Self-Care, Self-Fulfillment, Self-Love, Uncategorized
Feeling unfulfilled?
Are you questioning whether you are truly on the path of your soul’s purpose?
Maybe it’s time to discover answers as you activate your inner voice.
Let’s talk about the difference between your inner voice and intuition. They are both considered forms of insight, yet they come to you in different ways. The inner voice is your consciousness speaking, whereas intuition comes from your unconscious.
Your conscious mind defines your thoughts, actions, and conscious awareness. In comparison, your unconscious mind is the deep recesses of your past memories that acts like storage for your conscious mind. As needed, your unconscious then transfers relevant information to be used consciously.
Your inner voice tends to be more accessible since it speaks through your conscious mind, as compared to tapping into your intuition through your unconscious mind, which can require more practice.
As a high-achieving woman, you may feel that your success hasn’t brought you the fulfillment you had hoped for. Working long hours while sacrificing your well-being can elicit dissatisfaction with the quality of your life.
To spark guidance that brings greater clarity and a more purposeful path, take steps to activate your inner voice. Evoking the knowledge and wisdom of your conscious mind is more pragmatic for decision-making, and your decisions no longer tend to feed your ego with the kind of success that comes through sacrifice.
Instead, as you activate your inner voice, new ideas materialize and important decisions come with greater ease and fulfillment. Because, when you discover and embark on the path of your soul’s purpose, you also embrace a life with more meaning and joy.
How to activate your inner voice in 3 steps
Create space
Give yourself the gift of space by encouraging stillness in your mind and body. As you rest into a feeling of calm, old fears and worries subside and new insight from your inner voice begins to emerge. Put time aside to practice the art of creating space in your mind-body through mindfulness – meditation, journaling, or yoga. Designing a vision board can also give greater clarity.
Embrace insight
It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day. You may be making excuses for continuing to head down a path that holds you back from a life of greater purpose and fulfillment. Are you willing to choose a different action? If so, focus on listening to your inner voice. Your insight may come through as an image or a thought. Trust and embrace whatever message you receive. Explore it. Ask questions such as, “Why did this message come through?” or “Does this idea connect with my values?” When your insight is activated, it evokes greater awareness of your reality and connects you more deeply with your spiritual Self—your higher Self or higher consciousness. This enables you to access a life of greater purpose and fulfillment. When you include your new insights in your vision board or write them in your journal, it can provide even more awareness of your soul’s purpose.
Move with intention
Activating your inner voice can access ideas from a deeper level of awareness, yet it’s your actions that make these ideas a reality. Think about what motivates your actions. For example, when you act from a place of fear or pride, you disconnect from living your truth, which can create resistance in forward motion. However, when your intention aligns with your values, you access a smoother path to your soul’s purpose. As you activate your inner voice, your intentions become clearer, and you are able to move forward with greater ease and flow.
You activate your inner voice by creating space and clarity in your mind and body. As you embrace the insight that comes through, take intentional action toward it.
Your inner voice brings more fulfillment by guiding you toward your soul’s purpose, which can lay the foundation for your legacy.
Your soul’s purpose is waiting!
Receiving, Self-Care, Self-Fulfillment, Self-Love, Spirituality, Uncategorized
What does it mean to activate a success mindset?
It means to spark joy, purpose, and greater fulfillment in….
Your daily routine.
Your lifestyle.
Your legacy.
Activating a success mindset isn’t merely finding motivation for achievement. Although experiencing intense motivation to achieve can sometimes feel like a success mindset, that motivation may consume your energy and result in exhaustion or burnout.
Instead, a success mindset is about connecting with a deeper, more meaningful sense of aliveness as you embrace your journey through life. When you live mindfully, you spark greater fulfillment in your everyday life and discover long-term goals that can lay the foundation for your legacy.
Practicing daily habits that evoke mindful living can activate a success mindset where you reap more without sacrificing your wellbeing.
7 Habits To Activate Your Success Mindset
Learn
Grow your skills and knowledge by learning new things often. Opening your mind to new concepts and ideas creates greater awareness of your interests. This simulates you to continue evolving.
Write
Writing your thoughts on paper connects you with your consciousness. Whether creative writing to ignite your imagination or keeping a personal journal to organize your thoughts and emotions, writing expands your consciousness and activates a success mindset.
