Masterful Mindsets

"Embrace your grief. For there, your soul will grow."   ~Carl Jung

The holidays aren’t always “the most wonderful time of the year” for everyone. As a matter of fact, this time of year can be a very difficult time for many. Especially if you are grieving from a loss, struggling financially, dealing with an illness, coping with depression, or feeling alone and isolated. 

The holidays can significantly increase sadness and grief, amplify emotional wounds and even escalate to serious depression. If you have experienced a loss (of any kind) recently, it can be an especially difficult time.

So how do you survive the holidays if you are hurting?

Grief and depression are natural when you are experiencing a loss in your life. For some, loss isn't just the death of a loved one, but can be the death of a dream, a relationship or even a job. Just know that grief and depression have many causes and take on many faces. You don't have to label it - if you are feeling it, you are feeling it. ...

“The launching pad for emotional freedom is always yourself.” ~ Judith Orloff

Last week I told you a personal story about how I discovered I was feeling stuck emotionally because I hadn't given myself the time to acknowledge and honor my feelings. As a result, my stuck emotions were screaming for attention in the form of some interesting physical, mental and emotional energy “mishaps” if you will. So, if you think you’ve got some stuck emotions that might just be wreaking havoc on your life… then this is for you.

Odds are high that at some point in your life, you’ve buried some emotions inside of you that could be holding you back in your life. You may not be consciously aware of these stuck emotions on a daily basis… but they may very likely be keeping you stuck and robbing you of precious emotional bandwidth that could be used for more peace and happiness in your life.

Maybe your unprocessed emotions show up in the form of unexpected anger toward your loved ones… or as an unre...

“You can’t move on to your next destination if you don’t get unstuck from where you are.”

I was speaking with a fellow coach recently who’d asked me what I’d been up to. I told her we’d gotten our youngest daughter off to college and then filled her in on all the details of what’d been going on in business and how busy we’d been. Then I said, “But I’ve been super tired lately and feeling like I’m stuck on some projects that I just can’t get clarity or motivation on.” With which she proceeded to ask me, “Have you given yourself permission to grieve?”

My initial reaction was, to wonder what she was getting at and what that could possibly have to do with my stuckness. I thought, “I shouldn’t be grieving. I don’t have any reason to grieve.” After all, isn’t grief about death and loss? Sure, maybe not always a loss of life; if you’ve ever heard me speak on “The Death of a Dream” then you know that we can also grieve the loss or letting go of an unfulfilled dream for the future, a los...

"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 read on and feel free to s...