Re-defining my coaching business, creating a new website, writing a book, running my Mind-Body Coach Training, and being the Life Coach Training Coordinator for Martha Beck, Inc is kind of a lot. In fact, as I write that list, I realize I haven’t actually considered how much is going on in my work life. I might need a nap now.

Here’s the small problem with following your passion: it’s easy to fill your passion plate until it resembles a Thanksgiving feast. I am so in love with what I do that I am constantly getting new ideas. I literally have enough ideas right now to fill the next five years. I have audio/video courses I want to make, more books I want to write, classes I want to give, trainings I want to run…and on and on.

I even get ideas for other people. I am an idea factory. And when I get an idea, I make it a reality. So you can expect that after my book is done, I’ll be whipping up that first audio/video course, just for you! (Need an idea? I’m sure I can whip one up for you!)

You would think that I’d be slightly crazy, overworked, and exhausted from doing all the things I’m doing. And yes, I do get tired. (But it’s a good tired. A satisfying, carpe-diem-happened-today tired.) Overall, though, I feel a constant sense of inspiration. I feel joy. I feel alive.

It’s kind of like falling in love every day.

So what’s the key to my sanity? A little thing called Turtle Steps. I learned them from Martha Beck when I first took Life Coach Training. Turtle Steps are tiny, teeny-weeny, ridiculously easy steps toward a goal. To create a Turtle Step, you look at your end goal, break up the steps toward achieving it, and then cut them in half. Then cut them in half again. Keep cutting them in half until they are so easy that you could do them in your sleep. Then, you start with the first easy Turtle Step.  Follow that with the next one. And the next. It might be just one Turtle Step per day, but you keep on trekking. Lo and behold – you accomplish your vision.

In my previous life, I did not use Turtle Steps. I focused on Scaling Mountains in a Single Bound as my primary action mode. Needless to say, that worked so well that I ended up flat on my back, in chronic pain, endlessly overwhelmed by the constant pressure I put on myself.

So in this moment, I’d just like to say congrats to myself for actually changing this mode of action. Learning to do Turtle Steps was a major achievement for me. I really thought that Scaling Mountains was better. Faster. More reliable. Until I realized Scaling Mountains was killing me. And that I often had trouble completing a goal because the mountain just seemed so darn big.

The truth is, I can get way more done by using Turtle Steps. Though tiny, they are so do-able. They accumulate quickly. Before you know it, there you are, at the finish line!

In creating my new website, I decided I wanted to write a free ebook for anyone who dropped by to visit. Then, being me, I decided a short little ebook wasn’t going to do it. I wanted the book to be jam-packed with helpful information. So the little ebook grew and grew. Until I realized it was actually a book-book. In the end, I essentially found myself with several mountains worth of writing projects – writing the copy for the new site, writing the book, writing the audio/video course I’m working on, and writing scripts for videos I wanted to create.

Yet, in just a few short months, it’s all nearly done. The videos have been shot. The website copy is done. The book is in final editing mode. Looking back, I can hardly believe it’s all happened so quickly. I owe it to Turtle Steps.

So, if you are feeling overwhelmed today, take a moment to break up your to-do’s into ridiculously easy pieces. (And don’t cheat on this step! Really make the Turtle Steps EASY!) Do one. Check it off. Feel a sense of accomplishment. Congratulate yourself. Repeat. You’ll be amazed at how much faster things get done even as you feel so much less overwhelmed. Stop Scaling Mountains. Your body will thank you, your mind will feel rested, and your soul will sing.

And…stay tuned. The new website and book are coming soon!

When I started applying mind-body concepts to my life in order to relieve pain, I discovered that my body tells me, quite clearly, when to say yes and no. It tells me exactly how to decide on everything, from personal life choices to business decisions. If I don’t say no to things that aren’t right for me, my body starts saying no to me. That’s what isn’t fun or comfortable.

Ignoring my body’s opinion about my life choices landed me into whopping amounts of physical pain, emotional distress, and mental frustration. Learning to listen to my body’s opinion taught me the way out of that mess.

That’s where most of my clients are right now – starting to learn how to listen to their bodies. If you’re working on that, too, this post is for you! Your body is the conduit for soul wisdom. You take in so much more information than you really know, day in and day out, and I see your soul as a vast being giving you wise and loving directives based on all of this information. You, in your body, are just one small element of who you really are. You, as a whole, are a soul.

