Breathing Room for Your Head & Home

I’ve had a few community members say they want to make fulfilling changes in their lives. They want a more effective & simple way to create home & head organization. They feel overwhelmed and fatigued. They know that there are people out there living their dreams based on a passion and feeling purposefully inspired and driven to do something more. But, they are basically stressed about a whole-lotta-things.

Can you relate?

The sentiment I’ve been hearing is that there is a hope to hit the reset button on life and re-calibrate that unbalanced, stressed-out and frustrated sensation. They want room to breathe in their head & home.

Seriously, what if this was possible? It almost sounds overwhelming in and of itself. But, as you know I am all about simple solutions. I only like to share golden nuggets that help eliminate stress, not create more! Let’s look at an easy and effective way for you to hit that reset button that will have profound effects on all areas of your life.

Are you ready to create room to breathe?

Research shows that an overwhelmed mind goes into a state of lethargy, which creates a static state or inability to move into action. Have you ever had so many things to do that you don’t know where to begin, so you just don’t do anything?

Our culture creates a steady stream of information inundation that fills your brain, product consumption that fills your home along with an endless assortment of demands.

Can you relate?

I think back to my grandparents generation and it is amazing to me to think about what life was like and how much simpler it was. They didn’t need to declutter because they just didn’t have the same amount of stuff in their homes. Computers, smart phones and TVs were not vying for their attention at all times of the day. Studies show that the today’s average household contains over 300,000 items. This is much less than what it was for our grandparents. According to Forbes, the average woman owns 30+ outfits. In 1930, that number was 9. There is no question that in our time & culture life is more complicated.

With that said, let’s look at a quick 4-step process that will help give you room to breathe in your head & home.

Sometimes small changes can have a big impact. Begin to notice what areas in your head & home feel cluttered. Are there areas that are more burdensome than others? Begin to evaluate where the surplus of anxiety originates. Do you need to curb the clutter from paper work or a swamped email box? Are you flustered by your daily schedule? Are the cupboards filled with cans that have expired? Or, do you binge on food items because you have a packed schedule that doesn’t’ allow time for getting & preparing healthy meals? This conscious awareness will help you with the next step.

Now that you have thought about what stresses you out, write them down. Often, just the act of moving your thoughts from your head to paper will make you feel clearer. It will also give you an opportunity to evaluate what needs to be addressed to make your life clutter-free and vibrant.

Take action! Wishing things would be different doesn’t create change. Taking action does. Categorize the things on your stress-list based on urgency & stress level. Tackle the most stressful things first. Imagine what it would feel like if that stressful, 100-pound gorilla was off of your shoulders. Wouldn’t you feel lighter, brighter and able to breathe with more ease?

Look at the top 3 items on your prioritized list and determine what 3 actionable steps you can take to cross them off your inventory. Give yourself the opportunity to accomplish these tasks by making them manageable. Crafting reasonable objectives will allow you to stay out of overwhelm and on target to accomplish your goal.

This 4-step process will help you create room to breathe in your home & head. When you begin to notice that you want to hit the reset button on life and re-calibrate the unbalanced, stressed out and frustrated feelings that can surface, see if this simple solution will allow you to breathe with more ease and grace.

I would love to hear what ONE item makes you feel overwhelmed, frustrated and stressed. Just by acknowledging it will help to release some of its hold on you. Please share your thoughts below. I am sure your experience will resonate and help another member of the Home in Harmony community.

You were meant to feel grounded, balanced and joyful! Decreasing the clutter in your home & head will allow you to make this happen.

Happy Soaring!

XOXO

photo credit: pinterest dot com

Work Harder Not Smarter

I wrote that subject line for a reason. Did it get your attention?

You have probably heard that it is important to work smarter not harder and what I wrote above is the opposite. Why would I do that?

In today’s article I explain how our culture encourages working harder, faster and more, more, more (working harder not smarter). Unfortunately this mindset paradigm sets you up to feel overwhelmed and to burn out quickly. It couldn’t be further from helping you live a successful, productive and happy life.

Let’s look at how to step off the proverbial treadmill that society has manufactured so that you can create your own rules and a strong foundation to help you thrive.

