Bringing Balance to Your Relationship with Money

Money is one of those subjects that can bring out the best and the worst in us. It can be seductive, shameful, and trigger all of our emotional “stuff” more than just about anything in life.

Fear is one of the most common things my clients talk about when the subject of money comes up. Sometimes it’s warranted, but even when doing well many are haunted by images of becoming bag ladies living on the street.

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A Simple and Powerful Year End Process

year end process
end of year process

I believe that it is important to review and close out the year that is ending to learn all that we can from it. Doing so also lays the foundation for our dreams and plans in the coming year. This simple year end process opens the door to a deeper understanding of the gifts and challenges we experienced last year and supports heartfelt intentions and goals for the New Year.

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Practice Mental Hygiene for a Lifetime of Better Moods

mental hygiene better moods

Have you ever noticed that as people get older they become more entrenched in the way they view the world? I remember one woman I met while volunteering at an Alzheimer’s facility. She was always smiling and would get really excited about simple things like a game of Bingo. Her positive mindset was helping her stay happy and enjoy better moods during a challenging time of her life.

And then, I remember my dad. He would complain endlessly about people who he felt took advantage of him or what was wrong with the world. Visiting him meant listening to much repeated stories of things that had gone wrong in his life. He was angry, hateful and sad and I always felt drained after visiting him.

Both of these people had chosen a way of thinking that programmed their brains year after year until they were living fully in the mindsets they created.

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Intentionally Creating Your New Year

new year intentions
new year resolutions

We can let our next year happen and just accept our default experiences or we can work toward intentionally creating a year that we will love.

While this may sound like resolutions, it is a bit different. Resolutions have fixed outcomes and if you don’t reach them you feel like you have failed. Intentions move you forward the direction you want to go without expectations of a specific outcome. They leave room for shifts in direction or moving toward new opportunities when they arise.

Intentions are a more gentle and graceful way to follow your heart and become the person you want to be.

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When You Can’t Get What You Want

can't get what you want
little girl crying
life coach

We all have dreams and desires that may not be possible at the present moment, but what do you do when something you really, really want can’t happen.

One of my clients contacted me because she wanted to move to a small town in the midwest, but her husband didn’t feel he could leave his high earning job at the time. The small town idea was stuck in her mind and she just couldn’t shake it. After we confirmed the reality of her situation, I asked her what she thought it would be like to live in a small town. She painted a beautiful picture of a simple life with a close-knit community that reminded me of a Hallmark movie. It was lovely.

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Quieting the Inner Bully

inner bully kindness matters sign

I love garage sales and the picture above is of one of my recent finds. As I hung it on the wall, I reflected on the message of kindness. Yes. Kindness truly does matter and it’s something I work to integrate into my life. Like many of you I can be very kind to others, but sometimes it’s a bit harder to remember to be kind to myself.

Each of us has an inner bully, a voice in our head that belittles us and makes us feel bad. Many of us give it free rein and believe what it says even though it’s messages aren’t true. The strange thing is that we would go to great lengths to protect a child who was being bullied, but then let our own inner bully beat us up day in and day out.

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7 Easy Ways to Transform Your Mornings & Start Your Days Right

transform your mornings start day right

How do you start your mornings? It’s easy to fall into the habit of letting negative thoughts lead the way. For many, their first thoughts are about what hurts, what they “have to” do that day, or rehashing something negative that has happened. You and I are likely to fall into that trap occasionally too, but we know there is a better way. And, it begins with morning habits that help you start your day right.

After all, how you start your day will impact how you feel and perform throughout the day.

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How to Figure Things Out

figure things out

“Everything is figureoutable.” – Marie Forleo

While I’m not sure that I agree that EVERYTHING is figureoutable, I’m pretty sure most things are. It’s not always easy though. Whether we are brainstorming or making decisions, the process will go more smoothly when we are focused and tap into what I call, empowered thinking.

Empowered thinking is when you bring your mind and your intuition together to help you discover what you need or want to know. If you only use one or the other the process can be hard, confusing and sometimes even impossible. It’s only when your intuition and mind work together that you can be your most effective and make the best choices.

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Distractions, Fear and Staying on Purpose

distractions fear living on purpose

One of the things I often see with new coaching clients is that they can have a pretty good idea what they want, but be totally confused and overwhelmed at the same time. This keeps them spinning in circles and unable to move forward. Some times they just have too much information to process, but more often than not fear is using overwhelm as a distraction to try and keep them from taking a risk.

