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HOPE CHANGES EVERYTHING

One of our greatest gifts is hope.

It’s the belief or feeling that what you desire can happen. Hope is trusting in possibility; it’s a positive expectation. It’s one of the most essential and powerful human emotions

We all have two things in common – no one is immune from difficult times and we all have a choice in how we handle those events. How we react determines the intensity of the stress we encounter during trying times.

With hope anxiety is lessened and possibilities expand. Without it, nothing feels likely and motivation to journey forward is a true struggle. Hope allows us to stay openminded, creative and positive even in the most difficult times.

It allows us to keep investigating new ideas, solutions or pathways to solve or deal with the hardship. Hope gives us something positive to focus on. Without hope there’s nothing to propel us forward and it’s tempting to raise the white flag of surrender. Hope pivots our perspective. With it we can see light in the darkness, without it, the walls feel like they’re closing in.

How do we maintain hope in a crisis?

We must look for the tiniest glimmer of light; the smallest blessing or reason to be grateful. Spark hope by continually asking, what’s one good thing in my life right now? What can bring me comfort? What possibilities can I hold out for? Nurture those thoughts because what we focus on expands.

When tempted to go down the rabbit hole of despair, remember the energy of our thoughts is like a boomerang – what we put out, comes back to us amplified.

Focus on something positive. You don’t have to be a Pollyanna to make this work; you simply need to spotlight one good thing happening in the present moment to resuscitate hope.

We can’t simply wish for something to happen; we must take inspired action to create the desired outcome. Is it a plan of action with small steps toward realizing a goal or is it quiet time with compassion and prayer? The action depends on the situation.

Hope changes us physically, emotionally and spiritually

Physically, the brains of those who regularly acquiesce to negative thinking create neural pathways that are reinforced with each additional gloomy thought. This leads to a cascade of emotional and spiritual challenges including constant melancholy and even depression.

In contrast, the opposite is proven in plenty of research – holding a hopeful outlook literally safeguards our bodies from illness and dis-ease. Embodying hope means you consciously look for evidence that good things can happen which becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, raising your vibration. Hope allows us to feel connected to positive people or a higher power therefore we feel less alone and more secure.

Need a game changer?

Create a habit of nurturing hope in every circumstance. Feed your soul by grounding yourself in positive expectations.

Set a daily intention that good things will come and practice deeply connecting to the organic joys and blessings life offers.

About the Author

Linda Mitchell, a Professional Transformational Coach, is the founder of Linda Mitchell Coaching and Healing. She has been coaching and practicing in the healing arts for over 20 years, operating from a deep desire to empower people to move through life’s many challenges and transitions with ease and grace. Her unique “Reinvention Program” helps people reclaim balance, and better health and gain clarity on their next steps in order to define, create and truly live the life they desire.

The Importance of Self-Compassion

Self-compassion is the Practice of honoring yourself

Not just when life is going smoothly, but even more importantly, when life presents challenges. Self-compassion is a necessary and healthy alternative to the typical knee-jerk reaction of criticizing ourselves during tough times.

When going through a rough patch or experiencing suffering of any sort, self-compassion becomes the comforting, non-judgemental, voice that helps us find meaning, perseverance and acceptance. It keeps us from getting stuck in a cycle of criticism, negativity and perfectionism.

Even if you don’t feel you’re very good at practicing self-compassion right now, the good news is, no matter how much pain or suffering you may be carrying inside, it’s still possible to develop self-compassion.

Notice how you talk to yourself when things go awry. If you discover you’re self critical and judgmental more often than not, I invite you to practice the following to help reverse this process.

First, simply acknowledge your harsh, judging voice inside your head

Next, pause and notice how it makes you feel. Decide if you’d like to feel differently. If you’re willing to change the way you treat yourself in the face of mishaps and struggles, you’re halfway there.

Each time you notice negative self-talk, stop and choose different language. Start to treat yourself like you would a dear friend or family member. Intentionally select different, more empowering words to replace the negative criticism and sit with the new feeling those words carry.

Notice how differently you feel when choosing gentler, more comforting and compassionate words. The more you do it, the easier it becomes and soon you’ll find your default reaction is to be more gracious and less judgmental towards yourself.

As you continue to practice self-compassion, you’ll begin to understand that you are perfectly loveable just as you are right now, even if you have goals and aspirations for greater personal growth.

Some people fear that developing self-compassion might lead to self-indulgence or self-pity; but neither is true as those traits are very different.

Self-indulgence is an unrestrained focus on pursuing pleasure or self-gratification, whereas self-compassion is simply being loving and forgiving toward yourself.

Self-pity is an excessive immersion in feeling sorry for yourself and even suggests that you’re a victim without a chance to create better circumstances. By contrast, with self-compassion you acknowledge that you’re capable of better and you have a choice to act on that by choosing more empowering words and actions.

Furthermore, don’t worry about developing a super-ego. This too is different because an egotistical person usually sees themselves as better than others or consciously elevates their own needs over others’. Self-compassionate people tend to value everyone’s happiness and are self-aware enough to know the importance of being kind and loving toward themselves as well.

We all go through difficult times.

Practicing self-compassion allows us to move through challenges with less self-criticism while experiencing more ease and grace. By being self-compassionate during difficulties, we’ll also enjoy the important by-products of strength and resilience. Try on this new perspective today!

