2019 — Page 2 of 3 — Kayla M Douglas

12Jul 2019 by Kayla No Comments

Harnessing the Power of Gratitude

Sometimes I find myself needing to take stock of what's good in my life. It is way to easy to let negative thoughts rein, so in an effort to stay positive, and harness the power of gratitude here are 40 things I love and I am grateful for. Myself — I have recently learned that unless I am on the list of things I love then something is out of balance in my life. It is not selfish to love myself. Although I am still learning this one day at a time. The sky — it’s everywhere, it's so reliable, its always there to brighten my day or amaze me with its darkness. It's easy to harness the power of gratitude when you are grateful for such basic things that are…

28Jun 2019 by Kayla No Comments

Striking a Balance

Mindset, Travel

If I don't have a picture of it, did it really happen? Monkeys swing from the trees to the corrugated metal protecting the steep stairs from the burning sun. They are looking for food or drinks they can steal. My phone is tucked away as I ascend 777 stairs to Mount Popa. I have heard these aggressive monkeys have a tendency to snatch anything they see from people’s hands. However, I’m itching to pull it out so I can take pictures of their cute little faces. What is this desire to capture everything in photos? My first camera used film. I remember lining up every shot to make good use of the 36 frames before I would have to beg my mom for another roll. Then I would wait weeks…

21Jun 2019 by Kayla No Comments

Relationships with Narcolepsy or Without

Narcolepsy, Personal Story

Building relationships with narcolepsy or other chronic illnesses can be a challenge due to a limited social life. I'm standing outside a huge fancy house with a glass of red wine in my hand staring at a sea of people I don't know. I feel completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of people at the party, but at least half of them work with my partner. My partner has not even made it to the drink table due to so many people wanting to stop and chat. I escaped, knowing the formal handshakes and cheek kisses that are obligatory in these social situations tire me out quickly. How I Handle It I gravitate toward the one woman I know, a friend. We chat for a while until she also finds…

17Jun 2019 by Kayla No Comments

How to Read Faster and Accomplish More Today

life hacks, Lifestyle

If I knew how to read faster, I could get so much more done every day. A finger traces the lines across the page as the small child carefully pronounces each word out loud in front of the class. Learning to read has been an exciting adventure, and they are finally mastering it. The teacher comes by and firmly removes the finger from the page, forcing eyes to follow the lines without guidance. The message sent: this is how grownups read. [caption id="attachment_1146" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Photo by Ben White on Unsplash[/caption] But what if using that finger is useful to increase your reading speed? Does it sound far fetched? Humor me for a moment and test it. The test Set a timer for one minute and start reading your favorite…

07Jun 2019 by Kayla No Comments

Meeting a Princess Burmese Python

Personal Story, Travel

I was expecting just another Burmese Python Sweat drips from my brow as I dismount the motorbike that has carried me from one side of Bago, Myanmar to the other. There are no expectations of meeting a princess because, to be honest, I haven’t done any research for this trip. Bago is just about an hour and a half away from Yangon, where I live. My partner had to go for work and I tagged along. When I saw a place on the map labeled Snake Pagoda, I looked at the images and decided to go. It's easy to feel the greatness of the place the moment my feet are on steady ground. In Southeast Asia, a pagoda is a cone-shaped monumental structure constructed in memory of Buddha. In Myanmar, one…

31May 2019 by Kayla No Comments

Stop Wasting Time on Negative Thoughts!

Mindset

Is your time valuable? Stop wasting time on negative thoughts! If you were carrying $86,400 and $10 blew away, would you set down the $86,390 you have left to chase after it? Or would you just let it go? I recently received a text forward with this question. When I read it, I didn't even think about the answer. My mind immediately jumped to the conclusion, I'd let it go and hope that it fell into the hands of someone who needed it. The message went on to say that we each have 86,400 seconds in a day. Our time is more valuable than money because we can't get it back. Once we spend it, it is gone forever. So, every time we get upset, we lose 10 seconds. But…

24May 2019 by Kayla 3 Comments

What is a life coach?

