Are you thriving or enduring?

I hope you’re thriving this holiday season! 

I absolutely love the holidays! 

AND… 

My mother is in her end-stage of life, I’ve got a few family issues that can keep me up at night, and a personal disappointment I’m dealing with. 

Being a life coach doesn’t make life trouble-free! 

I have to practice the same tools I write about and coach clients through. 

Because I am not interested in enduring the holidays or any other time of my life! 

I want to thrive, regardless of my circumstances. That’s freedom! 

When I’m drawn into negativity, disappointment, even despair here’s the first two things I do:

1. I ask myself, “Is it true?” I’m not questioning how I feel. That’s important. We feel how we feel. I’m questioning the thought that made me feel bad. “Is it true that family issues will cause stress when we’re together?” 

Here’s the important part before you answer that question… take a few breaths. Quiet your mind a bit. The answers that come fast and furious to us are not our inner-wisdom, they are the stressful thoughts that got us here in the first place. We are INTENTIONALLY working to change our mental state which will change our emotional state. As my mind slows down I realize, the question can’t possibly be true. It hasn’t even happened! My thought is about something in the future, as many of them are, so I can’t possibly know it’s true! 

Whew! Right away I can have some mental breathing room. I can remind myself that I don’t even know if my thought is true. 

2. I imagine the exact situation, but this time without the thought that we’re going to experience stress when we get together. I can imagine us together as a family. I can imagine that the issues don’t even come up. Or, I can imagine they do and we have a really productive and healing conversation around them. Our being together turns out beautifully! 

By imagining the same situation that I was stressed about and imagining a positive outcome, I am moving out of “enduring” and moving towards thriving. 

I may not get to thriving in one step, but if I’m moving towards it… life gets better. And from there, it can continue to get better until I make my way back to thriving! 

If this makes sense, let me know. If you have questions about how to apply it in your situation, let me know. I always love hearing from you! 

I’ve also got the exact tools you need to thrive! It’s the Holiday Solve It Method™ Program and Special Offer. It has this tool plus many more to move you into thriving this holiday season and beyond. Get all the deets and take advantage of the special pricing HERE. 

Because you deserve to thrive!

Do you want to Thrive during the Holidays?

The holidays are busy. It’s easy to get caught up in obligations and get over-extended. 

NOT THIS YEAR! 

In today’s episode of Uncover and Elevate I’ve got great tools for you to use to be sure you THRIVE during this holiday season! 

What makes it extra fun is that I’ve also got a special offer to make THRIVING even easier! 

I’ll tell you about it in today’s episode that you can access HERE. 

Here’s the link to all the goodness in the offer if you can’t wait! 

Please share this episode on social and tag me! Then I’d love for you to post a 5 Start Review wherever you get your podcasts. It makes such a big difference and will help others find the show. I’ll be incredibly grateful!

Have You Had It?

Sometimes you just have to stop. 

Stop so that you can take care of yourself. So you can remember who you truly are. 

I’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster the last few days! How about you?

We all get on the rollercoaster for different reasons. We’re triggered at different times by different things. 

The question is, can we get off the rollercoaster and get back to a feeling of being grounded and calm? 

I had to “phone a friend.” She talked me off the ledge and helped me remember who I really am. 

Because the truth is, we are soooo powerful!

We have so many resources at our disposal. Inside resources. I’m not asking you to get more resourceful so you can get more done! No! 

Your inner-resources are unlimited. You may not think so. You may not feel like it. But, trust me, they are there. 

My BFF helped me remember what mine were. 

I help clients find and remember theirs. 

More than ever, at this time of year, we must remember the infinite possibilities within us and the power we have inside of us. 

I hope this message reminded you of yours. And if you need help, I’m here. DM me and let me know you need a little help remembering how powerful and awesome you are! 

To be a mother...or not to be....

This blog is for everyone who’s NOT a mom and for those who are.

I love you both! It’s so refreshing to see the cultural “norm” of motherhood being questioned and abandoned. If you don’t have an intense, and I mean, intense, desire to have kids, please don’t. And never, never apologize for it! A woman isn’t “better” because she wants to be a mother. Sometimes I think we slip into temporary insanity, otherwise, why would we want to do it?! #kiddingnotkidding

Motherhood 

Being a mother is my greatest joy and at times, my greatest challenge. I have four children in their 30’s. They live in CA, PA and Equatorial Guinea, Africa, which is why there aren’t some adorable family photos in this blog. My son in Africa has been away for five years now. Holy smokes do I miss hugging that kids and being able to even talk on the phone! (I did get my daughter and grandaughter to join me for a photo shoot in Manhattan Beach, CA recently though, so I've included one of those photos)

Here’s what I know for sure

Watching your adult kids create the lives they love is the greatest thrill. My youngest in Africa is creating video games and loves it, he also teaches English as a second language. Next up is a mother, fitness instructor, wife extraordinaire and helps me with a lot of my ‘behind the scenes’ work. Then there’s another son, he’s in tech, just took a new job with a start-up in SoCal, loves his wife and dog and recently said to me, “we make conscious decisions to make our journey through life fun and interesting. It’s okay if we misstep.” As my oldest daughter said when I shared that with her, “Your work is done with that one!” Then there’s the oldest. Wise and strong. Brave and true. She’s a fabulous wife, mother of two, and has a gift for kindness that astounds me.  

Whether you’re celebrating your children, or the fact that you don’t have any, please celebrate the gift that you are as a woman to the world. I am a big believer that women will change the world in this next generation and you are part of that. Regardless of age, you are the change the world needs!

I had a couple of openings for one-on-clients. If you're interested in exploring the benefits of working with me, complete this easy application and we'll schedule a quick call to decide if one-on-one coaching is right for you! 

Own your brilliance

What does it mean to own your brilliance?

This is one of my favorite topics in the world right now.

For years, I’ve been telling my closest friends, “I need to own my brilliance.” What did I mean by that?

It’s about knowing who you are. What your unique gifts are. Your unique expression in the world.

It begins with knowing that it’s you. You’re the one.

Then you expand it. You do the thing you were meant to do. Say the things you were meant to say. Dream the dreams you were meant to dream. And you own it!

I didn’t truly “get this” until I went to Paris this summer. If you want to read about that liberating and transformative experience, I wrote all about it with Confessions of a traveler,  A Living Obituary and Your own Paris Transformation.

Today, we’ll talk about how you can own your brilliance. Check it out and do it! Own it! The world needs you.

And don’t forget to download your FREE copy of the Own Your Brilliance guided meditation. It’s a great tool to support you on your path to owning your brilliance.

Are you able to celebrate?

Does that seem like a ridiculous question?

I find many people have a hard time celebrating.

Even when they experience a success, they move right onto the next goal, never allowing themselves to enjoy the celebration.

Why does celebration matter? Why should we get good at it?

We’ll explore celebration today. Come to the party, won’t you?