How to make the most of the last weeks of summer

Here we are, on the other side of the mid-summer shift from July to August.

I hope you have had time to slow down and enjoy the season. I look forward to spending a few special days away at the end of this week, to celebrate my anniversary. :-)

Some of us unplug with ease and are able to be fully present when we are at the beach, visiting an exciting new place, at home on a staycation, or any other adventure. Sometimes a single day is available and that can be magical.

Others of us — and I admit to being prone to this myself — can find it challenging to really disconnect. Even if we resist the beckoning of technology, our distracted thoughts can keep us from savoring the time and space available to relax.

Two mid-summer possibilities and opportunities

1. Appreciate the rich benefits of down time.

There is no question that slowing down, taking a break from the usual routine and intensity of work, and allowing ourselves to be fully present and have fun is good for us.

We are not machines! We need physical rest, and our spirits need to be nurtured.

Research has shown that those who take vacations have lower levels of stress (helping both physical and mental wellbeing), have less risk of heart disease, have a more positive outlook, and are more motivated to achieve. Even planning a vacation has health benefits!

So make the most of whatever summer affords you in terms of time to rest and relax and enjoy.

2. Use this time to dream.

Something amazing can happen when we feel free and allow ourselves to imagine in a playful way.

When you are not hyper-focused on doing — which frequently involves responsibilities related to both personal and work matters — your brain operates differently.

Allowing time to daydream, to explore your thoughts in a journal, or listen to music without multitasking, or sit in a cafe and share personal thoughts with a close friend, you will be amazed at what might pop up.

When our logical, data-focused left brain is quieted, the imaginative right hemisphere takes the lead. We connect more deeply to our intuition. New ideas show up and new possibilities come to mind.

Try prompting yourself with questions like these, to find meaningful gems of insight:

• What makes me feel happy?

• What do I truly yearn for?

• What do I want more of in my life?

(If you know how to use my Discovery Dozen™ — found in my book — by all means use that tool to quickly bring your insights to light!)

It’s important to observe the dreams and desires that showed up for you without judgement, without guilt, and without doubts.

These are important, precious messages from your heart, even if some of them seem surprising or out of reach.

They can be your compass for the future.

Make the most of your insights

By slowing down and relaxing, and choosing to explore your dreams, you will finish the summer with two great gifts — a restored spirit and terrific clarity.

And, you will be beautifully positioned to make the most of the months ahead.

Rather than living on auto-pilot, you can start to consider how you want to create the life you envisioned.

I am not suggesting you make a to-do list of things that feels pressured.

I invite you to begin thinking of small steps you can start to take to make the desires you brought to light tangible.

Summer will soon transition to fall

The coming weeks are ripe with possibility for relaxed play and all sorts of pleasure.

And they are also ripe with possibility for making the coming season — and the next year, and beyond — the most satisfying of your life.

I invite you to consider having a guide to help you turn the dreams in your heart into a reality, one sure step at a time.

As I shared with you last week, my signature program, Live Big Live! is starting soon, and culminates in a fall retreat.

It may be a perfect fit for you to begin creating the life you deeply desire.

Traveling with a GPS that is pointed to a great destination, with loving guidance to support each step of the journey, has been life-changing for the women who have experienced the program.

Let's talk about what you yearn for.

On a call, we can both see if this program is a fit for you.

It would be my pleasure to talk with you no matter the outcome. (There's no cost or obligation for us to have a call.)

Here’s how to schedule our call:

LiveBigCall.com

How to stay strong now

We are living day by day in the midst of troubling world events.

We have been especially challenged for the last two years, and life always includes challenges. Now, the invasion in Ukraine fills us with deep pain and concern.

We need strength

Truthfully, we always need strength. We need strength to cope with challenges related to health matters, strained relationships, loss and grief, financial pressures, uncertainty, and a host of small daily issues that can knock us off course.

And in this moment, we especially need to find strength — for ourselves, for each other, and to send into the world to support people everywhere who are at risk.

How to find strength

When we are stressed, connecting to our strength may feel difficult. This process may help you:

1. Connect to your emotions.

When you slow down and identify what you are feeling, you have awareness of your current state. Rather than pushing these emotions down, allow yourself to name them and feel them.

(You may want to check out the article I wrote last week, where I shared great ways to give difficult emotions an outlet.)

2. Create calm.

Getting still and quiet allows you to breathe with intension and calm your system.

You may want to place your hands on your heart and imagine your heart breathing in love on each inhale. With each exhale, allow yourself to release tension, as you consciously relax your body.

(You can do this for as little as a single minute, you can quietly breath calmly for longer stretches, and you can pause and create calm multiple times in your day.)

3. Try using the Discovery Dozen™ exercise.

If you have my book, you are familiar with this great tool, that can be used in many ways.

The Discovery Dozen structure is simple. It begins with creating a fill-in-the-blank sentence. You then complete the sentence 12 times, each time with a different ending. The key is to write quickly and not edit yourself.

Try this one.

First jot down a challenging emotion you identified (or pick one, if several came up for you). Now you are ready to construct your Discovery Dozen sentence. Write it at the top of the page:

To find my strength in spite of feeling [your emotion], I ____________ .

Quickly complete that sentence 12 times. (You can number 1 through 12 down the side of the page to make it easy to write quickly without pausing to count.)

For example, your completed sentences might say:

• To find my strength in spite of feeling fearful, I can remind myself of times I bravely stood up for myself.

• To find my strength in spite of feeling fearful, I can remember I am not in danger right now.

• To find my strength in spite of feeling fearful, I will find organizations to support, to help others.

You can make more Discovery Dozen sentences, to explore other dimensions of strength. Consider these possibilities:

I feel strong when _____________ .

When I feel strong I can/ I know/ _____________ .

To help others feel strong I can _____________ .

And feel free to make your own Discovery Dozen sentences, to both explore questions and generate ideas.

Couple strength with love

Strength takes many forms — some obvious, some bold, some subtle.

Your Discovery Dozen sentences may have illuminated many kinds of strength, that can be leveraged in many ways.

And when strength is matched with love, the impact can be astounding.

If we all support ourselves and each other with love and strength we can have more impact that you might imagine.

We can believe in the power of each person to hold, share, and send love.

We can commit to taking action — in many forms — rather than sitting by in distress. (One great idea is to make purchases of digital products from Ukrainian artists on Etsy, or tell them not to fulfill tangle product orders and keep the funds. Etsy is not charging Ukrainian artists service fees.)

We can hold the highest energetic vibration of love and send it to those in need of support anywhere on the globe, and those working to broker peace.

We can pray together, believing in the forces of love, light, and courage, and that this collective energetic force can impact the course of the conflict.

In these ways we can contribute to better outcomes, as we also support our own wellbeing.

When we stay strong and keep loving. we can help to create a better world.