Goodbye 2013

2013 you have been a very FULL year. Wow. I am so grateful. (Words are probably insufficient but I’m going to give it a shot anyway.)

I feel like I have grown so much this year – and not just in size. 🙂 A lot of that can be attributed to re-discovering the highs and lows of risk-taking. I manifested new opportunities based on what I truly want and let go of what was no longer serving me – even if it was a bit scary at first. I lightened the load and released myself from unnecessary burdens. Then I made room for something else – someONE else. And boy did the universe deliver.  (That’s a neat trick by the way. Can’t wait to see if it works again!)

I know that over the last few months, in particular, there have been some growing pains and trade offs. At times that has felt suffocating but then I just take a couple of deep breaths and pull the curtains open on my heart and mind just to let more LIGHT in.

This year, I am so thankful for:

• Growth in my marriage and partnership. When you set out to build a life with someone you love and adore, you pray that you both will be in sync and grow in tandem as the years pass. This year, we have had so much growth individually and I feel it has given us the strength to usher in growth together in 2014. This reality has given me so much more confidence and joy as we embark on our journey into parenthood.
• All of my girls. Winnie joined our family early this year and completely changed (for the better) our little pack. Khailee grew into this amazing big sister dog with a peacefulness I so admire. (Teach me, Zen Master!) Bear, our human daughter-to-be, is already such a gift. Our life together is an embarrassment of riches.
• My family – especially my parents, brother, uncles and aunts. These people are my rocks. They offer everything and ask for nothing.  Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
• The wonderful clients and colleagues who see value in the work I do, the experience I have acquired and the contributions I have yet to make.
• The courage and support to take risks in my 6-year-old business and begin my reinvention tour. (More on that in 2014!)
• The overwhelming, awe-inspiring generosity of new and old friends, family members and on occasion, complete strangers (that’s a shout out to my birth club group!). I am moved by the love and light sent to me from every corner of the world.
• The good health with which I have been blessed throughout my pregnancy. I have a healthy body and (with the exception of some hormone-induced breaks) a sound mind. I intend for this to continue into 2014 so that I can calmly and safely bring my baby girl into the world.

Goodbye 2013.

Looking forward to sharing more in 2014 as my Year of Abundance unfolds. Wishing you and yours a Happy New Year!

Dear October.

Dear October.

You are already my most productive month and we’re only 9 days in! Thanks for being rad.

Every year you bring me pumpkins, chrysanthemums and the sweetest apples.  With you, I always get to share my gratitude, wear sweaters and boots, kick up leaves, breathe in cool crisp air, and give handfuls of candy to strangely-dressed children.

This time October feels especially full. Maybe that is because I decided not to wait for opportunity to knock and instead, once again, make my own magic. (It’s happening daily!) Or that fullness could be the expansion of my waistline as my baby bump grows. Either way, it is good and exactly as it should be.

You always come through for me. I feel particularly blessed that you have held the space for me to attract generous people into my life at this moment of both incredible strength and vulnerability. I promise that your gift of 31 days will go to good use.

Forever yours,

Kristle

how to transform the daily grind into the daily groove

Some people call it the daily grind. But I’m all about the daily groove. I figured this was the perfect thing to post today as a way to metaphorically dust the cobwebs off of this blog.

Let’s start at the beginning…I run a coaching and consulting business with a social mission. I work 7 days a week but I choose to start and end my day by LIVING. About 70% of the work I do is virtual which means that my home is my office, board room, lunch room and castle.

This is how I got my groove.

Fuel up. I find it impossible to do anything well without a good meal. I try to take a clean and balanced approach to food. I love my coffee (decaf, these days) and treats but the bulk of my day is filled with whole fruits, lots of veggies, nuts, vegetarian protein sources and yummy grains like quinoa and spelt bread. I find a little bit goes a long way in fueling my brain and body.

