How quickly do you adapt to the heatwaves in your life?  Is it many days of talking about how hot and uncomfortable it is, or do you just make the necessary changes to  make things flow smoothly?  Do you make things harder on yourself by fighting what is, or do you decide to adapt and figure out how to make it work for you.  You can see that a heatwave can represent any period of change and/or uncomfortableness in your life.

What can you do to increase your purpose and intention on what you want most in your life?  How can you use these intentions to increase the enjoyability of each day?  What are you resisting and complaining about that just “is” and are therefore making it harder on yourself.

Observe yourself over the next week to see how adaptable you are.  Whatever the outcome, you will find it to be an interesting experiment!

Keep cool!

The key is not how fast you make the changes, but that you do move forward and take action on a consistent basis.  Consistent action combined with a great attitude will allow you attain the changes you want to make within yourself and in your life.

Coaching is an incredible way to get on track and stay on track with accountability and support.  One great way to start your coaching  journey is group coaching.  If you have been wanting to transform some things in your life, but just haven’t known where to start this is your month!  In June we are almost half way through the year- now is the time to get yourself into action. 

Check out this great tele-class - Make it Happen in June!  Easy, convenient, economical!

Here’s the link: http://youryearoftransformation.com/blog/?page_id=348

Every week’s topic will be transformational and will give you a solid foundation with which to move forward!

Don’t wait another day to move in the direction of the life, or business, or level of happiness you have always wanted. 

 It’s up to you to make it happen!

I am happy to say that I have gotten to the point of recognizing the tailspin and I am concious of what is happening.  It wasn’t always that way- I could spend days or weeks in the tailspin- until I got tired enough of it to declare- enough!  Now it is much shorter because I see it for what it is.  STILL, I need to work to get out of it, it doesn’t just happen.

So, how do you get out of the tailspin?  Just like in a car, you have to figure out how to get under control. To get my mind back under control,  I have learned to ask myself a few questions:

What is the truth of the situation?  I write this down- what is really going on?

What other areas am I bringing into this that do not belong?  I write these down.

What can I do about the real situation?  I make a list and a plan to do it.

What parts can I not control and need to let go of?  I write these down and surrender them- sometimes I crumple that list up and toss it, sometimes I shred and sometimes I flush- depending upon my mood!  It is just a symbolic way for me to let the parts I can not control go. 

What can I focus on that is productive and really needs my attention OR who can I call to give me some perspective or to help me to laugh?  Laughing always alleviates the heaviness of something that is bothering me.

What am I grateful for in my life right now?  Focusing on what is good always outweighs what is seemingly wrong.

My tailspin rarely lasts longer than a couple of hours now- only prolonged by letting my mind run wild and not sitting down to answer the questions.

  Lastly, I like to ask:  what can I learn from the situation, even though pride can tug at me not wanting to ask it-  it is hard to ask.  Usually the answer is something  that I needed to learn and I just don’t want to admit it! 

Any thoughts out there?

“Can you remember a time in the past when everything was going great and/or this situation or feeling was not an issue?”  In the case of my clients this week, they were able to identify times when these situations were great, or the situation was not occurring.

Then I asked “What were you doing differently and/or what was happening in your life that is different from today?”  Instantly they were able to identify how things were different then, from attitudes, work, people, age and more.  Once they accessed that information they were able to see areas to focus on to move forward and make a plan to start turning things around.

Interestingly, not just one client realized that what was clearly different was their level of involvement in caring for others, community involvement or both.  Maybe they had kids to focus on then, but the kids have since left the house and that space has not been re-filled with something meaningful.  This happens a lot for people who are really involved in their kids lives– having kids around automatically gets you out into the community.  And taking care of kids in general has such meaning to it.  Maybe there was an ill loved one that was being cared for, or there was a big involvement in a non-profit or other meaningful outlet for time and energy.  Whichever it was for them, they quickly realized that they had begun to focus too much on their own lives and and everything had become centered on them.  They were no longer giving to those around them and to the community.  Absence of giving can leave a hole in your life.

  Another interesting aspect I notice with those who are not giving (and these are perfectly wonderful, nice people mind you) is that they are not receiving either.  Not allowing the gifts that others would like to provide to them.  They say no to everything from someone trying to help them with their groceries to someone wanting to buy their dinner.

Giving and receiving are a circle, one as necessary to the other.  If you are feeling out of balance you can take a look for yourself- How often are you allowing others to give to you?  How often are you giving of yourself, your time to someone/something outside of yourself?

What’s your plan?  In the next week notice how many times people offer to do something for you- and play a game- say yes to every one of them.  Also, notice opportunities to help others- you know that little voice inside your head, listen to it and act.

As always, I am thankful to my clients for inspiring me!

PS- If you want to hold the door for me, or buy me lunch, I am willing to say yes!

