mindfulness Archives - Page 4 of 5

March 25, 2018

Pilot Lights

Finds what sparks you Over the last few years, I’ve had a saga with my air conditioning. I’ve called my home warranty to fix it every year. A couple years ago, someone came out and whatever was going on led them into the attic. After hours up there and even more time at the unit outside, like magic, I had cool air again. I didn’t think twice about it until the cooler weather rolled around. Something didn’t seem quite right. It was the time of year that was dark outside and cold inside, without the air on, and my heater was not performing up to par. My son and I couldn’t figure it out and I spent a good amount of time on the phone with support trying to make sure my thermostat worked. Finally, they agreed to send someone out. First place the guy went? Attic. When he emerged a short time later, I found out I’d just paid $60 to have him relight my pilot light. Apparently, the guy over the summer put it out during the air fiasco and it doesn’t magically relight itself. Once on, the heat fired up and life was good.

It’s amazing to me that a small spark lights the pilot and it leads to heat throughout the house.

Some of you have followed my coaching journey which has basically been…go through coaching class…get fired up…pass my exam and become a certified coach…watch the fire dwindle. I use it at work at times and don’t get me wrong, it’s enormously helpful. But other than that, my passion to launch into that arena has fizzled somewhat. I think to some degree it’s been self-preservation. Continuing to yearn for something I couldn’t seem to wrap my brain around, launching a coaching practice, just made me feel like I was a failure. In my head I thought I had to be in business for myself to be legit. Again, coaching at work fills my passion to some degree, but not entirely.

While I don’t have a coaching practice, I do coach people here and there and after a year had accumulated the hours necessary to apply for the next level coaching certification. I did, but before I could be awarded the certification, I had to take an exam. Boo! Not a fan of tests but Friday, I sucked it up and took it. After more than two hours and losing internet connection twice (leading me to relocate to Starbucks for their reliable internet – and iced green tea, I’m addicted), I got the screen “are you sure you want to submit and be scored?” No, not really. But I did, and I passed. ACC – check.

Afterwards, I reflected on the feelings I experienced during the exam. It challenged me and excited me at the same time. As I worked through the different situations, it reminded me of the passion I have for coaching. Working with people and helping them find their answers so they can more forward in life. Oddly enough, the exam was like that pilot light in my attic. It sparked the passion I’d put on the back burner.

So now here I am, more letters behind my name – for whatever that’s worth – and a renewed passion for the field I found later in life, but that I think life prepared me for. How I keep the passion engaged is a bit unknown to me right now, but I don’t want to lose the spark, the pilot light, that fires up the whole thing. I’ll keep using it the way I am now, but I’m looking for more. If I’m being authentic, I have to be honest and say I’ve likely been a bit fearful and that’s held me back. Fearful of failing. But I’ve also learned that failing is ok because I’ll learn from it.

Even though I don’t know what’s next, what I do know is that I’ll be brave. I’ve held myself back on many things in life and I’m about done with that. Are you holding back? Stopping yourself from living out your gifts and talents, your passion out of fear? Come along with me then. If we fail, we fail, but we can say we step out and lived bravely.

March 18, 2018

Who do you compare to?

I’ve been doing a women’s devotional called the Comparison Trap by Sandra Stanley. It stems from a series of sermons her husband, Andy Stanley, gave where he talks about that battle with Er. Have you heard of it? The battle to be prettier, wealthier, thinner, happier, craftier… pick our own Er battle, but the truth is we all have them. Pinterest, love it, daily user, not gonna lie, gives you opportunities every day to feel less-er, comparing to the glorious homes, birthday parties, glam that others have going for them. Beyond the Joanna Gaines inspired homes I recently perused, there are many other ways we compare each day – Facebook, Instagram, you name it – people putting on their best game for us to view, and it’s easy to fall into the trap of feeling less than.

In the devotional yesterday, I was challenged to look at what I’m jealous of, envious, where I’m dissatisfied. Here’s the straight up truth. Yes, I desire the beautifully decorated homes, but if I think of others, I’m not jealous of them. Other people who have more? I’m genuinely happy for them. And as I did the exercise, I thought I must be missing it if I didn’t have jealously, but I don’t. Then it hit me. The a-ha moment.

