My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. ~ Maya Angelou You go about your day doing what you do but are you surviving or thriving? How would you answer that question if I asked you right now? First you have to understand the difference between surviving and thriving. Surviving you are existing in spite of danger or hardship, and thriving you are prospering and flourishing. Big difference! Regardless of your current situation or circumstances, I am sure most of you reading this would love to say that you ARE thriving right now in your life. Some of you are thriving . . . while many of you may not be. If you feel “stuck in a rut” or depressed or even bored, you are not thriving. You can continue to survive or you can make a conscious choice to thrive. It’s up to you – your choice. If you decide you want to thrive, what does that mean for you and how do you do that? There are many facets to live a life where you are thriving. It can be overwhelming to make all or many of the necessary changes. Pick one piece of what thriving means to you and work on that. Once you take steps, even baby steps, toward making changes in that area, it will help you make changes in other areas of your “surviving” life to a “thriving” life. When you do not have a lot of resources in your life . . . family, friends, money, material things to live, etc, it becomes difficult to find ways to start thriving. That is understandable. Regardless of what you have or don’t have, it is your perception and attitude that contributes to the quality of your life. It’s what you make of what you have that allows you to thrive. Something that can help tremendously and will cost you nothing other than your time, is to look at your beliefs and attitudes about yourself and your life. What you think, you become! If you believe all those things you were told years ago about not being capable or good enough, that is what you will be. You may want to click on this link to read an earlier blog that tells how what you think and speak about yourself affects the life you are living. After you have made changes to your beliefs about yourself, look at what you believe about your life. No matter what is going on in your life, you have choices! You can choose to stay right where you are and that is fine. Or, you can choose right now in this moment that your life is going to take another path. You are the master of your life, not someone else. Anything is possible and miracles happen! I know you are saying that Julie doesn’t understand what I am going through and what is happening in my life. You are correct!!! I don’t know. What I do know is that you know YOU better than anyone else on this planet. If you choose, you have the strength and the wisdom within you to accomplish just about anything. I believe that anything is possible and miracles happen! Is there something about your life where you feel like you are stuck? Is it your job, relationship, health, finances? Pick one area and find one thing you can do to help you start the process of getting “unstuck”. For example, let’s look at the job you feel stuck in. Realistically you feel you can’t just quit because you have bills to pay and responsibilities. Okay, that’s fair. Is there something about your job that you love or at least like a lot? Can you focus on that part of your job and look forward to it each day? Or, is there a project at work that interest you that you could ask to help with it? Maybe you can look outside your current job and find something to do part-time that would make you happy. Have you ever had an idea of doing something on your own and possibly it could develop into your own business? Is there a hobby that intrigues you that may someday turn into more than a hobby? Any change you make in any area of your life is going to spill over and affect all areas of your life. Everything is interrelated. Whether you take a small or big step towards getting “unstuck," watch how everything in your life begins to change and flow. I'm celebrating you taking that first step to being in the flow of a thriving life! You can do it! Thank you for sharing, liking and commenting below about this blog. Feedback is always welcome. Are you ready to live the life you desire and deserve? Julie Wilson is a Life Coach who is dedicated to help you be the best version of YOU! For more information, click the button below.