I started with my eating.  I still hadn’t left the sugar habit I started during the holidays completely behind and had just been feeling a little bit off in what I had been eating.  My guide is Kathy Freston’s book Quantum Wellness.  I like her approach as it address more than just the food you eat- it is about wellness for your whole self.  Another things I like is that it is for everyone- even if you are doing well, you can easily see how to take things to an even greater level- and she helps you to see why you would want to, in a way that you can understand!

I also decided that I wanted to raise the level and amount of great “stuff” I am putting into my head each day- reading, watching, listening to everything that keeps my mindset in a powerful place and stretches me.  Making over my brain in March means learning some new things, and thinking some new thoughts.  I have had this movie by Dr. Wayne Dyer hanging around my house for many months- it is called The Shift.  I finally decided to watch it- and would now suggest it to anyone interested in looking at their life in a new way.  One of the quotes from the move that I love is “you are always only a thought away from changing your life.”   It takes a shift in how you look at things to bring about great things!

A make-over doesn’t have to be about huge things- it can be the little shifts the make the biggest impact.  You can choose to make lots of changes at once, or just one.  My big idea is to have fun with it all, be light hearted- you will fall back, just start moving again.  Just the idea that you have the intention and are taking action is exciting in itself!  Trust and believe in the process and be open to what happens next!

I just happened to flip the Bible open to the book of Jonah this week.  I would love to brag about reading a whole book of the Bible in one week, but I have to tell you (some of you already know this) the book of Jonah is only a few pages long!  It is long enough, however, to really get you thinking.  We all know the story about Jonah running away from what God would have him do and how he  gets swallowed up by a whale until his fervent praying and promising to God that he will listen get God’s attention-   God then tells the whale to spit Jonah out on the shore.  Jonah goes on to (finally) do what God has asked of him and discovers the joy and success for himself, as well as the impact he able to make on other’s lives.

What kind of whale have you gotten yourself into?  Being inside a whale couldn’t have been all that pleasant.  Like working a job or following the wrong path isn’t all that pleasant.  What has to happen for you to finally follow the path you know you are called to?

Maybe you are already following the path you are destined for.  Look into the corners, the shadows to see in what areas you may still be holding back- where you could be playing bigger on your path.

You don’t have to take huge risks to do this- in fact if you end up like Jonah, you might find it is a whole lot more risky not to following your calling.  Start to look at actions you can take each day or week that start to build momentum and intention and that can inspire you to start moving in the direction you know you must go.  As a coach, I help my clients to design actions that make sense and then hold them accountable to keeping their committments to themselves.

Have fun!  (oh yeah, that’s another part of what happens when you decide to listen to your calling!) and stop running away.

I started the month with a renewed sense of purpose and excitement for the new year.  I am reminded now how quickly a month and year can go.  If you are feeling like me, and want to feel like you are staying on purpose each week of the year, here’s an idea.

Each Sunday night when you are planning out your week- I guess that is my first suggestion- take a look at your goals.  Look at all of the area of your life and the actions you were going to take to move forward on your goals in those areas.  Pick at least one action in each area and actually schedule it into a time slot during the week- like an appointment.  Whether it is a simple email or phone call, or something bigger like a meeting or a part of a project- just find something that moves your goal forward. 

During the week, stick to your plan and follow through with what you have written in your appointment book or calendar.

Doing this week after week will assure that your goals move forward and that you will have that feeling of constant alignment with your highest values and priorities.  It’s a great feeling!

Though I found many great articles and ideas, there was one simple list written out on a a piece of note paper that fell out of the pile.  I don’t know where I read it, or how I came to write it down- this paper is several years old.  I want to share that list with you as it brought me back to the core of many of the goals that are important to me in this new year.  (and reminded me of a few I had forgotten)    Here’s the list:

10 Life Skills to Use, Have and Improve

1.  Listening

2. Giving Compliments

3.  Accepting Compliments

4. Thinking Positive

5. Saying “No”

6. Laughing

7. Planning

8. Asking Questions

9. Reading

10. Exercising

Talk about clarity!  What skills would you like to use, have and improve on this year?  Adopt this list, or devise your own!

This is another great reason to do the year review (see the blog post previous to this one) as this allows you to come from such a powerful and positive place.

I am renewed with the anticipation of all of the exciting things this year can bring. 

 One of my resolutions is to stay in the wonder of what is unfolding- to not have to know everything, control everything or have all of the answers.  To just stay strong in my faith and to trust that everything is happening as it should.  I intend to remain strong in my belief that as I take actions every day that move me in the direction that I want to go that grace and divine guidance are my automatic partners along the way.  My prayer each day is that God bring me the opportunities that are perfect for me and that I have the wisdom, clarity, and the attention to notice them when they come!

If this is also what you want, I wish the same for you and all of the blessings that come with it.