To strategically work smarter than harder in today’s whirlwind culture it is critical to develop the ability to think clearly. This can be challenging when the barrage of life is flowing at you, constantly. That is, you become inundated with your to-dos, obligation, needs of other and the technological world that are all vying for your attention. And, you only have so much attention to go around.

So let’s look at how to go from cluttered, chaotic overload to clear & inspired living.

First of all, realize that when you begin to make space in your mind and life, things feel calmer, clearer and give you clarity to take control. You might ask, “But, how do I do that when things are so piled up?” Good question! Here are a few tips…

Find the fun! When you put that to-do list aside and take a few moments, hours or days to just have fun, you are able to clearly assess the priorities in your life. Joy helps your mind, body and spirit feel alive and fulfilled. Your adrenals take a much-needed break and your happy hormones kick in. This allows you to have a fresh perspective and new insights that might be missed when you are gasping for air from under the pile of demands. Make fun a priority!

Quiet your mind by starting an activity that doesn’t involve doing but instead being. Our culture promotes a lot of doing! Jump off that train and think of an activity you can do that will literally train your brain to take some time-out. Things like dancing, singing, meditating, riding a bike, drawing and yoga are all examples of focusing on Being in the moment. These types of activities allow your brain to be focused on the present instead of worrying about the past or future.

Begin to notice activities that you do on a regular basis that “suck your time”. Are you on social media for more than 20 minutes in a day? Is this helping you create the life you hope to design? Keep a notepad with you for a day writing down 15 minute increments and jot down what you are doing during those periods of time. This eye-opening activity will give you insight into how the minutes of your day are really spent and if they are helping you live a successful, productive and happy life.

Clarity will help you get off the cultural treadmill that promotes working harder not smarter. Why set yourself up for overwhelm and burnout when you can move with ease and grace through your life.

It’s time to bring joy and fun into your experience so that you can create your own rules and strong foundation that will allow you to build the life of your dreams!

Happy Soaring!

XOXO

photo credit: empowered life fitness dot com

Parenting 101 will Create Your Success!

Today in yoga class a young mother mentioned she was having challenges with her middle child. The child preferred to be au-natural instead of donning clothes. The mother was quite distressed over the situation and the child who continuously challenged her. It made me think back to the parenting classes I taught when I was in grad school. The philosophy of the community center was to teach parents how to be firm, fair and consistent. After 18 years of parenting four children, I believe this gives one a great foundation to start the parenting process.

Additionally, I would include giving an appropriate set of choices to a challenging child so they feel like they have some control of their environment. This also allows them to practice the habit of making good choices.

Lastly, I believe that phases of life continuously flow allowing us and those we love to grow. I have seen cycles, like the “terrible twos” and “challenging teens” come and thankfully go. Knowing this gives me insight with my fourth child that I didn’t have with my first. The way I approached parenting has grown and evolved because I now have a bird’s eye view perspective of the phases of childhood. This is so different from sitting in it being consumed by it.

Life has taught me that just when I can’t take anymore of the challenging behavior things shift, growth happens and we are on the other side of “it”, laughing at the way it was… thank goodness!

What if you could look at your life the way a parent looks at their child’s life?

When you have goals that don’t seem to come to fruition or you wish that your behaviors matched your goals (like losing weight, staying organized or following your passion), what if you knew it was a cycle that would eventually pass. What if you could help your circumstance by being firm, fair and consistent? What if you gave yourself choices that set you up for success instead of failure?

Let me give you an easy example. I often hear of people trying to lose weight, get their head & home organized or begin to follow their passion. Similar to a New Year’s resolution, they start off totally pumped up to follow through but then fall short after the initial excitement and motivation dissipate. Have you ever made a promise to yourself but didn’t follow through? Do you ever act knowing that you could be making better choices? In the end feeling frustrated and stressed about the decisions you have made. Looking at the situation from a bird’s eye view easily prevents this and gives you the emotional space to make better choices. Take a deep breath and step back from the situation. What is the cycle or habitual pattern that you are noticing in your behavior?

