What If Words Could Change Your Life?

What if words could change your life? 

You’d be all in, would you not?

Well, here’s the deal. Words can change your life.

And you’re saying a sh*t-ton of words to yourself on the daily, oftentimes without even realizing it.

See our thoughts are made up of words. What we feel comes from what we think about—again, words.

And what we end up doing in our life, feeling each day we live, and experiencing every moment, is in direct correlation to yep, you guessed it, the words we think, speak and lean into.

So, what words are you saying? 

What words are you thinking? 

What words are you feeling?

What words does that critical voice in your head whisper (or shout) to you on repeat?

You know that voice, 99.9% of us have it, and it’s that negative, broken-ass-record that never shuts up.

Until now . . .

Silencing all those words and discovering a way to say, hear, and listen for empowering words—well, that’s what I’m all about.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—Words Are My SuperPower. 

Period. Mic-drop.

And my words shift lives.

In fact, in learning just how powerful my words are, I was able to change my entire life—from award-winning Ms. Perfect . . .

Feeling broken,
always searching for me,
running from myself.

(Ah, yeah, that’s a good one, no?)

Often depressed—
overwhelmed,
swimming in overthinking,
over-analyzing every-little-thing,
obsessed with getting it right . . .

(God forbid, failure is me!)

To discovering a place of BEingness, peace, JOY and ease.

And it’s absolutely f-ing delicious.

It is my work, my dharma, and my honor to share this message with you . . . 

Three ways words changed all for me and will for you when you’re ready to go all in. 

ONE: The Most Profound Three Little Words

After reading a very small book that took me less than two hours to consume, I was hooked. 

The premise was simple. 

Three little words changed this author’s life, and those words I knew but forever reserved for others with a slight external shift on the last. 

I love myself.

I was so good at saying I love you, but myself? Hell to the no. And I didn’t realize just how much I didn’t until I began this daily practice. 

I love myself. On repeat in my head, over and over and over again. 

When a thought would come in . . .

I love myself. 

When my mood would dip . . .  

I love myself.

When I brushed my teeth. 

I love myself.

But the point, to keep this short and sweet, is that I love myself began to replace all other thoughts in my head. 

I love myself became the reply to all the negative sh*t rattling around inside me. Those thoughts, stories, beliefs that were robbing me of the very thing I wanted. 

A life I loved
A body I loved
A man I loved
A work I loved

Love. Full stop.

Imagine if you woke up each day and simply felt love in your heart. Not for the one laying beside you–

okay, for them too.

Not just for the fur baby possibly curled up nearby . . .

But you felt it for you, boo.

Deeply, completely, utterly true love of you.

It took time for me to believe I love myself but when I did, it was like a new technicolor life. 

And that is delicious. 

TWO: Start Up Empowered

We’ve all heard it and thought, yeah. But do you embody it? The it in question is gratitude. 

When I learned to start each day empowered with not a single thought of gratitude but a constant stream that touched on as many areas of my life as possible, my inner dialogue changed and my outer world became a delicious reflection of that change. 

I am grateful for (fill in the blank over and over again)
as you take a beat
to breathe,
to smile,
to stretch,
to grant yourself that first (step one)
I love myself moment.

I am grateful for the tropical air I breathe in.
So I do. Deeply.

I am grateful for a new day
to serve, to impact, to play, to feel JOY.
So I focus on all that.

It is a choice to start your day at a run. It is a choice to start your day in JOY. 

I choose to start JOYfully slow. 

To focus on how I want to feel each and every moment of the next 24-hours. 

As I move about and do those things that start my day, I give thanks and sink into thoughts of gratitude for

My feet on the cool tiles
My hair as I run a brush through it
My shapely thighs as I give them a good scrub. 

I no longer point out that which does not appeal to me. But focus on all that works to support me. 

Like my feet on the shower floor, my face upturned to the steaming shower. 

The hot water I get to enJOY in this moment. 

And my thoughts continue as I focus on starting my day with a healthy dose of self-care, self-love and self-empowerment talk deeply rooted in gratitude. 

I am grateful that I am limber enough to make my bed. 

I am grateful for the water that nourishes my body and soul with each sip from the full glass I down before anything else. 

