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The Hidden Gift of Burnout

by Emma Laurence

If you’ve ever left a job due to burnout, the last thing you want is to repeat the cycle of exhaustion and overwhelm. Whether you dive into a job search or join millions of new, hopeful entrepreneurs, you must do things differently.

Where to start?

Let’s take a moment to acknowledge an uncomfortable, yet freeing, fact. Burnout is not something done to us. We’re not its victims. We burn ourselves up from the inside out.

That’s good news! Because otherwise, we’re powerless. And we’ll miss the gift.

Beliefs Become Limitations

Like auto-pay, burnout is a repeated withdrawal from your energetic bank account. Every month, the charge appears, until you take charge.

One way to break free is to watch for beliefs lying just beneath your awareness. Thoughts that drive you without your conscious consent wreak havoc.

Consider a popular societal belief that the single most important value in life is measureable outer achievement. Prove that you’re existence-worthy through tangible results. Get a college degree, gain employment, manifest a family, or become famous, and you have value. In other words, you have to do something in order to be somebody.

What a powerful limitation on the value of an individual! What if the fact of your existence itself makes you worthy? Maybe you contribute to the world through your bright beingness or your quality of compassionate attention. Claiming your intrinsic value first may be what allows you to do great things.

A Hidden Gift Story

A client I’ll call Janice (not her real name) left a high-pressure job in academia when demands got unbearable. She’d burned out. Janice left without a plan, but knew her health had to come first.

Months later, she brought a push/collapse work habit with her into a new venture. Pushing through 10-12 hour days, she’d collapse right after dinner. Janice overwhelmed and depleted herself, again. How could this be when she was finally focused on work she loved?

Janice’s daily rhythm wasn’t honoring her top priority of vibrant health. This time, her excitement drove her too fast and hard. Adrenal exhaustion, insomnia, mental obsession, and hormone imbalances signaled a constant fight-or-flight pattern.

Janice addressed the long-term physical effects of burnout. Meanwhile, she replaced the old push/collapse rhythm with a steady, slower burning pace. We worked on micro-practices—small actions that built a solid support structure for her business’s foundation. Now, her dream is growing at a steady, sustainable rate while her health remains strong.

The gift of repeated burnout taught Janice how to balance her life in alignment with her primary values. She gained a new appreciation for the building blocks of successful structure.

Burnout’s Hidden Gift

Accepting shadowy beliefs is one way we forget who we are, drive ourselves to distraction, and burn ourselves up. We want to know we matter. So, we’ll push to keep pace with the world’s chaos rather than slow to our own natural cadence. If we fall asleep to burnout habits, our bodies and sanity pay the price.

So, this is burnout’s hidden gift—the rare opportunity to stop, and be absolutely sure we’re in alignment with our living truth as we grow and our priorities change.

Take the opportunity to free yourself from the inside out. Be grateful that life has shown you what’s not sustainable, so you can learn what is.

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If you need help sorting out a work or life transition, read more about Emma’s specialty, Millennial burnout.

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The F.O.G. Machine

by Emma Laurence

I first experienced a fog machine during a college performance of Camelot. This special effect apparatus sits in the wings and blows a chemical mist onto stage at the actors’ feet. Despite its artistic appeal, I can still feel the dry throat and smell the chemical odor of theatre fog.  A different kind of F.O.G.—Fear, Obligation, and Guilt—clouds our joy of living in much the same way. These feelings blow in during personal dramas that trigger our inner F.O.G. machine.

All the World’s a Stage

We’re all familiar with daily life triggers. A co-worker criticizes our performance on the team, a loved one disapproves of a choice we make, a social media comment questions our values. And, bam! Before we know it the machine has kicked in.

All our hours of yoga, meditation, or self-care go out the window. As if on cue, the mechanism powers up, sending clouds of fear, obligation, or guilt into our former sunny consciousness.

Personally, I’m well versed in the drama queen art form. As a kid, my mother used to tell me that I’d have to learn not to be so upset by my grandfather’s or my brother’s taunts. If you don’t react, she’d say, they’ll stop teasing you.  She was probably right, but hey at six years old, I had no skills to stop spontaneous tears.

The F.O.G. Machine Exercise

As an adult, though, I have several tools to release F.O.G. once I’ve been triggered. One technique is the creative use of visualization.  For example, the fog machine image came to me while navigating a fearful challenge. So, I decided to use the metaphor as a launch point for an inner creative exercise.

I sat down, closed my eyes, and calmed my heartbeat. As I entered the worlds of my imagination, I saw myself in the wings of a large performance space. Just ahead, a tall, emaciated man with wide eyes pushed hard and fast on a machine’s lever, spewing F.O.G. everywhere. I walked over and asked him what he was doing. His eyes filled with panic. This is my job, he said. I have to keep doing my job! It was as if his boss would torture him if the fog stopped flowing.

