We are buuuusy. Life can become overwhelming. We might be taking care of elderly family members. We meet the needs of our spouses and families. We prioritize our jobs to build wealth and provide for ourselves and others. We do a loooot of things! It feels like juggling 10 balls in one hand. I hear you; I have often felt that too.

I think we all understand that we tend to take care of other people and outside responsibilities before we take care of ourselves. We know that often we simply don't prioritize self-care. We know we are not putting our oxygen masks on first. We know this isn't healthy for us. We feel like we should know and somehow do better!  We know what we SHOULD be doing, don't we? BUT we are just too busy and overwhelmed to make it happen

Do we often feel that if we start with our own self-care first, we are somehow failing others? The emotion comes from the pit of the stomach telling us we must take care of them first.  We blame...

The holidays are behind us. I said it last week, but today it's really truly clear and unquestionable. We are definitely looking at what's ahead of us. We need to move forward. We need to get started on those New Year resolutions and goals. We just gotta go.

I am curious.. Where do you find yourself today? 

Are you still feeling like waking up from holidays and taking it slow and easy? Are you still in planning and strategizing mode? 

Maybe you already talking about your goals but have not yet made that first action. Maybe you are talking about it with other people in order to find guidance, support,  or help. You may feel some anxiousness and uncertainty. 

Maybe you went on vacation and just relaxed and enjoyed yourself. :-)

Some of us are already in action! Is that you? You have done your planning and hit the ground running. You are rocking your actions and well on the way to realizing your goals. You are excited for this year....

Holidays behind us.

In my family of origin, we wait for an Old New Year, which is on the January 14th, to undecorate from holidays. If you don't know what Old New Year is, Google it. I think in my culture we allow 2 weeks after January 1 to still be in the holiday spirit because we actually quietly want to not let holiday spirit go. :-)

Honestly, who does want to let holiday cheer go? 

Yesterday I taught the Vision Board Workshop. (Want recording? Join the club and listen to a replay or take a self-paced course here.) It was the last event devoted to holidays. This is it.

 What now? The same old days of grinding life? 

Sometimes our New Year resolutions all of the sudden don't have the same charge of excitement. 

The third week of January may be filled with, "I don't want to’s". We know we have to go back to our busy lives and work. We also know we want  to do the actions we set our commitment towards. We know it all starts...

What is your WHY? 

Without vision people perish.

While listening to our first book club conversation when we shared why we decided to join the club to read "Start with Why", it made me deeply ponder:

What has happened to our Whys?

Are we clear on our vision, mission? Has it reshaped and changed in the last 2-3 years? 

How about several Whys? Personal Why, business Why, Why In the world?

It occurred to me that the last several years have shaped us into a different way of being and living. Learning to be independent thinkers, independent livers, learning new ways of doing our business. 

During early months of Covid, many of us had an opportunity to slow down and focus on ourselves, to focus on self care, on family, to relax and reestablish. That time allowed us to reevaluate, reset, and rearrange priorities.  

And maybe for some of us, taking care of families and having indoor time took our self-care attention into a direction away from...

Happy New Year, Friends!!

May this year bring you motivation and inspiration to keep going, to not stop, to let your heart lead the journey to the life you really desire. 

Strength 

Perseverance 

Love 

Hope 

Faith 

Peace 

Health and Happiness 

But, wait! Have you reflected and let go of 2022 or are you still carrying its weight? 

Struggles, challenges, things that didn't work?  When we do that, we carry our old burdens and habits into the new year. Isn’t there a better way? An opportunity for something fresh, upgraded, and new?

Are you open to reflecting with me and letting 2022 go? If so, grab your journal and keep reading.

Allow me to walk you through the steps that I taught on my group accountability call. And after you are done with your reflection and want more or are ready to jump into our group, now is the time. We are starting this week. Apply here now.

Step 1.

List 5...

Have the last few weeks been crazy weeks?

Have you missed most of your scheduled exercise due to family in town?