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To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance. ~ Oscar Wilde Why is it that you can love others but it is not always so easy to love yourself? Loving others comes very easily and naturally to many of you. Even those of you who have not experienced much love in your life, you can still find a way to show love and be loving with other people. I was never taught about self-love. Were you? I believe our society use to have the mindset that if you thought about yourself first, you were either selfish or narcissist. It is now known that it is important to take care of yourself, first, so that you can be in a better place to help others. In the world we live in, if we each took time to love ourselves, can you imagine what the world would be like? It is important to fill yourself up to overflowing and then allow that overflow to go out to others. When you love yourself, you form the foundation for all the other relationships in your life as mentioned in my last blog, Your #1 Relationship . . . YOU. Let’s look at some practical ways to help you take that first step on the road of self-love. You can choose to do one of these self-love practices or several at one time. There is no right or wrong way to do this. Just start doing something to love yourself and anchor that love within you. Accept yourself . . . warts and allYes, you have read this before in an earlier blog but it is important to repeat here. Until you can accept you, all of you, it will be difficult to completely love you. Stop comparing yourself to others. You can never be someone else or even be completely like anyone else! You are unique and special in your own way and that is beautiful. Celebrate who you are! Stop beating yourself upHave you ever stopped to listen to what you tell yourself on a daily or even hourly basis? We are usually our worst critic. Stop saying negative things, out loud or in your mind, about yourself. Your body and mind are constantly listening to what you are saying. Soon all those negative things you have said about yourself will be programmed into you. Become more aware of what you are thinking and saying about yourself. Would you say these same things to someone you love? Stop yourself every time you realize what you are saying is negative and turn it into something positive. “I am so fat” becomes “I am taking walks and eating better so I know I will lose weight and be healthier.” Schedule time to do what brings you joyI have worked with people who felt silly scheduling time for themselves and for most, it was the hardest thing for them to do. Everyone seems to be so busy with life. For this reason, I suggest they block out a time in their schedule to do something they enjoy. Love to take walks, schedule 30 minutes at least 2-3 times a week to take a walk. Love to have coffee with a friend, set aside time in your schedule to meet your friend for coffee. Give yourself permission to take time for what makes you happy. Even if you only feel you can schedule time for you once a week, start there. As you see the benefits of taking time for you, you will find even more ways to schedule time for you. Take time for self-carePart of loving yourself is taking good care of you, all of you! Start by treating yourself as the precious spirit that you are. No matter what your resources are, you can find a way to nurture yourself. Consider healthy nutrition, getting enough sleep, exercise and time with family and friends. All of this may seem like a lot to do but it can be incorporated into your daily routine. Look at your spiritualityRegardless of a religion or system you believe in, your spirituality comes from a different perspective. It comes from within you. It is your beliefs, feelings, emotions, those “inner knowings” that are your truths. It is looking at what is true for you . . . the truth within you. Take time to sit and just be with yourself as you examine your truths. Allow this part of you to “speak” to you and guide you in the journey of self-love. For some of you, it is time to listen to the wise part of you that knows you better than anyone else! We all desire to love and be loved. Why not start with yourself? You will find that as you take time to be loving with yourself, that love flows out to everyone around you. When you love yourself, it is a gift you give not only to yourself, but to everyone around you. Thank you for that gift! Thank you for sharing, liking and commenting below about this blog. Feedback is always welcome. Are you ready to live the life you desire and deserve? Julie Wilson is a Life Coach who is dedicated to help you be the best version of YOU! For more information, click the button below.
You are the only person you can count on for the rest of your life. ~ Julie Wilson You are in a relationship with so many people . . . your spouse, children, immediate and extended family, friends, coworkers and the list goes on. You are also in a relationship with "things" . . . your job, your money, your car, your health and so much more. You are in a relationship with everyone and everything in your life and yet, have you ever looked closely at all your relationships? The majority of you reading this spend most of your time focused on two to five important “people” relationships in your life. If you consider the time interacting with the person, thinking about the person, helping the person and all that you do with the person, it takes a lot of time to be in a relationship. Then you have all the other relationships that are not people related, like your job, and you can see that you spend a lot of time and energy in relationships. With all of this going on in your life, have you ever considered how important it is to have a relationship with you? It’s critical to have a good relationship with you. Your relationship with you affects all of your other relationships! It is important to take time to have a relationship with YOU! Have you ever realized that the only person in this world that you can count on for the rest of your life is you? I know some of you are thinking “Julie has no clue what she is writing about because I am in a solid relationship with my spouse of 25 years!” That is wonderful and I am happy for you but your spouse, anyone you in your life, could be gone tomorrow! You are the only person you can count on to be with you for the rest of your life. You will be with you through every minute of every day for the rest of your life. Doesn’t it make sense to you to do everything you can to have a loving, caring relationship with you? It’s important to understand that the most important relationship you have with anyone is with YOU! If you are upset, angry or frustrated with yourself, that is going to spill over into all your other relationships. If you don’t like yourself, that feeling will be sent out from you and other people will pick up on it. It will affect how they see you and interact with you. If you don’t like you, then how can you expect others to like you? I would guess that you weren’t taught about self-love or how to have a relationship with yourself. You can have a relationship with you in the same manner you have a sincere, loving relationship with someone else. Take care of yourself, help yourself, love yourself. When you are comfortable being with you and spending time with you, then you are on the road to establishing a lifelong relationship with you. I have worked with many people who are struggling with their marriage or with their children or at work. When they make it a priority to spend time on their relationship with themselves, everything in their life seems to improve. At first, it may not be an easy task to have a beautiful relationship with yourself. As you develop your relationship with you, watch how it affects all of your other relationships. The more you feel good about you and can Love Yourself . . . Warts and All as I mentioned in my last blog, the stronger your relationship will be with others and everything in your life. If you are the only person you can count on for the rest of your life, isn’t it worth the effort to make your relationship with YOU your #1 priority? Thank you for sharing, liking and commenting below about this blog. Feedback is always welcome. Are you ready to live the life you desire and deserve? Julie Wilson is a Life Coach who is dedicated to help you be the best version of YOU! For more information, click the button below.