About the Author

Linda Mitchell, a Professional Transformational Coach, is the founder of Linda Mitchell Coaching and Healing. She has been coaching and practicing in the healing arts for over 20 years, operating from a deep desire to empower people to move through life’s many challenges and transitions with ease and grace. Her unique “Reinvention Program” helps people reclaim balance, and better health and gain clarity on their next steps in order to define, create and truly live the life they desire.

EXPAND YOUR COMFORT ZONE

Are you feeling comfortable, safe, and often decide against taking calculated risks?

Let's dissect the act of worrying

Have you fallen into old, comfortable habits and patterns that don’t make waves? If so, it’s likely you’re subconsciously protecting yourself from failure, being hurt or experiencing the embarrassment of trying new things that can’t guarantee success.

You’re not alone in this but you may be unwittingly robbing yourself of the joy, excitement and inspiration that new experiences offer. If you do what you’ve always done, you’re sure to get what you’ve always gotten. Is this really enough for you?

Let's acknowledge that your comfort zones did serve a purpose early on.

They kept you safe and protected. But the price of clinging to comfort is high. Staying stagnant, missing opportunities, adventures, new relationships and the joy of learning more about yourself, to name a few. Comfort zones are filled with old behaviors, customs, habits and beliefs that existed to help you cope with old issues. It’s unlikely these will help you deal with current day challenges and problems because old beliefs, roles and behaviors rarely serve you well in your current day reality.

I notice that most people who keep themselves cocooned believe that moving out of their comfort zone means they’ll experience suffering, loss or difficulty. I invite you to entertain the idea that this not necessarily true, in fact for most people, this is a false and limiting belief. Imagine what your life would be like if you tried something radically new and actually experienced fun, exhilaration and ease?

Your comfort zone does little to facilitate the growth you desire now; little to properly address current issues problems and challenges and little to help you see new opportunities. Resolve to push onward, blossom, learn and grow! Start small.

One step at a time creates confidence as you move forward, surviving each mini challenge and bolstering the confidence to take yet another small step out of your old comfort zone. Each step becomes easier and creates less and less stress.

If we never take risks, we become complacent and even boring.

We miss out on so much when hiding behind the veil of comfort and familiarity. Willingness to step into the unknown from time to time helps you discover the courage, prowess and spunk you might not even know you possess! You owe it to yourself to expand your old comfort zone in order to discover, embrace and embody each of your unique gifts that would otherwise have remained obscured.

About the Author

Linda Mitchell, a Professional Transformational Coach, is the founder of Linda Mitchell Coaching and Healing. She has been coaching and practicing in the healing arts for over 20 years, operating from a deep desire to empower people to move through life’s many challenges and transitions with ease and grace. Her unique “Reinvention Program” helps people reclaim balance, and better health and gain clarity on their next steps in order to define, create and truly live the life they desire.

ANTIDOTE TO WORRY

If you're a worrier, you know how draining it is

Worry depletes our energy and can disrupt our regular activities, yet we’ve all encountered experiences where it gets the best of us. Haven’t you wished you could hit the delete button to stop your overactive imagination when thoughts start spinning out of control?

Worry is a fruitless experience and while intellectually we know this, we’ve all been sucked into the vortex! Some people worry so often about so many things that it’s become a habit that’s hard to break. So, what can we do to change this?

First, we need to recognize its futility. My mother used to say, “Worrying is like rocking in a rocking chair, it keep you busy but it won’t get you anywhere.”

Let's dissect the act of worrying

According to Philosopher Lao Tzu, if you’re anxious, you’re living in the future. In order to worry, we need to be thinking about a future event and imagining a negative outcome. Worrying takes us out of the present moment. What we are projecting has not even come to pass and yet we’re giving it the energy of reality!

From these perspectives, it’s easier to see how worry is a self-inflicted state of fear and anxiety. I encourage you to remember an important universal law of physics: what you think about comes about; what you focus on expands — even if it’s not what you want!

Our subconscious minds are powerful manifestation machines. Let’s use them to help bring about the circumstances and events we want, not to inadvertently amplify the things we’re concerned about.

There was a time when I felt my life was veering off course. I found myself steeped in worry. Recognizing my anxiety was born of feeling out of control, I needed to find a better way to cope and transform this worry into something productive and calming. I’m happy to share my solution, which has worked time and again for most people.

If, for instance, loved ones are in a dangerous situation or battling an illness, all the worry in the world cannot ensure a positive outcome for them but it will surely wreak havoc on your own health by increasing stress, tension, anxiety and fear in your own world. This certainly has a negative effect on your physical, mental and emotional health.

What’s the antidote? Again, I call attention to the creative power of the subconscious. Instead of worrying about a situation, which we’ve already established is predicting the worst, I invite you to refocus your attention in a positive, healing way.

What would your experience be like if you were to imagine the best outcome for the situation instead?

Imagine or visualize the result you prefer and see it happening in your mind’s eye. Hold the intention with focus, love and the expectation of this being your reality. This process counteracts worry, settles our frenzied minds, creates a positive focus, neutralizes fear and encourages a calmer state of mind.

