Boost your energy levels with a nutritious breakfast

Do you want your day to go well? As a recovery counselor or coach, you can expect busy, emotionally and intellectually demanding days. One of the ways to ensure you can make the most of the day is to start off with the right breakfast. What you feed your body in the morning can help set your path. It can set you on the road to feeling tired, hungry and irritable or it can set you off on a path to feeling satisfied, full and energized.

Making breakfast in the morning can take a little bit of time. If you’re a busy person, you may be tempted to skip it in order to save a few minutes. However, doing so can actually waste time. This is because when you eat a good breakfast, it can boost your energy levels and help you stay focused. This will, of course, make you more productive overall. It also will help cut down on any emergency snack breaks.

What does the magical formula look like? The right breakfast will include fiber, complex carbohydrates, and protein. Turn to whole grain breads, fruits, oatmeal, and high fiber cereals in the morning. Add in eggs, yogurt, maybe some low-fat cheese, nuts and nut butters. If you want something quick, whip up something the night before. A fast and easy choice is overnight oats. You can fuel your morning without taking up too much time. Avocado toast, which has been trending for a while now, is another great choice for the morning. It pairs healthy fats with whole grains, and if you top it off with an egg, you’ll get a fair amount of protein as well.

Don’t start off your morning with high sugar or simple carbs. Eating fast food or jelly donuts may taste good, but they will leave you wanting more. You’ll likely be left feeling exhausted way too early in your day. Get yourself going with a highly nutritious and filling breakfast that will be sure to boost your energy levels.

Recovery is possible, just ask Jodie Sweetin

If you ever watched “Full House” and you’re familiar with Stephanie Tanner, you can’t help but picture a young girl saying, “You got it, dude.” It was her key phrase for some time on the show. When you think back to that young, adorable girl or watch reruns, it’s hard to believe everything she’s gone through since.

When the show ended Jodie Sweetin found herself struggling. She ended up turning to alcohol and eventually to drugs as well. She battled as years went by, doing occasional TV spots and a mockumentary. But, after years of struggling and her addiction seemingly on the path to getting deeper, she turned around. She knew it was time to get help. Jodie Sweetin went to rehab and started a new life in 2008.

Her experience caused passion to stir in her, so she became a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor. She worked helping others in treatment and shared with the world in her book “UnSweetined.” Sweetin also went on to act in some Lifetime Movies, the movie “Walt Before Mickey” and appeared on the TV series “Hollywood Darlings.” In 2016, she returned to her original famous role as Stephanie Tanner in “Fuller House.”

Her path to recovery led her to being honored at the 2019 Experience, Strength & Hope Awards Show on February 28th. She was also asked to speak at Georgia Southern’s Armstrong campus on March 10th.

Jodie Sweetin is someone who’s been on the other side. She’s walked the tough road to recovery. She knows the ins and outs. She knows the struggles. But she wants people to know it’s entirely possible to get through it. This is a lady who battled the ugly face of addiction and made it through to become a successful woman who believes in the power of recovery.

Relapse and recovery: How to help your clients stay clean

If you’re working with someone in recovery, it’s important to help them stay on the path, and get back on it if they fall off. It’s not uncommon to relapse. Many people don’t stay clean during their first try. That’s why it’s important for those seeking recovery to know how to avoid relapse and what to do if they do relapse.

Work with your clients in recovery to help them identify any potential triggers that could tempt them into relapsing. There are plenty of things that can trip a person up. It could be people in their lives, different environments, or even smells. Avoiding these people or circumstances can help them stay on the road to recovery. This may mean throwing stuff out, redecorating at home, or even moving, if need be.

Encourage your clients to write down their goals and why they want to stay clean. They should keep this list somewhere they can easily access it for times when they feel tempted to relapse. This list also can come in handy if they do relapse. They can look at it afterwards and remember why it’s important to get back on the path to recovery.

Let your patients know that although you want to encourage them to stay clean, you’ll be there if they relapse. It’s important for them to know they need to reach out for support if they fall off the path. Those who relapse need to know they can reach out to loved ones and professionals for support. They need to lean on someone to help them get back up and stay clean. Let them know they aren’t a failure and help them find the strength to move on.

Relapsing can be an unfortunate part of the recovery journey. Help prepare your clients to find ways to avoid relapse, but also share with them what to do if it should occur. Give your clients the best chance at establishing their ultimate goal of living in recovery.