It’s not others I’m comparing to, it’s myself.

My own standards for excellence.

Ouch – that smack in the face hurts.

The comparison battle I wage is with myself. I fight a battle to reach a standard of excellence I’ve created in my mind. I have this ideal that has evolved over the years that I compare myself to every day. It starts each morning when I get dressed. Pants a little snug? Falling short there. Miss something at work? Yep, another shortcoming. Haven’t cleaned my house this week? Cooked a 5-star meal for my husband? All areas where I think I should be performing. Not in comparison to anyone else, but against the vision of myself I’ve created over the years. And I suppose that was based on the barrage of messages I’ve received from many, many sources, over the years. The challenge today is that it’s become engrained in my mind as who I should be.

As I sat and thought about that reality yesterday, I was not a fan. Not one little bit. My battle is an internal one, my mind playing out a storyline that’s not true. So how to stop it?

The same way I stopped the comparison to other people. Over the years, I’ve shifted my thinking to appreciate other people instead of being jealous or envious of them. I appreciate beauty in others. Would rather share their success than envy it. Celebrate their creativity and gain insight from them. Genuinely admire their individuality and know that their journey is theirs alone, not one I must mirror.

It’s the same thinking that leads to surrender in my own battle, and in yours. For me, shifting to appreciating myself, my circumstance, as unique unto me, for my own purpose, is the same as the shift that can happen in you.

It’s a challenge for me, it’s raw, but it’s also part of the authenticity journey I’ve chosen for this year. I know that many of you face comparison battles of your own. I get it. Today, could each of us choose to appreciate instead of compare? Be brave enough to turn the mirror to look at and appreciate ourselves for the unique people we are? And then celebrate each other? It’s a choice to love…ourselves and others. I hope you’ll make it with me.

March 11, 2018

Love and Fear

love and fear My mind has been swirling around a central theme for at least a month now which is the idea that all feelings, emotions, come from either love or fear. As I’ve rolled that around, I find that it’s coming up all over the place. Podcasts I listen to, books, devotionals I’m reading…all of which feels like a confirmation that my thoughts are well placed for the season I’m in.

One of the ways I’m testing the idea is to evaluate emotions I’m having against it. I’ll find myself feeling warm and fuzzy inside after seeing my son – and there is love. Or maybe I’m anxious about a conversation I need to have – fear. As I’ve gone through this mental exercise, I’ve found that it holds water.

Next I started thinking about God. How God loves us and desires for us to love others. I think about some of the rules in the Bible. They seem restrictive and harsh, but I believe they are there because God loves us, wants protect us, or, applying context, to protect people from the what was happening at the time, risks inherently associated with that time period, or from societal situations at the time. Let’s get real. Bacon wasn’t meant to be restricted forever, just when people couldn’t store pig properly and were likely getting trichinosis. Everything’s better with bacon (at least in theory…love the smell but don’t eat it much). You get the picture.

So if I believe that all emotions and feelings come from love or fear, which one am I going to choose? Every time, I can’t emphasize that enough, every time, I’ll choose love. I’ve been focused for awhile on just loving others, so building in this principle is just an add on. What I’ve noticed is that loving on others is not hard, and it shifts me from a space where I may be quick to judge to one where I appreciate. I appreciate people for who they are. I get curious and try to understand them better. I want to know where they’re coming from, the shoes they’ve walked in.

I’ve also noticed that applying the love or fear idea to others has allowed me to stay in the tension, so to speak, with them. If they’re angry, I want to know what the fear is, because anger stems from fear. And by taking that approach, it helps remind me to not take it personally. Too often we get spun up in a situation because we take how someone is behaving personally. It’s not about us. They may think it’s about us, but it’s not, at least deep down it’s not. And the same is true when you’re the one whose upset. You may think it’s about someone else but keep asking yourself questions until you get to the bottom of it, you’ll find it’s about something in you.

As I define my authentic self, I know with absolute certainty that love is part of who I am. Loving others is a significant aspect component in my life. Finding ways to show love, to care for others, it’s my hearts’ desire. But I still have fear. There are still the days when I create the great American novel in my head telling the story of what someone else must be thinking, or assigning motive to their actions. That story describes behavior I don’t understand. Fear drives that.