Can you set yourself up for success by coming up with actionable choices that help you move in the direction of your goal? Give yourself multiple choices so that you don’t get frustrated with a lack of options. For example, if you are trying to lose weight what are a few healthy snack choices that you can turn to when you are feeling hungry? If you are trying to organize your home, what are 3 areas you can work on that will keep you on track and not feeling overwhelmed? Or, if you want to follow your bliss, what are 3 things you can begin to do that will keep you on track? Having a variety of options will quell the natural rebellious tendencies of your inner-child.

Realizing that you go through cycles and phases in life can take the stress out of daily living. Knowing that these cycles are a natural part of growth and development can help you to take a deep breath and disengage the small voice inside your head sending you messages of anxiety. There is a reason for the saying, “This to shall pass”.

Next, giving yourself a few options to take action can begin the momentum forward helping you create the life, home and business you wish to create. Turning to the same positive actionable step can help you to turn these positive behaviors into life-affirming habits that will allow you to move through your life with ease and grace.

Lastly, be firm, fair and consistent with yourself.

Firm: Set goals you will stick to
Fair: Be realistic with your expectations
Consistent: Create consistency in your action until you create a habit (Helpful Tip: Connect with an accountability partner)

When you make a promise that you are going to stick to something and you don’t follow through you become disappointed with yourself on multiple levels. This type of self-sabotage depletes you emotionally and energetically. Conversely, upholding the promises that you tell yourself and being firm, fair and consistent grows your confidence and allows you to know that you can depend on you! That is a beautiful thing! Your mind, body and spirit know and deeply feel this alignment and you will rapidly begin to see positive changes manifest in your life.

Similar to a child who needs loving boundaries to make their life flow smoothly, it is sometimes necessary to create parameters for your life so that you can begin to move towards creating the ideal vision for your home, body, relationships, business, health and dreams.

Can you see how being firm, fair and consistent with yourself will set you up for success? What area in your life do you feel motivated to make changes?

I am excited to hear what you have to share. As always by adding your comments below you can inspire someone else in the Home in Harmony community who wants to shift in this area.

Happy Soaring!

XOXO

P.S…If you have any areas in your life that you feel motivated to make changes in CLICK HERE and schedule your FREE Success By Design Session today, and let me help you get set up for success!

photo credit: gettyimages dot com

Get Back in Balance!

We recently asked the Home in Harmony community to take the Live Your Dream Quiz. My hope was to help you find clarity about where you are in your life and if you are moving any closer to fulfilling your dreams. (If you didn’t have a chance to take it, click here for your last chance and receive a $25 dollar Harmony Gift Certificate that you can use on upcoming Home in Harmony products!) The quiz also helped me to understand where you are in your home, life and business so that I can support you in designing your Big & Ideal Vision. In this week’s article I will share some insight into our findings.

I have mentioned before that I am a bit of a research girl. That’s probably why I loved Graduate School so much! Research began my journey to understand that there was and is a connection between your environment and the success you have in EVERY area of your life. Literally. EVERY area of your life! It can impact your health, wealth, relationships, peace of mind, ability to be productive, ability to find your passion and live your purpose.

So, with that being said, I loved looking over the Live Your Dream Quiz responses to analyze how to best help you live your dream life.

The good news is that almost 95% of the Home in Harmony community that took the quiz said they are committed to improving challenging areas of their life where they feel they need help. Yay! This is one of the 1^st steps to creating lasting change! That is, committing to an aspiration and taking the initial steps to achieve your goal. The other part of that is getting clear on your goal and acknowledging it is there.

Let’s take a quick look at a simple way to improving your life, family dynamics, weight, relationship, business & home …

Have you ever experienced the feeling of being unsettled, that you want more out of life or that you are not completely happy with your life, family, weight, relationship, business & home. Those feelings are the way your spirit is trying to communicate with you. At this point you have two choices. Either continue to do things the same way, wishfully hoping things will change. (However, this path will begin to wear on your mind, body and spirit because you are out of alignment with your soul’s guidance system.) The other option is to make changes in your life, family, weight, relationship, business & home. This will allow you to shift into alignment with your spirit and have inner and outer results that fill you up!

