blog

Update

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 04:29:45 +0100

For those of you following my blog you know that I have been in school for the past 18 months to get my official life coaching certification. I am almost finished with my classes and supervision and will sit for exams soon.
I realize I have not been writing and keeping up with my newsletters, but something had to go for a few months. Never fear, I will be resuming my newsletter as well as my weekly blogs in September. Also, be on the lookout for some changes on the horizon. I am in the process of creating a new business name, but will continue to keep "Growing Happiness" as my blog.
As always, if you or someone you know is interested in pursuing their goals and finally removing the obstacle that keeps getting in the way, send me an email at lori.growinghappiness@gmail.com or call me at 719-210-1437.

Peace & Gratitude

40 miles for 40 years!

Thu, 31 May 2012 04:46:07 +0100

While still on the topic of change I thought I would share something that will require significant change on my part. My sister, Angela, will be turning 40 in slightly less that 2 years. All she wants for her 40th birthday is to run/walk 40 miles with her friends. Lucky for her, there happens to be a 24 hour endurance race on her birthday and she believes that not just she, but we, can complete 40 miles during that time.

I have agreed. ( I do believe she waited to ask me after I had drank half of my sangria. I am just saying that if I were to back out that any sane person would understand that I was practically coereced into agreeing under those circumstances).

As I was saying, I have agreed and it will take a significant amount of running to prepare for this endeavor. This does mean change, because as of right now...I am not running. I can run. I do run. I could even churn out 5 miles right now if I had to, but 40? Nope, it's going to take some serious change. See week 1 schedule below:
Day 1 Find treadmill under clothes
Day 2 Enter stats into treadmill
Day 3 Clean up workout room
Day 4 Oil the treadmill
Day 5 Print out motivational quotes
Day 6 Rest
Day 7 Rest

Okay, so I am still in the contemplation stage and only thinking about the preparation stage, but I will get there, one step at a time. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Transformation is Hard!

Thu, 31 May 2012 04:28:16 +0100

So, apparently transformation is going to be more difficult than I realized...

While on my 2 day get-away, workshop, journey toward change or whatever you want to call it I decided to buy myself something. The idea was to buy something that would be a constant reminder of the things I wanted to change.
I decided on a ring. Not just any ring. It had to be big, bold and I knew I would know it when I saw it. Thirty minutes into my shopping (in one store), I still had not found the one. I admit, I was ready to settle when the beautiful 70 year old with long hair and piercing blue eyes said, "wait just a minute, I think I may have the perfect ring!" This is the moment where I know I should get out quick because it is going to be perfect and it's going to come with a price tag to match!

Yes, it was beautiful and it fit perfectly. The price was a little more than I had hope to spend on my transformation, but it was worth it, because it was everything I wanted. It was big, bold, beautiful and it spoke to me!

That was Sunday night.

A mere 48 hours into my transformation I came to realize that the ring not only spoke to me, but to my dog!!!

Since I had arrived home on Sunday evening, my one year old Golden Retriever, Samson, had been very intrigued by my ring. He watched my hand, eyed it lovingly and every so often lunged for it.

On Tuesday evening, my kitchen sink was clogged. In order to fix it, I took my rings off and set them on the counter. After fixing the sink I moved my transformation ring to the back of the counter away from the sink and did some more chores around the house. While working in the kitchen my dog jumped and put his front paws on the counter. Thinking he was after the brownies, I told him to get down and ran him out of the house. About 20 minutes later I went outside and realized Samson was chewing on something and it was clanging around in his mouth. As I approached he stood up and out dropped my RING! To say I was devasted would be an understatement. I wanted to kill the dog!

At that moment, I felt anger and overwhelming sadness, but more than anything I felt how difficult change was going to be.

My ring is currently at the jewelers and I am speaking to my dog again.

When I do get my ring back it will be the reminder that I hoped it would be and more. Sometimes, in life, just like with my ring, we have to be taken apart before we can be put back together. We will both have scars from the journey, but who said transformation was going to be easy?

Super Charged for Change!

