Nicola Walker Coaching

Reignite Your Joy, Align with Your Deepest Desires

acceptance

Why self compassion helps us to live our dream life

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Bench overlooking blue ocean with bright pink flowers

Recently, I had an interaction with another person that rattled me and left my nervous system feeling shaken. I calmed and centered myself afterwards but a shakiness and depressive feelings kept returning. I noticed that I had added another piece – feeling disappointed in myself for not recovering quicker. It seemed that my mind was gathering more reasons to feel sad. It was time for some self compassion.

There are parts of ourselves that don’t care so much about being powerful and managing our energy to achieve great things in the world.

These parts of us just want to feel safe and loved. Especially when our nervous system is jangled.

[Read more…] about Why self compassion helps us to live our dream life

How to Stop Beating Yourself Up for Taking So Long

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Sitting on the Fence“Finding and following your inner calling is different for everyone, so that’s why comparing yourself to others is just being cruel to yourself and so not the point.”

“I actually felt shame about having taken so long,” a client admitted the other day. “I’ve been sitting on the fence, but I couldn’t get clear enough to move forward with what’s been calling me.”

My heart was wide open feeling the pain of her shame. I immediately guided her to be gentle with herself, to help her see that the unfolding of her passionate purpose has been perfect, that there is always a larger picture where so many things you wouldn’t even think of need to happen before you can be ready to take those first steps.

“It’s different for everyone,” I said, “so that’s why comparing yourself to others is just being cruel to yourself and so not the point.”

The call of your heart speaks in whispers, nudges and yearnings. It evolves and takes shape with its own timing as you take the steps to meet it. Listen to your heart – it is showing you the way to live your purpose. You could feel drawn to write, to paint, to speak in front of groups, to travel, to interview people, to be part of the solution to a social or environmental issue, to invent something that you keep imagining and long to make real.

Whatever pulls you and speaks to you is an ingredient of your vision. It will either be part of the life that is perfect for your soul or will help you to get closer to following your inner calling.

The greatest advance you can make is to love yourself for being exactly where you are. [Read more…] about How to Stop Beating Yourself Up for Taking So Long

Thank Yourself for Being You

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Tip of the IcebergIt takes time to know who you truly are, especially if you want to lift the veils of superficial perception to peer below into the depths of your soul. Such a concept is daunting for some, and not such an obvious thing to do for many, as it’s easy to get swept up by the overall impression we have built up of ourselves over the years. Yet our own impressions of ourselves are often flawed by self-judgment and distorted memories.

Fortunately for myself, life saw me as a coconut that needed cracking open. I was chugging along, when all of a sudden the rug was pulled out from under me catapulting me into an intense transition that lasted several years. Forced to face my fears around my survival and the beliefs I held that were holding me back from blossoming, I found relief by dropping into the well of joy within myself that existed despite all my judgments and self-inflicted suffering.

There is a succulence deep within you that feeds you, like the store of water a cactus holds for the dry days.  [Read more…] about Thank Yourself for Being You