Grateful for Support

Posted on July 13, 2011 by admin

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 was thinking today about how grateful I was to be surrounded by friends and family members who are so completely supportive of all that I do. People who are just waiting in the wings to lend a helping hand – waiting for me to simply ask so they can swoop in and help take some of the load off of me.

If you’re at all like me, you sometimes forget that your loved ones and support team are there to assist you. I know that I have a tendency to offer support, but I don’t always accept support as easily.

Last week, I wrote about our Sacred Gifts – our unique gifts that we share with the world. Some people truly excel at chipping in and helping just when you need it most. And it really does hurt their feelings if we turn their offer to help down.

So spend some time today thinking about your support system.

Think about who might be able to help you in one area of your life.

Who is great at a certain task that you may not excel at?

Who has offered to help, but you turned them down

because you felt guilty accepting their offer?

Today I am grateful that we don’t have to go it alone.

We are all on this journey together, and we are a community.

We each have wonderful talents and skills that we can offer each other.

And we can also accept help from our loved ones.

We are worth it.

And for that I am grateful.

Do You Like Me?

Posted on July 12, 2011 by admin

We all want to be loved.
We all want to be liked.
We all want to fit in.
We all want to be understood.

We just do.

We are social beings.
We thrive in groups.
We live in tribes.
We have leaders and followers and pecking orders
and those at the top and those at the bottom.

And because of this innate dynamic, we tend to look to each other for support. We frequently look to each other for approval. This is completely normal and completely okay.

We’re not supposed to go it alone on our journey. It’s good to have your tribe surrounding you and supporting you.

It gets tricky though when you stop being yourself because you’re afraid you won’t be liked.

We have to be careful of changing our actions solely because we are seeking approval.

So instead of living your life by asking:
Do you like me?

How about asking:

Do I like me?

If you can approve of yourself first before seeking approval from others, their love will just be icing on the cake.

If you are constantly looking for others to build you up and like you, you’ll be forever looking outside of yourself for love. You will never be content. It will become an addiction, and you will always be looking for your next “approval fix.”

Frequently we don’t even realize that we are seeking approval – especially if we are living our lives on auto pilot – just going through the motions without really thinking about them at all.

When you get dressed in the morning – do you look in the mirror and strut your stuff knowing that you look great? Or do you wait for your loved ones to tell you how great you look before accepting it as truth?

When you write a post, create a product, lose some weight, dance in your recital, show your paintings at an exhibit, etc… do you approve of yourself before the external approval starts coming in?

External love and approval is wonderful. It feels great, and it boosts us up.
Internal approval and love is even more powerful.
It gives you grounding and a foundation.
It gives you life.

If you are wondering if you are an approval junkie, staying conscious of what your motivation is for doing things is a great place to start. Are you doing something because you truly want to and it makes you happy, or are you doing it because you want to be accepted and liked and approved of?

If we love and approve of ourselves, it will truly matter a whole lot less what others think.
And while I’m not saying that it won’t matter at all or shouldn’t matter at all, knowing that you are living your own life will feel so great that you will start to care less and less whether you are approved of.

And we all know that our true friends will accept us no matter what anyway.

So get out there and live your life!
If you want to write, write!
If you want to paint, paint!

If you want to wear spandex, go for it!

If you want to dye your hair, have at it!

Your love and approval is all that truly matters.

Re-evaluating Our Commitments

Posted on June 26, 2011 by admin

When our Commitment Book came out earlier this year, I was excited to put it into action right away. It offers a 4-step plan for achieving your goals and holds you accountable for keeping your word at the same time.

This was definitely an area that I wanted extra support in. I am really great at starting new projects and having many ideas and creative bursts, but I didn’t always follow through with these projects. I wanted to know that when I committed to doing something (however large or small that something was), that I would be confident in knowing that I would follow through, keep my word to myself, and keep my commitment.

When you do something continuously for 30 days, it becomes a habit.

If you start something and keep at it for 10 days and then accidentally forget to do it for a day, simply start again from day one and continue until you get to the 30th day. By then it will be a habit.

I decided to try this out with this blog. I originally committed to writing a post each day for 30 days. I looked forward to building up my own self-trust and knowing without a doubt that when I said I would do something, I would do it.

And I did! I’ve now written one post per day for over four months!

