How To Stay Sturdy During Stressful Times

Lately, amidst stressful collective times, I’ve experienced what feels like a particularly modern form of cognitive dissonance - and I know I'm not alone.

Let me try and convey a snapshot of how it's been for me recently:

My seven-year-old daughter hands me flowers - ahhh, and now she's got pinkeye (again!). My family celebrated me on Mother's Day so sweetly, and yesterday I breathed in the scent of budding lilacs and contentedly tended my raspberry plot. I'm excited about creating a group coaching program for the fall. I exchange voice audio messages with dear friends, intimate heart-to-hearts threaded into our busy lives. We need eye drops and antihistamines, I've got laundry to fold... and always, 'what's for dinner?'

Yet, woven through minutia and mundanity, I scroll through Instagram or tune into the news and witness suffering in our world that feels so horrific that I'm gutted.

When We Tend To Our Lives, They Bloom

Imagine a garden lovingly tended by a skilled gardener. Each plant, each flower, each tree, nurtured with intention and attention to detail. This garden thrives, not by chance, but through the deliberate efforts of its caretaker. But what makes for a truly beautiful garden - and what makes for a beautiful life?

Goal-setting can be crunchy.

Our resistance to change can be so strong that we don't even dare to SET goals.

If we struggle to establish goals, it's hard to plan for them, let alone take action on them - so, we can end up feeling frustrated in our ability to turn longings into goals and goals into realities.

Do you relate? Read on to build bravery when it comes to your goals…

Endings are hard and we often resist them.

Autumn’s energies of maturation and dying can teach us embrace them with care and reverence - and to reveal their generative power…

Conflict is such rich terrain for growth and for expanding our resources of self-trust, self-belief, self-worth and self-acceptance.

Conflict often brings up core psychological risks, including judgment, criticism, rejection, and loss.

No matter how 'modern' our times, we are social primates that experience security in attachment and belonging. Conflict often feels threatening…

My kids recently missed two weeks of school due to mild but relentless illness, and we were in a slog of clinic calls, tracking fevers and medicine doses, cuddling, shuffling work schedules: doing what we needed to do to manage a tough stretch!

I know that many people are overwhelmed these days, and I want to offer sustaining resources and tips for restoration if you're feeling depleted at the moment…

Here's what I'm hearing lately: 

People wishing that they were feeling peppy, motivated and making powerful headway with meaningful new projects and goals.

But truthfully feeling tired, 'already behind,' and a little dismayed at how much they want to veg out.

If you relate: you're not alone - read on for encouragement…

Are you ready for change and wondering if coaching or therapy might help?

Are are unclear about the differences between a life coach and a therapist?

In this blog, I’ll offer a brief outline regarding some benefits and limits of coaching and therapy to help you get clear on the guidance that might best suit you.

Do you experience self-doubt or sometimes feel stuck or frustrated as you try to bring your goals to life?

Do you sense that some elements of your life are not in alignment with your deepest longings, values and potential?

In my 20's and 30's, decision-making and creating a clear life path was pretty excruciating for me. It took me a dang WHILE to feel like I was actually adulting - and the journey to get there was painful.

About 14 months months ago, I was interviewed by Stephenie Zamora on her Tales from the Journey Podcast.

It was a rich conversation and I'd love to share it with you.

Are you coming out of a difficult life chapter?

Do you feel tender or bruised right now?

Has your life tumbled apart and you’re sorting out how to reassemble all the scattered puzzle pieces - possibly saturated with grief and bewilderment at the impossible process?

Is it as though an old version of yourself is gone and you’re trying to figure out who you are now?

For the first month of living in our new home, every time I've walked by the room that will eventually be our cozy den, I've hated catching a waft of stank.

The prior owners had a dog and the old carpet in that room was rank and nasty, no matter how much cross breeze drifted through the space.

We've been so busy cleaning, unpacking boxes, and juggling meals, work, laundry, and parenting that we kept delaying on pulling up that carpet - but every time I traipsed by, I was disgusted by its odour.

If you've got something on your to-do list that you keep avoiding or that feels overwhelming, read on...

I’ve been quiet for a while.

For much of the summer and early fall, I stopped blogging, creating videos, emailing my newsletter, even sharing much on my personal Facebook and Instagram accounts.

It’s mostly because, for the past three months, I’ve been ‘Covid long-hauling.’

After experiencing my original onset of symptoms back in March - exactly one week after attending an international conference - and feeling much better in the spring, I started feeling unwell again in July.

I haven’t had one full day since then when I have felt like ‘my old self:’ high energy or symptom-free.

Do you ever wonder why some of your dreams and desires seem to remain chronically frustrated or elusively out of reach?

Maybe you've been trying to start a running routine for months or longing for a new career, home, romantic partner, or bank account for years...

There are usually myriad reasons we get blocked, of course (both internal and external / personal and systemic) - but I'd love to share a few clues as to what can sometimes get in our way.

As always, I hope this finds you and your loved ones safe and well.

Here we are, just a little past the three week mark since the Covid19 global pandemic was declared.

In Canada, many leaders are suggesting we may be in variations of 'social distancing' until at least July, with further unpredictability stretching beyond that.

I don't know about you but, to me, the 'old normal' feels so utterly far away.