Today

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Stopping by with a quickie today!!

I must say that my 21 day habits with my Life Coach Lindsay Preston during this Unstoppable Woman course are SOOO worth it!  I am not one to successfully complete something for x amount of straight days, without making an excuse.  Sure, I do stepbets, but they’re for 6 weeks and you get a day off in the week.  But here is something so powerful in doing the same thing for 13 days straight—I feel so empowered!  I also feel so much more at ease, I think because I’m doing a daily yoga practice.  I cannot wait to see how I’m doing after 21 days!!

My 3 habits:

1.) Daily Mantra: I am free to be me.

2.) 10 (or more) minutes of Yoga with Adriene.

3.) Blogging every day— have you noticed that yet?  🙂

I am content.  I am grounded.  I am satisfied.  I am happy.  I am rich.  I am loved.  I am strong.  I am healthy.  I am alive. I am free.  I am me. I am love.

 

What is one small habit you could do daily for 21 days straight? (Small, attainable and something to fill a need.)

Come Alive

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When is the last time you did something that truly made you happy?

When did you last lose all track of time?

What makes you put your phone down and forget all about it?

What was your favorite ice cream flavor as a kid?

What did you most look forward to in the hot Summer months?

What do you crave more than anything in the world?

When’s the last time you did something for someone who could no longer pay you back?

When did you last thank God (the universe, whomever) for all that you have?

How long ago did you laugh so hard you cried?

What speaks to you in ways that it’s so hard to put into words?

Do those things.  Feel those things. Be those things.

Bring back your joy, feel your youth and let yourself come alive.

Mindset Matters

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It’s Friday beautiful friends!!

The sun is shining.

Hubby is at the land with Bailey girl.

I’m sitting on our back deck doing what makes my heart happy: writing.

Baby girl is at school, learning and having fun on her “Culture Day” and I’m allowing baby boy tablet time while I feed my soul.

It’s not easy, this whole self-care thing.  We have been so engrained to work, push, hustle, care for others, put everyone else first, bla bla bla bla. But friends, YOU MATTER.  Every time I see another mama doing some self-care I just wanna jump through the screen and hug her.  Yes girl.  Be a queen.  Meditate. Enjoy that glass of wine.  Do some yoga. Read that book.  Lay in the sun.  Relish in the massage.  Take that workout class. High five!!!  It’s amazing at how much more you can provide to the rest of the world after you’ve taken care of you.

I’ve been very attuned lately with the universe and the quiet messages it’s sending me.  This week is of course all about gratitude, but also just a little bit more. 

I was once told it (in so many words) it’s amazing that I cook all that I do in my not so fancy kitchen.  And I get it.  I don’t have 10 foot ceilings, white cupboards, light grey walls, marble countertops and tons of island space, double ovens, Viking stoves– you get the picture.

However, what I do have is a passion for taking care of my loved ones and a love for creating delicious meals that fuel our bodies.  I love chopping, stirring, mixing, baking and of course eating! When I play Frank Sinatra, pour a glass of wine and get to cooking, it never feels like work. Sure, I would love a big new fancy kitchen with all the bells and whistles, and it’s certainly on my vision board, but the fact is I know to enjoy the now.

At my chiropractor appointment this week we talked about this.  I feel like he not only aligns my back/body properly but also my heart and mind!  (Is it just me, or do you really find some people with the BEST energy and wanting to surround yourself with them all of the time?!) Anyway, he lives in a modest home in a nice, but busy area, and has his practice in the home he resides in.  He went on and on to tell me how much he’d love a big fancy house, new this and new that, but it also felt really great to be in the financial spot he’s in.  His son is going off to college in the Fall and essentially they are debt free at the moment.

I say all this because we can all get caught up in wanting more, the best of the best, and being unhappy and unfulfilled with where we are in life and what we have.  Now I’m not saying to not dream big and crush some big old goals, but if you’re not enjoying what you have right now, or feeling gratefully abundant in all that you do have, maybe your mindset needs a little shift.  God will not give more to us if we aren’t ready.  If you find yourself looking left and right and feeling sorry for yourself, it’s time to take a step back and truly be happy for all the blessings in your life.

It ebbs and flows, and there are times I wish we already had our home built on our land with a swimming pool and all the fixings, but I have learned that we must time in the timing.  It will happen when it’s supposed to happen.  Life seems to be one big juggling act with so many moving parts; but beauty will always be in the silence.

The sticky hands of little ones who helped bake with you in your not so fancy kitchen.