I wanted to stop the fog. But to do so meant letting go of the outcome, and choosing to be a compassionate presence for the machine’s operator.

After a time, I asked if he’d like some water. As if in a flash of awakening, he suddenly seemed to consider that maybe he, of himself, was not a machine. Silently and gradually, he slowed his pace. Eventually, he returned my gaze and nodded.

We walked to a nearby table set up with water, fresh fruit, and other snacks.  He took the smallest portions, but he did eat. As we talked, he revived a little, gaining some color in his cheeks.  I told him he no longer needed to run the machine, that I was the boss now, and I happily set him free.

Have you ever experienced how a scenario within your imagination can impact your breathing, blood pressure, muscle tension, and frame of mind? My body relaxed deeply as I came out of this exercise. I felt a sense of peace. I saw my problem in a completely new light, and I saw a simple solution.

Dismantle the Machine

What would your image be for the mechanical nature behind fear, obligation, or guilt? What if you used this to your advantage? Maybe you could slow the revved up engine, shift into a lower gear, or take over as computer programmer of your mind.

When we decide how much F.O.G. were willing to tolerate, we’re also free to clear out the rest. Fear, obligation, and guilt need not pollute our inner atmosphere. We can choose a different kind of mist to artfully beautify a dramatic moment. Or, we can compassionately dismantle the machine.

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Photo from miriamruthross.wordpress.com; Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away

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Please Don’t Share Your Genius

by Emma Laurence

In recent years, a personal growth wave has swept our country. It’s almost a mandate to discover and share your genius with the world. The assumption is that you have something you do better than anyone else, and that you must share this in order to be happy and successful. While this belief is a step up from treating humans as cogs in corporate machinery, is it really growth? I’d like to stand in a different viewpoint and say, please don’t share your genius.

Your Genius, Your Purpose

Akin to this popular directive of self-discovery and actualization is the challenge to live your purpose. Oh, my, what pressure! What if I can’t find my purpose? Do I have only one? And if I were to find this supposed purpose, how would I live it? How could I be sure I was living my purpose?

The path of purpose can produce a land mine of self-doubt. Within the wholeness of life, a single, narrow self-definition breeds a sense of failure. How many people do you know who’ve articulated their purpose in words? If you can’t, does this mean that you’re not giving to the world? Do you not have a right to exist if you don’t know and follow your bliss? Or are you destined to struggle, always seeking and never finding?

Yikes. I prefer the viewpoint articulated in the Disney movie Soul. In the Great Before, one of the teachers quips back to the lead character, oh you humans and your purposes. In fact, by the movie’s end we learn through the character of 22 that even your spark—your passion—isn’t your purpose. Gerry says:

A spark isn’t a soul’s purpose! Oh, you mentors and your passions. Your purposes, your meanings-of-life. So basic.

So what’s beyond genius and purpose?

Being Truly and Wisely You

I believe you can live a lifetime of service by being truly and wisely you—true to your own heart, values, and gifts. Maybe you don’t need to light the world on fire, or light your hair on fire, or solve some problem that no one’s been able to solve.

Maybe you don’t need to measure yourself or others by your impact on the world, another buzzword that’s become a determining factor in the value of a human life.

I’m not saying that high-level creativity, innovation, and action aren’t necessary and wonderful. In fact, this kind of limit pushing can move humanity forward. Consider, though, how many people it takes to support one genius of this nature.

Another Disney film, Encanto, tells the story of a family whose members each possess a magical gift, except the youngest, Mirabel. Mirabel faces vulnerability and self-doubt.  Yet, her lack of superpower, her normalcy, turns out to be more than valuable in serving her community.

Could all those helpers who live quiet lives outside the limelight have just as much ‘value and impact’ as those whose achievements lead to stardom?

A co-worker of mine started knitting just for enjoyment. At the time, all the cool knitters were writing blogs and knitting socks. Beautiful, intricate socks. So, she tried knitting socks, and she wasn’t any good at it. It took her a long time to realize she was doing herself harm by trying to fit the mold. Eventually, she decided it was perfectly OK to do what she enjoyed which was knitting scarves. She loves scarves! So, why shouldn’t she knit what she loves, just for joy?

I’d like to advocate here for a different way to perceive the full scope of contribution, and a new target to aim for that isn’t about genius, purpose, or impact.

A New Paradigm

The value of an individual cannot actually be measured in human terms. We simply don’t have the perceptive ability to see the myriad of ways in which one’s presence, let alone small acts done with great love, brings blessings and benefits to all. Maybe it’s best to stop obsessing about measuring impact and, focus instead on accepting and valuing today’s gifts.

