The art of ZOOMING OUT. Releasing stress & anxiety with this simple visualization

The art of ZOOMING OUT. Releasing stress & anxiety with this simple visualization

I consider myself being pretty good about taking good care of myself and managing my stress levels in a way that leaves me feeling energized and happy at the end of the day. However, I am no genius either and sometimes I do get sucked into these vicious cycles of rushing-hustling-worrying-stressing-shallow breathing-tensing up messiness that feels good to absolutely nobody.

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Do you need to get out of your job, but feel paralyzed? Read this + resource if you want to be a life coach!

What I have noticed in my community (yep- that includes YOU!) is that most of you are natural givers and care-takers. Pretty much every single person I have talked to from my list has a huge heart, a craving for learning and creativity, and -very important!- a deep desire to be independent and free.

I totally get it, because I am in those exact same shoes. I love giving to others and feeling connection. I want to live in the expression of my creativity. I want to (in fact, need to!) feel independent and free in order to function at all -not to mention, at my best.

The sad reality of it is, however, that so many of you are struggling with your careers, hating the very place you schlepp yourself to every day, and in the midst of that frustration totally lose sight of the person you are and want to be.

At the beginning you still have hope that things will become better, but then you realize that you have been following a totally wrong track for “too long” and that your passion is really somewhere completely different. But you feel guilty, shameful, and anxious about starting over, so you wonder:

Is it too late?

Would they even want someone like me?

What if I fail and embarrass myself?

yadi yadi yada….

Here is what happens on an unconscious level: When we feel like sh*t over a long time period, we cannot see our own brilliance.

It’s a total downward spiral because we move further and further away from being in touch with our own strengths, passions, and desires. Worse yet, we begin to believe the stories we tell ourselves about how god-awful our lives are and how stuck, old, or inexperienced we are. We see no way out. It seems impossible.

Once we are in this place of total pessimism, it’s really hard to work yourself out of it, change your beliefs, and begin to see opportunity again. (Seeing opportunity, by the way, has nothing to do with being lucky and everything to do with the right mindset.)

If you don’t see opportunity, you cannot create opportunity, so you cannot make positive changes.

While this all sounds harsh and direct, I want you to know that I am writing this with the utmost compassion, because I know what that feels like to the T.

In order to help you out of that sucky soup, I want to propose 3 questions for you to ask yourself (or even better discuss them with someone out loud) to begin loosening up, creating space, and reframing your mindset.

The answers and solutions to the (re-)formation of your life don’t come from the outside. Rather they are within you. So let’s start looking.

 

Ask yourself:

1) In what kinds of environments do I feel my best and why?

This question is geared at making you focus on what you DO like (instead of on what you DON’T like). Your environment matters enormously because you -your body, your mind, your spirit- live in the context of your surroundings and the outer world. Especially if you identify with being a natural giver and care-taker, you are highly sensitive to what’s around you. Ask yourself in what kind of outer world your personal organism works at its best.

 

2) What am I exceptionally good at that I do even when nobody asks me to?

This is a tough question, I know! To help you along, you can try asking yourself: What do my friends appreciate me for most? How am I different? Perhaps even ask 10 of your friends and family members to tell you their perspective on your top 3 qualities. Answer it honestly and without thinking about what you should be good at. Think about the things you did before you worried about money or when you were a kid.

 

3) How can I start spending more time doing what I love right now?

Oftentimes we get stuck waiting for these huge AHA-moments or once in a life-time opportunities to come our way before we start doing what we love. As if we can only write, connect with people, decorate etc. if we get paid for it. As if we can only get into organizing fun events if we work at a glossy PR firm...

Especially if you want to get into creative work -let’s say writing- don’t wait for the perfect job to come out of nowhere, but start doing what you love right now. That’s how you actively invite opportunity into your life. Listen to yourself: if you don’t actually feel like writing without making money with it at the same time, a financially and personally satisfying career in that field is probably not your thing anyway (it’s likely just an escape from the dreary reality of your current job). Sorry to break that to you. Go back to question 1 and 2 to get to know yourself a bit more deeply.

I'd love to hear from you! In the comments below, let me know what kind of environments you enjoy and what you are good at that you are not utilizing. Sharing these things is a great way for you to make them more real.

 

Lastly & importantly: a lot of you have been asking me about life coaching, how I got started in it and how you could become a life coach as well. That’s why I want to introduce you to my friend, Jeannine Yoder.

Jeannine 2.png

Jeannine and I met on a retreat in Sonoma, CA last year and then again on a recent all girls trip to Vermont. Jeannine is amazing, super savvy & sweet and probably one of the funniest people I know :) Jeannine is also known as the coaches’ coach, because she is the creator of Mentor Masterclass, a one-stop-shop for new coaches to learn the intuitive skills, in-the-know life coaching techniques and business strategies they need to step into their life’s calling and to build their own business.

If you have ever thought about becoming a coach but didn’t know where to start, or crave a community where you can be supported, seen and and heard as you begin your life coaching business, then I highly recommend you check out Jeannine's Mentor Masterclass.

I have been picking Jeannine’s brain myself and honestly couldn’t be more impressed with her, her style, and her approach to teaching which is totally entertaining and full of zest for life as it is top notch quality coaching. Check it out for yourself here.

With love as always, 

Caroline

Do you fear that it’s too late to do what you love?

