Do you feel like everyone around you is making strides, getting things done and you are flying solo; stuck with no momentum on getting your own goal, challenge or project off the ground? According to research by the University of Scranton, 92% of people that set New Year’s goals never actually achieve them. That’s a staggering percentage of people who struggle with getting to the end zone. To what can we attribute this lack of follow through? A myriad of possible reasons come to mind: fear of failure (leading to the tendency to procrastinate), fear of success (tied into fear of change, if you try something new and succeed, you are suddenly in unchartered territory), perfectionism, lack of a clear vision, poor organizational skills or habits…
If perfectionism is what’s stopping you in your tracks and leading to procrastination, consider that “done” is better than “perfect”. In the words of renowned motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great”. Imagine what life would be like if all the great masters of art: Picasso, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Van Gogh, didn’t pick up the brush or chisel because they were afraid their work would suck. None of us would be able to witness, wonder and be inspired by their work. Their perfectionism would have triggered a domino effect, wherein all the work that was born from the inspiration of their work would never have been created at all. It’s easy to see how our own perfectionism can stunt our potential. In the words of Picasso, himself, “Action is the foundational key to success”. So, make the first mark on the canvas of your life and don’t worry about the masterpiece; just take it brush stroke by brush stroke.
If you lack clarity, consider the words of Thomas Jefferson who said, “Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask – Act! Action will delineate and define you.” When we lack clarity or feel overwhelmed and confused, we can ask ourselves, “What’s the next right step?”Just one question, with one answer. We know the answer, especially if we don’t second guess ourselves because we are worried that it’s not the perfect course of action. It’s easy to get overwhelmed about wanting to know all the right steps or answers before we are even started, but if we trust that we know the first step to take, taking it will give us momentum and we will discover and learn along the way. After that step is completed, we ask ourselves again “What is the next right step for me to take?” That step will reveal itself. It may not come to you immediately, but trust that it will come. Taking action will always lead to learning something about oneself. And that, in turn, will prompt a course of action.
When we don’t take the action steps towards our goals, we are left feeling far from good. It is easy to spiral down even further as we feel our self esteem plummet and at this point, it’s easy to throw in the towel completely. Taking action puts us in the driver’s seat. When we aren’t doing the driving, then life ends up driving us. That unsettled feeling of discontent is the knowing that we aren’t doing the driving in our life.
Grab the keys because you are going to hop in and take the wheel right now. Each of us has the power to move mountains. Take a moment, look into your past, and you are bound to discover a set of achievements which at one point may have seemed like far reaching, maybe even, impossible goals. And yet, you’ve done it. You got the job that you may have felt unqualified for, or you’ve trained and ran the half-marathon, or made it through college despite having to work and raise children … .You’ve challenged yourself and won and you can do that again; many times over.
Questions to ask yourself/ Steps to Take:
1. Clarify your goal. What does the ideal outcome look like, long and short term? What will achieving that goal bring to your life that you don’t have now? TIP – Write it all out (in the present time) What will it look like when you get there, how do you feel? Use descriptive words that exude the images, the excited energy, etc…Read it every morning and night to keep the dream alive and inspire action.
2. Download your current situation right now in relation to your goal. What steps are you taking now? How often are you doing them? What is the gap between your goal and your present reality? Is this goal conflicting with any other goals?
Exploring options – What’s in the way of taking action? What do you need to start or stop doing to achieve this goal?
TIP – Explore what habits of yours are conflicting with you taking your desired actions and institute new habits that support your movement forward. Example – If you need more time to work on your goal and the only time you can do it is in the early morning, consider going to bed at 9 PM the night before instead of 11 PM and waking up two hours earlier so you can do the work.
Motivating action – Ask yourself, “How important is it for me to reach my goal on a scale of 1 to 10?” also, “What opportunities could open up for me if I were to realize my desired outcome?”