In a sense, we’re all equal. We each have a creative imagination and the free will to use this tool as we choose. Some may manifest fine books or works of art, big businesses or vast scientific discoveries. Others may tend the raising and teaching of children, or give kindness every day to strangers as well as friends. Can we appreciate one another and ourselves as we offer what we can give today?

A new target might be simply to be and do the best we can. And cultivate gratitude for each contribution we witness. Simple gratitude keeps the gifts flowing. Wouldn’t it be a relief to recognize and relish life itself, in all its many forms? We can have a generous spirit without appraising our every move.

Please Don’t Share Your Genius

So, please, don’t jump on the bandwagon to find and share your genius unless you really want to. You may not have one genius waiting to be discovered; you may shine in many ways. It’s a trap to believe we’ve failed if we haven’t built our life on one so-called purpose. A wider viewpoint is far more inclusive of all life’s gifts. And maybe, there are times when just our beingness is enough. 

Let’s make up our own recipe for prosperity and tranquility. Whatever we enjoy, we can be it, and love it. And if sharing is necessary, it just may happen naturally.

Learn more about Coaching. Photo by Andrew George on Unsplash

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Pace Yourself for Fun

by Emma Laurence

I decided to learn to play pickleball, just for fun. I didn’t want more stress, competition, or striving for excellence in my life. I wanted to enjoy the sport, to pace myself for fun.

To start, I took a pickleball clinic at a nearby recreation center. It was tough! In the first session I got completely overwhelmed. Too much information = not a good time. I couldn’t filter through all the rules, strategies, and scoring. I just wanted to practice getting the ball over the net.

Maybe for the first time in my life, I didn’t care about being good immediately. I wanted to meet my fellow players. I was willing to learn by making mistakes.

Are We Having Fun Yet?

I almost didn’t go back. But I’d paid for the clinic, and I don’t like to give up. So, I went the second time. This time wasn’t as much overwhelming as it was shame inducing. We learned how to serve by cycling through a drill where one person served and the other returned the ball. The whole group watched. Oy. I tensed right up and couldn’t even get the ball into the court.

Then I really didn’t want to go back.

I was up most of the night before session #3. It’s one thing to have patience with becoming good; it’s another to be painfully bad.

The Courage To Have Fun

Then I remembered that I get self-centered in these types of situations, making it all about me. It’s not about me! I’m not the center of the universe. This class is not about me; it’s about all of us learning together, including the teacher.

Actually, the teacher seemed as nervous to be teaching as I was to be singled out. Maybe that’s why she gave us so much information all at once. Or, why she said she wouldn’t be able to learn our names.

Now, I’ve been in the field of education a long time, and it would’ve been easy for me to blame her for not coming across as caring, or not being good at organizing the curriculum. But maybe she was just insecure, like me.

So I made a choice to override shame, pull together all my courage, and go again—reminding myself of the goal to have fun. If people pitied me, or no one wanted to play with me, oh well. By asking specific questions, maybe I could even help her to teach me better.

That class was the breakthrough! I noticed two things:

Relinquishing my place as the center of the universe, I observed that others looked ridiculous at times, too. And I saw that we all make great shots as well as bad shots.

Sometimes, it’s the courage to show up once more that allows an experience to flip over to fun.

Stretch But Don’t Break

The next week, I stretched further by attending open pickleball for beginners. I played with someone new. I liked her. She was forgiving.

One member of the other team looked older. Turned out, she was 80, and a fierce player. At one point, she stopped the game to call us over. She explained why we need three types of serves. Three types?! I knew I needed to practice my serve, but yikes. As I stepped back into position, I laughed to my partner, yeah, I’m just trying to get it over the net. I overcame potential self-judgment with humor. Such a victory.

I’ve given up joy so often in my life. I’ve done it to be more skilled, to be a high achiever, to meet or exceed job expectations, to do what I thought others wanted, to be “the best,”— whatever. Doing so sacrificed my own center, my sovereignty, and my enjoyment of life.

Not any more. Now, I’m practicing the key—the same one I used as a teacher. In education, you learn to pace the student to stretch, but not break. When I (as the student) lose the wonder, mystery, or joy, then learning becomes drudgery.

Pacing Yourself for Fun

So I’ve decided to pace myself for fun. I practice this in my work, too. I want to sustain the joy.

If we need to learn, or to live, at a slower pace than world-spin, let’s do it! Choosing to align with our heartbeat rather than the collective pulse increases our delight, our sense of awe, and our gratitude.

If we choose to sacrifice fun, at least we can do so purposefully.  

I’ll understand if some players don’t want me as a pickleball partner. But, honestly, I’m going to get so much better by encouraging myself to enjoy the process, one shot at a time.

