Tag: daily

General, Lifestyle, Mindfulness

Each day requires effort

Corie Muldoon

One good day does not mean that the next will naturally go smooth.

It takes effort to be happy, although happiness may seem effortless.

If your happiness is dependent on accomplishing certain goals, what happens when fate intervenes?

It’s risky to let things outside of your control determine your happiness.

Let’s take pleasure from our actions – in taking the right actions, rather than the results that come from them.

Our ambition should not be to win, but to play with our full effort.

Our intention is not to be thanked or recognized, but to help and to do what we think is right.

Our focus is not on what happens to us, but how we respond.

In this, we will always find contentment and resilience.



x Corie

General, Healthy Habits, Mindfulness

The discipline of perception

Corie Muldoon

The discipline of perception: the way we see it.

Perception is how our mind sees the world around us – situations, people, our own behavior… in other words, it all comes down to what our interpretation is of a particular thing.

So let’s think about that for a second… is it not true that we can change what goes on in our life by changing our thoughts of it?

For example, I cheated on my diet and ate food after 8pm… one way I could see it is that I am a total failure and will never be able to commit fully to anything… another could be that some slack here and there isn’t a bad thing… and another could be that I am grateful to realize my mistake and will make sure that I am better with my time management tomorrow.

See how drastically different these viewpoints are? How words can really affect how we see the situation? How it could make us feel about ourselves in the short and long term?

There really is no good or bad, because if we can find the strength to train our minds to see the world in a way that actually supports and motivates us, then we can find more happiness and success in whatever, and all that, we do.

A more drastic situation could be dealing with the death of a loved one. We could see it as the end of everything we’ve ever known… or we could see it as an absolute blessing that we were able to meet and enjoy their soul in the physical world and are grateful for the love they showed and continue to show us.

Ever hear the quote- “it is what it is” well I’d like to piggy back off that and say “it just is”. That’s it. We have the power to define what exactly situations mean to us and that dictates the energy we attract and the happiness, or lack of, we feel.

What situation could you look at a little differently that would completely change your energy and quality of life?

I’d like to end with a favorite quote of mine: “Day by day, in every way, I am getting better and better!”

x Corie

Getting Started, Movement

What should be incorporated into my workout routine?

Corie Muldoon

Whether you’re a novice taking the first steps toward fitness…

Or an exercise fanatic hoping to optimize your results…

A well-rounded fitness training program is essential.

Soooo with that being said, you may want to consider adding more variety to your workout routine.

Here’s some inspiration:

Aerobic Fitness

Examples of aerobic exercises include walking, jogging, running, biking, hiking, climbing, spinning, cardio machines, dancing, water sports and various MMA training regimes.

Strength Training

Strength training is the process of exercising with progressively heavier resistance for the purpose of strengthening the musculoskeletal system.

It is also referred to as weight lifting, weight training, body sculpting, toning, bodybuilding, and resistance training.

Core Exercises

Core exercises are those that use your trunk without support, like push-ups, sit-ups, and abdominal crunches.

These exercises strengthen and train your lower back, hips, abdomen and pelvis to work together for better balance and stability.

Balance Training

Balance training refers to a type of training that focuses on the ability to maintain proper posture over the body’s base of support.

Stability Training

Stability training refers to performing exercises while on an unstable surface with the goal of activating stabilizers and trunk muscles that may be neglected with other forms of training.

Flexibility Training

Flexibility training includes stretching exercises for the purpose of increasing one’s range of motion.

Remember: prior to training, a warm up should be performed at a low intensity for 5-10 minutes.

This increases the temperature of the muscles and decreases the risk of injury.

Whether you create your own fitness training program or enlist the help of a personal trainer, your overall workout routine should, in my opinion, include several elements.

Although it isn’t necessary to fit each of these elements into every fitness session…

Factoring them into your regular routine can help you promote fitness for life!

x Corie

Healthy Habits, Lifestyle, Productivity

Staying productive via bookend routines

Corie Muldoon

Pick 3 things to do right in the morning.

They could be:

Drink water, wash up, stretch, meditate, journal, pray, give thanks, etc.

Test out different combinations to see what gets you going!

As you close your day out, pick 3 things to do right before bed.

They could be:

Wash up, stretch, meditate, visualize, journal, read, give thanks, etc.

Once you find a routine you vibe with,

Focus on getting your bookends done no matter what…

Start and end your day the same way!

You’ll feel in more of a routine, even if the day ahead of you is out of rhythm.

And of course you can spice your routines up as needed by trying something new!

x Corie

Getting Started, Lifestyle, Mindfulness

Daily Routines

Corie Muldoon

From the moment you wake up until the moment you go to sleep, you are in a routine.

Morning, afternoon, evening…

We go about our time doing certain things a certain way, not always realizing the long term effect those choices may have.

These routines are habits built from our choices.

A routine could be as simple as coffee first thing in the morning, or going the same route to work.

