What a cool night I had last night - while I was sleeping! For me, every day is Thanksgiving. I wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night thanking the Universe for all of the blessings that I have in my life. I keep a gratitude journal, a simple little book of appreciation with short, little snippets of joyful moments pouring off of each page.
Last night, as I was sleeping, my conscious mind would drift to the surface every now and then with an awareness of yet another precious piece of life to be grateful for. Then, with a smile on my face and joy in my heart, I would drift off to sleep again. What a wonderful way to come into this very special day of thanks.
The way I see Thanksgiving is as an official Holiday for gathering together all of the thoughts of gratitude that I send out to the Universe each day. When you do that, how could you help but feel blessed!?
So, on this official holiday of thanks, I thank the Universe for each of you; each of my wonderful clients, and so much more. And I'm grateful that I am able to give thanks each day, not just on this day called Thanksgiving. Perhaps you too could begin a gratitude journal? It brings so much awareness and joy to life. Even on down days, you will find things to be thankful for. The exercise is healing and uplifting. On really down days, reading the journal can help bring you back up the emotional scale to a happier place.
What are you grateful for? Tap into the most inner-parts of yourself, think about your gifts, talents, passion, and loving abilities. Don't forget that the parts deep-down within are the most precious of gifts of all and all of your world will flourish when you are in touch with those most important parts of self.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Fake It Till You Make It
My coaching practice is loaded with professional, successful entrepreneurs and corporate clients. I coach successful people – yes I do. And since this blog is based on honest, open communication, I will be totally upfront here – sometimes I wonder why I am able to attract, and successfully coach, such an incredible clientele. Now, let me tell you, I’ve come a long way. When I first began coaching a number of years ago, I would often think – “Who in the world am I to help people with their life problems? What do I know?” I would ignore my many successes, chalk them up to “luck,” and worry about someone finding out (in spite of my studies, certifications, and experience) that I was faking my way through each session.
Whew! It’s good to get that off my chest. Now-a-days these doubts are minor blips on the radar that probably fall into the “normal range.” However, many of my clients seem to show very similar “symptoms” and could probably be diagnosed as having a chronic case of what we call - The Imposter Syndrome. Some of the people I meet outside of my practice, say, in the coffee house and at networking events, often show the signs as well. It would make total sense that I draw these people to myself for three reasons: 1) Having gone through it myself I am acutely aware of the signs and symptoms, 2) when we are meant to do something specific in life, like help others with specific issues, that subject will haunt us until we listen to the Universe and succumb to the pressure, and (3) the fact that this little known, little understood thing called The Imposter Syndrome runs rampant in the minds of successful and intelligent people.
So, what do you do if you have these limiting thoughts more often than you’d like? How in the world do you start believing in yourself when this has been your thought pattern for as long as you can remember? How much more successful will you become if you can tame this beast?
Start by knowing that you are not alone. Seriously, I address this problem at least once a day in my coaching sessions. At one time or another, I believe that everyone goes through a period in life (at the very least) when thoughts of being a “fake” or “imposter” are limiting to their productivity and self-worth.
Consider coaching as a strong resource for growth and further understanding of yourself and your limiting thought patterns. A safe and nurturing coaching relationship is certainly the quickest way to overcome these self-defeating thought patterns. Begin to keep a log of your limiting beliefs. Ask yourself which are not reality based and which are truly areas to target for self-growth. Give yourself mini rewards for your successes – celebrate them! Talk to others about The Imposter Syndrome – you’ll be surprised to learn that once you open up others will do the same. This is a freeing experience and helps to kick the legs out from under this otherwise sturdy foundation of limiting beliefs.
Please share your experiences, successes, and feedback about The Imposter Syndrome. Let’s support one another here in this wonderful community of friends.
Whew! It’s good to get that off my chest. Now-a-days these doubts are minor blips on the radar that probably fall into the “normal range.” However, many of my clients seem to show very similar “symptoms” and could probably be diagnosed as having a chronic case of what we call - The Imposter Syndrome. Some of the people I meet outside of my practice, say, in the coffee house and at networking events, often show the signs as well. It would make total sense that I draw these people to myself for three reasons: 1) Having gone through it myself I am acutely aware of the signs and symptoms, 2) when we are meant to do something specific in life, like help others with specific issues, that subject will haunt us until we listen to the Universe and succumb to the pressure, and (3) the fact that this little known, little understood thing called The Imposter Syndrome runs rampant in the minds of successful and intelligent people.
So, what do you do if you have these limiting thoughts more often than you’d like? How in the world do you start believing in yourself when this has been your thought pattern for as long as you can remember? How much more successful will you become if you can tame this beast?
Start by knowing that you are not alone. Seriously, I address this problem at least once a day in my coaching sessions. At one time or another, I believe that everyone goes through a period in life (at the very least) when thoughts of being a “fake” or “imposter” are limiting to their productivity and self-worth.
