While we joke that each day can feel like groundhog’s day, I invite you to slow down and start noticing how different each day truly is. Starting picking up on subtleties you have not seen or experienced before. I think you may be surprised how different each moment truly is and how different you are in each moment. Slow down and be with you.

Let’s make a new golden rule. One that serves others and us! Be kind, treat people with love.

What I needed most, and still do, is myself. Self love, compassion and grace. As long as I am happy with the effort I am putting into things – life – that’s the only judge I need. My decisions on matters and how I show up for myself are rooted in love, not fear. I’m so over fear ruling my life. A piece of advice, if you’ll read it: First, ask yourself if you’re happy with how you handled a situation or processed a challenging time. If the answer is yes, then be proud and celebrate your growth. If the answer is no, it’s time to explore why.

Superficial relationships are abundant. These deep, raw, authentic relationships are what make life unique and beautiful. It starts with us, though. Showing up as ourselves, unapologetically. Living in our values, unapologetically.

Understanding how we’re feeling and why is the starting point to determining our next steps. This is our life to live so why not make it manageable and, dare I say, fabulous!

Interested in evolving? I can help! Book a free call today and see what coaching can do for you.

What are your values? What’s the price for your values? Adaptation is important but at what cost?

We all need a chance to get back to our baseline after the holiday. Once we’re re-settled we can entertain change and evolution.

I have several more intentions that are important to me as I head into 2024. They’re guideposts for how I’d like to evolve throughout the year. Every so often, throughout the year, I check in on my list and see if those intentions are still in alignment with my life and values. Sometimes they shift slightly or take on a whole new meaning, but they remain in some form. If you’re thinking of doing an intentions list, my advice is to dig deeper than a typical New Year’s resolution. What’s going to change the course of your happiness, reduce the pressure, allow you to be more present or return to your values in 2024?

This time of year that is fueled by expectations of go-go-go, do-do-do, buy-buy-buy and, if you’re like me, trying to do it as perfectly as possible. A recipe for a volcanic eruption and the opposite of what we’re trying to do for ourselves and our families during this magical time of year. Ugh, so what to do.

SELF-CARE, COMPASSION & CURIOSITY

Children learn to regulate through us, as parents, first. My job as a parent DOES include more than keeping them alive :) So if I’m unable to do this for myself, how will my children learn? They won’t. Instead, they’ll learn other poor coping mechanisms that will not serve them for their lifetime and

The ebb and flow of life will not change. How big is my basket that holds all of the curveballs, hardships and disappointments that life tosses my way? Is my basket big enough to hold everything? If it’s not big enough, then I go back to basics and try to rebuild it.

The key here is that we can choose to be a little more curious when we’re furious or judging someone. And, the same thing goes for us when we find ourselves with that negative, abusive self-talk. Notice it. Pause. Get Curious. Learn something about yourself or others. Most of all, use your energy for something positive, or at the least, not on something negative.

So the question I have is, “Are we curious enough?”. If I’m harboring ill feelings about someone or something and take a moment to get still and ask the question “Why?”, it’s a very pivotal point for our own wellbeing and evolution.

Change is hard regardless of what is shifting. A behavior, belief, pattern, exercise, eating, reading, learning, etc. Oftentimes, the anticipation of change peaks our worry and/or our unrealistic expectations. It’s important to create space for mishaps so that your day doesn’t crumble when something goes wrong. The space I’m referring to is space within ourselves to hold the heavy day-to-day grind, challenges, frustrations and busyness.

Stress from burnout, wherever it’s coming from, takes a toll on the body physically. The body is trying to keep up with the stress and as a result, our hormones, cortisol and adrenaline get completely out of whack. So what’s the balance? That, my friends, is the million dollar question AND the most unique question of all. There is no correct answer AND it changes day to day. This is why it’s so important to be in tune with yourself, listen to your body – the alarms and subtle signs – and respond in a loving way toward yourself.

The workshops are all about self development and discovery – exploring beliefs, imposter syndrome, self compassion and care. When we show up for work, we sometimes put on our work mask. In these workshops, I’m teaching people about thoughts, beliefs, responses and patterns that can be mostly unconscious for them, so it ends up being very eye-opening. It also creates a space for folks to feel like they’re not alone in these areas. I’m normalizing human existence within a work environment, how neat! People are feeling less alone with struggles and more empowered to care for themselves throughout the workday.

My eating disorder grows different kinds of legs and morphs into new ways of disordered eating and thought patterns. I was originally diagnosed with anorexia at 19, and since then I have had many forms of disordered eating and thinking. While I’m no longer 90 lbs (now, a more “normal weight”), my thoughts, fears and tendencies for disordered eating have run rampant over the years.

There is no right or wrong way to deal with a really hard situation. Seriously. What refuels, validates and makes someone else happy may be a completely different formula for us.

Speak to yourself the way you would a friend of yours, in this situation. Take care of you the way you would a friend of yours, in this situation. Start with compassion for you.

I feel grounded in my marriage, our commitment to one another and, also, to our kids. I feel extreme gratitude to be where I am today - physically, mentally and spiritually. It’s a feeling I didn’t know was possible for decades as I gripped the fears, expectations and societal norms so tightly that I lost the grip on myself. I lost the meaning of my life, consumed with shoulds and coulds and don’ts and dos…I’m happy to be where I am today. The weight is there, it's just feathers instead of stone. At least for this moment.

This is the great thing about coaching and how I help clients on their journeys. Big complicated thing = many small less complicated things. When we start to make small changes, whether in behavior or thought patterns we’re rewiring our brains. If we’ve done something one way most of our life and we change a part of that process we’re basically proving to our brains that there is, indeed, another way.