Live Your Best Life!

Are you unknowingly holding yourself back from your dreams? Take some time to really consider this because it’s more common than you might think. Sometimes, the biggest roadblocks in life aren’t external things—they’re our own thoughts, fears, and habits. Without even realizing it, you might be self-sabotaging or limiting your potential in ways that keep you from achieving your goals.

The good news is that once you recognize these patterns, you can start taking small steps to break free from them. I’m going to share five things you may be doing that are holding you back, as well as specific steps you can take to challenge and change these patterns so that you can thrive and achieve more.

One of the biggest signs you’re holding yourself back is negative self-talk. 

Negative Self-Talk

Negative self-talk can be incredibly powerful because it affects how you see yourself and what you believe you are capable of achieving....

Have you ever had a thought that made you pause, cringe, or feel some form of anxiety, worry, or dread? Maybe it was something like, "I'm not good enough for this job," "Everyone is judging me," "I’ll never succeed," or "Are they are going to leave me”. These kinds of thoughts can feel so real and powerful in the moment, can't they? They sweep in and suddenly it feels like the only thing you can think about. You may literally feel a tightening of your chest, difficulty breathing, or feel your palms start to sweat.

But here’s the truth: Just because you think something doesn't make it true. Let that sink in for just a few seconds. You don’t have to believe every thought that crosses your mind. In fact, sometimes our thoughts are more like noise, distorting the truth rather than reflecting it.  Let’s unpack why that is—and why you have the power to take back control of your mind.

Your Brain Is Trying to Protect You—But Sometimes...

What you believe about yourself, others, and the world impacts how you feel and the results you get in your life so it is important to have a belief system that works for you, not against you. A belief is an acceptance that something is true or that something exists. It is trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something. It is how you make sense of the world but your beliefs are not the “T” truth that you might think they are.

We all have beliefs. Some of our beliefs we are aware of and some run quietly in the background of our minds, or in our unconscious minds. The problem with the unconscious beliefs we hold that run quietly in the back of our minds is that despite their being quiet, they do influence how we feel, the actions we take, and the results we get in our lives. 

Before going further, let’s explore where your beliefs come from. Your beliefs are the result of some of the following: 

• Messages you have received from others...

Journaling can be a highly beneficial practice to support mental, emotional, and even physical well-being. In the hustle and bustle of your daily life, finding time to reflect and become more self-aware can be challenging. One thing to keep in mind is that there is not a “right” or “wrong” way to journal. Journaling is a personal and individualized process and can look very different from person to person, or even from day to day for one person. When you write things down on paper (or digitally if you prefer, but I always encourage trying pen and paper), you get information out of your head, which can give you a different perspective. 

When your thoughts, ideas, questions, goals, feelings, etc. are on a piece of paper in front of you, you can “zoom out” and think about them differently. 

Some ways journaling can benefit you are:

Allowing for emotional expression. Journaling offers a safe space to express and release...

Before digging in…let’s just call out the fact that for many of us, building new, positive habits is just plain hard, and falling back into old, negative habits is just plain easy. With that said, that does not mean that you should not actively work to build new habits that support health, career, relationships, personal growth, or any other area of your life. Building new habits is a crucial aspect of positive change, however, this does not mean that it is smooth or easy. Think about it, if it was…we would all be engaging in positive, healthy habits all of the time.

I believe that when behavior change is hard, understanding why it is hard is more than half the battle. 

This is because when you understand what the obstacles are, and why they are happening, you are much more likely to be successful in managing them. In addition, and just as important, it is easier to be kind to yourself and acknowledge that what you are trying to do is hard,...

The changing of seasons has an impact on your life, from the way you dress, to the food you eat, to the activities you engage in, to the way you decorate the exterior and interior of your home. If you are like me, the scent of your soap and candles reflects the season you are in too! In addition to impacting all of these things, the change of seasons can also have a significant influence on your mood and emotional health. In this blog, I will explore ways in which your emotional health can be impacted by the change of seasons, as well as offer some tips for navigating these changes effectively.

If you have heard about how a change of season can impact your mood, it is likely related to cooler seasons. As the days get shorter and the temperatures get cooler, many people experience Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), or “The Winter Blues”. This is a type of depression that typically occurs during the fall and winter months. The reduced exposure to sunlight during...

It is likely that you have heard talk about the positive impact a morning routine can have on your life. I have many clients who talk about hearing about morning routines but who don’t really understand why they can be so important, or what their morning routine should include. The good news is that there is no “right way” or “wrong way” to do a morning routine and morning routines do not need to take a long time or be complicated.  

I think one of the biggest benefits of a morning routine is that it is an opportunity to intentionally start your day off in a way that feels good.

It allows you time to focus on yourself, and allows you to set the tone for your day. Like so many people, I have fallen victim to waking up in the morning and immediately picking up my phone and consuming text messages, emails, and social media. For me, and for many of my clients, the problem in doing this is that I was losing control of my day before it even...

The Compound Effect is the principle that small actions or decisions, when applied consistently over time, can lead to significant results. This is because there is a cumulative effect that happens when you do something on a consistent basis, even if you are not recognizing any immediate results. Understanding this and reminding yourself of this can be helpful when you are not seeing the immediate changes you want, resulting in you wanting to quit or give up. 

One thing that is important to know about the compound effect is that it is always in play and can bring about positive results, or negative results for you. 

Consider, for example, that you are making small changes to eat healthier but are not looking or feeling any different…until one day you do. You won’t see any immediate results but there will be a day when you wake up with more energy, or you notice your clothes fitting a little better, or your joints hurting a little less. Living in...

I see people struggle with anxiety related to their volume of work on almost a daily basis so if you experience this, you are not alone. Does it feel like there are many things to get done and not enough time to get to them all? Does it feel like you could literally work from the time you get out of bed until the time you go to bed, and then maybe also on the weekends? 

If so, there are some things you can do to reduce your anxiety. First off, know that you are likely experiencing anxiety because you care about doing a good job, which is a good thing. When you care about doing a good job, you can sometimes start to think of everything you have to do as being at the same level of importance. When you think like this, you may experience a sense of urgency all day long, which can result in excessive stress and anxiety. 

The reality is, there are probably some things that are more urgent than others, and some things that can take a back seat on any given day or week....

One of the most powerful tools you have, and I would argue it is THE most powerful tool, is your brain. In addition to running all of your bodily functions, it is responsible for how you view yourself, others, and the world around you. That is a pretty big job.

What can become problematic, however, is when you accept all of your thoughts as true, especially if you tend to focus on the negative side of situations. For example, let’s assume you texted someone and they did not text you back for a day. You may think something like, “They are mad at me and I don’t know why”, which would create certain emotions which could include anxiety, stress, worry, sadness, or loneliness to name a few. The reality of the situation, however, is that you texted a friend and they did not text you back for a day. That is the circumstance or the facts that everyone would agree on. Your thought that your friend is mad at you and you don’t know why is a thought, not a...