You are stronger than you realise! At 12.02am on Monday NZ and our world was shaken up again.  I hadn’t written for a while because we had been to damn busy snorkeling around our own we world that hadn’t been up for air!   This week brought with it a huge mixed bag of emotions and in the past writing has helped keep my heart rate down and many have asked for advice on how to cope.  At first I was struggling to put it into words, but today we executed our own personal emergency plan, as Riwai caught a helicopter to work, and the fire service reassuring me he was safely in Kaikoura to do what he does best, I thought of the list that helped me survive, helped me get through!   Who knows if anyone will read this, but I hope if you do and you have a loved one in distress that these few words my help you navigate the fear that is before you.

The night’s are the hardest,  I go through my EQ routine from years of practice, each aftershock I check my light and we have power, I turn on a tap, and it runs clean without clonky pipes! I can text my family and get a reply.

On Monday I did all of this and then ………..shit!  If we are ok with that sort of force who the hell is not – put those thoughts aside – do what you can here.   Wake up hubbie as he will probably not felt a thing… luckily for my stress levels my animals didn’t stir either!

I can feel my heart rate come down,  Clever Facebook allows us to let loved ones around the world know we were ok.

I stumble to the light switch, nonchalantly fill the jug with water and boil the jug for a cup of tea, open the fridge and the light shines brightly back at me! With phone in one hand watching my social newsfeed and message service fill up with messages and reports, the aftershocks come and I realise how far we have come since Sept 2010!  My anxiety was in check and was ready to snuggle back down to bed…………….
Then reports of the Tsunami warning come in and with family up and down the coast line my panic and nausea came in like the waves due in a few hours!  Flooding back memories of sheer desperation and heartbreak!  Shit are the water bottles rotated, have we got enough perishables, medication and animal food, will there be more?  Have I got milk?  Is the gas bottle filled up, how is the next door neighbour?  How is the community?  …… Far out what about the rest of NZ?  A million unanswerable questions and I could feel the anxiety taking hold!  
Thank goodness for the hugs of loved ones at the door at 3am.  We called them refugees as that’s what they looked like.  Ripped from their beds with nothing as evacuations begun up and down the coast.    Everyone took it in their stride.   We are alive, we have utilities and our loved ones are safe.

As things simmer down and the dawn sun arrived, Riwai was off to work.  The enormity of the evenings events sets in as Wellington are on a knife edge and our loved Hurunui and Kaikoura cut off from the world.   We turn our attention to our wider group of loved ones and supporters, checking on those in the Hurunui, Kaikoura, Marlborough and Wellington Districts.    Life ahead for many of them will not be easy and since then I have been sharing the same advice.   BE KIND to yourself and others and heres a few survival tips from a pro!  

1) Use the Isabella ABC Count – When I was scared in 2011, a young girl called Isabella held my hand and said “Cate just count to 10 before you get scared”  And it has worked ever since.
A) Count to 10
B) If you are still moving at 10 move to safety and count again to 20
C) If you are still moving at 20 check on loved ones and execute your safety plan….
This method has kept my anxiety levels down ever since and given me the strength to be there for others….
2)  The short of it is that the first few months are shite but you are stronger than you think!
3) Sleep deprivation means your normal gets thrown into disarray
4) Create your own routine and sense of achievement for the day
5) Find a distraction to take your mind off all that is happening – movement, walking, stretching, music, meditation, books, card games
6) It’s ok to feel exactly how you are feeling, don’t let anyone tell you how your should be or feel
7) Find peeps to connect with
8) Don’t trawl social media – get informed using sites like GeoNet, Emergency Services Sites and Civil Defence
Geonet Updates – Is scientific and relevant
9) And once again BE KIND!   Everyone has their own methods for survival!
10)  THANK YOU TO ALL THE PEOPLE AND THEIR LOVED ONES BEHIND THE SCENES who are working around the clock to restore routine and basic needs to those effected by mother natures latest round of rumbles

Much love and Hugs to everyone!  Our doors, emails and facebook boxes are open for anyone who needs it
Cate x

 

As 2015 comes to a close,it’s the perfect time to reflect on the last 12 months. This year was so busy it seemed to fly by and it’s hard to believe what we achieved in such a short time.   

