Create Your Ideal Life

We all have goals, dreams and desires that fall by the wayside as we encounter the challenges and disappointments of life. But can we re-fire our desires and shift our thinking to believe for more from our lives once again? In his blog Jack Canfield takes a look at 7 tips that help us to find success, achievement and fulfillment.

We all aspire to do, be, and have great things. Yet most of us simply aren’t creating the results we want. We complain that we don’t have enough money, romance, success or joy in our lives. We point fingers and blame outside problems that “happen” to us and make life more difficult. But what we need to understand and keep at the forefront of our minds is that greatness exists in all of us. It is simply up to us to pull it out of ourselves. Regardless of personal circumstances, economic climates, and access to resources, it helps to maintain faith in the fact that we each are more powerful than we think. We all have the ability to create the life we want. We just need to learn how to do it. Is there an exact “formula”? No, but there are certain common features that successful people exhibit and that anyone can practice. They are what can jumpstart your success and attract what you want in life. You’d be hard pressed to find any high achiever who doesn’t live by the following 7 tips: Read more

Professional Recovery Coaching can be the key that unlocks potential, not only in yourself and in your practice, but in the lives of those you coach. To find out if a career in Professional Recovery Coaching is for you, set up a free Discovery Call with one of our Professional Coaches here: http://ift.tt/20xDDzn

Vitamin D – Super Nutrient: Are You Getting Enough?

Get Those Toxins Out of Your Body!

We are not safe from harmful chemicals. They are everywhere – in your food, in your car, in the air – toxins don’t need to find a way into your body, they’re already there. Scientists have found traces of hazardous toxins in umbilical cords of newborn babies! Unless we take measures to regularly remove these toxins from our bodies, they are going to keep accumulating toward one or multiple health afflictions.

Researchers Bruce Lourie and Rick Smith, through some experiments on real people including (but not limited to) themselves, found out some revealing points about detoxing.

This article from Everyday Health shares the key points of their research.

7 Detox Tips From Scientists Who Actually Tried Them

One of the realities of 2014 is that when a baby is born, he or she has already been exposed to toxic chemicals. The evidence is in umbilical cords, which research has confirmed contain pesticides, waste from burning coal and gasoline, and garbage. Even if you try to do everything right (eat organic, buy natural products, live in a cabin in the middle of the woods, etc.), you can’t avoid all of the chemicals that have become pervasive.
See full post here.

Every patient, regardless of their distress, needs a good detox routine which our recovery coaches are trained to provide. For more information on health and recovery, visit Recovery Coach Training.

10 Reasons to Engage a Coach

My daughter recently said to me, ” I feel like I have bad karma. I seem to be living under a dark cloud.” She is in college, living away from home, and has had to deal with a couple of rough spots. Nothing major, but, then again, that’s my opinion, not hers. To her, life is a bit tough right now, and she is having some difficulty dealing with recent events. There is no doubt that life can be a real bear at times. Some days, everything is really rosy, the sun is shining, things are just falling into place. It’s all flowers, strawberries, chocolate and puppies. Then on other days, thunder and lightning surround you, weeds creep into your mental garden, you are greeted by a flat tire, someone rear ends you on the expressway, you spill hot coffee on your freshly dry-cleaned outfit, or drop your keys down a sewer grate (this actually happened to my other daughter several years ago. Talk about a significantly major PITA!). It just seems like nothing is going your way, and perhaps, it will not go you way ever again. At least that’s the way it feels, anyway.

We face these and even more serious issues every day in life. Some small, some large, some huge. We usually get through these times. We manage. We get by. But sometimes, you find the going tougher than you have ever experienced. You feel like you are wading up stream, in a river of molasses. You fight against the current, swim against the tide, making little to no progress. In these times, the swirling waters threaten to pull you under. You fight to breathe, you gasp for air, you struggle to survive. It is at these times that you should consider seeking out and engaging a Coach, a mentor, a sage. Someone who can listen to and observe the difficulties you are facing, putting them into their proper perspective, and assisting you in emerging successfully out of the morass you have gotten yourself into. A trusted person that you can trust to methodically and patiently help. I can think of many good reasons to engage a coach. I will share ten of them with you now.