Thu, 31 May 2012 03:41:51 +0100

Nothing super charges your desire and excitement for change like a weekend workshop on acceptance and wholehearted living.
Last weekend I went away for a 2-day event with Brene Brown. She is a researcher, author, speaker, blogger,storyteller and one of the most sarcastic , honest women I have ever met. Her work speaks to me in such a way that I had to keep reminding myself that she is not my friend, she does not live in my neighborhood and we are not in carpool together! I have read both of her books and own her curriculum (which I will begin facilitating soon) and I recommend them to almost all of my clients at some point.
In her book, The Gifts of Imperfection, she discusses Guideposts for living a wholehearted life. These are just the things I was looking for, but didn't realize it until she told us at the workshop. They are all about making changes in our lives, but at the same time embracing who we are!
Isn't that what we all want; to be who we are, to be our best selves without apology and at the same time be moving in a positive direction?
I am super charged and ready for change!

Coaching for Change

Thu, 31 May 2012 03:13:22 +0100

I have been coached every week for about 15 months by my peers on everything from exercising more, working on my business and creating plans for studying.
Three weeks ago, I was coached for the first time by a professionally certified coach(PCC) who has been working for years as an executive coach. I have no words, except, "he kicked my butt!" I wanted to discuss a plan to work on my business. He pounded me with question after question until I stopped working at the surface and dug in a little deeper. I told him what I wanted to get out of our session and he was not going to stop until I found the answers. While on the phone with him I found myself becoming anxious and eager to be done with our conversation.
I worked through the 30 minutes and walked away with a plan for the next week. It was only after I hung up that I really began to think and the real work of change began.
My reluctance to work on my business was about time, but it was also about something much deeper. It was about me and my own self worth. How could I create a thriving business when I still had concerns about what I had to offer?
It was time to dig deep, hire my own coach and begin my own change process.

Vision Boards Complete

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 18:26:47 +0100

Okay, so I have been working hard on my intentions while creating my vision boards. I LOVE THEM! I did four small ones; one for each category that I chose to work on this year.

I started by deciding on my goals for the year. Then, I went through magazines and cut things out that represented that particular goal. I was not able to find a photo or words to represent each goal, so I wrote them out on paper. I cannot tell you how exciting it was to write these things down. To know that these visions will come to fruition because I am being intentional and I am going to look at them everyday and work at some aspect of it is somehow freeing. I believe when you put something out there for the world to see you have let go of the doubt. You are now accountable to the world. Maybe that should sound intimidating, but it's not.
Believe me when I tell you there were some items that were not easy to put on the board, but once I wrote it down I thought, why not? Why can't I have these things? Why can't I do these things? No reason, other than my own self-limiting fears!

So, my fellow Happiness Growers, get going on your vision boards and post them on my website or on my facebook page! I can' wait to see them.

Next month: Where are you in the process of making change in your life? If we are going to accomplish these goals we need to start working together to move forward one step at a time.

Peace & Gratitude,
Lori

Motivation

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:06:43 +0100

Working the Vision!

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 23:42:33 +0100

After realizing how powerful visualization can be, I have decided to take my time with my vision board. I am being very intentional with each item. I have added words, pictures and quotes so far. I want each item to represent a goal that I plan to manifest through visualization and hard work. Obviously, I am not going to get buff abs by just visualizing them!

For those of you creating a vision board with me, please share your progress on my FB page! Remember, pick a time frame and work backward from there. I have chosen one year goals for this vision board. So, everything I add to my board, I intend to have come to fruition by next May!

Next week, I will share coaching tips on how to make your dreams and goals REALITY. I will be walking beside you on this journey, so if you need accountability, let me know!

Peace & Gratitude,
Lori

A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.” ― John Lennon

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 03:54:03 +0100

It's Working!

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 02:42:36 +0100

Last night when I was writing about my goals I stated that I would go on a spiritual retreat this year. When I wrote it I had absolutely nothing in mind. I almost removed it from my list as I wasn't sure I would do it. However, it came to my mind as something I would like to do and removing it would not be stepping outside my box or dreaming big. It would be contradictory to the vision board altogether. I wanted to do it and I was keeping it on my list!
Fourteen hours after I wrote it as my goal I received a phone call asking if I would like to go on a retreat in May! Immediately, I thought about my vision board. I haven't even made the board, but stating my goals as a fact has already made a difference.
So, if you had any doubt about whether doing a vision board was worth it, I hope you will step outside the box and dream big with me this month!