When I stop and look at it from a place of love, the story stays written on paper and not in my head. Each of us has the ability to break emotion and feelings down to the basics of love and fear and I’d encourage you to try. Consider your feelings objectively and then choose to feel from a space of love, just as God does. Love yourself and love others. That’s it.

March 4, 2018

What is your gift?

I am creative. There, I said it. And now? Breaking out in a cold sweat mitigated only by my tasty Starbucks coffee. Let’s up the stakes a little. I am creative and I am going to write a book. Really. Now that I’ve said it I feel a little queasy. It feels a bit like pride, but it’s not pride to accept and state a gift that God has given you. Why is it that it’s so hard to embrace our own talents and gifts?

This weekend I’m volunteering at a training session for the coaching program I went through. As I sit in the back of the class I’m reminded of the emotions I went through when I participated in the program. There was one exercise where you had to identify qualities you appreciate about yourself, your gifts. As if that wasn’t hard enough, you had to “phone a friend,” and do the same. Nope. Not doing that. I remember it clearly. Saying in my head, “not doing that.” Instead I texted. What I got back was so touching. Now this isn’t a regular process you’re going to go through, think of it, “Hey, what do you like about me?” Every day? No. But in this context, there was value.

So often I believe we play small. We listen to that voice inside us that is quick to remind of failure or tell us that we don’t deserve to be happy, be content, be ________ – it’s different for all of us.

But it’s also the same. One of the awesome parts of the volunteering weekend is that a friend of mine from the coaching program is here with me. We’ve had great conversations and something I notice is that we have many of the same challenges. Truth is, we all go through similar challenges – alone. No one wants to talk about the struggles. We cruise along like we have it all together, even when we don’t. Somewhere along the way we’ve adopted the idea that we must have it all together, or at least make others believe it. We compare ourselves to other people, which is, in my opinion, one of the worst things we can do for ourselves. If we’re comparing, it’s only to the stuff we can see, what they choose to show us. That doesn’t account for all the struggle they’ve been through, the hard stuff.

What if, when you started to compare yourself to another person, you paused and thought about the whole person? They may have the perfect, fit, body, but what if you also knew that their parents divorced when they were young, and that they struggled with anorexia, and had crippling anxiety? You don’t see that on the outside. What if instead you looked at them from a place of appreciation, or admiration and love. Just loving them for the person they are instead of comparing. Learn to truly know those around you rather than making judgements, which is – to a degree – what comparison is.

I’d include our own selves in that too. What if we learned to appreciate ourselves, our gifts? What if we gave ourselves grace for the hard times we’ve been through – and we’ve all been through them – they might look different but are there nonetheless.

This leads me back to the book. I’m going to get out of my own way and do it. I was trying to make it complicated, map out a plan, set up time frames, blah, blah, blah. I was comparing to the Pinterest way of writing a book – there’s plenty out there on it, seemed right to follow one of those plans. My coaching friend, Karla, asked me how I write this blog, what I love about writing. Honestly, it’s being creative and pouring what’s in my head onto paper. There’s no plan. If you’re here often, you can probably see that. It’s what I’m thinking about today. She asked me why a book needs to be different? Truth is, it doesn’t. Wisdom in that.

What are you trying to complicate that in, reality, is simple? What gifts do you have that you keep on a shelf or keep small? God didn’t give you those gifts to stay hidden. It feels a little weird if I’m being honest, grab hold of those gifts and use them! It’s part of the authenticity journey. It’s being brave. I’d love to hear your gifts, your talents. Let’s encourage each other instead of comparing, we’re in this together, every step of the way.

February 25, 2018

Love ALL the Parts

no one claps for I keep thinking about the massage I had in Sonoma a couple weeks ago during my Treat Yo’ Self weekend. It capped off what was a relaxing weekend of trying to just be with myself. One of the biggest a-ha moments came for me during that massage. For the first time, probably ever, someone paid attention to my stump, the part of my foot that remained after having it amputated when I was 4. Let me say that again, for the first time ever…ever, someone paid attention to it – outside of when it’s been looked at as part of a medical exam, or if something is wrong, or that leg is in pain, or when my nieces beg to look at it. You get the picture.

