The holidays are a time of gathering. There are parties and more interactions with family and friends. It is a time of joy, excitement, and reconnection with loved ones. For many, the holidays can also come with their fair share of stressors. Keep stress levels …
There are no wrong emotions, they all are valid. We cannot control how we feel about circumstances or events. Your truth is your truth. The initial feelings you have in response to events are always okay.
What you can control is how you choose to react and respond even when emotions are heightened. Just because your feelings and emotions are valid, doesn’t mean they give you an excuse to behave however you want. It’s important to keep in mind that your initial emotions do not consider many factors you’d prefer to consider when thinking with a rational mind and not one overcome with strong feelings. Your emotions do not consider your goals, the relationships you’d like to keep, or the work you’ve put in thus far.
A strong and intentional morning routine is the key to a great day. It’s great to make your morning routine a priority, but the truth is we don’t always have hours to dedicate to it. Sometimes we sleep in, sometimes we have somewhere to be earlier than usual, sometimes we simply don’t have the time. There are a million different reasons. What will set you up for a great day, even when you don’t have much time to devote to yourself, is having a set of non-negotiables. These non-negotiables are activities that you know will help you have the best day that you can.
Before you open yourself up to the outside world and influence, do something for your mind, your body, and your soul. Develop quick practices you can do in each category as your non-negotiables. What exactly you do to fulfil these requirements may differ day to day. Taking care of your body might be a walk, a strength class, Pilates, or a stretch. An activity for your mind may be reading a few pages in your book, a passage of the daily stoic, a crossword puzzle, or listening to a podcast. Something for your soul may be meditating, getting out in nature, playing with your pets, prayer, watching the sunrise, or a gratitude practice.
Starting your morning with an activity for your mind, body, and soul will set you up to have an amazing day. If you’re pressed for time in the morning, or have obligations extremely early, extend yourself grace and do something in each of these three categories at some point during the day. Stay away from an all or nothing mentality. A 5 min stretch before bed is better than no movement at all. Reading a page in a book is better than not reading at all. Are challenging 45 minute workouts great? Sure. Is learning a new skill beneficial? Yes, but you don’t have to do activities that take a lot of time and effort every day. You can achieve the results you desire with consistent small steps.
Use a system of trial and error to find out what helps you feel your best. Your non-negotiables may look different and may change during different times in your life. I encourage you to have a morning routine and a couple non-negotiable activities that you can do no matter how much time you have or what your day looks like. Have an extensive morning routine to foster the relationship you have with yourself when you have time. Curate a few quick and easy non-negotiable practices to fill up your self-care cup when you have to hit the ground running. This will set you up for a great day no matter what you have on the agenda
Want help curating a morning routine and a practice of non-negotiables? Learn more about 1:1 coaching and contact me to sign up for your first session here.
Sometimes happiness hits you, but most of the time it’s a choice you make. It’s something you have to purposefully create not happen upon. Becoming aware of this and intentionally creating happiness in the normalcy is where sustainable happiness lies.
I want to bring your attention to your why. So much of what you do day in and day out is done on autopilot. Science estimates that 95 percent of our brain’s activity is unconscious. That means that an overwhelming majority of the decisions you make are done subconsciously. You do things without even fully realizing you’re doing them sometimes. So many people have no idea what the reasoning is behind their actions, emotions, and goals. I want to bring your attention to your why in hopes that you’ll take time to consider it before taking action. In doing this, you’ll bring some of your actions out of subconscious autopilot and into conscious and intentional action. Next time you feel motivated to do something, ask yourself why. When you feel emotional, ask yourself why. Feel hurt by something? Dive into the why.
Happy July Everyone! We’re a little over half way through 2022! This is a great time to take stock of how you’re currently feeling in your life. Is your current lifestyle serving you? Think back to what your New Year’s goals were. How are you progressing towards meeting those goals? Be honest with yourself. If you aren’t as close as you would like towards your goals, don’t feel discouraged. Use this time as an opportunity.
July is a great time to become aware of the actions that have and have not been working for you. Do more of what has been working and use the next six months to change what has not. Refocus your energy. Bring the goals that you were so inspired to work towards on January 1st back to the forefront of your mind. Reset your intentions and realign your actions. If you set intentions for 2022 and then forgot about them, you still have half the year left. That’s more than enough time to implement habits to bring your intentions to life.
If you’re unsure how to change your actions so you can reach your goals sign up for 1:1 coaching. If what you have been doing has not been working and you do not know where to go from here, click here to learn more about lifestyle coaching. Don’t let the next 6 months fly by with no change. Take control of 2022 and make it your best year yet!
“We cannot live being governed by how we feel. Our emotions are temporary and not always reflective of reality.” –Brianna Wiest in her book the: The Mountain is You. We’ve all been there. We feel strong emotions and want to react. But is that always …
If you feel stuck right now, remember it’s the small steps you take towards your goals that make all the difference. If you’re having a hard time taking small steps in the right direction towards your goals or identifying which goals will serve you best, contact me to learn more about coaching. Investing in yourself and your quality of life will have a monumental impact in all areas of your life.
At the end of the day the only person responsible for your life, for your happiness, and your wellbeing is you. So, get comfortable meeting your needs. That doesn’t mean you have to handle everything yourself. It also doesn’t mean you can’t rely on others to meet your needs. What it does mean is it is your responsibility to reach out to others and tell them what you need. It means it’s up to you to identify when situations are and are not working for you. It’s up to you to build support systems for yourself and to respond when your needs are not being met. It’s up to you to show up for yourself.
The first time I was asked what I needed in a situation was one of the hardest questions I’ve been asked. I had never really thought about it. What did I need? I had no idea. I knew when things felt good, I knew when things felt bad. However, identifying and asking for what I needed and answering honestly (not just saying it’s all good when it’s not) was a foreign concept to me. I was an attorney, I advocated for others all the time. However, advocating for myself, before things reached a tipping point and I felt like I had to fight for myself, was a foreign concept.
Learning how to identify and communicate my needs to a partner or a friend has become a huge life hack. It allows me to make adjustments before things become an issue. It’s also a great trust building activity both with myself and those around me. Consistently spending time to identify and take action to meet my needs has built confidence around the fact that when I need me, I’ll be there. It reinforced that I can trust myself to take care of me. In regards to others, it’s an act of vulnerability to honestly communicate what you need from people. When individuals in your life take those needs seriously and act accordingly, it builds authentic trust and connection.
It’s up to you to take care of you. One day you’ll see you’re your greatest gift.
Take an audit of your life today and see where your energy is being used. Are you being drawn into other people’s problems, the news, social media? Where are you expending your precious energy and focus? This is energy that could be used to reach your own personal goals. Instead of scrolling social media you could be connecting with your partner. Instead of getting sucked into drama you can be getting your work done. Put your energy into things that are going to fill your cup or leave you feeling accomplished, not drained.
