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.

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...

It’s that time when many will begin to anticipate 2024 and start churning out furious new goals.

 Learn why I’ve ditched resolutions and believe in the power of a Year-End Review… I’ll share my favourite tools and tips with you to protect space for silence, stillness and reflection.

When you’re at a crossroads and don’t feel clear on which way to go, have you ever found yourself spontaneously requesting advice from others?

Maybe it’s a low-stakes decision: you’re hemming and hawing at the restaurant and ask the serving staff which dish they recommend or survey your friends as to which movie you should check out on the weekend. 

But sometimes, even when the stakes are high and the consequences life altering - 

• Do I want to stay or go in my marriage?

• Is it time to let go of this career path and start moving in a new direction?

• Do I keep hunkering down in the big city or move to a smaller community?

sometimes it’s at these moments you find yourself taking frequent polls of your network to gain insight into what you ‘should’ do.

So often, when we begin to translate our fantasies and longings into reality, we expect that it’s going to feel so dang amazing:

How liberating this experience will be! How Joyful! How Exciting! 

We’ll be so relieved to finally start to creating or exploring The Long-Awaited Thing!

Our minds and hearts will be expanded! 

We’ll surely feel aligned, purposeful, and inspired! 

In short: we’re ready to feel all the good feels we’ve put off for way too long.

Do you have an important goal, project or task that you keep putting off, avoiding, or that just mysteriously 'never happens?'

Maybe your taxes are backlogged.

Perhaps you’ve been meaning to declutter your closet for ages.

Do you have a creative dream that you haven’t honored with a shred of committed action or a gym outfit and runners that have gone unworn for months, despite all your best intentions?

I feel you!