'Tis the Season!

We are full swing into the holidays complete with Christmas/Holiday parties, shopping, meal planning, travel arrangements, cooking, entertaining, decorating, volunteering, giving etc. Whew! I am exhausted thinking about it! It's no wonder many people find themselves overwhelmed and frustrated with feeling like there is not enough time, not enough money, not enough energy or some variation of these. In reality we create our holiday experience and whether it will be enjoyable or exhausting.

Here are a few simple steps to getting rid of that exhausted feeling caused by the holidays.

1. Make a to-do list - Make a list of all the things you think you need to do. Now cross off all the things you think you SHOULD do. If you are doing them because you think you SHOULD do them, then you don't NEED to do them. Get rid of unnecessary obligations that you have committed to that you just don't have time for.

2. Simplify - Look at your paired down list and determine where you can simplify. Can you pay to have the presents wrapped? Can you have the groceries delivered? Can you delegate? Can you consolidate trips to the mall? Can you pay someone to clean the house? We have the tendency to think we have to do everything ourselves. This is simply a lie. When you start to ask for help you will be amazed how much more gets done.

3. RELAX! - Create time in your schedule just to relax and look at Christmas lights or drink hot chocolate or watch a Christmas movie with your family or loved ones. Most important during the holidays is to stop long enough to enjoy it. So what if you don't go get those new place mats you think would look great with the place settings? Or go get those extra stocking stuffers? Or make that extra pie? Ask yourself if that stress and time is more important then enjoying your time with your family or loved ones.

Wishing you all the happiest of holiday seasons! Enjoy it!!

Love! Freedom! Power!

Kat

During this Thanksgiving season I am thankful for....

It seems appropriate this week to have a blog about all that I am thankful for. Oh where to begin, where to begin?

I am thankful for my family, my puppy, my health, my wonderful boyfriend, my friends, pedi's, walks outside, food on the table, a roof over my head, chocolate, ice cream, pei wei, a good book, fun, intriguing conversation, a cozy fire, soft pillows, comfy blankets, sweet dreams... I will spare you from the entire list hehe. There is sooo much to be thankful for this holiday season. It is very easy to take for granted all that we have been blessed with. What are you thankful for this season?

The universe is a funny place. By being thankful for all that you have (even the stuff you don't like so much), you create abundance for yourself. You attract more to be thankful for. I read in a book recently where the author actually kisses her bills as she seals them and says thanks for them. Woa. I don't know about you, but I have never been a fan of bills! They take up my time and my money! When I stopped to think about this, it all made sense. If I show appreciation for even those things that I am not fond of, I will create room for more to be thankful for because I will be creating energy for things that are "good."

This brings me to something that I never thought I would find in my soul to be thankful for - my parents illnesses. Even as I write the word thankful, the thought occurs to me that it still doesn't exactly make sense that I get it now and can have appreciation for it but I do. I just do and it feels so amazingly freeing.

I had a conversation not too long ago with my sister in law about how my childhood maybe wasn't "ideal" growing up. Now I look at that word and think, ideal? What is ideal? Where would I be today if all of that wouldn't have happened? The long story short is this...

My mom has battled with Multiple Sclerosis my entire life, my father had a kidney transplant when I was 13 or so. Between the two of them one or the other was in and out of the hospital my entire life. We had to move when I was 13 from my hometown in Missouri to Indiana and again to another town in Indiana before my junior year in High School. My father is doing well now. My mom on the other hand is a different story. Her health has drastically deteriorated and she is bed ridden. She spends a lot of time in the hospital for bed sores or other issues that arise from being in bed all day long. This isn't even the half of it. And I don't tell any of this as a sob story. I simply share it as background of where I have been and I am with my family. It could easily be said that I was "robbed" of my childhood or that my mothers illness "sucks." But that's my victim story and I am not victim nor is my family.

Truth be told until about 6 months ago I had a really hard time dealing with all of this. It made me so sad that my parents are in the situation they are in, that I can't do the basics with my mom like go shopping or have her pick up the phone when I need to talk. Or that my parents can't hop on a plane to come visit me.

But here is the beauty in all of it and why I am thankful today. My parents are amazingly wonderful people and they created me. All that I am. I am thankful for being here today and if it weren't for them... I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be who I am. I like to think I turned out pretty darn good. :-) I have learned so much from them and for that I am thankful. They taught me compassion - both of them have a heart of gold and would do anything they could to help someone. They taught me perseverance - they have stuck by each other through impossible odds. They taught me respect - I'll be darned if I didn't go say hello to an adult or someone that I knew or let someone finish what they were saying before I talked. They taught me integrity - if I said I was going to do something or commit to something, that was what I was going to do. They taught me love - I always knew I was loved and that they would be by me no matter what. They taught me about life and being there for each other when we fall. Dad always said, if Mom falls down, we all fall down. Still makes me smile.

