Masterful Mindsets

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls bloom.” ~ Marcel Proust

This week my daughters host their annual Friendsgiving celebration at our home!

I love listening to the hum of their voices talking and laughing. It’s been a little quiet around here this year as both girls and all their friends are away at college. So, I do love when they all come home. And although their friendships will change as they each start to go their own way; the ones who give consistent effort to stay connected will be able to pick up right where they left off every time they get together.

I think about the friends I have - acquaintances, colleagues, family, my spouse, my daughters’ friends’ parents, my workout friends, my long-distance friends, my closest friends, old friends, new friends, potential friends… and on and on. All different levels of friendship and yet all hold value and a place in my heart. Maybe you can relate, when you stop to think ...

“Being able to selectively forget about the things in your life that don’t serve you might just be the most freeing feeling in the world.”

I was recently coaching a client through a session on defining her ideal identity and it reminded me of an old show I watched years ago. It was about a woman who had amnesia and was trying to figure out who she really was. As she began to rediscover herself, what she found was that she didn’t really like who she had been. So, she decided that if she was going to have to relearn who she was, she might as well learn to be who she really wanted to be. She chose to redefine herself, create new beliefs and make some changes that of course, lead to her becoming a better, happier and more successful person then she had ever been.    

I still remember thinking, as I sat there watching the show, that in a way she was kind of lucky. Don’t get me wrong, there would be many downfalls to having amnesia, like not knowing any of your friends or family. But woul...

“The secret of happiness is freedom... The secret of freedom is courage.” - Thucydides

Independence Day is one of the greatest American holidays, both for what we celebrate and how we celebrate it. I mean, who doesn't love a good barbecue, a festive parade and spectacular fireworks? But as our whole world knows, freedom is not something to be taken for granted. A few years ago COVID quickly taught us that lesson. And yet, I still encounter people who readily give their freedom away by being trapped within the walls of their own beliefs and fears.

What about you? Are you trapped by your own fears and limiting beliefs, or do you feel truly free to live your best life? I know one thing; our forefathers certainly didn't fight for our freedom so that we could be imprisoned by our own limitations. So do you have the courage to set yourself free?

Take some time this week and into the coming holiday weekend to reflect on why we celebrate. There are some in this world who only wish they ...

“Your best is going to change from moment to moment, it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstances, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.”  ~ Don Miguel Ruiz

So many people put pressure on themselves to be perfect and what I find interesting about that, is the pressure of “perfect”, usually gets in the way of actually being your best. Maybe you can relate… Do you put pressure on yourself to be perfect or do you accept that your best is enough and simply make it a point to be your best true you each day?

This is where the fourth agreement, Always Do Your Best, from Don Miguel Ruiz’s book, The Four Agreements, comes in. It really could be the easiest of all the agreements and yet so many people struggle with it. But it's not because they don't want to be their best, or they aren’t capable of doing their best. But rather, it's usually a result of not believing that their best is good enough. So instead ...

“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 life into each new day.  

Here's the thing though, if you’re only living life...

“When you can’t find the sunshine, be the sunshine.”

A dear friend of mine recently posted a picture of her home with bright rays of sunshine beaming down. Her caption read,

“In these hard times, don’t forget to shine your light friends.” 

It reminded me of a post I did years ago, which still rings true today. So, I thought I’d pull one from the archives and share it with you this week. Enjoy… and most importantly, be the sunshine!  

Read On: 

Life isn’t always full of sunshine, there are cloudy gloomy days. We all have heartbreaks and sorrows in our lives at times. We all have struggles. Maybe you or someone you know is struggling right now. But know this, happiness is a choice. If you are finding that there hasn’t been a lot of sunshine in your life recently or maybe you know someone that has been struggling and hasn’t had a lot of sunshine in their life lately, then this week’s challenge is for you. 

My challenge to you this week is simple… just be the sunshine! Make happi...