And it struck me so strongly, because I’d never really thought about it. I believe that having an amputation when you’re young makes it immensely easier. I grew up with it and learned how to do anything I wanted to with it. There was hilarity around it in high school, we used it for pranks, but because my leg is inside a prosthesis, I never paid attention to the part that is actually my body. To a large degree, that’s an ok thing. (Side note, I don’t want to leave anyone with the idea that my leg was a disability, or a hindrance to me. It really wasn’t, that’s not my point here.)

But…what’s lingered in my mind was the sense that I hadn’t just ignored it, that perhaps what I’d done is neglect it. Think about a part of yourself, a part that is different maybe, and imagine that you never did anything but routine care for it. Imagine if you did that with someone you love, your child, your spouse. They would wither. Fade. Shrink. They might even get angry, or sad.

Stay with me.

Imagine that part of you that is different, or that you don’t like. And you ignore it, you ignore you. It doesn’t go away. It’s part of you. To not like, not love, a part of you…it’s likely not just that part of you that starts to fade, to wither, it’s all of you. Sit with it for a minute. We read about loving ourselves, and I firmly believe in that. And I also know that’s something I’m still working on. Shoot, I about choke if I try to say that I love myself out loud…alone in my room. But it’s the goal.

How am I, or really, how are any of us, supposed to truly love ourselves if there are parts of us, in my case, an actual limb, that are ignored? That I sort of pretend isn’t there. I don’t hide it or deny it, I just roll on without caring for it as I would another part of myself. And what do you do with that?

I think what you do is something different. In my case, if I really do want to love myself, I need to love all of myself, good, different, bumpy, wrinkly…the whole enchilada. Even thinking about it makes me a little queasy, no joke. And maybe I’m thinking about it too much. I just need to do it. Right now it’s just thoughts in my head. Those are nothing if I don’t act.

Now I’m turning the mirror on you. What part of you do you hide, or ignore, or dislike? Whatever it is, it’s part of you. You can wish to change it, and maybe you can, but loving all the parts of you at the end of the day is so important. My heart was so sad to realize what I’d been doing, or rather, not doing. That part of me, my stump, my leg, it’s me. It’s Lisa. What I went through with it…that’s part of my story…part of what made me brave…it’s part of the authentic me. And you? You’re uniquely made with all the parts of you. Love them. Love you. And take that love and share it with others.

February 18, 2018

Treat Yo’Self

Treat Yo Self Treat Yo’Self was a repeating bit on Parks and Recreation, an awesome, hilarious show that I binged with my husband last year. Tom and Donna would go all out and have a day dedicated to indulging in shopping, good food and things that made them feel ‘treated’. I latched on to the idea and have waited for an opportunity to treat my self. And I made it happen last week.

The plan was…go to Sonoma, alone, stay at an indulgent hotel, relax poolside, go to the spa, the mineral pools, get a massage, do some yoga…and spend time in personal reflection. I did all those things! Not kidding. What was interesting was the narrative going on in my mind the entire time. Let me break it down.

My mind is rarely still. As much as I wanted it to be a weekend where I was at peace, resting my mind and body, my mind was cheated. In fact, it seemed like it may have been on overdrive. Massage…should be a quiet time in my brain, right? No dice. As much as I tried, the thoughts kept floating back. It got to the point where I even talked to the massage therapist about it. Karli told me that it was not uncommon for people to struggle with keeping their mind still. Great…but didn’t get me closer to my objective. When I finally decided to stop resisting and just listen to myself, here’s what I noticed.

I think a lot about responsibility. About home, work, marriage, friends, what to make for dinner, how will the house get clean since I’m laying on a massage table…all kinds of responsibility that come with those areas of life. And it’s a matter of juggling in my head. Keeping all the balls in the air. In reality, I’ve realized that a lot of those balls aren’t supposed to be mine in the first place. I am the only one who has an expectation that I keep them up.