3. Come up with a plan that’s broken down into realistic steps (give each one a timestamp that’s reasonable and not too demanding). Do one step at a time and make adjustments as you go. Remember, if a plan is too daunting to think of, do the next best thing. Take the first step and see where that leads you.
TIP – Determine who can support you on your journey and hold you accountable for taking your steps. Having an accountability buddy, maybe someone who wants to work on their own goals as well, is a great way to motivate and inspire each other. Be discriminating and spend time with those who support your goals. If you have friends or family who don’t encourage what you are trying to achieve, it may be best to keep them out of the conversation and spend time with those whose passion, determination and sticktoitiveness you admire. Read books and listen to podcasts of people who inspire you. Come up with a reward for yourself that you will treat yourself to when you cross the finish line. Create an affirmation that resonates with you and write it on a post it note where you can see it . One of my favorite affirmations is: “When I use my moments for my momentum, I create the life I want.”
Having a simple plan with clear steps and a realistic time frame combined with determined action will set the framework for managing your journey. Keeping an open mind and realizing that things will come up and making adjustments to your action plan to compensate for the unexpected is part of the process. Above all, keep your eye on the prize. There will be times when you will falter. When that happens, don’t beat yourself up. Get back on track. It helps to remember that those who “make it” out there, our models of success, the one thing that they share in common is that they kept at it. Through failures and adversity, they picked themselves up hundreds of times and inevitably, they got to their finish line. Your finish line is right around the corner. Say it, think it, plan it, do it. You got this.
We’ve all heard the expression to “live in the flow”. What does living in the flow mean to you? What does it feel like to live in the flow and what is required to get there?
To me, living in the flow means swimming along in rhythm with life’s ups and downs. We know that life has a rhythm because we have experienced its ebb and flow. We’ve had times when good things come our way and we feel like we are on a roll. When we finally get our dream job, or when we are in a relationship with someone we think could be “the one”; it’s an awesome feeling. Then, inevitably, something happens that puts an abrupt halt to our flow and it’s like a barrier has been placed before us. Suddenly, we are cut off from our blissful state of equanimity. The unwelcome intruder can come in the form of something small, like a flat tire on the way to work, or something big, like an unexpected layoff, or medical diagnosis. And just like that, our flow has shifted and we aren’t swimming with the dolphins anymore, we feel as though the dolphins are now sharks and our current environment has completely shifted.
Knowing that the ebb and flow of life is here to stay, how do we get to the point where we are living in the flow even in the tough times?
A good first step is recognizing that along with the good times, come the not so good times. Cultivating awareness is key to being able to roll with the punches when they show up. When we pay attention to how we are feeling on a daily basis, and notice when we start to feel uncomfortable, we start to identify what triggers our discomfort, what blocks us from feeling good, and what keeps us from getting what we need or want. We start the process of self-discovery by being curious about how we are feeling and reacting and what is getting in the way of our desired outcome. Self awareness gives us the presence of mind to anticipate when we are in that moment of disequilibrium and the power to recognize how best to handle the situation without undue reactivity.
This year, one of the intentions I set for myself was to feel less agitation when unwanted situations arise. I noticed that when I have an expectation about something and that something doesn’t work out the way I’d like, it sets me off. It’s not always a big deal, but I don’t want to react negatively. I don’t want to be the person who makes negative comments under my breath, or who gets irritated too easily by not getting my way. So, I’ve been practicing to rewire my reactiveness. Learning how to navigate with the least amount of resistance during those periods paves the way for living in the flow.
Living in the flow, essentially, is knowing that although the tough times will come, they will also go. And interestingly enough, when we don’t fight with what is, “what is” will go away much quicker. I realize that how I react to something is a choice that I make. I have the power to react in a way that is more peaceful, or in a way that carries on feelings of anger and resistance. This is not to say that changing one’s behavior and reactions can happen overnight, but having the desire to change, coupled with the tools to support the change makes the going much easier.
Below are some tools to support living in the flow. Note which ones resonate with you and see if you can start a new positive habit to encourage living in the flow.
