Masterful Mindsets

"The journey to joy begins with acceptance." ~ Margaret Feinberg

Ever have one of those days when nothing seems to go right? Kinda makes you cranky, doesn't it? But what if you just accepted it and laughed it off? Could it be possible to find joy even when life seems to be unraveling?

Let’s get one thing straight about this week’s quote, it does not mean that you should settle for whatever or wherever you are in life. But rather, I believe it means that once you face where you are with acceptance of the situation – whether good or bad – you can put your energy into adapting and advancing. In other words, instead of wasting time and energy staying stuck in the problem, you just acknowledge it and then you can begin to shift your focus to the solution and moving forward into a more joyful life.

Let’s face it, life does not always turn out exactly as we’d like. There are plenty of mistakes, disappointments and failures all along the way....

“Grow through what you go through.”

Well, spring is here! My family is home for spring break, and we are busy planting, playing, loving and working. In other words, we are enjoying life.

Although the reality is, life can be chaotic and full of hardships, disappointments, and trials. I was thinking about this recently as my youngest daughter is nearing the end of her senior year. Time has flown by, and we are about to embark on a new chapter of our lives. That’s a challenge for me because I know she will be leaving soon. But instead of choosing to stay stuck; rejecting change, and resisting the future, I went through a process that I want to share with you today. I set into motion a series of steps that have pushed me past the bittersweet pain that change often brings and on to making the most of the life I have while I work towards embracing the future that is before me.

In general, it can be easy to get stuck in the trap of...

"Sometimes it’s okay if the only thing you did today was breathe." ~Yumi Sakugawa

The holidays can be emotional for many people, especially if you’re going through a difficult time. We each fight our own unseen battles everyday no matter how big or small, and the holidays can bring about a lot of additional stress which in turn can cause emotions to escalate.

Whether you are grieving the loss of a loved one or struggling through another hardship like a broken relationship, a lack of direction, a failed business, an illness, a family quarrel or even grieving the dreams for your future hopes that did not come to pass this year, I want you to know that’s it’s okay to honor your grief and sadness. But I don’t want you to get stuck in it.

So today, just breathe... as I share some caring tips for coping with grief, depression or other strong negative emotions throughout the holidays this year.

If you are struggling this holiday season for any reason, please...

“The energy you radiate has the power to influence everyone you encounter.” - Michelle Weimer

This week’s topic of energy ties in with last month’s series on influence because of the fact that today I want to talk about how your energetic presence affects and influences those you are around.

If you are upbeat and highly energetic both physically and emotionally, people around you can feel that energy. Likewise, if you are putting out negative energy and emotions, the people around you are going to feel that as well. Take that thought in for a minute and think about the energy you’ve been giving off. How do you think it’s affecting those around you?

Now think about this, if you had the power to control the quality of air your family is breathing, would you fill the room with a toxic gas that could ultimately harm them? Of course not! Instead you’d want to pump it full of pure life-giving air. And yet, if you are giving off negative energy...

“True success is a feeling of happiness and joy.”  ~ Michelle Weimer

If you were going to define success for yourself, how would you define it? It’s easy to get caught up in the idea that success is a certain dollar amount in your bank account, a seat at the top of the corporate ladder, a new car, beautiful home, fit body, perfect relationship, etc. You know, the storybook life that all too often gets portrayed through pictures on social media and in the movies. But what I think is even more important than “Instagram Glam” is the true feeling behind those images.

If you’ve ever gotten an email from me, you know I sign off, “Happiness and Success” all the time. There’s a reason for that… It’s because I wholeheartedly believe that they go together. See, in my opinion, it’s the way we feel about our lives that defines true success. You might have it all according to the external image, but if you...

“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...

“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...

"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...

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” ~Socrates

As we come to the end of our series on loving your work, if you know you don’t love what you do, and can’t seem to get the passion back, perhaps you realized it’s time for a change. I know it can be scary to put yourself out there, especially if you’re not sure you have what it takes to change, but you don’t have to be afraid of career change. You just need to build a plan so you can be prepared to put your best foot forward.  

Last week I shared some valuable components that you will want to gain clarity on before considering a career change. No use changing if you don’t know why you’re changing or what you really want. (Missed it? Read it here.) Once you’ve gotten that clarity, you’re ready to build your plan and take a leap into a new career.

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