Life Coaches Central: Where Coaching Insiders Blog About Real Issues

Even though life expectancy has increased, a majority of Americans still do not have access to health care, which means they go without drugs, basic dental treatment, and eye care. These recent statistics scare me a bit. It's absolutely essential for American's to receive adequate health care.

Do you think the government should provide its citizens with free or low cost health care?

Recently I've noticed that I've become a people pleaser- meaning it's hard for me to say no to my friends or family. What's the deal with that? Maybe it's a woman thing. I don't know why I always put other people's happiness before my own. I've learned that saying no, is one of the simple secrets of happiness. It's not that I don't like doing things for my friends and family but I just don't know where to draw the line sometimes and I find myself doing things I don't want to and then I regret it. Remembering that you are the only person in charge of your life is important- that's not to say you should be rude and inconsiderate of your friend's needs but its ok to say no sometimes if you really don't want to do something. I've found that saying no actually helps build your friendships up because you don't resent the person for making you do something you were totally against doing in the first place. What do you guys think? Are you people pleasers too? Is it hard for you to say no to your friend or your family?

I think I was 8 or 9 when I realized my mom died her hair. I thought it was an awfully gross process. She got into this huge brown- streaked shirt (from years of dyeing) and the whole floor smelled like icky chemicals. So being the precocious young kid that I was I said something snotty like, "I'm never going to do that when I grow up. I don't care if I get gray hair."

Sometimes I think too much about my next step. No matter where I am or what I'm doing in the present I always think about the future, even the very near future like the what-will-happen-in-the-next-10-minutes-future. I'm not sure why I'm like this. It may be the fact that I've been a New Yorker for my entire life and we are just always pressed for time and on-the-go. We were bred to be anxious, on edge people who are ready to lunge out in dissatisfaction when something doesn't go our way or when someone slows up the pace of our foot traffic. I sometimes find myself calculating the most ridiculous of everyday procedures like, walking in different ways down the sidewalk to get to the train quicker. I've found that walking in the street; however dangerous it may be is one of the fastest ways to avoid slow walkers and get to the train quickly.

Well, I finally caved. For years my kids have been asking for a dog and for years I have said that I just don't think I have the time or energy to commit to taking responsibility for one more thing. But recently my boyfriend convinced me that having a dog would help the kids learn about repsonsibility and also appreciate animals, so we started

I've been living in New York City for over nine years now and around year six I started to get the country-itch bad. That is, the feeling that I had to escape what had seemed to become an oppressive and stressful city life. I ached for more activity outdoors and more fresh air and all the healthy attributes that go with a non-city lifestyle. But recently I have started to wonder more about whether or not life "outside" WOULD actually be healthier. Would it? Mark Hyman-one of our wellness coaches and, personally, one of my more favorite coaches of all in terms of his really smart health content, talks a lot about the French Diet Myth and how, in reality, a French woman's health and thin body is less about the food she eats (although partially) and more about her lifestyle over all (the riding of the bike...the walking to market.)