Rest
Practice self-care by allowing yourself time to rest. Recharging your battery helps maintain your energy so you are more mindful of your needs. Rest might come in the form of the following: a respite from electronics such as your phone; saying no to friends or family; or investing your time in a self-care routine.
Movement
When you move, you strengthen your mind-body connection. This helps you stay mindful of your body, which provides greater awareness of how you feel and what brings you joy. Movement also helps manage your energy levels and elevate your mood. All this inspires and activates a success mindset.
Share
Sharing can be shown through kindness, such as lending a helping hand or sharing a friendly smile. You can also share your knowledge with the world through teaching. Whether you’re sharing your kindness or knowledge, you’re training your mind by evoking meaningful compassion towards others.
Dedicate
Dedicating yourself to a vision or to living in alignment with certain values will guide you on a path filled with deeper meaning and greater purpose. Values are fundamental beliefs that prompt your actions. Having a vision based on your values can lead to the kind of life you imagine. Having strong values and a positive vision will activate a success mindset that inspires you.
Be grateful
Being grateful for what you already have provides the inspiration to continue moving forward. It brings the awareness of the good you have and keeps you mindful of what’s yet to come.
Training your mind daily with one or more of these habits can provide a success mindset that leaves you feeling fulfilled.
When you activate your success mindset, you experience more from life.
Self-Fulfillment, Self-Love, Spirituality, Uncategorized
What does it mean to live in authentic alignment?
It means that the way you’re living is congruent – or in harmony – with…
Your highest version of your Self.
Your truth.
Your values.
Your soul’s purpose.
So, how do you live in authentic alignment?
A good place to start is to uncover your core values. These are the intentions you desire to live by. They guide your journey and shape who you are as a person. When you choose actions based on your core values, you are better able to align with your authentic self and experience greater joy, happiness, and success.
Take the time to determine what values are most important to you. Then, find ways to incorporate those values into your life. When you organize your day to reflect the values that are meaningful to you, alignment will follow. Here’s a simple way to identify your core values.
Step 1: Uncovering your core values
People you admire
Who do you look up to? If you were to switch lives with someone right now, who would you choose? Consider their qualities, such as perseverance, gregariousness, or kindness. What qualities resonate most with you? As you do this, be careful not to compare yourself with others. Merely reflect on and list the desirable values that they live by.
Your past experiences
When were you most happy? Can you think back to a time in your life when you were truly at peace? Reflect on what made that moment great. What was at the root of that feeling of joy and contentment? Did you have a particular mindset at that time? Make a list of values that you believe you held at that moment.
Your future self
Consider the values you’ve already written. How might they influence your future? Ask yourself who you truly want to be and embrace these values. If there’s something missing, a value that only your future self can elicit, add that to your list now.
It’s possible that your list of beliefs and values may now be daunting. Select 3-5 core values that truly stand out. Attempting to live by too many values can complicate the alignment process.
Step 2: Incorporate your values daily
Ask yourself, is there congruence between your current daily routine and your personal values? If the answer is no, adjust your routine to mindfully align your daily actions with your values. Create an agenda and consider the following…
Your long-term goals
Each day is an opportunity to take one step closer to being the person you envision. Be mindful of this as you move through your day. Align your long-term goals with your core values. And as you embody these values daily, you’ll begin to manifest your long-term goals.
If one of your chosen values is kindness, your long-term goal might be to start a non-profit or raise awareness for a cause. As you move through the day embodying kindness, your actions align with your purpose.
Experiencing joy daily
You’ll find that living your values brings daily doses of joy. If your chosen values truly align with your soul’s purpose, your actions will bring you a wonderful sense of fulfillment.
If one of your core values is to mentor, then guiding others to experience growth and development may be what brings you daily joy.
Living in alignment starts with your core values. By choosing mindful actions that align with these values, you find more joy and success in life. Identify and act on your core values to live in authentic alignment!
Self-Care, Self-Love, Uncategorized
It felt like everything changed last year.
The pandemic overturned our daily lives and many of us were unprepared for the ensuing hardships. Even now, we’re still navigating through the new developments surrounding the virus.
Will we ever have a moment to catch our breaths?
