Thursday, December 30, 2010

last night of 2010... and what a year it was!

Hey everyone!
Welcome to my new blog :)
As I spend this month moving away from email and facebook and more towards to my new website - I thought it would be suiting to start up a blog to keep you all updated on what I am working on, Eating Pretty specials, Rock the Runway news and much more.
So, this evening I sat here thinking how much I can't believe tonight is the last sleep of the year 2010, I figured why not get a head start on one of my new years goals today!

2010, what a wonderful year it has been. One year ago this week, Eating Pretty Nutrition was 'unofficially' born.

I always joke that Eating Pretty started as an 'accident'. I just woke up one day and BOOM I was the owner of the fastest growing women's nutrition company in Canada. In a way, I guess you could say that is the case. The difference is though, there is no such thing as 'luck' or an accidental successful company. No matter what anyone says, it's not possible.
What is possible, is following your passions every day of your life and applying yourself to exploring, creating and learning to the best of your ability. That is exactly how Eating Pretty Nutrition was 'accidentally' born.
Did you know that Eating Pretty started as a book called 'The Skinny Series'? It's true. Skinny being a play on words - as the books were small information packages that included everything the everyday woman would want and need to know about nutrition and losing weight, without getting too overwhelmed with a wealth of information.
I came up with the idea while I was in school. Extreme opinion's have never been my thing, and while the teachers in my school were some of the most educated and knowledgeable people I'd ever met on food and how it fuels the body - extremes were definitely their thing. I remember sitting in class thinking to myself "If I told my friends what I learned today, they would laugh and order a pizza". With that, I decided to take all of my new found knowledge and my natural born ability to relate to the everyday woman and just simplify it to educate.
I finished the book in December of last year, and for Christmas gave it to 20 women in my life to try for the new year. Those women saw results and started telling their friends how they lost weight, who in turn contacted me, and so on. That is how the first ever Eating Pretty weight loss challenge was born. I launched it on facebook in mid-February and within my first weekend I had 50 new clients and well, the rest is history!
The point is that Eating Pretty Nutrition got to where it is today by just hammering away at my craft and passions. It has evolved and changed. I've made many mistakes. I have changed directions. I have fallen and I have grown.
The lesson is to just keep on doing what you love. Don't let the small things discourage you. Follow your dreams by attaching a plan of action.

My challenge to you is to make time for your passions. What are your dreams? Set goals and attach deadlines to them. Even the smallest act of taking time for yourself and fulfilling a passion is so rewarding and always leads to bigger and better opportunities. I promise you will live your happiest year yet no matter what the outcome in 2011 if you make this a priority.

2010 has been the best year of my life to date. There were many lessons, but no regrets. I absolutely made mistakes, experienced failure and felt rejection, the same as we all have every year of our lives. Except, a funny thing happened this year. In the past, you may have found me in a circle of girls with ice cream, vino and tissues giving the old "whoa is me" speech and feeling bad for myself when I met failure. Don't get me wrong, I certainly had a sounding board of my amazing best friends when I felt badly - but the difference this year is that I appreciate the lessons and negatives and use them to make myself better. Every fall has been a leap forward and it's all due to a positive mindset. I take the positive from everything and go with that to make my next life experience one that leaves me feeling good about myself.

I believe in Karma very much. There was a time in earlier years when I was more careless in my choices, dabbled in the darker things in life and really didn't live my life the way that it feels best inside my core. When you let go of the things that bring negativity into your life - a bad job, an unhealthy relationship, neglecting your health or simply doing things you know are wrong - a whole world of positive comes rushing in.

Last year around this time, I was challenged this: Try and erase all negative thoughts from your mind.
It is actually something incredible and awakening if you make the commitment to try. At first it's overwhelming. You will find yourself thinking the most terrible things of people around you, strangers even. I was disgusted with myself when I made the choice to listen to the negative things that would run through my head about some innocent person walking by me on the street.
Really? Did I have that low self esteem that I had to think negatively of others for no reason? The thing is, we are all guilty of it. Giggling at someone else's expense with friends, being in a bad mood and cussing out everyone on the subway in your head, or automatically thinking the worst outcome will always occur.

My second challenge to you to start your New Year out right is to try and erase the negative thoughts that cruise through your brain a mile a minute and replace them with happy thoughts.
At first it will be hard, we have so many uncontrolled thoughts, it is impossible to be in control completely. Eventually though you will catch yourself and make a conscious effort to change your psyche.
My mom once told me that every time you see someone that you would automatically think a negative thought about, Bless them. Sounds funny, but you have just changed sending that person more negative energy and flipped it into a positive by sending them love and light. Feels better, and you are living a better life.
Happiness and being bubbly has always been a huge part of who I am no matter what stage of life I am in. Now though, I feel like I have the positive mindset mastered. When I get lows now, I know they aren't the end of the world and if I'm being negative in any way I know to stop and evaluate my feelings to deal with what is bothering me. This really helped me to eliminate people that make me feel negative, too. It's a great way to live life. I really hope you give it a try! It builds your confidence and compassion for others in a way you never imagined possible.
Remember, everything in life began with a thought. EVERYTHING! Nothing can exist without you thinking of it first, so make your thoughts are positive ones!!

Thanks for reading my Blog!
And and even bigger Thanks to everyone who supported my dreams coming true and believing in me this year, I promise you will continue to see bigger and better things from me every year that passes and I can't wait for each of you to be a part of it.
Let us start 2011 with great expectations, following your passions, being positive and setting big huge goals :)

Lots of Love and Health,
xx
Angela McNally, RHN

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