About the Author

Linda Mitchell, a Professional Transformational Coach, is the founder of Linda Mitchell Coaching and Healing. She has been coaching and practicing in the healing arts for over 20 years, operating from a deep desire to empower people to move through life’s many challenges and transitions with ease and grace. Her unique “Reinvention Program” helps people reclaim balance, and better health and gain clarity on their next steps in order to define, create and truly live the life they desire.

RESPONDING TO CRITICISM

Criticism is part of life.

Everyone gets a dose from time to time. Have you experienced someone’s version of constructive criticism that felt more hurtful than helpful? No doubt, even constructive criticism can sting.

If the intent was to be productive, and frankly even if it wasn’t from the purest of hearts, we can always find ways to respond positively and grow from the encounter.

Here are a few foundational points to consider before responding:

1. Resist the temptation to counter-attack.

Humans feel before they think. This can get us in trouble, so while it may feel good at the moment, reacting with a with a clever or snarky come-back is simply throwing gasoline on a fire. Instead, focus on the facts not the hurtful feelings their words evoke.

Keep your emotions in check, practice patience and mindfulness in order to respond rather than react. When you do, you stand to learn more about yourself, the situation at hand and the person delivering the criticism.

2. Consider the source.

Is the criticism coming from a person whose opinion you value? Is it coming from someone who regularly criticizes others or feels they know everything? If it is the latter, you can easily and comfortably evaluate their criticism without taking it personally.

Try not to dismiss it completely before giving their comments some thought — even those people are right now and then so look for any morsel of truth or benefit before letting it go. If it is from someone you respect, examine the content to discern the wisdom in their words.

Sometimes it is harder but quite valuable to accept criticism from someone who you respect because even constructive criticism from these sources can diminish your confidence. By detaching yourself from the emotion and looking only at the facts, you are better able to decide if the advice or criticism is warranted, you stay in control of your responses and learn valuable insight.

3. Don't let your insecurities come out to play.

Resist the temptation to unleash your inner critic or allow it to chime in and unearth your fears with choruses of “I knew I wasn’t good enough.”

Instead, separate yourself from the emotion long enough to evaluate the message to see if there’s anything you can learn about yourself or the situation.

Remind yourself of your best talents and reframe the criticism as an opportunity to better yourself. Beating yourself up benefits no one.

4. Stay open and respectful.

Ask questions for clarity on their feedback. If instead you become defensive, the sender will quickly sense your hurt feelings and likely back off, soften or even change the message which can obscure any beneficial advice they intended. Allow yourself time to cool off so you can be more objective.

There is always something to learn but remember that criticism is only one person’s point of view. If you stay mindful of your strengths and not dwell on the criticism, it is much easier to continue to forge forward armed with greater knowledge and determination.

About the Author

Linda Mitchell, a Professional Transformational Coach, is the founder of Linda Mitchell Coaching and Healing. She has been coaching and practicing in the healing arts for over 20 years, operating from a deep desire to empower people to move through life’s many challenges and transitions with ease and grace. Her unique “Reinvention Program” helps people reclaim balance, and better health and gain clarity on their next steps in order to define, create and truly live the life they desire.

Is This Little Word Holding You Back?

Here’s an eye opening fact: there’s often one simple word holding you back from everything you want.

Yes, one short but very powerful word! How could one word hold us back from all we desire, dream of, want to be and do in our lives?

This one word is short but not sweet. What is it?

Fear!

Life transitions, normal daily challenges and crazy chaos are all different types of hurdles, but each presents a chance to turn obstacles into opportunities.

It’s all about learning to intercept the suffering with mental fitness skills. Carefully choose your thoughts, mindset, and emotional response in every situation.

Take a moment. Take a deep breath and really think about that. Ask yourself these questions: What do I really want in my life? What’s stopping me? Almost always, the case is we are afraid of something. Our fears hold us back from claiming our hopes, dreams and desires.

I invite you right now to think of a situation that you would like to bring about in your life. It could be a career change, the beginning or ending of a relationship, embarking on a totally new experience, moving changing focus on a project or just about anything.

Hold a scenario in your mind that you’d really like to create in your life and ask yourself:

Why haven’t I done it yet?
What’s holding me back?
What would I do if I weren’t afraid?

These are powerful questions and if you take the time to sit with them and really answer them honestly, you may find that fear is exactly what’s holding you back. Once you recognize this, you’re halfway there.

It’s tremendously satisfying to help my coaching clients break through this fear. Move past their anxiety and claim the amazing experiences, relationships, goals and desires of their hearts. There are many powerful and effective processes to help you discover what created the fears and limiting beliefs you currently hold and to see how they are literally anchoring you to your present circumstances.

The key is in creating a safe, sacred space within which you feel secure enough to allow yourself to process your thoughts, feelings and intuitive hits. It’s like peeling away the layers of an onion – going deeper without editing or judging yourself. This is when you strike gold!

Together we partner in uncovering your subconscious thoughts, motivations, inspirations and fears. It’s a beautiful and enlightening process, which brings tremendous clarity to your present day situations.

The exciting and empowering part is discovering that you now have a choice!

Do you want to continue to live under the power of the old, limiting beliefs we’ve identified or do you choose to acknowledge them for serving you well in the past and now choose to create a new belief system based on your current life circumstances and new found understanding?

