What’s Holding You Back?

With all the things we “have” to do – go to work, get the car fixed, grocery shopping, mow the lawn, wash clothes, take the kids to practice, and the list goes on – how do we find time to do the things that we “want” to do – exercise regularly, write a book, start a business, finish a degree, pursue a new career, improve our game? We get up and do the same routine every day, unfulfilled and unsatisfied.

Weeks, months, and even years go by and we still haven’t started doing that thing we want to do. Perhaps the delay isn’t a hectic schedule, but more so reasons and excuses that we have told ourselves for so long that we actually believe them to be true – “I don’t have enough (fill in reason)” or “I can’t possibly do that because (fill in excuse).”

What is your reason or excuse? What belief have you held on to that has paralyzed you from pursuing your dream? What’s holding you back?

Peace in the Storm

How’s your life? Peaceful and full of joy or frustrating and full of misery? If you had to rate your life on a scale of one to five, with one being the worst and five being the best, what would you say? If the state of the economy or world catastrophic events is not a concern, perhaps you are dealing with your own personal crisis – loss of a job, a fateful health diagnosis, or loss of a loved one. How can you maintain peace in the midst of the storm? When everything appears to be turning upside down and everyone seems to be going their own way, how can you keep not just your sanity, but inner peace?

When I’m on the edge and having more “moments” than I can count, I realize that things are out of balance and I must regain my inner harmony. That’s when I turn to someone who is higher and greater than I. God is my source of peace and the one that I can always look to for strength. When my mind starts racing with every possible care, problem, and circumstance that’s going on, I need to take time, get still, and seek solace in the only one who is able to quiet my mind, revive my spirit, and restore my joy.

So, how do you maintain peace in the midst of the storm?

Ups and Downs

As a Life Coach who specializes in total wellness – spirit, soul, mind, and body – I often question not only what motivates people, but moreso what keeps them motivated.  Why do we tend to experience the roller-coaster effect on the road to goal accomplishment? Perhaps it’s a natural part of the process. How can we maintain the initial enthusiasm that gets us up without ever coming down? Perhaps it’s not possible to maintain such drive without crashing. Why do we burn long and hard for a while until we practically burn-out? There must be a way to maintain a balance so that we can burn on. Is achieving a dream similar to purchasing a new car? The excitement fades once the newness wears off. Or, is it because inevitable challenges and disappointments sometimes give way to fear and doubt? Thus, causing us to slow down to almost a halt. How can we view setbacks differently and learn during the process? Instead of allowing setbacks to immobilize us, we can use them as tools of determination to press forward. Can we train ourselves to get so mad at the setback that it reignites us to obtain our desired outcome with a vengence? We can turn the negative energy that accompanies disappointment into positive by a mere act of the will. We must resist the setback and make it a comeback instead.