Regular check-ins during the day or week- Ask yourself, “How am I feeling? What can be adjusted to give me what I need?”
Taking pauses during the day– Take 3 restorative long breaths, following the breath as it fills up your lungs and as you release it slowly through the nose. Or do the Box Breathing method which is releasing all the breath in your lungs through a deep exhale, then breathing in slowly through your nose for a count of four, holding for a count of four and then releasing the breath for the count of four and repeating that cycle three times.
Meditation daily and/or mindful action- A little goes a long way, so if you are not a regular meditator, even 5 minutes a dayof sitting with focused attention on your breath and your body, and releasing the mind, or focusing strictly on a particular task at hand will provide significant benefits.
Developing a compassionate mindset– Noticing when you are being judgmental with yourself and others and learning to be compassionate instead will make a significant difference in bringing flow and peace in your life. Asking yourself, “would I talk to my best friend that way? Turn your negative statement into a positive one and feel the difference it makes in your day.
Ask yourself what makes you feel restored and happy and make an effort to include that in your life. Sometimes not doing what we love is what keeps us from living in the flow.
We are all works in progress, bringing balance and flow into our lives is a choice. We can let life take its course, or we can show up for ourselves and do the things that will take us to our desired state. Looking inward with curiosity and asking ourselves questions help us cultivate the awareness needed to make the changes necessary to live in the flow.
How do your daily habits support or undermine living in the flow?
Is there something that is missing in your daily life?
Is there something that is blocking you from feeling in the flow? What adjustments need to be made?
What change(s) can you commit to?
Living in the flow isn’t about what happens to us, it is about how we choose to react to what happens to us. Getting there is a journey that starts with a desire and a single step. With the efforts come the rewards: self awareness, resiliency, equanimity, opportunity and peace, to name a few. How ready are you to take the first step? Who can support you along the way? I’ll be walking down that road. I hope to see you there.
This article is the second in a three-part series on how to understand and quiet negative voices in your head.
Through the series, we present help our readers understand negative voices in our heads, how and when such voices appear in our minds, techniques used by the MMSNorCal coaches to quiet the voices in their own minds, and why quieting these voices can help you in life, work, love, and parenting.
As mentioned in Part 1, Understanding Negative Voices in Your Head, such voices can be profoundly stress inducing and even extremely damaging to one’s mental and physical health.
Our amazing coaches offered a variety of techniques to quiet the negative voices in your head:
Becoming self aware
Calling on your rational, reasonable self
Using meditation to quiet negative voices
Working with a professional or life coach
So, let’s get started with quieting those negative thoughts and voices!
Becoming Self Aware
Coach Michelle Mueller Ihrig believes that Self Awareness is the first step to any desired change, for as the saying goes, we cannot change what we are not aware of.
And, once we are aware, we cannot help but change.
Once she becomes aware of the negative voices, Coach Mueller Ihrig then changes her negative and self-critical inner dialogue to one that is supportive. She begins talking to herself like her own best friend and cheers herself on. There is an important neuroscience factor in this technique; research shows us that our brains and subconscious are constantly listening to the messages we send ourselves and our bodies respond to these messages.Therefore, when we change our language, we can change our life.
What we believe, we can become.
It is also helpful to speak to yourself verbally, if you can, as this is even more powerful than keeping the positive voices in our head.
Coach Mueller Ihrig also finds visual cues to be highly effective. She suggests that “posting positive quotes and affirmations around your home or office in spaces that you look at often can be highly supportive and incredibly powerful.”
Lastly, she adds, “I like to create a morning routine of waking up, giving myself a huge hug, speaking to myself kindly and in empowering terms. I then say things I am grateful for, like my healthy body, my family and the fresh air I get to enjoy.It sets the tone for the day and keeps negative voices at bay more often.”
Using Reasoning
Now if negative voices ever pop up, which Coach Lindsey Taylor-Vivier is happy to report is very seldom, she reasons with herself by asking the following questions:
Is what the voice is saying true?
