Mdgwrites Guest Writers, Inspiration, Mental Health, Self-Development, Work and Martial Arts

Guest Post: Work-Life Balance Mastery: The Ultimate Self-Care Tips for Busy Entrepreneurs

Whether we work for someone else or for ourselves (or in many cases, both), we need work-life balance to be a functioning human. As a corporate employee and authorpreneur, I carefully use and guard my time so I can get the job done while staying healthy, happy, and relatively stress free. Emma Grace Brown (see her website here) offers self-care tips for busy entrepreneurs. There’s always a rush at the end of the year between getting everything done and taking time off for holidays and family.
Please take care of yourselves and each other.

Image via Pexels

Continue reading “Guest Post: Work-Life Balance Mastery: The Ultimate Self-Care Tips for Busy Entrepreneurs” →

Mdgwrites Guest Writers, Self-Development

Guest Post: Empowering the Next Generation–Steps Toward a Healthy Future

TAEKWONDO PARA NIÑOS CONOCE SUS BENEFICIOS

School has started in my country, as have fall sports and activities. From what I’ve seen in the dojang, the kids are ready to work hard and do what they love. Although I’m not a parent, I’m an aunt and a coach, so I’m invested in making sure our kids have the resources and support to be their best and get the most out of life. Regular contributor Emma Grace Brown offers tips for fostering the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of the kids in your lives. I’m committed to being a supportive black belt and leader to the kids I train with.
For more of Emma’s work, check out her website: https://emmagracebrown.com/
If you would like to contribute to Little Black Belt, see the guest writer guidelines. 

In our ever-evolving world, fostering healthy habits in children takes on greater significance. As parents, caregivers, and educators, we bear the responsibility of molding the future well-being of the next generation. The cornerstone of a lifetime filled with vitality and balance begins during childhood, and this article, courtesy of Little Black Belt, will delve into effective strategies and practical advice for guiding kids toward building long-term healthy habits.

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Mdgwrites Guest Writers, Inspiration, Self-Development

Guest Post: Live Better, Live Healthier: Everyday Tactics for Well-Being

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September is self-care and self-improvement month. To perform at our best, martial artists need to take care of themselves in body, mind, and spirit.
Emma Grace Brown, a frequent contributor to this site, shares small (but very important) things we can do to make sure our bodies and minds are healthy going into a busy fall and holiday season. If you would like to contribute to Little Black Belt, please review the contributor guidelines here.

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Mdgwrites Challenges, Self-Development, Work and Martial Arts

Do you Love to Win or Hate to Lose?

Win and lose Royalty Free Vector Image - VectorStock

“Do you love to win or hate to lose?”

A high level executive in my company posed this question to a group of leaders at an event several months ago. We work for a large healthcare organization in a metropolitan area. The market shifts so rapidly our heads spin, so it was apropos of her to liken our attitudes toward our work with an air of competitiveness.

Most of us agreed that the company itself operates from more of a “love to win” approach. I don’t mean that as a hippie love-is-in-the-air attitude. It just likes playing the long game. Sometimes too long, but it’s learning to respond more quickly to an unprecedented era in healthcare.

The executive posited that there are advantages and disadvantages to both. If you love to win, you probably have a good long-term strategy. If you hate to lose, you might be more keen to be innovative to get ahead. If you love to win, you might be too slow to make a move. If you hate to lose, you might be too reactive around competition and take costly risks.

At the time I (naively) thought, “I love to win more than I hate to lose.” These days I have a more optimistic outlook than I did a few years ago. I’ve made some needed changes and have witnessed growth in my personal and professional lives. And who doesn’t love to win?

And then I was pressure-tested. There was nothing huge or life-altering that happened. I just experienced the normal ups and downs of life while that question lingered on my mind.

Turns out I’m still more of a “hate to lose” person, to my detriment. I ruminate on when I make mistakes, when I’m corrected, or when I make the wrong choice. Those moments take over my thoughts in a more powerful way than when I’m showing appreciating or celebrating a win. This spans across my personal life, work, and even in the dojang. I think one can use the “hate to lose” attitude to their advantage,  but I haven’t figured that out.

I guess I’m still a perfectionist. Much less so than I was as a much younger woman and even a few years ago, but old habits die hard.

Losing isn’t so bad. I’ve learned lessons every time I’ve lost. If I can’t get away from hating to lose easily, perhaps I can shift to loving to win and learning to lose.

What about you? Do you love to win or hate to lose?

