.

Stay accountable.

Jump In January

Ah…a beautiful, untainted NEW YEAR! Isn’t it so refreshing to welcome a new beginning?

☆ G O A L S ☆ D R E A M S ☆ P L A N S ☆

☆ A S P I R A T I O N S ☆ C H A N G E S ☆

The cross roads of the end of one year and the start of a new year brings an opportunity to reflect on habits and behaviors, goals and accomplishments as well as a chance to dream up new inspiration for the year ahead!

◇ Are you dreaming of change in your life?

◇ Do you desire to live a more fulfilling life?

◇ Are you hoping to be more healthy?

So many of us view the start of the year as a fresh beginning and see January as a blank slate. So, why not Jump In this January with The Paleo Squirrel?

◇ Are you unsure of where or how to start?

◇ Do you struggle with staying on track?

JUMP IN with The Paleo Squirrel!

We are here to provide encouragement, motivation, guidance, and inspiration that we believe could help you identify and accomplish your goals and ultimately assist you in living the life you love!

We firmly believe that you have the ability to cultivate sustainable growth in your personal life. With a little ambition, curiosity, openness, and vulnerability we feel like it’s possible to break self imposed barriers, embrace potential, and live fully.

The Paleo Squirrel has created a FREE accountability challenge that offers support, motivation, and encouragment to anyone who wants to make some positive changes in their life and work through their journey along side some bad ass people!

Check out our Facebook page and join our Jump In January group to stay up to date with everything happening during this months challenge!

Do Something December!

☆ Have you ever dreamed big of changing your whole life only to be overwhelmed about one or two weeks into your metamorphosis and basically just give up?

☆ Are you nervous or afraid that you won’t be able to stick to your overall intentions?

☆ Do you want to make some changes in your life but just don’t know where or how to start?

The Paleo Squirrel is here to help and provide accountability and feedback along the way!

We know that building healthy habits is hard work! It doesn’t matter if you’re working on a physical habit or a mental habit, re-wiring your typical thoughts and actions is no easy feat. We believe that if you break down your big goals to smaller, attainable, measurable actions that can be accounted for on a daily basis that you can obtain more long term success with implementing these new habits you want to build.

This is why we decided to do just that for our Do Something December challenge!

Guys. When you take small, measurable, positive steps towards building the daily routines and habits you desire every single day we really feel like it’ll set you up for long term success.

Join us for Do Something December! Our goal is to take one single action every single day throughout the month of December that will ultimately result in creating a building block foundation for implementing the strong, healthy habits we desire in our day to day lives!

This is a FREE accountability challenge that offers support, motivation, and encouragment to anyone who wants to make some positive changes in their life and work through their journey along side some bad ass people!

Join our Facebook Event for Do Something December to stay up to date, accountable and on track!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1784861111641073/?ti=cl

“Woah! We’re Halfway There!” -JBJ

Hey you guys, we are MORE THAN HALFWAY through No November!

We feel like the first couple weeks are usually the easiest when breaking bad habits and building new ones and we know from our own experiences that the halfway point is where things can get a little hairy. At this point the exciting new-ness has worn off and it can be kind of a bummer. It seems harder now to stick to your intentions and you may be a struggling, it is okay!

We believe the halfway point is where some of most pivotal moments can occur too!

Believe in yourself. Remind yourself WHY you started this in the first place. Take a moment to reflect on how much progress you have made in just a couple of weeks! Breaking bad habits and building healthy, positive habits is no easy feat, but look at you doing the things! You’ve said NO consistently and intentionally for over 2 weeks already. BE PROUD! Give yourself some kudos!

We want to know how you are doing so far! Have you had any wake up calls? Are you riding the struggle bus? Are you totally slaying the game? Comment with your updates here! We are in this together you guys!

Deciding To Start & Starting

The hardest part of any plan or goal is starting. I’ll start tomorrow. I’ll start Monday. I’ll start on the 1st of the month. Sound familiar? It doesn’t matter what day of the week it is or even what time it is. Make the choice to begin, and do it right then. Every day after you get over the initial “start” day seems to get easier and easier. Here’s some tips that work for me that might work for you too:

Steps To Starting:

First, you need to decide on what your goal is.
Then, you should write down (in order of priority, if applicable) the steps you need to take to achieve that goal.
“Start” by doing or completing the first step.
Incorporate a new step every day or every week, whichever makes more sense with your schedule.
Schedule your goal achieving steps on your calendar so you can check it off your “to do” list.

What If Things Don’t Go According to Schedule:

Don’t beat yourself up! Negative self talk will not help you achieve your goal.
Don’t think of setbacks as having to “start over.” You are human, you make mistakes, and sh*t happens.
When faced with a setback, say to yourself: okay, that happened or that didn’t happen today, now I’m moving on and continue with the steps you created to achieve your goal.

Other Tips For Success:

Pick an accountability buddy.
Choose someone who’s goals and values align with yours.
Choose someone who won’t flake out on you.
I believe these are key to a successful accountability buddy, or the accountability won’t work.