Do I really believe that about myself?
Where is the proof?
Coach LIndsey also checks in with her stress level, makes sure if she is taking care of herself, is doing what she knows is right for her, and finally, if she is living her life in integrity.
If the answer is no to any of those questions, the result could be a way for the negative voices to come out to let her know that she needs to find a way to get back on track.
Calling on Your Reasonable-Rational Self
Another interesting technique used by Coach Carla is to call on her reasonable-rational self “when the gremlins of my mind start whispering to me and recognize that they are voices that I don’t want to give a lot of space to. I don’t allow myself to go down the rabbit hole and believe what the voices are saying. I will call on my reasonable-rational self to take over and tell those negative or fearful voices that they aren’t telling me anything true.”
She adds that she finds meditation to be an amazing tool to bring her back to her true self.
And, finally, Coach Carla will reach out to supportive friends to get their perspective on the gremlin voices. She finds this perspective from close friends to be very helpful, especially when her friends tell her that her thoughts or experiences are normal. This feedback helps her to calm down significantly.
Verbal Processing with a Friend
Coach Sarah usually turns to the old standard – verbally processing with a trusted friend or her partner – to quieten the negative voices in her head.
She says, “By saying the words out loud, I start to move the depleting energy that is attached, and also usually receive some lovely insights or affirmations. I also turn to my yin energy of quilting and sewing. Replacing the voices with creative, positive thoughts, and working directly with my hands provides a calming reaction that may not happen by applying intellectual thoughts.”
Meditation Practices
Coach Muriel on hearing her inner negative voice begins physical and meditation routines. She says, “I lean into the physical somatic functional movement practices, also quieting my mind in meditation and restorative yoga. And, I listen to (dharma) talks from mindfulness teachers, such as Dalai Lama, Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Brene Brown, Oprah, Deepak, among others, on YouTube or on podcasts.”
Coach Hayden-Marsan also finds it helpful to have a daily meditation practice to keep the voices in her head from running amok. She finds that 20 minutes of meditation works really well for her, but has found that any amount of time, even 5 to 10 minutes of meditation, has value.
Having a daily meditation practice has enabled Coach Hayden-Marsan to have the space to notice when unwanted, negative thoughts arise.
Taking a Pause
Coach Hayden-Marsan also recommends taking “a pause from time to time. The pause is a conscious break from thinking and doing, where I focus on my breath for a few cycles. I may close my eyes, focus on the in and out breath and just enjoy the sense of freedom and relief from thinking.”
During these pauses, Coach Hayden-Marsan focuses on the cloud formations out of her window, or the leaves of a tree, or a scenic view. She suggests not labeling or judging the image, but more like allowing yourself to connect with it, to become one with it.
These practices and tools which help her stay centered and enable her to notice when the inevitable monkey mind comes into play, but when she does notice herself spinning mindlessly, she doesn’t beat herself up about it: she simply redirects herself, takes a breath or two, and brings her awareness back to the present moment.
Working with a Professional Coach
Coach Lindsey Taylor-Vivier says that before she took the MMS Coach Training and embarked on her personal growth journey which eventually led her to become a Life Coach, her negative voices were really the only voices she had in her head.
She says, ”I felt shame, inadequate, unintelligent, & unlovable. These negative voices would mostly come out at night before bed or if I woke up in the middle of the night…they apparently were night owls because they kept me up quite often! What I had to do to quiet them was to face them, to acknowledge them, understand how they got there and then heal them.”
The coach training not only helped her personally tremendously but also has allowed her to help others in their personal journeys.
In the third blog in this three-part series, how quieting negative voices in your head can benefit you and how professional coaches help their clients quiet these voices.