Lifestyle, Mindset

First I will tell you what a life coach is not; it is not a therapist. Most do not have a degree in counseling or psychology. If they do, they have left the profession to be a life coach for a reason. Life coaches should have some kind of training. I am a Certified Life Coach. In addition, I am a practitioner of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). Life Coaches Help you Shift Your Perspective A life coach will challenge you to look at things from different perspectives. They will question your actions, and the goals you claim to have. They will help you narrow down what is helping you move forward in life and what is holding you back. The goal is to…

18May 2019 by Kayla No Comments

Active Listening

Lifestyle

Instead of blaming your memory, try practicing active listening and be amazed at what you can recall! Have you ever been having a conversation with someone, but you can see they are obviously distracted? How many people practice active listening, using their full attention while making a conscious effort to understand the message you are trying to get across? (more…)

10May 2019 by Kayla No Comments

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

Mindset

You may THINK you know more than you actually know. It may sound like common sense. But once you start thinking about it, it's actually a little bit more complicated than it seems. What do I mean by that? There are lots of things that we believe are facts. We probably learned them when we were small children, and we stored them in our mind as fact when they are actually beliefs. We don’t think about why we believe these things are true. We are not made to question what we have already accepted. Think about it. When was the last time you tried to prove yourself wrong? Here are some examples. [caption id="attachment_1042" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Image by White77 from Pixabay[/caption] Beliefs About Sleep Sleep is for the weak. That is…

03May 2019 by Kayla No Comments

Unconditional Positive Regard

Mindset

You may know about unconditional love, but have you heard of unconditional positive regard? When you wake up in the morning, do you ever think… “I really want to make some people mad today! I’m going to piss them off, hurt their feelings, and really make them feel awful.” I doubt it. I honestly doubt I know anyone that wakes up and thinks that. Sure, I’m not going to argue that there are people like that who exist, but in the circle of people that I interact with, I haven’t seen them. So why is it that we all come across situations where we do piss people off? We do hurt people’s feelings, even when it's not our intention. Often it feels like it's out of our control. [caption…

26Apr 2019 by Kayla No Comments

Mindfulness Activities to Try Today

Lifestyle, Mindset

I realized in my last post, I wanted to encourage everyone to try more mindfulness activities, but I didn't give you a lot of guidance on what to do. So here we go, here are some mindfulness activities for adults that are easy to integrate into your day. (more…)

19Apr 2019 by Kayla No Comments

Mindfulness Increases Energy

Lifestyle, Mindset

I never realized how much energy was burnt by the thoughts running through my head, until I found that mindfulness increases energy. Recently I disclosed to a friend how much I have battled with my body over the years. I have never had an eating disorder. But I have always felt as if I was taking up too much space. I wanted to make myself disappear, or shrink into a miniature version of myself. But I never knew how. I’ve hidden my insecurities and self-harm for years. But recently, I decided to live a more authentic life and talk about things that most of society keeps under wraps. Body Issues When my friend and I discussed this issue, she told me she didn’t know my generation still had this problem.…

16Apr 2019 by Kayla No Comments

Choosing Life

Personal Story

Choosing life didn't even feel like an option when I was depressed... One morning I heard my alarm ringing. I buried my head under the pillow, like covering my head in cotton would make the day dissipate. My roommate threw a book at my legs to get my attention. I regretted that the sound was also disturbing her rest, so I sat up and turned it off. As I hunkered there below the ceiling taking shallow breaths, exasperated before even leaving my lofted bed, I vowed to myself this wouldn’t go on much longer. I was 18 years old, and for the previous months, I had been applying to colleges. But I didn’t see myself [caption id="attachment_976" align="alignright" width="225"] This was me in April 2010[/caption] there. I didn’t see myself…

29Mar 2019 by Kayla No Comments

Narcolepsy Coaching

Mindset

Narcolepsy Coaching is a new concept. Interested in finding out what it's all about? Are you tired of feeling tired? Do you dream of waking up and feeling like you slept? Is your goal to get out of bed with purpose and not snooze your alarm? Do you wonder how much of your fatigue is normal, and how much is because you are living with narcolepsy? If any of these apply to you, then you are in the right place. [caption id="attachment_317" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Me in awe of a beach in Tanzania, 2017[/caption] What do I want to offer? I want to help you get from just coping with your symptoms, to living your best life. Sure, I recognize there is no narcolepsy cure (although I try to keep up…

23Mar 2019 by Kayla 2 Comments

Letter From a Person Living with Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy, Personal Story

Dear friend, Do you remember that time we had big plans to do something amazing on the weekend? I told you at the last minute that I really wanted to go but I just couldn’t do it. Well, I remember it. Because it was hard for me to make the decision to take care of myself instead of going to do something fun that I was really looking forward to. What did I do that day? Instead, I spent the day making sure I had healthy food lined up for the week. As part of my self-care routine, I took a few short controlled naps. Focused on physical and mental health, I drank a gallon of water and meditated. I arranged my calendar for the week so I would not…