Browse published articles attributed to Annette Colby, with full-archive search.
The most important relationship you will ever have is the one you have with yourself. Yet, how often have you heard yourself say, "I am my own worst enemy"? If your goals involve raising your confidence, ending depression, moving beyond diets or overeating behaviors, or just plain wanting to ...
If you have a friend or loved one who is experiencing hopelessness or depression, it can be difficult to know exactly what to say or do. While there isn’t any one magic thing to say that will alleviate their pain, there are many ways to offer support. The best way to offer help is to listen, ...
Failure is one of those life experiences most of us would rather not encounter. Generally we tend to connect failure with intense self-judgement and inner criticism. The fear of failure is so strong, we often become hesitant to focus on inner dreams because of past failures. We would rather not ...
Anger is an emotion that can be difficult to deal with. Sometimes it’s experienced as a fleeting annoyance while other times it consumes our bodies with a burning rage. Anger is a natural human emotion, and it happens to everybody, whether we openly express it or not. The problem is not that we have anger. How we process anger determines whether it becomes a tool for self healing or a weapon of destruction.
Everyone needs to feel appreciated on a regular basis. This stems from our very human need to know and feel that what we have done is right and worthy of notice. We feel good when someone gives us their love and approval. However, being overly dependent on approval from others, and fearing ...
I am blessed in many ways. One thing that I am particularly grateful for is the fact that over the years I have been able to connect with a steady clientele of people who are willing to listen to their inner voice and create successful lives. My clients are people who have had enough with being ...
It happens to all of us at some stage - you want to achieve change in your life, but just cannot motivate yourself to do it. You really want to reach success, lose weight, or eat differently, but just do not have the push or willingness to take action. Every time you think about getting started ...
Love is a consuming passion for our own happiness. It is a choice we make to be excited, safe, secure. Love and joy are available when we decide we are important. To decide means to conclude. Not based on any proof or accomplishment and not waiting for some magical moment when someone gives ...
The giving and receiving of compliments may be one of the simplest and most underused tools towards gaining inner peace, serenity, and a sense of self. However, often we find it difficult to take in positive messages and compliments. We get nervous or defensively brush off the kind words of ...
Cigarette smoking is a personal choice. However, if you are considering stopping smoking, you may already realize that quitting requires more than willpower or scaring yourself with statistics of why smoking is bad. Conventional smoking cessation systems often don't work in the long term ...
Ever feel stuck in a rut and not sure about how to get out? If so, you're not alone. It's easy to get bored in the comfort of doing the same things in the same way at the same time. Here are nine simple and practical ideas to get out of a boring routine, and back into the enjoyment of life. n ...
Would you like to be confident in the things you do? Most people would. The problem is that many people aren't sure how. They think it is some mystical trait that some people seem to have and others don't. Actually, being confident in yourself and your ability to achieve your goals is a skill ...
Learning to love yourself isn't easy - especially if you grew up in an environment that involved abuse, neglect, shame, or an emotionally dishonest atmosphere. Most people who experience self-love have had it planted as a seed by someone who accepted them unconditionally at a very early phase in ...
Years ago, I realized that our most difficult personal challenges offer a unique opportunity to raise our sights, explore new potentials and possibilities, and cast off beliefs of limitation and doubt. Personal challenges are a way of working things out for ourselves and discovering new creative ...
Winston Churchill is quoted as saying, "Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm." If you are attempting to achieve a big goal, such as weight loss, overcoming depression, or ending an addiction, your jou ey may often seem like one difficulty after another. The key to ...
Finally - you are alone. No one else is around. You waited an ete ity until you could indulge in a secret candy bar on the drive home from work. Or, maybe you stayed up late waiting until finally everyone else fell deep asleep. Now you can head into the kitchen and give yourself guilty ...
If you are like most people, you started out the year with dreams, good intentions, and new hopes. However, it's all too easy to let busy schedules, work priorities, stress, and inclement weather cloud over the optimism of those great objectives. While anticipating the arrival of your goals is ...
