You Are Not Just a Mother, You Are You First!

Mothers face many challenges in todays world. They carry the responsibility of many roles. Through these roles we become different things to different people. Sometimes we get divided over having a career and having a families or find conflict between the different jobs that we try to do. Making the question Who am I? even harder to answer.

It grows harder because mothers see this little person that looks up at them with innocent trusting eyes, mommy is everything to that little one. She makes the hurt from boo-boos go away with a kiss, chases the monsters from under the bed away, and rocks them after a bad dream. Every mother takes that responsibility and carries it with her no matter where she goes. It is an awesome responsibility of caring for this wonderful little person and being mom is always on the mind. As much as it is wonderful to revel in mommyhood, we still need to remember that being a mother is just one part of us, the more we allow ourselves to see who we are the better examples we can set for our children to leading a balanced life.

As a mother, I have struggled to find my own identity. I am a mother, a wife, a daughter, a business owner, a sister, a friend..but who am I? It is easy to define yourself by what you do and what you mean to other people. As we take on these different roles our own identity gets blurred. It is harder to make the distinction. Who am I if I am not Logans mom or Bens wife?

Who are you? A wife, a mother, an employee, they are all a part of who we are, but they do not define you. We are the only ones that are able to define who we are. When are we just women? Women that have our own values, ideas, and philosophies, women that are able to embrace their different roles in life, but still are able to maintain there sense of self.

The importance of women defining who they are is giving them a chance to grow as women. To recognize that they need to take off all the different hats that they wear during the day and take time to honor who they are.

The problem is that because they are in so many different roles that they stop seeing themselves separate from them. They stop taking time for themselves, because they are giving so much to everyone else. Does this sound familiar? Have you lost your identity among the different jobs that you do everyday? How do you see yourself?

Here are a few questions that can help you determine if you are defining yourself by what you do instead of who you are:

Do you spend at least an hour a day doing the things that you want to do? (Reading, participating in hobbies, watching your favorite TV program, etc)

When asked to describe yourself do you start with I enjoy or I am a woman that believe/feel.? Or do you say, I am a mother or I am a nurse

Are you able to say no to things that interfere with the things that you want to do? Or that you do not have time for?

Do you feel that your life is in balance? Which means that you get enough time to pursue your own interest instead of just the interest of your children or significant other?

Do you feel that you spend time equally on yourself as you do on others?

If you answered no to any of the questions it is time to get back in touch with yourself. You need to not only stop defining yourself by what you do but you need to spend sometime getting to know who you are.

Here are some tips for you to get in touch with the forgotten woman inside.

Make sure that you spend time perusing your own interests. The problem with defining yourself by what you do is that you dont give yourself time to do what you want to do; your time is spent doing for others. Do something that you have always wanted to do; take a class, start a book club, anything that gives you some time to just do your own thing. Above all make the time to do it! Its ok to do something for yourself.

Say NO frequently! just because you take on different roles does not mean that you have to do everything for everybody. Recognize when there is something that others could really do for themselves. Do not let yourself be taken advantage of! REMEMBER it is just as much of a benefit for others to learn how to do for themselves as it is to you.

Make sure that you have OFF DUTY time! just like a conventional job, make sure there is a time of day when you are done. Dont work right up until you go to bed. Give yourself time to unwind, distress, and relax. Wait until the kids are in bed and take a long hot bubble bath. Curl up in your favorite chair with a good book. Meditate or do yoga. Do whatever relaxes you. You need this time to maintain some balance. Because of you multiple roles you are on the clock the majority of the time. You have to have time to distress! Without it you are going to burn out. Visualize your bank account if you keep making withdraws without making a deposit, eventually you are going to just run out of resources. Make sure to take time to revitalize yourself.

I have found that by maintaining my own identity that I am a better mother, wife, daughter, business owner, sister, and friend. It maintains balance in my life because I know that even though I am different things to different people; I know what it means to just be me.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tonya Ramsey is a life coach and owner of Life By Design. She specializing in assisting working mothers find life balance to maintain a healthy and peaceful life. For more information on Tonyas services or to receive a free life coaching session to help you design the life that you want, visit Life By Design web site or send an e-mail. Why juggle your life when you can balance it.

[ copyright 2006 Tonya Ramsey. All Rights Reserved. This article may be freely reproduced as long as the ABOUT THE AUTHOR at the bottom of this article is included unedited. Links must be Active/Linkable]

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How to Play Winning Golf

First of all there is no secret about how you win a handicap golf tournament. You win because you have the lowest Net score. The Net score is your Real score minus your Handicap Index. The USGA handicap system allows players with different skill levels to be able to compete with each other. It is the fairest way get two players to a level playing field. The system is not perfect. Mainly because your handicap is a mathematical formula that takes and averages your last 10 best scores. If you as a player can turn in one of your better than average rounds of golf you stand a better than average chance to win the tournament.

This is my winning strategy. Try to play a round of golf equal to or better than your average score for your last 10 best rounds. You should know what this score is before playing in the tournament. If you can post this score or better you have a good chance of winning the tournament. I know that I may have over-simplified this winning strategy. But, If you just follow my suggestions you may just find yourself in the winners circle at the completion of your golf tournament.

It is a fact that the average scores for golf tournaments are usually higher than a normal round of golf. This is a good indication that most players put more pressure on themselves during tournaments.