I am filled with gratitude for the stirring sounds of my baby goats, those endearing Maahs, that yes, can get loud . . .

And then I focus instead on being oh-so thankful for noise,
the crowing rooster,
the chicks looking for their cracked corn. 

I sink into a moment taking in the glory of a rising sun over the still ocean waters. 

And I am grateful for what is to come. 

A productive day—
A lazy day of rest. 

I am grateful for the persistence, the habitual way of showing up, as that is what makes my life easily enJOYable. 

What would be possible if you added a touch of gratitude each morning for a week? 

Hmm, I betcha everything.

Which leads me to the last important word-moment of my day, outside of writing 2,500 words to start my morn. 

THREE. Indulge in the 15-Minute But...Box

No, I’m not talking squats nor glutes. I’m talking those buts followed by worry thoughts. 

That silent-night voice in your head
shooting your ideas,
your self-love,
you
down, down, down. 

That nagging habit of saying things like

But we don’t have the money.

But what if it doesn't work out?

But how will I know?

But what’s the next step?

And on and on we can go. 

If you feel me, can I get an amen?! 

What has allowed me to tap into so much JOY is to But-Box my worry with a timer. 

When I started this practice, I gave myself 15-minutes a day. Now I give myself 15-minutes when I notice that but conversations, what if thoughts, the oh-no feelings creep back in to steal my JOYful peace.

I no longer need 15-minutes a day to But-Box worry and that is a delicious thing. 

But if you’re anything like how I used to be, worry was a standard practice, as easy as walking ten feet. 

It was my normal go-to, so of course it took time to let it go. 

But I ziplock that time into a But-Box moment so my new habit of I love myself on constant repeat could begin. 

And drown out all those other disempowering thoughts. 

When I did this with ferocious intention I noticed how much easier gratitude came, how much lighter I felt, how much more energy I suddenly had. 

I realized the profound fact that my worry-wart ways of thinking, speaking, acting were heavy 

weighing me down
keeping me stuck
spinning
failing again and again and again. 

Now when I fail, which I do often, I learn from it. 

I give it no heavy-meaningful weight. But that’s a convo for another post, is it not? 

For now, dive into these three easy to implement ways of showing up for you and your life will radically change in this most delicious new year. 

If you found these words helpful share, them now with another then leave a comment below with your biggest take away. You never know who may be impacted when you do.

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This is the year to live deliciously.
Want more JOY? It’s so there for you.
Dive into a Clarity Call and access it today.

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Post Photo Credit: Andreas Fickl @afafa

Give Yourself Permission To Do That Thing . . .Whatever it is

Imagine for a moment you stopped asking for permission to do that thing, whatever it is . . .

From starting a business, 
being in a relationship, 
leaving a marriage, 
having a child, 
not having a child, 
quitting a job,

Changing your major, 
(gasp) saying bye-bye-bye to college
before you earn the degree.

Dating that guy . . . 
that girl.

Not dating anyone.
Taking time for you.

I have an ask of you, if you’re willing to play.

Who are you wanting permission from right now to live your life?

Most people seem to do it.
Wait.

For.
Permission.

To live.

And so many of us fail to see the trap till we hit our (head meet desk) 40s. 

So, who is it you seek to please? 

Mom and Dad?
A partner?
A boss?

Some guru who knows all the things?
Knows what’s best for you?

Can anybody but you ever truly fit that bill?

It should be laughable
to think another could fully know you
better than you do. 

But sadly, for most, that is simply not the case.

In fact, if you’re anything like I once was, you run from that very thought. 

Getting to know you.
Spending time with the one who matters most. 

Me, myself and I. 

So let’s dish on this way so many of us, women especially, show up in life. 

A way we’re taught in the classroom,
maybe even in the home. 

Because if this is you,
this right here could be your secret wakeup call,  

to well—you. 

To living your life, for you. 

Finally. 

Are you secretly waiting for the
I Grant Thee Rights To Live Your Life faerie 

To wave her delightful wand and deem you worthy—

enough?

It’s so ingrained to look around for
the teachers,
the adult,
the well-meaning someone . . .

for permission to live our own flipping lives. 

From simple decisions—What do you crave for dinner?