Note: Since writing this blog, I have improved quite a bit by taking my own advice. 😀

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Choosing My Own New Life

by Emma Laurence

Many losses during the last two years have had a surprising upside. They’ve given me the freedom and opportunity to choose my own new life. I don’t care much about normality. I’m discovering my own world, from the inside out.

Reclaiming the right to choose is my secret for living simply, joyfully, and sustainability.

I’m building a structure one habit and one choice at a time. I decide what gets my precious attention and what doesn’t. I decide what fills my days, and I watch carefully what fills my heart.

What Must Go in My Own New Life

What doesn’t make the cut in my new life is mainstream news media. Was that hard to give up? No, it was a relief.

Thankfully, my husband Bruce keeps up with world events for our household. He keeps me posted on the headlines.  

He finds inspiring stories to show me, such as “On the Road” with Steve Hartman—a CBS segment that’s been running for years. In fact, when it began, Steve and his crew would show up in Anytown, USA, open a phone book (what’s that?) and call a random person to ask if they could stop by. The team believed everyone had a story worth telling. As they talked with strangers, they uncovered that story.

Bruce also keeps track of documentaries I might appreciate, even if they’re a bit tough to watch, like the Naudet brothers’ film that followed Firehouse #1 on 9/11.

Social media is strictly limited. It’s not that I don’t care about others’ lives; it’s that the sheer volume is untenable and the interface scrambles my brain.

Old beliefs, and roles that I was certain were lifetime commitments, didn’t make the cut. Those were harder to surrender because without them, I questioned my identity.

Sometimes, these are difficult decisions. What stays or goes reflects new priorities.

What I Choose To Stay

I’ve noticed that what stays becomes increasingly more precious. The women in my family—sister, niece, and grandniece—are treasured. A few friendships I choose to nurture are deepening.

Creativity is dialed up! Singing again has made a huge difference in my ability to stay uplifted and joyful. Then, there’s writing, which both fuels and expresses my creative spark.

I’m focused more on welcoming new habits. A well-suited exercise routine is bringing physical strength. Pickleball has opened me to community that encourage playfulness over competition.

What stays has to align with fearless freedom, sustainability, or joy. Often, all of the above.

My New Habits and Practices

I’ve started to watch sunrises. They connect me with the earth and start my day with silent, often colorful, beauty.

I watch birds at the feeder. I watch my cat Zoey watch birds at the feeder.

I watch my reactions now, too. I take time to make decisions, and I try to be aware when other people’s thoughts or fears push me around.

I soak in the winter sunlight from our southern exposure windows, and open those windows for fresh air, even when the temperature is below zero.

I love seeing neighborhood dogs run in the snow.

I appreciate the simple kindnesses of strangers who bag my groceries or hold open a door to the rec center.

I’m ever grateful for my old Honda Civic that can still go another 100,000 miles.

I’ve given up self-punishment in favor of self-forgiveness, and worry in favor of curiosity.

I’m experiencing direct perception of a tangible, higher love that’s training me.

I’ve given up taking care of others when they haven’t even asked.

Finally, I’ve stopped behaving as if money is a God who requires the sacrifice of my health, wellbeing, and life force.

I’ve begun to cherish time with my husband in these days of simple living that roll through an evening, one into another.

I’ve found myself amazed at my existence—the wonder of being made of stardust, and the power of the body to heal itself.

Albert Einstein famously said, There are only two ways to live your life: one is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

In my own new life, I choose.


Portrait of Emma & Grandniece Natalie by Mary Ann Baxter

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We Are Stardust

by Emma Laurence

We are made out of stardust.
The iron in the hemoglobin molecules in the blood in your right hand
came from a star that blew up 8 billion years ago.
The iron in your left hand came from another star.

—Jill Tarter, American Astronomer and SETI Pioneer

Inspired by a YA novel I read that quoted famous astronomers, I began looking at a much larger view of my little life on earth.

Jill Tarter has been awarded two Exceptional Public Service medals from NASA, as well as the Women in Aerospace Lifetime Achievement Award. The bulk of her work is in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), which “uses the tools of astronomy to try to find evidence of someone else’s technology out there. Our own technologies are visible in interstellar distances and theirs might be as well.”

I love when concepts like ‘extraterrestrial technologies out there’ blow my mind. The fact that my molecules came from exploding stars billions of years ago puts today in a different context. It takes me out of my petty ego, the part that would believe it’s the center of the universe, if I let it.

I’d rather expand like an exploding star.

I feel such a sense of awe looking skyward. It’s a childlike wonder that comes from having no preconceptions or expectations.

