On Top of the Box

You are bigger than a New Year’s Resolution!

Tanya — Wed, 01 Jan 2014 21:39:45 +0000

Happy New Year!

Are you setting New Year’s Resolutions? Did you reach your goals last year? Do you remember what your goals were? Hear my thoughts on New Year’s Resolutions in this video and hear about the redirection of On Top of the Box in 2014!

Life Coaching Mini Sessions at Planet Beach

Tanya — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 22:23:39 +0000

December 19 from 11am-3pm

NOW is your time to shine! Burst into 2014 with energy and passion.

Stop by for a mini life coaching session with Tanya from On Top of the Box.

Leave with certainty, confidence and a feeling of calm.

You can create the life of your dreams and thrive instead of just survive.

4 Steps to Health

Tanya — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 03:21:36 +0000

Healthy lifestyle changes can often seem overwhelming. Eat this not that, lift weights this way, do this kind of cardio…and on and on. Baby steps on the path to health can lead to big results and make the other steps much easier to take as well. With that, I give you my health hierarchy. In order of importance, these are what I consider to be the 4 basic steps to healthy lifestyle change in order of importance.

1. Sleep

If you are not sleeping your body is not repairing. Have big fitness goals? Wanting to let go of some fat and gain some muscle? Well the magic happens at night! I have seen people get all of their workouts in and follow a really good nutrition plan and still struggle to reach their goals because they aren’t fitting enough sleep into their day.

Lack of sleep also leads to a lack of willpower to make healthy choices in every other area of your life throughout the day. If you are tired, it is a lot harder to get your workout in and a LOT harder to say no to the chocolate, the bowl of ice cream, the cozy couch and a movie.

2. Water

Many, many of us walk around dehydrated. Once again, water is essential to reaching your healthy goals. Whether you want to gain or lose weight or just maintain your optimal health – hydration is often the missing link to results.

Thirst can often feel like hunger. A good rule of thumb if you are really having cravings is to drink a big glass of water and then wait 10-20 minutes to see if you are still really feeling hungry.

3. Nutrition

Good nutrition leads to good…EVERYTHING. You only have one body, if you don’t take care of it where are you going to live? Eliminating processed foods and switching to 5-6 small balanced meals a day vs the typical three larger meals is a great start. I firmly believe that 80% or more of ‘being in shape’ is all determined by your nutrition.

4. Workouts

Last, but not least, is working out. Not only great for stress relief and self-confidence but working out is also the key to long-term health and freedom. As we age, we begin to lose muscle mass. Maintaining muscle mass is the key to freedom to do whatever you want, whenever you want as you age. Play with Grandkids, travel, live independently – all of these things can only happen if you have maintained your health and muscle mass. Weight bearing activities, in addition to cardio, help build muscle as well as bone density – and you’ll look good naked. Ha ha.

So, if you are just starting out and your are feeling overwhelmed, I hope this gives you some confidence and a starting point. If you are plateaued and not getting the results you are seeking – it’s often the basic steps 1 and 2 that need a bit of focus.

Seriously, aren’t you excited about a to do list that starts with sleep?

Who am I??

Tanya — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 21:10:29 +0000

This week I am working through a number of emotions. Now in my third week since leaving my full-time position, I’m incredibly grateful for all of the great people and great conversations I am having. It is a blast. Kind of like your perfect vacation mixed with the job all at the same time.

This week though, it’s starting to settle in that this is real life, not a vacation. End result = a bit of an identity crisis!

I’m realizing how much I identified and connected my self-worth to my job as a public health program manager. I was accustomed to constant validation. I was used to never-ending lists of deliverables and expectations.

Now, I create my to-do lists and no one will be looking for those tasks if they aren’t completed. I could sit on the couch all day and not talk to anyone. Neil and the pups would think I’d lost my mind, but other than that, the world would keep spinning.

When someone asks you what you do? Do you only answer with your job title? I did. Why do we box ourselves in?

We are so much more! I think this is part of the reason transitions and life changes can be so hard. We forget to acknowledge and celebrate ourselves and all the various parts of our greatness. We attribute our identity and self worth to one tiny title or label…and then feel like we lose our foundation when that piece of us changes or is no longer a part of our life.

Mother, Daughter, Sister, Wife, Job Title, Athlete, Manager, Director, Etc. All great titles…but each just a part of who we are. I’m taking the time to build my list and remind myself of all the different things I do, I am, and I can become! How about you? What do you do…how many titles can you come up with – I promise you are even more!

Fall Freedom Program – Limited Spots Available!

Tanya — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 16:45:16 +0000

Are you feeling stuck?
Drowning in your to do list?
Are you feeling empty and just plain bored with life?

The Big Announcement and BIG Change

Tanya — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 22:30:50 +0000

I took the leap! I am fully living my life ‘On Top of the Box’! Even though I planned for this change and was really excited about it – the emotional weeks leading up to it took me by surprise.

Here is a link to the blog I mention in the video:

Does Change You Want Always Feel Good?

