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carol@inkwellcoaching.com

Crown Point, IN

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August 28, 2025

7 Late Summer Wellness Tips

The nights and days are cooler. Darkness comes earlier. The sky looks like fall. I even saw some leaves in Michigan that had turned brilliant red. How

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Blog
August 21, 2025

What to Do with All That Zucchini

Yesterday, my friend Lisa presented me with a zucchini that looked as though it had taken growth hormones. It was gigantic! She told me that she grate

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Food, Fun, Health
August 14, 2025

Echoes of Summer

Can you feel the shift? The days are steamy–yet the calendar is getting a bit crowded with commitments that pair better with the cooler days of

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Food, Fun, Health
August 7, 2025

August Anxiety. Sunscreen vs. School Bells

This time of year, I feel a mixture of emotions. On the one hand, summer is in full swing. The flowers are thriving, temperatures still soar, and ther

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Family, Health, Personal Development
July 30, 2025

Recharging After Your Vacation

Have you ever returned home from a vacation and thought to yourself, “Gee, I could use a vacation.”? I know I have. It seems wrong. We have such a

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Food, Health
July 20, 2025

Traveler’s Guide to Food and Fitness

Summer vacations. I’ve always been a big fan of vacations any time of year. They are SO FUN, and people are usually very nice to you when you’re a

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Food, Fun, Health
July 16, 2025

The Peach vs. Nectarine Debate

I love them both. Lately I’ve been wondering about their slight differences, which sent me down the rabbit hole of looking into their unique charact

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Food, Health
July 9, 2025

The Dog Days of Summer

How often I’ve heard this phrase, yet never knew that Dog Days were official. Turns out, the Dog Days of Summer run from July 3 to August 11. This t

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Food, Fun, Health
July 3, 2025

Can Bananas Ruin Your Berry Smoothie?

This past week I received an email with this question: “I recently read an article about bananas reducing the nutrition of the berries in a smoothie

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Food, Health
June 26, 2025

Hot Weather, Cool Tips

Lots of ideas swirling around in my head today—to which Mr. Non-Compliant would say, “Uh Oh!” Since I couldn’t decide on one topic, thought I&

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Food, Health

Stop Trying

February 6, 2020
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Health, Personal Development

In the past week, I’ve heard about lots of folks trying to do lots of good things.

“I’m going to try to get back to the gym tomorrow.”

“I’m really trying to stick to this new diet.”

“This time, I’m trying really hard to change my habits.”

Even I admit to saying something like, “I’ll try to get to the grocery today.”

TRY (verb use): make an attempt or effort to do something.

Let’s be honest here; when we TRY to do something, we give ourselves the loophole to NOT get whatever it is done. We have an out.

As a kid, I recall one instance when “try” seemed really appropriate. Maybe you heard this when you were a kid too, and maybe you’ve said it to a youngster, or oldster. “Before we get in the car, you should try to go to the bathroom.”

That works. Just try.

In so many other instances, we must stop trying. It holds us back. We must simply DO. 

DO: perform, accomplish, achieve, complete, finish, implement.

Practice saying the words out loud, about something you’d like to see happen in your life. See which version feels stronger and has the most positive impact on your psyche.

Here’s an example:

“I’m going to try to not eat snacks after dinner.” OR “After dinner, I’m done eating for the day.”

Speak the intention. Which version do you think is more likely to create the desired result?

Our words have great power, and it’s important to choose them wisely.

“Do. Or do not. There is no try.”– The Empire Strikes Back  

If any of you are Star Wars fans, you’ll recognize this as Yoda’s most memorable quote. This is a line from the X-wing sequence on Dagobah, and the last instructions the Jedi Master gives Luke before he attempts to raise his fighter from the swamp. Yoda had consistently tried to teach Luke to focus on the present, and essentially, to grow up. In this moment, with these words, he makes it clear.  

This is our reminder to commit oneself to something completely, win or lose.

Be bold. Go do, and stop trying.

Cheers to you,
Carol

“Do. Or do not. There is no try.”—Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back

She Ate All the Chips

January 30, 2020
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Food, Health, Personal Development

I ran into JJ (initials used to protect identity) at the gym the other morning. Upon seeing her, she confessed that she recently ate an entire bag of potato chips. At one time. (It’s interesting that people feel the need to confess their food and fitness blunders when they see me.)

“What kind were they?” I asked. “I need specifics.”

To which she replied, “Mesquite BBQ, crinkle cut. They’re seasonal, and I got them at Aldi. It was a family size bag.”

“You ate the entire bag?”

“Yes.”

Her conscience was clear. She could move on.   

Turns out that JJ was emotionally satisfied after the chip incident, yet felt physically horrible. The chips caused bloating, then guilt. Ugh. She was a mess.

Does this scene resonate with you in any way? Maybe not with chips, but with cookies, ice cream, wine, candy, anything?

Here are some considerations when faced with your personal “chip” situation.