 

Mdgwrites Mental Health, My Guest Posts, Self-Development

My Guest Post: Building Resilience When You’re Feeling Stressed

Ramping Up Your Resilience - Anne Grady Group

April is Stress Awareness Month. Something we heard a lot during the pandemic was “jUsT bE reSIliENt” as if we could magically change how we felt overnight. Sometimes the sentiment came with support. Other times it came as threat from those who refused to budge. Either way, building resilience in a healthy way is possible.

Check out my latest post on Martial Journal to read more: https://www.martialjournal.com/building-resilience-when-youre-feeling-stressed/

Mdgwrites Confidence, Inspiration, Mental Health, My Guest Posts, Self-Development

My Guest Post: Seeking Authenticity? Look to Martial Arts

Out of the vast hellscape of the pandemic came a cry for authenticity–in our workplaces, in our homes, and in our hearts. If you’re a practicing martial artist (or have any kind of hobby, passion, sport, etc.), the power might already be within you. In this month’s article for Martial Journal, I describe how practicing martial arts can help you find your authentic voice.

Click here to read the article.

 

Mdgwrites Self-Development

I Don’t Practice Every Day. Here’s Why.

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There are a few things I do every day, and most of them pertain to keeping me alive and healthy: eat, bathe, drink water, take my prescribed medications, and sleep. Lately I’ve been enjoying journaling every morning while I drink my first cup of coffee. For the past two years I’ve done something, no matter how small, nearly every day to rehab my right knee.

Other than that, my daily activities vary, even my true passions and beloved hobbies.

GASP!!
Continue reading “I Don’t Practice Every Day. Here’s Why.” →

Mdgwrites Mental Health, Self-Development

Martial Artists and Goal-Setting

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I’ve gotten soft.

I don’t mean physically, although after having two knee surgeries and gaining weight as I recovered from anorexia, that’s partially true (in a good way). I mean my determination, drive, and hunger seem muted.

I miss doggedly pursuing a goal. I miss the hunger of seeing something on the horizon and working until I reach it. I feel like my brain has been on pause for the last two years.

Continue reading “Martial Artists and Goal-Setting” →

Mdgwrites Confidence, Injury and Recovery, Inspiration, Mental Health, Self-Development, Work and Martial Arts

Taking My Own Advice on Feeling Unstuck

Part Two

July 24, 2022, was the two year “an-knee-versary” (yes, I’m going to keep using that word) of my ACL reconstruction surgery.

I had a great weekend using my reconstructed and rehabbed knee. My partner and I swam in our pool Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On Saturday after my first post-op Body Combat class, we walked about half a mile to a local pub to play pool, have drinks, and eat delicious street tacos, and we did strength training on Sunday before our afternoon swim. Unlike this time last summer, I was not recovering from another arthroscopy. I haven’t reached 100% flexion and extension, but I’m so much closer than I was a year ago.

Despite the current state of the world, I’m feeling more relaxed and optimistic about my future than I have in a long time.

This time last year I wrote a post about “feeling unstuck when there’s no end in sight.” I’d made a lot of progress with my knee, but, progress was still difficult, slow, and at times felt as if it were moving backward.

My life felt like that too. 

I had plenty of moments of feeling pretty bad, but overall I did take the advice I shared in last year’s article. I learned to be patient with my frustration and not get caught in an emotional spiral. I worked on what I could control. I very slowly let go of the need for everything to be perfect and “right.”

The most helpful and yet most infuriating factor: time. I just had to keep doing what I could do to stay sane and get more physically fit and let things work out in time. The deus ex machina I prayed for never came other than a big change at work, and even then, that has required several months of learning and adjusting.

My old therapist Ramona, who is mentioned in my memoir, used to say, “One day at a time…It. Will All. Work. Out.”

So, how to get unstuck? Go back to last year’s article and read the tips. Do what you can, give yourself grace when you can’t, and be patient.

Mdgwrites Confidence, Injury and Recovery, Mental Health, Self-Development, Work and Martial Arts

The Pain of a Pretty Facade: Becoming More Authentic

These pictures were taken about two years and five months apart. I am smiling in both and seem to have gotten my hair to cooperate.

The first photo was taken by a professional photographer as part of a photo shoot package to use for my upcoming book promotion. The second was taken by my partner after we had a delicious dinner to celebrate my upcoming birthday. One photo was taken pre-knee injury, pre-mental breakdown, and pre-weight gain.

Guess which one shows the happier, more authentic me?

Continue reading “The Pain of a Pretty Facade: Becoming More Authentic” →