What we can learn from Ben Affleck’s struggle with addiction

Many people struggle with addiction, including people who seem to have it all. Take Ben Affleck, for instance, an actor who has been honest about his struggle with alcoholism. He’s been in rehab three times now, in 2001, 2017, and 2018.

There are a few things we can learn from Affleck about helping those with addiction. Affleck emphasized the importance of having support from friends, family and fans. He took to social media to talk about the support he received from those close to him and he thanked those who open up about their own battles. Support plays a key role in helping people get through addiction. It’s important that people walking this road don’t feel like they’re doing it alone.

Affleck also demonstrates the importance of honesty. When someone is dealing with addiction, they need to come to a point where they are willing to admit to themselves and others that there is a problem. Affleck did this and sought help — two key steps on the path towards recovery.

Affleck may live with an ongoing addiction, but he sought help. He has people in his life to show him support and a willingness to be honest about his struggles. What can we, as coaches, learn from his experience? We need to create a space where we are showing support for those we are coaching. We also need to strive to provide an atmosphere where people can feel comfortable enough to be open and honest about what they are going through. By doing this, we can help their chances at walking the road to recovery with success.

Find purpose in your career

How does it feel when you help others out? Do you get the inner sense of satisfaction from knowing you were able to bring positivity into someone else’s life? Being helpful can actually be good for your well-being as a whole. It can provide a deep feeling of meaning. And, it may even boost how many years you live.

But, when giving of yourself, it will mean more internally if you feel passionate about it. When you can pair helping others with something you’re passionate about, you’ll be more likely to have that deep satisfaction.

Coaching is a career that allows many to fulfill this purpose. It’s a career that is focused on helping others succeed. The coach’s job is to help others find their path and live out their lives the best way possible. It’s no wonder that people in the coaching career can also experience a lot of personal growth along the journey.

If empathy and understanding comes easy to you, and you have a passion for helping others, this could be the ideal career choice for you. Not only will you have the opportunity to help others, but you could benefit as well. You may find the feeling of purpose in this role and a newfound independence to live the life you’ve been dreaming of.

Find your emotional support outlet

As a coach, you will probably be very invested in the people you work with. You’ll encourage them and want to see them succeed. When they stumble, you’ll want to see them get back up and start again. This investment is one of the reasons you became a coach, because you enjoy helping others succeed. However, being invested in others can also take its toll on you.

When you’re emotionally invested in others, it can run you down. As a busy professional, you probably constantly have something go on, juggling many plates. But all of this time and investment can have negative effects on your emotional well-being.

You’ll need to find an outlet to handle your emotions as well. Maybe that means you talk with a close friend or family member about other stresses going on in your life. You could confide in a trained professional, even coaches and therapists can have therapists.

However, if you prefer another outlet, consider journaling out your emotions. It allows you to free them from your mind and let them go. Pets can also provide great emotional support. You can tell them anything and relax with them, being comforted by their love and loyalty.

Being a support for someone else is rewarding, you get to help others make goals and see them through to the finish line. But, it can also be mentally exhausting at times. While you’re being an emotional support, don’t forget that you also need to find support to get you through the days ahead.

Time for a career change

What does this new year look like to you? Is it full of possibilities? Every year, we decide on goals for how we want to improve. Last year, three resolutions tied for first place as the most popular: “Eat healthier, Get more exercise, Save (more money).” There were a variety of other resolutions of course too, focusing on additional ways to excel in the new year. One of which, hits close to home: “Get a (new) job.”

We’re going to turn our focus to this particular resolution, because we think it’s so important to have a job you’re passionate about. You’ll spend a lot of your lifetime on the job, so you want it to be one you care about. You don’t want to spend endless hours in a dead-end job that doesn’t provide you with satisfaction. Instead, you want to find something that fills you with purpose.

We have a great opportunity for those looking for more freedom and independence in their job. This is a job best suited for people who are passionate about helping others succeed in their journey. If you’re resolution is to find a new career, it’s time to consider coaching. It’s a career choice that allows you to really make a difference and be an incredible impact on the lives of others. It also has the ability to give you renewed energy by reigniting your inner being with purpose.

If you’d like to learn more, we invite you to check out our website. We have three great professional coaching programs. CPRC — offering a recovery coaching credential, CPC — a program that provides a life coaching credential, and CPRC Dual — allowing you to earn both credentials in one program.

It’s a new year. The perfect time to make a career change. Are you ready?