MaXIMIze - Overall Well-Being - Coming From a Place of Abundance

We started the year by looking at our Circle of Perception and the six segments that make up the circle.

Over the last few months, we've focused on our financial segment (April), our physical health segment (May), our spiritual health segment (June), our career segment (July), and our relationships segment (August).

Now we've come to the last segment of the circle - our overall well-being.

Over the course of the year so far, we've gone deep into ourselves to understand where our actions and reactions - or responses - come from in each of those areas. Now we bring that all together in order to look at and address our overall well-being.

Back in January, we talked about our core values and principles, and vetting our goals against them to make sure our actions were in alignment with those values and principles.

In February, we discussed identifying and assessing the roadblocks to our success, and increasing our awareness by moving from unconscious incompetence to conscious competence.

In March, we talked about getting back up when we fall off the wagon, developing our follow-through, working through fear, and doing the spring cleaning necessary so that we can grow our best lives now.

One of the ways we can aid the growth of our best life now is by coming from a place of abundance. I touched on that theme in all of our discussions, and the post that most sticks in my mind and reinforces this is the one from May on Self-Image!

Positivity is a conscious act, and one that must be practiced on a daily basis.

I'm sure many of you have seen, and may even have been tagged for, the exercise of coming up with three positive things in your life right now every day for the next seven days. If you are not already doing this, I challenge you to do so for the next week. You don't have to share and tag others to keep the exercise going, though...

What we focus on is what we bring into our lives.

What are you focusing on - the actual abundance already present in your life right here, right now, or the perceived lack in it?

Over the next few weeks, we will discuss Journaling, Balance, and Harmony & Sync.

Until next time - Namaste!

MaXIMIze - Finances - Recap

This month we discussed examining our relationship with money - are we coming from a place of abundance or a place of lack in this area of our lives? Do we think money is a dirty word? We also discussed finances, like charity, begin at home - covering the basic needs first before going after the nice-to-haves. Finally, we discussed setting and achieving financial goals, touching on our previous discussions on commitment and follow through, Personal Prose, Values, Goal Setting, and the Five Whys, the Manifestation Board exercise, identifying and assessing roadblocks, and looking at what you want to harvest in the future.

Take-aways include:

Always come from a place of abundance.

Money - More Opulent Natural Energy, Yeah!

We have to take care of ourselves financially. If you need help in this area, get it!

Money is a tool, not a true goal.

Bless those who have wealth rather than cursing them; for in cursing those who are blessed, you curse yourself. ~ Financial Karma

Know the difference between want and need. Pare back to what you really need and then you'll be able to get what you really want.

It took time to get where we're at, so it stands to reason that it'll take time to get where we really want to be. By being diligent, persistent, and patient, we will get where we need to be in life.

By setting SMART goals and working diligently, persistently, and patiently toward them, we will make great strides down the path of MaXIMIzing this area of our lives!

Next week begins a new month and a new area of our lives to discuss - Physical Health.

As always, feel free to let me know what you think of this blog.

Until next time, namaste!

MaXIMIze - Setting and Achieving Financial Goals

Setting and achieving goals in the financial area of our lives is the same as setting and achieving them in the rest of the areas of our lives.

If faced with a mountain of debt, paying that debt down, let alone off completely, can seem overwhelming. It can be done though, one step, one payment, at a time, particularly if you've done the work I've challenged us with in the last two blog posts.

You may look at that mountain of debt and say, "I can't."

One of my mother's favorite phrases when I was growing up was, "Can't never did nothing."

I'm here to tell you Yes You Can!

It took time to get where you are financially, therefore it will take time to recover and get to where you want to be financially. If you are willing to truly commit and follow through, you can achieve financial stability and freedom.

Remember our discussion on Personal Prose?  How are you talking to yourself about money and how you deal with your finances? Is it positive self talk or are you letting your inner critic run the show and shower you with negativity? Are you using your power words when you think about or talk about your financial situation?

Remember our discussion on Values, Goal Setting, and the Five Whys? Did you do the exercise of determining your core values and principles? How does the way you currently deal with your finances align with those values and principles? If the alignment is not there, what needs to be done in order to get in alignment with those values and principles in this area of your life?

Have you set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely) goals in this area of your life, and if so, are you working diligently and persistently toward those goals? And - are you being patient in and celebrating the small victories along the way to reaching those goals?

If you did the Manifestation Board exercise, are your financial goals envisioned there? Can you clearly see where it is you want to be to attain a satisfaction rating of 8 or more in this area of your life?

