Tag Archives: Values

We’re Having Fun Now!

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When you think of having fun what comes to mind?

Typically fun is associated with relaxation and recreation (re-creation). For most people, having fun means being on vacation, perhaps at the beach or on a cruise, or having a drink with friends, or being at a sporting event. Fun is defined by being kicked-back with nothing to do and no responsibilities.

While this kind of re-creation is indeed fun and incredibly important for recharging our positive anabolic batteries, when fun is so narrowly defined, most of life is spent not having fun.

What if you were to broaden and expand your definition of fun? What if you began to include what you’re doing?

Fun is laughing so hard you cry, being with friends and family, and feeling free, but it’s also solving problems, achieving a goal, being engaged in the task at hand, and the satisfaction of a job well done.

Fun is pushing yourself to and past your limits, knowing you gave something your all, reaching out to help another, and shifting how you think about a situation, person, or event.

Fun is pursuing things you’re passionate about, embracing who you truly are, learning from experiences that many might call mistakes, and being aligned with your core values.

Fun is taking responsibility for everything in your life, is quiet moments of meditation and appreciation, and is striving for excellence.

Fun is repairing damaged relationships, admitting when you’re wrong or don’t have all the answers, and is striving to be the best possible version of you.

Fun is taking life as it comes, focusing more on where you are than on your future destination, and making decisions that move you towards your ultimate goal.

Fun is seeing the opportunities in every moment, cultivating a belief that everything is always working out for you, and enjoying the heck out of the ride that is life.

How can you broaden your definition of fun to include what you’re doing? How much does that increase the amount of fun you’re having? How might that impact your life?

Together we can do it!

Photo by worradmu / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What Did You Choose?

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Often people think, “When I lose weight, get a better job, get past this stressful event, have a more supportive partner, etc., then I can be the person I am meant to be.”

But if we spend all of our time waiting for the people, events, and situations of our lives to change, we will always be waiting to take flight, live up to our potential, and live the life of our dreams.

What has to change is you. What has to change is how you think about yourself, what you deserve, and what you are capable of. And the change has to begin right now, right where you are.

What are the values you hold most dear? What is your relationship to All-That-Is (God, Source, the Universe, Higher Coach—whatever works for you)? What are your priorities in life? What are your gifts and talents?

Does being overweight change Who that person is? Does being in a job or situation or relationship that you don’t enjoy?

No matter what you are going through, you are no less valuable as a person.

How well are you showing up in how you wash the dishes? In your employment? In how you relate to a stranger? In how you relate to the person you love the most? Is it consistent? Are you being who you want to be? Are you being Who you truly are?

If not, what small thing can you do today to show up in all aspects of your life as Who you truly are? What difference does that make in your experience? What difference does that make to the people around you?

Use each moment to remember who you truly are, and then choose to be that person.

Together we can do it!

Photo from http://www.sxc.hu/home

What Path Are You On?

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Nobody experiences or sees the world exactly the way that you do. Because every moment of life is new and ever-changing, all of the individual perspectives in the world are constantly changing and being shaped. The person you are in this moment will be slightly different in the next as you take in these words and the environment around you.

Not only are you influenced by outside experiences, but in this moment you can also consciously choose your perspective, thought, and reaction.

The uniqueness of each individual and their journey is one of my favorite things to ponder. But what does it really mean for our day-to-day lives?

One of the things it can do is help you recognize and accept your innate value. You have value because your experiences and how you see the world are slightly different from anyone else on the planet. You add to the greater whole.

But that’s still pretty esoteric. What does it really mean?

It means that you matter. It means that the greatest gift you can give the world is to be the absolute best possible version of you.

So often, people get caught up in their lives and doing and caring for others that they forget Who they are. They don’t take time to think about what makes them tick? What are their values? What do they enjoy? What’s important to them? How do they want to spend their time? Who do they want to spend time with?

Instead of consciously choosing your path, you may be buffeted along in the hubbub of day-to-day life until you wake up one day and realize you don’t like where you are and that you no longer know the answers to those questions. It’s typically not a pleasant day.

You can also lose sight of Who you are by constantly comparing yourself to other people. If gazing over at someone else’s experience is inspiring, that’s great! Keep doing it. But more often than not, people use the life of another to judge or criticize themselves, their contributions and progress, and their value. You are never going to be able to authentically live another’s life, and trying to do so never feels good.

Other than being somewhat unpleasant, neither of these paths is “bad” or “wrong.” They will still help you create the irreplaceable you, and ultimately taking the scenic route can be very fulfilling.

It’s just that focusing on being the best possible version of you throughout your journey can be a lot more fun and robust. It like catching a wave and riding it into shore versus paddling the whole way.

What does being the best possible version of you mean? Who is that person? What small step can you take today towards being that person?