To the hard core asks— 

What do I even want?
What’s my purpose?
Dharma? 

What makes me happy, damn it?!

While if you're anything like so many I come across, internally you may often be screaming,

I can’t decide.
What do I even want?
I have no clue.
Just tell me what to do already! 

We are under so much pressure that even deciding what to wear can cause decision fatigue. 

Making all-the-decisions, big and small, each and every day can be exhausting, yet here’s what I know intimately. 

Not making a decision is even more tiring. 

And the perfect way to waste a life. 

We are trained to look outside ourselves for answers. 

For someone who can decide for us. 

Tell us what to do.

Even share how to do it. 

We are raised in a society, mostly, where we are praised for following directions.

We are patted on the back for asking for permission, 

to use the bathroom even.

And get in trouble when we forget . . .

to ask. 

We are told to wait your turn.

Not be too demanding, too sure or god-forbid you might seem cocky, arrogant, full-of-yourself. 

So, fascinating, to be schooled that being full-of-oneself is wrong! 

Imagine if you were instead taught to see yourself as your very best friend. The one you will spend the most time with . . . 

An entire lifetime getting to know. Intimately. 

Which when broken down is Into Me I See.

What a powerful focus to have, to look within for permission, for answers, for all the things. 

But if you’re anything like most, you’ve been conditioned to ask externally for all the things. 

Even how best to know yourself.
As if another can offer you that. 

Yet, if we only got quiet for a beat,

we’d see we already know all we need to . . .
within. 

It might be a quiet knowing at first. 

But with a regular tapping in, checking in, moment of self-reflection, 

that inner knowing will grow. 

Will become loud and oh-so on point. 

Consider letting go of what you too many have learned. . .
To play a game of hurry up and wait.

But wait for what? 

To live? 

And then wonder why decades pass you by and dreams lie trampled underfoot, seen and pondered but still not acted upon. 

I say stop being one of the many who are simply passing the time til they die. 

Instead of taking one small step forward each and every day, we tend to sink into a black hole of questioning all the things.

Blaming those who give us advice,
advice so not aligned
because we never fully share who we are
with them. 

Stop expecting another to know you, 
get you, 
tell you what to do 

And you will access more JOY.

When you let go of not knowing yourselves,
not trusting yourselves
without external validation.

Without the approval of another, 
from another.

When you stop releasing that lone cry for permission
to do something, anything.
To be good enough, pretty please.

Who am I even? 

Am I even enough to do that thing? 

Are these questions you too may have asked?

Timidly
or maybe at a full cry.

Yet, ask three people the same thing
and prepare yourself. 

Confusion awaits as you’ll receive three different answers,
at least two will be contradictory. 

I guarantee it. 

Yet, ask we do, over and over again.
Expecting what, someone to truly get us?

Which is insanity, is it not? 

To wait for someone outside yourself to deem you enough when all you have to do is own that knowing for yourself.

Because the biggest reason we seek permission outside ourselves is a lack of self worth, a lack of knowing you are a badass and there is no if-ands-or-butts about it. 

We look outside ourselves when we don’t trust ourselves. 

What if you knew in all your trillion cells that you were unique, enough, brilliant and perfectly imperfect just as you are?

You are.

You are one-of-a-kind and there is no mistake that you are here for a reason. 

Simply to be.
To experience this life.
The ups, the downs, the JOYs, the sorrows.

That is the key. 

Stop searching for that why and give yourself permission today to just be.

Be you.

It doesn’t need to be a struggle.

Seek that answer from within, because once you know who you are, well all shifts in your world and you realize you need no one to tell you how to live your best life. 

You know. 

Like you know your name. 

You trust.

Like you trust that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west each day.

And dare I say that right there, that knowing mixed with trust of you, leads to creating a most delicious life. 

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I’m finally writing as me,
and hot damn has it been a trip.
Get on the Waitlist & Get all the dirty deets.

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Photo Credit: Brooke Cagle @brookecagle 

Live Your Most Delicious Life Now, Here’s How (Part 3)

Last week, I shared Part 1 and Part 2 of this series on what I believe is a true pandemic in the lives of so many.

Getting ready to get ready 

You know, that way of being where you don’t do that thing you want to do, feel called to do or love to do.