To accept ourselves as we are means to value our imperfections as much as our perfections. ~ Sandra Bierig If you are like many people, you have a whole list of things you wish were different about you. How many times have you thought to yourself "I wish I were smarter or thinner or had prettier hair"? For whatever reason, we tend to be our own worst critic! It's time now to embrace all those aspects of you that you wish were different. In my last blog, Imperfectly Perfect You, you were "let off the hook" of being perfect. If you no longer have the pressure of being perfect, "being different" just might feel comfortable to you. Can you now accept that which cannot be changed and take steps to change that which can be changed? A big part of this is acceptance of yourself. Can you see through the so called "imperfections" and love yourself? No matter what you think or feel about yourself, there is something good and wonderful about each one of you reading this. I have found when I focus on the good, I see more of the good. Rather than focus on your "imperfections," focus on all the great things about YOU! We all have "imperfections" and that is what makes each one of us special. Many of you have heard me say "you have to love and accept yourself, warts and all." I know you don't have any warts! Think of them as imperfections. You have to love yourself, imperfections and all. You have to love and accept yourself, warts and all! How many of you have allowed your imperfections to hold you back? Have you said "I'm not creative enough to paint beautiful pictures" or "I'm not good at this or that so why bother trying to do it?" You are allowing the voice of your ego to dictate what you will and will not do. Time now for the true you to tell you what to do and be! Take a moment to think of something you have always wanted to do but never did because you didn't think you had the skills or were good enough to do it. Now get into your heart center and feel what it would be like doing that particular thing you didn't think you could do. Does it make your heart sing when you feel into the possibility of you doing it? Now that you have identified what it is you have always wanted to do but never did, you can take steps to make that happen. Any step, no matter how small, is a statement to yourself that you believe in you! Believe in yourself! What would you do if you knew you would not fail? In trying, you have succeeded, regardless of the outcome. Small successes are so much more than no successes because you did not even try. A successful person has failed so many more times than a person who has not even tried. The knowledge you gain from a so called "failure" can be turned into a beneficial success. Perhaps you always wanted to learn how to paint with acrylics. You could check out books from the library about how to paint, take a beginning acrylic painting class or watch YouTube videos that show the different painting techniques. Each painting you do is one creative step closer to painting the beautiful picture you always dreamed you would paint some day! Each one of your carries an important piece of the fabric of the world we live in. It would not be the same without you here. Yes, you have "imperfections". Embrace them! Know there is perfection in your imperfections. Love yourself . . . warts and all! Thank you for sharing, liking or commenting below about this blog. Feedback is always welcome. Are you ready to live the life you desire and deserve? Julie Wilson is a Life Coach who is dedicated to help you be the best possible version of YOU! For more information, click the button below.