When you are out of alignment with your inner wisdom you may feel overwhelmed, tense or anxious. These are signs of your disharmony. These uneasy feelings will leave you feeling unsatisfied and out-of-sync with your life, family, weight, relationship, business & home. Unfortunately they will also begin to get stronger and speak louder if you choose to ignore them and remain out of alignment. This isn’t fun!

It is like a bicycle with a wheel that is slightly bent. As the bike moves down the road, it moves farther and farther away from the center of the road making it more and more difficult to come back to center or alignment. It takes an increasing amount of energy from the biker to get it back on course. The wheel also begins to get even more distorted which produces even more instability. This creates a greater amount of strain, energy and effort for the cyclist. By balancing the wheel and creating alignment the cyclist creates conditions of ease, effortless flow and most importantly, fun!

The anxiety, apprehension & tension are your spirits way of nudging you to make a shift and connect to what will help you move along your path effortlessly, gracefully and with ample fun! Again, there are two paths to take at this juncture. One is to continue doing what doesn’t work. Or, the other path is to begin to get clear on what is the cause of your frustration, anxiety and overwhelm. These emotions leave you unsatisfied with your life and hold you back. Instead, take action to move out of disharmony and begin to gracefully flow with ease because you are in alignment and balance. This allows you walk the path of inner harmony instead of journeying along in discord.

When you read the story about the wheel, could you think of a situation in your life that feels out-of-balance?

Please Leave a comment on the blog. Your story could help someone else who is feeling out of alignment. I love hearing what you have to say!

Happy Soaring!

XOXO

P.S…If you want help figuring out why you are feeling out of alignment and how to get back to the path of ease, grace & fun, CLICK HERE and schedule your Success By Design Session today. Let me help you get back on course!

photo credit: sebulli dot com

You Can Make IT Happen!

Driving by the gym today I noticed the abundance of cars in the parking lot where there are usually only a dozen at any given time. New Year’s resolutions are in overdrive with people’s excitement and determination full throttle. I wonder how long it will last? Statistics say that only 6% of people who set a New Year’s resolution achieve their goal. And, unfortunately only 75% of people even make it through the 1^st week! That being said, it will be interesting to see how long it takes for the gym parking lot to go back to normal capacity.

Do you usually follow through on your New Year’s resolutions?

Do you remember what your resolution was from last year?

Did you make it happen?

How are you going to create success this year?

Two of the top resolutions for 2016 are good health & getting organized. In today’s blog post I will share 3 simple solution to aide you in your efforts for both of these areas so you can have lasting success!

In the book, Home in Harmony: Designing an Inspired Life, I go into detail about how habits control your behavior. More than 86% of your behavior is (blindly) determined by unconscious habitual actions and responses. You can use this as a tool to help you manage your actions, behaviors and goals. When setting resolutions it is important to think about what you are trying to achieve and determine how you can turn your objective into a habit. This slight adjustment in perspective can make all the difference in whether you are effective or not in maintaining your aspiration and being part of the 6% who achieve what they set out to accomplish in the New Year.

If your goal is to create a healthy body or an organized home than lets look at a few simple solutions to help turn both of these aspirations into reality.

First, go through your kitchen cupboards (or any other area of your home that contains food items) and toss items that are unhealthy. Make a commitment to not replenish these items. Instead decide what would be a healthy and suitable substitute. This will help you exchange the items that are draining with healthy versions of whatever you typically consume.

Next, clear out and donate kitchen gadgets you haven’t used in a year. Ask yourself if you are really ever going to use them. Then, dust off some of the appliances that will help you stay committed to your goals of health and wellness. Put items like your blender or juicer in a spot that is easily accessible. This will allow you to make your healthy, energy boosting smoothies and green juices easily. Having these items in sight and handy acts as a constant reminder to use them and helps fortify the health and wellness objective at hand.

Lastly, add a beautiful bowl of fresh produce on the counter. This will add uplifting color and energy to the space that will rejuvenate your mind, body and spirit. This will also help remind you of your intentions for health and wellness.

As always, I would love to hear about You! In the comments below, please share your goals and aspirations for 2016!

Wishing you incredible success in 2016!

Happy Soaring!

XOXO

photo credit: happynewyearsms2016 dot com