Instead you wait, maybe for permission.
Or maybe to learn that next thing you know will get you there.

Where exactly...I bet you’d be hard pressed to define. 

And heck, maybe you’ve been stuck in this way of being for so very long that you have forgotten any other way of showing up…

Have lost touch with your truth
Your default setting. 
Your JOY.

So let’s dive into the finale of this series and start with a short recap…

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PART 3

Imagine if you could be childlike in your daily life. 
Not afraid to fail. 
Not worried about succeeding.
Not seeking approval. 
Not concerned with what others may think. 
Not looking to and fro wanting to know if this or that move is okay. 

That, lovely, is called freedom and is the path to you discovering, creating and living Your Most Delicious Life. 

Grab life by the reins and ride the hell out of it,
Boldly,
Beautifully, 
Unapologetically. 

Because when you do, that’s when you are fully alive.

When you get back to your truth,
Your baby-like roots of JOY,
Of fearlessness,
Of curiosity,
Of all…

Life works.

You may not remember when you took that first step, as a wee-one, but let me just clue you in…

It wasn’t pretty.
It wasn’t perfect.
I was wobbly as hell.

Complete with giggles,
And perhaps a clap of delight.

It wasn’t born out of a need to get it right
It wasn’t done because another told you, you may
Hell to the double no, no no.

It was your birthright.
So you dared
To go big
To play full out.

You didn’t get all up in your head.
You didn’t judge
You didn’t bemoan
You didn’t have a story of why you can’t – yet.
You didn’t have a tale of not enough - yet.

Instead, you screwed it up.
Royally.
Again
And again.
And again.  

Until one day, you did it for-real, 
rock-steady like, 
Confident.

Suddenly you got some Bob Fosse, 
All That Jazz, 
moves happening
Along with curtain calls
And standing-O-s.

See one day 
a leg moved, 
independent from the other. 
Not planned. 
Just happened,
in a moment of absolute flow. 

As all good things do, yo.

OMG, if you don’t catch that,
I may have to come to your word-screen
and give you a shake to and fro.

When you allowed 
this limb to go that way 
that hand to reach out this way, 
there was movement 
other than rock-a-bye-baby 
on the blanketed floor. 

And from that space, place, grace… 
a rock became a crawl, 
a crawl became an unsteady balancing act 
upon the balls of tiny feet,
Fat toes curled in 
and one day a step forward 
and a crash and burn, 
bum-to-floor. 

Priceless. Brilliant. Beautiful. 

There was no looking around for solutions
There was no class to enroll in.
No certification required. 

There was no self-critiquing
No feels of failure.

There was a mom or a dad or another, 
slightly larger being
there to inspire, model, motivate… 

As we naturally learn by modeling, 
do we not?

By listening and watching 
when we are so equipped
But never judging.

At least, not until we get too-smart for our britches.
And then game over on that #true way of being. 

Never first asking
May I pretty please try?

Nope, we go for it. 
No holding back. 
When the time is right. 

It’s not a set time. 
This exact moment. 
That exact second. 
For all baby boys and baby girls. 

It’s not choreographed or mapped out.
There is no flowchart 
Syllabus 
Outline 
Ten step – ha! – plan 
To follow.

There is a knowing within.
A push as old as time. 
And it’s still within you. 

To think it is not is the very definition of domestication. 
Something we think, 
in the West, 
is only put upon animals –
by humans. 

Simply sink into the fact that you lost touch with your natural knowing just as a dog lost touch with its once-natural desire to hunt, kill, run wild. 

But that’s a convo for another time.

As in this moment, 
it’s all about the fact 
that as a tiny human, 
You were once tuned into your #truth. 

No, “Oops, you missed it. Times up. You, little one, don’t get to crawl, as you’re late to your mark!” 

Nope. It’s so unique,
The path we are meant to take,
to each and every little, slobbering baby... 
the perfect time to do that thing, 
a beat instinctually known…

And yet as we stop slobbering 
and often lose the cute factor
We receive less praise
And more critiques. 

We create walls to protect ourselves as
We learn others are watching
And they aren’t always giving Standing-O-s.