The better player understands this phenomenon and adopts the following philosophy - Take What the golf Course will Give You on any Hole. This means that if you make a mistake on a hole don't turn that mistake into a disaster. Accept a bogey or even a double bogey as the best that you can do on that hole. Don't try to make an impossible shot in an effort to save par. Most of the time this only compounds the mistake and creates a disaster hole. If you do this just once in the tournament you could loose the tournament. Do it twice and you will definitely loose the tournament.

In my opinion, this strategy may be the difference between winning or loosing the tournament. When you play conservative golf you are more likely to score at or below the average of your last 10 best golf scores. Just remember that your competitors scores are likely to be higher than normal because of tournament pressure.

This is a very simple strategy and ironically most players never use this approach during tournament play. Everyone thinks they have to play their career best round in order to win. Most of the time this just isn't the case. Although, if someone does shoot a career best round you haven't a chance to win that tournament.

I based this strategy on the experience of playing quite a few years as a member of the Northern Illinois Mens Amateur golf Association. NIMAGA hosted handicap golf tournaments monthly during the golf season. A high percentage of the over 500 regular members never in their life time win a tournament. I was fortunate to have won 4 times, tied and lost in a playoff 4 times, and finished in second place numerous times. Although not foolproof, I can attest first hand that without adopting my tournament strategy I wouldn't have won a single tournament.

Here is my challenge to you. Eliminate triple-bogeys or worse from your tournament and see if you can break through into the winners circle.

I have over forty years experience playing amateur golf and being the winner or runner up of numerous Handicap golf Tournaments, I have a theory about what it takes to be a golf tournament winner. I am certain my theory will help you get into the winners circle.

Sam Novak http://www.bestgolfgear.net

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Vitamin C Overdose

Using vitamin C products beyond recommended the limits may cause stomachaches and diarrhea. Even though the body would only use as much as it needs of the vitamin, vitamin C Overdose can hinder metabolic activities in the body.

The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for vitamin C in nonsmoking adults is 75 mg per day for women and 90 mg per day for men. For smokers, the RDAs are 110 mg per day for women and 125 mg per day for men. A dose of 200 milligrams daily is almost enough to maximize plasma and lymphocyte levels.

Higher levels of vitamin C are needed when under environmental stress such as trauma, fever or infection. Full saturation is reached with daily intakes of 200-500 mg per day (in 2-3 divided doses). This is a water-soluble protein, and anything in excess is excreted by the body. vitamin C Overdose can cause diarrhea, gas, or stomach upset. Other side effects could be stomach cramps, nausea, and diarrhea, and an increased risk of developing kidney stones. Large amounts of vitamin C reduce body levels of copper, an essential nutrient. people with iron overload diseases must avoid vitamin C Overdose, as it increases iron absorption. Special medical advice must be taken by individuals who have kidney stones. If a pregnant mother takes 6,000 mg of vitamin C, the baby may develop rebound scurvy due to a sudden drop in daily intake. Hemochromatosis patients should not take vitamin C due to enhanced accumulation of non-heme iron in the presence of this vitamin.

Vitamin C provides detailed information about vitamin C, benefits of vitamin C, topical vitamin C, vitamin C creams and more. vitamin C is the sister site of Frequent Sinus Infections.

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Yoga Can Get Your Diet on the Right Track

The ancient Indian sages were involved in intensive study and research into the nutritional value of food and one of the upshots of this was that they divided food into three categories which became known as Sattvic, Rajasic and Tamasic.

Tamasic food can be said to be in the lowest category as far as its food value is concerned and it is classed as being without quality prana (life energy).

Rajasic food is stimulating, possesses considerable prana and forms a significant percentage of the average persons diet.

Sattvic food however, is the only category that fulfills the ideal food of the Vedic teachings. It comprises foods that are fresh and natural, and contain a high pranic or life content. Some examples are fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables.

The teachings encourage an adherence, in the main, to the Sattvic foods, balanced by a percentage of the Rajasic class, but an abstinence from foods that are classed as Tamasic; in that have little or no prana.

These ancient principles are still adhered to today and it has been amply demonstrated by contemporary food scientists at the Yogic Umachal Hospital in india that the ancient teachings are, in fact, quite valid.

Although modified to some extent, a simple parallel can be seen in the conclusions of Western nutritionists who recommend that people:

• avoid lowest grade foods; those that are commercially produced using artificial flavorings, colorings and that contain chemical preservatives and additives
• eat limited quantities of rich, highly spiced, highly processed and cooked food, as well as butter, cheese, eggs, chocolate, confectionery and other foods containing high levels of processed cane and beet sugar, and
• ensure that a high percentage of the diet should consist of fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts and grains

The important difference is that modern diets still include great quantities of meats of all kinds. These are totally excluded in the Yoga diet for several reasons.

1. The traditional Yogic rule of nutrition excludes them as being devoid of life energy or pranathey are in fact classed as dead foods
2. Meats in quantity cause acidity and leave deposits of toxins in the blood that can cause arthritis and other diseases, depending upon the health of the animal whose flesh was consumed, and
3. yoga adherents believe firmly that no one who loves animals would wish to kill them and eat them or even to foster their exploitation for human consumption

It is the over-riding altruistic reverence for all life that influences a tradition that precludes killing animals for food. The Yogis diet is therefore vegetarian.

This as well as other yoga teachings and disciplines are incorporated into personal Sadhana according to the individuals choice and understanding of health and spiritual matters.

Sally Janssen is one of the best known Yoga teachers in Australia, and is a former President of the International Yoga Teachers Association. She runs an informational website that deals with the very spirit of traditional yoga. To benefit from her extensive knowledge be sure to visit her site at http://www.classical-yoga.com

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