Check-in with your Zen Master. My most important meeting of the day is always a morning check-in with my personal Zen Master. Her name is Khailee and she is a 2 year old all-black shih tzu. She has a very soulful, all-knowing energy about her and that’s all I need to set my day right.

Be insatiable. I am always working toward goals and priorities. Everyday I put together a list of priorities and action items from my workplan for myself both in biz, health and life. As much as I love checking things off my list, I love knowing that I have more to work toward tomorrow.

Pick your moments of genius. You probably already know the optimal conditions for your own productivity and genius. Maybe you are a very early morning person who likes to get it all done quietly while the rest of world is still asleep. Or maybe you hit your creative peak after the kids are in bed or catch a second wind just after your 4:30pm yoga class. For me, I am oddly most productive during very specific periods of the day. For example, on weekdays between 8 and 11am, then again in the late afternoon/early evening between 3 and 7:30pm. But I really rock out on weekends – especially Sundays.  As a result, I can transform myself into a conduit for creativity and innovation at the right times.  (Psst RescueTime can offer some intel for those who haven’t yet found their most productive moments.)

Set boundaries. For me the most empowering word in the English language is “no”. I have learned through painful trial and error that sometimes you have to say “no” to others in order to say “yes” to yourself. So I am very conscious of setting boundaries on myself and my time. Trust me, the anxiety or discomfort that comes with having to say “no” is insignificant compared to the burden you will feel in biting off more than you can chew.

Forget multi-tasking. I used to be the poster child for the multi-tasking generation. I recently stepped down because my brain was too full that I was no longer able to juggle so many ideas. I have resisted the urge to open yet another tab in the browser of my mind. Try it.

Take a confidence vitamin. A positive pick-me-up or break from those hum drum feelings could be what you need. Writer extraordinaire, Alexandra Franzen has a whole whack of confidence vitamins to get your groove on.

Ditch the Debbie attitude. Have you become a Debbie Downer? Negative thinking is an act of volition. Business guru, Marie Forleo suggests giving yourself a spiritual smackdown. I did this recently and it worked wonders.

Contact the complaints department. Little hiccups in life happen every day and they can really get under my skin. About half the time, I forget about them pretty quickly. The other half of the time, I feel the need to state my case to the universe. I’m a big externalizer so in order for me to move on and be able to re-focus on the important stuff, I need an outlet. Usually a quick conversation that lets me get my frustration off my chest is sufficient. I have my go-to people for different types of annoyances. Once its shared, the complaints department is closed. Let it go and move on.

Breathe in. Fresh air can do wonders for productivity. It is a mood enhancer. The other day I opened the outside door of my sunroom along with all of the windows and let that beautiful breeze free flow as I got down to business.

Create your daily soundtrack. When you don’t want quiet, I think it is good to be mindful of the “noise” you have around you. I like music. A lot. I have playlists for everything: my mile run, commute via transit, weekend house cleaning, cooking, different types of work, road trips, etc… Here’s a favourite playlist to get you started.

Carry a personal totem. There are days that I know will require a superhero level of energy, grace and patience. And on those days especially, I carry with me a personal totem like this. That totem changes but usually there is some kind of symbolic or sentimental value attached to it.  Whatever it is, there is something about being accessorized in love that helps me to take on the world.

Show gratitude and love. There are 3 amazing creatures, without whom, I would be significantly less groovy: my husband and my two dogs. But truthfully, there are so many people I engage with on a daily basis that add so much value to my work and life. Collaborators, friends, clients, family, and team members are part of a larger community for which I am grateful. The trick is not just acknowledging that but spreading the word.

These are just some of the many things that I do to transform the daily grind into my daily groove. I am curious to know: what works for you?

P.S. Want more? I’m doing a little #dayinthelife series of photos on Instagram today. Follow me: @kristlect

 

Gratitude as attitude

 (Scrabble Tile Pendant from Gratitude Jewelry)

Saturday morning I made some Tanzanian coffee and devoured a juicy honeycrisp apple and headed off to meet Jen for yoga. I had been looking forward to this time for weeks. Not only because I was craving the warmth and renewal that comes from a hot yoga class but also because I am so grateful for moments with friends.

