Masterful Mindsets

“No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.”  ~Proverb

Living in Colorado we have a saying, “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes, it’ll change.” And springtime here is certainly guaranteed to make that statement ring true. It’s this time of the year when one day it can be a beautiful warm, sunny, spring day and the next - a huge storm bringing freezing temps and several inches of snow. It’s during this time that we start to feel like winter will never end. But, just like this week’s quote, no matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.

So, what does this have to do with Masterful Mindsets and more importantly, life?

Well, it is a sign of hope! And not just hope for warmer days. But hope for new beginnings. It’s a reminder that in the dark, dreary, cold spaces of your life, you can still have hope that no matter how long that period lasts, a new season of life will come and with it, new growth, promises of warmth and renewed beauty in your lif...

"I’m a great believer in luck, I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”   ~ Thomas Jefferson

What are your beliefs around luck? Do you believe that having good luck is out of your control and only the lucky ones can really have a life they love? Or do you believe that you are in complete control and that your beliefs, attitude, and actions determine the kind of luck you have?

My daughters were both highly competitive athletes. For years you could usually find me at a field or court, watching them play soccer or basketball, year around. As a matter of fact, my youngest daughter is in her first year playing college soccer, so I am still at games all the time.

And like most parents, I would always have a few pre-game words for them that almost always include these three phrases, “Play Hard! Have Fun! And Good Luck!”

So with St. Patrick’s Day being earlier this week, I thought it would be fun to discuss the concept of “luck” for this week’s Masterful Mindset. I mean, what ...

“Let the rhythm of your own heart’s desires be the beat you keep. Because it’s when you march to the beat of your own drum that your whole life becomes a passionate dance to the most beautiful music your soul has ever heard.”  ~ Michelle Weimer

Do you march to the beat of your own drum or do you give in to conformity because you are afraid of what others will think? Do you listen to your heart or do you make decisions based on guilt or shoulds?

Too often we try to drive our lives fueled by negative motivators but that doesn't work well. So if you really want to create the life you desire, you've got to let go of those negative motivators and start marching to the beat of your own drum... 

It's already March and before we know it, it’ll be the first day of spring. Seems like just yesterday we were celebrating the new year and setting goals for the future. I wonder though, how many of your goals were truly yours?

What do I mean by that?

Well it seems that so often people set g...

"You must have control of the authorship of your own destiny. The pen that writes your life story must be held in your own hand." - Irene C. Kassorla

Everyone has a story. For some it might feel like a mystery, a fairy tale, a drama, a love story, fiction, or fact. But perhaps what's most important...Is it holding you back?

I repeatedly hear "stories" from people about why they are like they are and why it has kept them stuck. They refer to all this as the "reasons" why they are stuck or struggling, why they haven't made changes or haven’t succeeded at their life’s dreams. But basically, what they really are - are the excuses that they've become comfortable with so that they don't have to step out of their comfort zone and change.

So I ask you, do you often find yourself saying things like: 

"Oh that's just the way I am.”  
"That's how I was raised." 
"My parents were this way, therefore, I'm..." 

Do you find yourself launching into a big "story" when something doesn't work out ...

“You are enough, you are so enough, it’s unbelievable how enough you are.” ~Sierra Boggess

Last week I shared three common negative thoughts that frequently emerge when someone is pushing outside their comfort zone, facing a challenge, or struggling in some way. But quite honestly, none of them would likely crop up if they weren’t rooted in the mother of all sabotaging beliefs.

What is that belief? Well think about it for a second and then read on…

The mother of all sabotaging beliefs is: “I am not good enough!”

Yep, if you dig deep into your negative thoughts, odds are high you will find most limiting beliefs and fears are rooted in the assumption that in some way, shape or form, you are not good enough to handle whatever it is you are facing.

Don’t believe me? Try this little exercise the next time you find negative thoughts popping up in your head… If you ask the question “why” after your thought, what would be your answer?

Now the initial answer might not sound exactly l...

“It’s your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.” ~ Rumi

Have you ever found yourself enviously comparing yourself to others or wishing you had someone else’s life instead of focusing on your own life’s path? When you try to follow someone else’s path, it can be uncomfortable and frustrating. Why? Because you are your own person. Every experience you have is uniquely yours because you are unique. Sure, you can model after how others do things, you certainly don’t have to reinvent the wheel but trying to fit a square peg in a round hole will surely only end in disappointment for you. True happiness comes when you free yourself to be yourself. And you find your true power when you start taking actions to move yourself along your own path.

So, do what fits you… do things your way, with your own twist. March to the beat of your own drum, listen to the rhythm of your own heart and know what you desire most - then start walking your road to...

“Do something every day that scares you.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

When was the last time you tried something new for the first time? I posed this question to my Tuff Chicks Group recently because I think it is important to try new things, be open to change, challenge yourself and of course, as the featured quote says, do something that scares you!  

I was speaking with my own coach recently (Yes, coaches have coaches – the process works! So why wouldn’t we?!?!) and was asked to rank how much I feel I challenge myself and to name something I’ve done lately that has pushed me out of my comfort zone. It was kind of interesting because at first I was being really hard on myself and then I began to think of several occasions recently when I’d stepped out of my comfort zone to take a risk, learn something new and challenge myself big time with a huge project. Doing the exercise made me feel really proud, because stepping out of my comfort zone is something that I try to challenge myself to...

"The will to persevere is often the difference between failure and success."  ~David Sarnoff 

When you hear the word persistence, what do you think of? For me, I like the way Josh Shipp describes it. He says, "Perseverance is stubbornness with a purpose." At first read, that is funny, right? But it also proves a valuable point. That sometimes what one person sees as a negative trait, another can see as a great quality.

I remember when I was a school counselor and I'd help students with their scholarship applications. Often they were asked to describe themselves. So I'd give them the directive to make a list of their qualities. Many struggled and they'd say things like, my parents think I'm stubborn, my friends think I'm bossy, my teachers think I'm…

As for myself personally, I've been called stubborn on more than one occasion too. So now I know, that just means I'm persistent. 😉 Which, in the right context, can be a great quality. Being stubborn from an egocentric place is not a...

“Sometimes life takes you in a direction you never saw yourself going but it turns out to be the best and most beautiful journey you’ve ever taken.”

I read a short story once by Longtime Sesame Street writer Emily Perl Kingsley. It was something she had written to help people understand her experience of raising a child with disabilities, as her son was born with Downs Syndrome. She explains it as someone who’s planned and planned to take a vacation to Italy, only to board the plane and land in Holland.

Imagine the surprise and disappointment you might feel when you realized you’d reached the wrong destination. All your preparation, studying the Italian language, mapping out your trip, creating your itinerary, researching your destination, were all lost. Time wasted. Now you’re somewhere you didn’t want to be. At first you might not be able to look past the disappointment of not being in Italy to see what a beautiful place Holland was too. Yes, it’s different then you had planne...

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.”   ~ Abraham Lincoln

I had a woman schedule a strategy session with me last week who told me she was feeling like a real failure because she had “already blown it” for this year. See she had decided that this was going to be the year that she got her health back, cleared out the clutter in her house and stopped saying yes to everyone’s demands of her. Yet after just a couple weeks she had found herself back in the old patters of unhealthy eating, not even starting on the house and pleasing others by overcommitting herself.  

Here’s the thing… the one resolution she hadn’t made, was a resolution to succeed at the goals she’d set for herself no matter what. Why is this important? Well quite simply because changing old habits isn’t always easy. So, without the resolve to keep working at it, keep pushing yourself to recommit every day, it can be easier to just give up. And that is where she was...