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Transform Your Mindset: Reignite Joy, Live Your Dream

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Losing Heart? Five Ways to Find Your Heart Again

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Feeling sad, overwhelmed or discouraged? Or, maybe just not as bright as you know you could be? Sometimes we can feel worn down by a situation and lose all sense of perspective.

Here are five simple ways to start opening up your heart again so you can benefit from its wisdom and love. The wisdom of the heart is always available to you, though hard to hear when your heart feels closed. Spending time with someone you love and can communicate deeply with is also wonderful, but there are times when this may not be an option.

  1. Take some time out – go for a walk, look for beauty, things to appreciate, breathe, enjoy exerting your body and notice the difference between before your walk and after. If you prefer to run, make sure you observe and appreciate your surroundings so your attention is outside of yourself and your preoccupations.
  2. Lie down and have a rest. Your breath will find its own rhythms again and you’ll find your mind will let go of cycling around the same themes and leave space for a more balanced state of being. [Read more…] about Losing Heart? Five Ways to Find Your Heart Again

You Are the Source of Your Joy

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WaterfallMost of us have days, hours, or for some, extended periods of time when we feel burdened by life. Peering out from the weight of problems or just feeling plain pissy, we lose our bright, joyful self that is miraculously burden-free, watching our inner sparkle become a mere misty memory at best.

I’ve chosen to dedicate myself to my inner sparkle, to keeping my joy alive. I think it needs dedication because life never ceases to shower us with its gifts, then rock our boat. Part of the challenge of life, is that it is very easy to lose our joy.

How well do you know your joy?

Has your joy drowned in a sea of responsibilities, a swamp of seriousness, or is it tangled up in a thicket of gnarly obstacles?

Think of your joy like a mountain spring that continually sources fresh, sparkling clear water. You simply have to locate the spring again, each time you move away from it.

One simple way to get closer to your joy again that works for me is to be willing to drop everything, all my concerns, desires, worries and frustrations to simply be in the present moment. You become an empty vessel. It’s like clicking the “refresh” button on your computer.

How do you do this? [Read more…] about You Are the Source of Your Joy

Want to Feel More Joy in Your Life?

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mountain springThis summer I received some wonderful guidance from the wisdom in my heart. It all began when I was driving one day and I heard whisper #1: “Go to Mount Shasta.” Mount Shasta is a beautiful sacred mountain in Northern California, which I’ve visited before, the last time six years ago. This unexpected idea felt so right. I really felt like being in the mountains and I particularly love this area. Miraculously, once I got clear about what I really wanted in terms of accommodation, a friend suddenly told me that she knew someone up there who could offer me a room at a very reasonable price. This sounded perfect, and from then on my plans all fell into place, just like they do when you’re really meant to do something.

I had a mission for my trip. I wanted to receive guidance on my coaching business. There was something I knew I needed to realize, a special focus for me to articulate. So one day, hiking up on the mountain I stopped for lunch under the shade of some old fir trees and my inner voice spontaneously started to speak, very softly. I seized the moment and asked, what is the one the most important thing for me to achieve in the rest of my life? Then I received whisper #2 as the word Joy formed itself in front of my eyes. Then the words floated up in my consciousness, “Find your joy, then help others to find theirs.” I smiled. This was my purpose. I felt an affirmative glow of warmth that filled my being.

Finding your joy is not a one-shot deal. The ability to feel joy in your life, no matter what your circumstances, is a choice. It’s a commitment to your soul, to shining your light, because then you can love your life without having to get somewhere first. When you focus more on the getting there, whatever dreams you’re chasing, and less on the being here you start to lose your center of peace, joy and inner wisdom.

Once you’re aware of what it takes for you to find balance, then you can keep adjusting the steps you are taking to live your dream life and create cool new changes with whatever it takes for you to feel the joy of being alive, of being you, of having the rich, ever-unfolding life you have.