In Celtic spiritual traditions (which I adore, so you’ll see me write about them a lot!), the soul is seen as much bigger than the body. Yet, the body is vital in allowing you to bring your soul-self into this physical existence, giving you timeless wisdom, information about what is truly right for you, and helping you carry out your life purpose.

So, when your body says yes or no to something, it’s really telling you what your oh-so-wise soul knows. This is some seriously powerful knowledge. Follow that soul wisdom wherever you go, and you’ll be astonished at what you can accomplish, from your own health to creating a joy-filled life in general. It sounds a little crazy or over the top, maybe, but as a person who is living it, I have to tell you that it’s real.

My life is so good right now that I don’t even know how to describe it to you. I look back to where I used to be, when I wasn’t listening to my body or myself at all, and I hardly recognize that person. Who was she? She wasn’t the real me. Now, I am fully me. Sure, I have frustrations or struggles, but I stay me throughout them. I know how to wade through the muddy stuff without getting lost or losing myself. This means I return to joy, to peace, to health, to calm, to love, over and over again. This means my dreams really do come true. This means I get to do my life, my way, and feel free.

Since this boundary thing can be a little frustrating to learn sometimes, this fall I’ve teamed up with Koelle Simpson, fellow coach and master of teaching boundaries. (Technically, she claims she doesn’t teach anything, because the horses she uses throughout her workshops do all the real teaching.) Koelle and I created the Energize Your Life Workshop to help you regain energy and YOU by setting healthy boundaries. It’s been filling up fast, so we are planning another one for March. (Stay tuned for that one!) If you need to connect with your body, learn how to listen to it, and practice setting clear and healthy boundaries, then these workshops are designed just for you!

I’m not kidding.  As a coach, I really get to see these women.  They very graciously allow me into their worlds, tell me their thoughts and emotions, and share who they are with me.  As a result, I am awestruck by their inner beauty.  I see how much they shine, from the inside out.  Most of the time, I only hear their voice and never meet them in person.  And yet – it is so easy to see how incredible they are.

It makes me think, week after week, about something unusual.  I start to wonder what it would be like if everyone could really see how amazing they are.  What if everyone knew, in their hearts, that they are an awesome human being, valuable, whole, and magnificent, right now?

All these women I’ve worked with believe they need to change something about themselves before they can be proud of who they are.  They think they need to lose weight, be smarter, have it together, find an amazing career, stop feeling sad, get well, be better at something, be more fit, less afraid…the list goes on and on.  These women think they need to fix something about themselves before they can feel okay about who they are.

The funny thing is, the more they try to fix themselves, the less they share their unique selves with the world.  They hide the very best parts of themselves and try to be something that’s just a pale imitation of the real deal.  I get it, because I’ve certainly done it, too.  Which is why I know it doesn’t lead to valuing one’s self.

I believe that everything about these women is awesome.  All of their emotions, moods, thoughts, achievements, non-achievements, mistakes, successes, hairstyles, body sizes, etc.  Every little thing that makes up who they are in this moment is what makes them so unique, so amazing, and so – them.  Yet, here they are, trying so hard to fix themselves up.   Here they are, not looking at their very own awesomeness.  All they can see is where they need improvement.

Coaching isn’t about fixing yourself.  It’s about seeing yourself.  It’s about letting go of all that pressure to be different than who you really are, right now.  It’s about relaxing and saying, “I’m mad/sad/afraid/happy right now.”  It’s about delving into the mystery of who you are, discovering more fascinating nuggets each day.

So what I’d really like to know is this:  What do you see, about yourself, that you can celebrate today? It doesn’t have to be anything fancy.  I’m celebrating that I can admit to myself just how terrified I am of the mouse in my kitchen.  Instead of thinking I should be braver, I am allowing myself to be who I am right now – woman who is afraid of tiny little mouse.  I’m celebrating that I rarely try to do anything perfectly anymore, and as a result, I have more fun and success than ever before.  I’m celebrating that I am getting more and more real with myself about my own emotions, and I’m making delightful discoveries about myself as a result.

How are you awesome? I really want to know your answer.  I see it in you – in the emails you write to me, the coaching sessions you have with me – but do you?  It’s time to decide that you can see your own awesomeness.  It’s not egotistical or wrong or bad.  In fact, it’s the number one most healing thing you can do, hands down, for your mind, body, and spirit.  Your spirit already knows how awesome you are.  So when you start to see it, too, watch out.  You will be unstoppable.  You will be you.  You will be so much more than this “fixed up” version of yourself you’re trying to be.

I can’t wait!