Category Archives: personal growth

Grateful for Authenticity

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It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time to write a post about gratitude! 

Feel free to click here (or below) to learn more about our Gratitude Project. 
Okay – now for today’s post:
I had the amazing opportunity yesterday to attend a wonderful telesummit focused on helping women entrepreneurs practice self care and put themselves back on their own priority lists. 
put together by the amazing life coach, Susan Liddy.
Susan worked her magic and found 24 inspiring women in many different fields – each offering advice and strategies to help us feel energized and taken care of as we continue to run our businesses. 
I can’t wait to attend future events!
I am so grateful for Susan and her ability to be completely authentic. 
She tells her true story, which can be a vulnerable place. I admire anyone who can talk about not only the wonderful highs of owning your own business, but also be realistic and talk about the lows that can come as a result of working for yourself. 
She recently was working so hard and such long hours that her adrenal glands stopped working correctly. She has since begun to really evaluate her life and take steps to truly take care of herself and her body. 
I am in a very similar place, and so her story really resonated with me.
Running your own business can be a slippery slope. You can lose perspective and start having a hard time recognizing what is work and what isn’t. It starts to seem natural and normal to think about work all of the time, to not have balance, and to keep pushing yourself to achieve your goals. 
I was feeling really tired and burned out a few months ago, and so I went to a nutritionist. It turns out that (among other things), my adrenals were completely shot. I had been keeping crazy hours, stressing out, and overworking for so many years that they just didn’t have anything left to give.
So I stopped.
And I took some time to reevaluate my life.
And I came up with a plan to create a life that was authentically me, calmer, and balanced. 
And while I am still in the midst of all of this soul searching, 
I am excited to see what the future holds. 
Having people like Susan share their similar stories is a gift that I am so grateful for. 
Having the courage to put your authentic self out into the world is so inspiring. 
So thank you, Susan, for being authentically you – honest, caring, and forthright about your experience. I am inspired and know that you are helping so many women who are in similar positions. I am truly grateful that our paths have crossed.
If you are also a FEMpreneur and could use a little pick-me up, you can still join the telesummit – and it’s completely free! 
It’s never too late to start practicing self care. 
And it’s never to late to start living your authentic life.

Embracing the Good

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I love choosing one of our Soulful Journals and randomly picking a writing prompt.
Today’s question comes from our Journaling Further Within book:
When something good comes your way, 
are you able to embrace it or do you sabotage it? 
If you do sabotage yourself, can you think of why you might be doing
that and what you can do to change?
Why Sabotage Yourself?
You might be wondering why we would ever sabotage ourselves from receiving something good into our lives. 

It could be for a number of reasons:
Maybe you were comfortable with how things were going in your life. 
Maybe the unknown is scary – even if you know that the unknown is a good thing.
Maybe you feel that you aren’t really worthy of this good news or good fortune.
Maybe you are afraid that now you will have no excuses – nothing is standing in the way between you and your own happiness. 
Maybe you are waiting for the bubble to burst or the other shoe to drop. 
Maybe you think that something this good definitely couldn’t truly happen to you,  
and you wait for it to go away.
The Right Emotion at the Right Time
It’s okay to not be completely ecstatic when good news appears in your life. 
It’s okay to take some time to take it all in.
It’s okay to sit with it until you understand the ramifications of how it will change your life.
It’s okay to notice any feelings of fear, anxiety, or uncertainness that surface. 
It’s okay to be in whatever emotional state that you are in. 
As long as you are aware of your emotions and are able to delve into why you are feeling the way you are, you’ll come to see that any reaction to any circumstance is just right.
Embracing the Good
By truly believing that you are worth all of the good fortune that you are receiving, you will open yourself up and be able to embrace all of the wonderful things that come your way. 
Hopefully after spending some time calming down your own saboteur and building up your self esteem, you will come to realize that you truly deserve happiness.
You can start to embrace all of the good that enters your life!
You’re worth it! 🙂

Tax-Time Reflection

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It’s that time of year, isn’t it?
For the last few years, we’ve passed along our taxes to an accountant. But this year, we are putting ourselves back on the priority list, eating healthier, and saving for a Vitamix! 
The money that we’ll save by not paying for an accountant is more than enough to pay for this amazing blender. I can’t wait to start making yummy juices, soups, and sorbets!
I’m keeping that goal in mind as I tackle the tedious task of compiling everything and figuring it all out. Having a home business really adds to the complexity, and I will be so happy when we file them and don’t have to think about taxes for another year.
Yesterday, going through the mound of paperwork and expenses took me right back to last year. I couldn’t help but reflect upon where I was then – and was so thankful at how different and better my life is now. 
Here are a few things that I realized:
My work/life balance was pretty much nonexistent. Almost every expense is work-related, and almost everything we made went right back into our business. And while I realized this and have begun to make drastic changes in my life to make sure this is no longer the case, it’s still a wake up call to see it in black and white.
We had a really rough year filled with transition, loss, and lots of change. And it’s so nice to see that where I am now is so much closer to my true path than where I was a year ago or even six months ago. My actual life is getting closer and closer to my ideal life – whew! 
We saved three cows (with the help of over 100 people)! I am so happy that they are living normal cow lives just a few miles away from us. 
We learned a lot of life lessons that will stay with us forever. We began to truly take responsibility for our lives.
As you are going through your taxes this year and the seemingly endless pile of paperwork, take some time to reflect on the stories behind the numbers. 