We worked alongside some amazing people this year, and as many doors closed some new ones opened and we were had great new opportunities, Setting up LeapHQ, closing out our EQC chapter, learning to live and enjoy our new home and keeping on top of my health definitely took up most of our time. There were plenty of “good golly what the @$&? have we done moments” and the  “we are giving up moments” sometimes seemed the easy option..   
However, as the year closes out we are so pleased we didn’t give up. Seeing LeapHQ come to life has been enormous challenge but a lifetime highlight. Creating a space that you, our LeapCrew, friends, family and Riwai and I love hanging out in has kept us focussed in those tough times. The icing has been having the studio and office at home allowed me to have a chance at a life goal of moving without crutches and our making our health more manageable – a gift money can not buy! 
While on summer break I’ve been spending some time thinking about all of the lessons that I learned. Next year is 20 years since I was diagnosed with Arthritis, it is a Leap Year and we are also celebrating our 10th series involvement with the Catch Fitness 20 Week Challenge. (Where Leap and our incredible journey began in 2008!)  

So much to share but with that said, here are five of the most important lessons we learned in 2015…

Stop Worrying.   All our years of worrying and so far it has all turned out, and we have had some pretty big things to face! But we survived. 2015 was a turning point. Now anytime I feel myself in a worrying cycle, we stop and see if we can do something to change an outcome and DO it OR if it is out of our control STOP and BREATHE and remember just worrying won’t make a scrap of difference to the end result. Things don”t always go to plan but often it is the uncomfortable moments that we learn the most about ourselves and discover new opportunities. 

Do what makes you happy!   Life gets busy, chores and stuff gets in the way. But 2015 reminded us again that life is precious and for many people we know 2016 will not be the same. Some have had loved ones passed on or those near and dear to them facing new health challenges that stop them doing things they want in life. Don’t wait to Live! Live your life from now and create loads of memories that make you smile. There is so much research about positive psychology these days and 2015 reinforced that discovering what you enjoy doing and doing what makes you happy is a gift you must give yourself in 2016.    

 
The greatest gift you can give is your time.   We feel extremely fortunate to be surrounded by the people we have in our life. From family to friends, to our LeapCrew, and LeapTribe, we get to hang out with people that we love and trust. When you surround yourself with people who get you and let you be yourself, it makes all the difference. Making time to spend with those that fill your energy bucket is a priceless gift. We have the privilege to be surrounded by some of very talented and wonderful people. We encourage all of you to take stock in who really matters to you, who supports you no matter what, and who supports you being happy. Show those people how much they mean to you, and spend as much time with them as you can. Life is too short to settle for anything less. Ps Oh and while I am at it make sure you give yourself some of that time too! Spending time by yourself should be treasured and something I learnt I need to do regularly to have more to give others. 

Giving Back is essential.  We have been blessed to have good support throughout our lives, and for that Riwai and I are very grateful. We are also aware that there are many, many people who need support. And there’s nothing that makes us happier than being able to give back. Whether it’s working with our LeapTribe, creating with our LeapCrew, or neighbours we work with in our local community, the recipients of the TutuMan scholarships (for starting journeys off the couch), raising awareness of Endometriosis with the extraordinary team at Endometriosis NZ, being an positive voice for Arthritis NZ, cooking a meal at Ronald McdDonald House or taking a box of blankets for less fortunate furry four legged friends, lending a hand is a huge priority of ours. It truly brings us so much happiness reaching out and supporting others.

Celebrate your milestones, especially the small ones.  There is no one like you in the world so embrace all that makes you unique and do the best you can do on the day. Keep smiling, relax and go at your own pace, If something feels overwhelming then break it down and focus on doing one thing really well, when you feel good about that one thing, move on to the next step! We did some pretty cool stuff this year. If we hadn’t recorded it or taken time to celebrate it would have all blended in and quickly been forgotten as we moved onto the next thing. By recording our milestones when the tough times hit I have been able to go back and refresh my memory bank with what we have already achieved! So the most important lesson for me this year was is when you achieve something that you are proud of stop for a moment, record it somehow and celebrate.   
  
What are the most important lessons you’ve learned in 2015?
Now we would love to hear from you… 

Much love, smiles and hugs Cate & Riwai  

Ps Also, I just wanted to say thank you to each and every one of you who follows us, comes to leap2it.com and categrace.com and reads our blog posts. We feel blessed for the community and tribe we’ve built up over the years , and love being part of your journey to discovering and sharing your good news! You’re AWESOME! 

