We've Come A Long Way

This year will be three years that Nikki Kramer, Sarah Greene and I began planning the first ANAD Eating Disorder Support Group in South Florida. We started planning the group in the summer of 2006. Our first meeting was Sunday, December 10th, 2006.

Almost three years later, we have helped and inspired others to start ANAD Support Groups in their communities throughout South Florida.

Now...

If you are looking for a group in Dade County, you can contact Maria at henaome@gmail.com or contact her via phone at (786) 263-2956.

If you need a group in West Palm Beach you can contact Sarah Rainer at PalmBeachANAD@gmail.com .

If you need a group in Boca Raton, FL you can contact Dr. Henah Gupta at dr.henahgupta@psychologicalexpressions.com or (561) 283-0206.

Tonight I wanted to acknowledge and celebrate how far we've come and thank everyone that has helped make ANAD Broward a success. THANK YOU!!!

How about you? Take a moment to acknowledge, celebrate and be thankful for where you are today. It might not be exactly where you'd thought you'd be after X, Y, Z...but accepting, acknowledging, celebrating and being thankful for where we are today is an important part of getting to where we want to be.

Peace, hope and love,

Lily

Celebrating Life

'I have tried to say what happiness is, how we make it, how we lose it, and how we sometimes walk past it without recognizing it. Happiness isn't somewhere else, it's where we are. It isn't something we don't have, we do. It isn't fantasy, it's reality experienced in a certain way. Happiness is a close relative of faith.'

~ Celebrating Life, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

PS: Thanks to David S. for lending me this book. I am so looking forward to reading it!

Lessons from Baby Jonah

Sometimes in life we have to shake things up so we can look at things from a different point of view and achieve different results.










Happy belated Easter everyone!

Peace, hope and love,

Lily

Making Tough Choices

I was listening to The Today Show this morning on my way to work. Matt Lauer interviewed Suzy Welch author of 10 - 10 - 10 A Life Transforming Idea

Suzy explains a process for making big and small choices/decisions. A Process she calls 10-10-10. Here's how it works:

1) First you identify your problem/issue/question/possible options. Be as specific as possible.

2) Next comes honest data collection. Answer: "Given my question, what are the consequences of each of my options in ten minutes? in ten months? In ten years?"

3) The last step in the process is analysis. According to Suzie Welch, you need to take all the information ­you’ve compiled and compare it to your values (your beliefs, goals, dreams, and needs). Ask yourself: “Knowing what I now know about all of my options and their consequences, which decision will best help me create the life I want to live?”

Here is the Suzy Welch interview on The Today Show:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

note from Suzie Welch: "(...) to be clear, there is nothing literal about each ten in 10-10-10. The first 10 basically stands for “right now” — as in, one minute, one hour, or one week. The second 10 represents that point in the foreseeable future when the initial reaction to your decision has passed but its consequences continue to play out in ways you can reasonably predict. And the third 10 stands for a time in a future that is so far off that its particulars are entirely vague."

If you want to read the full article. Click HERE.

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There is not a perfect decision-making process. As you saw from the video, Mrs. Welch has made some not so good decisions since coming up with this method. It is extremely helpful though, to explore different methods and tools that can help us in making decisions big and small when the time comes...so we wont have to make decisions out of fear, guilt, stress or wait until we are cornered against a wall.

We should make our choices, big and small based on what is important to us, on our values, on what we want our life to look like 10 minutes from now, 10 months from now and 10 years from now.

Making mistakes in our decision making process is also ok. We are not perfect. We just need to learn the lessons from our "misses", take what responsibility is ours and move on.

Hope you can place this 10-10-10 decision making tool in your recovery tool box and that it comes in handy in 10 minutes, 10 months or 10 years.

Peace, hope and love,

Lily

The Wizard of Oz and The Serenity Prayer

"If you think about it, the Wizard of Oz is really about the Serenity Prayer. The tin man wants a heart to be able to love the things he can't change; the lion, some courage to change the things he can; and the scarecrow, a brain with which to know the difference...."

~ Beyond Blue, A Spiritual Journey to Mental Health

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How about you? Are there things in your life you can't change and need to learn to love and accept? Are there things you can change, and like the lion, you need some courage to make them happen? Do you need more wisdom to know the difference?

