"There is always a solution."

I can’t tell you how many times this thought has helped me in my life.

When challenges arise and they always do,- it’s so comforting, so reassuring to inform your brain that things will be okay… it will all work out.

Before becoming a Life Coach, I spent 21 years as a real estate agent, and this one thing has been a huge contributor to my success.  Putting my brain to work to figure out a complicated situation has been such a blessing!  

Difficult home inspection?  -How can we fix it? Tricky financing?  -What else is available? Your seller needs to buy a home before your buyers can buy theirs… and THEY have to sell their home in order for them to buy??? -No problem, there is always a solution.

These five words calm your heart.  They confirm what you already know.  You are capable. You have an incredible mind, and come what may, you can figure it out!  Holding this thought in your mind,...

“It amazes me that women look at the sky and say, “WOW-  God is so amazing!” but then look in the mirror and think “ugh.’’  As if He didn’t make both.”

I posted this quote on my FB page this recently and I had many responses and a ton of shares.  It strikes a chord with women of any age or demographic.

Isn’t it crazy the way we criticize and judge ourselves?

Sometimes we even believe that hating on ourselves will cause us to change, -to become what??  Thinner, smarter, more talented, more likable, richer…??? Seriously! In what way could HATE ever produce something beautiful?

It’s a nasty trick our brains play, to search for our flaws.  Subconsciously, we believe that pointing them out to ourselves first, will make it hurt less when someone else notices them too.  It feels protective, but it’s just not helpful.

Not only that, but when we are swimming in a pool of self judgement, we...

Part of my morning ritual each day is writing down five things I am grateful for.  I train my brain to search for small things I’m thankful for.. It’s easy to be grateful for the big stuff, like my home and family… but when I look for and find joy in the little things, like my morning protein shake or a new favorite song, each day is full of sweet little joys and surprises.

I’ve found this morning ritual to be something I really look forward to!  It creates a beautiful emotion in my body that starts my day off right.

Anyone who knows me well know that I LOVE Fall.  It’s hands down my favorite time of year! Fall is when I feel most like myself, like I’ve come HOME.   I love everything about it, the change in weather, the leaves, the smells, the sweaters and boots and EVERYTHING pumpkin!  AND I love Halloween! -not the scary, creepy, gory Halloween, but the kids and costumes, festivals and caramel apples! It feels like a...

“I JUST DON’T FEEL CONNECTED.”

I hear this quite a bit in coaching. What is it about connection that makes us feel whole and well?

Connection is defined in relationships as a link,- we are joined.

As humans, we are not meant to be solitary creatures. We are all born with different gifts that compliment each other’s gifts, and together we become better.

So many times when we feel disconnected, it’s because we are focusing on the ways in which we are different, as if this is wrong, -as if it is a problem. We tell ourselves that our differences separate us, when just the opposite is true. 

Our differences can make us more, if we can shift our thinking to view it that way.

It’s important to understand that our relationship with someone else, is simply OUR thoughts about that person.

Remember when you were falling in love and there didn’t seem to be space in your brain for ANYTHING other that your new boyfriend / girlfriend?  You...

Hey my friend!

Have you ever had a day where you were just in a horrible mood and really had no idea why?

This happened to me last weekend and it took a little work to get it figured out, but I did it and I’d like to share with you how you can do it too!

Did you know that the average human being has over 60,000 NEGATIVE THOUGHTS PER DAY???

IT’S NO WONDER WE STRUGGLE RIGHT?

Our thoughts create our emotions.  Most of us believe that it’s our circumstances (the facts of our life like our address, the size of our home, the weather, the amount of money we have, the number on the scale…) that cause us to feel the way that we do, but it’s just not the case. 

The way we THINK about our circumstances is the cause of everything we feel.

Why is this so important to understand?  It’s because EVERYTHING we DO is driven by our emotions.  It is what causes us to behave, to take action (or not take action), to respond and to create.  And...

I talked about this subject a bit in my blog post, Stay in Your Lane, but it keeps coming up over and over again in my coaching, so here is a little more to add to your perspective.

Have you ever felt judged? That hot flash of embarrassment or humiliation that makes your cheeks flush, and the instant reaction of anger and defensiveness that comes with it.  Ugh… such a horrible feeling!

Once when I was serving as a new Young Women’s President, I was attending a Ward Council meeting and the Bishop was reviewing the budgets.  I was pretty young and had recently moved into the ward and had never before served in a Presidency. I had ZERO training in this position, let alone budgets. 

I had just been told that if we had activities, the ward would cover the expenses. Well, when it came time to discuss the YW’s budget, it appeared I was quite a bit over our limit and the Bishop wasn’t very pleased. I wouldn’t say he scolded me, but I felt pretty...

The Key to Confidence

If you’re anything like me, we will bend over backwards to keep a commitment we make to someone else.  You need help at 1pm on Thursday? I’ll be there! Ask me to help you with a project of importance to you, for sure, I’m in! We volunteer to help out all the time, and we wouldn’t even consider not showing up!

WE WOULD NEVER BREAK A PROMISE TO SOMEONE ELSE, WHY DO WE DO IT TO OURSELVES?

When people aren’t feeling confident, we can most likely trace it back to self promises that are un-kept.

You know what I’m talking about. We commit to starting a diet or going to the gym tomorrow, we decide that no matter what, we will change a habit, start a new project, take care of a problem etc… 

But when tomorrow comes we just don’t feel like it. 

So we don’t do it. 

We teach ourselves that we cannot be trusted and that our word to ourselves is just no good.

Holding personal integrity is the highest...

As I send my baby off to his first day of school as a Senior today, my eyes are a little misty.  There is an ache in my chest. It feels a little hollow and empty. I think of all the years leading up to this day and wonder where the time has gone,- how did this happen?  I love that it hurts, because it is an indication of how incredibly much I love him. The pain I feel is clean and beautiful… a reminder of why I need to cherish the moments I have.

Just like the pain we feel when our beloved pet dies, or we hear heartbreaking news, clean pain is appropriate.  It’s something we want to experience because we value that part of our humanity. We know it is sometimes the price we pay to love.

Clean pain is looking at the whole menu of human experiences and saying, “Although I wouldn’t necessarily choose this, I am willing to go through it because I choose to love and be loved in return.”

Dirty pain, on the other hand, occurs  when we have...