I love looking in the mirror and feeling good about what I see. ~ Heather Morris When you look in the mirror, who do you see? Do you see your true self or do you see another version of you? Your eyes and your mind work together to help you see what you are looking at. Your mind holds many beliefs about you that shape who you see in the mirror. Often these beliefs are not even yours! Regardless of what you have been told or what you believe about yourself, you have the ability to change those beliefs and recreate them into what is true for you now. In the last blog, Coming Soon: New Release Movie Featuring You, I wrote about how you can start the process of changing your beliefs by first recognizing what beliefs you have that are no longer true for you. Stop reading this for a moment and recall something you have been told that you know in your heart is not true about you. Perhaps as a child you were taunted that you were a "quitter" and you would never accomplish anything! Sometimes, even now, you resist starting something new because you believe you will not finish it. You may have the "quitter" program running in the background, consciously or unconsciously, holding you back. Time for you to let go of that belief and replace it with a new one! Let's look at a concrete way to make a change. Recognizing what you want to change is the first step. Being willing to release or change that belief is the next step. Then it is a matter of anchoring the new belief within you in a way that creates new pathways in your brain. Using the "quitter" example, you could plan to do something and complete it. Perhaps you have never done a 10k race because you were afraid you would not finish. Anything you can do to move toward accomplishing that goal puts you one step closer to rewriting the belief that you are a quitter. What steps can you put into place to help you be successful in completing the race? You might start out walking two miles four times a week and soon you are walking more than two miles each time. Next, you find yourself walking/jogging those miles. Your strength and confidence increase. All the while you are telling yourself, "I am not a quitter. I am more than capable of completing anything I decide to do!" You enter a 5k race and find that you were able to accomplish that with ease. Before long, you are doing a 10k race. As you cross the finish line, you know you are not what you were told all those years ago. Through this process, you have rewired your brain with a new belief that you are a successful person and not a quitter! Not all beliefs take this long to change. Some can easily be changed by recognizing the belief and restating it into a belief that you know is your truth. Then anything you do in a concrete way, no matter how small or big, will help anchor the new belief. It will create new pathways in your brain and you will be creating the change you want to see. As you recognize what is true about you and you make these changes, you will be able to look in the mirror with your eyes and your beliefs. You will see the reflection of who you really are. Time to open your eyes and your heart so you can finally see the real YOU! Are you ready to live the life you desire and deserve? Julie Wilson is a Life Coach who is dedicated to help you be the best possible version of YOU! For more information, click the button below.
Rewriting the negative beliefs you have learned is the essence of becoming the director of your life. ~ Deborah Day Do you find that you have a story of who you are playing in your head that is like a bad rated movie? It rolls across the screen with your life story and shows you being told how to act, and what to say and think. As the movie progresses, you watch in amazement as you continue to believe what you see because you watch the same movie over and over again in your mind! In Self-talk: Reflections of Your Beliefs, I wrote about how your mind believes what you think and say about yourself. Often you are just telling yourself what you have heard people say about you. Some of the beliefs you have about YOU are so deep-rooted in you because you have heard them since birth! The beliefs we hold within us about ourselves affect our self-esteem . . . in a negative or positive way. Someone's "innocent" comment about how you dressed when you were young could have affected your self-worth, your confidence, in a negative way and impacted your beliefs about you. At another time in your life, you were complimented and praised for the delicious cookies you baked. To this day, you feel good about anything you bake! It is possible to change how you think and feel about yourself. Not always easy but you can do it! It is an "inside" job of looking at your beliefs, especially the core beliefs you have about YOU. Then you can decide what you feel is really true about you. What are your truths? Take a few minutes to think about something you were told about you that just doesn't feel right. Maybe when you were younger you were told that you weren't smart. Now that you are older and you have graduated from college with a B.A. degree, you know in your heart that you have to be smart to earn a degree. Perhaps you were told that you were fat growing up. You always believed you were fat and yet, now people compliment you on how beautiful you are! As you recognize the beliefs you have about yourself that just aren't true anymore, take time to acknowledge those beliefs. Then, in your own way, release those beliefs to make room in your mind for the new beliefs that are true about you. If some of the old beliefs try to work their way back into your mind, stop and restate them in a positive way. Verbalize out loud or in your mind the beliefs that are true for who you are at this time. Look at what beliefs you may have about you that are not true anymore. Life happens . . . people change. You are not the same person you were a year ago let alone ten years ago!!! No one knows what is true for you except YOU. Time to start believing what you know to be true about you. At first this may seem like "work" but you will find that it becomes easier as you feel better about who you are. The more you are conscious of your beliefs and the "movie" that is playing in your mind, the more you will be able to rewrite the script and play the part of the authentic YOU! Time for a new lead role in the movie of your life! Are you ready to live the life you desire and deserve? Julie Wilson is a Life Coach who is dedicated to help you be the best possible version of YOU! For more information, click the button below.