1. Good Coaches have experience. They have either personally gone through what you are going through, or have seen it before, time and time again. This helps immensely to cut through the haziness of a particular issue, since they typically have been there, done that, bought the T-Shirt.
2. Coaches will look at your predicament objectively and unemotionally. This allows them to strip away the bad feelings and drama that you cannot do for yourself. They look at the facts and root cause(s) of your issues. The cut to the objective chase.
3. Coaches listen really well. They make sure they understand your point of view (after all, you are the one with the problem!). They do not impose their paradigm on you. They look at things from your perspective. The walk in your shoes.
4. Coaches steer you towards thinking about great outcomes. They help you to develop a custom vision of how things should really be. This is hard for us to do by ourselves when we are wallowing in a swamp full of alligators.
5. Coaches are action oriented. After they help you develop the vision of how things are, they assist in putting together an action plan for getting there. YOUR action plan, not theirs.
6. Coaches hold you accountable for your vision, and your action plan. They ensure you maintain ownership and accountability over your issues, your vision, your plan. Without thisd accountability, you won’t stick to it. you won’t get it done.
7. Coaches tell it like it is. They don’t tell you what you WANT to hear, they say what you NEED to hear. Unfiltered. Unadulterated.
8. Coaches are ethical, confidential, and private. You can be open with them, where you may not be able to with a friend, even a good friend, or a family member. This is one of the most important attributes of a coach. You can trust a person whose profession it is to help, and to maintain confidentiality.
9. Coaches are outcome and results oriented, and they help you get there as quickly as you are willing to and can move.
10. Coaches are balanced, and help you balance. Your life may not be a bowl of cherries, but its not all gloom and doom either. They help you see, recognize, and exploit strengths, while you are working on the weaknesses.

In short, having a competent, experienced person beside you, to guide you through the complexities of life, can be a real blessing. Many executives, celebrities, and professional athletes employ coaches, to give them that edge they need to be successful. We can all use the help. If its good enough for them, why not for us?

Let me know what you think.

You can read my blog HERE, connect on Twitter HERE, LinkedIn HERE and Facebook HERE.

 

Thoughts on Being Authentic

On Being Authentic

Have there been times in your life when you felt you weren’t acting like your true self? Maybe you were unsure of a situation or were lacking the confidence to reveal who you truly are.

Whatever your reason, you chose to hide your real self. Personal concealment places us into an emotionally unhealthy cycle. First, we feel unsure of ourselves and this causes us to act even less authentic in the future.

Rather than spending time hiding from the world, you’ll flourish by revealing your true self to others. Becoming more authentic in your interactions is a worthy goal.

Here are some ways to increase your personal authenticity: 

1. Monitor your feelings closely and stay present. When you know and understand your own emotions, you’ll be less likely to behave in ways that contrast with your feelings. Mindfulness will help you tremendously in your quest to be more authentic. Stay in the moment and consider what is going on in your world in the present.
2. Give yourself time. If something happens and you’re unsure of how to react or respond, it’s okay to not react at all. Allow yourself some moments to consider the situation. If you feel pressure to respond, saying something like, “I’m not sure how to respond to that,” can be your best line of action until you’re more confident in your reaction.
3. Catch yourself being inauthentic. When you realize you’ve been less than honest in a given situation, it’s okay to say, “Wait a minute. I changed my mind,” or “Maybe I’m not as sure about this as I thought.” Remind yourself that you have permission to alter your response to anyone and anything at any time. Then, choose a route that’s more in line with how you honestly feel.
4. Notice what situations prompt you to be disingenuous. Being insincere or untruthful each time you’re around your in-laws or your supervisor, for example, will reveal where your insecurities lie. Do some self-reflection to determine why you’re behaving this way around that person or in that particular situation.
5. Be authentic with others to increase your level of confidence. The ability to be open and honest shows that you like and accept yourself and you’re self-assured. Avoid being afraid or too timid to show others who you really are. Self-confidence goes a long way!
6. Realize that others truly appreciate you when you’re authentic in behavior and comments. Think about how you feel when you’re with someone who’s consistently open with you. It feels comfortable and easy to be with someone you know you can trust. There’s no tension or guesswork involved. If you keep this information in mind, you may find it a little easier to be authentic.
7. Show care and gentleness toward others. You might be thinking, “What’s the connection between being caring and being authentic?” If you go out of your way to be polite and kind to others, it will be a natural response to be authentic with them. Once you realize that you hold their feelings in your hands, you’ll know it’s necessary to be gentle and honest with others.