I love writing and sharing and inspiring and connecting and growing with all of you!

And I really feel much better about myself and know that I will continue keeping my word with new commitments.

One of the last parts of our book occurs at the end of the 30 days. You get to re-evaluate your commitment and see if you want to continue doing it. You also get to decide if you want to revise it in any way.

I have given this a lot of thought and have decided to revise my original commitment.

Instead of posting each day, I have decided to post 6 days a week and take Sunday off.

Dan and I have committed to each other that we are going to designate every Sunday as a day for self care and a day to fill up our tanks however we see fit. For me, this means no work, no checklists, no “have tos,” no email, no cleaning, no chores. And I am so excited about this!

This blog focuses on remembering to put ourselves back on our own priority list, which is absolutely essential for a balanced, happy life. So I am taking my own advice and creating some balance in my own life.

So this will be my last Sunday post.
I hope you all take a look at each commitment you have made and be open to re-evaluating them to see if they need to be revised in any way. You’re in the driver’s seat – you get to decide. This is your life, and you are the only one who knows what feels right.

So yay for making commitments, yay for keeping them, and yay for tweaking them until they feel just right!

Permission to Rest

Posted on June 17, 2011 by admin

I just went on an amazing journey – one that I promise to share with you all very soon. And it’s so good to be home where I can process it all, take some much needed time to rest, and just be.

Giving ourselves permission to rest is such an important part of life.

We have all had moments where we push and push and keep at it and keep doing and keep going. When we’re in this chaos, it’s crucial to step back for a moment and recognize that we do have a choice – we can stop for little while and recharge. It’s okay to take a break and take care of ourselves. It’s not only okay – it’s completely necessary.

The world will keep turning. Nothing will fall apart. Everything will be fine.

So please, come on this journey with me today – let’s all give ourselves permission to rest.

We’ll all feel so much better! 🙂

Pushing Distractions Aside

Posted on June 9, 2011 by admin

One of my favorite times of the day is when I sit down to write my blog post. I have some breakfast and sit in front of my computer until a topic comes to me. And then I write.

And sometimes it goes smoothly and effortlessly.

And sometimes life tries to butt in and take over this peaceful space. Usually in my house this happens in the form of cats running through the room (sometimes fighting each other) or crying because they want to have us sit with them while they eat (seriously spoiled). There are so many other potential distractions that can lead me away from this sacred time – my time (e.g., the phone rings, an email pops up, etc.).

When these distractions occur (which they will), it’s good to have a system in place beforehand to recognize them and eliminate them so you can continue with your work.

I write in my office. And usually I have the door open, so the cats can come in and out as they choose. Usually it’s a great system because I love having them here with me. But sometimes they get a bit wild and distracting. When this happens, I simply close the door until I am finished writing.

If the phone rings while I am writing, I don’t answer it. Simple as that. If email popups get distracting, I close my email program.

When you take the control back in your own life and schedule non-negotiable “you time,” you will no longer be at the mercy of all of these distractions. And you’ll feel more empowered and happy that, in this moment, you are putting your needs first, which is crucial for your own happiness. And when you are finished writing, creating, meditating, etc. – then you pick up where the distractions left off. Play with the cats, return the phone calls, answer the emails, etc. They will still be there when you are ready. And you will feel more whole and happy because you took care of yourself.

So practice this today – take some time for you and push aside any distraction that appears during your sacred time. Your soul will thank you for doing this.

P.S. – I would love for you to become a fan of my brand new Facebook page! This is where you will find updates about my new book and anything else that I have on the horizon! You can also follow me on my new Twitter page. Thanks for your support! 🙂

Choosing to Change

Posted on May 18, 2011 by admin

(This was originally posted on 5/12/11. I’m so thankful that it wasn’t lost when Blogger reprogrammed their site. Here it is again!)

Today’s writing prompt comes from Journaling Within: 50 Prompts for Self Exploration:

If you could change one thing about your life,

what would it be?

What I love about this question is that it empowers you to look at the possibilities for your life. It puts you back into the driver’s seat and allows you to create the life that you know you are meant to live.

It’s so easy to shy away from change and think that you couldn’t possibly recreate your circumstances. You may feel that there are just too many external factors working against you, too many reasons why it’s just not a good idea to change.

Maybe it seems too overwhelming and too scary.