As we look around, 
With more false-awareness, 
We see a reality 
That has a harsh judging bite. 

And for some we ache
to return to the giggles.

The claps
The praise
The feel good vibes
And so we strive.

We also tend to forget
That the answers are within. 

Just as those before forgot 
And thus pass down 
the teachings they too were taught. 

Not out of spite
But from a lack of true-awareness. 

That it matters not what another thinks.

That there is no perfect time 
to take that first step.

That it matters not if we fall face down
As long as we get back up,
Brush ourself the f-off 
And call it a TouchDown. 

A TouchDown on the scoreboard of your life. 

What if you saw each stumble, 
each yard traveled
As a mark, a point
On an invisible board of you.

Not good. Not bad. 
A simple dash will do.

For that’s all it is. 

Points that can serve you, 
Teach you, 
Honor you. 

Or a mark that deducts
from who you are being
In the eyes of another. 
Because you care that they see you fall. 

Here’s a secret.
We all do.
Fall flat, on repeat. 

We all 
Stumble. 
Fall. 
And more than anyone knows.

And the true grit, message, test is in
How you react.
What you make it mean.
What weight you give that fall, 
in the moment, and beyond.

How you allow it to have your back
As you step forward with data, 
those points on the scoreboard of you, 
as your guide...

Or weight your ass down, 
a ball-and-chain,
A mistake, 
Error…

OMG, catastrophe of epic proportions that grows and grows and becomes one of many eyes in the storm that is your life. 

If you’re ready to let that old-tired, former way of being go, be sure to check out Part 4, the finale of this series, a section that was first published on Elephant Journal on February 9, 2021. 

It’s where you can discover just how rewarding is it to...

What follows was first published on Elephant Journal On February 9, 2021. 

Take a play from the playbook of your infancy and stop giving what was a moment’s thought. 

Take a rule 
from the manual of life 
we never receive in writing 
that literally shouts, 
the answers are within.

And run down the field of your life, free. 
Play on the stage of your life, with JOY. 
Dance as though no one is watching, 
and mean it. 

As you get one damn shot, 
and to waste it, well…
That too is a choice.

To keep getting ready to live it, well…
That now seems silly, does it not? 

When my clients ask me, What should I do? 
My first thought and response, 
Who am I to say?

If you do nothing else this crazy-year,
consider asking yourself
and only yourself
what should I do? 

And then do what you hear? 

And when you hear nothing, 
don’t judge it, 
just ask again tomorrow. 

Just like you didn’t learn to roll over in one day, crawl in an hour or walk your fine self out of the womb on un-shaky legs…

Now wouldn’t that be one for the medical journals! 

You can’t expect that inner voice of you to wake up and shout answers at you like a preacher on the pulpit of your life overnight. 

What would be possible if you dropped the need for instant gratification? 

What would happen
If you gave yourself grace, space 
and spent your time 
listening for the answers within, 
not condemning 
or looking outside yourself?

If you are feeling me right now, I’d invite you to keep reading because this is a pandemic more depressing than the one forcing us to stand 6-feet apart and mask-up. 

The choices we make 
to play small, stay safe, 
to do the thing that will pay the bills first, 
learn the skill another thinks is the best path…

That may just be what’s keeping you stuck, unhappy and lost. 

And I’m here to say it doesn’t have to be that way. 

When I stopped getting ready and instead owned up to what I’m meant to do, the flood gates opened. 

I often tell my clients to stop pushing on the pull door of life. 

Meaning, if your dream is to write a book the only way that will happen is to sit down and write. 

Meaning, if your dharma is to help animals heal, then start today for those needy little furballs are everywhere.

Meaning, if your dream is to make money, then own it and end the talk, the thoughts of poverty and debt, lack and but how?...

All starts with a thought. 

For a baby, it wasn’t planned but instinctual. Tap back into that. 

No, don’t think about it. 
No, don’t ponder it.
No, don’t put it off.
No, don’t sink into those self-defeating thoughts of 
who am I to talk about that? 
write that?
do that thing? 

Imagine if you show up in life
with a little baby-drool
on your chinny-chin-chin
and know with ga-ga-grace
that you are perfectly imperfect just as you are. 

