Dr. Tara's "Fave Five" Email: Motivation Medicine

This is the first “Fave Five” Sunshine email that went out to subscribers on Thursday November 15, 2018. In these emails, I share five of my current favourite things with you — from life hacks, recipes, podcasts, exercises, quotes and medical facts to the questions & concepts I’m pondering and am truly excited to talk about. They are typically centred around one main theme, with the focus here being motivation.

Passion is contagious.  It’s my hope to feed each other’s flames, to encourage one another to try new things, think outside the box, and embrace fresh perspectives.  And don’t forget that I love hearing from you! Tell me what you’re excited about or what you’d like to see in upcoming posts.  

So here goes...

1. Life Hack: “Motivation Medicine”

If you saw my last Sunshine blog, you know I was talking “Motivation Medicine”.  (For those of you who missed it, I’ve provided a personal prescription for staying motivated, even when everything seems to be going wrong.  It’s a topic I think we can ALL relate to!)

One piece of the puzzle I didn’t mention in the blog is my morning routine.  I have some daily rituals that set the tone for the day ahead and help me to feel like I can conquer whatever life throws my way!  Stay posted for “Motivation Medicine Part 2: Morning Magic”, coming soon!

2. Recipe: “Feed Your Flame” Smoothie

Given that I just suggested that we feed each other’s flames, I figure there’s no better recipe to share than this!  My fiery vanilla coconut ginger combo is so tasty you’ll barely believe that it’s packed with fibre, protein, healthy fats, and veggies, too!

3. Podcast: “What I learned from 100 days of rejection”

Sometimes we avoid doing the things we want to do because of a fear of failure or rejection.  Check out this fun TED Talk by Jia Jiang for some tips on how to turn rejection into opportunity.

4. Books: For fun and personal development

I just started reading the Pulitzer Prize winning novel All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and I’m totally hooked.  If you’ve read it, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

For personal growth, I’m also making a point of re-reading Brené Brown’s latest novel, Braving the Wilderness.  Brené has spent the past 2 decades studying courage, vulnerability, and shame.  Her work has guided me in my own journey to self-acceptance and self-love and helped me to see that, despite my many imperfections, I belong.  That I am enough.

5. Quote: Motivational words of wisdom

I love quotes!  One motivational quote that really resonate with me is by the late Nelson Mandela:

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”