Have you identified and assessed the roadblocks that may lie in your way to achieving your goals in this area? This includes the fears that you may have regarding this area - remember, we need to bring our fears out into the light and shake hands with them. By recognizing and acknowledging them, we can work through them and move toward MaXIMIzing our lives in all areas, not just this one.

And last but not least, what are you sowing in your financial garden right now? What do you want to harvest here in the future?

By really looking at and working through all these questions and developing and working toward SMART goals, you can move down the path toward MaXIMIzing this area in your life.

Next week, we'll recap what we've discussed in this area and look at the topics for next month's discussion - until then, namaste!

MaXIMIze - Working Through Fear

Last week we discussed working on your swing - developing your follow-through. This week, we tackle one of the biggest obstacles to following through and achieving your goals - Fear!

"We have nothing to fear but fear itself." ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

What is your greatest fear? Specifically, what fear or fears hold you back from achieving your goals and living your best life now?

What is fear really? Physically, the manifestation of fear is the same as that of excitement - racing heart, sweaty palms, adrenaline rush. Psychologically though, the two are quite different.

Where excitement is gleeful, joyful anticipation of an event or an activity - a very positive emotion - fear is the exact opposite, usually fueled by that nasty little creature known as the Inner Critic.

Where excitement vitalizes, fear paralyzes.

So how then do we move through fear?

"Do one thing everyday that scares you." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

We move through fear by acknowledging it. We bring our fear out into the light and shake hands with it. Light diminishes darkness, and fear is part of the darkness that we need to shine our light on in order to achieve our goals and live our best life now.

We identify where the fear is coming from. We talk to the fear and get it to tell us its roots - how it came to be. For example, we may have a fear of never being good enough that is deeply rooted in our growing up years.

We develop a plan to refocus when fear appears and tries to derail us from our goals. For example, we make a list of all the things that we have accomplished and been praised for and/or just know deep down that we did really well.

Then, when fear does appear - and it will, trust me - we work the plan and refocus on achieving our goals. For example, when that fear of not being good enough rears its ugly head, we can go back to our list of what we have accomplished and done really well and bolster ourselves with those accomplishments. If we did those things, we can achieve these goals too!

So, to move through our fear, we acknowledge it, we identify it and its roots, we develop a plan to refocus if and when it appears, and when fear does appear, we work that plan.

Next week, we will discuss Spring Cleaning - getting rid of that which no longer serves us.

Until then, namaste!

MaXIMIze - Working on That Swing - Developing Your Follow-Through

Follow-through - goes right along with the previous post about falling off the wagon. We need to develop ways to keep that light that is our goals firmly in front of us and to keep trekking down the path to that light one step at a time.

In my coaching practice, one of the tools I develop for my clients is a vision statement - a written and oral focused compilation of what the client's future will look, smell, taste, sound, and feel like when his or her best life is being lived.

Here is the vision statement I developed for myself as part of my training program:

"Beth, as you awake to feel the arms of your life partner enveloping you, you are aware of and amazed by how far you have come over the last year or so because you developed all the skills, talents and tools that you need to easily achieve the goals you have chosen for yourself…your confidence and belief in yourself increased as you grew, banishing the persistent procrastination and enabling you to show your true gifts in the area of financial well-being and coaching acumen. As you stretch and run your mind over your client list for the day, you realize that you easily create the life you want because you have a clear vision of what you want to be and have and work positively and diligently toward those goals with confidence and self-assurance, grounded in your knowledge base and secure in your relationships with others in your life, both personal and professional. As you get ready for your work day, you look forward to working with your clients to coach them to bring into their lives the success you’ve brought into yours. Your ability to see the big picture as well as handle the devilish details has increased exponentially as you incorporated more regular exercise and more healthy eating habits into your daily routine. Your debt load is minimal and you are checking things off your bucket list (and sometimes adding to it!). Your commitment to do the work necessary in all these areas and your extraordinary follow-through has led to a greater sense of well-being and peace in your life overall. Life is good!"

I listen to this at least once a week, more often if needed, to keep my focus on what living my best life means to me - and to keep that light in front of me.

To use a baseball analogy, this is my way of keeping my eye on the ball and watching the bat I'm swinging connect with the ball and knock it out of the park.

If we keep our eyes on the prize, on achieving our goals in life, and continue down the path toward those goals - that prize - our follow-through will develop naturally.

There is a line from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - the Claymation version from the 1960's - that goes along the lines of, "Put one foot in front of the other, and soon you'll be walking 'cross the floor." Follow-through is simply the act of continuing to put one foot in front of the other and walking down the path to our best life now.

Next week, we'll discuss walking through fear. Until then, namaste!