Unfortunately, the pandemic isn’t something with a definitive end date. And living through it can create an environment for pessimism to settle into your mind and heart.
Is there any way for you to feel positive again? With all that is happening, is it even possible to feel optimism for the future?
Of course!
Yet, choosing optimism over pessimism is easier said than done.
So how can you do this?
What is the secret to feeling optimism and hope?
Read on as I share 3 vital practices for nurturing an optimistic attitude…
Why It’s Hard to Feel Optimism for the Future (Especially After 2020)
Each time you encounter a challenge, pessimism whispers…
This is why life is awful. This is why nothing is going your way. This is why it’s impossible to feel positive.
And we often believe it. As humans, it can feel like we’re programmed to notice what’s wrong in our lives. Finding the positive? That takes conscious effort.
This is why pessimism is so seductive.
Life is full of hardships — the pandemic continues to create so many for us — and these challenges reinforce our pessimistic beliefs.
Once pessimism settles into your mind and heart, even the tiniest inconvenience can feel like a cross to bear.
You can see why it’s hard to find the silver lining — you’re already bracing for the next bad thing to happen. If you continue carrying this mindset, you leave yourself vulnerable to:
Imagine, as you’re working on your goals, that pessimism is telling you your efforts are in vain. It may even be telling you that you’re not good enough or smart enough.
Just give up, it whispers.
Over time, this negative self-talk erodes at the foundation of self-love that you’ve built for yourself.
Why Optimism Can Be the Best Cure for Getting Your Resolutions Back on Track
Cultivating the mindset of optimism may be challenging. Yet, it’s one of the best things you can do for yourself.
Those who are optimistic are more likely to…
- Live longer
- Have improved cardiovascular health
- Have stronger immune functions
- Experience less stress
Optimism has even been linked to increased longevity for those diagnosed with chronic diseases, according to Psychology Today. Optimistic people are also more likely to experience joy, gratitude, life satisfaction, and confidence.
Optimism is also one of the best ways to express self-love.
Why?
Because becoming the woman you want to be and manifesting the life you desire requires you to believe it can happen. Optimism is that belief.
Coming up are three tips for nurturing optimism and believing that what you desire is entirely within your reach.
How to Erase Self-Doubt and Use Optimism to Fulfill Your Resolutions
#1 If you’re in a negative thought loop, get out.
You’re working on another resolution? Why? You’re a failure!
Slipping into a negative thought loop can be easy. Getting out can take practice.
However, thoughts are just thoughts. They’re not necessarily grounded in fact or reality. And your thoughts can tend to create drama.
Noticing when you’re in a negative thought loop is the first step to getting out.
When you experience those negative thoughts, pause.
Become an observer. Pay attention to your racing thoughts.
Then ask yourself, is this the truth? Is it the reality of the situation?
Often, your thoughts offer a distorted version of your true emotions and reality.
When you become aware, you become more conscious about what is so. And when you become more conscious, you see what’s fact and what’s a story that you made up in your head.
#2 Find the lessons in the struggle
Adversity can’t always be avoided. And there are times when you might feel like you’re being swept away by it — powerless to change what’s happening.
While there are some things beyond your power — the pandemic, for example — these situations can hold a message for you.
You can find meaning in them.
There is something you can learn from even your most daunting challenges. They become sources of wisdom and empowerment. Instead of feeling like a victim of your circumstances, you have the power to lead a meaningful life rich in purpose.
Think of a struggle you recently experienced.
What happened?
How did you react?
What meaning could it hold for you?
It may not be obvious at first. You may need to spend some time reflecting.
Even last year’s craziness offers nuggets of wisdom.
Isolation taught us about the value of relationships. The pandemic reminded us of our mortality and the importance of maintaining our health. The sudden changes encouraged us to adapt and be resilient.
You may not see it immediately, yet there’s almost always a lesson.
#3 Start a daily gratitude journal
Your mind seems to naturally find what’s wrong in your life. Seeing the positive is not necessarily as obvious.
A daily gratitude journal trains your mind to look for what’s RIGHT in your life, even when it feels like things are going awry.
Here’s what you can do…
Find a journal and a pen (or download a daily gratitude app) and follow these steps:
- Think of three things that make you happy
- Next to each thing, write why it makes you happy.
