True Balance

Lately the current of my mind has been terribly engaged. The feeling is like being pulled under and dragged out to sea in a riptide of psychological activity. I seem to be rolling with big ideas, spilling over with tiny tasks and overflowing with unfocused creativity.

All of this mental activity leads to feeling scattered. The gears in my brain spin and then lock up.  The more I check in with how I am feeling and what I need, the more I realize the lack of focus has everything to to do with the Autumnal transition and my new, not yet comfortable routine for Fall.

It’s time to get clear, get focused and re energize. It time to swim away from the tumultuous surface current that has a hold of me.

The plan is to revise my daily schedule. The trick to living a balanced life is understanding we are always in a state of change. Recalibrating daily habits and swimming away from the rip current will help me slow down, focus my energy and get back to shore.

Here is my plan for nourishing my hijacked spirit whilst participating in the new pace of my life.  I hope you can use this life ring of ideas to quiet your mind and rescue you from your own undercurrent of unfocused madness.  : -)

Getting Quiet

Making time to sit quietly each morning is lovely way to begin each day. Even 5 minutes will make a difference.  Enjoying a fresh cup of coffee in silence or creating time to sit and reflect. Writing your thoughts in a journal may be your choice for quiet time.  I like to mix things up.  How about you?  What do you do to get quiet?

Sharing time with positive people

Sharing time with positive uplifting people is key to increasing your energy and lifting your spirit. Anybody who brings you down is not part of the solution. Take inventory of the people and personalities in your life.  Your energy will mirror the people you surround yourself with.

Infuse your life with nature

As I write this I am looking out the window at a huge maple tree just beginning to share her new fall colors with me. I have a pickle jar filled with Petoskey stones on my desk and small red and yellow sunflower that is on the ready to retire.  I bring the natural world into my environment to keep me grounded.

As important as it is to bring nature inside, it’s also a good idea to get out in the natural world. Walk along a woodland path, skip some flat stones across the lake, tack a sack lunch to a nearby park and breathe in the beauty of nature.  How do you infuse your life with nature?

Daily yoga practice

As a student of yoga and yoga instructor I realize the importance of honoring my body with a regular yoga practice. When I became a teacher I stopped being a student. It’s time to balance my love for yoga by making room in my life to be a yoga student.  Do you have a daily yoga practice?  Do you want to learn more about what that might look like?

Cultivating mindfulness

Unconscious behavior is easy to step back into when you feel overwhelmed and out of sorts. Practicing mindfulness will improve your outlook on life and teach you a lot about the way you are, the way you roll.  What does it mean to be mindful?  To me it is thoughtful consideration as well as witnessing your own behavior.  Mindfulness is a  gift that can be internally mined at any time.  How do you cultivate mindfulness?

“Happiness is not a matter of events; it depends upon the tides of the mind”

- Alice Meynell

I coach creative people who are interested in discovering their true passions in life.  What I’ve found in the process is creative people are often filled with enormous amounts of curiosity and can easily get side tracked and lose their focus.  It’s an honor to inspire creatives to define their passion and live a full life.

5 Steps to uncover your passion:

1. Awareness

Make time to take inventory of what you love about your life. What Are you involved with that feels right.  What crazy-making areas of your life can you let go of? Stop bumping around and start paying attention to your daily actions. When you’re aware of your actions,  you can make mindful choices leading to a future filled with purpose and passion.

2. Positivity

Begin to train your brain to become more positive. Begin now.  Our thoughts can often take off like a runaway train ending up in a pile of debris - should we choose to let our negative thoughts and emotions get away from us.

If what you are doing now is stale and uncomfortable, try focusing on the parts of your job that you love.  How can you look at your current job with fresh eyes? Many of us have to take “combat pay” for a period of time in a position that no longer suit us.  If you are in this situation, do what you can to improve your current reality by exploring your options outside of you current job. Sometimes the exploration process will balance out your discomfort. You may even uncover opportunities within your environment that seemed hidden before your introspection.

3. Reality

If you are working for people who are disrespectful and your daily life is a living hell, it is time to move on.  Your life is more important than you can imagine. Years ago some of my peers thought I was straight-crazy to want to leave my cushy job. What they didn’t understand is that no amount of cushion can absolve an abuse of power. Sometimes you have to save your own life and move on.

4. Clarity

What do you want for your life?  Have you taken any time to dig deep and answer this question? What are good at? What do you enjoy doing? What would you learn If you were to ask your closest family and friends what they see you strengths are.  How can you use your strengths to answer the first question.  Get Clear. I recommend reading the book Callings by Greggory Levoy. You are also welcome to contact me anytime for a complimentary life coaching session.

5.  Creativity

Have fun diving in and exploring your options by playing with a creative process like mind mapping (visual brain storming) to uncover your career options. Keep the activity light and fun. There is no room for judgment here. Just let your ideas flow and get them down on paper.  After this process is completed you can begin researching your options.

Discovering your path with passion includes awareness of what you love as well as what you can release, cultivating a positive attitude, being realistic about your current situation, allowing for time to get clear about what you want for your life,  and creatively exploring your options.

Discovering your groove and creating a luscious life is all about allowing for grace through your next transition.

Stress Reduction Sunset at Esch Beach

Several of my entrepreneurial friends and coaching clients feel extra stress as they move through seasonal transitions.  The slower paced days of summer kick in to the high paced energy of Autumn immediately after Labor Day weekend. The abrupt change, no matter how well planned for,  can be stressful.

Stress is defined as a state of mental or emotional strain resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances. Science has proved that stress damages our DNA and can shorten our lifespan.

Have you ever been so stressed out that you notice a change in your complexion, body weight, or sleep patterns?

Getting control of stress is paramount to living a healthy lifestyle.

If you are experiencing a lot of stress, act now to eliminate as much anxiety as possible. I’ve found the best way to handle stress is to learn to relax your body with stress management techniques. Regular exercise, yoga, soothing music, meditation and breathing exercises can be very helpful in relaxing your body, mind and soul.

Lower transitional stress levels by implementing some of these stress busting ideas today.

Seasonal Stress Reduction Action Plan:

1. Create a Joy or Gratitude Journal

Observe and record ten things that bring you joy or that you are thankful for every day.

2. Be Quiet

Schedule 15 minutes every day to get centered and attract the feeling of peacefulness.

3. Move your Body

Schedule time for some sort of body movement every day.

If you don’t like to exercise, consider these options: Dance to your favorite song, walk on a woodland path, stroll on the beach, ride your bike. Just get moving.

4. Listen to Music

When you are feeling overwhelmed, listen to your favorite music to lift your spirits. Soothing music is a universal stress buster.

5. Make Time For Extreme Self-Care

Plan a minimum of 30 minutes every day to do something just for YOU.

6. Add More Healthy Foods to Your Diet

Make sure you are drinking plenty of water, eating leafy green vegetables and
snacking on lots of of fruit every day.

When you start to live a lower stress lifestyle, you will be amazed by how much better you feel. Your friends and colleagues will notice your transformation and you will be walking on the path of true balance.

You deserve to take better care of YOU.