An easy way to spice up our lives is to switch up our routines.

Sub out coffee for tea twice a week. Take a different road to get to work. Mix things up- keep life interesting and exciting!

Are Your Routines Helping or Hurting You?

Now that you are aware that you have routines, no matter how unseeingly small, there’s no question that some routines serve our best interest while others don’t.

In truth, the little things add up to bigger things- this is called the compound effect.

Overtime, are your actions leading you toward your goals, are they holding you back, are they destroying you?

Switching up your routines is important to stay out of the ruts, however it’s equally important to make sure what those routines consist of are good, positive habits that get you to your goals.

2-Week Time Tracking Exercise

Let’s start by tracking what you do on a daily basis for 2 whole weeks.

Every 30 minutes, write down what you did.

Each week, analyze where your time is spent and where you can improve.

This will start to give you an idea of what may be helping you and what may actually be hurting you.

The Chain Method

Once you’ve completed your 2-week time tracking exercise, gather a list of good habits you’d like to implement down the road.

We recommend making a list greater than 3 of good habits you wantt to work on as you progress.

With this list, choose which habit makes the most sense or is the most relevant to your current life situation.

The key to lasting change is to focus on building one new (realistic) habit at a time.

So choose 1 from your list to start with, keeping it as small and as simple to do as possible.

Maybe you read everyday, but you decide to read up on self development instead of mystery novels.

Maybe you want to stretch more and decide to do a one minute stretch each day for 30 days.

Building Momentum

Start with one day, doing whatever habit you wish to work on.

Mark on your calendar each day you did what you set out to do.

As the days pass, you’ll see you’re actively building a chain- work not to break it, keep the streak going!

Remember: keep it simple, taking it day by day.

Wrap Up

We all have the same amount of time in a day. It’s what we choose to do in this very moment that will determine if we reach our goals or not.

Choose wisely (-:
x Corie

Healthy Habits, Lifestyle, Mindfulness

Thinking Time Daily

Corie Muldoon

I love writing out my thoughts- it’s therapeutic and makes the chaos in my head much more simpler.

Keeping a journal never resonated with me until I shifted my vocabulary and started referring to this clearing of the mind as “thinking time”.

My thinking time is super relaxing and is an intentional session when I let all the thoughts that have been swirling around in my head out on paper.

Thinking time helps me to…

  • Explore ideas and the creative imagination
  • Prioritize my problems, fears and concerns
  • Track emotions, feelings, and thoughts
  • Work through negative energy
  • Look at life objectively
  • Learn from mistakes and resolve issues
  • Connect with Nature and Oneness

I typically write anywhere from 2 minutes to 30 minutes on average daily- could be less, could be more it all depends on the day and what I’m feeling!

Thinking sessions have no limits and no thinking session is better than the other.

Relieving Mental Pressure

Getting my thoughts out on paper instantly relieves my mind of pressure.

This added pressure is the result of repeatedly thinking about something.

Even thinking of something as simple as needing to pick up a certain item from the store the next day… in an obsessive manner… over and over again- only makes the situation seem bigger.

Imagine a bunch of small thoughts- growing larger with intensity- the more you think about them…

No wonder why life feels overwhelming at times… we’re dealing with lots of unnecessary emotion!

The small stuff grows into big stuff, and that can leave us paralyzed with no motivation to take action because we’re drained of so much energy.

What’s the Solution?

If we were to take 2 minutes to sketch out thoughts and ideas… life will feel much lighter, more organized, and we’ll have way more energy.

Thinking time could be in the morning, throughout the day, at night… or all three!

Where to Begin with Thinking Time

Thinking sessions are super beneficial for your health and wellness, and I highly recommend them!

Sitting down daily to think is often overlooked but can be easily incorporated into your day. Working on this skill will help you to realize true clarity and your full potential.

Grab a book with empty pages- could be a copybook, spiral notebook, a binder with loose leaf, whatever you are drawn too. I’ve more recently been using Google Keep on my phone and love it (color coded, tags, can add people to the note).

Date the entry and write whatever comes to mind…

When any to-dos or ideas come up throughout the day, I like to write them into a specific section / note to get extra organized. For example, on Google Keep I have a ‘Needed Fixes’ note and ‘Ah-Has’ note – I then use these notes for my weekly meeting where Joe and I review our wins, ah-has, and needed fixes for the week. We’ve been doing it for years now and swear by this system for practical personal improvement.

Below are some thought-provoking questions I’ve appreciated in the past:

  • What truly makes me happy?
  • How could I incorporate more joy into my life?
  • What is draining my energy?
  • What am I doing that is unnecessary and unproductive?
  • If I could choose one thing to do for the rest of my life what would it be?
  • If I had the chance to rewrite my scripts, what would I say?
  • What can I do to support my health? wealth? relationships? experiences?


Happy thinking (-:
x Corie