How has your life changed from then to now? 

What have you learned since then?

What feelings does going back in time bring up for you? 
Turning a not-so-fun task into one of learning and self reflection can be eye opening and truly wonderful. 
Give it a try! 🙂

Saturday Selection – The Highly Sensitive Person Book and Workbook

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As I sat down to write about this week’s selection, I was thinking over different possibilities, and one book kept coming to the forefront of my mind. It’s a book that I read several years ago that had a big impact on my life. And I’ve noticed that it’s been mentioned in several blogs that I read recently, so I thought it would be a great time to recommend it here. 
It’s called:
I have been sensitive all of my life – and while I have always embraced this side of myself, this book also helped me to understand my own sensitivity better. It helped me realize that it’s not just about emotions but also about how we take in stimuli and how our nervous systems are wired.
While you most likely are already aware if you are a highly sensitive person, here is a test just to check in and see where you fit on the spectrum:
Here is the summary from the author’s website:

In her national bestseller, The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You, author Elaine Aron defines a distinct personality trait that affects as many as one out of every five people. According to Dr. Aron’s definition, the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) has a sensitive nervous system, is aware of subtleties in his/her surroundings, and is more easily overwhelmed when in a highly stimulating environment. 


In defining the Highly Sensitive Person, Dr. Aron provides examples of characteristic behaviors, and these are reflected in the questions she typically asks patients or interview subjects:

  • Are you easily overwhelmed by such things as bright lights, strong smells, coarse fabrics, or sirens nearby?
  • Do you get rattled when you have a lot to do in a short amount of time?
  • Do you make a point of avoiding violent movies and TV shows?
  • Do you need to withdraw during busy days, into bed or a darkened room or some other place where you can have privacy and relief from the situation?
  • Do you make it a high priority to arrange your life to avoid upsetting or overwhelming situations?
  • Do you notice or enjoy delicate or fine scents, tastes, sounds, or works of art?
  • Do you have a rich and complex inner life?
  • When you were a child, did your parents or teachers see you as sensitive or shy?
Sensitivity is anything but a flaw. Many HSPs are often unusually creative and productive workers, attentive and thoughtful partners, and intellectually gifted individuals. According to Dr. Aron, HSPs could contribute much more to society if they received the right kind of attention – and her national bestseller proves that this 15 to 20 percent of the population is eager to get off on the right foot in asserting their unique personality trait.

The book is well written and filled with helpful information about understanding what it’s like to see the world through a lens of heightened sensitivity. It gives practical tips and wonderful techniques to help HSPs create a happy, full life.
There is also a companion workbook available for those who want to dig a little deeper. 
It’s not always easy being highly sensitive, and this book is a great tool to help guide you through a life filled with heightened awareness. 
If you are a sensitive person, I hope you are able to embrace this part of yourself and realize that it’s truly a gift that you can cherish and nurture forever. And by reading this book, you will better understand what you already knew – that you are special and that your sensitivity is amazing. 

The Passing of Energy

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I was reading last night about how energy is contagious – just like the common cold. 
And while we take many precautions to protect ourselves from getting sick when we come in contact with others (such as washing our hands), we don’t always take precautions to protect ourselves from taking on other people’s energy. 
And this passing along of energy works in both ways – positive and negative. 
The Passing of Energy
Example 1:
Imagine that you have plans to spend the day with your best friend, but you really just aren’t in the mood to go because you have been feeling pretty down. You decide to go anyway and just by being around your positive, bubbly, fun friend – you start to feel better. You start to forget why you felt down in the first place. You go home feeling energized, happy, and full of life.
Example 2:
Now imagine that you were in a wonderful mood when you went to work this morning. You ate a hearty breakfast, your favorite song was playing on the radio, you parked in the closest parking space, the sun was shining when you walked into your office. All signs pointed to it being a great day!
And just as you sat down at your desk, a coworker with a dark cloud over their head approached you and started going into all of the reasons why their life is so terrible. Their relationship is on the rocks, they don’t feel well, they hate their job, they hate sunny days, they can’t stand their life. And they go on and on until the boss walks in at which point they go back to their desk. 
And you sit at your desk and feel like you were just hit by a truck. The great mood that you were in just a few minutes ago feels so far away. You just feel crappy and wish you hadn’t even had come into work today. 
Energy is contagious. But just like we protect ourselves from getting sick, we can also protect ourselves from taking on other people’s energy.
Many years ago I was introduced to a wonderful concept that truly helps me in my everyday life. It’s so simple but also so effective, especially for those of us who are especially sensitive to all of the energy around us.
Before you go out into the world each day, 
surround yourself with an imaginary protective shield. 
This shield protects you from taking on other people’s energy. Continue to imagine this protection throughout your day – especially when you come in contact with someone with a toxic energy. (You’ll feel it and sense it immediately.) 
Because you have this shield up, you will only let in the energy that feels right for you. You will also be able to differentiate between what is your energy and what is someone else’s that you have accidentally taken on. 
When I was just learning about this concept and testing it out, a friend of mine came over for a few minutes. She mentioned that she had a headache and was starting to feel sick. Right after she left, I couldn’t seem to shake a headache and sore throat. I told myself that I had taken on her energy and it didn’t serve me at all. There was no reason for me to be feeling this way. The moment I recognized that it wasn’t mine, it went away. 
I am now extra careful about putting up my shield whenever I am going to be around people – especially a large group. 
It has worked wonders for me, and I think it will for you as well.