Rarely do my clients choose to retain their old, limiting beliefs. A great majority of the time they are ready to let go. They find freedom and joy in defining, creating and truly living their new truths. From this place they achieve goals and desires over and over again. Everything you want is on the other side of fear!

About the Author

Linda Mitchell, a Professional Transformational Coach, is the founder of Linda Mitchell Coaching and Healing. She has been coaching and practicing in the healing arts for over 20 years, operating from a deep desire to empower people to move through life’s many challenges and transitions with ease and grace. Her unique “Reinvention Program” helps people reclaim balance, and better health and gain clarity on their next steps in order to define, create and truly live the life they desire.

“You Mean Suffering Is Optional”

We always have the choice to maintain a calm, emotional state or allow ourselves to become rattled.

Whether it’s a relationship conflict, a health setback, traffic jam, or a lost job, those same two possibilities exist.

Which do you routinely choose?

Well, the human brain does have a negativity bias so don’t beat yourself up if you typically go negative. Do know this can definitely be changed.

What’s the key to maintaining your composure as much as possible?

How do you intercept the suffering and keep yourself objective and positive in a way that allows us to find the gift or opportunity in each challenge?

Life transitions, normal daily challenges and crazy chaos are all different types of hurdles, but each presents a chance to turn obstacles into opportunities.

It’s all about learning to intercept the suffering with mental fitness skills. Carefully choose your thoughts, mindset, and emotional response in every situation.

Try these tips in the midst of difficult challenges.

1) Be Defiant :

On some level composure is the result of defiance. It’s the refusal to allow a situation to knock you off center or intimidate you.

We have two distinct parts of our brain The Sage and the Saboteur. Ultimately, we want to choose to stay in our Sage brain to greatly reduce suffering.

2) Take responsibility: Something very powerful happens when you choose to take responsibility for a situation:

You have the power to change course or work through things. This is truly empowering. The result is feeling much less stress, anxiety or suffering.

3) Stay present in times of turmoil:

Keep your attention on the present moment and your current task.

Focus on what you want to have happen rather than on possible negative outcomes.

To stay present, when your mind wanders, concentrate on your breathing, or on all the good that is still available to you despite the turmoil.

Practice gratitude for the positive moments, events, and people who make you smile.

We can only think about one thing at a time. Use that fact to your advantage, and stay in the present moment.

4) Focus on Solutions:

While some people are masters at concentrating on their challenges, successful people keep their emphasis on solutions.

The more you practice the more adept you’ll become. What you focus on expands! Amplifying challenges, clouds your vision and takes you down the rabbit hole of fear, anxiety, and worry.

These limit your ability to see every option, and often the most elegant or simple solution may elude you. You’re at your best when you say poised, and positive. Self-care and support from others are of great value here.

Reach out to a friend, coach or another professional who can be objective and help you see options other than suffering.

When putting these tips into practice, it’s important to stay objective. Objectivity is the ability to see the situation accurately, without the influence of emotion or ego.

When you’re observing, you see what’s truly there. But, when you’re perceiving your vision is skewed because you’re witnessing through the lens of emotion and possibly old beliefs.

What it boils down to is this: Don’t judge the situation as good or bad – it just is. See it for what it is without emotion. It’s important to stay objective.

Practice objectivity to find more opportunities and short circuit your suffering with these tips:

Avoid quick reactions: When frightened, a dear will either freeze or run. Running is a strong instinct but not a thoughtful process.

In fact, it’s so strong that deer often flee from one threat, only to run straight into something more ominous like a busy roadway.

Reacting quickly is the result of instinct. We do it too. Your boss is infuriating so you quit. Your spouse makes a mistake and you verbally unload on them.

Reacting quickly is rarely the best option. When faced with challenges, take time to thoughtfully respond rather than react.

Objectively assess the situation before choosing an action.

Depersonalize the situation:

Obstacles seem smaller when they feel less personal. What advice would you give a friend? It’s easier to depersonalize a situation when we take our ego and our emotions out of it.

Although we should always try, being objective at all times takes practice. We are all products of our past, erroneous thinking, and limiting beliefs, unless we’ve done the work to create better choices on a daily basis.

The ability to see the truth lays the groundwork for overcoming obstacles, finding opportunities and squashing suffering.

Above all, your mindset matters. When we believe we have options and opportunities, we absolutely do! When we believe we don’t, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

As Christopher Reeve said, “a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” Turn your obstacles and opportunities, and be your own hero.

Suffering is optional! I invite you to sign up for my upcoming course on PQ (stands for Positive Intelligence Quotient). It’s all about learning how to choose thoughts and actions that help you stay positive and reduce suffering in daily life and challenging situations. How often is your brain serving you versus sabotaging you?

Come join me and get into your Sage brain on a daily basis so you stop the suffering!

About the Author

Linda Mitchell, a Professional Transformational Coach, is the founder of Linda Mitchell Coaching and Healing. She has been coaching and practicing in the healing arts for over 20 years, operating from a deep desire to empower people to move through life’s many challenges and transitions with ease and grace. Her unique “Reinvention Program” helps people reclaim balance, and better health and gain clarity on their next steps in order to define, create and truly live the life they desire.

The Hidden Gifts of Gratitude

Often when we practice gratitude, we count our blessings including all the people, places, and things we find uplifting and enjoyable in our lives.

