Masterful Mindsets

When you choose joy, you feel good and
When you feel good, you do good and
When you do good it reminds others of
what joy feels like, and it just might inspire
them to do the same.

We are all in full holiday mode – no matter what holiday it is that you celebrate - so today I want to share with you how to have a happy holiday. And how to survive the holidays in a positive way using five high performance (holiday) tips to help you bring the joy into your own life and to others.

Clarity - Be clear about what is most important to you this holiday season. And set your intention for how you want to show up. (i.e. bringing happiness and joy to others, being charitable, kind, etc.) It’s easy to be stressed out, overwhelmed, grumpy or angry during the holidays. But make a choice to get clear about how you want your holidays to be and how you want to show up this holiday season and then remind yourself of...

“There are hidden blessings in every struggle. Be grateful for every blessing both hidden and apparent.” ~unknown

Years ago, I was speaking to a fellow coach who believed that hardships and tragedy are things we should embrace and even love. Now I will admit that I completely balked at that idea. I mean seriously, “love tragedy”? Nope. After all, I’ve experienced a lot of hardship and loss in my life and have worked with clients throughout the years who have endured tremendous struggle and unthinkable tragedy so I was not convinced that any of those things were something we could love.

But what I do believe, is that although we might not be able to get to the point of loving what has happened, we can in fact look for the gift in those experiences and love those gifts. Because hidden in every experience we have – the good and the bad – there is a gift given to us. And if we can identify the gifts and be grateful for them, then we can...

“Another day, another blessing and another chance at life. Take nothing for granted and think of every breath as a gift.”  ~ unknown

As you know, if you’ve been following along the past few weeks, I’ve been focusing this month’s posts on Gratitude. Gratitude is a powerful thing. So much so that it can actually boost your happiness by up to 25%. So today, I want to explore the power of focusing on the gifts and blessings that we often overlook so that instead, we can make certain we take time regularly to look at them through the lens of gratitude.  

It can be easy to take people, experiences, and things in our lives for granted. But to practice gratitude from a higher level of consciousness, we must not take things “for granted” but rather see them “as granted”. This small shift in language creates a powerful shift in mindset and moves us from an attitude of entitlement to humility. And even if we...

“Let us be thankful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” ~Marcel Proust

If you live in the US, odds are you’re preparing for the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow. Which can mean many different things for people. For some it’s no more than an excuse to eat and drink too much. Or a much-needed day off from work. But for most people, it’s a day to get together with family and friends to remember what we are most thankful for. And if you’re lucky, the two go together… the people you’re with are in fact what you are most thankful for. So, as we prepare for this day of thanksgiving… why not use this as a time for reflection and sharing with those we truly are grateful for.

Going back to the research I’ve been sharing with you over the last couple of weeks from Robert Emmons, who wrote the book Gratitude Works! I want to share another idea for how you can practice gratitude...

“It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.” ~David Steindl-Rast

Last week I gave you an interesting statistic on the power of gratitude… I shared that people who have a gratitude practice of writing down at least 5 things they are grateful for once a week can boost their happiness by as much as 25% in as little as 10 weeks. Which is a compelling statistic in and of itself. But today I want to share a few more facts with you about the power of gratitude. (Just in case a 25% increase in happiness isn’t enough to convince you that it’s worth it to have a gratitude practice.)  

So Robert Emmons, who is one of the world’s leading researchers on the science of gratitude along with his colleague Mike McCollough were the first researchers to discover the profound benefits of gratitude through their studies.

What they found was that people who regularly cultivate gratitude “experience a multitude of...

“If you need something to be grateful for then check your pulse. Always be thankful for the gift of life.” ~unknown 

My birthday is this week, and I will admit, I have moments periodically when I feel a little ho-hum about getting older. It’s usually when my body or brain doesn’t allow me to do some of the things I used to do with ease…

I tried to “limbo” under our split rail fence recently and wasn’t sure I was going to get back up. I’m sure if my husband watched the security camera, he got a good laugh.

Anyway, my point is, that it’s easy to take life and all its moments for granted. We can be quick to complain about the passing moments without appreciating them. But life is made up of all those moments, the good and the not so good. And aging… well, that’s a gift that not everyone gets to experience. Yet most people are quick to complain about it instead of being thankful that they get to breathe...

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” ~Dale Carnegie

Halloween is over but for many, the fears they experience every day are much more frightening. If you know that your fear often gets the better of you then let’s unmask those fears and see them for what they really are, so they can lose their power and stop holding you captive.

If you read last week’s post, then by now you’ve already started to make a list of your biggest fears. So in this post, we’re going to identify what’s really at the root of your fear. Because awareness is the first step to change so once you recognize the real fear, you can work on building courage to move beyond it.

With most people, it comes down to the four primary fears I’ll be sharing with you today. Let’s see if you can identify where these four common fears show up in your...

“Change can be scary, but you know what’s scarier? Allowing fear to stop you from growing, evolving, and progressing.” ~ Mandy Hale

Halloween is just around the corner so what better time to talk about fear than now? But this isn't about ghosts and goblins, this is about something so much scarier... The fears that keep you from living to your full potential and creating the life of your dreams!  

We all have fears. Even the most successful people in the world have fears but they also have great courage too. Those who perform at a high level are aware of their fears and instead of trying to become completely fearless, they actively anticipate and manage their fears so they can move beyond them. Which is how they are able to develop so much courage.

The more you can conquer your fear, the greater courage you can develop too. But first, it’s helpful to know what you’re really afraid of. So get out your journal and take a few moments to answer...

"Our character isn't defined by the battles we win or lose, but by the battles we dare to fight."  ~ Robert Beatty

What battles are you fighting in your life right now? Are you still fighting old battles from the past? Fighting with others? Or fighting an internal battle?

We all have battles we fight in our lives. Some are external - with other people. For example, a power struggle at work or a court battle with a spouse, over a divorce. (Even holding a grudge over a fight between siblings from the past can stir up new battles every time you interact with each other.)  

Some battles are not of our choosing - the battle for your life when facing a life threatening disease like cancer or maybe having to battle back from an injury, after having an accident. Sure we can choose whether or not to fight them. But we don't necessarily choose them to be in our lives.  

And then of course, there are the internal battles we fight. The battles with our ego and our self limiting...

"Trust yourself. Trust your path." ~unknown

Ever worry about the future? I know, dumb question, right? I don’t know anyone who at some point or another… sometimes or maybe always… worries about the future. It happens. So, I want to tell you about an experience I had recently in hopes that it might serve as a reminder to you that you don’t have to be afraid of the future.

See, I’ve been losing sleep lately. Yes, maybe it’s my unruly midlife hormones fluctuating up and down but on top of that, it’s the worry and fear I’ve been feeling for the future. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve also been feeling a great deal of excitement for the future. Our family is on the cusp of some big transitions....

My oldest daughter, in her second year of college, has been learning the not so fun parts of adulting and with every year that goes by, she gets closer to full adulthood with all it's responsibilities. The uncertainty of where...