[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlhviucDTGU[/embedyt]

This summer I was close to burn out. I was stuck, frustrated, and out of ideas.

I felt like I just wanted to crawl into bed and never come out.

I was tired. I needed to rest my body but more importantly I needed to rest my BRAIN!!

So I did.

I took a BIG step back, I put some projects on hold, I hung out with my son, I went hiking, I slept in, and I was lazy in the best way.

When summer ended I was so refreshed and had so many good ideas rolling around about how to move forward.

If you feel overwhelmed or stuck I totally recommend you try it out. Even if it’s just for a few moments each week.

Find a way to unplug your brain?

Here are a few ways that have worked for me:

• Sleep in
• Go get my toes painted
• Watch a funny movie or show
• Take a day trip
• Go for a walk
• Take a long luxurious bath

The list goes on.

What is a way that would work for you to unplug? Really come up with an answer in your mind right now.

Got it?

Ok good.

Here’s the important part: Schedule it. Put it in your calendar and then make it happen! ?

#boredtobrilliant

This podcast interview backs up all the science behind why this actually works and why letting your brain rest and actually be bored is when you actually get your best ideas!

Check it out here: https://youtu.be/LlhviucDTGU

Years ago, when I decided I wanted to start doing business online, I knew that I had my work cut out for me. After all, I knew that I wanted a big part of it to be about “self love”. I needed to learn how to love myself just as much as anyone, and cut out negative self talk.

I’m gonna get very real with you for a minute. Being vulnerable is hard for me, but I think what I have to say might just help you. So, I guess that means I’m taking one for the team?

I can be very mean – I’m a fiery Sagittarius after all. I have VERY high standards for the people around me (just ask my poor husband), and even higher standards when it comes to myself. Like impossibly high. Standards that no human on Earth could ever possibly live up to. So I let myself down all the time. And for years, I have had a pretty nasty habit of telling myself how much I SUCK.

Here are examples of negative self talk I’ve said to myself:

• “You are a terrible mother. You’re always forgetting the stuff your kid needs. Look around. Everyone else is a way better mother than you are. You just can’t get anything right.” 
• “Your house is a mess, your car is a mess, and your whole life is a mess.  Why can’t you just get your S#@t together?  What is WRONG with you? You SUCK at absolutely everything!”
• “No one wants to hear what you have to say. Why do you even bother? You’re a disaster! How could you possibly help anyone else?”

Okay, okay, you get the point. I have been so mean to myself all of these years! Do you ever do that? Perhaps you do it without even realizing it sometimes.

In the past three years, I have read a ton of books and taken boat loads of classes. I have studied the subject of self love pretty darn hard. I am even in the process of creating my own course.

Tips To Fight Negative Self Talk

I may know quite a bit about how to do it now, but I often still get it wrong. The ugly pattern of negative self talk is pretty deeply ingrained in my mind. Maybe you struggle with that issue as well. But now I have some tools and practices that I can use to help BREAK this nasty cycle. That is just what I want to share with you today, dear reader! Remember these tips any time that you are caught in the “not enough-ness” and you’re being super mean to yourself.

Self love is an everyday practice.

Self love is not something that you learn how to do, and then you just move on to the next thing. It is something you have to implement in your life on each and every day. If you have ever tried to start a good life habit, then you know very well that it takes lots and lots of practice.

The more you do it, the easier it becomes.

I am not saying that I do not still tell myself nasty things at times. The difference now is that I am doing it, I am able to catch myself in the act. I can stop it a whole lot faster than I used to!

So here’s what I want you to know and start to practice:

Stop for a moment and notice what you are doing.

Just acknowledge that you are upset. It’s ok to be upset. If you need to cry, then do it! Let your emotions be okay, and don’t try to stop them.

Next, think about what you need right now, and then (here’s the important part) GIVE it to yourself!

Maybe you need a nap, or a break. Maybe you need a massage, or even to just go for a walk. Stop and think about what would make you feel better, and then actually go do it! Do this, even if it means you have to ask for help!

Speak more kindly to yourself.

Imagine your friend is having a very bad day and feeling like she sucks at life. What would you say to her? Would you tell her, “yeah you’re right, you really do suck”? Or would you give her a big ol’ hug and then tell her how amazing she is? You would bend over backward to try and cheer her up! Wouldn’t you say something more like “Sweet girl, you’ve been working so hard, give yourself a break! You are so amazing and it’s ok that you screwed up. We ALL screw up sometimes. You are not alone in this”.

Homework To Break The Negative Self Talk Cycle

Bookmark this post now! The next time that you are feeling overwhelmed and like you might suck at life, pull it up on your phone. Try at least one of the things I’ve shared here.

I’m not saying that I no longer feel down on myself, and I am certainly not always perfect in this practice. However, it has been such a help to me to have some tools to turn to when I need them. Just remember, it is not an overnight process. In fact, it’s a lifelong practice! What I’ve shared here has helped me so much, and I know it can help you, too!

Moana came out last year (in 2016) but we just now got around to watching it… like a couple weeks ago. I know I know, I must have been living under rock right?

Oh and just in case you have been under a rock too it’s on Netflix now! Yay!

It was kind of perfect timing though because the last few weeks have been HARD… like every day is a big fat struggle, lots of tears kind of hard. You know your typically breakdown.

But they say the break thru always comes AFTER the breakdown.

So here I am, in full on breakdown mode (but before the break thru) and we turn on Moana…

Oh so many many lessons in this movie. But for me it was what led to my breakthrough. Yes a children’s movie.

I’m telling you kids movies are the best Hero’s Journey stories. And we are all the hero’s in our own stories. Every story has a part where the hero experiences a breakdown and they have to decide whether or not they want to keep going.

This is especially true when you feel like you’ve been chosen to do something.

The breakdown occurs when you’ve tried all you know to do and it still seems to crumble at your feet. You tell the universe that it picked wrong. You beg and plead with it to please pick someone else. You just can’t do it any more.

You are about to give up…But something inside you tells you you must keep going.

So you dig deep and find the strength to keep going. You remember WHY you started in the first place and you sing at the top of your lungs : I AM MOANA!  Oh just me?

But I digress.

The point I want to make is I am Moana… and so are you.

We are all called to do something. Whether that is being a mom, being an advocate for something, teaching, telling stories, whatever song your heart is meant to sing, and “the call” comes from inside of us, we are born with passions and the things we love are in our bones… But it’s hard, and sometimes you feel tired or lost or just plain broken.

But what Moana helped me remember, and what I want to remind you of, is that you always know the way, even when it doesn’t feel like it.

You too have a guidance system inside of you. Weather you call it God or the Universe (or your grandma who’s now a stingray) whatever it is for you, it’s there and sometimes you just have to get quiet enough to hear it.

So whatever you feel called to do or even if you’re feeling unsure of your next step, just keep putting one foot in front of the other and just keep swimming (oh crap, wrong Disney movie…)

xoxo,

Sara?

P.S. If you ever want help getting clarity on your vision or next step I would love to help.  Just send me an email and we can chat about it how we can work together.

Hey there you gorgeous thang.

I’ve been thinking about makeup and it’s purpose in our lives. I use it (along with other things) to help with confidence. But recently celebs like Alicia Keys (who I LOVE btw) and even Kim Kardashian have been going makeup free and not just on grocery runs but also at big awards shows and runway shows. It’s definitely making people talk.