Consider coaching as a strong resource for growth and further understanding of yourself and your limiting thought patterns. A safe and nurturing coaching relationship is certainly the quickest way to overcome these self-defeating thought patterns. Begin to keep a log of your limiting beliefs. Ask yourself which are not reality based and which are truly areas to target for self-growth. Give yourself mini rewards for your successes – celebrate them! Talk to others about The Imposter Syndrome – you’ll be surprised to learn that once you open up others will do the same. This is a freeing experience and helps to kick the legs out from under this otherwise sturdy foundation of limiting beliefs.
Please share your experiences, successes, and feedback about The Imposter Syndrome. Let’s support one another here in this wonderful community of friends.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Cooking Up a Recipe for Love?
Cooking up a new idea or intentionally creating change in your life can sometimes be a long, slow simmering process. The ingredients for change often wait patiently on the back burner until everything is in place and ready to serve up some major shifts in your life. I find this process absolutely fascinating and I'm so glad that I am (usually) at a place where I can sit back and watch in awe as my ideas become more flavorful and little tidbits of change introduce themselves on a more regular basis. I love manifesting positive change and watching it unfold before my eyes! It's like a science experiment with lots of unknowns - or creating a gourmet feast for the pallet without a cookbook. What fun! - Here's my latest...
Fall seems to be the time of year when I like to play with the idea of attracting that "special someone" into my life. There's something about the lovely scent of burning firewood and the crispy crunch of colorful leaves underfoot that conjure up warmth thoughts of a fun relationship and cozy evenings at home. So this fall, I decided to try a "science experiment" and put some intention into bringing some flirtatious fun into me life! Crazy, huh? Let's see what happens - I'll keep you posted, but so far here's where I'm at.
Riley, my wonderful, floppy-eared dog, and I were walking in the woods this weekend and I thought, "OK, so who will we meet today and how can I state the intention of meeting this person?" So I visualized meeting someone (a cute, male someone) who would be fun to chat with for a while. Sure enough, Riley found an adorable little pooch named Sammy to romp around with - and the cool part was that Sammy's dad was pretty cute too! We chatted for about 10 minutes and then went our separate ways. I really enjoyed talking with Sammy's dad so I put together a mental list of the qualities I found so appealing: funny, good listener, nature lover, charming, articulate, smart, great eyes and smile, and obviously a dog lover too!
I feel one step closer to finding a nice guy to hang out with because I attracted these qualities into my life already - albeit in a sort of temporary way. But that's OK because I know the Universe is listening! How cool is that?!
While I'm extremely happy with my life sans the significant other, it sure is fun to explore the possibilities and see what comes along. The trick here is (I believe) letting go of the outcome. As I give intention to consciously creating this change, I also allow that it may not be time or that I may need to be "alone" for a longer period of my life. And that's OK - it just is what it is...and I'm incredibly happy either way. Yay! I love cooking and I love science. I feel like I'm bringing both interests into my life as I cook up intentional change and watch what happens.
Do you have examples of creating change with intent? What kind of fun do you like to have with this wonderful process? I'll keep you posted on mine!
Fall seems to be the time of year when I like to play with the idea of attracting that "special someone" into my life. There's something about the lovely scent of burning firewood and the crispy crunch of colorful leaves underfoot that conjure up warmth thoughts of a fun relationship and cozy evenings at home. So this fall, I decided to try a "science experiment" and put some intention into bringing some flirtatious fun into me life! Crazy, huh? Let's see what happens - I'll keep you posted, but so far here's where I'm at.
Riley, my wonderful, floppy-eared dog, and I were walking in the woods this weekend and I thought, "OK, so who will we meet today and how can I state the intention of meeting this person?" So I visualized meeting someone (a cute, male someone) who would be fun to chat with for a while. Sure enough, Riley found an adorable little pooch named Sammy to romp around with - and the cool part was that Sammy's dad was pretty cute too! We chatted for about 10 minutes and then went our separate ways. I really enjoyed talking with Sammy's dad so I put together a mental list of the qualities I found so appealing: funny, good listener, nature lover, charming, articulate, smart, great eyes and smile, and obviously a dog lover too!
I feel one step closer to finding a nice guy to hang out with because I attracted these qualities into my life already - albeit in a sort of temporary way. But that's OK because I know the Universe is listening! How cool is that?!
While I'm extremely happy with my life sans the significant other, it sure is fun to explore the possibilities and see what comes along. The trick here is (I believe) letting go of the outcome. As I give intention to consciously creating this change, I also allow that it may not be time or that I may need to be "alone" for a longer period of my life. And that's OK - it just is what it is...and I'm incredibly happy either way. Yay! I love cooking and I love science. I feel like I'm bringing both interests into my life as I cook up intentional change and watch what happens.
Do you have examples of creating change with intent? What kind of fun do you like to have with this wonderful process? I'll keep you posted on mine!
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