Michelle Hayden-Marsan is an artist and MMS NorCal certified professional Coach who works with parents, people in transition, and people in the creative arts to help them determine where they would like to be and support them on their journey. As an artist, Michelle creates unique pet portraits in a bold, graphic style. Her illustrations have appeared in Modern Dog Magazine and her paintings are seen in homes, pet stores and veterinary offices across the country. View pet portraits on her website at Michelle Hayden-Marsan Pet Portraits.
Every once in a while, a book comes along that changes you and, for me, that was A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. The bookcame to me when I needed serious inspiration and guidance, and provided a way out of suffering and into peace for me.
I want to share my reflections and learnings with all of the readers of this blog especially in these times, when every day, every headline is about yet another crisis facing the world. I hope you too are reading a book that is helping you achieve peace and if you are looking for a recommendation, here is mine!
About A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth guides the reader through the process of emerging out of suffering by grounding oneself in the moment by realizing that “wherever you are is where you are supposed to be, and whatever you are doing in the now is what you are supposed to do.”
To be clear: this is not meant to imply that we need to be complacent about what is happening, or about the direction of our lives.
Tolle teaches that when one is able to stay present and not succumb to fear (because of who we assume, believe or think we are, in other words, our egoic state), then one can clear the noise (continuous, negative, repetitive chatter or self-talk), and be guided by what we know deep down, in our gut, from our intuitive state.
Staying in the Present Moment
Staying in the present moment enables us to notice when our mind inevitably wanders – pulling us away, into judgment and fear-based thinking. Meditation is the most powerful tool we have to build up that muscle of conscious awareness, watching those thoughts rather than being carried away by them.
I realized from the start that in order to fully embrace the teachings in A New Earth, I would need to commit to a daily meditation practice. I am grateful that I picked up this book many years ago for various reasons, but predominantly because it was the single motivating factor for initiating and maintaining my regular daily meditation practice.
When I first embarked upon reading the book, it had recently come out and I was fortunate enough to participate in a class that was devoted to going through the book chapter by chapter; deciphering the message and creating an action plan to implement the work into daily life as the chapters progressed. That workshop was a helpful deep-dive to putting the practice of finding a way out of suffering into peace.
Outside Forces Create Fear
Tolle speaks of how outside forces like the media can project fearful messaging and that if we stop and observe, not just believe and get carried away by the media when they tell us that we should be afraid, then, we will be able to watch from a distance and not be affected so deeply.
He says, “Acute crises and dysfunction always precede or coincide with any evolutionary advancement or gain in consciousness.”
Tolle continues: “All life-forms need obstacles and challenges in order to evolve. In the case of the ego, most of the challenges it encounters are self-created through its unconscious patterns.”
A Roadmap to Recognize Unconscious Patterns
I found the book to be a road map providing directions for me to learn how to recognize my automatic assumptions, preconceived notions, and unconscious patterns.
Tolle says his teachings were written “to speed up the process of spiritual awakening that has already begun, as well as to enable greater numbers of people to become part of that process and thus find a deeper meaning in their lives that transcends the merely personal dimension of existence.”
Creating Concern for Fellow Humans
The current confluence of global climate change, civil unrest and war in Ukraine, has brought with it a growing “awareness of and deep concern for our fellow humans, the countless animals that are our traveling companions, and the planet itself.”
Tolle indicates that “Such awareness implies that there is indeed a lessening of the ego in a growing number of people, and in some parts of the planet more than in others. This diminishment of the ego gives rise to empathy and compassion beyond tribal, racial, national, or religious affiliations. It is those qualities that make us truly human.
As we no longer identify with our assumptions, our unconscious mental positions, we are able to be more open and more tolerant of other people’s beliefs and perspectives. We can temporarily shift our own perspective and see things through their eyes. With this comes the ability to compromise in our interactions with others, which is a prerequisite for any peaceful coexistence.
In fact, it is precisely in those parts of the world where most people are as yet unable or unwilling to compromise that most of the dysfunction or violence occurs.
