Week Twenty Four - Keep Working on Your Core

   

Flu Vaccine-What You Need to Know

By Suzanne Frank

With flu season just around the corner I wanted to share some information about the flu and the flu vaccine. 

Flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and sometimes the lungs. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. The best way to prevent flu is by getting a a flu vaccine each year. 

Annual flu vaccination is recommended for everyone 6 months of age and older with rare exceptions. It is an effective way to decrease flu illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths.

Flu vaccines cannot cause flu illness. Flu vaccines given with a needle (i.e., flu shot) are made either with inactivated (killed) viruses, or with only a single protein from the flu virus. The nasal spray vaccine contains live viruses that are attenuated (weakened) so that they will not cause illness.

Flu vaccine has been shown in several studies to reduce severity of illness in people who get vaccinated but still get sick.

Getting vaccinated may also help protect people around you.

It takes about 2 weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body to provide protection against the flu.

Flu usually comes on suddenly. People who have the flu often feel some or all of these symptoms:

• fever* or feeling feverish/chills
• cough
• sore throat
• runny or stuffy nose
• muscle or body aches
• headaches
• fatigue (tiredness)
• some people may have vomiting or diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults

  *It is important to know that not everyone with the flu will have a fever

The flu viruses are spread by droplets when people with the flu cough, sneeze, or talk. Typically, a person develops symptoms 5 days after being infected, but symptoms can appear as soon as 2 days after infection or as late as 14 days after infection.

• If you should get the flu here are things that are recommended by the CDC:
• stay home
• take care of yourself by getting rest, staying hydrated, and if needed use over the counter medicines such as acetaminophen
• stay in a specific room as much as possible and away from other people in your home
• cover your cough and sneezes
• wash your hands often
• monitor your symptoms and seek medical attention immediately if you experience trouble breathing, pain or pressure in your chest, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake, bluish lips or face
• clean and disinfect "high touch" surfaces everyday

Most healthy adults may be able to infect others beginning 1 day before symptoms develop and up to 5-7 days after becoming sick. People with the flu are most contagious in the first 3-4 days after their illness begins.

It is possible to have flu, as well as other respiratory illnesses, and COVID-19 at the same time. Health experts are still studying how common this can be.

Both the flu and COVID-19 can have varying degrees of signs and symptoms. Symptoms of the flu and COVID-19 can be the same. Other symptoms of COVID-19 different from the flu may may be a change in or loss of taste and smell.

I hope that you will consider getting a flu vaccine.

Brain Train 

from Coach Pat

Recently I took a seminar about training your brain for successful goal acheivement.  This subject resonated with me because happily I have had some success with goal setting and also because during Covid I have found taking action towards acheiving goals has been so very hard. 

The most powerful thing you can train is your brain. Your brain controls every result you get in your life.  Setting and reaching goals we create our results.   Know that your brain can take you on rocky path to your goals.   Brains are great at what they do ,  but this can get in your way unless you work at training your brain for success.  If you have abandoned a goal, given up it will help to know what your brain does that is easy.  

• Seek Pleasure  - this can get in the way if your goals are centered upon performance only.  
• Conserve Energy - this makes it hard to get things done.   Covid has made us have to work harder 
• Identify Danger - Negative thinking runs through your brain all the time 
• Create Explanations - your brain will allow you to make the facts fit the circumstance.  

Our brains tell us a lot of untrue things.   It is important to question when your brain is telling you not to push yourself towards goals.  When our thoughts aren't accurate what we will try is limited.  Learn to direct your brain to question.  If you don't have goals, why not?  Whether or not you set goals you create your results.  

Some tools to help with goal setting 

• Imagine what you want. Allow yourself to want success.    Turn off any  negative bias about your goal.  
• Write it down !
• Define the timing,  the more detail the better.  Break it down , day, week, month, year. Write down more.  Recognize some goals may take years.  
• Be prepared 
• Imagine the future when you acheive your goal.  
• Don't allow yourself to say you don't know what to do, confusion works against you. 

Take Action !  If you haven't reached your goal,  you simply haven't taken enough action.  Giving up is not an option but making adjustments are.   You don't need to know step 10 when you are at step 3,  you only need to know the next action to take.  This concept of massive action takes the confusion and mental drama out of the equation.  If you are commiting to taking action until you reach your goal then there isn't a 'try' there is simply 'do'.   Commit.  

Find the minimim baseline. Find the smallest commitment you can make and know you can follow through.  If it's doable you can see yourself acheiving.    This might seem boring and not big enough, it is big !  If you do a small thing consistently you will progress.  Success comes from small day to day actions taken consistenly over time.  Five to ten minutes a day of a new practice every day is better than no action.  

Understand that things may not work perfectly.  That's fine, check in with your commitment and your focus.   When we succeed then fail or plateau, it's usually because we stopped taking action after having some success.  Have your own back,  no beating yourself up.  Have a look at what is happening in your thinking and know it's completely normal.   