I created a video of my own perfectly imperfect journey over the last two years that may just inspire you and show you what’s possible when you simply choose to stop getting ready and instead simply choose to do that thing you so want to do in this life. 

What if you had enough confidence to say f-it? 
To just stand up
Take that first step, 
Or heck, bloody crawl, if need be. 

The only thing holding you back is you… 
Harsh, but true.

Your thoughts. 
You. 

Change your thoughts and you change your life. 

If you want to see this in action, press play on this video share. It encompasses a now-version and a past-version of me.

See even though I am a writer, 
I was afraid to share my words as me. 

So many stories of low self-worth, 
lack of confidence, 
not believing I was worthy enough 
to take up space 
let alone speaking… 

I mean seriously, who was I anyway?!

And then something shifted… 
Because I am me. 
The only one on this planet. 
In this moment. 
One of a kind. 
And no one can tell me that is an accident. 

So, I took a step forward, 
and another and another…

And man, have I stumbled 
over the past two years 
of stepping into the spotlight of me.

And guess what?

It’s been fabulous… 
Because in doing so I am creating 
My Most Delicious Life. 

Can you say the same for yourself? 

Leave me a comment and share. I want to know.

And be sure to get on my JOYnotes email list if you liked these words, as I send more of them out weekly. 

If this read inspired you, moved you, encouraged you, do consider giving it a heart and a share on your social media channels and tag your friends. 

You never know who these words may impact because you allowed them to be seen. 

A section of this piece was first published on Elephant Journal and can be found right here. 

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Photo Credit: Ahmad Odeh @aoddeh

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Navigating Alone On The Holiday – With Grace.

This piece was first published on elephant journal, a leading online publication with over 10 million unique readers each month.

I sit here allowing the sun to rise 
on another glorious day 
because I choose for it to be so.

Glorious.
Divine.
Delicious.

I could look upon this day 
With sad eyes 
A lonely heart 
A troubled mind
Believing I am alone.

But I don’t
And here’s why.

Today is a holiday. 

But for me everyday is a holiday,
Not simply those dictated by law, custom, tradition,
Or religion.

When you see each day as a
gift
Something in you 
shifts. 

Mathew McConaughey said it recently, while interviewed on The Rachel Hollis Podcast, “We were reminded early on not to take the sun rising this morning for granted. That was a gift, you better damn well be thankful for it.”

Imagine if you never took another 24-hour 
Trip around the sun,
Dreamtime-spin with the stars 
As a given…

But as a #blessing.

What would change with that one little shift of your attention? 

For me, 

Each day is a choice to embrace wholeheartedly
or to bury myself under a mount of patchwork quilts.

And I’ve done both.

Don’t think I haven’t sunk 
down 
down…
So far 
down
I felt the drowning of me.

I’ve been so 
low, 
So cloaked in 
sad 
That the tiles
Beneath my sobbing breaths
Ceased to feel
cold. 

So chilled to the bone 
that getting up,
taking one step 
was my Mount Everest. 

Yet, climb out of that despair I did
And if one can do it
That’s proof positive you can 
As well.

If you are ‘stuck’ in the proverbial deep, dark well of you.

This right here is a knotted-word-rope 
out of your darkness,
into the Sunshine of you.

These words can be your life line. 
Your place to crawl to… 

For I can not crawl for you.

I can not lift you out 
but my words can raise you high.

If you embrace them. 
If you listen to hear them. 
If you desire a new yellow brick road to you.

It’s possible to find so much JOY today…
Any day.

In a crowded room 
filled with those you love-to-hate.

Or solo on your sofa, 
Hot mug of somethang-somethang in hand.

I hug each day
A long-lost friend.

Precious. 
Precarious. 
As though it’s my last. 

Because I choose too.

On this day, I will stop and give thanks, 
Yet, I do this each and every day.

And when I want to try on my SuperPower
I find grace and gratitude and the JOY within. 

Today is a holiday 

And I am alone––
Physically.

But emotionally my cup-runneth over 
Because I love myself. 

Because the Negative Nelly in my mind 
is tied tight with purple ribbons
not allowed out 
to distract-play 
with me. 

That #critical voice
silenced by my wicked JOYful smile.

My knowing that I am enough. 

