Not sure how long the link will be active but it was a good reminder! https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXHNvnGkbEm/?igsh=ZjZ3anNlc21wdzh6

What do you think makes a good life? What have been the best parts of your life? What about the small day to day moments?

*Feel free to skip the intro and go into the strategies at the bottom if you'd like!*** ----------------------------------------------- A few weeks ago, I felt like I hit a wall. (That sounds more extra than it is/was). I was looking around at all the things that I wanted to do and how it felt like I wasn't making any progress and also how it felt that forces outside of myself were impeding movement even when I had the energy/motivation/oomph to make things happen. I felt defeated and that is a feeling that I DO NOT experience often and I DID NOT like it one bit. I bounce back, I pivot, I change course, I remain optimistic-perhaps even delusionally so, ha! In short, I show up. I see opportunities for growth and improvement in most situations, so it's hard for me to stay down. I love this about myself so it felt extra challenging when it felt like I was stuck and when it felt like I wasn't myself. Strange feeling. I only remember feeling like this maybe 3 other times in my life. Thankfully, each time, there was a 'cause' or things that I can point to that needed tending to, so experience has taught me that this was solvable but I needed the reminder. (So super thankful for the conversations that I've had recently that helped me with recalibration. Beyond grateful). I also needed to recognize three things: 1) the values that were at play that contributed to me thinking that I had limited options , 2)the expectations and 3)the strategies to employ to get me back to feeling like movement was happening. Look at me being a human being. Who would have thought?! ha. I'm just kidding, I know I'm a human. Below I'm going to focus on some research backed strategies to help with reframing our mindset and keep the momentum alive even when things feel like they're not moving. :) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. 1. 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 "𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐩" 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 "𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐲 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞" First, know that what you’re feeling is actually a normal part of any bold venture.

𝐃𝐀𝐘 1 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄: 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓 𝐀 𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐓 Most of us move through our days on autopilot, noticing only what's familiar or immediately relevant. This scavenger hunt is designed to interrupt that pattern. By intentionally searching for specific objects, colors, shapes, textures, or experiences, you'll train your attention to pick up details that would normally go unnoticed. So...pick a goal and tell us what you've found! Super plus if you can take a picture! Some examples: - Something yellow - A heart shape - A reflection - Something older than you - Something handmade - A plant growing in an unexpected place - Observation-Focused - Evidence that a human was here - Evidence that an animal was here - Something that has changed over time - A pattern that repeats - Something you have passed by many times but never really noticed - Creative - Something that looks like a face - Something that reminds you of your childhood - Something that symbolizes hope - Something that represents resilience - Something beautiful that most people would overlook - An object that could inspire a story - Something that seems out of place - A "hidden treasure" in an ordinary setting - People & Community - An act of kindness - Evidence of creativity - Something that tells a story about your community - A sign of hard work - Something that makes you smile What were you on the lookout for today and what did you notice? Thanks to @Steve Webb and his group 30daychallengers for introducing me to the book The Art of Noticing. His community offers one live 30-day challenge every month. It provides a space where we can turn good intentions into action and each day there is a daily prompt/action related to the month's challenge. This month's challenge is 30 days of sunlight, movement, and remembering what the real world feels like. There's access to previous challenges as well and the community is great about support!

This is part of a real life journal entry from this past week. A small glimpse (but not the full picture) of part of my thinking world. Good times. ha! But here are some questions for YOU: What's something that you held back on or postponed due to not wanting to face the truth earlier on? What were the factors at play and what were the effects? Is there something you're holding back on now? AND Have you ever faced a difficult truth that ultimately improved your life once you accepted it? _______ part of entry_____________ "There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed and nothing hidden that shall not be known". "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate." We hide because we're ashamed, because we're afraid of consequences, because we're afraid of how others may react, because we're afraid of loss, because we're afraid we'll finally have to face ourselves and own our own desires and wants and needs and so we end up sitting in darkness feeling lost, feeling the weight of our own prison. We fear that the thing that we're hiding about ourselves says something irredeemable and puts us in a less than perfect light or a less than expected light. We fear that exposure would lead to such drastic change that we won't know how to handle it. But the reality is that the truth exists, whether we hide it or not. We just end up complicating it more-ensnaring it in chains of our own doing without giving it room to actually breathe. To actually breathe...Breathe. When it has breathing room it can be looked at for what it is and we can also get curious about what's underlying it. We often only take a look at the lie or the undesired behavior and are so ashamed by it that we try to shut it down...but underneath that there can be something that's making it grow further (be there to begin with). If we're wasting so much energy on keeping things hidden from ourselves and others, we're denying ourselves the opportunity to see what's really there and that's denying our potential for growth, our potential for healing, our potential for real life transformation. Buying into our own bullshit. Ain't that some bullshit? Lord help us all. But me especially. Obvs.