Where were you on September 4 2010?   This one question will be with all of us for ever. There is a long list of negative words to describe the ordeal and five years on the impact is still wide felt, just this weekend I took down a light shade that tinkled each time we walked past it, unlocking a memory of the aftershocks, and having me still reach for my phone to see how everyone is.

On the flip side this month marks my five year anniversary of leaving my safe, rewarding government job and stepping out into the unknown   I was working at one of the welfare centres set up in a high school hall to support East Christchurch in the after math of the 7.1.    It was the first big aftershock I had felt at work – it was the Wednesday following.    We all scrambled under an old trestle table,  I was with a youth who grabbed my hand under the desk.     He had been with me at a seminar a few weeks earlier where I dressed up in my PJ’s to show Youth that wearing what you liked was not the best for job interviews,  we then did an exercise on following your dreams.    As we lay on the wooden floor with the lights waving around, he grabbed my hand as I was shaking “Miss, is this job following your dreams”    He was quoting me back what I had taught them about Walt Disney.

   “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them” Walt Disney.

I remember hitting my head on the table as I came up and that I inappropriately starting laughing – not because of the earthquakes, but because I knew he was right, I was also chuffed he had listened.   Still till this day I can’t remember his name, but he certainly was a piece of the puzzle that led me to do what I love every day.      It was a moment that had a big impact.

We forget that technology was not such a big part of our lives.    I began using Facebook and Twitter a whole lot more, who knows I might have anyway but I believe that my increase and presence of Social Media helped me not to smoke or drink in the tough times!   It was a great distraction and way of keeping connected and communicate with all walks of life.   Being awake so much also meant that I googled a lot!   If only I had blogged – what wonderful memories I would have to look back on.

I did however find this quote that I discovered the first week of September 2010.

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”  Eleanor Roosevelt

It is the mantra that I draw strength from on the hard days,  in the beginning I would read it during the long nights when I became afraid of being alone,  which eventually became a fear of the dark.    In the morning when getting ready to face the day was challenging.    It was there for me during the horrific days, the guilt ridden days, the overwhelming days.    Now  I read it as the balance of our lives is returning,   There are days of celebration,  days of connectedness  and recently Riwai and I both looked at each other and were able to say there are days of elation and happiness.

Over the past year those days have turned into weeks and those weeks are turning into months.    We know that soon we will just be people full of happiness that have normal ups and downs.  We will be able to say  “Yes we were in Christchurch in 2010 & 2011.  We survived,  We lived through the horror and we gained strength, courage and confidence because of it.

I went to high school for only four years, my tertiary education was scattered over the years and universities.    This last five years is the one university I stuck out, until the end!  I took all the bad and found good where I least expected.     I studied myself  through all this turmoil and I learnt an incredible amount of insight into who I am and who I want to be.

Graduation day is not  far away, when the good days are more than the tough days and when it happens I am sure Riwai and I will get dressed up and celebrate our graduation from the University of ChchEQC.

We will graduate with a new mantra – The struggle of life is one of our greatest blessings.  It makes us patient and sensitive.  It teaches us that although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming it

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And then a new chapter of my life will begin – because somehow doing all this study on myself I went from celebrating my 37th birthday to somehow  being in my 40’s!   My wonderful nan did use to say the 40’s are great years!    I wonder if she meant the 1940’s or being in my 40’s!

Either way I am ready to take on what ever life brings next!

 

 

 

 

So here’s my first rant for 2015. I actually don’t like ranting but with New Years resolution posts still inundating my social media I got a little het up. Post after post, sponsored adverts all laying it on thick “encouraging” women in particular to feel guilty and sinful about what they have done over Xmas. Then I saw a post from a well respected but not registered industryite who ranted about someone stealing her ideas and then “stole” someone’s idea and posted as her own with branding. Then there are the hundreds of what’s bad and what’s good for you posts by all those just out to make more money off you…Grrr.

We are in a time of hyper technological globalisation where finding who you are and what works for you in an age of squillions of ideas is a massive challenge.

Everybody has a unique body so my advice to feeling amazing, full of energy and happy is start taking notice of your best asset – you! It also carries around the most important computer of all – your brain. Listen to the messages you are giving yourself everyday and act accordingly.

