How time away can ignite your creative power

Three times a year I travel to go on a retreat with my coach. I share the experience with a small community of wonderful people who, like I am, are on a path to creating and offering bold resources that will make this a better world.

I am writing from a beautiful rural part of Texas, surrounded by natural beauty.

I am inspired.

I am surrounded by love.

And I am making significant discoveries about myself.

This way that I invest in myself — taking time to be here and making a financial commitment to be in this work — has been significant for me. So much of what I have created to ignite creative power in women everywhere has been informed by what I have explored in my work with my coach.

I am deeply grateful to be on this journey of personal expansion that enriches me. In turn, it enables me to bring more depth to my work as a coach and speaker.

I invite you to find a place of beauty and peacefulness, where the majesty of nature can support you to connect to your heart.

I also invite you to consider the dreams you hold in your heart, and the support that can help you to move them into action.

Take time to just be

Winter has finally arrived in New England, after mild and rainy months in November and December.

Enjoying the visual delight of a shimmering white coating on snow-covered trees, I am treating myself to a snow day.

Snuggling in with a cozy blanket, sipping hot tea, Edith Piaf serenading me, this is a treat I am delighted to give myself.

What about you? 

You do not need actual snow to have a snow-day

Few of us take the time to be quiet, to rest, to simply let ourselves BE.

If you tend to live the way I lived much of my life, you are likely so caught up in doing, that you rush through your days and miss the opportunity to get quiet, rest, and connect to your heart. 

You may wait for a vacation to take a break, and even then, you may have a full schedule and be in constant motion.

Making time to slow down and indulge your body and your spirit is a gift you can choose to give yourself — no matter the calendar or weather.

And you need not make it a full day of down time, if that’s not practical.

If there is a lot going on, look for ways to bring a short respite into your day.

And take a look at you schedule. Block off space for being at regular intervals — whether you want that time for reading, journaling, assembling a puzzle, drawing, day-dreaming, cooking something fun, walking in a special place, or connecting for a longed-for conversation with someone you miss.

The gift of stillness and quiet

When you make small, or more extended, periods of quiet time a regular part of your life, remarkable things can happen.

For me, it works in a similar way that savasana does at the end of a yoga class — the period of stillness at the conclusion of a physical practice. In the stillness, my nervous system is remarkably quiet. I feel a distinctive sense of relaxation and feel refreshed.

I also make a deep connection to my heart — what it wants and what it needs. 

And in that “emptiness” I often find insights and ideas show up that are fresh and surprising.

Many times I find myself feeling more alive and inspired to move into the next part of the day.

At the start of this fresh new year, why not see how making a “snow-day” practice of your own will work for you?  Email me and let me know how it goes. I'll be delighted to hear.

What are you doing for YOU today?

I've lived a whirlwind of exciting travel the since mid-January, and I am deeply grateful for the amazing experiences I have enjoyed.

Living in Paris, then attending a life-changing retreat in Texas, and now spending time in Arizona, I have seen heart-stopping art, been in gorgeous urban and natural environments, shared time with people precious to me, and eaten wonderful food.

For most of these weeks I sustained a “normal” work schedule, coaching clients, speaking virtually, and attending meetings on Zoom.

I have also made art with a limited set of materials that I could carry with me, and have enjoyed quite a few surprises as I created in new ways.

And now, I am (finally) slowing down to give myself the gift of rest.

We are humans, not machines

My natural inclination is to be in motion, to do.

I have an abundance of ideas. There is so much that excites me. I love my work and love connecting to new people.

And paradoxically, one of the big messages I share in my speaking appearances and writing is that we need to slow down and be still. I teach that that ability and practice is the foundation of Living Big!

“Slow Down and Be Still” is the title of the first chapter of my book, and the entire first half of the book is about the being of Living Big! Of course, there is a natural rhythm for being and doing, it’s just that I often am out of balance. And I know I am not alone.

To quote myself, we are human beings, but we spend too much time doing and not enough time being.

And even machines need down-time, and routine maintenance!

We need to return to the basics, over and over

In conversations I have had recently, a number of women have shared that their crushing schedules and pressures at work have led to burnout.

A big contributor is that many women put everyone else’s needs ahead of their own.

I am not pushing as hard as I have in the past, but I have slipped, bit by bit, into too much doing without adequately focusing on my wellbeing.

I have reminded myself that “we teach what we need to learn.” For me, it is time to get back to the fundamentals.

Small ideas for slowing things down

The key for me, and for most women, is to start making really tiny shifts. We often underestimate the impact of making small consistent changes.

You may want to pick from these ideas and see what happens.

1. Make a bedtime shift

Many women tell me they stay up late and are exhausted in the morning. Why not adjust your evening routine and go to bed 10 or 15 minutes earlier? After a few days or a week, you may try for another 15 minutes earlier.

2. A little movement works wonders

Set a reminder on your phone to go off at least once an hour. Turn away from your computer and sit and breathe for 2 minutes. (Setting the timer for two minutes will allow you just relax and breathe!) Then stand up and stretch for another minute or two. 

3. Fresh air is a game-changer

So many people spend their days inside buildings and cars. Get outside and walk at least once each day! It can be to the corner and back, a spin around the block, a walk to a lunch spot you usually drive to, following on a path in a nearby park, or walking down a city street.

4. Create more “white space”

If you look at a magazine layout, the page is sure to have margins that designers have created to make the page easy and pleasurable to ready. Nobody wants to read a page crammed with solid text! That “white space” is important in life, too. Look at your calendar and create some “white space” for yourself this week and looking ahead. What have you said “yes” to that you can you skip? What can be delegated to someone else? What can be deferred?

5. Schedule something just for you

Look at your calendar and schedule in time (anywhere from an hour to a day!) for something that will make you happy! Who might you play with? What might you explore? What will light you up? What will make you feel great? 

6. There are endless possibilities!

If nothing on this list especially sparks your spirit, or you want to do more for yourself, think about something small that will do it for you. It could be eating a fresh salad with flavors you love, or getting tickets for the theater, or making a call to someone you miss. Find something that is just for you that you can make space for now.

It is important to be mindful about these practices!

If you see the busy creeping back in, return to the awareness of how you are living — and see if you can expand on these new ways of making space for yourself and your wellbeing!

The changes I am making now

I have one more week in Arizona before returning home. I am slowing down and it feels wonderful.

I have a bit of work on my schedule this week, but I have planned to do far less than usual.

I started getting more sleep.

I now start my day listening to music I love, rather than the news.

I am walking in nature every day.

I am making time to write from the heart.

I have set things up to be able to play and make art with ease. (While my new creative experiments are not yet posted, you can take a look at my artist website here.) 

And I am firmly committed to sustaining my focus on slowing down and being intentional about my schedule when I return home next week!

If you want to share your favorite small self-care tips — or you want to share your struggles to slow down — I invite you to email me, or book a call and we can talk.

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