I’ve had a powerful connection to the constellation Orion for as long as I can remember—as if it’s home. [My friend Larry Siegel’s song “Orion” captures this beautifully: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa_YTtryXXk]

I mean, doesn’t it seem like a miracle to you, that your body is actually stardust?

It’s all perspective. Rather than narrow my focus to human limitations or, worse yet, to socio-political dramas, I choose astronomical expansion.

Comfortable in the Universe

Once I got into space, I was feeling very comfortable in the universe.
I felt like I had a right to be anywhere in this universe, that I belonged here
as much as any speck of stardust, any comet, any planet.

—Mae Jemison, NASA Astronaut

Engineer, doctor, and NASA astronaut Mae Jemison became the first African American woman to travel in space in 1992. What an impressive biography, and she’s delightful: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/mae-jemison-i-wanted-to-go-into-space/

Dr. Jemison experienced belonging in space. I found this astonishing. When looking at something so vast, I tend to shrink in comparison.  Do you?

Now I wonder if I’d feel more comfortable in space than I do here on earth. Or if I’d experience the sense of home I feel when I gaze at Orion.

Before the Beginning of Time

We are made of stardust; our whole body consists of material
that has been here before the beginning of time.

—Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, Swiss-born Writer, Ufologist, TV Producer

Here we are again, with a concept the mind cannot possibly comprehend—before the beginning of time. We live under the influence of clock-time. We crave vacations or rare weekend days when we can ignore the passing of hours and the tasks we believe must be accomplished within them.

But beingness existed before man-made clocks. Before measured time was duration, as in how long the sun’s rays fell on the fields, or how long snow lingered in spring. The body’s aging process indicated duration.

Today, our sense of time strangles us when we allow it to dictate our actions. With limited awareness of our internal rhythm, and little alignment with the movement of heavenly bodies, human time often manufactures misery.

Hang in There!

Friend, you are a divine mingle-mangle of guts and stardust. So hang in there!
If doors opened for me, they can open for anyone.

—Frank Capra, Italian-Born Film Director

Frank Capra produced and directed the iconic film It’s A Wonderful Life. This holiday story, written by Philip Van Doren Stern (allegedly as a short story to include in his Christmas cards) explores the theme human suffering and emptiness, such that we no longer see ourselves as a wondrous part of an immense and beautiful universe.

Yet, as Capra suggests, the doors can open for anyone, anytime. And as the film suggests, we can see how deeply meaningful we are to the universe with a shift in perspective.

Shift Perspective Tonight

So, take a look at the sky tonight and remember that you’re living beyond a movie set. Be willing to be fully alive, to be amazed by your speck of stardust in an endless, expanding universe of heavenly bodies.

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Photo by NASA on NASA.Gov. This composite image contains X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the ROSAT telescope (purple), infrared data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope (orange), and optical data from the SuperCosmos Sky Survey (blue) made by the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope.

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Activate Your Highest Vision: The Cyclical Rhythm

by Emma Laurence

This blog is part three in the Activate Your Highest Vision series.

If you’re struggling with a strictly linear approach to activating your highest vision, you’ll be happy to hear it’s not the only one. Coaching Millennials taught me to recognize and identify other ways to build dreams. If you want to make it easier on yourself, let go of self-judgment and choose an approach that’s more in harmony with you. Could that be a cyclical rhythm? Let’s find out.

What is the Cyclical Rhythm?

While a linear approach is illustrated by a straight line—steps in sequence from where you are now to where you want to be—the cyclical rhythm is represented by a circle.  We use the cyclical rhythm to activate our vision when we set up repeated actions at frequency intervals. We’ve all done this without even thinking about why or how it works!

Have you ever felt compelled to set up a new, positive habit? What did you tell yourself? Maybe things like, I want to meditate every day; I need to exercise three times a week; I’ve got to do my accounting once a month; every year I want to reassess my goals. That’s a cyclical approach—it’s a circle, not a line. And if you were consistent in repeating actions over time, didn’t momentum take over?

The cyclical rhythm is like a wheel that spins and moves you forward, just like hopping on your bike takes you further than you could walk on your own. Your tires turn and gain traction. This rhythm is very effective for establishing healthy habits—and for taking you the distance in activating larger life goals.

A Cyclical Rhythm Success Story

A Millennial client whom I’ll call Jenny (not her real name) wanted to grow her passion for organic, sustainable farming into a business. She and her partner moved to a new home on a beautiful piece of land with plenty of open space to build large gardens. Jenny loved farmer’s markets, and she had a future vision of creating a retreat center for others to reconnect with nature and learn to grow their own organic food.

When Jenny came to coaching she said, I don’t know what’s the matter with me; I can’t even get the seeds in the ground. I was curious. What’s blocking this very bright, clearly intentioned, and fully capable woman from starting her garden?