While it’s wonderful to be grateful for our good fortune and bliss, the true power of this practice begins when we’re able to find people and experiences to be grateful for even during our mundane moments and challenging circumstances.

If we only express gratitude when we feel content and happy, we’re missing the hidden gifts of gratitude. This powerful practice goes deeper than just being grateful when things go our way!

Begin by being thankful for the simplicity of our breath, and the miracle of our functioning bodies

Begin by being thankful for the simplicity of our breath, and the miracle of our functioning bodies. When we walk through each day with this fresh awareness, the many hidden gifts of gratitude begin to emerge.

Gratitude is a fast track to happiness and an antidote to stress, worry, fear, and overwhelm. If we allow our minds to focus on our troubles, we will be deeply rooted in that negative energy and unwittingly expand our agitation instead! If you look at a garden and focus only on the weeds, you miss the beauty flowers offer. However, if we train our minds to notice every blessing, life naturally feels more satisfying, joyful and peaceful.

When we dwell in gratitude regularly, we expand the positive circumstances, relationships and energy in our lives. The more we practice gratitude, the more we find to be grateful for – it’s a self fulfilling prophecy. Over time this state of gratitude becomes a sustained trait.

Gratitude is more than an attitude, it's a habit! Like any habit, it requires dedication, focus and practice at first. But it's oh so worth it!

I invite you to find the hidden gifts by purposefully and intentionally practicing gratitude each day.

You’ll begin to see the treasure in your challenges, feel more energetic, confident, uplifted, and certainly less stuck or defeated. Commit to writing down three things you’re grateful for every day.

As you recall something, pause, and allow your entire body to feel the joy of that gift. A benefit of journaling comes on difficult days when you have trouble naming three things because you can easily review previous entries and quickly be encouraged by all the good you’ve already identified in your life.

It will likely inspire you to discover at least one new thing for which you are grateful.

After a few weeks, you’ll notice a greater sense of contentment in your life. You’ll begin to see what really matters to you, notice things you’ve been taking for granted, and feel a renewed sense of peace, satisfaction and inspiration in your current life situation – even if you’re struggling through a transition or challenge.

Congratulations, you've opened up the energy of allowing more grace, gratitude, beauty, and blessings into your life! Now that's something to be grateful for too!

About the Author

Linda Mitchell, a Professional Transformational Coach, is the founder of Linda Mitchell Coaching and Healing. She has been coaching and practicing in the healing arts for over 20 years, operating from a deep desire to empower people to move through life’s many challenges and transitions with ease and grace. Her unique “Reinvention Program” helps people reclaim balance, and better health and gain clarity on their next steps in order to define, create and truly live the life they desire.

YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS FEELINGS – MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU THINK!

Are you trying to create new experiences or more abundance in your life using the Law of Attraction but it isn't working as expected?

The Universal Law of Attraction (LOA) states that any and all of our thoughts, feelings and emotions, conscious and unconscious, attract similar energy and experiences. Take special note of the word unconscious. It’s a critical detail, often overlooked. If you’re not attracting what you want, stop and check your subconscious feelings, thoughts and expectations. Some people mistakenly assume positive thinking is all it takes to manifest using the LOA. The truth is, the LOA works by aligning with and attracting our deepest feelings, beliefs and expectations.

Perhaps you’ve just interviewed for a job you really want and you proclaim, “I’m going to get that job!” but inside you’re really feeling, “Wow, there are so many candidates better qualified, I’ll never be chosen.” Your positive thinking is counteracted by the truths, feelings and beliefs of your subconscious mind. In this scenario, what you’re really attracting is the energy that aligns with the resistance you’re feeling about your chances of getting hired.

Here's the key — use the Law of Deliberate Creation along with the Law of Attraction to successfully create the change you desire.

It makes all the difference when you understand this important universal law which states: that which you give conscious thought to accompanied with emotion, desire, expectation and belief, you will attract and receive more quickly.

It’s very empowering to understand and act on this principal difference. You can become a deliberate creator by fully understanding this critical missing piece and employing both universal laws together to magnetize the experiences, people and relationships you want into your life.

Sadly, our culture often programs us to focus on lack, scarcity, worry, doubt, annoyances and other negative feelings which activate the LOA in the exact opposite way than we want! Remember, what we focus on expands even if it’s not what we really want!

There are specific ways to shift your energy, mindset, inner landscape and expectations to successfully manifest your desires.

I teach my clients to effectively harness the LOA and the LODC by focusing on how they truly want to feel and finding ways to experience this more often, This is different from positive thinking. As philosopher Neville Goddard says, “It’s not what you want that you attract, you attract what you believe to be true” Clearly your subconscious feelings and beliefs have much more impact than mere words.

What would your experience be like if you learned new tools that encourage you to feel uplifted, expect and create success, joy, love, freedom and peace in your life?

One of the quickest and most effective methods I teach helps people transform their feelings and beliefs by showing them how to expand their successes, amplify their joy and magnify gratitude. Learn some of these tools and you’ll begin feeling empowered, motivated and inspired so you’re able to truly reach your goals with ease and grace

About the Author

Linda Mitchell, a Professional Transformational Coach, is the founder of Linda Mitchell Coaching and Healing. She has been coaching and practicing in the healing arts for over 20 years, operating from a deep desire to empower people to move through life’s many challenges and transitions with ease and grace. Her unique “Reinvention Program” helps people reclaim balance, and better health and gain clarity on their next steps in order to define, create and truly live the life they desire.