Joy for me is enjoying simple pleasures, catching myself when I start complaining or feel irritable to find out what I really want, and doing what I love even if I can only do it some of the time. Honor your dreams and take steps towards them, yet loosen the intensity of your desire when it stops you from loving life as it is right this moment.

For you to reflect on: How frequently do you feel joyful? What do you do to find your joy when you lose it? Do you have any beliefs that limit the amount of joy you think you can experience in your life?

Feel free to share the results of your reflections either by commenting to this post on my blog or sending me an email – Nicola[at]nicolawalkercoaching.com.

Fast Track to Happiness – Engage Your Inner Wisdom Daily

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When fear is operating in you whether you realize it or not, it’s hard for your inner wisdom to communicate with you. That’s partly because the last place you look when you’re gripped with fear is to your inner wisdom.

Fear sabotages your dreams, your passion and your creativity. Procrastination, perfectionism, self-doubt, overwhelm and low self-worth are all forms of self-sabotage. You know those times when you go rigid inside or start hitting those hugely frustrating inner walls. There you are again, despite your best intentions.

I’ve met all these forms of self-sabotage intimately within my own self, especially in developing my business and with my creative projects. The greatest breakthrough I made was when I learned how to keep going deeper inside to connect with my inner wisdom for help.

We all have inner wisdom, the part of us that knows what to do, the steps to take to reach the destiny that’s deep down in our heart.

It actually is an enlightening and load-off-your-shoulders practice to turn to your inner wisdom for guidance throughout your day.

For example, if you find yourself facing a wall, your inner wisdom will show you the way through it.

When you face your own inner walls, the blocks you typically face that make you grit your teeth and growl, sending any chance of inner happiness hurtling to the other side of the planet, you’ll notice your mind wants to keep you spiraling to greater depths of hopelessness and despair.

It’s a great discipline to be able to say STOP!!!

Once you’ve achieved the stopping, you are all set for the relief you’ll get from some guidance from your inner wisdom.

The best place to look for your inner wisdom is in your heart. You can converse with your inner wisdom like you would a person.

All you have to do is listen for the whispers, trust and follow the guidance. But once you decide to trust you inner wisdom’s guidance, you have to take the leap!

Nicola Walker is an Inner Wisdom Coach and Self Expression Mentor. She works with creatively-minded people in big transitions to transform fears, low confidence and procrastination so they can go for their dreams. She coaches them to find their truth; to turn to their inner wisdom for help so they can live their passion and be happier in their lives.


 

Are You Falling into the Comparing Yourself to Others Trap?

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SpiralSometimes I don’t even know I’m doing it. I think I’m just exhibiting a healthy curiosity. Yet, there’s a fine line between being aware of and learning from what others are doing professionally, and falling into the trap of comparing yourself to them.

When you compare yourself to others, wishing you had what they have, then you find yourself hurtling into a downward spiral of false and inaccurate thinking. You fall into the trap of belittling what you’re all about and what makes you unique.

Recognizing and embracing what’s unique about you requires quality time and attention! It took me a long while, and I’m still learning. But I experienced a huge shift when I started spending as much time being fascinated in experiencing what I was all about deep down, as being fascinated by others.

Do you want to live your passion and find your unique self expression? It takes the patience to listen deeply to what you’re all about. Comparing yourself to others, or feeling inadequate is actually a habitual thinking pattern, caused by low self worth.

A key requirement for finding and living your passion is to be vigilant about where your mind is wandering, so you can find your truth, rather than respond to life from limited thinking. You can recognize your truth, because it feels good, whereas inaccurate thinking pulls you down and makes you feel small. You want to feel as strong and vibrant as possible, so you have more access to your inner guidance.

Catch yourself each time you say, I’m not….. The next time you say, “I’m not……………………(like xxx)”, move on to say next, “I am…………….(whatever you are).” And take a few moments to let what you are sink in and feel grateful for the way you are.