We are humans. When the going gets tough we have three choices; fight, flee or stand in our power and learn how to lead the changes we long for. All of them take effort, but one produces the sustainable changes we really want.

If  “The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting new results,” what is the definition of sanity?

I am human. I have stood at the seemingly hopeless crossroads of fight or flight, feeling stuck as I pondered the question ‘Should I stay or should I go?’ many times. Today, I am grateful for all of those experiences. They led me to learn and grow into what I now know, breathe and live every day – a magical and challenging, meaningful life full of love. My challenges, I now see, are opportunities to fulfill my life purpose.

“My life purpose is to learn how to find, grow and expand love within myself and then express it in the world, as only I can.”

When the going gets rough, do you have what it takes to grow through the situation and lead your life forward into what you really want? The answer is YES! You have led positive changes many times before. The problem is, we often are not aware of what we are doing that is right. Instead we focus on what is not working and how to “fix” it.

Think of one of your past successes. What was your part in it? What were you thinking, doing or saying that caused things to move forward? My guess? One thing you did before things started turning around is you made a decision.

With your current challenge, are you going to continue to focus on and battle, the ‘Should I stay or should I go?’ question – or are you ready to choose the third response: decide to learn and grow through this one?

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” – Albert Einstein

The decision to learn and grow makes your next decisions easier. It will support you in moving forward, lessoning the fear and impact of mistakes and heightening the fulfillment of each success along the way to your improved reality.

ABOUT Patty…..

Patty Jackson is a life coach, spiritual counselor, instructor and stress management specialist. She has a unique ability to help people hone in on what is truly going on and support them in powerfully creating change.

The author of two books and life coach training curriculum, Patty has trained hundreds of life coaches and has been featured as a human empowerment and relationship expert at corporate/church events, on tv, radio… Read More

Patty offers online: 1:1 coaching, classes and group coaching.

Robyn Wright is the Owner of Everywhere is Local. Robyn was a financial planner when I first met her in 2008. Watching her and her business journey has been fascinating. Below, Robyn shares seven life coach skills that have contributed to making her successes easier and more fun.

After leaving her financial planning job, Robyn started and sold a successful nationally distributed organic bake mix company. She coached, and still coaches individuals and couples on the side. Today, she is in full throttle business growth again – this time as a personal chef and author of a unique cook book that connects people and communities through food.

The Seven Life Coach Skills Robyn shares are:

1. All emotions are a gift, even the uncomfortable ones. Welcoming them instead of running away from them allows you to be with others in their uncomfortable emotions–and be with them in their hopes and dreams. Here is where you can really connect and help others.

2. Listen to what others really value and create solutions together with those values in mind.

3. Recognize there is an essence and form to experiences in life. When things needs to change, you can explore other things. First identify the things you love. You do not need to know the exact path you should take.

4. Explore possibilities. Just explore from the core essence of the things you love. Steer your direction from the clear “No, not this,” or clear “Yes, it is like this,” answers you get along the way. Exploring, listening to people, and playing with ideas narrows your path until a new direction is defined.

5. Be in tune with yourself. Listen to the quiet voices. You can ask yourself (or your body) questions and guide your decisions by your answers.

6. You do not need to know how. When you know it is right. Put it out there and be open to the how. 

7. Intentions are powerful. Get clear on them. Trust the process. You do not have to make everything happen.

 

 

 Perhaps you have noticed good days usually keep rolling, and bad days do the same. Sometimes it seems the only way to turn things around – even a little – is a good night’s sleep, yet there are times when even those become elusive.

You’ve been told, and you tell yourself, that you play an important role in your own life, your relationships and in bringing out the best in those you are responsible for. This can be a liberating or incredibly frightening fact.

Modern psychology tells us our thoughts cause our feelings, drive our actions and produce our experiences. But sometimes our thoughts get stuck in resentment, blame, powerlessness and anger. There are things that are out of our control, things we want, they are not happening and it is not our fault.

How do you turn things around and get back to peace of mind and wanted results?

1. Understand that what you want starts with a clear focus of thoughts inside you. Battling, “I want…but I DO NOT WANT…” thoughts is normal human stuff. Taking actions before you line up a focused clear solution or picture of what you want next is futile.
2. Use your breath to take your focus off the outside world for a while and create a more aware, open, accepting place inside and around you. You can do this using your breath as a bellows and imagining it filling your whole body and filling an Energy Bubble, an accepting space around you. Resentment, blame and powerlessness are uncomfortable emotions, but when you breathe and accept them, it starts to move and deactivate the thoughts and experiences that are currently alive and seething inside you.
3. Look at each “I do not want!” thought and determine, decide or dream about what you do want next. Write your list of preferred thoughts, feelings and experiences down.
4. Focus on the list you created in step three. This is your powerful focus. It elicits good feelings, lines up your Flow and will drive behavior that produces the results you want.
5. Find your authentic next step. It is said that the answer lies within you. This is how you can find it. Simply ask your heart, inner knowing, wisdom, innovation–what ever you call that guidance within you, “What is one step I can take in the direction of the thoughts/desired picture/solution I lined up in step three?”
6. Trust your answer and take the step.

You are as powerful as your clear focused thoughts. Line your thoughts up with your heart and soul’s desires and watch your amazing life unfold as you live and love through it. You cannot be a creator in someone else’s life, but when you respond to them powerfully, you will have done your part to positively influence them. Then you can let go, enjoy and leave the rest up to them. This human stuff isn’t always easy, but you can make life easier by navigating life from the inside out.

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Patty Jackson is the author of Energy Bubbles 101 (Henschel House Books) and Make Life Easier: A Guide to Navigating Life from the Inside Out (released by Henschel Haus August 2018). She developed The Focused Inner Alignment Tool, a simple process to abate stress, create solutions and move forward in greater love and happiness.

Patty trains and certifies life coaches and teaches Life Coach Skills for Every Day Life for those who want to live, love and influence powerfully but do not want to be a “life coach”.

My dog is 12, nearly deaf and has repeating eye issues. This Monday we find out if her $300 painful procedure needs to be followed up with a $600 more painful one. Without it, she would scratch her eye to disrepair. Tonight she sat on my lap on my lake float. Terra-The-Wonder-Dog, my faithful companion, spent the night in the water with me as the sun set across the lake. My husband fished off the back of the boat while a cassette played the soundtrack to many of our early life adventures on our old boom box. Our boat stereo has died.

Four fish jumped within casting radius. Bites on Scott’s line? Zero.

The full moon could be seen through the trees, and the impeding storm waited until our boat was docked.

Tonight I am certain that the best slices of heaven are more fully experienced and appreciated within the pieces of what can feel like hell.

The good and the bad is all normal human stuff. When we stay in balance, we can focus on, expand and savor the good while letting go of the challenges until it is time to address them and make decisions.