Then, I remembered the cyclical rhythm. This individual is connected to nature, and nature cycles through seasons. I’ll bet if Jenny shifts to a cyclical rhythm, I thought, she’ll get unstuck, find her way forward, and gain momentum. This approach would re-align Jenny with her natural rhythm and honor her growth process.

I asked Jenny what she needed to do each month, starting in spring, to have a harvest in the fall.  Then, we further broke down what needed tending each week—like adding manure to enrich the soil, building a deer fence, or consulting a friend who’s an expert. Simultaneously, Jenny learned to tend herself with uplifting daily and weekly habits to sustain her energy and balance. Coaching check-ins supported her in maintaining these cycles long enough for the momentum to shift.

The cyclical pattern set Jenny’s wheels into motion. Her garden is flourishing now. She continues to activate her highest vision by tending herself and her garden at daily, weekly, and monthly intervals. Every small action is a seed that takes root and grows when given the proper conditions. 

Could the Cyclical Rhythm Work for Me?

How do you know if this approach will grow your business, your relationships, or your life’s dream, like Jenny grew her garden? 

While a linear model requires a clear vision, manageable steps, and persistence to succeed [see part 2 of this series for the linear approach], the cyclical rhythm has its own requirements. In this model, the desired vision also needs to be clear. But, rather than steps in a sequence, the cyclical rhythm requires you to identify smaller actions which, when repeated, will gain traction. And, the quality most needed for this style to work is consistency.

Coaching in the cyclical model helps you choose right actions. It supports discipline with kind accountability until the tipping point of momentum takes over. Support is often needed when that momentum kicks into gear and adjustments must be made quickly!

But, What If I’m In a Constant Spin Cycle?

We don’t all find our solution in the cyclical approach. You’ll know this model is not working if you feel like you’re stuck in a loop. You’re spinning your wheels, but getting nowhere. And, you seem to be facing the same issue or obstacle over and over again. That’s when you know it’s time for a change in addressing that particular area of your life.

Fortunately, there are other options! Keep reading the series to learn more about serpentine, figure eight, and universal approaches, which are increasingly innovative and creative. Ultimately, you want to move among these rhythms, to use what works for you in the moment, tailored to your current situation. That’s the freedom of living intentionally, sustainably, and joyfully.

Photo by Dhaya Eddine Bentaleb on Unsplash

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Activate Your Highest Vision: The Linear Model

by Emma Laurence

This blog is part two in the Activate Your Highest Vision series.

Activating your vision means you’re actively working on your dream this moment, this day. So, let’s explore ways to engage the dream-building process. We’ll start with the most familiar, the linear model.

In school, the linear model is really the only way we’re taught to reach our goals. The shape is a straight line, wherein sequential, actionable steps get you from point A to point B.  Everything from the scientific method, to algebraic equations, to foreign language syntax—even our educational system itself—is linear-based.

Now, actions in sequence can be effective for achieving goals IF you’re clear on your vision, you’ve broken down the correct steps into manageable tasks, and you’re persistent.

For example, let’s say you want to learn to play guitar. Buying, borrowing, or renting an instrument is a clear first step, followed by taking lessons or just playing around until you figure things out on your own. Eventually, if you keep showing up, you’ll learn to play. Nothing very new in this approach.

Activate Your Vision With a Linear Model

In coaching, the linear model can be used creatively, with an activation angle. Case in point, a colleague of mine coached a company’s sales team to increase revenue in a flat market. Patrick identified an energy decline on Friday afternoons and a slow ramp up to momentum Monday mornings as what needed addressing.

First, Patrick invented a way to activate a higher vision, with the slogan, “Fridays make your best Mondays.” On Friday morning, sales reps listed 10-15 local area prospects that would be a big win. Next, Patrick provided small steps towards an increased sales goal. Team members were to visit the premises of their prospect list on Friday afternoon to check out the landscape, the neighborhood, and the vibe. Then, all gathered back at the office for a pizza party to share insights.

By Monday, reps were poised to enter the building, greet the receptionist, and get the name of the person in charge of marketing. Other incremental steps built on one another. Enjoyable, actionable tasks in sequence moved the team towards the higher vision. [check out Patrick Kagan’s Sales Hindsights podcast for more on this story.]

Linear success comes from clear vision, manageable tasks, and persistence. 

In daily life, a linear approach works, too. Driving to a favorite restaurant, or following a recipe, requires the linear approach. The vital importance of sequence is made clear when you’re having surgery. You want your anesthesiologist to do his job before your surgeon does hers!

But, Is the Linear Model Working for Me?

An interviewer once asked me, how do you know if the linear model is working when you’re in the middle of a large project? He couldn’t always tell if he was making real progress towards his overall goal.