Upon arrival – and prior to the class – Jen and I excitedly chatted and caught up on life. We weren’t talking too loudly (our collective enthusiasm can often cause the decibels to climb) but nonetheless got scolded by our soon-to-be yoga instructor. We rolled with it and just continued with our smiles and happy talk. We were just thrilled as ever to be TOGETHER. Now that is all that really should ever matter but on this particular day we were both to be challenged in that assumption.

We tip-toed our way into the yoga studio and got ready for a 90 minute workout for our minds and bodies. In most yoga classes, the instructor starts class off with a welcome and a brief note about “intention”. Then we launch into a series of standing poses and it continues from there. This is what I have come to know. On this particular day, I attended a class by an instructor with whom I had no familiarity.  I can’t say whether it was his teaching style or the special holiday weekend but what followed was a 15 minute diatribe on how the purpose of yoga is not to get a tight butt (his words) but rather it is “meditation”. He stepped further up on his soap box and “shoulded” around talking about how we “should” be grateful as members of a tiny, privileged percentage of the world who can waltz into a yoga class on a Saturday morning. (Jen respectfully disagreed with this statement – both as someone who practices yoga but also someone who has travelled to parts of the world in which yoga is arguably a traditional and spiritual practice .)

I enjoy hearing what people have to say about many topics including yoga but not in a class in which etiquette requires that I do not talk and thus am subjected to a lecture  for which I have not signed up. I felt horribly trapped – forced to listen to someone imposing their belief system on me but without the ability to contribute to a dialogue around it. I had no voice and it started to make me feel uncomfortable – to the point where I wanted to leave the room. Instead, I used my best skills to tune out his voice so that I could hear my own. And then finally the instruction began. I have never been so GRATEFUL.

But our troubles didn’t end there. Both Jen and I got chastised for not having proper ALIGNMENT. I was attempting dancer’s pose – one of my favourites. It really tests my balance, core and hips. The yoga instructor came up to me and said, “Your thigh isn’t parallel to the floor so you shouldn’t be bending forward.” What the heck does that mean? My thigh is NEVER parallel to the floor unless I am laying flat on it (which I wasn’t)! My yoga practice is NOT about achieving perfect alignment or a state of nirvana. Neither of which I was ever going to reach in this particular class. At one point, I was certain he was going to start grading everyone’s poses. I was terribly distracted to say the least.

So what’s the point here? I have two things to say about this experience.

1. I enjoy yoga. I attend classes because there is something powerful about the synchronicity of 40 people moving and breathing in unison. I love the warmth of hot yoga studios – it heats me up from my head to my toes. I like the experience of challenging myself – physically and mentally. And yes I do love the fact that I can get a tighter butt and flatter tummy but also stronger legs and healthier heart. Yoga, for me, is also about the positive teacher-student relationship that can result from a philosophy of FUN (yes people FUN!). My instructors have generally been encouraging and positive (with calming “radio” voices) and that empowers me to continue. 
2. I believe that gratitude cannot be derived from guilt or sermon – like most things, by the way. It comes from within and it really is more of an attitude than anything else. No one can truly influence or convince you to be grateful. You either are or you aren’t. We all have moments when we take for granted who we have in our lives or what we are to the world. It’s part of being human. And the potential to recognize our shortcomings and re-adjust is equally human. Gratitude as attitude – is how I like to think about it. This is my perspective and I am clear not to impose it on others. What is your take on gratitude? You may have an alternate perspective and perhaps in this difference is the potential for meaningful dialogue. At least, that is my hope.

On this thanksgiving weekend, I have many blessings to count. Among these are my inspiring family, my loving fiance, my courageous friends, my constant breath and my full heart. I also thank you for reading and sharing your insights and thoughts with me over these 200 or so posts. I greatly value them. 

Wishes for a warm and happy thanksgiving!