Every once in awhile I come across a day that is not filled with deadlines, priorities or phone calls. My color coded calendar will have tasks that are mostly muted colors of grey or light blue, with nothing dramatic to catch my eye. They become a blur of suggestions for the day, not absolutes.
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:
Your brain loves the number three.
For one thing, it can only hold about 3 things in your short term memory at a time. The number 3 is also the lowest figure that can create patterns in your mind – and your brain loves patterns.
Productivity experts rave about doing things in threes. Keeping things limited to this amount allows for greater focus without overwhelm. That sounds good to me.
We are always thinking something. More often than not, those thoughts can be negative. We can get so used to them running in the background of our minds that they feel normal and we simply accept how they make us feel.
Thoughts are just thoughts, not who you are, and you have control over them. That means that you can audit them and choose ones that serve you better.
Here are some simple ways to shift your thoughts so that you can think and feel more positive.
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.
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:
Sometimes I think I’m an expert at creating negative fantasies. They may be about someone doing me wrong, my house burning down, a car accident, a fight with someone I care about or any number of things. The one thing they all have in common is that they make me feel sad, depressed or bad about myself.
Living a heartfelt life is one of the most peaceful and joyful ways to experience this world. It’s pretty much the opposite of what we see around us. Most people are too busy, too worried, and completely disconnected from their heart’s wisdom.
Once you start experiencing heartfelt moments you will crave them more and more. But, how is it possible to shape your entire life around them? It’s not as hard as you think and when you do it will feel like coming home to the life you were meant to live.
With all of the things going on in our world today, most of us are experiencing an increase in anxiety. I know I am. My clients are talking about it too.
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.
When I was young I could eat whatever I wanted and not gain weight so I’ve never been much of a dieter. Even so, I did fall for the low fat craze and actually believed low fat twinkies were real food. I sure ate a lot of them.
Once I hit my 50’s my body began to change and even though I walk regularly I was adding extra pounds. My move from CA to Missouri complicated things even more and I soon found myself 20 pounds over weight. I have since lost half of that and am working on the rest.
It often starts as a small voice and then builds into a yearning for a simpler life and the peace it brings. I believe it’s the voice of your soul calling you away from worldly distractions and back into your heart.
You can try to avoid the calling or postpone taking action, but you will never be able to turn it off fully. It will be there until you make changes that realign your life with your heart’s desire.
There was a time in my life when I was a little girl that I felt very insecure. One of the ways I coped with this was to tell people made up stories that made me sound more important than I felt. I told so many falsehoods that I couldn’t keep track of them, which became a source of extreme stress. Eventually, I was found out and became more ostracized than ever.
That was when I became a lover of truth.
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.
As I write this we are experiencing a global pandemic and there have been racially charged riots around the country. It feels like there is a lot going wrong in our world and if you are like me, it can impact how you feel.
In the early weeks of staying home due to Covid-19, my microwave broke. I panicked. My first thought was literally, “How will I eat? I’m going to starve!”
I realized very quickly that I was over-reacting and started problem solving instead, but it made me wonder why my mind would even go there.
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.
Whether you have been an essential worker or in lock down mode Covid-19 has changed your world. For many of you, it feels like your life has been put on “pause”, leaving you with extra time to fill and new challenges to meet.
This in between time is an opportunity to listen to your heart and refresh your over-cluttered and busy life. You get to choose how you use it and what to bring forward out of it.
If you are human, you are likely experiencing some ups and downs during your Covid-19 experience. I know I am. My worldview and thoughts are mostly positive, but last Sunday I ended up having a good cry. The next day I was back to normal again.
Even if we feel we are handling these unusual times well, they may still be taking a toll on us.
I noticed that I’ve been a little more nervous and jumpy even though my thoughts are mostly positive. My comfort zone seems to be shrinking as my life gets smaller and smaller. You may be noticing something similar or completely different, but I feel sure it’s impacting you too.