The linear path works best when you’re relaxed and enjoying a pace that’s sustainable—a healthy, happy rhythm that’s in alignment with you. In the success zone, you move fairly easily, though not without obstacles, from one step to the next. More importantly, incremental progress, growth, or expansion will move you forward and upwards, like steps in staircase. You’ll be able to measure the success rate of smaller steps in and of themselves—and, you’ll gain traction. Result? You get closer to the vision you imagined possible.

If the linear approach is not working, you’ll always feel that your goal remains in the distance. You’ll reach for something that’s ever receding. It’s the carrot dangle; the end does not come closer. And the more you do, the more needs to be done.

Clients who are unsuccessful with the linear model often say, I feel like I’m taking one step forward and two steps back. This language indicates to me that they’re trying to move in a straight line, and it’s not effective. 

Is It Possible I’m Not a Linear Person?

Yes! It’s very possible that a linear approach is not for you; and, it’s not the only one. When people, especially Millennials, show up at my door who have tried reaching a goal this way, they often tell me, in frustration, or even tears:

I can’t get there;

I can’t do this;

What’s wrong with me?;

I’m a failure;

Why can’t I do this?!

And I say, You’re not a failure. You just need a different approach. By working with many talented and spirited clients, I’ve been able to identify four other ways to activate your highest vision—cyclical, serpentine, figure eight, and universal. Each style is increasingly non-linear.

So, if you’re struggling in a linear world, please keep reading this blog series. Maybe you’re more creative than you think.

Photo by Ruffa Jane Reyes on Unsplash

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Activate Your Highest Vision, Part 1

by Emma Laurence

This is part one in a blog series on how to activate the highest vision of your life.

If the highest and best vision for your life (or your business) were to be fully realized now, what would it look like?

Watch how this question opens a door to the specific dream currently living in your imagination. Be brave. Enter this new room by letting yourself explore the sights, sounds, and feelings of your highest ideal or greatest passion, fully realized.

Now, you have full permission to be creative in this process. Write or paint your vision, sing or dance it. For creative people, even the sky isn’t a limit—and dreams do come true.

How dreams come true is the focus of this blog series. So, let’s begin.

If You Can Picture It, It’s Here Now

If you’re ready to enjoy the freedom and accept the responsibility of creating your own world, there’s a key principle to embody:

The present moment is the only one in which dreams are made or broken.

Similarly, fears are overcome or given into in this moment. Life is either fully lived or denied—one moment at a time.

So, how does this principle play out when activating your vision?

If you can picture what you’d love to create, it already exists now. If you can imagine the sights, sounds, and feelings, it’s already here. You might say, yeah, but it’s just in my imagination. True. And which, of all the inventions in human history, hasn’t first begun in someone’s imagination?

Therefore, holding the vision in this moment of what you believe possible means it already exists somewhere. Think of it as dwelling in a parallel universe, if you like. Or, in “the future,” if that helps. Don’t let the mind get too concerned about where or when. Just be willing to entertain the possibility that your vision is, relatively speaking, real.

How ‘Activate Your Highest Vision’ Works

The word activate is powerful. It involves action, here and now, that brings the power of potential into reality.

Let’s take a simple example. You go hiking with friends, and at the summit, you all lean in for a selfie. And you’re not surprised when, less than a second later, you’re looking at that same image on your screen.

The activation of a dream works the same way. It just takes more time.

For example, back up to when you first decide you want to go hiking. You have a vision of you, your dog, and a couple of friends piling into your Honda, heading out of town on Saturday morning. You can see the group hitting the trailhead, laughing as you walk up the path, stopping to snack at a waterfall, and enjoying an amazing landscape view at the top.

Wouldn’t that be fun? Yes! You can almost feel that joy right now.

While it may take days, and certain preparations, for you to have the hiking experience, you’ve actually set up the image in your mind in much the same way as you used your phone.

So, frame the shot, do the work—image realized.

What Form Does ‘Activate Your Highest Vision’ Take?

The real question most people bring to coaching when they want to activate their vision is, how will this take shape in my everyday life?

Honestly, by the time a client gets to me, the manifestation or how is already taking form. It’s happening! When you’re in transition, it’s difficult to get the overview. But, the beginnings of a new life are already present—or you wouldn’t even be seeking help to make a change.

So, what’s already showing up? And, how will your dream take form in daily life?

The rest of the blogs in this series will address the form of your journey. I’ve identified five different rhythms that you naturally use to activate your highest and best—without even realizing you’re doing it! These rhythms are like forms in motion.

Learning your natural rhythm is a huge gift! You get to relax. You recognize your own genius. And you gain confidence to bring your vision into physical reality, one action at a time.

