THE BUZZ: Dr. Terri Kennedy was featured in the May 2013 issue of Fit’n Style magazine – the first monthly Lebanese magazine that offers women and men advice on fitness and health issues, popular training, sports exercise tips, diet and beneficial nutritional suggestions for weight-loss and muscles development. It also includes articles concerning lifestyle such as wellness, beauty & fashion. For more information on the magazine, go to their Facebook page. Below is the full interview.
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POWER LIVING® INTERVIEW WITH DR. TERESA KAY-ABA KENNEDY
By Jasmine Boyajian
I live on Purpose every day;
I look to my Creator to show me the way.
I choose thoughts that nurture my mind;
I eliminate views that are negative and unkind.
I honor my body as the temple of my soul;
I choose foods that are nourishing and whole…
This inspirational pledge is written by Dr. Teresa Kay-Aba Kennedy in her book “The Power Living Pledge: An Affirmation for a Purposeful & Powerful Life.” Dr. Kennedy is an internationally-renowned voice in Personal Empowerment & Leadership, Health & Productivity Management and Sustainability offering a unique, multidisciplinary approach to success in work and life. A Harvard-trained social entrepreneur, she is recognized for applying the principles and techniques from yoga and mindfulness to the Power Living coaching process in order to help people have the clarity and energy to reach their highest potential. She is also the author of “The Power Living Pledge: An Affirmation for a Purposeful & Powerful Life,” “Seven-Day PWR Detox: Cleanse Your Body, Mind & Spirit While Living Your Daily Life,” and “40 Days to Power Living: Think, Eat & Live on Purpose.” Jasmine Boyajian, an editor at Fit ‘n Style Magazine, had the opportunity to interview Dr. Kennedy about Power Living and why it is so vital.
You call “Power Living®” a philosophy or way of life. Why do you believe one should live on purpose?
I believe we each have an innate greatness and unique gift to share. Living on purpose means we are actively seeking to understand our “offering” to the world and that we are tuning our “instrument” – mind, body, spirit, emotions – so that we can show up fully in life. The Power Living Practice helps you do that. Power Living is knowing who you are and what you value and then organizing your life around it – what you do for work, who you choose to love, when and what you eat, how you communicate with yourself and others. It is about “specificity” – being specific about your thoughts, words and actions. It is a system for creating positive habits to support your life’s work.
How can a person integrate the 5 principles of Power Living in his/her daily life?
In the “40 Days to Power Living: Think, Eat & Live on Purpose book,” we offer a step-by-step process for integrating the five principles of Power Living into your life. We have five “trigger” words to guide you: Reflect, Re-Fuel, Focus, Connect, and Release, representing the five dimensions of Power Living: spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, and environmental. One habit we encourage our coaching clients to create is what we call a reflective practice – at least five minutes in the morning to reflect and set your intention for the day, and at least five minutes in the evening to review and ask, “How did I do?” This practice helps you build self-awareness and personal accountability so you can be specific in your daily actions. If you realize you are getting off track (e.g. in how you’re thinking or what you’re eating), you can self-correct.
The affirmation statements that you’ve presented in your book “The Power Living Pledge” are truly inspiring. Do you think that affirmation can change peoples’ perceptions towards life?
Life is a mirror and will reflect back to you what you think into it. Your thoughts direct your behavior, and every time you perform an action – whether positive or negative – you leave an imprint on your subconscious. This cycle creates your primary operating mode. To change your consciousness, therefore, requires an understanding and managing of your thoughts so that you can deliberately create new patterns. These patterns will become the dominant attitude of your mind. Unfortunately, many people are physically awake but effectively unconscious. They are operating on autopilot and have forgotten what instructions they have given their subconscious. Affirmations – simple statements you repeat to yourself – are a powerful tool for creating new instructions for your subconscious and developing a positive frame of mind.
As an Executive Life Coach, you use motivation and positivity to communicate with people. To what extent do people get affected or maybe heal by that approach?
As a certified coach, I am trained in a set of communication tools that help to bring out the potential in a client. The process is based on emotionally connecting the client’s inner purpose and passion to outer goals. Together, we create strategies to reach those goals. By using motivation and a positive approach, along with the proven coaching tools, clients feel supported and encouraged. The feedback and results have been tremendous. Much of the success is based on helping the client shift their way of thinking. Also, as a coach, I serve as an objective accountability partner so that the client takes consistent and specific steps towards their goals. I’ve had clients successfully lose weight, take control of their health, become more confident, change jobs, move from corporate executives to entrepreneurs, and completely transform their lives – to name a few goals.
If you can look back, before practicing Power Living yourself, how can you describe your life?
I grew up with many of these principles, so I’ve been practicing them for a long time. However, when I was a senior executive at MTV Networks, I didn’t put many of the principles in action and got off track. I was very successful at a young age – one of their youngest Vice Presidents – but my personal habits were not supporting me. I ended up getting very sick and almost died at the age of 28. What I learned was that you must move from the intellectual (knowing what to do) and experiential (actually doing it). That’s why in Power Living we focus so much on helping clients create habits, so that the positive actions become a part of their daily lives.
How important are self-awareness and personal sustainability?
Self-awareness is at the heart of transformation. In order to initiate change, you must acknowledge where you are and be honest with yourself. As you observe yourself and increase your self-awareness, you will be more conscious and have more intention with your own thoughts, words, and actions. Personal sustainability is also important because you want to have the energy to fulfill your destiny instead of losing steam along the way. The Power Living Practice addresses both aspects.
What advice can you give to the people who may be struggling in their personal or career lives?
Pause and reflect on what you really want to do in your life. Think of our Three Core Questions: “Who Am I? Where Am I? What MUST I Do To Be Me?” Become a witness to your Self. Take time to become aware of your thoughts and patterns. Replace negative with positive. Focus on what you want and claim it as real. Be patient and grateful. Develop a Circle of Support – people who truly support your dreams. No matter what your current circumstance, your “inside” dream can be your new “outside” reality through a positive outlook, specific planning, and consistent action.
Photo credit: Dwayne Watkins
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View more media featuring Dr. Terri Kennedy.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT: Check out articles and tips on Healthy Living and Work & Life. For inspiration, go to our Quote Cards, Affirmations, Impressions, Postcards, and The Power of… column. Also, check out Power Living TV and The Power List of powerful books, movies and DVDs.
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