Thoughtful Thursday

Hello friends! As I was entering into, what I call, my midseason of life, I was stuck on WHAT my purpose was.  My role as a mother was changing and I didn't believe I had a purpose anymore. I had also been a dancer, a grocery store checker, a sandwich maker, a student, a bookkeeper, a janitor, a children’s music director, a PTA president, a secretary, a real estate agent, a member of my church community, a quilter, a runner, a hiker, a biker, a friend, a daughter, an aunt, a sister, a wife, and a mother. But what I have come to understand is that my purpose wasn’t about any of these roles. A life purpose isn’t about WHAT you are doing, but about WHY you are doing it. WHAT you do may change many times over the course of your life because each season of life brings with it different experiences and opportunities. But it is our WHY that is behind all of it. My WHY is what gives me direction.   It gives me the desire to move forward. It is the fuel for what I d...

  Each body is an incredible gift given to each of us by our Creator to help us on our mortal journey of growing, learning and becoming. But sometimes we can lose sight of this and we believe that if our body was different than it is then things would be better. I get it. I wish my body was different sometimes too. But what if you could get to work on taking care of you without the shame? There really is a difference in getting to work to create wanted change versus being hard on yourself from a place of shame and dissatisfaction.  Beating yourself up in hopes of finding value and self-worth never works.  My guess is that if you have tried being hard yourself in order to change, it hasn’t created the results you may have wanted. If you are ready for something different, I invite you to begin by loving yourself right where you are first. Resisting where you are and believing if it was different then you could be happy doesn’t take you where you ultimately want to be. What ...

As humans, we have two identities and they are fighting for our attention. Our false identity is sometimes called our false self, natural man, or ego. We know we are living in our false identity when we are operating from feelings of fear, contention, lack, comparison, isolation, hate, or shame.   All because of what we believe about ourselves and our lives. Beliefs that limit our ability to create a life we love and our influence for good. Our divine identity is something we were all born with. We didn’t and we don’t earn it.   Understanding this truth will set you free.   It will open your heart and your mind. You will know you are living in your divine identity when you are experiencing life from a place of love, humility, gratitude, hope, connection, grace, faith and joy.  Your divine identity is who you truly are. Nothing is wrong with you.   You are not broken.   You are complete and whole. Our Heavenly Parents couldn’t love y...

Recently, I was able to unplug for 5 days. It was amazing. Some of my family members and I had the opportunity to go on a guided river trip on the Main Salmon River.  If you have never done a river rafting trip, you may want to consider adding it to your bucket list. Our group, about 24 people, had 6 guides that worked hard so that we could unplug and play hard on the river.   Each day we would float down a section of the river that runs through the bottom of the most incredible canyon.   We floated and ran rapids.   We ate amazing food.  We would stop during the day to have lunch on sandy beaches, hike trails and explore our surroundings.   Each night we would camp along the river’s edge and soak in the breathtaking beauty alongside our new friends.   Unplugging. Living. Connecting.  No cell coverage for 5 days. The only time I pulled out my phone was to take a picture so I can remember the experience. But you know, pictu...

In this week's podcast, I had the privilege of interviewing my friend and coach colleague, Laura Prescott. She merges coaching tools with the outdoors to create a beautiful adventure for those she works with. Laura shares how getting out in nature is the perfect place to practice our mindset skills. There are so many metaphors from nature that we can apply to real life. One example she shares on the podcast is about boundaries. We don't have any say over what the weather does or does not do.   Our response to the weather is the only thing we can really control. If it is going to be cold, you may want to wear warm clothes. If it is going to rain, you may want a rain jacket. If it is hot and sunny, you may want to bring plenty of water and a hat. This is the same in our relationships. We can't control other people or their behavior but we get to choose how we will respond. If someone behaves in a way that is not something you want to be around, you may choose to leave....

You may be setting an upper limit on having and creating more fun in your life without even realizing it. We all view the world around us and interact with it in a certain way because of how we see things. Creating our life experience with our thoughts and beliefs. Some of the thoughts you have may be beliefs that are FALSE and they are keeping you from living life to the fullest. In this week's podcast episode I share 7 false beliefs that may be creating a fun barrier for you. In order to create, experience and express more fun and joy in our lives we must learn to overcome these barriers. One of the false beliefs that I see people struggle with is the idea that if they have fun then they are being disloyal the people in their life that are struggling.  The truth is we can't help others by choosing to not have fun.   Being miserable and not enjoying ourselves does not in any way help someone else that is struggling.   We are here to add our light...

