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Give Yourself Some Slack

5/31/2022

In our American culture, we are taught to go, go, go. We are trained to strive and chase and run around on the hamster wheel of life. We are not conditioned to be still, to give ourselves some slack, to rest, to reflect, to ponder, to dream. It's in the dreams and the "what ifs" that I find my continued motivation. Once I stopped listening to others, to society, to fear, and put faith in listening to my heart instead life became easier.

What I have found is that as I exercise self-compassion and forgiveness and "give myself some slack" it actually frees me to be more and do more. I've found that as I'm not so tightly gripped by fear ... fear of failure, fear of being judged, fear of not being enough ... as I release myself from beating myself up I have more energy to be brave and courageous and move forward to meet my potential. It takes energy to live in the space of fear, telling ourselves stories that we play over and over again in our minds.

As I work toward surrender and faith, I have also found that I don't need to push myself so hard. Things flow better. I pay attention to what is put before me, have faith that it's meant for me, be brave and take small steps forward with the knowingness that I will be supported and that the next step will present itself to me. Pay attention to the assignments and then show up for them with faith.

Don't be afraid to take risks, to fail, to experience, but also to rest and relax and offer yourself compassion because your worth is not on the line every day. You can't do anything that will take God's love away and you can't do anything to earn more, it is just there unconditionally always. We are all perfectly and beautifully imperfect.

You have freedom to not have to prove your worthiness. Freedom to not be perfect. Freedom to experience life and make mistakes. Freedom to give yourself some slack. Freedom to refill your cup when needed before moving on. Freedom to offer yourself compassion and forgiveness.

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Our Limiting Beliefs Create Roadblocks

5/24/2022

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One of the biggest roadblocks is our limiting beliefs. Beliefs are thought patterns that we learned as a child and repeat throughout our lives until we believe them to be true. Some of these beliefs work well for us, but others are limiting and keep us from reaching our full potential.

These roadblocks impact all areas of our lives. They can keep us from achieving success within our personal growth and development, relationships, health & wellness, sense of happiness and joy, spiritual growth and connection, business or career, finances, as well as our capacity to serve others.

These limiting beliefs could be about ourselves, others, or about the world. They pull us down instead of lift us up; throw up roadblocks instead of allow us to move forward; disempower instead of empower and make us feel less than instead of more than enough.

They are the voices and thoughts in our head that convince us that we can’t be, do or have something. They keep us from thriving, being the best version of ourselves, accomplishing our goals and whatever we desire from life. Struggle and angst in life are typically an indication that limiting beliefs are at work.

Awareness creates opportunity for change. Letting go of limiting beliefs that don’t serve you and adopting enlightened beliefs will empower you to make your mission, goals, hopes and dreams a reality.

Consider how much better your life would be if you stopped believing in something that is not supported by evidence. Most success and happiness exists just on the other side of a negative, limiting belief. The lies floating around in your head have been limiting you throughout your life. The power and positive effects of knowing and believing the truth can set you free. Reversing limiting beliefs is not only possible, it is powerful.

My sister, Kathy, and I have created a program called Mission Possible. This program systematically challenges these roadblocks and steps you through the process of cultivating new more empowered belief systems that will help you achieve the life you desire. Our Mission Possible program will lead you through crafting your own unique Mission, identifying your Great Devotion Pillars, pinpointing your Limiting Beliefs associated with each of those pillars, and give you strategies for Cultivating Empowering Beliefs.

Our hope is that this program will strip away the hurdles that keep you from living the life of your dreams and guide you to thrive and gain success in all areas of your life. Reach out to me if you would like to learn more.

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Don't Let Yourself Get To The 'But'

5/17/2022

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Do you have dreams and passions that you are ignoring? Maybe you're convincing yourself that you can't possibly do it. Does that little voice in your head give you all kinds of "buts", all kinds of reasons for why you can't possibly do what you are dreaming of doing? Things like:

-but, I'm too old.
-but, I'm too young.
-but, I don't know enough.
-but, It's already been done.
-but, I don't know the right people.
-but, there are people who do it better than me.
-but, no one will listen to me.

Most times, it doesn't even take an outside critic to dissuade us from accomplishing our dreams, usually we take care of it ourselves with the critic inside our head. Our own fears, self-doubt and negative self-talk keep us paralyzed from living out our dreams. Flipping the switch and stopping ourselves from engaging in unproductive self-talk is important. Flip the switch to an affirmation like, "I am enough", "I am courageous", "I am brave", "I am strong", "I am confident", etc. will help to curb your fears.

Our belief system is also super important to whether or not we choose to go after our dreams, it either helps us to believe that our dream is possible, or it helps us to believe that it's impossible. Our belief system is mostly derived from what we have experienced to be true based on the examples in our own life. If you've seen, heard, or read examples of people who have done something the same, or similar to what you are hoping to accomplish, then you will typically believe that it's possible for you to accomplish it as well. This is a huge hurdle in overcoming our fears and self-doubt.

So what can we do to help ourselves believe it to be possible? One key step is to surround yourself with as many examples as possible of others who have accomplished something similar. Read books, watch videos, talk to people, interview people, find out as much as you can about how they did what they did.

Next, write down your dream, or your goal and the next small step to making it happen. Don't get overwhelmed, just write down what the next small step would be in the direction of achieving the goal. There is so much power in writing it down and breaking it down into manageable steps. Small baby steps that will move you in the direction of achieving the dream. We more easily convince ourselves to take small baby steps. Once you obtain some movement, you get off square one, it'll be a little easier to keep taking the next small step and the next small step.