The Wisdom of Anger

The secret's out - anger is a normal human emotion. It's actually healthy and good to express anger.

Did you grow up hearing that anger is bad, that it’s not something you should express? If this was part of your childhood programing, you may have automatically swept angry emotions under the carpet and found it difficult to express your true need and wants.

As we mature, we realize that stuffing it doesn’t serve us, yet we’re left grappling to discover a good way to deal with our anger that doesn’t feel bad or wrong.

Anger is often demonized because it is associated with rage. When these lines are blurred, we fail to see the difference.

Channeling anger for good is very different from rage which is an out of control expression of anger with the intent to harm someone, create pain or get revenge.

There’s a clear distinction.Feeling and expressing anger gets stuck emotions up and out versus allowing them to fester and ferment. This prevents toxic emotional buildup before it can spill over into relationships or other parts of life.

Anger pushes us to speak up instead of remaining quiet or stuffing emotions and needs. Anger shows us when a boundary has been violated.

Anger pushes us to speak up instead of remaining quiet or stuffing emotions and needs:'

Anger makes us aware of personal and social injustices and mobilizes us to create necessary change. If something touches us deeply and we decide it’s too important to just passively sit back and complain, anger is the catalyst to creating positive solutions. It motivates us to do something constructive – to right a wrong or change a situation we view as unjust or harmful.

Repressing anger is actually what's unhealthy.

We can own the emotion of anger without guilt if we use anger as an energizing tool to create change. Anger can accelerate success when dealing with habit change and reaching goals.

Anger allows stuck emotions to come up and out. Only then can we see what’s really hiding behind our anger. Constructively expressing anger allows us to see where and why we’re stuck. Sometimes we need to purge the anger from our past before we can clearly see our next right step.

Anger’s big bonus: In the process of owning and constructively expressing anger we can recognize our true worth. We notice how we deserve to be treated.

The wisdom of anger allows us to discover and step into our worthiness. Worthiness is actually a byproduct of the constructive expression of anger.

We find the strength and grace to say no to what we don’t want. This opens the door to feeling worthy, feeling good enough and becoming aligned with our purpose.

Constructive anger is passion in action. It will allow us to take the next steps on our personal path to fulfilling our higher purpose.

About the Author

Linda Mitchell, a Professional Transformational Coach, is the founder of Linda Mitchell Coaching and Healing. She has been coaching and practicing in the healing arts for over 20 years, operating from a deep desire to empower people to move through life’s many challenges and transitions with ease and grace. Her unique “Reinvention Program” helps people reclaim balance, and better health and gain clarity on their next steps in order to define, create and truly live the life they desire.

Squash your Fear of Failure

Could fear be holding you back from evolving to your full potential?

Fear can hold you back from stepping into your power and from living your soul’s true purpose. Fear creates resistance to the natural flow of events and blocks blessings. It can even prevent you from overcoming obstacles and recognizing your true strength. Fear can stop you in your tracks even when you’re on the right path. It can keep you from pursuing your dreams, from rewarding opportunities and relationships because fear squashes courage. Simply stated, fear keeps you stuck.

Over time, fear leads to feeling unfulfilled, sad, confused and even settles into the body creating illness, anxiety, imbalance and dis-ease. Humans are emotional creatures and need to be able to express, not repress emotions. Holding emotions inside means they’ll emerge elsewhere. Unprocessed emotional energy like fear gets stored in muscles, organs, tissues and bones. It leads to inflammation, chronic health problems and compromised health.

Often, I see fear stuck in the mid and low back, the kidneys and abdomen. Yes, your unresolved emotions and issues land in your tissues. It’s essential to acknowledge the fear, accept it and feel it fully – without judgment. This is the key to healing and conquering fear. Feel it to heal it!

The good news is you can choose to grow from your fear in a way that catapults you into a field of opportunity, adventure and liberation! Fear is a normal and often healthy human emotion. It’s what we choose to do with it that makes all the difference.

Rather than letting fear run the show, tune in to your body and listen to the fear. Is it a healthy signal of a potential threat to your safety or is it a chronic emotion fed by your ego-brain trying to keep you from trying something new? Are you drowning in a sea of fear; fear of failure, rejection, embarrassment or simply fear of not feeling good enough? You can get slapped by a wave of discontent and boredom in one moment and in the next get knocked over by fear of moving beyond the comfort of the familiar. So how do you navigate these choppy waters and choose to ride the wave of opportunity rather than then get stuck in the undercurrent of status quo?

First, discern the source of your anxiety...

… and then put your objective glasses on to see if your fears are real or mostly speculative. Some people tend to catastrophize and look only at the worst-case scenarios. If so, your fears could be keeping you stuck. One of the best definitions I’ve seen for fear is this: False Evidence Appearing Real.

False evidence keeps you comfortable and safe. Stagnant in fear, you’ll be most comfortable when you rationalize (I call them rational-lies) all the reasons why you can’t move forward. I have a sign in my office that I look at daily; it says, everything you want is on the other side of fear. This propels me forward, ever expanding my comfort zone and keeping me keenly aware of the excuses I create when fear sneaks in.