When you lean into that right there,
You know you are not alone.

Even if no one is near...

Imagine if on this day,
every day,
you made friends 
with your lone self. 

Imagine if on this day, 
every day, 
you spoke to yourself 
with compassion, 
kindness, 
JOY.

To be alone is only lonely if you say it is.

To be alone is a gift that bears the greatest of harvests
When you can stand your own self. 

When you can love every inch of you
Inside and out.

When you can embrace the silence as
a delicious offering

That can bring you 
peace, 
ease, 
even understanding… 

Of just how special you are. 

For you are, or you would not be here. 

You are not a mistake.
This day is not an error.
You, alone, or feeling alone 
Is just as it should be.
Must be.
Need be.

When you see that, 
When you stop pushing on the pull door of life
And sink in… 

All will shift for you. 

When you rise up to what is
See it for your benefit
Not detriment…

All will open wide.

You can hang
your holiday decorations
on the idea-tree of 

I am so alone 

And spiral down.

So
far
down. 

You can light
a new candle
to illuminate
a version of you
perhaps you were afraid
to unwrap…
Till now.

Glorious
Victorious
Amazing is you.

I see you. 

Packaged so perfectly-imperfect.
Stop hiding… 

Stop swimming in despair.

For, if you dare, 
you are
so past ready 
to be 
unwrapped…

By you, yourself, not I.

Are you ready to get to know the gift of you?

Because only when you take a beat, 
A pause, 
A space,
A moment.

Today, perhaps…

And you lean into knowing
Fully,
Deeply,
Truly

That you are a precious gem... 

One of a kind.
Divine. 

Sink into that
On this day
Any day. 

For truly
You are never alone
When you are your own very best friend.

And when you want more insight…

When you’re ready to fully tap into the JOY that is within…
Hear your #truth and sink into a knowing,

Not just an understanding 
that you are enough…

Join me for JOYnotes, a Wednesday Words series, from me to you.

Words, a message, a dance of my alphabet 
Penned in purple ink 
to support you, 
Uplift you,
Shine the brightest of lights upon you
And remind you that you are never alone…
On this day nor any other day.

If this message captured your heart, consider giving it a heart to support these words. Words that you could share with another person right now and make viral.

Leave me a comment if you do, Sunshine, as I want to thank you for being you. 

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These words where first published on Elephant Journal and have the potential to impact lives in a massive way. See Elephant Journal is an online publication with more than 10 million readers a month.

Yep, a month! That’s a heck of a lotta eye-balls.

So if feel THIS read it empowering, powerful and a full of enough word-magic to share, simply copy/paste the below content and share with others on your social feeds or head there now yourself to heart/share/follow me and access all my there-published-words.

Or feel free to send people directly here to this page, on my word-home.

How you show up today impacts another’s future and your own in ways you can’t even begin to comprehend.

Share JOY today and receive so much more . . .

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What If You Are Enough? (How To Flip The Voice Within That Says You Aren’t Enough)

These words are REPOSTED here and are originally published on Elephant Journal — November 18, 2020 — as the Editor’s Pick!

What if I’m not Good Enough?—
How to Overcome this Painful Mantra from our Childhood.

If you love this read or what to spread this message, click here to go read this article on that site now. They receive more than 10 million unique readers each and every month… and YOUR read, heart, share and comment could impact who else reads my words.

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WHAT IF I’M NOT GOOD ENOUGH?
How to Overcome this Painful Mantra from our Childhood.

So often I hear individuals, my readers, those who become my amazing clients ask, What if I’m not good enough?

It could be in a conversation about starting a business, going on a date, leaving the job they’ve had for a few decades to do something new that lights them up… 

The what doesn’t matter… 

What does matter is this common thread, theme, way of thinking about ourselves, naturally, that is literally the true pandemic of our time. 

What if I am not enough?

Imagine if your children, grandchildren, the child down the street never-ever asked that question of his or herself. 

Because this is not a gender specific question, but one that penetrates the lives of all colors, all creeds, all religious, all social circles, all socio-economic demographics and spreads like a virus internally faster than 5G WiFi. 

What if I’m not good enough?

Take a beat and get quiet with your fabulous self. 

Has this been a thought in your mind? 