Together we can do it!

 

Photo by Tina Phillips / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How Do You Want to Respond?

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Woo hoo! Yesterday I had an immediate negative catabolic reaction to a situation!

Why is that something to celebrate? Because it lets me know where I have some inaccurate thinking going on that does not align with Who I truly am. By recognizing it for what it is, I now have the opportunity to shift my thoughts, feelings, and beliefs so that the next time I am in a similar situation I can choose to respond instead of react.

Each time we align a little more closely with Who we really are, we are happier, more joyful, have more fun, laugh more, stay more relaxed, and love more. In other words, the more we master our thoughts and reactions, the better our life gets.

Typically, that sort of instant negative reaction is due to how you interpret the situation—quite possibly inaccurately. This is one of the big blocks to creating the life of your dreams.

When you catch yourself jumping to a conclusion that shoots your blood pressure up, the best thing to do is Stop! Don’t take any action.

Unfortunately, I had a colleague call right at the moment of ignition and I spewed negative energy into his ear. Not the gift I was intending! Fortunately, when I called back to apologize, he was very understanding, but speaking from experience, it’s much better to avoid that in the first place.

When you can successfully hit the pause button, take a moment to breathe. When you feel yourself calm down a little, ask yourself, “What just caused that reaction?”

For me, some of my core values are connecting to others, creativity, and freedom. I had two situations in two days that I interpreted as challenging those values.

The next question to ask yourself is, “What is really going on here?” or “What’s another way to interpret the situation?”

In my case, I think we’re all getting caught up in the stress of some deadlines, which is leading to miscommunication. And boy do I know I have some issues around deadlines.

How can I react differently in the future?

I will cut my colleagues some slack and recognize that they are doing the absolute best that they can in the situation. I will seek to clarify the situation, and to improve my level of communication. And I will remember the Foundation Principle that “There Are No Mistakes,” take a moment to reconnect with Source (God, the Universe, All-That-Is, Higher Coach, whatever works for you), and remember that everything is always working out for me.

The next time you have an instant negative reaction, how can you let it be an “aha” moment reminding you to stop, breathe, and examine your underlying thoughts and interpretations? What can you plan to do differently so the next time it happens, you show up more as Who you truly are?

Together we can do it!

Photo by foto76 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Shift That Thought

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“I don’t really like vegetables.”

Until recently, this was a thought that I believed to be true. I had lots of evidence. Over my lifetime there has been a veritable trail of vegetables that I had eaten and thought, “Blagh.”

My New Year’s resolution to improve my nutrition meant more fruits and vegetables. The fruit I was down with. Heck, I even adore some of the summer vegetables. But January? As far as I was concerned, January is the peak of the winter-vegetable doldrums.

When I shared my goals for 2012 with my Life Coach (yes, us coaches have coaches because we know the power of coaching!), I boldly stated my limiting belief about vegetables. She asked me a key question that helped me shift my perspective about vegetables just enough that I was able to see a path around this obstacle.

Her brilliant question was, “How could you make eating vegetables more fun?”

I determined that I could look for some new recipes. And I also could push past another limiting belief I had about drinking anything green and add some spinach to my protein shakes.

It turns out that I love vegetables! I especially love my Green Protein Shakes. Who knew that spinach, banana, vanilla protein powder, and cinnamon could taste so good? (Well, I guess lots of people did, but I had to overcome that limiting belief myself.)

How often do we limit ourselves because of an opinion, judgment, thought, idea, or past experience that we just assume is true?

For instance, how many of you have ever heard, “You have to clean your plate because there are starving children somewhere in the world?”

Do you think that’s a limiting belief?

How true is it that your cleaning your plate is going to benefit any of those starving children?

How can that belief actually be harmful to you?

  • Cleaning your plate teaches you to disregard your body’s guidance that it’s had enough.
  • Eating too much food is at the heart of being overweight, which has serious health consequences.
  • People are often concerned about wasting food. Extra food will either go to waste in the garbage or will go to waste in your body. You can either waste it, or you waist it.
  • It contributes to a lack mentality. The feeling that “there isn’t enough so I have to eat more than I need.”

A lot of times, helping people see the flaws in their thinking is enough to help them move beyond it. But changing a long-standing belief system can impact underlying values.

If you’re upset by the idea of not cleaning your plate, what are the values you have that may be being challenged?

  • If it’s wanting to help those in need, what would be a more constructive action than cleaning your plate? Maybe donating to charities that feed the poor?
  • If the value is being sustainable, maybe you’ll want to start a composting system?
  • If it’s really just fear or lack, then maybe you have some work to do about trusting the abundance of the Universe?

Whenever you notice a thought that is holding you back in any way, ask yourself if that thought is still true. Unless it is a Universal Truth—a thought that is true no matter what, no matter who, and no matter when—what is it that you need to do to shift it?