If you find yourself mired in fear, recognize this human condition

give yourself some compassion and then a gentle nudge forward. Trying and failing is so much less painful than settling and regretting never having tried. Don’t let fear take control. Fear stagnation, not failure!

There isn’t a single person who hasn’t met with failure, disappointment and the sting of defeat. Along this journey,failure is inevitable. When you look at it as simply part of the process, you’re more accepting. . My kids used to think I was crazy when I congratulated them for their little failures along the way. As young adults they see the wisdom in that encouragement. The greatest gift you can give yourself is to recognize that your journey toward realizing your dreams is never a straight path, but one dotted with hurdles, fears and valuable lessons.

Conquering fear makes you fierce, wise and free.

When fear rises up, pause, breathe and choose one small step that will move you beyond the current obstacle. Running from your fear is more painful than facing it. Don’t fight fear; it’s an opportunity to grow into a better version of yourself. That’s liberating and so much more fulfilling than staying stuck in dissatisfaction. When you face your fears, you’ll uncover the courage to overcome them and find the fulfillment and peace you desire and deserve.

About the Author

Linda Mitchell, a Professional Transformational Coach, is the founder of LIVING INSPIRED Coaching. She has been coaching and practicing in the healing arts for over 20 years, operating from a deep desire to empower people to move through life’s many challenges and transitions with ease and grace. Her unique “Reinvention Program” helps people reclaim balance, and better health and gain clarity on their next steps in order to define, create and truly live the life they desire. www.LivingInspiredCoaching.com

THE BENEFITS OF BETTER BOUNDARIES

If you feel like you can't keep up

have difficulty juggling everything on your plate or feel out of control, you probably need new, healthy boundaries. Many people think boundaries are hard to hold, but I believe life is easier and more enjoyable with healthy boundaries. While there are many, here are the top benefits of holding better boundaries.

Creates balance and diminishes overwhelm.

Sometimes feeling overwhelmed is the result of having too many demands on your time and energy, yet other times it’s because we’ve absorbed other people’s responsibilities or problems.

When life feels chaotic, setting way of caring for yourself by protecting your limits helps immeasurably. Boundary management becomes more important than time management. Because you’ll free up your precious time and use it more wisely. You’ll learn to focus only on the essentials those activities that makes you more productive therefore less frenzied.

Without boundaries its easy to assume too many projects, extend help to those who might not want or appreciate it, and even enable others by doing things they can reasonably do for themselves. Typically, people have difficulty setting boundaries, because they are concerned about being criticized, rejection or making others upset.

Beware of becoming a people-pleaser who’s more concerned about what serves others than what’s right for yourself. Of course, it’s important to consider the feelings of others, but people-pleasing fosters self-neglect and resentment, which in turn makes it hard to deal with our own commitments.

Without setting boundaries, people take on more than can realistically be done and end up with a huge list of sobering obligations, few of which bring them joy. This happens equally in personal and professional lives. Naturally, you feel frenzied, stressed out and depleted.

Creating boundaries means you give only what, when, and to whom, you want – this translates to being generous to more of the right people over a longer period of time. We have both a right and a duty to protect ourselves with healthy boundaries!

Saying "no" is an essential part of self-care

Regular self-care makes a huge impact on our mood and energy and ensures we’re taking care of our own needs. Saying no to someone else means you’re saying yes to yourself, your family, your priorities and your overall health and wellness – including your peace of mind! Saying no when necessary is the healthiest way of caring for yourself by protecting your physical, mental and emotional health. It’s easier to say no when you’re at your best physically and emotionally.

The next time someone asks for your help or you’re tempted to volunteer, I encourage you to pause, discern if it serves you, your family and your overall goals and values. Remember, depleting yourself serves no one – you can’t give from an empty cup.

It may feel uncomfortable at first but listen when your intuition says so. Try something like: “Gosh, I’d like to, but it wouldn’t be fair to you if I took on something that I cant give appropriate attention to They’ll respect your honesty. Boundaries are healthy, normal, necessary, rejected or appreciate it, and even respectable and lead to more joy and ease!

About the Author

Linda Mitchell, a Professional Transformational Coach, is the founder of Linda Mitchell Coaching and Healing. She has been coaching and practicing in the healing arts for over 20 years, operating from a deep desire to empower people to move through life’s many challenges and transitions with ease and grace. Her unique “Reinvention Program” helps people reclaim balance, and better health and gain clarity on their next steps in order to define, create and truly live the life they desire.

REINVENT YOURSELF THIS SPRING

Spring is a time of fresh starts and new beginnings.

It is a season of renewal. So, what better time to give attention to reviewing and reviving your goals, dreams and desires? Rebirth happens inherently in nature with trees and plants budding so it makes sense that we too follow the instinct to renew ourselves.

We do spring cleaning by purging old clothing, prettying up yards and cleaning out pantries. What about some mental and emotional tidying up? In the long run, detoxing our thoughts is even more impactful. Mental debris takes the form of memories, limiting beliefs, stories, traumas, and conditioning that keep us stuck in old patterns, attitudes and habits. Imagine the energy you would free up by purging those!