Oh and invest in qualified and registered professionals to guide you with this unique discovery process of understanding what makes you tick, instead of trawling the internet, google, Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook for quick brainwashing answers.

Professionals know what they are talking about. Oh and if it’s exercise your body is asking for then look for IREPS or REPS registered personal trainers for advice. There’s loads of awesomeness in them around the world and they are switched on and know what they are talking about. And they made it on the global top list of fitness trends for 2015.

Ps rant over ‪#‎dowhatmakesyouhappy‬ ‪#‎listentoyourbody‬
‪#‎findaprofessional‬
‪#‎keepitsimple‬
‪#‎leap2it‬!

Ps this is a great article with sensible advice

Stuff Hottest Trends for 2015 by Raewyn Ng

I am a personal trainer.   I empower people to discover movement and exercise they enjoy, that focuses on their long term health goals and can continue despite what life may throw at them along the way.   I totally believe in hydration, rest,  movement and changing our internal self belief.   Currently I see my industry pushing nutrition as the key player for clients success.   I am not convinced so went out on a wee research mission to help me decide.   The following is my opinion and summary.   I hope it starts new conversations for you.

80% Nutrition – 20% Exercise… I am not convinced.

These days google healthy food and you get  144 million hits in about .24 seconds!

How on this earth can you possibly decide which result is the perfect one for you.    I have been working with women for over five years in the fitness industry.   Every day we are all subjected to massive marketing campaigns, ideas, theories, fads, diets, campaigns for less sugar, more fat, no diary, more diary, channels of food shows,  billions of recipes books, lists of superfoods, lists of cave man foods,  eat raw, eat natural, quite sugar, lists of supplements, what we are deficient in, what food will cause cancer, arthritis, disease and death,  Everyone has an opinion, media, newsfeeds, blogs and family and friends all sharing their opinions on food! We are completely inundated with messages about food, nutrition, hormone response, body function, disease, obesity, how we are eating wrong, eating too much of this and not enough of that.   We shouldn’t eat this with that or mix that with this.   Eat that in the morning, and this at night.   Don’t have this after a certain hour and don’t go to bed within so many hours of that.    Good Golly it’s all just a bit overwhelming.  I might just have to sit down with a big bag of potato chips and take a break from it all.

So I did sit down , ok minus the chips but I was tempted and can totally see how easy it would have been to say arfeckit! I have in the past.   And many of the ladies I work with share this is what happens for them when they think of food…. In my opinion this occurs because we are just completely overwhelmed!   We just have too much information to filter.   OVERWHELMING… Too many thoughts on food.   And that leads to at some point sneakily or not so sneakily eating whatever is close to hand to comfort us,  and if we are feeling just a little bit vulnerable then each food message gets through our filters wonderfully, evoking emotion and reaction,  mostly negative and feeding our insecurities that we are not fit enough, trying hard enough, beautiful enough, skinny enough, shapely enough, healthy enough, we won’t look good enough at that special event and so on and so on.   Then before you know it while on this emotional spiral you have reached the bottom of the packet of chips, chocolate or another wine bottle and then race to stuff the evidence into the rubbish so you can’t beat yourself up for it.   Then the battle begins as we wage war on our guilt and woes which no doubt releases a tonne of hormones that are not conducive to getting any body feeling the best they can feel.   When finally the process reaches you to that place of “ I will be good tomorrow”, ok maybe Monday, really it will probably be when you get back from that holiday, hold on let me count how many weeks until that special date.. oh golly.. negative chatter overload and I need another sit down.    Look down at the watch to see that all this exhausting mind chatter has taken up about a total of 10 minutes!

In vain to unravel this for my fabulous ladies I poured a large glass of water, took a couple of deep breathes and sat down to do some pondering on the tornado of thoughts that I had in the past and so many of my clients still do when it comes to food!  And here’s what I came up with.

  1. We live in an era that has progressed faster than any other era known to man kind with an abundance of information at our finger tips and technology to tell us things we never knew.
  2. Our bodies have not evolved as fast to always keep up with the amount we have to process
  3. We still have the same body systems we had thousands of years ago that need fuelling to function and do the activities we want each day
  4. Our brains seem to be the part of us that has to deal the most with this fast evolution
  5. On average we have 50,000 thoughts a day (can you imagine in cavemen time someone sitting then using an abacus to count each thought a woman had in a day – proof of point four – it is our brains that have evolved!)
  6. Wouldn’t it be magnificent if we could use those 50,000 thoughts for good not evil
  7. Every body is different and imagine if we could take time to work out what our body needs to function in this new era
  8. Imagine being kind to ourselves and eating what we needed, when we needed it and enjoying it.
  9. Imagine if we had so much energy we could do all the activities we wanted and felt so good about ourselves that we were by our own definition were healthy, fitter, strong and happy?