All it takes is challenging those limiting beliefs just enough so that doors open, paths unfold, and obstacles disappear.

Together we can do it!

Photo by Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Find Your Purpose

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“What is my purpose in life?”

I get that question a lot from clients. Inevitably, they’re searching for What they should be doing.

The more important question to ask yourself is, “Who are you?”

What are your core values? What makes you tick? What are your beliefs? Who do you want to show up as, and how closely are you showing up as that person? How are you connected to the Creator of All-That-Is?

When we have a clear picture of Who we are, we then find clarity in figuring out What our passions are and What we want to spend our time and energy on.

This is because your true purpose in life is to be the absolute best possible version of you!

There’s a reason that no one else on the planet has had the exact same experiences you’ve had, or sees the world in exactly the same way as you do. It is our diversity, not our sameness that makes us special.

The song that you sing on the planet and in the Universe is absolutely unique. Your tune is beautiful on its own, and adds to the greater symphony of life.

But it is only by allowing yourself to wholly produce your special melody that you are fulfilling your reason for being on this planet.

How can you shift your thoughts from What you should be doing, and start paying more attention to Who you really are? How can you start showing up as the bigger and brighter version of you? What difference do you think that would make in the world?

Together we can do it!

 

Photo by nuttakit / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

What Do You Value?

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What are your core values? Do you live your life by them? Do you base your decisions on them? Do they provide the direction for your life? Do you show up every day with the intention of expressing them?

For most people the answer is not only “No,” but they’ve never even thought about it. While I have always strived to be a “good” person, it wasn’t until recently that I really evaluated which values are at the center of who I am.

My core values are spirituality, integrity, joy, connecting to others, creativity, and freedom. Yours are likely different, and are based on your life experiences and understanding. No one’s core values should be judged as “right” or “wrong.” They are part of what makes us unique and help create our individual perspective. And our individuality is a very good thing!

Identifying your core values increases your mindfulness. Evaluating them can help you determine what value you were expressing during a time when life was really good, and can provide clarity to past upsetting experiences when you understand what value was being challenged. And you can pinpoint where you are compromising your values, and why.

Because integrity is prominent in my core values, yesterday I made lists of where I am in integrity with myself and where I’m not.

What I can celebrate was that the first list was way longer than the second. But the list of where I am not living in integrity with myself was enlightening. As I contemplated it, one of the things I noticed was that seemingly disparate areas were actually related. For instance, I uncovered a lingering fear about money that I can now tie back to stress eating. Aha!

Just having that awareness has brought me incredible clarity and has released some catabolic or negative energy for which I couldn’t otherwise figure out the cause.

When we guide our lives by the bigger picture of who we are, the navigation gets a whole lot easier.

What are the values and principles you live by? Who are you at your core? How could identifying those specifics change your life?

Together we can do it!

 

 

Throw Away Your To-Do List

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I woke up late this morning. It’s pretty clear to me that my body is letting me know that after about a month of going flat-out it’s time for some rest. This is time I plan to give myself—this weekend.

In the mean time, what do I do with this day that’s already off schedule?

Stick to Priorities

It is particularly important on days when things aren’t going as planned to let go of the things that aren’t a priority.

Think about what’s really important right now. You can do this by prioritizing what’s coming up in your schedule next, by making a list and ranking items in order of importance and urgency, or digging deeper and ranking things by your internal values so you can really tap into your inner motivation.

For me, I do a mix of all of these. My values include making my connection with my Higher Self my number one priority and maintaining my self-care so that I have the physical energy to make the most of my day.

So even though I had half my usual time, my first priorities were getting in a short meditation, and then doing a short workout afterwards. Was it the best meditation and workout I’ve ever had? No. Do I feel more centered and energized? You better believe it!

Having met my top priorities based on my personal values, now I can look at my to-do list. What really has to get done today? What are the things I would like to get to if I have the time and energy? What are the things I can reschedule? What are the things I just need to let go of?

Let’s just say that housework will not be at the top of my agenda today. Although my husband might argue it’s never at the top of my agenda!

Look for Opportunities

We are often so scheduled and planned in our lives that we don’t allow the Universe to lead us to the opportunities that might fulfill us at a deeper and more profound level, or truly move us forward to who we are and what we want. My schedule going kablooie is my signal to let go of control and look for meaningful encounters or experiences.

If you’re focused on your priorities and still get interrupted or side-tracked, throw away your to-do list. Do your best to go with the flow, keeping your eyes and mind open to the gifts that are coming your way.

Gifts don’t always have to be fun (in the moment) to be meaningful. Sometime the biggest gift is recognizing that the things we mark off on our to-do list do not equal our value as a person.

And even if your day is going as planned, look for the gifts that are coming your way.

Together we can do it!