​I've been practicing at practicing what I preach. I know how important it is for me to meditate every day, even if only for 5 minutes. I know that yoga, NIA and walking will make a significant difference in how I feel and function. 

A few weeks ago when visiting family in Arizona, I thought I would be able to keep up my daily practice, and it just didn't happen. Because I knew the what, the why and the how I got right back to it when I got home. 

Practicing is important because it releases my perfectionism and enhances my ability to follow through on my goals. But I have to be clear what I am intending to practice, and so do you!!!

*Because practice makes permanent*
Do you want to keep doing something that isn't working and making it 
Perfect and Permanent? 

First you must know what you want and why you want it. I want to stay calm and fit and healthy inside and out. It's a clear, hard goal. I know that this only happens when I slow down, get aligned and stay focused. If I'm running around and pushing to hard the things that deeply matter to me get lost in the shuffle. 

The fastest way to get clear on your goals and why they matter, is to SLOW DOWN. With more distractions and pressure than ever, we need to remember to... 

• BREATHE 
• STAY PRESENT
• ENJOY THE MOMENT

Some days this is a lot to ask and science is showing us that when we feel stressed, taking six deep breathes will tell our nervous system that everything
is AOK. 
The significant benefit is that you will make better choices, keep your commitments and get back on track when you have lost your way. 
Perfection is the enemy of progress. Let yourself know that you are perfect just as you are and keep moving forward. 
But you have to notice first! Make this a daily practice. 

​

​Change can feel like an icy walkway. You want to go to the other side because you have an intriguing, inspiring destination but you can't tell what's around the corner so you turn around and go back the other way.
I've been there!
 
I actually did walk across this icy mess from the other direction. In retrospect it probably wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done and I wouldn't recommend it for you, but I would have missed the part of the trail I love. So I decided to go for it. When I reached the other side it was such a great feeing.


                    I had arrived - I was safe - I kept my head above water (literally)                          

                        If I had fallen I would have learned something entirely different. 

                   Find a different path - Start again - Stay focused

Ok, don't cross the silly icy path. Look for the right path in the first place. Some things are going to happen by chance and some by choice. If you don't keep moving forward you'll end up back where you started, over and over again, creating the same kind of stress you've always created.  

Put your big girl/boy pants on and get outside your comfort zone.

The seven necessities of a successful business: 

• Have a clear, authentic vision
• Break through your barriers
• Create your path to success
• Keep focused
• Manage the chaos
• Have celebrations and rewards
• Live courageously

It takes courage to live the life you want. Most people just wait it out and wish they had lived differently. What will you do?

          The power of practice is beyond measure!
 
I'm a recovering perfectionist. I always have a desire to do better, do more, be more. When she pays me a visit, I know I need a little more self-love and to accept what was and what is. I need to be more of me and less of my (perfect) expectations. 

The first time someone called me the P word, I was shocked. I am laid back, fun and introspective. I take responsibility for my life, but perfectionist! Never LOL 

As you've heard me say before. 
 
                   If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, give up being perfect or right. 

There is more truth here than you can imagine. Take it to heart today. If you give up your inner perfectionist, practice living according to who you want to be, and stay aligned with your values and desires, you can create a magical world. A world filled with acceptance and joy, peace and prosperity, and you making happy, healthy choices. 

When you change, the world steps up to meet you.

The question I am most often asked is - HOW?
 
Commit and Practice 

• You will not get it right most the time
• Be you - everyone else is already taken
• Vulnerability and acceptance is the key

​Accept what is!

It seems so rudimentary but I promise you, this is the key to you being happy and to making the changes that will bring you more joy, peace and prosperity.  

If you accept where you are, where you want to go will follow. Seriously, you can't know where you want to go without knowing where you are!

Sometimes I get thinking so hard about where I am going that I forget to be where I am. I start feeling stressed and doing more. And then the gentle nudge of presence moves in and I say to myself - Where am I now and what is my next right action? I breathe, I look around, I understand, I move forward with alignment. 

I remember that this moment is the only one I have. Because I accept where I am, I know what I want to change, and consequently where I want to go. I stay focused and I LOVE MY LIFE, just as it is. 

Stress is caused by the desire to be somewhere other than you are
 
There are lots of distractions in life. Money, health, relationships, family? Pick one or all of them. We all face challenges along the way. How we react to them makes the difference. 

Do you react with ease and presence or stress and overwhelm? Let me know.

Remember to

• Breathe
• Look around you
• Accept and embrace what is
• Take the next aligned action

If you lean into acceptance, stay present and take aligned actions you will create a life you love, no matter what. 

A couple of years ago when walking in the park, a hawk landed in a tree just above me. I felt the urge and asked, do you have a message for me? I closed my eyes, I listened and I heard - Blue Water Standing Still - Immediately I felt a sense of calm, beauty and the power of being still. 
 
                                                       I use these words when my mind is spinning.
                                I see a beautiful image and I have an immediate sense of peace.
                                                      Yes, my mind spins and all to often!

Follow your own path & Listen to your inner being 
​

• Always be listening. You never know where a nugget of wisdom will come from. A bird, a stranger, a friend, a coach, a therapist. 
• Change brings on emotions and you must gain the capacity for experiencing emotions that you don't like or are unfamiliar with.
• You are braver, smarter, more beautiful than you think.
• There are no guarantees about anything except the promise of the inevitableness of change and eventual death.
• Stop making yourself wrong. What you think you did or did not do can be the gift of a lifetime (the gift will bare itself in time). 
• Be patient, kind and love yourself first. 

 
Start listening today and enjoy the mystery of a life well lived ​

​                             If it's not working do something different!

Making changes (even little ones) will enable you to -

• Have more fun
• Get sh*t done

How are you wired?
Are you a fidgeter like me? Is your tendency to be the kind of still that makes you lazy and unproductive, or maybe you push to the point of exhaustion. Whatever your innate style is, the important thing is to notice and help yourself toward creating focused success. 

Since I started my coaching practice in 2009, I have spent a lot of time sitting and it doesn't really suit me. I'm fidgety. So I thought I would create a makeshift standing desk before I buy one, and it's working. 

I get to move a bit while still doing my work. I actually feel better too. I have more energy and can concentrate for much longer times. I also use my kneeling chair and the table that's next to me when it's time to sit for a spell. 

• I can move around right where I am so I'm not avoiding focusing or getting distraction by my bodily discomfort. 
• I'm empowering myself by doing something different and being willing to change. 

Part of my - stop fidgeting - practice is to not move for at least five minutes during my morning meditation. I've noticed my stillness has helped me with being less impulsive and I am grateful. It's hard to slow my brain and body down. I'm simply wired that way.  

1. Fidgeters: You need to learn to stay focused.

• Practice sitting still for 5 minutes every day and build up over time
  

2. Stillness Lovers: You need to move even when you don't want to.

• Practice moving for 15 minutes every day without stopping and build up

3. Drivers and Pushers: You need to take a break. STOP and smell the roses, or the coffee, or just look at your naval for 5 minutes every day without stopping
The trick is to keep remembering to practice this practice!

You have to make adjustments in how you do things in order to make the changes you desire.