“We Made it to the finals!!”

I wasn't doubting myself, for once.

That's why the entire day was so fun!!

And then, they announced the teams who made it to the Final Event.

They purposely don't release the event until right...

How has your week been? I'm super excited that I had a relaxed Friday evening and weekend full of research for a new idea, writing and also reading because...well, I love to read!

I wanted to share something that's been on my mind this week when it comes to releasing/letting loose--not just of other people/things, but things from our past, too

It took me 11 months to realize I was still holding onto some things with past experiences in my work and with people that I needed to set free. Nothing bad at all, but those little things that stuck under your skin, didn't leave a good mark, that kind of stuff. This week was the first time I realized that I've been holding onto these things and how that's impacted thoughts and emotions with my new career ambitions and most importantly, with me as a person

My mentor read an excerpt from a book by Catherine Porter the other day, and I decided I wanted to look further into it. She has an entire chapter on forgiveness,...

Who’s Christmas tree and/or decorations are already up?

I used to be AVID about not putting up Christmas decor until after Thanksgiving; I am a Team Turkey person! I think it’s because I have such fond memories of driving home from college, and then as a young adult, for break and the fun that we had that I am absolutely about giving the Turkey his/her time to shine.

And, when I say I used to be AVID about no Christmas...well, I mean there was absolutely NO. WAY. I was going to change that. Like come on, give Thanksgiving some love, people! 

This year, though, actually, yesterday, I realized that things changed.

I’m on the Christmas Cheer board this year.

 Walking my dog last night in the dark, a house down the street just had their lights put up. Beautiful red, green, and white lights framed the arches, the bushes, and the walkway. Bright and cheery, it just gave me a spell of happiness. I loved it...and I...

You feel that?

That energy? The energy in your body; the energy all over social media; the energy in the news and basically everything you’re watching right now?

What are some words that describe that energy?

I’m guessing that it’s not things like positivity, happiness, or abundance.

Abundance is probably the single last word you’d use right now

But, that’s the thing.

In a week that is a really big deal; a week that will cause a lot of reaction...in a week where a lot will happen…

There’s still abundance. 

There’s still hope. There’s still expectation, and consciousness, and living in ways that can help you create different energy that will help you and the world

Think I'm crazy?

Ok...let's try this:

In this moment, right now: think of something that makes you really, really happy

What is that?

Did you say, “Me; I make myself...

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been really hard on myself when it comes to sports and working out. I get so frustrated at myself when I can’t do something, or, worse, I get in my head about people judging me, and then, I just go into a loop of how bad I am at something. Or, I feel like I’m letting someone down, and then spiral again, into being not good enough for my teammates.

It started with running, which, if you’re a runner, you KNOW how much of a mental game running is! I had a lot of talent in high school with running...but, because I was so hard on myself, spoke to myself as if I couldn’t do anything, I had a mediocre time with it. I mean, I could have been a great runner. But, I was too hard on myself.

And what happened when I was hard on myself? I would look for some kind of external validation to tell me that I was good enough. Every. Single. Time. 

Instead of using that energy to improve myself, I took this with...

Abundance--overflow, affluence, fullness. To have a massive amount of something that then impacts your feelings, emotions, and physical state. More than you can ever imagine. Freedom, unlimited possibilities, exponential growth, quantum leaps. The feeling of inspired action. One of my favorite things to say in college about the weather: to have abundant sunshine

We are all familiar with this word and mostly think of it in a positive way. If you think abundantly, a wealth of whatever is going to come to you. You have an abundance of flowers in your house, an overflow of money in your account, a life that's full of health.

However, something we don't necessarily think about is that Abundance doesn't discriminate--it can come in with good things/thoughts, and, it can come in with bad things/thoughts. 

Meaning: I can have an abundance of faith in something OR, I can have an abundance of doubt

When I say an abundance of faith, I don't necessarily mean that in a religious...

How to Have a Successful Week: 7 Day Challenge!

How did you start your morning today? 

What were your thoughts when you woke up?

What do you HAVE to do this week?

There’s a lot of things going on right now; lots of things to do. At work, with our family, with our workouts, with self development...holy guacamole, it's overwhelming!

Here's the thing: once we get into that mindset, guess what happens?

We don’t accomplish it all.

We start saying, “there were distractions,” or “there’s no time,” or, if we’re honest, “I’d rather drink some wine than do that” at the end of the day. We totally stop ourselves.

Oh, by the way--that wine scenario may be talking from personal experience, lol! 

What happens when we stop ourselves? We unintentionally keep that pattern going. So then, it makes it easier for us to fall into the “stop” pattern of not accomplishing all...

“I don’t even want to ask this...but…”

Those aren't typically words you really want to hear from your boyfriend, right?

“...should we start cleaning out the garage?”

Out of ALL the things he could have said, this was definitely not what I wanted to hear.

Our garage is, for lack of a better description, chaos. 

All the things, some of which I haven’t even touched since I moved into my house three years ago, or since he moved in a year later.

Every time I walk into the garage, there’s the “oh my gosh, we NEED to do something about this.” 

But, I’ve avoided it; he’s avoided it. We’ve avoided it. Cause we keep telling ourselves the story that it’s going to be a beating to clean, and we frankly just don’t want to do it.

Which, actually, is adding to the stress I put on myself everytime I’m in the garage.

I physically feel something...

When was the last time you did something SUPER embarrassing around a big group of people? 

Has that ever happened to you at work?

Something so bad, you were positive you would quit THAT day and be mortified the rest of your life?

Let's talk about my Spongebob moment...

It was my first semester teaching at the University of North Texas in 2007.

Fresh out of grad school, 24 years old, in a new city/new university.

I was totally ready to prove to students that College Writing I and II could be FUN AND important; they weren’t going to roll their eyes, hate their assignments, and hate writing in MY class. I was going to be the opposite of everything they thought about writing and College English.

As an Adjunct, I had freedom over HOW I taught the material as long as I followed the four main essay cycles.

One day, for whatever reason, I started talking about Spongebob Squarepants in class, and that I could totally use an episode as a lesson plan for...