Been traveling yourself and off your normal routine? 

I am sensing many of us are dealing with these kinds of challenges, is that right?

As a result, we might be sleeping less and are otherwise off schedule. Our eating might be off the charts: more sugar, more starch, more alcohol.  Our exercise pattern may sporadic or non-existent. 

And on top of it, the relationships and emotions around family members together make it more challenging. 

Don't get us wrong. We looove holidays and the holiday spirit. We love family all together and around us. We love spending time around holidays.

And what if some of us are not with families at all? What if some us are alone? What if holiday time brings memories of sadness? This is an emotional challenge of itself. 

The question is

What makes our own self-care so hard and difficult to stick...

Happy Holidays! 

PREFER TO LISTEN?

How are you taking December?

Which one out of three are you today?

Are you just like me: Christmas shopping, working, family, and building your plans to finish 2022 and jump-start 2023 and feeling overloaded with tasks to do?

Or you might be not even into holidays, not thinking, no prepping, no holiday shopping. Just taking one day at a time. 

Or maybe you are jumping into important New Year solutions and starting now? Why wait, right?

A Message of Compassion

Whatever situation you find yourself in, I feel I want to bring our intention to compassion.  First of all, for ourselves. In the last few years, we have been going through a rough patch that has been challenging us on many levels: emotional, financial, and relationship. It's been hard.

Let's allow to be easy on ourselves. 

Compassion Exercise 

Step 1.

So take a deep breath in and a deep long breath out. 

Breathe in self-compassion. Breathe out...

I am thankful for my life's journey;
For the years I have lived.
I am thankful for the spirit
I choose in a moment.

I am thankful for the sunrise
To remind me to breathe and smile.

I am thankful for the fresh air
To swallow life and space.

I am thankful for the first sip of morning coffee
That helps me be present in the moment.
I close my eyes and feel... life.

I am thankful for the morning workout sweat
With tired but laughter with all at the end.

I am thankful for the energy produced
To live my day with the power I choose.

I am thankful for the people I meet along the way
All to grow
Communication and love.

I am thankful for struggles and toughness
All to build
Tenacity and strength.

I am thankful for afternoon tea
To stop and be present
To good for me.

I am thankful for lunch and a movie
To feel the love with my child.

I am thankful for evening glory
To slow down my speed
And be here to receive.

As I close my eyes in the dark
I count my blessings.
With each...

Are you feeling a little anxious around the holidays because you don't want to break your healthy habits? You have been working so hard on establishing them.  Asking ahead and seeing that maybe you won't work out as much and you might overeat? Is that about right? If that is you, please keep reading.

Prefer to listen? Click here. 

I know the family comes and cooks. They may not be aware that you have been sticking so well to your healthy routine. Maybe they know and yet it doesn't feel good to ask them to change family food traditions. You may even feel guilty about expressing your needs. And it certainly doesn't feel good to deprive yourself from holiday foods. After all, it's family tradition..

How do we keep the spirit of the holidays and enjoy family traditions while still sticking to healthy habits? 

About guilt

Before I show you this tool, let's get one thing out of the way. Guilt.

Why do we feel guilty even before the occasion?

...

Is it just me feeling anxious right now or you are feeling that too?

Holidays? Midterm elections? Financial tightness and holiday expenses are coming? Schedule will be so messed up with holidays? Not looking forward to overeating and missing exercise?

How can we turn around the anxiousness? Let's talk about a plan. Actually,  today I want to share just one step. It's actually a tool that I learned many years ago and in my recent coaches training I heard it again. I also taught it during the recent Stress to Success Challenge. You can listen to the video by opting in here.

"WHAT'S THE GIFT?" TOOL 

This tool involves taking any situation in your life, no matter how bad it is, can be turned into a gift or opportunity.

That requires some explanation, because clearly many things happen that are initially perceived as negative, from annoying to catastrophically life changing.

To employ this tool, we can look at any unwanted event from three...