So, keep reading! See if one of the rhythms—linear, cyclical, serpentine, figure 8, or universal—makes sense for you. You can stop “reaching to achieve” your goal. Instead, begin to activate your highest vision, now.

Photo by Peter Conlan on Unsplash

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Believe in Yourself

by Emma Laurence

Lucas Glover won on the PGA tour last weekend after a ten-year drought. When asked what it took to believe in himself for that long, he answered: I knew it was in there… I never lost site in believing I could do this and win again. Probably the most gratifying thing is I proved myself right… It’s always nice to prove yourself right when you truly believe in something.

Do You Truly Believe in Yourself?

Often, if we’re honest, we do truly believe in our own talents. We know there’s an ability inside us that could flourish, “if we only had the right outer conditions.”

We may blame our upbringing, society, the political climate, climate change, or any number of external factors for not being able to bring forward our best yet.

However, we also know that the responsibility lies with us for our success, in whatever way we might define the term.

We need to invite the right conditions! So, here are three tips to set yourself up for the long-term win and prove yourself right.

Tip #1: Stop Lying to Yourself

I have to be honest. A very high percentage of the clients and students I’ve worked with over the years sell themselves way short.

They struggle with bad habits such as focusing on all their faults, tearing themselves down as they’re learning, and being far too hard on themselves.

If you’re being too hard on yourself, you’re making life harder than it needs to be.

Negative thoughts like this are actually lies. Telling yourself you’re not good enough, you’re an idiot, or you’ll never be able to breakthrough is simply not true.

Training yourself to believe bad things erodes your self-esteem from underneath. It’s time to stop that. [For a related laugh, see the SNL sketch “Stop It.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow0lr63y4Mw]

Meanwhile, for heaven’s sake, don’t use un-accomplished things on your to-do list as weapons against yourself, “proving” you’re a failure.

Rather than running lies to yourself on repeat, put your attention on the truth. Write down a list of truths about yourself. What do you really know?

As an example, you’re smart, capable, and courageous. You have everything you need inside you to bring out your gift.  And if you just do your part, life will do the rest.

Tip #2: Create a Sustainable Micro-Practice

This is your part. Crafting an individualized practice to sustain you physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually is your creative job.

So, where do you start?

Make it a game to discover what one thing will boost your health, happiness, peace, and joy. In fact, start with identifying what brings you joy, and you’ll have fuel to move forward on the rest.

Look for a small, sustainable micro-practice in each area. You’re not bringing perfectionism or overachievement into this exercise. As my husband often reminds me, lower the bar.

Worried about adding activities into your already full schedule? One simple practice for your health, happiness, peace, and joy doesn’t have to add time. In fact, taking something away from your schedule, or swapping out, might be the right micro-practice for you.

For example, stop reading the news for more than a brief look at the headlines. Replacing that news media time with listening to an uplifting song every day can raise your spirits and set a happy groove.

Or, practice deeper breathing every time you answer an email. This slows your pace and even helps you communicate better.

Your personal joy habit may take more time investment, like that walk with your dog, or a weekend away. But, it might be as easy as buying yourself flowers from the grocery store, a trip you were going to make anyway.

Yes, you’ll expand to longer practices over time. But never underestimate the power of the micro-practice.

Tip #3: Have Absolute Patience

I once attended a talk by a spiritual teacher who offered four tips to smooth our way in life. He ended with what he said should have been first (but he put it last so the audience would remember).

Have absolute patience, he said, because you’re gonna need it.

I’ve remembered that tip—and the humor that came with it—many times since. While impatience makes life a lot harder, patience makes life easier. It’s that simple.

Most of our energy drain comes from being reactive to things we don’t like: a perceived slight from a friend, a choice our partner or boss makes that we really disagree with, or the injustices of the world.

We get frustrated, upset, even outraged. Our bodies, emotions, and thoughts balloon with inflammation. No wonder there are more kinds of inflammatory disease in the world than any other.

Instead, find what works for you to calm the flames. Quiet down. Only then can you see your way to a better response, if one is even necessary.

Prove Yourself Right

What gift is inside you that no one else yet knows about?

If the very best inside you is struggling to get out, or you want to upgrade your job, health, or relationships, set the goal of proving yourself right.

To prove yourself right, you don’t need to believe in yourself 100%. You only need to believe your desire or goal is possible.

Discover how the shift to telling yourself the truth strengthens you in the short term, and builds much-needed self-trust for the long term.

Watch how micro-practices build momentum, as they become a part of your routine and your character.

And the next time you find yourself waiting, enjoy it as an opportunity to develop absolute patience. Cause you’re gonna need it. 🙂

Are you in a life transition? Learn more about coaching here.
Photo by Katrina Wright on Unsplash

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