Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the United States.
It’s one of my favorite holidays.
There’s something about gathering in my childhood home by the roaring fire with the smell of oven-baked goodness filling the air and watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade that makes the world and everything in it just seem right.
Thanksgiving is a day of gratitude -- for thanks and giving -- and I want to honor YOU in this moment and thank you for being here with me.
Thank you for all you do, all that you are right now and for your big dreams that lie in wait.
Thank you for opening your mind and heart to me.
Thank you for letting me be a part of your day.
You are magnificent, and it is my honor and privilege to have YOU in my life.
Thank you.
Today, I give thanks for you.
Wherever you are in the world, I invite you to stop for a moment and join me in giving thanks for the good things in your life right now.
There is always something to be thankful for. Always. No matter what.
Did you ever have an ah-ha moment so profound that it felt like your hold world was suddenly snapped into focus?
As if before you were looking at the world through foggy goggles, and now suddenly you have perfect, 20-20 vision?
That's what happened to me when I was challenged in a training by a Success Coach to define my money rules. At first, I thought to myself, I don't really have money rules.
But then, as I sat with that question, my rules began to float to the surface...
I'm bad with money.You can't afford that.I don't like thinking about money and finances.
It's hard to make money.
It's challenging to find clients that are willing to pay.
This will never be successful.
We ALL have rules for ourselves -- rules for our personal lives, businesses, relationships, health, spirituality, and even our personality. I could never do/say/accomplish that!
Our "rules" are the stories that we tell ourselves over and over and over again. The things we condition ourselves to believe and therefore act out and expect in our lives.
Some of these rules are conscious. Many are unconscious.
But, here's the kicker that'll bust your world wide open with possibilities.
YOU define your rules.
Throughout our lives, we gather these rules from parents, family, friends, school, society. And, I have no doubt that many of the rules you have in place for yourself serve you well. I'm guessing you have a certain standard of health and happiness that you've come to expect in your life, and since you're able to be here with me now, things are all-around pretty good.
But, I also know that if you're here with me, you're desiring something bigger, better and more profound from this one life you've got. You want to change, not only your own life, but the lives of others. You want to make a lasting mark, leave the world better than you found it and enjoy a life of success and abundance.
If your dream life is still just that, a dream. Something needs changing...and it starts with your RULES.
We honor our rules, live by them, play them out every day. For better or worse, they create our lives. So, why not define your rules in a way that starts drawing more of what you do want into your life?
We say that we're "stuck in a rut" for a reason. We're trapped in a deep groove we've cut into our subconscious through the constant repetition of a limiting rule!
So, if you want to escape that groove and get out of your rut, you have to fill it in with new rules, new ways of thinking and moving through the world.
At first it might feel like a lie or a joke, but as you redefine your rules and repeat them to yourself, they'll become your new norm. You'll start acting, thinking and speaking in accordance with your NEW rules, and your life will take shape around them.
Today, I challenge you to rewrite your rules!
STEP 1 - Define an area of your life where you're longing for change. An area where you feel stuck.
STEP 2 - Write down your current rules. The limiting story lines and beliefs that are keeping you stuck.
STEP 3 - Write down your NEW rules. (It often helps to create your new rules in direct opposition of your previous rules. For example, if you've been saying "I'll never lose these 10 pounds because I hate working out", create a new rule such as "I feel fitter and lighter every day because I LOVE moving my body!".)
STEP 4 - Repeat them DAILY! Write them on post-it notes and put them around your home, use them as bookmarks, phone backgrounds and journal about them. Surround yourself with your new rules. Start LIVING them every day. Make them your new norm.
This works. It takes time, but it works. I promise.
If you're ready to stop living small from a place of fear, worry and lack and start claiming the life your desire and deserve, this is where to start. Redefine your rules so they're in alignment with where you want to go, and you'll be setting yourself on course to get there!
i woke up this morning to an email i wasn't expecting -- friends announcing their separation.
these friends, were not just friends, but mentors, teachers and role models.
the news rocked my world momentarily. i respect them both individually and also profoundly respected them as a couple.
it was like a hit in the gut.
even though we hadn't been in touch much lately, i "kept up" with them on social media and through the grapevine of shared connections. needless to say it came as a sad shock to me to hear that their marriage is ending.
simultaneously, it also made me immensely grateful for my own solid, happy, healthy relationship with my adoring husband and the bond that has grown even deeper since becoming parents to our daughter.
this news reminded me, once again, of the impermanence of everything. that no matter how much something may seem like a "given", it is not. and that we shouldn't take anything for granted.
no matter where you are in your life -- happy, healthy, single, married, divorced, starting a biz, growing a business, frustrated, changing directions, struggling, flourishing -- it won't be like that forever. everything is changing and whether you're loving or not liking where you are in your life right now, one thing is for sure...it will inevitably change.
when something arrives in your life that shakes your world -- i encourage you to move through these steps i've outlined in this week's teaching to make the most of the lesson being presented to you.
have you ever experienced a world-shaking moment that jolts you back to reality & makes you take stock of your life?