Losing weight is about fewer calories in and more calories out. Right? The problem with eating fewer calories than we burn is that intentionally cutting back on food intake inevitably makes people hungry. As you cut back on your daily intake, there is a sense of deprivation, your body goes into ...
Can you really learn to love your body? As the years go by, each decade brings new and unexpected changes. You move from adolescence to young adulthood and unexpected weight gain. If you are a woman, you may experience the reshaping of your body because of pregnancy. If you are willing and ...
Have you heard the phrase "attitude is everything"? Indeed, your attitude determines the quality of your life. Your attitude can have a great impact on your level of success, including how you deal with challenges and obstacles. It's your attitude that determines the path you take as well as ...
Have you seen the motivational plaque that reads, “Life is a do-it-yourself project. Get excited about it!” I love that expression because it reminds me that it’s up to me to make each day special. That doesn’t mean that each moment of every day is going to be ...
Are you a foodie? A foodie is a term invented in 1981 by Paul Levy and A Barr, who used it in the title of their 1984 book The Official Foodie Handbook. The term is used to describe someone who seeks out and enjoys new restaurants, foods, and wines. is a term used to describe someone who seeks ...
Do you find yourself worthy? Self-worth is your ability to appreciate, accept, and value yourself independent of success, failure, or the opinions of others. It means having an overall favourable opinion of your self, believing in your right to feel good, and therefore choosing your thoughts, ...
Every one of us has the potential to successfully move through the unique problems that face us. Yet, creating success often involves first identifying the many ways in which we continue to think negatively and the many ways we limit ourselves. The next step becomes replacing ineffective ...
Does your worry generate terrible stress? Do you worry so much that you can't get to sleep? Does the anxiety generated from your stress cause you to engage in emotional or stress eating, or another type of addictive behavior? If so, you're not alone. Worry is a "worst case fantasy" picturing ...
There’s a new movement brewing – eat locally. But what’s the importance of eating food grown and produced locally? There are plenty of great reasons to eating local – from conserving energy to supporting local economies. But the best benefit lies in developing a new, ...There’s a new movement brewing – eat locally. But what’s the importance of eating food grown and produced locally? There are plenty of great reasons to eating local – from conserving energy to supporting local economies.
"With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now." Ralph Waldo Emerson Every day we wake up, eat, go to work, eat, sleep, and do it all over again the next day. We find a system makes life run smoothly and that adds to our productivity. And it works - for awhile. But ...
Imagine being alive from the top of your head, down through the body and out the tips of your toes. Not just alive and surviving, but energized and living the life of your dreams. Turning a so-so life into a passion filled, exciting adventure is possible. However, there is a catch: It won't ...
For the past three weeks, I've been experiencing writers block. Previously, inspiration had been flowing. It was a beautiful experience. Ideas fell neatly into place, difficult concepts were easily expressed, and I had words! I was living in the land of milk and honey. Then one day I woke up ...
How are you feeling today? Me, I'm tired. As a result, I need more than my usual daily mini-breaks. Today it's time for a heavy dose of tender loving care. Many of us have so many responsibilities in life that we forget to take care of ourselves. The mind reasons that it's silly to take a bath, ...
Don’t let fear rob you from the opportunity of success. If you are like most people, you have a goal or a dream that is meaningful and that you want to achieve. That goal may be related to personal growth issues such as weight loss, gaining self-esteem, finding inner peace, increasing your ...
Has your self-care taken a back seat this winter? Spring is in the air and it's time to revamp your mind, body, spirit routine. Here's a few extremely powerful ways to say goodbye to the long cold days of winter and bring the warm sunshine and blue skies back into your life. 1. Eat ...
In a recent Twitter post I wrote, "Blessed are the humans who have made it their goal for self-improvement." In response, a dear friend wrote back with this question: "Ok... Great. Good idea. Makes sense to me. It's been the goal of my life. Only one problem... If we are perfect the way we are ...