Certainly I have used goal setting for building strenth and getting fit.   But I also have been using goal setting for some large and small things lately.   My big goal setting I have described below .  During Covid my goal has been to do one thing a day I don't enjoy but will make life better.  This has included some sewing,  some deep cleaning you know the things. 

I was thinking of a goal that I set  4 years ago in 2016 and just acheived  today.   I didn't know it would take me 4 years when I started, what I knew was I needed to continue to take actions until I met my goal.   Four years ago I started a certification process with the Backyard Habitats program that is run by the Audubon Society and Columbia Watershed.   My goal was to transform my property with naturescaping using native plants and removing all invasive weeds.   I had a great start because I live in a forest, mainly Doug Fir and  Big Leaf Maple.   I also had a huge amount of invasive weeds that had to go.   This project didn't take first place in my life,  my paddling and traveling always came before completing the certification.   Is  that seeking pleasure?  But for 4 years I continued to take action, and now today my yard is certified .  I hadn't set out to get more than a middle rated certification, but during this last push it looked liked I could go higher and did.   My yard certified at the highest level given. 

  

During the certification process today , all I could think about was  what more can I do and some different goals started to take form.  This is the way it works.   One goal leads to the next until you amaze yourself. 

Setting Up a Secure FaceBook Account 

by Coach Pat 

Many of us who are not on Facebook at times regret not getting some of the social news that is posted on the PinkPhoenixPDX group page.   All team information is posted on both Facebook in the Pink Phoenix PDX group and also via email.   What you miss by not having Facebook is spontaneous discussion that takes place regarding certain posts.   If you haven't setup a Facebook account because you don't want to look at silly animal video's or see pictures of remote acquintances grandchildren, please know you can avoid all of that with some simple settings and making good choices.  

If you want a Facebook account that allows you to see 99% only Pink Phoenix PDX posts do the following.  

• Setup your FB account .   This will require a phone number for 2 factor authentication (that is good ) .  
• Setup your Profile - leave out any information you want - no one will see it 
• Go to the far right on the profile page and access the security and privacy settings
• For instance select "Only Me" when that is an option 
• Select "Friends" if  "Only Me" is not and option an 
• select "Friends of Friends" if Friend is not an option. 

You will need to friend one Pink so you can be invited to the Pink Phoenix PDX group.   You can unfriend or block this person after you are in the group.   Do not allow FB to find friends, don't do anything automatic.  Now you are on FB with only one group to see.  The point is - you will have no friends, hence no friends of friends.   You will need to ignore friend requests from your teammates.  You will be able to post on the Pink Phoenix PDX page.  

Read More

Week Twenty Four - Keep Working on Your Core

   

Flu Vaccine-What You Need to Know

By Suzanne Frank

With flu season just around the corner I wanted to share some information about the flu and the flu vaccine. 

Flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and sometimes the lungs. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. The best way to prevent flu is by getting a a flu vaccine each year. 

Annual flu vaccination is recommended for everyone 6 months of age and older with rare exceptions. It is an effective way to decrease flu illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths.

Flu vaccines cannot cause flu illness. Flu vaccines given with a needle (i.e., flu shot) are made either with inactivated (killed) viruses, or with only a single protein from the flu virus. The nasal spray vaccine contains live viruses that are attenuated (weakened) so that they will not cause illness.

Flu vaccine has been shown in several studies to reduce severity of illness in people who get vaccinated but still get sick.

Getting vaccinated may also help protect people around you.

It takes about 2 weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body to provide protection against the flu.

Flu usually comes on suddenly. People who have the flu often feel some or all of these symptoms:

• fever* or feeling feverish/chills
• cough
• sore throat
• runny or stuffy nose
• muscle or body aches
• headaches
• fatigue (tiredness)
• some people may have vomiting or diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults

  *It is important to know that not everyone with the flu will have a fever

The flu viruses are spread by droplets when people with the flu cough, sneeze, or talk. Typically, a person develops symptoms 5 days after being infected, but symptoms can appear as soon as 2 days after infection or as late as 14 days after infection.

• If you should get the flu here are things that are recommended by the CDC:
• stay home
• take care of yourself by getting rest, staying hydrated, and if needed use over the counter medicines such as acetaminophen
• stay in a specific room as much as possible and away from other people in your home
• cover your cough and sneezes
• wash your hands often
• monitor your symptoms and seek medical attention immediately if you experience trouble breathing, pain or pressure in your chest, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake, bluish lips or face
• clean and disinfect "high touch" surfaces everyday

Most healthy adults may be able to infect others beginning 1 day before symptoms develop and up to 5-7 days after becoming sick. People with the flu are most contagious in the first 3-4 days after their illness begins.

It is possible to have flu, as well as other respiratory illnesses, and COVID-19 at the same time. Health experts are still studying how common this can be.

Both the flu and COVID-19 can have varying degrees of signs and symptoms. Symptoms of the flu and COVID-19 can be the same. Other symptoms of COVID-19 different from the flu may may be a change in or loss of taste and smell.

I hope that you will consider getting a flu vaccine.

