This past week in our Morning Calm Program we were talking about personal power, and I wanted to share some ways that we as women tend to give our power away. As much as it feels good to give, that's never true for your personal power. 

• Being Passive

The only time it is acceptable to be passive is when you really don’t care. Letting people treat you like a doormat will drain your energy. Have enough personal power to stand up for yourself. Otherwise, people will keep on putting you down. 

Practice saying no to the little things and it will get easier for the big things. Let your voice be heard. This can sometimes feel scary, again try with smaller things, like what you would like to eat for dinner, and work your way up to the larger things.

• Giving Your Inner Critical Voice Mind Space

Be aware of your consciousness because that's the critic that will drain you the most and keep on taking. If you find this becoming problematic,...

Do you feel like your emotions are complicated and confusing? If you struggle to understand why you feel or react the ways you do, you might benefit from using a journal. Journaling can help you appropriately identify and express your feelings to increase self-understanding. 

Once you learn to identify and deal with your feelings in acceptable ways, you have truly mastered self-understanding. By simply jotting down what's going on with you and how you feel about it, you can get a handle on your emotions.

Writing your feelings in a journal helps increase self-understanding in four ways:  

1. Journaling compels you to think about and process a particular situation or occurrence. When you write about an event, you automatically process the event through words and description. Recording the situation in writing can lead you to notice details you hadn't noticed when the event took place, thus increasing your insight about the situation.

• While journaling, put aside other...

Not feeling well? Kind of blah and wishing you had something better to say about the day than a mumbled ‘fine’ when someone asks you how you are? The solution might be simpler than you think.

Our attitudes really are everything. When we’re not feeling great about our lives or how the day is going, everything can seem to go wrong. The problem is, life isn’t a steady thing. You might have one really good day followed by another equally bad. With so many things outside of your control from the weather to politics it might seem impossible to ever truly feel good about anything.

The answer lies in your thinking. By being able to think positively, you will find your entire outlook changes. 

How do you develop the habit of positive thinking?

Rephrase

The obvious answer is to use more positive words. Instead of saying something negative, either out loud or in your head, try to find a better way to say things. For example, work isn’t grueling so much as it...

Authenticity is to be true to one’s personality and character. It means you’re willing to show the world who you really are. You’re willing to live the life that you were meant to live. Authenticity is the ability to show your uniqueness to the world.

There are very few authentic people in the world, but you know them when you see them.

We’re naturally drawn to authentic people. We feel comfortable with those that are willing to be themselves.

Use these strategies to live a more authentic life and show the world the real you:

1. Know your values. What’s important to you? Make a list of every quality you think is important for a person to have. Now, put that list in order. What are your five top values? When you know your values, the authentic choice in any situation is more obvious than when you don’t know your values.

2. Stop doing things you don’t want to do. You still need to pay your bills and take out the trash. However, you don’t...

Valentine's day was yesterday and for many people this day is emotionally charged. Maybe you are single, widowed, divorced, or maybe in a relationship that is unfulfilling. There are so many reasons for Valentines day to be emotionally charged. There are a lot of expectations around Valentines day.

So, if you spent yesterday feeling unloved. Know that the only person that matters is you. Self love is the most important. Be kind to yourself, allow yourself to feel your feelings, but also know that ultimately you are the only one who can make you happy.

How can you be happy if you don’t love yourself? Having a high degree of self-love makes it easier to take good care of yourself. If you love and respect yourself, others are more likely to respect you, too. When you love yourself, you’re more gentle, kind, and considerate with yourself.

Life can be hard. It’s even harder when you’re hard on yourself. Ideally, you are your biggest fan in life.

Use these ideas to...

Do you sometimes find yourself comparing your life to that of others? Do you crave more fulfilling relationships and greater satisfaction? Do you compare what you have or your skills against others? To create the happiness you deserve, you can liberate yourself from social competition.

Comparison becomes a problem when it makes you feel bad about yourself or your own work, or your skills. Being aware that there is room for improvement is one thing. Feeling discouraged from pursuing something you are interested in, because you feel like you’ll never be as good as someone else is a totally different thing, and it’s not healthy.

Sometimes competition is good. Playing poker, dominoes, or indulging in a friendly challenge with your loved ones can be fun and relaxing. But when you start comparing yourself to others, you may find that there's no winner, and everyone feels hurt afterward.

For instance, if creating art is what you enjoy, it is highly improbable that you will ever...

Many of us were taught to be strong and to keep our problems to ourselves. We were taught that the world is a hostile place and we should practice “survival of the fittest.” It’s not easy to allow the world to know your flaws, weaknesses, and failures.

We’re ashamed that we’re not perfect, but make every effort to convince others that we are. 

Vulnerability doesn’t come easy, but it provides tremendous freedom and many other benefits. If you can be vulnerable, it means that you accept yourself and don’t feel the need to hide yourself from everyone else. 

Use these ideas to practice self-acceptance through vulnerability:

1. Realize that fear is the primary obstacle. The fear of rejection and ridicule are the main culprits. You might also feel that you lack privacy if you let the world see you for who you really are. The fear of rejection is a common human phenomenon.
2. Think about the times you’re least likely to be vulnerable and...

Have you ever been disappointed? Who hasn't? If you're trying to accomplish anything in your life, you're bound to meet disappointment more often than you'd like. Since disappointment is such a common emotion, learning to overcome disappointment is a pretty valuable skill.

Disappointment doesn't have to negatively impact your life. In fact, you can use disappointment to create a better and stronger version of yourself.

 Try these techniques to use disappointment to your advantage:

1. Review the reason for your disappointment. When you feel disappointed, ask yourself, “Should I feel disappointed?” Perhaps you're feeling disappointed about something that's completely outside of your control. If so, make a plan to just move forward, instead.

•     The second question to ask yourself is, “How did I get into this predicament? What went wrong?” Identify your mistakes and miscalculations, so you can adjust your approach.

2. Review your expectations....

Wow, we made it through 2020… I have to say as horrible as it was to lose friends to covid, and know so many people died due to it, plus so many have lost their jobs, it was still a great year in so many ways. I published 2 journals, 2 ebooks, 1 international bestselling anthology, created numerous courses, and helped many women step into their most authentic lives, plus hosted a summit and a retreat and was a guest on many as well. I also have increased my listeners on my podcast and been a guest on other podcasts. I got engaged, even though the wedding has been postponed to later this year. I started creating in an art journal which was a practice I had lost long ago. I truly got over my phobia of creating video and having my picture taken. I have met some amazing people. We are eating much healthier, cooking much more at home.  All in all it was a good year.

I did not get to spend nearly enough time with family or friends, but am grateful that the majority made it...

This has been one of the toughest years that most people have faced. So much change, loss and disconnection. There has also been a lot of good that has come from it, but that is buried somewhere under the sheer fatigue of it all. 

Mental fatigue can definitely take its toll on a person’s well-being. It can actually be worse than physical fatigue because of a person’s inability to think clearly or express their feelings and frustrations. Worse still, mental stress is known to cause physical fatigue and illness, too! 

Mental fatigue or exhaustion may be a result of your work, family life, conflict, or even a lack of quality sleep. If you have to make an important decision, mental stress can take its toll on you and can even lead to severe depression. This is all the more reason to avoid the consequences and implement strategies to overcome mental fatigue!

How to Relax your Mind and Boost your Energy 

Relaxation is absolutely necessary to relieve mental...