- Say it aloud.
Here are some examples of what you might say:
I am grateful for my spouse because he provides me with love, support, and compassion.
I am grateful for my home because it protects my family and me and keeps us warm.
I am grateful for my body because it helps me do the things I love to do each day.
To kickstart this gratitude habit, name something you’re grateful for and why in the comments below! I’ll start… I’m grateful for my sister because she is loving, kind, funny, and supportive.
Feeling Optimism for the Future is Within YOUR Power
You’ve made it through one month and still have the rest of the year to look forward to, with so many opportunities to seize, memories to create, and joy to experience.
If you’re uncertain about the future, you’re not alone. Yet, keep in mind that you proved in 2020 that you have the courage and resilience to face whatever comes your way.
You will still likely encounter self-doubt or pessimism as you work on your resolutions. Now, you can lean on these tips when pessimism weighs you down. Because feeling pessimistic is normal… but staying pessimistic is a choice you make.
And if you’re not already part of my online community, click here to sign up and make sure you’re the first to know when there’s a new semi-monthly blog, free gift, program, and other helpful tips for how to be the master of your own well-being and enhance your existence in all areas of your life… from relationships, work, and finances to family, health, and quality of life.
Uncategorized
What do you think of when you hear the words “white privilege”?
They make some people shift uncomfortably in their seats. I think this is because it doesn’t get discussed enough.
In this social climate, following the recent tragedies of racial injustice — George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor — it’s time to unpack white privilege.
It’s important to not only understand what white privilege is but also how you can use it as a resource in the stand for equality and justice.
What Is White Privilege?
White privilege is defined as “institutional and cultural preferential treatment and exemption from racial and national oppression” for white people (Racial Equality Tools).
Unfortunately, in a society as free as ours, racism still exists. People of color experience prejudice that white people don’t. And it’s black people, like Tamir Rice, Atatiana Jefferson, and Eric Garner, who have suffered from racial discrimination.
As a white person with white privilege, I move through the world differently and in many ways unhindered as compared to a person of color.
Examples of White Privilege (You May Not Know About)
White privilege exists in ways you may never have realized before. It exists in seemingly minor and mundane things:
- Finding makeup in your skin tone
- Finding hair products for your hair texture
- Reading books and watching movies with characters that share your life experience.
White privilege can also determine how people perceive you — judgment based entirely on the color of your skin. I can walk around my neighborhood without people thinking I don’t belong. When a police officer pulls me over, I don’t immediately fear for my life. I have the privilege of carrying on with my day without thinking about how people will perceive me because of my skin tone.
But what if you’re Black?
Shola Richard, a workplace civility activist, explains how he always brings his daughter and dog when walking around his neighborhood. When people see him, he’s just like any other “loving dad and pet owner.”
But everything changes when he’s alone. Instead, people see him as an “athletically-built black man in a cloth mask who is walking around in a place where he doesn’t belong.”
We see instances of white privilege every day, yet some white people close their eyes.
Why Some White People Stay Silent
The concept of white privilege is uncomfortable for most white people.
A common criticism is that not everybody who is white has overtly benefited from white privilege. And many white people who achieve success believe it’s entirely because of their hard work.
Here’s what Teaching Tolerance has to say about it:
“White privilege is not the assumption that everything a white person has accomplished is unearned … Instead, white privilege should be viewed as a built-in advantage, separate from one’s level of income or effort.”
Built-in advantages, like employers choosing a resume with a more white-sounding name or being approved for a home loan because you come from a “white neighborhood.”
White privilege can be difficult to digest. You probably feel ashamed or guilty.
But what if you can turn that shame into determination? What if you can use white privilege as a resource — a resource to help you stand for equality and compassion? What if your white privilege can help you create the positive change you want to see in your community?
This is how I do it.
How I Use my White Privilege to Stand for Racial Equality
I Call Out Injustice When I See It
When I see tragic headlines, like the horrific murder of Trayvon Martin, I call it out.
I do my research. I talk about it with my family. I share it with my friends across social media.
We must shine a light on injustice and stand for positive change and accountability.
We have a voice and our voice has power.
Use your voice to raise awareness and stand for equality.
I Teach Love and Compassion
I can never fully empathize with the hardships that a person of color experiences. But this inability to fully empathize does not mean I should do nothing.