Have you misplaced your inspiration? Does it feel as if someone literally sucked the motivation right out of you? One day you were moving forward on your goals and dreams. Life was smooth sailing and the sun was shining. Then you got up one morning only to discover your creative passion had gone ...
Are you living your authentic life (who you were born to be) or living a life based on who you think you should be? Being true to yourself requires being authentic. In part, this means that you are able to express your feelings, values, truths, and passions in life. You follow your heart and ...
What is Creative Visualization? Creative visualization is your ability to use your imagination to get what you want out of life. Visualization helps you get clearer about intentions and objectives. In other words, you develop detailed pictures of yourself successfully achieving specific future ...
Self-pride is your sense of your own value or worth as a person. It is how much you like, accept, approve, and respect yourself. You can recognize yourself as worthy and capable of loving and being loved. Or, your self-pride can be the biggest stumbling block to living the successful, happy life ...
Congratulations on waking up each morning and greeting the day with renewed determination! Perhaps you rise and say, "Today is the day - I will make it through the entire day sticking to my diet and weight loss goals." What a wonderful, optimistic way to begin a fresh day. Ahead of you lies the ...
Have you ever wondered why your dreams haven't come true yet? If you've been reading my newsletter for awhile, you know that I embody and teach the 'how to' principles behind successfully achieving our goals and dreams. Nothing happens, no forward steps are taken until we first have a dream. ...
Most everyone is in the process of seeking greater happiness. We are each involved in the search for feeling good inside our lives and bodies. What may come as a surprise is that many people who struggle with depression, emotional eating, stress eating, or some other addictive behavior, are ...
The potential causes of overeating, emotional eating, stress, or depression are numerous. Using food to deal with difficult life situations and complex emotions, or feeling despair and hopelessness about your life can be linked to your own personality, problem-solving abilities, and capacity to ...
Let's talk about happiness. Most of us want to be happy, all the time, no matter what is going on around us! It's plain and simple. But, being happy, how do you do that, get there, be that? Maybe happy is not really what you are looking for. After all, happy is just like any other emotion... it ...
Author Melodie Beattie explains to us, "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes ...
Do you want more joy in life? Who doesn't! Most of us have experienced moments of joy. Yet, there are many people are walking around habitually sad, depressed, anxious, stressed, worried, angry, burned out, shut off, or numb. Is it possible to have more joy in life? The answer is a resounding, ...
If someone were to ask me, “What is self-love?” I would reply, “A growing ability to be true and compassionate to yourself. For it is only when you are filled with the love of who you are that you can share this gift with the world.” To be true to ourselves is a lifetime jou ey of ...
Romance fills our thoughts, our dreams, the movies we watch, and the songs we listen to. And why not? Romance is the very essence of life. It is the celebration love. Typically, we expect romance to come from a partner, a lover, or a significant other. Wanting to love and be loved is ...
"I know what I need to do, but I just can't get myself started." Who among us hasn't been caught in this scenario before? We know what to do, but we cannot seem to put knowledge into action. As a result, we feel frustrated and stuck. Common signs of being stuck include boredom, stress, increased ...
Do you find it hard to get out of bed in the morning? Do you feel run down and burned out, with hardly any positive energy to give to the activities you once enjoyed? We have all been there – tired, mentally and physically exhausted, and maybe even depressed. On top of all that, if you ...
My husband is rarely effected by mood swings. It’s the most incredible thing to behold! He is honestly the most balanced, joyful, and happiest person I have ever met. Sure, he can get upset, angry, or disillusioned just like the rest of us, but overall his mood is light-filled and loving. ...
Having self-doubt is an all too common occurrence for many people. It can rob us of a joyful, meaningful life, and keep our best gifts locked up inside. If your self-doubt and fear stops you from living the great life you dream about, here are eight techniques and processes that can help you ...