Trust that everything is working out as it should. In divine time. In divine order. For your highest good.
Video: Let Go and Flow
Tag: Faith
How brightly you shine.
Stress Amnesia
The first thing that goes when we are faced with a stressor of any kind is the memory of all we have overcome in years gone by.
Wake Up Call
Let this be your daily, weekly, hourly signpost of how wildly capable you are.
Truly. Incredibly. Capable.
And if you ever need more than this note, let me know.
I will remind you how brightly you shine.✨
Fun Video: Mirror Affirmations.
International Women’s Day: Who Inspires You?
#internationalwomensday #rolemodel
Growing up my Mom, my mentor, and the first psychologist in our family, didn’t talk a lot about women’s empowerment.
— She just lived it.
Gracefully. Quietly. Courageously.
Today, and all days, I am grateful for a role model who began her journey from challenge to strength with incredible will and a heart of power.
A first time mother at 17 years old, the jumping off point for all that would unfold.
“How did you do it?” I ask frequently to this day.
A single mom in her twenties.
One of few women working on our street.
Criticized openly for leaving her kids during the week and going back to graduate school in her 40s.
I lean in often for her wisdom, inquiring:
“How did you rise above all the naysayers and critics?”
Her response:
When you really, really want something Andrea, you become singularly focused, no time, no energy, for anything else (4 kids keep you busy).
“Sure it hurt, she says.”
”But my mission was always greater than my misery. And this is when I knew what I was truly meant to do.”
Everything else became white noise.
A teacher, a leader, and a mother who teaches me how to live with equal parts grace, fortitude, and tenderness.
Someone who shows me how to pay my good fortune forward.
Every chance WE get. 💃❤️💃
Who inspires you today?
What are you ready to let go of?
This post was inspired by a stressful situation that I couldn’t let go of, long beyond its solution. No matter how hard I tried. Day in day out. The worry would reappear. Then someone close to me suggested “I shed the stress”. And a lightbulb went off. Each time the repetitive thought appeared, I imagined a tree shedding its leaves. A golden leaf for every anxious thought. This visualization process made all the difference. And so did writing about it. 📝🍂
If you had a magic wand, what would you ask to disappear in your life right now?
What would you say good-bye to?
Once and for all.
It could be an emotion. Or a thought.
A relationship. Or a job.
A place or a thing.
Stress management is a shedding process ℘ Not an acquisition project
It’s time to let go of what drains you.
Let go of what holds you back.
Let go of what keeps you down.
It could be a mindset. Or a memory.
A situation. Or an attitude.
Write it down. Shout it out.
Stress management is a shedding process ℘ Not a holding pattern
It’s time to let go of what weighs you down.
Release it to the universe.
Declare your freedom.
Vow to move on and beyond.
Once and for all.
Stress management is a shedding process ℘ Not an endurance test
Shed the stress. Let. It. Fall. 🍂
Fear is an illusion.
Don’t be fooled by fear.
Look it directly in the eye.
Fear distorts reality.
Fear exaggerates the truth.
Step back. Take a pause.
Remember who you are.
You have overcome great adversity.
You have faced this phantom before.
This wolf is a mirage.
Only your strength, your courage, and your untapped powers are real.
Resources to help you break free from the illusion of fear:
Understanding Fear: Identifying Cognitive Distortions
Overcoming Fear: Fixing Cognitive Distortions
Repost from October 2017 — Click Here.
Here I am.
The aftermath.
No matter how many times I give a speech or participate in a big event, I am often left with the same feeling for a day or so.
Sadness. A kind of longing. A sense of emptiness.
For weeks, sometimes months, I practice, prepare, and edit my work. Immersed, focused, lost in the creative flow.
At night. On weekends. During all my free time. Hoping to do my best. Not wanting to let down.
Researching. Anticipating. Building up to the main event.
Afterward, what was once was filled with busyness is an open space. A hollowness that cannot be filled by looking back or planning ahead.
An ache. A void. For no good logical reason.
A place inside that can only be filled in present time.
So I go for a bike ride knowing how Mother Nature always soothes my heart and replenishes my soul.
There is no more looking back or ahead when I am outside.
At that moment I hear three words deep in my heart.
Here I am.
Here I am.
For solace cannot be found in travelling through time.
It can only be found in where you are right now.
Here I am.
in the blooming trees
in the birds soaring
in the sun setting
in the water flowing
in this moment wherever you are.
Here I am. 💚
Hope.
My husband John and I had dinner at this little restaurant in Niagara-on-the-Lake when I was away speaking at a conference this week. This single pink rose reminded me of the one thing that truly matters. HOPE. I have hope. In you. In me. In our future. I have hope. 💕
Wishing you a long weekend filled with flowers and sunshine.
Related Post: Always looking up.
Less fight. More serenity.
The next time you’re gearing up for another big fight with reality.
Morning Traffic
Office Politics
Loud Neighbours
Unpredictable Weather
Try rolling with it.
Giving up the fight.
Waving the white flag.
Surrendering to what is.
And always has been.
The upside.
You conserve energy for the joyful in your life.
The meaningful in your life.
The soulful in your life.
Including this very moment.
This is where your life SHINES.
Faith.