Deep breath…there’s also a worthiness element to it. In my mind I question whether I’m Forgiveness in the fire worthy enough to take the time to treat myself. Sadly, I know I’m not alone in this. Just that thought makes me sad. But not enough that I don’t have the thoughts. I have a shame loop that plays in my head. One which I’m working on letting go of, but which is set on shuffle. Which past situation will play in my head today and push me back down, keep me small? I want those thoughts to subside and I work diligently to release them. I’ve been writing a letter to myself, forgiving myself for the things I’ve done that caused me to feel that way, that developed the shame playlist. I added to that letter last week and then I burned it – at the fancy hotel – in their decorative fire pit. Thankfully, no one was around to witness it. I mean, I think I may have gotten a little flack for burning the letter in the gas fire pit, maybe? That would have defeated the release for sure. Do I feel better after burning it? A little. And that’s ok. If I can feel a little better at a time, it will add up, I’m sure of it!

There were plenty of other aha moments that I’ll spare you of but the last, really, really big one happened during my massage. I did this whole chocolate cinnamon body scrub followed by an hour massage. Could I eat the scrub? Yes, but I refrained. I think I’ve mentioned before that I don’t have a foot so I wear a prosthetic leg. Because it was a scrub, I took my leg off – something I don’t normally do for a massage. And my gal Karli scrubbed that leg and foot too. Dramatic pause… Because here’s the thing, that leg, that part of me, and the experience of going through it at a young age, it’s something that’s always there but not something I pay a lot of attention to. So to have attention paid to the physical limb, it rocked me a little bit. It was a punch in the gut if I’m honest. What am I going to do about it? Well, I’m rolling that around in my head and honestly, I’m fairly certain I’ll be writing about it again soon.

But I’ll leave you today with these thoughts. Treat Yo Self? It’s awesome and everyone should do it. What happens in your mind, what happened in mine? That’s part of the journey. My treat yo’self weekend likely looks different than yours. Awesome! Whatever it is that makes you feel special – do that! There are many in the world who would say it’s indulgent – I don’t care. It’s part of my authentic journey. Take time now and then to give yourself the care you are giving others. Be brave my sweet friends, you owe it to yourselves.

February 11, 2018

Let’s talk emotions

love-is-a-thousand-emotions-joined-tgether-as-one With Valentine’s day approaching, it seems like a great time to talk about emotions. I’m currently taking Brene Brown’s “Brave Leaders” course online and it is amazing in so many ways. I’m currently in a deep dive in courage which involves exploring how we show up in life. Is it with vulnerability, with empathy? It’s a fascinating course, and I love Brene Brown so….there’s that.

But, loving this course doesn’t mean it’s a walk in the park. As is the bulk of Brene’s work, it’s valuable to the degree you dig in, look at more than the easy response. You have to take a deep breath and get ready because often times what you discover has more than a lingering impact.

That’s what happened to me this week. There was an exercise on “emotional literacy” to help you understand emotions you experience and what it looks like when you’re moving through that emotion. Often times, what other people experience when you’re in that space is only the surface emotion, and there is a whole lot more going on underneath the surface.

I’ll let you play along…abbreviated version…just for fun. Read this list of emotions. Which ones can you recognize and describe as you’re experiencing them.

Anxious Belonging Blame Curious Disappointed Excited Embarrassment Fear Frustrated Gratitude Guilt Happy Hurt Joy Judgement Love Overwhelmed Shame Vulnerability

Maybe you circled the ones you can identify with, that you know when you’re in that emotion. Look at your words again. Notice any pattern? Here’s what I noticed that smacked me in the face. The bulk of emotions I could identify with were what I would label as negative (and the list was twice as long).

So I looked at the list again, I must have missed some positive emotions. Nope. Being honest and truthful with myself there were more negative emotions I could identify with than positive.

That realization really made me go inside my head. If I’m honest with myself, my words were not a surprise to me. I’m a fairly serious person by nature. I’m working on lightening up, and there are moments of it, but I’ve been called serious more than once. But looking at the list as seeing more negative emotions, fear-based emotions, caused me to pause. Maybe you felt the something similar?

Instead of spiraling into a shame storm of, I’m not a good person, I made a choice. That choice was to identify the root of those emotions.