Brain Train 

from Coach Pat

Recently I took a seminar about training your brain for successful goal acheivement.  This subject resonated with me because happily I have had some success with goal setting and also because during Covid I have found taking action towards acheiving goals has been so very hard. 

The most powerful thing you can train is your brain. Your brain controls every result you get in your life.  Setting and reaching goals we create our results.   Know that your brain can take you on rocky path to your goals.   Brains are great at what they do ,  but this can get in your way unless you work at training your brain for success.  If you have abandoned a goal, given up it will help to know what your brain does that is easy.  

• Seek Pleasure  - this can get in the way if your goals are centered upon performance only.  
• Conserve Energy - this makes it hard to get things done.   Covid has made us have to work harder 
• Identify Danger - Negative thinking runs through your brain all the time 
• Create Explanations - your brain will allow you to make the facts fit the circumstance.  

Our brains tell us a lot of untrue things.   It is important to question when your brain is telling you not to push yourself towards goals.  When our thoughts aren't accurate what we will try is limited.  Learn to direct your brain to question.  If you don't have goals, why not?  Whether or not you set goals you create your results.  

Some tools to help with goal setting 

• Imagine what you want. Allow yourself to want success.    Turn off any  negative bias about your goal.  
• Write it down !
• Define the timing,  the more detail the better.  Break it down , day, week, month, year. Write down more.  Recognize some goals may take years.  
• Be prepared 
• Imagine the future when you acheive your goal.  
• Don't allow yourself to say you don't know what to do, confusion works against you. 

Take Action !  If you haven't reached your goal,  you simply haven't taken enough action.  Giving up is not an option but making adjustments are.   You don't need to know step 10 when you are at step 3,  you only need to know the next action to take.  This concept of massive action takes the confusion and mental drama out of the equation.  If you are commiting to taking action until you reach your goal then there isn't a 'try' there is simply 'do'.   Commit.  

Find the minimim baseline. Find the smallest commitment you can make and know you can follow through.  If it's doable you can see yourself acheiving.    This might seem boring and not big enough, it is big !  If you do a small thing consistently you will progress.  Success comes from small day to day actions taken consistenly over time.  Five to ten minutes a day of a new practice every day is better than no action.  

Understand that things may not work perfectly.  That's fine, check in with your commitment and your focus.   When we succeed then fail or plateau, it's usually because we stopped taking action after having some success.  Have your own back,  no beating yourself up.  Have a look at what is happening in your thinking and know it's completely normal.   

Certainly I have used goal setting for building strenth and getting fit.   But I also have been using goal setting for some large and small things lately.   My big goal setting I have described below .  During Covid my goal has been to do one thing a day I don't enjoy but will make life better.  This has included some sewing,  some deep cleaning you know the things. 

I was thinking of a goal that I set  4 years ago in 2016 and just acheived  today.   I didn't know it would take me 4 years when I started, what I knew was I needed to continue to take actions until I met my goal.   Four years ago I started a certification process with the Backyard Habitats program that is run by the Audubon Society and Columbia Watershed.   My goal was to transform my property with naturescaping using native plants and removing all invasive weeds.   I had a great start because I live in a forest, mainly Doug Fir and  Big Leaf Maple.   I also had a huge amount of invasive weeds that had to go.   This project didn't take first place in my life,  my paddling and traveling always came before completing the certification.   Is  that seeking pleasure?  But for 4 years I continued to take action, and now today my yard is certified .  I hadn't set out to get more than a middle rated certification, but during this last push it looked liked I could go higher and did.   My yard certified at the highest level given. 

  

During the certification process today , all I could think about was  what more can I do and some different goals started to take form.  This is the way it works.   One goal leads to the next until you amaze yourself. 

Setting Up a Secure FaceBook Account 

by Coach Pat 

Many of us who are not on Facebook at times regret not getting some of the social news that is posted on the PinkPhoenixPDX group page.   All team information is posted on both Facebook in the Pink Phoenix PDX group and also via email.   What you miss by not having Facebook is spontaneous discussion that takes place regarding certain posts.   If you haven't setup a Facebook account because you don't want to look at silly animal video's or see pictures of remote acquintances grandchildren, please know you can avoid all of that with some simple settings and making good choices.  

If you want a Facebook account that allows you to see 99% only Pink Phoenix PDX posts do the following.  

• Setup your FB account .   This will require a phone number for 2 factor authentication (that is good ) .  
• Setup your Profile - leave out any information you want - no one will see it 
• Go to the far right on the profile page and access the security and privacy settings
• For instance select "Only Me" when that is an option 
• Select "Friends" if  "Only Me" is not and option an 
• select "Friends of Friends" if Friend is not an option. 

You will need to friend one Pink so you can be invited to the Pink Phoenix PDX group.   You can unfriend or block this person after you are in the group.   Do not allow FB to find friends, don't do anything automatic.  Now you are on FB with only one group to see.  The point is - you will have no friends, hence no friends of friends.   You will need to ignore friend requests from your teammates.  You will be able to post on the Pink Phoenix PDX page.  

Read More