Hello, friends! How often do you experience pleasure, amusement or joyous play? Was it more than a week ago? What if I told you that fun is an essential part of life? In this week's podcast episode, I talk about 6 reasons why it is important to incorporate fun into your every day. Fun does not have to be complicated. There is really only one rule. It just has to be something you enjoy doing for just experience of it. It is also important to understand it isn't up to anyone else to create your fun. You get to create your FUN and you get to be the FUN! This is the best news ever! Just start small. What is one way you can add some fun into your life right now? It can be as simple as smiling more. Taking 15 minutes to read a book. Sitting outside and just breathing in the summer air. Taking a walk with a friend. Laughing and being silly with your husband. Now go out there and have some fun! Give it a try!

Hello, friends! Do you love pie?  I do! My favorite is apple or peach especially when it is warm and topped with vanilla ice cream.  Yum! Great, now my mouth is watering. LOL I have been thinking of Stephen Covey's scarcity pie analogy. When people view life from a place of scarcity, they believe that there is only so much in the world to go around. When someone gets a big piece of pie then that means there is less pie for others which causes comparison.   Believing that there is only so much pie can lead us to try and pull others down so we can get an equal or even bigger piece of pie. Spoiler alert! The truth is, there is no pie. Isn't that amazing?! There is actually more than enough. There is plenty. When you find yourself comparing yourself or your life to someone else, that is a sign you are in a place of scarcity - Believing that you aren't enough or your life isn't enough. I invite you to pause, take a deep breath and remind yourself that there is plenty and you...

All of us have burdens we are carrying.  It may be a strained relationship with a loved one. It may be the pain of how you view yourself. It may be the things that are happening outside of us in the world that we have no control over.  Many hearts feel heavy.   I have a reminder for you.  Relax your body.  Your shoulders.  Your neck.  Your jaw. Take a deep breath.  Now put your hand on your heart and repeat after me........ I am OKAY. I am SAFE.  I am LOVED. "Be strong and of good courage" (Joshua 1:9) I bet you needed to hear that today. I know that I did.

Did you know it isn't about you? I know, it feels so true.  As humans, our brains want to make it about us. But the truth is, it really isn't about you. When your children choose differently than you have taught them.  Not about you.  Your husband's behavior.  Not about you.  Your friend not replying to your texts.  Not about you.  When a loved one leaves the church.  Not about you. When someone says something that you believe is unkind. Not about you. What if this is true? How would you feel? How would you show up in your life? What would your relationships look like by embracing this belief?

  This month in the Seasons of Joy Community I am talking about abundance. Stephen Covey teaches about the difference between a scarcity mindset and an abundant mindset in his best-selling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People . A scarcity mentality refers to people seeing life as a finite pie. If one person takes a big piece then this leaves less for everyone else. Many of us have been conditioned to have a scarcity mentality. Believing that there isn't enough for everyone. Resources, success, happiness, money, or promotions are limited. Micromanaging, withholding information, and short-term thinking are common. This mindset holds us back from reaching for our goals. It prevents us from discovering opportunities and possibilities because we are so focused on what we lack. This mindset is based on fear. Fear of not being enough or that our life isn't enough. An abundance mindset is the opposite of this. It is expansive. Believing that there is enough out there for...

In Tonya Dalton's book, The Joy of Missing Out, she shares a concept called Marble Jar Moments. Marble Jars have been used by teachers forever as a method to encourage good behavior. I have used it myself when working with children. Basically, every time the children do something good, you drop a marble in a jar. Then the jar fills up, the class earns some kind of reward. Half of the fun of this is the anticipation of watching the jar fill up. The kids get excited when they can watch and hear the marble rattle into the jar. There can be power in the marble jar because it reinforces good work. We all want to be recognized for our efforts, right? We want people to notice the good we have done and to get credit for it. Tonya shares, however, that we all have an invisible marble jar we carry around with us, striving to fill it.  Got up and worked out....marble jar!  Cleaned the house.....marble jar!  Cooked a healthy dinner....marble jar! And so our day continues with marbles...

I have had the privilege over the last few weeks to be taught by some of the best life coaches.  It has been so fun to be able to gather with others in person and learn. I will admit it was like drinking out of a fire house but it was incredible. One thing I realized after this amazing month is that the basics of human behavior and coaching never change. One of those basics is that we all want other people to change so that we can feel better.  Even those of us who know it isn't possible to change other people still wish we could at some level. Our brains are designed to seek pleasure, to conserve energy, and to avoid pain. They are built for survival and they are always doing a risk assessment but our brains can't see the difference between emotional and physical threats. This can cause errors in judgement because our brain wants it to be about us. This leads us to want to change others so that we can feel safe. To feel better. Natalie Clay refers to this ...