In my mind, looking at the root goes back a long ways. And I don’t look at the root to place blame, but to understand it, and to move through it. Because here’s the deal. Those emotions might show up, but they shouldn’t be what comes up the majority of the time. They are coming from a place of fear, even if that fear is only subconscious, but it’s fear nonetheless.

I choose to come from a place of love. To consciously view situations from a place of love. That doesn’t mean I don’t experience other emotions, like hurt, at times, but I can choose to shift the lens of how I view my situation so I don’t stay in that space.

How about you? I’m not gonna lie, this is not easy work. But it’s oh so valuable. It’s part of being an authentic version of myself. It’s being brave. My encouragement to you is to think about emotions you recognize…and pause. Reflect on where they come from. It’s up to you to make the choice of how you want to experience a situation, the story you want to tell yourself about it. As for me, my journey is to change my lens to love. Myself, and others, it’s what God would call us to do. Love others. Don’t wait to figure it all out, start…right…now! Be brave my friends.

January 28, 2018

Let’s talk addiction…well sort of

View More: http://mercarty.pass.us/lisa_kirby Yes, I said addiction, and I’m not going to be talking about alcohol, or drugs. Yes, those can be addictions, absolutely. What I want to talk about are those behaviors, habits, patterns, that we’re addicted to, maybe not even consciously, that continue to create issues in our lives. That keep us away from being our true authentic self, but which we do anyways.

If you think about an addiction, it usually is based on the feeling that you get when you engage in the behavior. It’s the feeling that you crave, that you repeat over and over. Robert Palmer sang about being “Addicted to Love.” If you take it literally, it was probably the addiction to the endorphin rush that comes with being with someone you love. Those feelings of safety, and peace, and belonging.

But what about when the addiction is not so benign? Lately I’ve been thinking about that question related to my own behaviors. I’ve noticed that I tend to get fired up about taking an action, a class, to embark on a shift in the way I do certain aspects of life. I have all types of plans swirling around in my head. I’ll take notes, I’ll start plans…and somewhere along the way, I’ll end up leaving a pile of dreams on the side of the road. I’ll be frustrated for a while, trying unsuccessfully to restart the fire. Usually that’s followed by a period of apathy. Don’t care. Don’t need to be growing. Abandon the creative passions that bring me energy. Slowly giving away my purpose.

I don’t like it.

But…I know it.

This week, I started questioning myself about it. Why is it that I allow myself to go through this cycle? There have been times when I push through it, absolutely. Last year I went through my 6-month coaching program. Nailed it. Loved it. Came out ready to set the world on fire. But I stopped feeding the dream and eventually it faded. And I have to wonder, is it part of an addiction? What’s the feeling inside me that comes up when I let a dream die? Easy answer. It’s disappointment in myself. It’s the voice in my head saying “of course you didn’t do it, it wasn’t important, you overreached…again…you’re not meant for anything big…anything exciting…not worth it.” It’s an ugly voice, but I recognize it, I know what to do when it comes up. I slow down. I settle.

That feeling that comes up, that disappointment, in myself, or that I perceive others have in me, it didn’t develop yesterday. Not a mid-life crisis thing. No, I’m sure it’s been buried in me for years. So I call it an addiction, but is it? Maybe. It’s a pattern. I don’t seek the feeling but know what to do with it. It keeps me small, safe in a way because I become hesitant to take risks.

I want to call B.S. on it. I want to find a different feeling. One that is healthier. One that is growing. These are choices we have. We can choose to follow the same pattern, same feeling we’re addicted to, or we can take different actions. And that probably won’t be comfortable, it’ll be new, maybe scary. But to be our authentic selves, for me to be my authentic self, I have to make different choices. I’m asking you today to think about what feeling you’re ready to give up, need to give up. Identify it and know that you can start behaving differently today. You don’t need that feeling anymore. I’m walking it out with you and know that we can do it, we can be brave, together.

January 21, 2018

What’s holding you back?

Its-Not-Who-You-Are-That-Holds-You-Back I watch This is Us. If you don’t, your missing up on some good drama. A tug at your heart every week, sometimes for unexpected reasons. There are elements of the show, in each of the characters, I relate to. This week I was left thinking about one of the scenes that really spoke to me. So this is your spoiler alert, I’m going to talk about it.