  • When you’re at the grocery, remember that whatever goes home will be eaten by someone. If that someone is you, and you tend to go into unconscious binging at times, don’t even put it in your buggy. Leave it at the store. You can always buy it another day. Oh, and beware of the story that it’s for another family member. Right.
  • Keep the mindset of abundance over deprivation. JJ could have had a handful of chips and enjoyed them immensely, then moved on to do something that brought her happiness: listen to favorite music, read scripture, eat more nutritionally sound food if truly hungry, get to the gym, phone a friend. She would have been fed emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Win.  
  • Consider who’s in control. Although we really don’t have much control over what happens in life, we usually have control over what and how much we eat. The chips had control over JJ. Do you have control over the food, or does it have control over you?

We’ve all been where JJ was, at one time or another. It offers us an opportunity to do just a little bit better in the future.

If you keep getting stuck, email me and we’ll work through it together.

Live your life of abundance, and feel great doing it.

Much love,
Carol

“See yourself living in abundance and you will attract it. It always works, it works every time, with every person.” -Bob Proctor

 

Keep it Simple

January 23, 2020
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Health, Personal Development

It’s that magical time of year.

According to Runner’s World, most resolutions concerning health and fitness were over and done last Sunday, January 19.

How about you? If you had any kind of New Year’s commitment to get fit, are you still in the game?

If so, congratulations! You are one of the few. You can stop reading and move on with your day.

If not, get back in the game. Today.  

Getting and keeping fit does not take discipline. This is a business that takes patience, time, and keeping it simple. This is habit.

You don’t even have to give it 100%. In yoga, all that is asked is to give 2/3 effort. Any more than that, we’re working too hard, and that’s not the point.

The point is to show up as a beginner, curious to learn about oneself during those moments on the mat. The point is to be present to the present, and breathe.

Each and every time.

Yes, it’s that simple. It’s a habit that takes time to develop. Simple does not equal easy.

Let’s look at where you are in your journey with anything, today. How are you showing up? Is it possible to be a beginner who is curious to learn? Could you give it 2/3 effort?

Of course you can! I believe in you.

Let’s say you made a commitment to eat healthier. That’s pretty broad, and frankly, I’m not there 100% of the time. So, whatever it is that causes you to stumble, could you practice going for 2/3?

Cut back on the sugar or chips. Exercise 2/3 of the days you had originally intended. Drink a little more water than you did last year. Get 15 minutes more sleep in a night. You get the idea.  

Keep it simple, go for 2/3, and practice until it becomes a habit. This is the way to stay in your game.

Send me an email. I’m happy to help you set simpler rules to your game—one that you can win.

Much love,
Carol

“The very heart of yoga practice is ‘abyhasa’ – steady effort in the direction you want to go.” –Sally Kempton

Success is Showing Up

January 16, 2020
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Health, Personal Development

How many times do you schedule your workouts for the week, and one day, you simply don’t want to show up? (Ok, that was me yesterday.)

Your heart isn’t in it, yet you muster up the courage to do what you’ve committed to do—for you. Because. (I did it, or I couldn’t write this.)

Or, you decide to cut back on the sugary treats, unless of course they are amazing, and you eat the mediocre cookie. The “former” you would have eaten at least 3 in one sitting, and not have even given it a second thought.  

And then there’s the time when you meant to skip the late night snack, and you ate it anyway. You had a piece of fruit instead of another small meal.

Success is showing up. Success is doing just a little bit better than you did in the past. Maybe it doesn’t happen exactly the way you would like, however you’re making strides toward your health and happiness goals.

You are successful! You are showing up powerfully in your life.

I sense that some of you are allowing perfectionism to write a story of failure. Let it go. You and I are not perfect at anything, and we never will be. Sorry if I’m the first one to break this news to you.

Here’s a beautiful success story from one of my client couples. They had a wonderful holiday with family, and kept their eating in check—enjoying their favorite foods in moderation, with no feelings of deprivation. YES!

And then…when their family went home, clear across the country, (taking the grandchild too), they understandably felt sad. Their emotional button switched on, and they fell away from their newer eating habits. They hit the “Pause” button of life. They were miserable on several levels. It happens.

After only FOUR days, they got back into their healthier, happier, habits. Not only did they recover quickly, this rebound has pushed them into the next level of fitness. I see this as massive success. They saw it as failure.

See the difference? It’s all in perspective. I’m very proud of their progress.

In their life before Coach Carol, they would have allowed their emotions to control their eating for far longer than 4 days.

Friends, this attitude shows up in every area of your life. Choose to show up and live powerfully, even when you don’t feel like it, or it’s a bit scary. 

If you’re stuck and don’t know what plan of action to take next, I’m here to help. Email me, and together we’ll figure out how you can rebound to the next level.

To your success,
Coach Carol

“The willingness to show up changes us, It makes us a little braver each time.”― Brené Brown, “Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead”

 

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