The ego, and particularly the collective ego, strengthens itself through emphasizing the otherness of others. Eventually, the ego brings about its own demise. In that sense, it can be considered a necessary precursor for the next stage in human evolution, which is the awakening of consciousness.
Navigating Crisis
Tolle’s prescient message provides guidance for navigating the current crisis at hand.
“Make sure the present moment is your friend, not your enemy. Honor it by giving it your fullest attention. Appreciate it by being thankful for it. Become internally aligned with it by allowing it to be as it is. That is the arising of the new earth.”
I interpret this to mean for us to have gratitude for what we have, and to utilize our intuitive guidance in the moment to know what we can and need to do to take care of ourselves and others in times of hardship.
A New Earth teaches that moment by moment, we can build our self-awareness and do our part, take actions that come from intuition, creating changes in behavior that can bring peace and fulfillment into our lives. It is a practice, a cultivation of what we’ve learned.
I am so grateful to have found A New Earth and the opportunity it gave me to learn the practice of self-awareness and also gave me a way out of suffering into peace.
And, now as a Professional Coach, my mission is to inspire others towards collective consciousness.
Michelle Hayden-Marsan is an artist and MMS NorCal certified professional Coach who works with parents, people in transition, and people in the creative arts to help them determine where they would like to be and support them on their journey. As an artist, Michelle creates unique pet portraits in a bold, graphic style. Her illustrations have appeared in Modern Dog Magazine and her paintings are seen in homes, pet stores and veterinary offices across the country. View pet portraits on her website at Michelle Hayden-Marsan Pet Portraits.
Have you told yourself more than once that you’d like to have more creativity in your life? Spend more time dancing, painting, journaling, or playing the guitar?
What does the process of creative self-exploration look like to you?
Have you thought about the benefits of a creative practice?
These are good questions and you are not alone in asking them.
Creativity cannot be produced instantly on demand or as Twyla Tharp, one of America’s greatest choreographers, says, “Creativity is not a gift from the gods, it is the product of preparation and effort, and it’s within reach of everyone who wishes to achieve it.”
When you tap into your creativity, when you are completely absorbed and captivated with whatever it is you are doing, you are in a state of flow – a relaxed feeling and state of being that slows your heart rate, focuses your mind, reduces feelings of anxiety and boosts your sense of well being.
Creativity is good for the body and the mind – when you are in flow, the body reduces cortisol, the hormone produced by stress, anger and fear and releases endorphins and other feel-good hormones.
Creative expression can be used as a means to surface unconscious thoughts, become aware of unresolved emotions, process trauma and unblock feeling stuck.
Creative expression can also be used to visualize and dream of bigger and better futures for ourselves.
Creativity Techniques
The creative process using any number of techniques – from sketching, coloring, and writing poetry to making pottery, vision boarding and more – can help you explore feelings and contemplate questions, such as:
What makes you feel good?
What do you want to let go of that is no longer serving you?
What is stopping you from having a regular, creative practice?
Are you doing the work to get where you want to be?
Sustained creativity, according to Tharp, begins with rituals, self-knowledge, harnessing your memories and organizing your materials, so no insight is ever lost.
“Being creative is not a once- in -a- while sort of thing. Being creative is an everyday thing, a job with its own routines. The routine is as much a part of the creative process as the lightning bolt of inspiration (perhaps more).”
Twyla Tharp
Creativity Can Make Your Heart Sing
Do you recall a time when you created something that made your heart sing? Something that surprised you; made you ask, “I did this?”
These breakthroughs are a result of showing up at the table, sitting down at the piano, or stepping into the dance studio… They demonstrate how having a consistent practice leads to self-fulfillment by creating a channel for a deeper connection into who we are and what we are capable of achieving.
I remember the first time that I realized this for myself, in art school. I was in a rigorous program which I loved. The process of having to intensely investigate the mediums, learn from the masters and do a deep dive into the creative method produced work that I never knew I was capable of doing; I literally was astonished to see what I produced.