Kate, one of the main characters, is morbidly obese and one of the storylines is around her struggle and wanting to lose weight. The story is told is current day and in flashbacks. This week they showed Kate in a flashback at about 16/17 years old. She was shopping for a prom dress and had the number 7 written on her wrist. As she recalled this story, you saw her grab a variety sizes and when she tried the 7 on, it fit perfectly. But she had struggled with weight her whole life. And having a piece of clothing she really wanted fit was an experience she didn’t know how to have. Instead, she tried on a size 3 dress that was far to small, and the sensation of it not fitting, of having to struggle, was one she could relate to. She left that dressing room presumably disgusted with herself, no dress in hand.

It made me wonder how often that happens, whether it be about weight, or about some other piece of ourselves that we work diligently to change, but when it does, we don’t feel equipped, or prepared, to give up our old reality, old definitions of ourselves, and step into our new way of being. I know I’ve struggled with weight and body image a long time and for me to be in a space where I’m friends with myself, with my body, seems to be fleeting. I may not like it, but I’m a lot more comfortable in the space of not liking myself, of how I look.

And I don’t like that I do that, that I stay in that negative image space. I’ve been working long and hard to make progress on it, and I think I’m making strides. From not being fixated about a number on the scale (which I no longer own,) to ignoring the number on my pants.

How do we stay there? How do we embrace the new space we want to be in when our old space…old worn out space…is so comfy, so cozy, so inviting. The new space might feel intimidating. You don’t have all of your ways of operating figured out in this new space. It’s not as comfortable. Here’s what I’d tell you. That’s not a bad thing. It takes risk. It take realizing that you may have been created “for such a time as this,” (Esther 4:14). What aspect of your life, what calling, what purpose, are you holding back from out of fear, out of leaving the shore…leaving the cozy. If you want to make strides toward being authentic, to being the best you, it takes being brave. I, for one, think we can do it. I’m in your corner and can’t wait to see where it leads us.

December 31, 2017

Be You…Be Authentic

let go be you It’s the time of year when people start talking about New Year’s resolutions. Changes they want to make in the new year, things they want to do, experiences they want to have or bring into their life. Lose weight, start exercising, those are likely the top vote getters from people everywhere. There’s something about the transition from one year to the next that causes us to examine our life and think about ways we can change, really ditch something that’s not working for us and try something new.

In reality, it shouldn’t take something like the new year to spark change within us, if it really needs to be made. If the desire is within us. I think that’s the process I’ve been going through this year. Making subtle shifts that have led to larger changes.

Instead, over the last month, I’ve had words rolling around in my head. Those of you who know me are well aware of my love of words. In writing, on my walls, in my head, on my wrist, I love them. They express feelings, thoughts, in a way that I sometimes don’t feel comfortable doing verbally. There are some words that I think about more than others as time goes along. Authentic, or authenticity, is one of those for me. So much so that I’m done flirting with it. I’m ready to bring it into my life.

Instead of making a resolution, I’ve decided I’m going to focus on a word for this year. A lot of people do that, pick a word for the year. In the past I’ve done that to a small degree, Choose Happy, Be Brave…this year, it’s authentic, or said another way, Be You.

And with good cause. The changes I’ve made over the last year or so have brought clarity to me about who I am…who I want to be. It’s been a year of letting go of other’s expectations, of living for what I think I should be doing. Throw in a little bit of not being as worried about making waves with what I think, what I believe, and you’ve got the picture. When you shed the external expectations, it makes room for you to look internally.

As I do that, I feel increasingly discontent with acting in a way contrary to what I believe, with who I am. It’s about looking at my values and considering if choice A is in line with my values, or if will cause a conflict. If it causes a conflict, I need to look for a different choice. A choice that allows me to be authentic. Living authentically is somewhat a culmination of my focus for the last couple years. It requires being brave…it’s a choice that ultimately brings happiness and joy to my heart, even if that choice is hard.

For 2018, what’s your resolution, your word, your focus. Not making a choice on where you’re putting your energy is still a choice. As we wind down 2017, how will you be brave? How will you be truer to yourself in 2018? I’m looking forward to taking the journey with you.