Return to Happy

To truly create something new, a clear space must exist in which to put it. 

Imagine overhauling your personal style without getting rid of the clothes in your closet that no longer fit your body or your personality.  Not a lot of physical or mental space to work with, and the "new" style would end up including remnants of the old stuff that doesn't align with the ideal vision.

So before you dive into another self-administered dose of New Year's resolutions, take the time to clear some space.  

1.  What in your life could you let go of?

2.  What are you ready to let go of?

3.  What will you let go of?

There are no wrong answers.  Letting go of a pair of jeans can be just as powerful as letting go of a habit of interrupting.   

Stretch yourself and continue to add to your list over the coming week.  My 2009 Release List included over 50 items last year. 

To get more support, join me for my first event of the year - a FREE CALL to help you make 2011 the year you move forward through your fears and create a life you LOVE.  

Register for the Telesummit here, where you will be granted access to my call and 7 other calls led by purpose-driven women who are experts in their respective fields.  (Many of the calls are geared toward women entrepreneurs, but my content is not.)

And if you can't make the live call, no problem!  You receive access to recordings of ALL the calls to listen to when convenient for you!

 I will be offering a BONUS to listeners that you won't want to miss.  Hope you can make it! 

ENJOY YOUR TRANSITION TO 2011 -
A NEW YEAR FOR AN EVOLVED YOU!


 

Whether you see your family once a year or once a week, this time of year tends to be based in pattern and ritual.  Some of these routines may excite you, while others may evoke sighs and groans.

Here are some questions to ponder if you want to experiment with creating a new experience this year:

What do you expect to happen?  (Your uncle will tell his stale, inappropriate jokes, your sister in-law will make that face again, your frustration scale will tip just in time to finish off the egg nog...)

What do you hope happens?  (Your poker face is perfect as you exclaim how much you love your gifts, your parents actually do love the gift you gave them, everyone enjoys the special time together...)

What do you hope doesn't happen?  (You receive an ugly sweater two sizes too small, you eat and drink yourself into an apathetic stupor, your daughter blurts out some embarrassing testament to your parenting...)

As you ponder, be aware that all your responses are rooted in the past.  And all are possible scenarios.  

In fact, they are probable scenarios because we subconsciously support the environment within which the events will occur.  It is natural for us to expect the future to repeat the past because the past is all we know.

So how do we stop repeating the past?  Ask yourself: 

What is a new way I could be to inspire a new environment?

For example, you could be "loving" and "accepting."  This might mean loving and accepting others as they are without trying to change them, or allowing them to be different than they have been in the past.  It also might mean loving and accepting yourself as you are, and being okay with your thoughts, feelings, and emotions related to your family.

As your way of being shifts, your actions will align with this way of being without you having to think about it. 

In this way, we can CHOOSE our experiences!  Imagine the possibilities...

Let me know what comes up for you.  What experiment will you take on in the coming days?

Above all, enjoy each moment - with the love and courage to be who you want to be and allow others to be who they want to be. 

Happy Holidays! 

After 2800 miles in the car, never would I have guessed it would be difficult to exit the vehicle (even if Cherry Bop is the coolest car around).

Lots of reflecting time in the car... I share my most recent fears and pose a question for all of us to ponder.  Please excuse the background wind noise.

Wow, leaving Durham was tough.  The emotional pain of saying goodbye to my newfound family of support combined with the mental and physical stress of the moving process pushed me to new limits. 

Last night, though, I enjoyed my first solid night of sleep in weeks and am filled with new energy and excitement for what lies ahead.  (What does lie ahead, anyways?  If you have a clue, let me know.)

Happy to be sharing my journey with you!
Love, Kate

This past September I left my marriage.  The choice was neither hasty nor easy.  My husband is a remarkable man and I love him deeply.  Yet, I believe being authentically happy within the context of our marriage was not possible for either of us.

Since moving out of our apartment in July, I have slept in 33 different places across four different states.  This nomadic lifestyle was not planned; it just sort of happened that way.

It probably goes without saying that these past months overflowed with intense and opposing emotions, deeply insightful connections, and hit-me-over-the-head realizations.  Never could I have envisioned the sheer quantity and massive value of the lessons that awaited me.  And I have no doubt the gifts will keep on coming my way as I continue to step forward.

During the 33-stop odyssey, my husband and our dog moved out-of-state.  I recently returned to the living space we once shared.  Talk about surreal.  It took a few weeks of staring blankly at the half-stripped walls before any speck of normalcy entered my world.

While recognizing there is plenty of healing left to be done, I feel equipped to begin creating the next phase of my life.  Under the premise that sharing with others is fundamental to creating experience, I want to share my intentions with you.

Looking toward tomorrow while embodying these passions today, I am:

My mission remains the same: To support women to be authentically happy through creating work they love.

As I gained clarity around these intentions while allowing the experiences from the past months to absorb, something magical began to surface.  I promise to disclose what I am creating as the creation occurs, but for now, the general idea is this...

Over the next five months, I am compiling a team and creating a project with global reach that aligns my passion-based intentions with my mission.  Many of the current key players and structures reside on the West Coast.

Never being one to turn down another odyssey, I am packing my car and driving to Santa Monica, CA this week, where I plan to live at least until we launch this never-done-before venture.  And hopefully I will be able to share my journey west with you in real-time, via videos and blogging.

To my much-loved private clients - our work together these past few months has been a key source of strength and inspiration.  And fear not - our partnership will not be adversely affected.  To the contrary, as you might have guessed, you should prepare to kick it up another notch.  You are doing such amazing things, being such amazing creatures of creation, and there is no way in hell I am letting you do anything but continue moving forward!!  :)

You know those times when nothing seems to be working out as planned, but in hindsight, the upheaval in your schedule provided opportunities that never would have existed otherwise?

This past Friday was one of those serendipitous days for me.

A personal teacher/mentor kind-of-friend cancelled our 6 o'clock dinner plans at 5:57.  I attempted to mask my annoyance, trying to ignore the fact that I had turned down a more enticing invitation in order to keep this dinner commitment.  "Stuck" with nothing to do, I found myself roaming around the grocery store, gathering the building blocks for my dinner.

Long story short, a fellow shopper and I struck up casual conversation.  My evening veered in a totally unexpected direction as a result.  In a matter of minutes, I was surrounded by a group of welcoming, creative, and supportive strangers. 

What I had thought was going to be an intense one-on-one personal growth experience with my teacher transformed into a super-fun, unpredictable fiesta of new friends.

And here's the magical part...

Ultimately, the outcome of my revised evening was indeed an intense personal growth experience - presented to me in a form I never could have imagined. 

A simple insight struck me on Monday: The teachers surfaced quickly from within that group of new faces.  Was it because I had been expecting to be taught that night and therefore was open to it?  

Anyone can be my teacher... if I let them.  Suddenly, I find myself surrounded by teachers, but most had no way of impacting me because I had not been open to it.  I thought I knew what the teacher-student model was supposed to look like - and boy, have I been missing out!

Others make observations about me I never could; the value of truly hearing these observations is immeasurable.  Because I allowed myself to listen instead of talk, to understand instead of seek to be understood - for just a matter of moments - my life now has new energy and possibility.

Today, seek to be taught.  Experiment with the idea that every single being with whom you come into contact has something to teach you.  And tonight, take a moment to reflect on what you learned... and share with us!

Happy growing to all of us!