Maybe you just don’t feel strong enough to mix things up and break free of the constraints you have put on yourself.

When we take responsibility for our own lives, stop blaming everyone else, and find the strength to change whatever isn’t working – miracles start happening.

If your inner voice is telling you that something needs to change – listen.

If you feel that a part of your life just isn’t working the way you would like it to – act on it.

If your soul isn’t being nurtured and fed in every part of your life – do something about it.

If you are still breathing, you have the power to change.

And yes it can be scary, but that’s how we grow and learn.

And that’s also how we build up our own self worth,

which is the key to true and lasting happiness.

So get out there and start consciously creating the life of your dreams!

Dream It. Act On It. Live It. Enjoy It.

Posted on May 10, 2011 by admin

Have you ever said you were going to do something that you really wanted to do – that you really needed to do for yourself – something that nurtured your spirit and felt so right – and then life got busy, and your declaration of self care turned into a pipe dream – pushed aside for another day?

There is something very sacred about honoring our word to ourselves, especially when it involves self care.

Usually when we dream or say things that seem far fetched, it’s our higher self reminding us that we matter – that our needs are just as important as our loved ones. It’s our inner wisdom letting us know that we can go for our dreams – even if they seem far in the distance at the moment.

Just one action a day will lead you that much closer to realizing your dreams.

I have been feeling an inner pulling for the last several months – my inner voice has been telling me that I need to take time off from production to focus on writing. My higher self has assured me that this is exactly what I need to do – and I feel it with every part of my soul.

This seemed like a distant dream when I first started thinking about it several months ago. Taking a month off to write seemed so luxurious and decadent. And it didn’t help that my worrying self kept popping up to tell me all of the reasons why this may not be a good idea – we make our living from the orders we receive, and if we put a halt on production, how will we live?

And then I remembered why faith is crucial when a dream is so new and fragile.

I remembered that my higher self would not lead me astray.

I remembered that in order to live my ideal life – the life that I was born to live – I would have to take risks and get out of my own way sometimes.

And so it is.

We are taking one month off to write starting on May 18th.

And I’m so excited to see where it leads!

Spend some time today thinking about your own dream.

Have you been pushing it back and not allowing it to blossom?

What is one thing you can do today to take action and lead you closer to making this dream your reality?

Dream it. Act on it. Live it. Enjoy it.

🙂

Self Care at Work

Posted on May 5, 2011 by admin

Today’s post contains a writing prompt from our Journaling Further Within book:

Do you practice self care at work?

What are some things you do

to create a space that nurtures you?

Several years ago, I put together a list for myself – a guideline for practicing self-care at work. I laminated it and posted it where I can see it every day. And while I don’t always follow it, I find that it’s a great reminder.

I thought that it would be helpful to post it here for all of us to take in, post in our workspaces, and begin to practice (myself included).

I definitely can’t take credit for all of these suggestions, but I simply am drawing a blank on the book that a few of them came from. Yikes!

If you have other suggestions for practicing self care at work, please be sure to leave your comment!

Happy balanced working, everyone! 🙂

Sacred Spaces

Posted on April 26, 2011 by admin

Today’s post contains a writing prompt from our Journaling Within book:

Do you have your own sacred space?

If so, describe it.

If not, what can you do to create that space?

Your sacred space is a place you create that’s just for you.

It is a space that best reflects your true essence.

It is a place you go to recharge, relax, and rejuvenate.

It can be an entire room devoted to journaling, reading, and going within.

It can be a small table that you put some of your favorite mementos on.

It can be a comfy chair that invites you to slow down and take time to relax.

It can be a walk in nature where you smell the fresh air and take in all of the beauty.

It can be your bookshelf that is filled with books that are meaningful to you.

It can be a vision board that encompasses all of your dreams and goals.

Take some time today to think about your sacred space.

If you don’t already have a space created,

take some time to reflect on what would best represent you.

And then take one action toward creating this space.

Carving out a space that is just for ourselves is so crucial for our own well being.

And we’re definitely worth it!

P.S. – Thank you so much to all of you who ordered our Soulful Journals over the weekend through the DailyOM website! The numbers are still coming in, and they are WAY beyond what we expected. Wow. We are forever grateful to all of you and can’t wait for you to write in them to continue your journey of self exploration.

photo by DailyOM