Welcome to the 13th edition of Weekend Wellness! Today I’m talking about improving your relationship with four of my favorite F-words – finance, fitness, food & fun. I’m also sharing a thirst quenching spiked homemade lemonade, perfect for sharing in your other relationships.

Improving Relationships

The best advice to enhance any relationship is to infuse it with love. This includes your relationship with your personal finances, your weight, your body, as well as, your family and social network. You won’t enjoy a positive relationship with food, exercise, money, friends, family, or yourself without love.

Choosing to love is behavioral as well as emotional. Sometimes it requires all of our energy and patience to display this love when we feel hurt, betrayed, sad or angry. Yet when we lead with love, we are almost always rewarded.

Our relationships grow and improve. And those relationships will continue to grow and improve when we honor them with:

• Respect
• Attention
• Priority
• Recognition
• Forgiveness
• No Blame
• Listening
• Learning
• Laughter
• Clarity
• Trust
• Patience

Choosing love and honoring your relationships might look like this;

Finance – Improving Your Relationship with Money

Respecting the value of a dollar and compound interest. Attending to your finances and prioritizing saving and investing over spending. Distinguishing your wants from your needs. Learning about 401ks, IRAs, 529s, stocks, bonds, index funds, taxes, and other areas of personal finance.

Trusting money to work for you when you deploy it into action. Remaining patient and letting it do its work to multiple in the market, even when others are stuffing their money under their mattresses.

Improving your relationship with money involves listening to your gut so when you aren’t comfortable with where your money is going, you’ll change the pattern. It may take some work to love money healthily without obsession, but it can be done.

Fitness – Improving Your Relationship with Exercise

Prioritizing a daily walk and strength training 3 x’s per week. Recognizing your need to enjoy your physical activities so they aren’t a chore. Learning how to perform exercises correctly to not hurt yourself.

Trusting your ability to improve your fitness level. Forgiving your biceps when they cannot do one more rep. Laughing off your strike out at bat.

Recognizing the increase in your jogging speed and distance. Being patient with your body and understanding it takes time and energy to transform.

Food – Improving Your Relationship with Food

Eating real healthy food. Paying attention to the food as you eat. Eating slowly and stopping when full. Striving for the proper balance of your meals – protein, fats, and carbs, but recognizing there is no perfection in it. Listening to your body and learning about your food sensitivities.

Listening to your body and learning about your food sensitivities. Not using food as a weapon against yourself through deprivation nor using it as a reward at the end of a long day.

Sharing gratitude over a meal with loved ones. Preparing homemade meals. Laughing when the homegrown zucchinis take over your yard. Remembering that it took years to put on the weight, so it will also take time for it to come off.

Recognizing that you may not be hungry, but instead bored, stressed, or emotional. Being clear that food is not the enemy, only something to sustain your precious life instead.

Fun – Improving Your Social Relationships

Respecting your friends time. Calling your mom. Attending your children’s sporting events. Recognizing your brother’s birthday.

Listening to your spouse or child when they are excited, sad or frustrated. Giving as well as earning trust with a new co-worker.

Displaying patience with your chatty aunt, not blaming your teammate for the game loss, and laughing at your less than stellar volleyball skills instead of beating yourself up over them.

Choosing love and honoring your relationships might look like any of the above or maybe something else altogether. You get to decide. Start improving your relationships today. Love your money, love your body, and love your life, so they can start loving you back!

Featuring

These touching posts from others exhibit love in a variety of ways:

 Love can come from unexpected sources, Budget On a Stick, tells a tale of such a gift

Andy, from “Marriage, Kids, and Money” shares a different kind of tale and some alternatives to mixing family and finances

Sometimes showing your love isn’t as easy as you hope and Chris, from “CYInnovations,” tells a few of his biggest mistakes

Wishing you a wonderful weekend ~ Spread the Love!

Be well,

Amy

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Spiked Raspberry Lemonade

Approximately 84 ounces

Ingredients

1 cup real lemon juice

7 cups water

3/4 cup stevia (stevia for baking); use more or less to taste, up to 1 cup

2 1/2 cups raspberry vodka

 

Instructions

Stir well and serve over ice.

Garnish with raspberries, lemon, lime or mint leaves.

Notes

Note: This information is being provided to you for educational and informational purposes only. It is provided to educate you about nutrition, exercise, and personal finance, and as a self-help tool for your own use. It is not legal, medical, or financial advice. This information is to be used at your own risk based on your own judgment. For my full Disclaimer, please view here.