4 Actions that Drastically changed my life

Tanya — Tue, 01 Oct 2013 13:56:05 +0000

1. I started making decisions.

This sounds simple but you’d be surprised how many people wander through life constantly delaying decisions. How many emails are in you inbox right now? I’m willing to be most if not virtually all of the messages just sitting there, filling it up, are delayed decisions. Respond to it, delete it,forward it, or save it in a folder. This one is a major task for me but I find cleaning out my mailbox to be a very empowering practice to use to get into the habit of actually making decisions.

The decision not to pursue something is also very powerful. Many of my coaching clients are exploring and looking for their next path, vocation or purpose. Every time a decision not to do something is made, space is opened and cleared for a new experience or idea. Sometimes getting what you want is all about deciding what you don’t want!

2. I started delegating.

I hired a virtual assistant to help me draft documents and I hired cleaning service for my house. I often work part time doing things I enjoy in order to pay for things I don’t enjoy. The people cleaning my house and drafting my documents love that they get paid to work on their own schedules and be their own boss. Yard service, maid service, meal planning…do all of these things sound like things only rich people or spoiled people actually utilize? Think again! Have you actually priced it out? Do you love to clean but hate to mow lawns? Barter and get creative. Ask around, see if you can pick up one cleaning job. Use that money to pay someone to take care of your yard. Can you work one day of overtime in exchange for a maid service every two weeks? Imagine eliminating the things you dread! Start doing more of the things you love and delegating the things you don’t. By doing so, you are passing on your dollars and time to someone else that is, hopefully, doing what they love and on goes the cycle.

3. I turned my car into a rolling university and I started reading books based on growth and skills training.

Good In, Good Out

Choose what you are spending your time on and filling your mind with very carefully. Are you starting your day by watching the news, then reading the paper, then listening to gossip or trash talk on the radio? What would happen if you listened it an educational or inspiration podcast or CD in the morning? What are you reading or watching at night? Books that help you grow? Stories that make you feel good? If not, why not? Try it for one week – just surround yourself with good information. Information that makes you a better you. The transformation in life experience with these little tweaks is astounding.

4. I asked for help and found mentors.

My motto is: You don’t have to recreate the wheel, you just have to make it turn.

Got a question? Someone else has asked it.

Want to do something new? Someone else has done it.

What to learn something new? Some else is already an expert.

Does that mean you shouldn’t ask it, do it, be it? NO – it means you should interview people, research, learn from others, and use the work others have done. People LOVE to help. Send emails, call around. You will find people love to be asked about what they know and a side benefit is that it is so fun to validate them and their knowledge! This is the information age, you can learn pretty much about anything with the click of a button. When you find the information you are looking for, don’t feel that you can’t also become another expert on the topic or activity. Find your frame of reference and your expertise and share your greatness with the world. Someone will resonate with you and you can pay it forward. Just make the wheel turn!

2 Keys to Happy and Your ‘Ideal’ Body

Tanya — Tue, 24 Sep 2013 15:55:42 +0000

At two points in my life I have achieved major fitness goals and what I perceived as my ‘ideal’ body, or at least pretty close to it. I learned a number of lessons along the way but the most important thing I came to realize is that my life was still my life – even at my ‘ideal’ weight. I still got up and went to work. People still treated me more or less the same. The biggest changes I experienced were as a result of my shifting attitudes and actions, the way I was perceiving the world.

Here are 2 Key things you can do to be happy and live in your ‘ideal’ body.

1. Associate happiness with the present.
Why postpone happy?
Many times we attach happiness to a future event:
I’ll be happy when I get that job…
I’ll be happy when I graduate…
I’ll be happy when I lose 10, 20, or 50 pounds…
I’ll be happy when (you fill in the blank).

The thing is, most often, life isn’t drastically different at X pounds. Are there improvements? Yes – absolutely! But, there are still hardships, disappointments and even new frustrations. If your thoughts, daily actions and attitudes are still the same, your perception of the world and therefore your experience of life will most likely be pretty much the same with just a slightly different flavor.

“Happiness is found in your daily actions and your journey not in your results and accomplishments.” – Tanya Hagre

2. Love yourself.
It sounds really simple but it can be a big transition. Mentally and physically, really dig deep and give yourself permission to accept who and what you are. All the way from my curvy hips to my chubby cheeks, I honestly smile at myself in the mirror with affection now. If you are working toward some physical goal to gain or lose weight, tone up or lean out, that doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate the skin you are in right now. Treat yourself like your most cherished possession and you may notice progress comes easier as you eliminate toxic foods and toxic thoughts not because you hate this or that aabout your body, but because you love yourself too much to do things that no longer serve you. Strive for goals from a place of celebration of what your body is versus a place of frustration and dissatisfaction with what it isn’t.

“How simple it is to see that we can only be happy now, and there will never be a time when it is not now.” ~ Gerald Jampolsky

Who do you surround yourself with?

Tanya — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 07:24:44 +0000

Who are the 5 to 10 people you spend the most time with?

One of my favorite quotes is, “you are the sum of the 5 people you spend the most time with.”

Who are your 5? What are their characteristics, goals and values? Do they make you a better you?

Are you enough?

Tanya — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 07:20:12 +0000

“After all those years as a woman hearing ‘not thin enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough, not this enough, not that enough,’ almost overnight I woke up one morning and thought, ‘I’m enough.'” – Anna Quindlen

I am enough.

You are enough.

You are enough to do, create and be whatever you desire!