How to Have Awareness.  Radical Acceptance. Gratitude. in your Life

How to Have Awareness.  Radical Acceptance. Gratitude. in your Life

I feel like I’m showing up as a completely different person so I want to share with you a big confession that is something that I realized on this trip to Mexico for New Year’s.

I’ve realized that the limiting beliefs that we have can be sneaky.  They can even show up as things that are good for us.  While I’ve been here, I’ve been exploring my thoughts and beliefs and thinking about what’s been holding me back.  I’ve been contemplating:   What is your predominant thought right now?

What are you thinking about? Our thoughts create. Our thoughts or words are what we give our energy and attention to, what we focus on.

I’m constantly monitoring my thinking.  Do any thoughts of lack, worry or fear sneak into my mind?  Do thoughts of struggle, stress or strife enter to hold me back?

What I didn’t realize is that I’m constantly thinking about food, what I ate, and about my weight and it’s possibly even disguised as something that’s good for me.  I’m planning that I want to eat healthy meals and that I want to optimize my health and fitness and those thoughts are on my mind all the time.

  • Was it healthy enough?
  • What will I eat next?
  • What if I gain some weight?

It’s totally insane.

Since I’ve been exploring my thoughts, making myself consciously aware of them, I couldn’t help but wonder why I’m feeling bad about my food choices, even though I make healthy ones about 80% of the time.

I’m still fretting about the 20%

That’s where the limiting belief comes into play – the one that’s holding me back so massively.  I’m focusing on what’s not healthy and creating more stress in my body.  I’m creating more weight around my belly. I’m creating more body image issues.

Instead of loving my 48-year-old body and strutting around in a bikini with confidence, I’m thinking “I want to lose two more pounds to lose two more pounds to lose two more pounds.”

Amazingly, I’ve never even put words to these thoughts because it sounds so extreme. If I’m honest about it though, I’m operating in a total state of lack and completely obsessed with it.

I realized how completely unhealthy and limiting these thoughts were that I even had a conversation with my husband about it.  I expressed that I have a confession and revealed to him that I’m thinking about my weight and what I’m eating all the time.  He’s was in complete disbelief.

Of course, these realizations don’t mean that I should stop thinking about optimizing health, choosing superfoods and eating healthy, or about how I can get into great shape.  I must stop focusing on the lack.

Here’s a rule I thought I was applying but was clearly failing at: 

Don’t eat it or don’t beat yourself up about it, but never do both.

I mean, eating the ice cream at the pool on vacation with the kids is great.  That’s a decision I made.  I bought the treat, consumed it and rather than following the rule, I let myself feel like shit about it, second guessing my choice.  I even caught myself trying to figure out the other things I wouldn’t eat to make up for it, counting the calories and imagining where the indulgence will land on my body.

Just don’t eat it if you’re going to do that, don’t eat it.

What am I going to do here with this awareness?

I think recognizing the problem and bringing it to the forefront, talking with my husband about it and sharing this confession with you guys is a beautiful beginning.

First, there’s the awareness of the conflict.

Second, is the radical acceptance around it – understanding that there’s a discrepancy and trying to figure out how I got here.

I landed exactly where I am from wanting to optimize my health and fitness and to be in the best shape of my life.  I get that it’s limiting me because the more I think about the problem of all that’s not the way I want it to be, I think about how my health is not optimized and focus on what’s lacking.

Finally, I figure the third thing is a level of gratitude and forgiveness, gratitude for my body.

I came to these revelations a few days ago and knew I’d share them with you but I just sat yesterday in my bikini at the pool and then on the beach in a different way than I have recently because I just had more radical acceptance and more gratitude for my body.

I’ll even reveal that when I look at other women, yes, I see their stretch marks or their curves and then love every bit. I never judge.  It’s amazing that I think other women’s bodies are more beautiful when they’re imperfect, yet I think my imperfections need to change.

And it’s so funny.  Ladies, I hope you can relate to this. It’s exactly why I’m sharing in such great detail here…it’s two fricken pounds that I’m obsessing about!  2 Pounds.

Last year I did a body fat test with my doctor, where they calculate your fat mass and your muscle mass.  I did it again just recently and I actually weighed two pounds less and I STILL wanted to lose two more pounds even though I’d lost four pounds of fat and gained two pounds of muscle mass between the two tests.  AND I’M STILL OBSESSING OVER 2 POUNDS.

Nobody sees those 2 pounds on me but I feel like people do.  Our thoughts can be so insane.

Awareness.  Radical Acceptance. Gratitude.

The last element to shift is the negative thought.

Becoming conscious of the thoughts:

  • What am I going to eat today?
  • What am I going to achieve today?
  • What did I eat last night? Did I indulge?
  • I shouldn’t have had that drink…
  • I shouldn’t have eaten that _________.

And then shifting those thoughts into the next step.   