Don't wait until you've achieved what you think is the perfect amount of knowledge, or skill, or experience to begin going after your dream, if you do chances are that you'll never feel good enough or "perfect "enough. Experts did not start out being experts, they started out as beginners, as apprentices and they became experts. What if we just get started and learn more as we go, become experts along the way? What if we just started where we are and go from there? At a certain point, let good enough be your rule.

Steve Harvey said in an interview, "Surround yourself with dreamers. Surround yourself with like-minded people. Stop telling your dreams to small-minded people." Keep around you people who love and support you and your dreams. People who challenge you to be all that you can be and more. People who will encourage you even when you may fail. People who are also dreamers and who are aspiring to lead an extraordinary life. Live BIG, live interesting, live extraordinary, create magic. Why not? The world needs ordinary people leading extraordinary lives

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Imagination Is Everything

5/9/2022

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Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, "Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions." What an awesome quote, because you are always creating in your life, either intentionally or unintentionally. Where your attention goes, energy flows. What you give attention to you are bringing to life, so why not use your imagination and its creative power to bring your dreams to life?

Steve Harvey often says, "Everything God wants you to have he puts it in your imagination." This is another cool way to view how our imagination can open us up to the possibilities that are available to us in our life. We can use our imagination to tap into our dreams and create a vision for our life.

One easy way to begin to ignite and tap into your imagination is through practicing wonder. Sonia Choquette states in her book, Trust Your Vibes At Work, and Let Them Work for You, "The minute you turn your awareness over to that wonder, your mind steps aside and your intuition becomes activated. Wondering invites invention, adventure, and exploration of things to come. It shifts you out of defense and self-preservation and into creativity and collaboration with your higher self. Often we are too busy trying to figure things out to allow ourselves the opportunity to wonder. Yet wondering taps into our right brain (the creative side) and explores new possibilities and unknown variables, while figuring things out taps into our left brain (the logical side) and draws from past experiences and known variables. Solutions arise from within, but we rarely think to look there, being conditioned to seek outwardly from others instead."

Wonder on paper, wonder out loud, wonder with a trusted friend, have fun and wonder. The creative, intuitive mind is a playful mind, so stretch your imagination muscles like you did when you were a child.

An exercise I love that helps me to tap into my imagination is to play the "imagine if" or "what if" game. When playing the "imagine if" and "what if" game there are no limitations, no rules, no restrictions, no logic. You get to freely create using your imagination what you would like life to look like. You can play this game on your own through visualizing, journaling, drawing or speaking it out loud. It's a great game to play while driving.

My favorite way to play the "what if" game is with a trusted friend or family member. The synergy that is created by the amplified energy of two or more people engaging their imaginations can bring forth the really juicy stuff!

Use your imagination to tap into your dreams. Create the vision and then talk about the vision more than you talk about what you don't want in life. Give it energy, pay it attention. Remember ... where your attention goes, energy flows. What you give attention to you are bringing to life. Talk about the possibility, even if you don't know how to get there. Talk to the vision and then after a while you will be talking from it.

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Most Of Today's Problems Were Yesterday's Dreams

5/2/2022

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Most of today's problems were yesterday's dreams ... I'm not sure anymore where I heard that phrase, but it stuck with me. If you think about it, a lot of what we might complain about as being problematic, annoying, or frustrating are things that we once wished for and dreamed of having in our lives.

Here are some examples:

I dream of having a job where I feel needed and can earn a living.
I dream of being married.
I dream of having a house.
I dream of having children and a family.
I dream of having a car.
I dream of making a difference in the world.

Fast-forward a few years and you now have a job where you are needed, a home, a spouse, kids, a car, whatever those dreams were for you. What can easily happen is our daily complaining centers around caring for the things that we once dreamt of having in our lives :) Yep, I'm guilty of this too.

It can be easy to whine and complain about transporting kids to activities, doing yard work, the mounds of laundry and the pile of dishes, taking the car in for an oil change, going to work, volunteering, etc. The very things that we once upon a time dreamt of having in our life.

It's not that the reality isn't sometimes overwhelming, but what I've personally found is that the "reality" is really that problematic. Sure there are real struggles, challenges and suffering in life and I'm not trying to diminish or sweep them under the rug. However, it can be pretty easy to become fixated on the grind of life versus celebrating the beauty and richness of life and all that we have within it. This is where a gratitude practice is really helpful. It gives us perspective. It keeps our brains in check.

Instead of focusing on our complaints, we can be grateful for having a reliable vehicle that takes us where we need to go, having a washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, and running water to make our daily tasks so very much easier. Cherishing the loved ones in our lives and that we have things to care for and love and support. Celebrating and focusing our brains on the fabulous gifts, the dreams that became reality, and the amazing modern technology that helps us get things done with ease.

Remembering that most of today's problems were yesterday's dreams helps me keep perspective and appreciative. Creating a pause where I can remember … lucky me I wished for that, I dreamt of it, I worked hard for it, I am so grateful to have a life full of yesterday's dreams!

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Give Yourself Some Slack

Our Limiting Beliefs Create Roadblocks

Don't Let Yourself Get To The 'But'

Imagination Is Everything

Most Of Today's Problems Were Yesterday's Dreams

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