Thanks to my nephew I found this cartoon.

Caveman Cartoon

It was a great distraction for me not to eat.  And I didn’t feel hungry while I was busy.    I pondered why cavemen lived only a third of our average age today.    I doubted it was the lack of great food!  And then felt my head shaking wondering how on earth the fitness world decided that adopting this method of nutrition was going to prolong our current lives?

I concluded that what we are consuming is probably not the key to success?   I think simplicity is a key.   I think being kind to yourself and learning when you eat is an opportunity to nourish yourself is a key.    The women I have been training for over five years mostly have one thing in common, they come in thinking they are here to see me for weight loss, it doesn’t take long until they realise that they really signed up to feel good, feel healthier, more energised and more alive.     To get to this place it’s not 80% nutrition and 20% Exercise.    Our equation is more like 50% thought processing and self belief, 10% Water, 10% Rest, 10% Nourishing,  10% Movement and 10% Connection.   But that’s another fact sheet for another day.

For now focus this week on simplifying how you eat.  Be kind about eating.
Here are some ideas to get you started.

  1. Each time you eat is a time to nourish and be kind to yourself
  2. Nourish so you can perform the activities you want
  3. Nourish for enjoyment so you can focus your food thoughts on positive thoughts
  4. Aim for food that is not in wrappers or that contains ingrediants you cannot pronounce
  5. Choose delicious vibrant colours and nice looking food that makes you feel hungry
  6. Include some occasional foods (food with wrappers) that you love and can savour
  7. Sit down undistracted so you have the opportunity to appreciate your food
  8. Slow down and savour flavours and to work out how food makes you feel physically and mentally
  9. Listen to your body to work out what and how you want to eat
  10. Work on developing a “The Healthy ME Plan” for nutrition, by experimenting on what works for you.
  11. ENJOY YOUR NOURISHING FOOD EXPERIENCES!

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In life you realise that there is a role for everyone you meet. Some will test you, some will use you, some love you and some will teach you. But you must hold onto and remember the ones who are truly important are the ones who let you be you and bring out the best in you. They are precious and amazing people who remind you why it’s worth it!

Today I worked hard to follow my own advice of being kind to everyone I meet. I wanted to empathise with the overworked people following a process that’s not working. I wanted to give the poor communicators some of my smiles as it felt like they might need them, especially today. It seemed they might need it the most.

Sadly it is just so hostile, so rude and unnecessary.    I attempted to dig and deep, to continue to be considerate as I could hear my nan and grandma remind me to find the good in everyone. I am polite, ask reasonable questions, in an attempt to gather the information so I have what I need to make big life changing decisions, in the end it is ridiculous and impossible so I add to my ever growing list of OIA requests so I can see our own paperwork trail.  

I hang up, sit on the couch in the sun and realise I am emotionally exhausted, that the last four years has been more taxing on me, my health and my relationships than I wanted to admit . We had believed in a process and that common sense and decency of human nature would prevail.   It hasn’t.   We feel let down and are fighting over small silly things that should not have been missed.    I feel like a broken record.     We never wanted more than what we were entitled too.   If the people in charge of our file had taken to time to walk with us and the decency to follow their own process then it wouldn’t have been so taxing on any of us.   

So today it is time to draw a line in the sand. It’s time to let go (as she sings Frozen!). It’s time to put my energy into things that matter – getting well and working with the people who bring out the best in me.

We have asked those more qualified than us for help. We are no longer doing this behind closed doors.

It’s time to speak out…

quote-leap of faith

One moment you are in the depths of despair worrying about upcoming rounds of infusion treatment.  The next minute you receive a message that you have been named a finalist in the Business Entrepreneur Category of the Westpac Women Of Influence Awards for 2014.  I pop on the jug, re read the email and grin as I remember I very nearly didn’t put my application in……

Applications closed a couple of weeks after I had been in hospital, we were out of our house for asbestos, arguing with EQR and couch surfing at my  mums and dads waiting to go home.   I had been advised I had been nominated and I had to submit and application.   The easy answer was to say No but I felt so honoured to be nominated that it was one of the leap of faith moments.   In the end I had a change of heart and decided if others had taken the time to write about me I should take the time to write about myself.     I hit submit and hadn’t given it another thought.  