The cuddles of your small dog on cold day.

The peace and tranquility of enjoying what makes your heart happy.

The tapping of your fingers on the keys of a laptop.

The birds chirping sweet songs.

The warmth of the sun and the cooling of the breeze.

The radiant colors of the potted flowers.

The smile from your significant other after a long hard day.

These moments are what make us.

So if you’re feeling a little off, make a list of things that bring you joy and take some time to check them off. Go volunteer, if that’s on your heart.  Go bake your friend some cookies.  Visit that grandparent.  Send your mom a sweet text.  Write. Read. Bathe. Whatever it is that you need to do, get grateful and work on getting your mindset right.

Luv Yourself

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Hey there!!

While I try to stick to a super strict schedule, this week just threw me!! I am gonna take responsibility and I know that I am to blame, but I’ve been working on some anxiety (totally not used to feeling that way!) and it’s been a tough week.  But the tough parts are what make us stronger, right?  And I have been SO grateful for this opportunity to work with Lindsay Preston and be in this Life Luvers 21 Day Challenge.

I shared last week in my blog post that it was getting real and holy cow, how hard it was for me to put ME first more often!! If you’re new here, please read my first post on Life Coaching and what to expect from me weekly, as far as sharing my experience etc.

It’s all about fitting it in, no matter what and I really try to sit soak up each day’s lesson (hello forever a student of life!) and the more I work on my mind, I notice the better I want to take care of my body.  Note, the beet juice and protein waffle!

One thing Lindsay had us do before we even started the 21 Day Challenge, was taking this Strengths Finder quiz through Gallup.  My top five strengths came up as such:

I see these as strengths, but I’m not going to lie, I also immediately saw them as weaknesses too.  (Turns out that’s my Inner Mean Girl talking, so she needs to shhh!) But really, now the lesson to be had is how do I harness these strengths?  What can I do to use them to the best of my ability and really take myself to that next level?  She also gave us a bunch of tools to use to research our strengths, what they mean, and how to apply them to our life.  I have to giggle that “learner” is on there because while I know I am quite stern on the importance of education (not just formal education but learning anything in life!) this just re-affirmed it as well.

Another awesome tool Lindsay provided was the concept of a “Wins” Journal.  Each day, week, month, quarter, she says to sit down and write down your inside wins (changes inside yourself) and outside wins (changes outside of yourself).  Then, after you’ve taken the time to reflect and see your wins, the most important part is to celebrate.  Yup! How often do you let life pass you by without stopping to really soak that win up?

I took a photo of my cute journal next to my LV.  Sure it’s a pretty bag, but I’ve never shard why it means so much to me.  Last year we were working hard on selling quite a few houses and Joe was super busy working (legit no days off for like 20 days or something crazy!)  I sold one of the homes Rent to Own.  Granted, I do a lot of the calls etc in the biz, but this was different because not only did I go back forth with text messaging, phone calls, showing the house etc, but I also met with the couple and collected the deposit all by myself!  I went over the deal, explained everything and did it on the day my dad had a huge surgery (his lung removed from cancer.)   I was beyond nervous to do it all alone since Joe is usually the main talker, but I knew I had to jump in at some point.  I felt so proud afterwards!  This was a HUGE win looking back on it.  I reached a goal of selling a house, I overcame my personal fear of not being “good enough” at real estate investing to do it alone, I didn’t allow Joe not being there stop me, I was able to let go of limiting beliefs and provide an amazing couple with a home to live in! I gained so much confidence after this experience it was nuts.

What started out as a joke, turned into my purse.  I don’t collect a paycheck from our business, but I really work hard for us and wanted to earn this bag more than anything.   Looking back on it, I realized that I celebrated a win!  Now, this was clearly a big splurge and no I don’t go buy myself a new Louis for every home I sell (yet) but I do believe that counting your wins is important.  I don’t share my bag to boast, but simply to show that celebrating IS in fact so so important!  When we go out of our comfort zones and prove to ourselves that anything IS possible, think of how much further we can go?

Your celebrations can be smaller too, like giving yourself the gift of time for tea and a good book.  You can go grab a mani/pedi, or simply stroll the aisles of Target with a latté.  When we are intentional with our time and energy, and we begin celebrating ourselves more often, it will feel less icky.  I also believe it will lead to even more wins.