Here’s what I started doing over the last 48 hours after finally digging up this sneaky limiting belief that was disguised as something healthy and good. (NOT)   I began considering how I can serve more women because of these revelations and how I am enough.

So my immediate shift is to ask “How may I serve?”

Instead, I began planning and picturing all the ways I could do that: other books to write, programs to create, speaking and serving and retreats and my mind just took flight.  Suddenly, there’s a more fun and positive place to go with my thoughts. Yes… I’m going to shift to a Happi Place.

The simple and most beautiful way to shift is with the belief that I am enough.

I am enough.  And isn’t it as true that I am enough?  Yes.  Is it as true that everything I’ve been eating and everything I’m doing and all the workouts are enough? Yes, that is so true.  I just haven’t been acknowledging that truth.

Instead, I’ve been focusing on what’s missing, on what could be better. Could it be better?  Yes.

 Is it enough?  The answer is again, ‘Yes.’

So I am going to consciously choose to focus on being enough.  I am enough.  Every workout I have is enough. Even my thoughts around it are enough.  I’m going to have radical acceptance around it and find the enoughness.

So those are my two ideas of how I can shift the negative, limiting beliefs and I promise you these things are going to help me to show up with so much more confidence and certainty.  And guess what?  Certainty and confidence are sexy.  Once I’d made these decisions, I was walking around yesterday in my bikini on the beach and by the pool with total acceptance of my body, too extra pounds and all of my beloved imperfections and I guarantee, I looked like a different person.

Ladies, when you show up with that kind of energy, you’re unstoppable.  

So that was my confession today and I’m wondering if you can relate to it at all.

I’d love to hear if you can find any sneaky hidden limiting beliefs.  What is the constant little voice in the background saying to you?  Does it have something to say about your body?  Maybe it has to do with your relationship instead?  Are you entirely secure there?  Your finances, maybe?  Is it around your parenting? Sometimes they show up, but in disguise.

I encourage you to keep digging them up.  Uncovering those limiting beliefs, revealing them for what they are.

This has been an awesome experience for me. I’m so grateful for this vacation and for the opportunity to come to this realization because I know that I can turn it around and I’ll let you know how it’s going if you’ll let me know how I can support you.

I hope you have a great day. Love to you from paradise.

 

http://badassmommindset.com/If you’d like some more tools to help you with this particular dilemma, I have a 21-Day Bad Ass Mom Mindset program starting on January 21st.  It’s only $11 to get registered and you’ll get 21 days worth of awesome tools plus more powerful, positive belief mindset talks.

 

How You Can Get into a Belief Mindset and Achieve your Dreams

How You Can Get into a Belief Mindset and Achieve your Dreams

I’ve been talking to many of my clients lately about a belief mindset and it’s been such a hot topic that I want to share it with you.

What do I mean by a “Belief Mindset?”

A belief mindset is getting into that space mentally where you truly believe that the things you want to create, all that you desire and want to manifest is possible.  Not in an ‘If’ way either.   In a ‘When’ way.

When we’re not in a belief mindset, we’re in a lack or a limit mindset.

How you can tell if you’re in a Belief or a Limit Mindset

When you think about something that you want and the little voice pops up to says “Yeah, yeah…like that’ll ever happen” or “that costs too much money” or “You’ll never have enough time,” or you’re pulled back into reality with “but people are going to judge me.”   You’re hanging out with your limiting beliefs.

Those negative limiting beliefs are anchors weighing you down and holding you back from all the greatness you can achieve.

On the other hand, the belief mindset will get you to where you want to be.  Belief will help you achieve your desires by keeping you focused on possibility and what you can make happen.

So how can we build belief and get into that belief mindset?

I’ve been working on answering that exact question for many years and what I’ve learned is that the belief has to come first.

When I believed last year that I could triple my income and my business, I broke it down into believable components.  I believed that my courses and trainings would fill up easily. I believed that I’d be hired to speak and to deliver programs and paid for my expertise to host masterminds.  I also believed that my 22-year relationship with my husband would improve as a result too.

When I believed that I could get in the best shape of my life, I did.

Your BELIEF Determines Your Reality.

Our lives are shaped through our beliefs.  Our thoughts, words and feelings all flow from that belief.

I’ve learned that if I can get into that belief mindset and really feel that thing that I desire as if it has already come about, then it’s game over.  It’s a done deal. All of the ‘How Questions’ disappear as solution after solution come about to make it all happen.

So many of my clients (and I’m guilty of this too) have been trapped in the ‘How To’s.’  We get stopped up with questions:

  • How will I create that business structure?
  • How will I make this work?
  • How will I create a workable action plan?

Hope is not a plan.

We can make plans to achieve our goal but I’ve learned to avoid becoming firmly attached to the plans.