Most of all and what I realize now is that all that stuff that wasn't "ideal" molded me into what I am today. And what I do know is that because of it I will make a difference in this world. A BIG difference all because of that not so "ideal" stuff. Again, what is "ideal"? I will be able to give back to people and show people that we don't have to be stuck in our pasts, that we don't have to look at where we are now as terrible. That we can break free from it! There is a reason for it all. We may not see it totally, but it is there. If we are not tested in this lifetime, how will we learn? How will we be better? How will we help others? And how will we leave this earth a better place?

While I still shed a tear here and there for my mom and dad, I have made a choice to be strong. Not just for me but for them too. After all they did teach me strength too!

So most of all... I am thankful for my Mom and Dad creating me and allowing me to be a part of their journey.

I love you both dearly!!! You are amazing!

Don't Worry, Be Happy

I can just hear the song in my head now while I picture Tom Cruise in Cocktail on the beach in Jamaica. It's a very catchy tune and at the same time so obvious and so profound. Seems so simple right?

I know for me personally this used to be one of those things people would say to me that would make my blood boil. I would sit there and think, "I don't want to be happy", "I am upset right now", "I have every right to feel how I feel", and on and on I would make up my justifications for why I was making myself miserable. Truth was, I was doing it to myself!

I look back on those times now and realize that anyone can free themselves from that way of thinking. If I can do it, trust me anyone can do it. I used to have people always tell me in some way or another, "you worry too much." Oh how that would get under my skin too. Now I find myself laughing in my heart when someone tells me not to worry because honestly that is not a word or way of being I know any longer.

There are many practices and methods that led me to this place in a rather short time period, and I will attribute them to the following:

1. Getting a Life Coach to hold me accountable

2. Practicing new ways of being (relaxed, free, joyful, charismatic. etc/)

3. Creating affirmations (Nothing is Wrong, Everything is PERFECT, I am carefree, etc)

4. DETERMINATION and Consistency

I will spare you from explaining again what life coaching is and isn't - please refer to my previous blog.

Now you may be asking yourself, what in the world does she mean by practicing new ways of being?? This is something that I learned from my coach and it had a profound impact on me and I love to share it with others now. It simply means you CHOOSE how you want to be to the world. If you are stressed, practice being relaxed. If you are anxious, practice being care free. If you are irritable, practice being loving or accepting. If you are sad, practice being joyful. You get the idea. We have the choice to choose how we will be. We may not FEEL that way at this moment but as the song goes, don't worry, be happy! You will find that before long your feelings will catch up with your way of being. It really works!

Creating affirmations. Affirmations are those things in our head that we tell ourselves and they in turn become our realities. Often times what we tell ourselves are negative things. Spend the next several days "watching" your thoughts and what you tell yourself. Then create affirmations that are the opposite. For example, if you tell yourself that you will never be good enough, create an affirmation that says "I am perfect just the way I am." If you tell yourself that you are boring, start telling yourself, "I am fun and charismatic!" It only takes 17 seconds for a thought to become your reality. Once you begin telling yourself positive affirmations over and over again all day long it will soon become your reality. You create a new TRUTH for yourself. Because the truth is all that other "stuff" is not the truth. You are PERFECT just how you are!!!

Last but not least... stick with it! Your ego will start telling you all kinds of things because it is being threatened and doesn't want you to feel good about yourself. By sticking with it and being determined, you will squash your ego and create that new reality for yourself. If I can do it... trust me, you can do it too!!

Who are you going to BE for the world? I am Love! Freedom! Power! for the world and for all of you.

Thank you for reading! I am thankful for each of you!

With Love! Freedom! Power!

Kat

So what is Life Coaching Anyways?

Hello Friends!

I am sure many of you have heard of Life/Career/Executive Coaching somewhere along the way. I am also sure many of you are asking yourselves, so what is this Life Coaching thing all about? Could I benefit from it?

Let me ask you this first; have you ever had a coach, music teacher, role model or a teacher growing up that you considered a mentor? What did this person do for you? Did they guide you in your interest? Challenge you? Push you to be your best? Maybe sometimes they even asked things of you that you just didn't believe that you could achieve. All the while the simple fact that they believed in you created a desire in you to be your best and before you knew it you were doing things you never thought possible.