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Life as Play

life as play
life coach
play through life

Too often, we find ourselves thinking about life and the things within it as hard, difficult or something we feel forced to do. We dread what will come next and brace ourselves for the work that will be required of us to keep up with the musts, shoulds and have tos we decide to take on.

We wonder why life is so hard, heavy and scary, not realizing it doesn’t have to be.

Not if you approach it as play.

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Watching TV

watching tv
netflix

I’ve been watching more TV than usual lately. It’s been a very cold winter and of course, there was that whole Covid thing going on too. About a month ago I received my second vaccine and had a reaction. I spent a couple days laying down and then experienced vertigo for a few more. Needless to say, I watched a lot of television.

Since then, I seem to be watching a couple hours every evening, sometimes even more. I’m enjoying my TV time, but not feeling good about feeling addicted and wasting my life away. It’s just not in alignment with my values.

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Yesterday’s Dreams

dreams catcher dream catcher life coach

This morning, my journaling started with a little grumpiness about a few minor things going on in my life before shifting into gratitude and appreciation. As I wrote from my heart about what I was grateful for I had a realization.

The life I am living now was in many ways one I would have called a dream in my earlier years. I decided to play with this idea and write a vision for the years to come from the perspective of my 40ish self. It included things like:

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Simple Solutions: Making Decisions

making decisions
simple solutions

In our modern world we are faced with decisions all day long. Some big, some small.

What should I put in my coffee?

What should I wear?

Should I quit my job?

With the bigger questions it is easy to get caught in a thought loop with our mind spinning on pros and cons and never landing anywhere. Often, the information it provides is conflicting and confusing.

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How to Create Positive Feelings When You Can’t Seem to Change Your Thoughts

create positive feelings
life coach

It is commonly said (even by me) that our thoughts create our feelings. While it is true that what we think impacts our moods there are other ways to influence how we feel.

Your mind and body share energy and work together. When they are aligned toward something positive is when you feel your best. When they aren’t, you can use one to influence the other.

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Saying Goodbye to 2020

saying goodbye to 2020
journaling

Well, it’s been quite a year. I know my head is still spinning and will probably continue to for awhile. With all that has happened and all that is still going on, doing an end of the year process is even more important this year.

So, pick up your pens or tablets or whatever you choose to use and let’s get writing.

While 2020 may have been full of loss and distress, remember we are always learning from our experiences and there is always something to be grateful for.

Use these prompts to guide you as you remember the good and the bad and say goodbye to 2020. It doesn’t matter if you write lists, paragraphs, or even a letter to the year. Just write from your heart.

What were the blessings and magical moments I experienced this year?

What successes did I achieve?

What am I proud of myself for?

What surprised me?

What did I learn from this year’s challenges?

What did I worry about and how did it turn out?

What do I want to take from this year to create a foundation for the year to come?

What do I want to leave behind? (physical, mental, or emotional)

What am I most grateful for? Write at least 100 things.

May you have a wonderful New Year holiday that brings closure to the past year and prepares you for a great year to come.

Related Posts:

Accepting the Truth will Set You Free

We are All Souls

Create a Comfort Box for When You Feel Low

I Never Imagined

imagined
follow your heart
hope for the future

Life is truly unpredictable and it can be fun to look back and realize how little we knew about how our lives would play out and who we would become.

For instance, I never imagined:

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Shoulds, Expectations & To Do Lists

to do lists
shoulds expectations plant

I’ve been a little hard on myself lately. Since I moved to Missouri, I have learned to respect the seasons and the sometimes short windows of opportunity for outdoor upgrades and home maintenance. I start each spring with to do lists and somehow they never seems to get done.

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A Super Simple Guide to Living Your Best Life

best life woman flowers simple

If you know me, you know I like to keep things simple and this may be one of the simplest posts I ever write.

After decades of learning, studying, supporting clients and working on myself, I think I’ve found the secret to living the life I want. It might be something you will want to try, too.

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From Scattered to Focused in 4 Easy Steps

focused
overwhelm to focused
scattered to focused
Photography lens

I work with a lot of women who have creative minds. Their creativity is a gift that allows them to do amazing things, but sometimes they get lost in their thoughts and ideas and find it difficult to stay focused.

This happens to me too. I am an idea person. Brainstorming is one of my favorite things and my clients would tell you that some very interesting things can come out of my mind when I do this. But, I can get lost in it.

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