It’s important to have a firm goal AND to be flexible with the plan.  There are infinite numbers of solutions to help you achieve your goal and the path you set upon to get to it, may not be the one that actually leads you to it.  You may have to find a shortcut, you may end up on the low road instead of the high one…just don’t get stuck in the quicksand. Keep moving forward, adjust the plan as you need to.  

Get attached to the big dream, the desire, the result you want to reach.   

More important still:  Become supremely attached to how you want to feel when you reach your destination…because THAT FEELING is what will motivate you to get there – through the darkness, over the hurdles, and yes, the FEELING will even help you solve the quicksand challenge.  

The belief mindset can create miracles.  

That’s the mindset that can move mountains. How you think and what you feel can manifest things in our life beyond your wildest dreams – things you never even planned.  The belief mindset will take you beyond your big dreams even.

One of my clients and very good friends just manifested her dream job beyond what she could have ever imagined even though she’d started out with limiting beliefs and a mindset of lack holding her back.

With some training, some inner work and a shift to positive affirmations, she came to believe that she deserved her dream job and that she could make it happen.  She believed it was possible for her. She aligned, aligned, aligned, and guess what??? Her efforts were rewarded. It happened. She was offered her dream job and when she called me with the joyful news… I was the one crying and expressing gratitude to HER for sharing her journey with me.  It’s a beautiful place to be.

How can you get into that belief mindset?

Another strategy that I use to build my belief and get into the belief mindset is to surround myself with people who’ve done the things that I want to do.  If they’ve done it, then I know it’s possible. If I hang out with them, their knowledge and expertise will come my way and I appreciate their mentorship.  Successful people speak success and I’m an eternal sponge.  I’ve learned to never have too much ego so as to miss the lessons of other people’s successes and failures. Those are invaluable.

The same success principle applies across the board

If you want to learn a new skill-set or pick up a new talent – find someone who’s done it with excellence and emulate them.  

I wanted to start a business.  What did I do?   I surrounded myself with other entrepreneurs who have grown successful businesses.

If you want to learn an instrument, hang out with a musician – one who’s mastered the instrument of your choice.  If you want to be a coach, you surround yourself with coaches who’ve developed successful coaching businesses. Investing in real estate? It would be prudent to chat with a few people who’ve made fortunes in real estate.  Want to get a dog? Talked to someone who owns the breed you’re considering.

So what can you do to believe first?

That is a beautiful question to ask yourself.

http://badassmommindset.com/

If you’d like some more tools to help you with this particular dilemma, I have a 21-Day Bad Ass Mom Mindset program starting on January 21st.  It’s only $11 to get registered and you’ll get 21 days worth of awesome tools plus more powerful, positive belief mindset talks.

Believe, believe, believe that’s my word for 2019 and I’m excited to talk to you more about it.  Contact me if you’d like to join me and I hope you’re having a beautiful day.

How To Shift Your Shit

How To Shift Your Shit

I Get Triggered.

OFTEN.

I have as many challenges as anyone I know.  Sometimes, it feels like more.

Even though I do this “work” that I love and I’m constantly working on myself, my inner peace and happiness, I still get angry.  Mistakes are still made.  My temper still gets lost.  The result:  I show up as a wounded version of myself.

As much as I try to be that monk on the hill and let all things roll off my back, to be completely honest, it doesn’t always happen. I try to channel my inner Nelson Mandela but sometimes I just can’t.

What I Do Know

There’s one thing I DO know how to do in those situations.

I know how to Course Correct.

For starters, I’m aware of the situation.  I’m not blindly raging, thinking it’s everyone else’s fault.  I know it’s my own challenge.  I know it’s about me and no-one else but ME.  I Own It! 

That is to say that I can identify when I’m triggered and I know that it’s entirely my responsibility NOT to get triggered.   It’s certainly not the world’s responsibility not to trigger me.

Above all, I know that I’m in control of my reactions. No one makes me mad.  I chose to get mad.  No one hurts me, I allow myself to be hurt or feel pain.

I’m either taking things personally or I’m in my own lane. I’m in my business or their business. What they do or say has nothing to do with me. Unless I let it.

So I find peace in my Course Corrections.  I am in complete control.

Every Day

I try to course correct as quickly as possible. So that my moments of peace are long and luscious and my moments of despair are fewer and far between.

The faster I can course correct, the quicker I can return to the true essence of who I am.

HOW exactly do I course correct?

I do the work on my thoughts and follow these steps:

  • Consciously shift into a state of gratitude to recognize all of the goodness surrounding me
  • Cancel the negative thought and reach for a better-feeling one
  • Move into an appreciation for my life and even for the situation because there is always something to learn

My happiness depends on it.

One more thing I know for sure: This life is worth it. It’s too important.  Walking around wounded and resentful only wastes my time.  Drinking poison and thinking other people will die, I know better.  And DO better, as soon as I can get there.

Course correcting now,

Steff