Another exercise was to find a photo of ourselves as a child.  I had my mom send me a bunch of photos via text and this one just stuck right out.  It’s who I am authentically!! This smile–the nose scrunch, the confident hands on the hips, messy long hair, happy eyes, healthy weight–it’s all who I am at my core.  Even the chubby cheeks, I still rock em.  I think I’m probably about Brooke’s age here, maybe 5-7? Not entirely sure.  This is the girl God made me to be, now I just need to work on bringing her to the surface as an adult more.

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Speaking of “authentic selves” if you are curious to see how close you are to being your authentic self, take this super short quiz Lindsay created! How Strong is Your Authentic Self? I am pretty close, but certainly have some areas to work on and improve.

Be sure to follow Linday on her social media pages, as she shares personal stuff on her insta-stories as well as lots of girl power, go get em, inspirational quotes on her FB and Instagram!

She also has a kick ass podcast you should listen to as well!

This journey is so good you guys; I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, as nothing worth having in life is, but I do feel like the more I keep pouring into myself and then putting myself out there, I am receiving back.  The abundance of love and gratitude I have for other amazing souls in my life is huge.  I’m really seeing who truly belongs in my life and those whom I cannot give so much time to.

Check back in next week as I share more progress and other tips and tricks Lindsay shares with us in our group!!  I hope you are enjoying seeing me breakdown things each week and talk about my journey. If you have any questions about life coaching or what I’m sharing, please don’t hesitate to ask! You can e-mail me, private message me on Instagram or FB or leave a comment.

Love & Fear

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It’s probably not a surprise that I love self-improvement books and thoroughly enjoy reading and listening to authors who preach all about how to better ourselves.  Gabby Bernstein is one of my favorites.   Even listening to her voice seems to help me breathe better, feel less anxious and I find myself easily becoming centered.

Her newest book Judgement Detox is a good one.  It talks about how we are all guilty of judging, (even her) and that we are all coming from one of two places:

LOVE  VS FEAR

If you are coming from a place of love, you are welcoming others, circumstances and understanding we are all intertwined.  There is no drama, gossiping, feeling victim to, or being upset.

When we come from a place of fear, we are apt to believe certain people are out to get us.  We may find ourselves judging one person in particular, and just becoming stressed, sick, or annoyed more often than not.

It’s our birthright to be happy, joyous, blissful.  If we are not feeling like this, there is something triggering us.  You must take the time and figure it out.

We all have down days, off weeks and just bad months even!  But it’s vital to our emotional & mental health to figure out how to get out of that funk.  Often times, the breakdown is actually setting us up for the breakthrough.

Let me say that again, if you feel like everything is against you and there’s no end in sight–hang on sister, there is something MONUMENTAL just lurking around the corner.  I promise you.  You’re not going through all of this, whatever it is, for no reason. Nope. Nah-uh.  There is something great and big, even DIVINE in you.  Hang on tight and buckle up.  See where it takes you, breathe through the journey and know that you’re almost to that ‘next space’ you’re supposed to be. Trust me.

Don’t give up.

I’m saying all of this because a few weeks ago, I was in tears. Upset, crying, frustrated, angry, yelling more than usual…it was bad.  Want the honest truth?  I started questioning myself on whether or not I should be back at work.  I felt so defeated, low, and just that what on earth am I doing feeling…but I stuck with it, breathed through it, cried it out, talked with my husband and close friends and family and I can say that now I am 100% feeling much better.  I have a clarity and purpose within me that I didn’t feel then.   I would scroll through social media and compare and judge and feel so low.

Now I have a vision, a clear mind and I can definitely say that I feel stronger.  I have no desire to run away from my ‘problems’ and am willing to work harder on myself so that I can live my best life.  I have so much to give and sometimes we forget how important our role is as a wife and mother.  Don’t lose sight of that!

It’s helping that I focus on gratitude.  At 11:11 every day I have an alarm on my phone that goes off.  I stop what I am doing and say out loud what I am grateful for.  Whomever is with me gets to tell me too!! It’s really helpful, especially even when you’re having a heck of a day, and having a hard time finding good in anything–there is always something to be thankful for.

It’s also really magical to view your life from an outsider’s point of view.  You probably have everything you once wished for.  You may be living a life that other people could only dream of.  It’s just really important that we step back and breathe in our moments and realize how special our lives really are.  Sometimes when we are in the daily grind, we miss seeing the bigger picture.

If you stumbled across this post, perhaps it was for a good reason.  I believe we are all connected and someone wants you to take some times and find the gratitude amongst our crazy world. Everything you are, and everything you have at this exact moment is on purpose and for a good reason.

Namasté.