Taking some time to focus on your needs to discover the things that make you happy

Helps create a clear and refreshed mind. First, pause to reflect on what’s working for you and what’s not. What’s keeping you stuck? This needn’t be a long process – on the contrary, tuning in and trusting your first response is often most revealing and enormously helpful.

Once aware of the thoughts and habits you choose to let go of, you can begin your plan to purge them along with the old clothing and expired groceries. If you think cleaning out a closet feels good, try eliminating your old limiting beliefs.

This creates more space to grow and blossom than you can imagine. We know that freeing up space in your home makes you feel lighter, and creates an opportunity to bring in new things we love. Likewise, releasing outdated beliefs and patterns that have kept us stuck in fear, resentment, anger, depression, victimization and self loathing is incredibly liberating and truly life changing.

Imagine how light and energized you will feel after cleaning out your mental clutter.

What activities aid in releasing these old practices, ideas and beliefs? A good place to start is with anything that allows you to let go, relax, and tune in to your intuition. Let your mind and heart expand. You may uncover actions that are holding you back from your dreams. Pay attention to every intuitive hit.

Allow yourself to envision your wildest dreams, goals and desires. Write down whatever comes to you. Edit nothing. Focus on what your ideal life looks like. Is it a new career path, strengthening relationships, furthering education; maybe you want a totally fresh start. Are you in a place of transition where circumstances and relationships are shifting and changing? Now is the perfect time to reinvent yourself.

Stop satisfying everyone else and find new ways to present your true, authentic self to the world.

Play, laugh and do more of what makes you smile. Unload whatever is dull, heavy, or not in alignment with your soul’s true purpose. Revive your inner child and grant her the freedom to direct your days more often. Get out of your head and into your heart. You will be amazed with the joy of feeling renewed and rebirthed!

About the Author

Linda Mitchell, a Professional Transformational Coach, is the founder of Linda Mitchell Coaching and Healing. She has been coaching and practicing in the healing arts for over 20 years, operating from a deep desire to empower people to move through life’s many challenges and transitions with ease and grace. Her unique “Reinvention Program” helps people reclaim balance, and better health and gain clarity on their next steps in order to define, create and truly live the life they desire.

Quieting Your Inner Critic

Remember a recent time when you felt bad about yourself – when you felt embarrassed, discouraged, or just not good enough?

What were you telling yourself in that situation? Could those old negative tapes in your head be at it again? Probably! How do we get out of the bad habit of criticizing ourselves, and making ourselves feel miserable; why is this so important?

It’s crucial to understand that our subconscious mind hears and acts on everything we say!

The more we beat ourselves up with negative self-talk, the less confident we are, and the less joy, vitality, and peace we feel. How do we keep our thoughts positive so we can feel better about ourselves and enjoy more pleasant experiences in life? Try talking to yourself the way you would talk to a child – with kindness, compassion, understanding, and encouragement. After all, your inner critic is just a shadow of your inner child, who remembers and believes the negative thoughts, feelings, and judgments from long ago. Your mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Are you letting your mean inner judge sabotage your happiness?

If you find you’re judging yourself, the inner critic is alive and well. Critical self-talk is destructive and after a while, your subconscious mind has no choice, but to believe all of the negativity you feed it! You’ll eventually embody it and live from a diminished reality. Always telling yourself you could have done better, your ideas or projects aren’t good enough, you don’t measure up, and everyone is better, smarter, and more deserving than you crush your self-confidence and leads to low self-esteem.

Allowing your inner critic to be in control is like allowing a cruel judge to rule your life.

The judge is a sneaky thief, robbing you of your joy, abundance, worth, goodness, creativity, talent, and opportunity for serenity. The judge causes chaos in our minds, spirit, and body. It makes us feel less than we are, squashes our inspiration and motivation, and makes us believe the old, negative self-talk running rampant in our heads.

When we doubt ourselves, we are listening to the critical judge, the injured child in our head, who is simply trying to keep us playing it, safe, small, and silent. Resist this! These are your limiting beliefs. They keep you from venturing out to try new experiences or meet new people. There is a better way. Give that inner critic, the boot!

We love and respect those who resist judging us.

We feel comfortable and accepted and enjoy being around them. What would your experience be like if you stopped judging yourself? What if you could give yourself the benefit of the doubt more often? What if you showed yourself the same compassion you extend to your best friend?

It’s possible to stop sabotaging yourself and get into your sage brain. Want to learn how?

It’s possible to stop sabotaging yourself and get into your sage brain. Want to learn how? Join my next group for a fascinating six-week journey to mental fitness and kick your saboteurs out of the driver’s seat of your life! It’s time to quiet your inner critic. Stand up to that negative bully and give it the boot. Once you do, I promise you’ll begin to experience more joy, confidence, peace, and playfulness in life. The kinder you are to yourself, the happier you’ll be, and the less often the inner critic will seize control!

About the Author

Linda Mitchell, a Professional Transformational Coach, is the founder of LIVING INSPIRED Coaching. She has been coaching and practicing in the healing arts for over 20 years, operating from a deep desire to empower people to move through life’s many challenges and transitions with ease and grace. Her unique “Reinvention Program” helps people reclaim balance, and better health and gain clarity on their next steps in order to define, create and truly live the life they desire. www.LivingInspiredCoaching.com