Much like the above scenario, coaching is a partnership between the coach and the client where dreams, desires, and goals are objectively supported and challenged resulting in a positive, forward-moving experience for the client. Coaching provides a confidential judgment free atmosphere to explore your authenticity, restore your integrity, and live a more fulfilling life.

We all have goals we would like to achieve, right?

The beauty in coaching is that you have someone there to cheer you on, support you and challenge you in order to accomplish all your desires. A coach is not there telling you how they think YOU should live YOUR life. The best way I heard it put recently is that a coach is not paving the path for your life they are helping you to remove all the obstacles along the path to the life you desire.

Before you ask your next question, let me explain briefly how this all works.

As a coach I have come to a place in my life where I truly believe that where everyone is at in there lives is the perfect place, that they make the best decisions for them, and that they are simply perfect as they are. I also acknowledge that many of us have goals and dreams that we are striving towards. I believe that you are capable of anything you set out to accomplish. ANYTHING!

As a coach I will promise the following:

I ask the obvious questions. My intention is to understand my clients needs, values and feelings and for them to understand these as well. This helps to ensure you are having all your needs met.

I am honest with my clients and will tell them what I think is going on and will stretch them to do more than they would do on their own. Through powerful questioning many clients will come to those "ah ha" moments creating lasting shifts in their lives.

I will hold my clients accountable to their desires and support them in moving forward with these desires, no matter how scary or impossible it may seem. I will be there for my clients.

My overall intention is for my clients to be acknowledged, truly listened to and empowered to make the changes they desire in their life, changes that will create a more fulfilling life for them.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, have an interest in coaching or know anyone that is interested. I would love to hear how I can help support others in accomplishing their goals!

Kat@powerinfreedom.com

Thank you for reading!

Love. Power. Freedom

Kat

Just maybe our pets know something we don't..

"Be the person your pet thinks you are."

Interesting quote. Who do they think we are? Or do they KNOW who we are and they love us anyway? I have had countless conversations with friends/family about animals and some common things I hear are:

1. I hope I find someone that is excited to see me when I get home as my dog is!

2. Your pet loves you no matter what you do. You can yell at them, you can leave them for a long time, you can forget to feed them or walk them and they still LOVE YOU!

3. Why is my dog always SO happy? No matter what it seems...

4. How do they seem to know just what to do to make you smile when you are down in the dumps?

You get the idea. Our pets just looove us, they are just happy. They live in the moment where nothing is wrong, where nothing else matters.

This leads me into the question; why do our happy pets living in the moment seem so accepting and loving towards us just the way we are yet we spend most of our lives feeling judged by ourselves and others or judging others? How does judgment serve any of us? I know it sure doesn't feel good from whatever angle it is coming from.

Let's think over this for a moment. Why do we do it? Is it because we don't truly love ourselves and the things we judge others for are the things we don't like about ourselves?

Let the following really sit with you for a bit:

Nothing is wrong with anyone - including you. Everyone is simply perfect just the way they are. And the crazy thought is, that if you were them you would do EXACTLY the same thing. You would.

The things that others do are never about you. It's about them. It's a projection of their reality and their needs. Why take any of it personal? When you take it personal, you are making it about yourself. You aren't loving yourself.

My challenge for you is the next time you hear words like, should/shouldn't/should've, bad/good, right/wrong, better/worse, supposed to, in your head stop for a minute. Acknowledge these thoughts are there toward either yourself or others. Then make the conscious decision to choose acceptance of whatever the situation is and practice love & acceptance versus the terrible choice of judging.

Spend a day looking for ways to be more loving and accepting of yourself and others. Do this for you and the people that pass your paths each day.

Take the lessons from your pet and love others the way they love you. JUST THE WAY YOU ARE!

"Real magic in relationships means the absence of judgment of others." - Dr. Wayne Dyer

Thank you for your reading! And thank you for you!

Love. Freedom. Power

Freedom

This one simple word has such a profound meaning for all of us. I find immeasurable inspiration & strength from this word. Yet I ask why do so many of us live our lives bound to our past, our what should've beens, our betrayals and all the things in our lives that didn't quite go our way? Why do we choose slavery to our past over the freedom of now? We all have the choice to find the Power in Freedom! To see the beauty in every moment. To be FREE!

"One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon - instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today." - Dale Carnegie

Do you choose to enjoy the roses blooming outside of your window right this moment? Do you choose Freedom?