25 Ways to Stay Positive in Trying Times

happy little girl under umbrella stay positive

Life gets rough at times. You may be experiencing personal challenges, surrounded by negative people, or inundated with bad news, but that doesn’t mean you need to let it get you down.

As I write this, our country and our world are full of conflict. People against people. Religion against religion. And, politics as a free for all.  It breaks my heart that words like “hatred” are part of our everyday news. It’s hard to stay positive with so much ugliness going on. Continue reading

What My Trees Taught Me about Perseverance

tree fence pinwheel persevere perseverance © 2017 Linda Luke

I have always been amazed by the trees along the fence line of my yard. They managed to persevere and shape themselves around the obstacles in their way as they grew.

Many of them have chain link fence that goes right through them. Others have poles or pieces of brick integrated into them in odd places. Continue reading

It’s How You Respond to the Issue that Counts

Joey Chloe lesson respond react

I have fleas.

It’s strange, because I have no idea where they came from. I live alone with my 2 indoor-only fur babies, Chloe and Joey.

By the time I saw the first flea they were already taking over. So, I gave my cats flea control meds, vacuumed a lot, washed slip covers and bedding, used non-toxic products, and then switched my cats to another medicine when the first one didn’t work.

I still had fleas. Continue reading

Intentions for Being – Declarations for Life

 

intentions for life flower

(I first wrote this in January 2015 and came across it today. The words and intentions I shared feel even more powerful now. It’s time to re-commit and share them again.)

There are a lot of goals and resolutions set at this time of year about what we want to do or accomplish.  While I am playing with some of the doing stuff, I felt more called to look at how I want to be and show up in this world. Continue reading

Let Your Heart Guide You to Your Best Life

let your heart guide you listen to your heart

 

It’s almost like we are running a race. I hear over and over again from my clients and friends that they are struggling to keep up with the speed of life. I feel it, too.

When we are racing through our days we lose the guidance of our hearts and are more likely to make unconscious choices that do not serve us well. Continue reading

Moving Cross Country to a Small Town: My First Year

moving to a small town house

This week is the one year anniversary of my moving from a busy city in Southern California to a rural small town in Missouri.

My intention was to live a more simple life and be close to my 3 grandchildren. After 62 years as a SoCal girl I anticipated some culture shock and knew I had a lot to learn about my new way of life.

Looking back over this first year I feel that I have done well, but am also aware that I am in a process that will take some time. Continue reading

Your Mind is a Playground Full of Infinite Possibilities

mind is a playground
life coach on a swing

Imagine being a child again and going to the world’s biggest playground. There is an unlimited supply of high flying swings, exhilarating slides, and magical merry go rounds. Everything you could possibly want is in front of you.

Our minds are just like that playground.

Continue reading

3 Steps for Letting Go of Guilt and Regrets

sorry teddy bear guilt regret

One of my clients the other day was experiencing a lot of regret for how a past relationship ended. She felt guilty that she hadn’t tried harder and hurt the other person involved. The guilt she felt was eating her up from the inside out and impacting how she approached her current relationship, possibly putting it at risk.  Continue reading

Let Your Soul Guide Your Healing

healing heart your soul is calling out to you

I recently came across this wonderful quote by Wayne Muller:

“Your challenge is not to keep trying to repair what was damaged, your practice instead is to re-awaken what is already wise, strong, and whole within you, to cultivate those qualities of heart and spirit that are available to you in this very moment.” Continue reading

5 Bad Mood Busters that Will Help You Feel Better Fast

bad mood clown doll

I don’t think anyone gets out of this life without times when they feel low on energy, high on stress, or just not ready to face the world. The good news is that you don’t have to let a bad mood control or disempower you. At least, not before trying these Bad Mood Busters: Continue reading

How to Have a Great Relationship

swans great relationship

When you experience challenges in your primary relationship it can impact all areas of your life, including the people around you. Building up resentment only makes you hyper-reactive and clouds your perspective.

So, when your relationship is feeling “off”, use these Principles for a Great Relationship to return to the foundation of love and partnership that will make your life feel blessed. Continue reading

Magic Words that Can Make Anything Seem Possible

magic words persistent flower

Do you believe in magic? What about magic words?

I know I do, because I have witnessed how our words can either empower us or keep us stuck.

Even when we remove the obvious ones from our vocabulary like can’t, won’t, don’t, should, or shouldn’t, there are other sneaky ways our language can limit us. Continue reading

My 7 Step Plan for Overcoming Social Anxiety

little shy girl with social anxiety

I have always been a nervous person. This may surprise some of you, because I have worked hard on it and usually seem pretty easy going and calm. But, it’s true.

One of the things that scares me the most is people. Other human beings.

Kind of crazy, isn’t it? Continue reading

A Totally Free Way to Feel Better Instantly

 

feel better

One day in my class as a student of spiritual psychology at USM, a teacher asked if anyone in the room of about 300 people was feeling tired or depressed. A surprising number of people raised their hands.

One of them, a young woman, shared that she had felt depressed for a long time and had very little energy. She agreed to participate in an experiment that could help her feel better. Continue reading

Friday Favorites: Healing Depression, Feeling Unstoppable and More

Friday Favorites lifecoachlinda.com healing depression

It’s Friday and I have some more favorites to share. Things like healing depression, supporting a hurting friend, and feeling unstoppable. Information we can all use.

So, here goes: Continue reading

Life Lessons I Learned from Popeye

 

popeye life lessons

My Mom used to tell the story of when I was around three and kept asking for a “Toot –Toot” for Christmas. It took my parents quite a while, but they finally figured out that I wanted a corncob pipe so that I could be just like my cartoon hero Popeye. Continue reading

Living In a Polarized World

polarized positive negative sign

When I was 15 my family moved to a new neighborhood. For some reason my mom wasn’t happy. She was a good woman who was normally well liked, but while living there she developed contentious relationships with a couple of the neighbors.

Things got pretty ugly and as a typical teenager I felt embarrassed and became angry with my mom. Continue reading

A Sense of Order Soothes Your Soul

sense of order

 

Many of my clients when they first come to me lead chaotic lives. They are usually on the run, can’t find things when they need them, and often seem to live being tossed from one drama to the next. Their lives are full of anxiety, stress, and unhappiness.

When I suggest bringing a sense of order to their lives, they often resist. It’s too hard! They don’t have the time! And, they feel that if they slow down for a minute all the things they are juggling will fall at once. But, they trust me and usually give it a try, only to find that order brings them peace and allows them to be more effective in the end.

You don’t need to be stressed or anxious to benefit from bringing more order and harmony into your life. We can all appreciate the peace and contentment it brings. When we feel peaceful our lives flow more naturally and we gain a sense of freedom. Continue reading

Let Your Best Self Guide You

best self guardian angel

Yesterday I coached a client who was feeling great. She had recently completed a big project that helped someone in need and was quite energized by it. The little blips in life that could have upset her in the past just floated off her back. She felt energetic, strong, and proud of all she had done.

I shared with her that she was experiencing being grounded in her Best Self.  Continue reading