What I can do is use my platform to teach self-love and self-compassion. Because your circle of influence starts with you. When you learn how to love yourself and be compassionate to yourself, you can slowly push that circle outward.
You have more power to help others.
You have more space in your mind and heart to lift other people.
You can take that compassion and love for yourself and share it with others.
And in these times of social unrest, we need compassion more than ever because positive change is rooted in kindness and a willingness to help others.
I Empower YOU So You Can Empower Others
In my articles, I often talk about self-care. And I do my best to address women who are busy professionals and entrepreneurs.
The landscape has changed for women. We’re feeling overwhelmed with life more than ever.
But when we neglect our health, everything collapses. When women are burned out, unfulfilled, and unhappy, society declines.
That’s why I use the various experiences and knowledge I’ve accumulated to empower you through self-care. Because self-care is what encourages you to be:
- Physically healthy
- Mentally sharp
- Emotionally resilient
I want you to feel powerful so that you can make beautiful changes in your own life and have the strength and resources to create positive change in other peoples’ lives.
I empower you so that you can empower others.
In the comments below, use your voice now to share one thing you’re doing to create positive change in your own life and/or the lives of others.
Become an Ally
Spreading awareness about racial equality starts with becoming aware yourself. Begin with educating yourself about racial equality and anti-racism. After you do this, you can then learn how to use your resources to spread equality and compassion.
And if you’re called to be an activist, you can use your white privilege to your advantage as you ally with those who suffer from racial prejudice and discrimination.
To learn more about racism towards people of color, here’s a list of anti-racist resources for becoming a white ally. If you haven’t already, help spread the message of Black Lives Matter and sign this public open letter to end racism and stop police brutality.
Also, sign up for my email list to receive valuable and actionable tips on self-care and living your best life — because creating positive change in other people’s lives starts with how you treat yourself.
Overwhelm, Self-Care, Self-Love, Uncategorized
Managing your energy is a lot like managing your finances.
If you want to be in good financial health, learn how to budget your money. If you want to do the things you desire, learn how to manage your energy.
But now that you’re in quarantine, it’s so easy to be wasteful with your energy.
Hitting the snooze on your alarm five times. Scrolling on your phone throughout the day. Staying awake past midnight. Watching TV as a couch potato, instead of exercising.
We’re experiencing a new phenomenon where coronavirus-related stress is affecting our energy and motivation.
Behavioral health therapist Dr. Jane Pernotto Ehrman calls it coronavirus quarantine fatigue. “This kind of fatigue drains our motivation,” she says, “We just want to go lie down on the couch and do nothing. Because of these difficult situations, we’re in a kind of shock and we don’t know what to do.”
Being stuck at home makes you more vulnerable to these energy sappers. And although they may seem minor, they can snowball into a serious problem.
Because if you don’t get a handle on it, you’ll encounter more than a dip in your energy and productivity. You’ll experience:
- Irritability
- Insomnia
- Anxiety
- Appetite changes
- Racing thoughts
- Poor focus
- Signs of burnout
Poor energy management keeps you from creating and living the life you want. Last week, we learned how self-care can boost your energy. Now, I’ll show you how to budget your energy levels with a few productivity tips.
(And yes, all these tips can be done at home!)
Ready? Let’s begin.
How to Manage Your Energy Using These 4 Productivity Tips
#1 Master Your Environment
Ever tried focusing when your desk is in shambles? How can you work when piles of paperwork and unwashed mugs sit on a light coating of dust?
It’s more than distracting. It’s inefficient.
Each time you look for an unfiled document, you lose energy.
Each time an unwashed mug grabs your attention, you lose energy.
Each time you have to shuffle your clutter around, you lose energy.
Don’t let unnecessary clutter sap your focus, energy, and creativity.
Before you sit down to work, take a few minutes to declutter your space. If you’re now working from home due to coronavirus, a dedicated workspace that is clutter-free is even more critical to preserving your focus. When your space is free from distracting elements, you can better focus on the task at hand.
#2 Understand Your Peaks and Dips
Ever notice how at certain times of the day, you’re ready to conquer the world? And then at other times, you’re ready for a power nap?