At the time, I was fascinated with doing large portraits of individual faces. Just the head, the face, nothing more; what came from within were images with great strength and character.
Later, I would come to understand that my fascination with focusing on the faces of people was really about my captivation of people in general. I am drawn (no pun intended) by the stories that each person carries within. Who they are, where they came from, both geographically and fundamentally; how they got to where they are now.
I can see how my becoming a Certified Coach many years later is a direct line from the act of creating those powerful portraits.
Creativity can Release Unlimited Potential
Our everyday creative practice is a way to bring the inside of ourselves out, to the surface, to see, in all its glory. Each expression is a unique representation of our imagination, as only we can do it. How exciting is that?
The fact that within all of us there exists an unlimited amount of potentially beautiful works; be they dances, musical compositions, sculptures etc… This is the field of pure potentiality.
When we have the desire, but not the discipline, to show up every day for our practice, think of all the possibilities of expression that are lost to us.
Had Van Gogh not had the compulsion and drive to produce the body of work that he did, what a loss would that be, not only for him, but for society as a whole. All the people who he inspired through his work, and the works that they created as a result, would not be the same, were it not for his influence. And we can say that for everyone who shows up and works on their craft; diligently pursuing something new every day.
When we do the work, we are not only creating a piece of work, but we are processing, we are exploring, digging deep into our subconscious and working things out.
What’s Stopping You From Being Creative?
Children are naturally open, curious and fearless, expressing their creativity with joy and ease. We as adults however, are more self-conscious, focused on results and worried about being judged.
What’s stopping you from being creative and building a consistent creative practice?
What are your reasons for not showing up regularly?
Is it that you can’t seem to find the right time, the right space, or do you not have the energy?
That sense of inertia can be eradicated through the act of simply showing up for yourself. Doing one thing, one day at a time. Little by little, we build up steam, we see progress, we are moved by what we see arise from ourselves every day; and before we know it, we start feeling inspired. One day we wake up and we can’t wait to get to that drawing board, or sit down with our guitar…
What reasons are you telling yourself for not committing to what you want to do?
How do you feel when you aren’t able to show up and be the person that you want to be?
I know for myself, I have found that without a regular creative practice, my inspiration wanes, my creative juices are blocked and I feel as though I am caught in a vicious cycle of disappointment and guilt. At times I feel like I am stuck in self-sabotage mode. It can feel pretty awful and can filter into all aspects of life: how I show up for other people, lack of motivation, feelings of inadequacy, unhappiness and lack of self-worth. How can I call myself an artist if I don’t show up as one?
Anything You Want Is Possible
When we feel stuck – it’s hard to remember that anything we want for ourselves is within our reach, is possible. ANYTHING. Feeling stuck is a direct line to feeling unfulfilled. When we are not feeling excited and we are not leading a fulfilling life, we are unhappy; plain and simple.
OUR DESIRE TO ACCOMPLISH OUR GOALS HAS TO OUTWEIGH OUR DESIRE TO STAY EXACTLY WHERE WE ARE.
How important is it for you to break through your complacency?
On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you want to do this?
Whatever number you come up with in answer to that question exemplifies your commitment level. Your desire to change has to be much stronger than your desire to keep things as is.
What is your number? Are you ready to get started on your path to self-exploration? To feel the flow? To unleash your full potential with the benefits of a creative practice?
If all of this is overwhelming but you are ready to embark on your journey, consider using a professional Coach as your guide! (NOTE: Images featured in this blog are from original artwork by Michelle Hayden-Marsan.)
Michelle Hayden-Marsan is an artist and MMS NorCal certified professional Coach who works with parents, people in transition, and people in the creative arts to help them determine where they would like to be and support them on their journey. As an artist, Michelle creates unique pet portraits in a bold, graphic style. Her illustrations have appeared in Modern Dog Magazine and her paintings are seen in homes, pet stores and veterinary offices across the country. View pet portraits on her website at Michelle Hayden-Marsan Pet Portraits.
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