A repetitive belief question that demands your attention stronger than a siren’s call on a rocky shore?

For most, that is a yes and it’s the one thing in life that keeps them from their dreams. 

And for some, this one repetitive thought keeps them from even dreaming. Period. Because why bother?!

Imagine if it didn’t have to be this way… because it doesn’t but before we chat on that, let’s dive into what this is costing you if you can relate to that little whisper inside…

What if I’m not enough?

What specifically do you not dream up, start, do in your life because this question plays on repeat in your head? 

If you’re like so many you start something, a new project, passion, job or maybe even a new relationship with excitement. 

With so much JOY that you all but skip as you move toward it. 

And then something shifts. 

It could be triggered by a sideways look, a comment tossed out by someone who matters not or a lot and suddenly your skipping is tripped up by the sinking pit in your gut. 

What if I’m not good enough?

Now when you glance around, 
sun still shining bright, 
You feel the eyes of others
Everywhere.

Eyes that could be 
judging, 
critiquing, 
criticizing... 

If you’re like so many, you become paralyzed by fear… 
And those mudslide thoughts begin...

Not good enough.
What if I fail?
What will they think?

You may even wonder if that random guy reading the newspaper at a local cafe, the older man you pass by everyday, is judging you as you hurry on, shoulders hunched, head down…  

Just that one thought of What if I’m not good enough? can send off a chain reaction that yanks you back...

Halts your skip
Tanks your mood
Allows you to sabotage any success you were about to enjoy.

When you allow that thought —

What if I’m not good enough? 

— to take up residence in your mind, it travels the superhighway of you to penetrate each cell of your body and doesn’t just have a devastating effect on your mood, your actions today… 

But compounds over time… as perhaps you already feel and know intimately. 

For so many What if I’m not good enough? started as a mantra in childhood and has been a repetitive pattern that allowed the go-cart of life to become a start-stop madness that’s kept you from the very things you said you wanted. 

Now is the time to say enough! 
To stop this insanity
To park that go-cart of you in the Kiddie Lane of your past 
And build a new ship forward. 

Imagine what would be possible if you pushed aside that thought What if I’m not good enough? as easily as windshield wipers cleared away torrential rain. 

What would be possible if you could see your path cleared, brilliantly, with the snap of your fingers so you could continue to skip down your day of excitement?

To dream big…
To live with JOY…
To see the stares of others and no longer care what’s behind it. 

Imagine being so free to be you that the thought
What if I’m not enough?
Never again took shape in you.
Never again was whispered by that voice within you.
Never was passed to your child, grandchild, neighbor’s child again.

What would be possible if you lived every single day knowing this one fact? 

I am enough. 

Read that again as it’s delicious. 

And when you’re ready for that way to make this possibility yours, all you have to do is flip the switch of you.

One step.
So simple we miss it.
We desperately want to complicate it.
To make it hard. 

Don’t. 

When you hear that thought What if I’m not enough? Or What if I’m not good enough? Flip it. 

What if you are? 

Your mind shouts (or whispers) What If I’m not enough? And your new answer, yep, start answering it with a thought or a whisper of your own so it can become your new mantra… 

What if I am?

And feel how that makes you feel… try it now. Close your eyes, take in a breath and whisper those words… What if I am enough?

Perhaps you feel nothing in this moment. 
Perhaps an internal brightening… a smile from within.

Both are perfect. Stay with it.
What if I am enough? 

Or make it even more specific…

What if I am good enough?

That is all you say on the daily, hourly… every minute. 

As that voice flows in, What if I’m not enough? relax and flow out with What if I am enough?

When you do this as religiously as brushing your teeth, the very ground under you will shift, your life will change and more JOY, possibilities and abundance will be yours.

Skipping through your day with a mile-wide JOYFul smile will be your new-constant norm… 

And who doesn’t want that?

If you know you have nothing to lose and so much to gain, put this into practice today. It’s literally life-changing when you do but you’re smart... so I’ll let you figure out for yourself just how powerful this one flip it with JOY tool is. 

If this resonated, share this message with another you feel it could benefit because we could all use more JOY in our lives.

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Photo Credit: Felicia Buitenwerf @iamfelicia

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