That’s because your energy levels fluctuate throughout the day — understanding how they rise and fall is key to optimizing your energy. You can do this by listening to your circadian rhythm.
“Your circadian rhythm,” according to the National Sleep Organization, “is basically a 24-hour internal clock that is running in the background of your brain and cycles between sleepiness and alertness at regular intervals.”
Everybody’s circadian rhythm is different. It’s why early birds feel most productive in the morning and night owls work better during the evening.
Understanding your circadian rhythm helps you learn how to manage your energy levels throughout the day. You’ll want to save your cognitively demanding tasks, like writing or planning, for when your energy is highest. Similarly, you’ll want to save your less demanding tasks, like answering emails, for when your energy dips.
What does your circadian rhythm look like? How can you use it to structure your workday for maximum energy and productivity?
#3 Clean Up Attention Residue
If you still believe that multitasking is efficient, think again. Studies show that multitasking is actually wasteful with your energy and productivity.
Dr. Sophie Leroy observed that each time you switch between tasks, your focus experiences a type of lag. “This is what I call Attention Residue,” she says, “when part of our attention is focused on another task instead of being fully devoted to the current task that needs to be performed.”
Let’s look at an example.
You’re working on a project, but you’re notified of a new email. You check it out but reread it a few times because your mind is still stuck on the project you were just working on. After you respond to the email, you return to your project. You take a few moments, however, to figure out where you left off and your next step before getting started.
This is just one example. If you’re transitioning from working in the office to working at home, you’re exposed to even more distractions — laundry, dishes, and children just to name a few. Switching back and forth between tasks is often tempting but it wastes bits of your energy. To help you clean up attention residue, use task batching and time blocking.
Task batching is when you group similar tasks, like answering emails or editing a paper. Time blocking is when you dedicate a slot in your calendar to complete a specific task.
These strategies will help you be more mindful of how you’re spending your energy and where you’re directing your focus.
#4 Start Outsourcing or Delegating
Here’s the reality: there’s no way you can do everything yourself.
Trying to do everything yourself can lead to coronavirus quarantine fatigue and feeling overwhelmed with life.
Your time and energy are limited. But that shouldn’t discourage you from getting your priorities completed. Instead of doing everything yourself, start relying on others.
Outsourcing or delegating your responsibilities is an efficient way to manage your energy while getting things done.
If you’re a business owner, there are several business operations you can outsource:
- Administrative tasks
- Bookkeeping
- Copywriting
- Customer service
- Human resources
Outsourcing these processes frees up your time and energy for things that you enjoy, like serving your clients or business development.
You can even delegate or outsource at home. Your spouse and children can help out with the household chores. Or instead, you can hire a housekeeper to tidy your home while you’re at work or a cleaning service to come in periodically.
Your energy levels are finite. But when you start outsourcing, you tap into the energy pools of other people. This neat productivity tip gets your priorities done without overextending yourself!
Productivity is Only One Part of the Equation
As I mentioned above, this article is part two of a two-part series on energy optimization. (Link to Part one at bottom of article.) The productivity tips I shared help you better utilize your energy. But productivity tips do little when your energy baseline is low from exhaustion and stress.
Productivity is only one of two keys to optimizing your energy. The other key is self-care.
As you work on better managing your energy, remember to take care of your body. Regular self-care can expand your energy baseline, improve your mood, and protect you from coronavirus quarantine fatigue.
To help you build self-care into your daily routine, take advantage of my “From Burnout To Balance: A Simple 10-Minute Daily Self-Care Practice.”
This practice has been shown to:
- Increase mindfulness, well-being, self-confidence, and personal power
- Increase your ability to concentrate
- Cultivate a greater resilience to stress, a positive mindset, and a sense of hopefulness and calm
- Decrease stress and stress-related symptoms like frustration, mood swings, feelings of overwhelm or lack of control, anxiety, depression, low energy, headaches, body aches and pains, muscle tension, chest pain and rapid heartbeat, insomnia, and frequent colds and infections
- Reduce or even stop worrying
Click here now to claim your free gift of my “From Burnout To Balance: A Simple 10-Minute Daily Self-Care Practice.”
Go here to read Part One: Feeling Tired All the Time? Try These 4 Self-Care Tips (Optimize Your Energy Pt. 1)
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