When you expend a little bit of effort on relating to others truthfully and carefully, you’ll gradually find that you like yourself more. When you offer authenticity to others, it sets a wonderful example for those around you. The more authentic you are, the richer the life you’ll live.

I’m Having a Bad Day

 

 

It’s Friday the 13th. The alarm goes off, and I realize I set it for 7 AM instead of 6 AM. I am going to be late for a very important meeting! I cut myself shaving. I jump in the shower and after I’m wet, realize there is no shampoo. I stub my toe in the dark, looking for my shoes. I put on a black sock, and a blue sock. Traffic is EASILY, 5 times as bad as it usually is. 7 people cut me off on the way to work, versus the normal 3. Slowpokes are out in force, cruising down the avenue as if it was Sunday afternoon. Burger King is out of French Toast Sticks!!! There is a brown out at work as I am booting up my laptop. And finally, to take the cake, I fish my glasses out of my backpack, and the frame is broken. You get the picture? A really BAD day. These are silly little events that go on n life, and your bad experiences could be much more serious. But the outcomes are similar. Bad mood, bad feeling, bad outcome.

So here’s what I do:

1) Close my eyes, take a deep breath, and count to ten while exhaling (this really does help folks!)

2) Peruse my To Do list, grab the three easiest tasks, and knock them out immediately. This helps to focus me on doing something useful, and gets me a sense of accomplishment right away. It steers me away from the bad stuff that I have already experienced and into a Can Do, Good Day mood.

3) I grab the grungiest task from my list and dive right into it. Even if I can’t finish it, I make some significant progress, and I feel good about that.

Poof! Bad Day is gone. It works for me! What kinds of things do you do when you are experiencing a bad day, besides throwing the covers over your head and going back to sleep???

You can read my blog HERE, connect on Twitter HERE, LinkedIn HERE and Facebook HERE.

 

Practice 7 Habits of Serenity

Do you genuinely feel a sense of serenity on a regular basis? Or does it seem like feelings of anxiety in nearly all aspects of life have become the status quo? Most people aren’t able to enjoy feelings of calmness and peace on a regular basis. Everyone feels stress or anxiety from time to time, but it doesn’t have to become a way of life.

You might have some control over your environment, but you can’t control others. Your own response is the only thing completely under your control.

If you’d like to experience a more peaceful life, try adopting these 7 habits of serenity: 

1. Create a calming morning ritual. Getting up early is important. Most people make the mistake of staying in bed as long as possible. This results in rushing around and relying on luck to get out of the house on time. If one event takes you off course, you’ll be late. Get up early enough that you’re not rushed in the morning. Exercise a little bit. Meditate. Read the paper with your coffee. Take a walk around the block. Mornings tend to be quiet and peaceful, and if you get up early, you can enjoy them.
2. Notice how you respond to stress. When you’re faced with a stressful situation, take note of your behavior.  Do you feel overwhelmed by stress? Do you overeat? Do you work to eliminate the stress? do you find some way to distract yourself to avoid the situation?
3. Create healthier responses to stress. Replace any unhealthy responses with something more peaceful. Maybe a soothing cup of tea or a few minutes of stretching would work for you. Calling a friend might be an option. Going for a daily run or walk with the dog.
   
4. It’s not personal. Many of us are quick to take things personally. For example, if your employee doesn’t follow your instructions, do you assume they’re being defiant? If your partner isn’t affectionate for a day, do you assume they don’t care about you? The truth is that most of the time it’s not about you. Everyone has their own issues to deal with. The odds are excellent that you’re not the cause of someone else’s mood or behavior.
5. Feel gratitude. Everyone has things in their life that are worthy of gratitude. What are you grateful for? When things seem the most challenging, it’s a perfect time to list off the things for which you are the most grateful. If you think about these things, you’ll feel better. This is one of the best habits anyone can create.
6. Only do one thing at a time. Attempting to multi-task is stressful. It’s also not productive to rapidly switch back and forth between multiple tasks. For example, when you’re driving your car, just drive your car. Don’t try to drive, text, and eat breakfast at the same time.
7. Minimize the noise in your life. Audible sounds, visual clutter, and the other extra items in your life that you really have no need for all clutter up your mind as well as your environment. Having too much stuff in your life can make you miserable. Keep the most important items and get rid of the rest.

Developing these habits will make your life more calm and serene. There’s a tremendous benefit to reducing the stress in your life. You’ll be healthier and enjoy your life more.