We are what we believe we are. ~ C.S. Lewis Your mind believes what it is told and you are what you believe. The quote above by C.S. Lewis speaks volumes! Do you believe what others tell you about you? Or, do you believe what you know to be true for you? You have experienced how it feels when someone gives you a compliment. You also know how it feels when an inconsiderate person puts you down and says ugly things about you. Even though, in most cases, the person is reflecting onto you how they feel about themselves, your mind doesn't know any different. Your mind takes this all in and believes what it is told. Whether words are spoken, written or in your thoughts, they have power. You can't control what others think or say about you, but you can control what you think and say about yourself. Your innermost thoughts about YOU affect you on every level of your being. What is your self-talk saying about you? Before going on, take a minute and write down five things you believe about yourself. You probably believe these five things because you have heard them over and over again throughout your life. When you have your five beliefs listed, look at them. I would guess that some things you wrote down could be perceived as negative. "I'm not very smart. I'm fat. No one would love someone like me." Looking at these five beliefs may make you feel sad or angry but it is possible to change those beliefs. Within you is the ability to change what you believe about yourself. You can't depend on others to build you up with compliments and praise. YOU are the only person you can depend on! The thoughts spinning around your mind have the capacity to make or break you. You have the power within you to make changes in what you believe. In general, it can be human nature to think negatively. More and more people are now doing their best to be more positive. You can too! Try this. When you think or say something negative about yourself, stop in that moment, and rephrase it into something more positive. "I'm fat" becomes "Now that I am eating healthier and taking a walk almost every day, I know that my body will slim down." It is not always easy to think or speak positive all the time. Once you start being conscious of the words you use when you speak about yourself, it will become easier. Take an inventory of the words that you say or think about yourself. Would you say the same thing to your partner, your child or a friend? If not, why would you say them to yourself? Get in the habit of using kind and loving words when speaking or thinking about yourself. I am sure that there is something good and wonderful about each one of you. Focus on all the good things about you. The more you focus on the good within you, the more good you will find to focus on!! Once you start using loving self-talk, then watch how it impacts those around you. If you don't speak and think in a kind way concerning yourself, how can you expect anyone else to speak and think about you that way? Time to change your old beliefs about you that no longer serve who you really are. Time to create new beliefs about you that are your truths! Are you ready to live the life you desire and deserve? Julie Wilson is a Life Coach who is dedicated to help you be the best possible version of YOU! For more information, click the button below.
The worst decisions in life we make are always the one we make out of fear. ~ Sherrilyn Kenyon It seems as though we are always making decisions. It can be something as simple as deciding what to eat or as life changing as deciding to take a new job. There is a process that goes on within us that we don't often realize is happening when we make decisions. Sometimes it's as if you are paralyzed for days trying to make a decision. Other times, it only takes a second to say "yes"! Yet, underlying every decision you make is the root emotion of love or fear. Yes, every decision! In Finding Rainbows Within Change, I talked about how change can be good, and not that "scary monster under the bed." Now look a little deeper into the decisions you are making and the changes you are experiencing. What is driving those decisions and changes? Recall a decision you have made sometime in your life that had a huge impact on you, regardless if you felt the outcome was positive or negative. Feel into that decision and be honest with yourself. Did you make that decision from a place of love or fear? Let's consider the last job you were offered at the company you work for. It was a promotion but the position didn't excite you. You made the decision to take the promotion based on the fear that if you didn't take it, you might never be offered a promotion again. What if, instead, you made the decision not to take that particular position? You knew in your heart it would be difficult for you to perform the job duties day after day because it did not excite you. It could have the potential in the long run of hurting your chances for further promotions due to your performance in a job you really didn't like. In saying "no" to this job offer, your decision would have come from love . . . love for yourself! Your decision would be to do what you felt was best for you. You could also find a way to tell your employer "no" that would still leave the door open for future promotions. Let me share a tool with you that has helped many of my Life Coaching clients. Try this even if only for a day. Every time you make a decision, regardless how small or big, ask yourself, "How does this decision make me feel?" Or, "How do I feel about this decision?" Stay out of your head and in your heart. We all have made decisions to do something that didn't feel quite right. We did it anyway because of being afraid this or that would happen if we didn't do it. In the end, many times, we wish we had decided not to do it. Life is a consent decision making process. I don't know anyone who feels they have made the "right" decision every time. However, if you can make your decisions from that "feel good" place of love, perhaps it will put you on the path of making better decisions. Dig deep within you. Have the courage to make a decision based on what you feel is right for you rather than what you think you should do or what others want or expect of you. Only you can decide what is best for you! Are you ready to live the life you desire and deserve? Julie Wilson is a Life Coach who is dedicated to help you be the best possible version of YOU! For more information, click the button below.
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Phone: (970) 222-9775 julie@aboutlifewellness.com https://www.innerwisdomlifecoach.com |
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