Peace, hope and love,

Lily

Lessons from Passover

David, a friend from work, shared a super powerful reading with me this morning and I wanted to share it with you all today. What recovery/life lessons can we learn from the story of Passover? Read on to find out...

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The Inside Story on Passover
By Tzvi Freeman

In each one of us there is an Egypt and a Pharaoh and a Moses and Freedom in a Promised Land. And every point in time is an opportunity for another Exodus.

Egypt is a place that chains you to who you are, constraining you from growth and change. And Pharaoh is that voice inside that mocks your gambit to escape, saying, "How could you attempt being today something you were not yesterday? Aren't you good enough just as you are? Don't you know who you are?"

Moses is the liberator, the infinite force deep within, an impetuous and all-powerful drive to break out from any bondage, to always transcend, to connect with that which has no bounds.

But Freedom and the Promised Land are not static elements that lie in wait. They are your own achievements which you may create at any moment, in any thing that you do, simply by breaking free from whoever you were the day before.

Last Passover you may not have yet begun to light a candle (...)This year, defy Pharaoh and light up your world. With unbounded light.

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May the story of passover be a reminder that every day is a chance for another Exodus. We can break free of people, places, and ways of thinking that hold us in bondage and live the life we were meant to live.

Thanks for sharing this message with me David!

Happy Passover!

Lily :-)

Week After Week

American Idol contestants where asked about their favorite quotes. Here are some of the ones that made me go wow!! what a simple yet great reminder!! I've heard American Idol is an extremely fast-paced, high-pressure experience. These quotes are probably small insights into the kind of thinking that keeps them going week after week....



Danny Gokey
"Unshakable faith is faith that has been shaken."









Kris Allen
We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible.
~ Vince Lombardi








Matt Giraud
You are your own worst critic.






What are some of the thoughts that keep you going week after week, day after day, when things get tough....?

peace, hope and love,

Lily

Be Patient

Be patient with yourself. Self growth is tender; it's holy ground. There's no greater investment.

~ The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, page 61-62

Lessons from Disney Monsters

Men heap together the mistakes of their lives and create a monster they call destiny.

~ John Oliver Hobbes




This sounds like a sad quote, a rather dark quote but it is actually a super powerful, hopeful insightful quote!!!! I gotta be honest, this is something I struggle with sometimes. Even though I am not the extreme perfectionist I used to be and I have learned to accept that I am not perfect and that it is ok to make mistakes, I sometimes put all the mistakes from my past together in a big pile and think that "monster" is going to be my future.

Believing that our past mistakes define our future can seem very real but is as make-believe and silly as Disney Monsters. Truth is, they can become our future if we let them, but it is our choice.

I always say this, but sometimes forget to apply it to my own life: Our future does not have to be an extension of our past.

The mistakes we have made are in the past. All we can do is learn the lessons from them and move on.

Our mistakes don't belong in a big heap in front of us. They are NOT our destiny. They belong in the past. Every day is a blank slate. Every day, we can begin again.

Let me say this in the first person tonight since it is something I am working on:

"My mistakes do not belong in a big heap in front of me. They are NOT my destiny. They belong in the past. Every day is a blank slate. Every day, I can begin again."

Can you say these words today? It is ok if you don't believe them yet. It's a powerful and promising affirmation/lesson to learn.

Peace, hope and love,

Lily

The Only Reason

So I am a big American Idol fan. Here goes my second American Idol post of the season. My favorites this season are Adam, Danny and Kris. There is another contestant that, though not in the competition anymore, is sure to do great things.

Michael Sarver was voted off last week. Driving to work several days ago, I heard an interview of him on The Today Show. As soon as I heard his response, I knew I wanted to share it with you all.

Here it is:

Anne Curry: You're moving into a new world.... Where do you think it is going to take you?

Michael: There's no limitations. I believe the only reason that I can't succeed at "this thing" is if I quit, and since I am not a quitter, I should be ok.

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So what is "this thing" for you? Is it getting through your meal plan today? Is it taking sobriety maybe one hour at a time for now? Is it change coming your way whether you were expecting it or not?

Next time you are going through a rough time, think of Michael's words. Thanks for your words of courage Michael. Best wishes in your career and in everything you do!!!

peace, hope and love,

Lily