The jug has boiled, the tea is made.  I do a couple of fist pumps and a YEEESS! Yelp what an honor! I sit in my favorite chair and just smile, one of those warm all over body smiles like you have just been caught by the sun as it peaks out of the clouds and falls all over you.

I take it all in.  The list of finalists is extraordinary and I am just blown away and so honored to be named.    This honor is super special as my whole reason for my businesses is to empower women to discover and share their good news. There is a warm glow from inside as I think of  all the women in my life who have inspired me.    My mind wanders to my nan.   When she was alive I would pop in to see her most days, and as the screen door rattled she would call out “hello love, come in and tell me all your stories”.

I never knew what an enormous impact those few words had on me and how 18 months later they have formed such a special part of my practice.    I am blessed to ask my wonderful women the same question and the stories I hear keep me inspired and encouraged to keep going.

Honouring women who have explored their good news, discovered it and are now CELEBRATING.   I am excited about going to Auckland and celebrating with them.    Win or Lose it doesn’t matter because today I feel I have already won with the life I lead.    I believe we’ll BE OK!

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What a wonderful relaxing start to this year. My first week was in the country and my bike has had a dust off and am building up kms every day. Last week was pottering and some planning before a girls weekend at the beach. Headed home today singing out loud and feeling ready for an epic year!

I love this time of year. Returning to training sessions and hearing everyone’s missions and ideas for a great year. It is an exciting month and we have so many events, tips and tricks to share. Looking forward to getting stated tomorrow.

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May 2014 bring you peace and tranquility, my hope for you is you find a word to inspire you to find good news to share and discover your greatness.

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Two years ago I wrote this blog post….

res·o·lu·tion (r z-l sh n) n. 1. The state or quality of being resolute; firm determination. 2. A resolving to do something. 3. A course of action determined or decided on.

This year instead of a long list of resolutions why not pick a word that you love and make sure this year your lifestyle, exercise and alone time choices match your word and keep you smiling!

Whats your word for 2012?

Each year on New Years day I pick a word. 365 Days ago my word was resilient and my words and actions for 2013 reflect I took this word and ran with it!

It has been one of the hardest years I have ever remembered with the loss of someone near and dear, the stress exasperated my health and the effects of the earthquakes still creeping in and blindsiding me from unexpected angles. On the flip side it has also been one of the best years I have had, an amazing year of accolades working in an industry I love and where I can inspire others to find their good news and share it with the world. I watched many conquer their fears and achieve greatness. I met some most fantastic new people, reconnected with some old familiar faces and experienced a long list of amazing things. I was super blessed to end up travelling for my 40th with my soulmate. Unexpectedly winning the opportunity to go to London we then did a whirlwind of Paris, Algarve, Lisbon, Dubai and Bangkok. It was a fairy tale. And as I look back and reflect, not a day went by that there wasn’t a lesson to be learnt, something to appreciate and a chance to build my resilience. And I wouldn’t change a thing.

This year at a restaurant with friends we were asked what our word for 2014 is going to be.

My 2014 word is accessible. It is something I believe I practice already and in 2014 I want to have fun with it and enjoy the opportunities that being accessible brings me both professionally and personally! It is going to be a great year. I look forward to you sharing your word of 2014 with me 🙂

Smiles and Hugs for a magnificent 2014!

accessible
əkˈsɛsɪb(ə)l/
adjective
adjective: accessible
1.(of a place) able to be reached
synonyms: reachable, attainable, approachable, within reach, available, on hand, obtainable;
2.able to be easily obtained or used.
3. easily understood or appreciated.
synonyms: understandable, comprehensible, easy to understand, easy to appreciate, intelligible, penetrable, fathomable, graspable, approachable
4. able to be reached, entered, or used by people who have a disability.
5. (of a person), especially one in a position of authority – friendly and easy to talk to; approachable
synonyms: approachable, available, easy-going, informal, friendly, welcoming, hospitable, pleasant, agreeable, obliging, congenial, affable, cordial