Do you fear that it’s too late to do what you love?

Earlier today I was reading over a collection of responses I received from many of you telling me what your biggest struggles and most desired solutions are. I am incredibly touched by your responses. I admire the honesty, courage and vulnerability it takes to share these with me. I’m honored!

What I was struck by in particular is how many of you are struggling with finding work that is truly fulfilling, meaningful, and at the same time allows you to afford the life you want. Others feel clueless about what they are passionate about in the first place, which brings with it a lot of frustration and anxiety about the future. Both struggles are accompanied by this sense that time is running out!

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Read this if you want to re-invent yourself this year!

Read this if you want to re-invent yourself this year!

I love the word re-invention. It gets me all giddy and excited, because it means that you are actively working on becoming more YOU. 

Over the holidays, my family likes to reminisce a bit about our old times and that includes the different funny (& sometimes strange :)) phases my brothers and I went through. For example, I went through what my family calls  "Caroline's punk phase": I dyed my hair black and wore enormous black "tractor" shoes. Thinking about my life so far, I can clearly see that I have tried on many different personas because I was eagerly searching for myself. I was trying to find out who I was, what fit and where I felt at home. 

This is an extremely important part of life and I believe that "finding oneself" never ends.

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What's far more important than knowing WHAT you want? (find out inside)

What's far more important than knowing WHAT you want? (find out inside)

Hi beauties,

It is December 31st, 2013.

The last day of the year.

A turning point.

The verge of a fresh start.

Rebirth.

A time of positive intentions, as of yet unfulfilled dreams, and big hope.

So often, we get asked to make choices in our lives. What do you want to do, buy, eat, drink, look at, watch, see, experience…? 

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5 Questions You Have to Ask Yourself Before The New Year [+ free holiday food guide

5 Questions You Have to Ask Yourself Before The New Year [+ free holiday food guide

Many of my clients come to me because they want to live a more conscious life. They want to be aware of their actions, thoughts, and feelings. They want to experience the beautiful parts of life more intensely and more joyfully and they want to know how they can manage and improve the not so fun parts.  

Personally, I think that this -the search for who you really are- is one of the most important quests anyone can go on. It elevates your existence. It makes you feel more alive. It changes everything. Literally. Your career, how you take care of your body, the way you invite love into your life, and the relationship you have with yourself.

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Want to live an abundant life? Here is how.

Want to live an abundant life? Here is how.

Hi Love,

A few weeks ago I asked for your help to identify your biggest struggles and your greatest desires.

For the latter question an overwhelming number of you responded with saying that you want to feel free, satisfied, alive, successful for simply being YOU, optimistic, happy, complete, connected, appreciated, loved, unburdened, peaceful...

As your responses were still flooding into my inbox, I took a walk and reflected on the underlying message of these desired feelings. I kept being struck by this sense that so many of us are living in fear that somehow there isn’t enough…enough time, love, money, good men, success stories, great jobs… we are deeply afraid that WE aren’t enough.

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Do you like your own body? 3 powerful ways to feel more beautiful.

Do you like your own body? 3 powerful ways to feel more beautiful.

I remember being a little girl standing on a stool in my mom’s bathroom and looking at my own reflection in the mirror. All I could see were ENORMOUS shoulders, so I asked my mom in my sweet little girl voice if I could get parts of them “hacked off” when I got older. Silly as it sounds, I was serious. I thought I needed them to be smaller.

This is the first memory I have of disliking my body and expressing the need to find some way to solve its “unpretty” parts. Clearly I wasn’t shying away from violent thoughts to “fix my body.” As I got older my body complaints and insecurities only grew both in number and urgency. It seemed like I had a special eye that would pick out everything that was possibly wrong and ignored everything that was right.

What’s your first memory of disliking your body? How old were you? Which part of your body did you attack and wanted to fix?

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The Power of Experiences (includes holiday special + pics from Hawaii :))

The Power of Experiences (includes holiday special + pics from Hawaii :))

Aloha!!

Today I am writing to you from Maui. I am here with my whole family and we are having a blast playing and relaxing together.

However, the truth is that I wasn’t always as relaxed, easy-going, and lighthearted as I am today. There was a time in my life when I was constantly stressed out, worried, and on edge. The pure thought of running around at the beach in a bikini gave me anxiety, the idea of couples lounging at the beach together only made me more aware of my own lack of love in my life, and the whole idea of taking time off when I should be productive and furthering my career made me feel guilty and useless beyond measure.

So what changed me and the way I live my life today?

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Find Your Voice Interview With "Laugh Yourself Skinny" Founder Jessica Procini

Find Your Voice Interview With "Laugh Yourself Skinny" Founder Jessica Procini

First of all, I want to express my most sincere GRATITUDE to all of you who responded to my email last week that asked you to share your biggest struggles and most desired solutions with me. It was beyond humbling and touching for me to receive so many responses that were filled with your authentic stories. I am so honored and grateful. Thank you!

In today’s blogpost, I want to share my November Find Your Voice Interview in which I am talking with Laugh Yourself Skinny Founder Jessica Porcini.

Personally, I have gone through years of dieting, banning certain foods while glorifying others, sneak-eating in the middle of the night because I had been trying to be “good” all day, and worst of all feeling unattractive, not thin enough, and helpless in my own body.

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