When you use what you go through to grow through, you take the coach approach. I am suggesting that you hire your own counsel. After all, who else knows your dreams, goals, and intentions better than you do? Who else has access to your inner compass?
Yes, you have an inner compass. And it guides you along the river of life. When we pay attention to our emotional responses and our own ‘self’ talk, we are using our inner compass. It’s called living life from the inside out. It’s using our brain for a change. That’s right, use your own mind to create positive changes within you.
Both being aware of how we feel and listening to our self-talk serve a purpose. The inner compass provides us with a powerful feedback mechanism, similar to a navigational system on an airplane. It lets us know whether or not we are on course, how far off course we are, and how much correction we need to make in order to reach our intended destination (and to achieve our goals). Learning to use these tools, we learn the art of coaching our self!
You may have heard the phrase, "It’s not that you got off track that matters, it’s how fast (and gently) that you get back on track." So, when it comes to your goals and intentions, what is important is not whether you fall down, but what how you handle it when you do. Is your ‘Inner Coach’ doing its job well? Is it helping you get back up again? Or is it beating you up for falling down to begin with?
Is your inner voice helping you to feel inspired and encouraged? After listening to it, do you feel like a winner? Does it emphasize your strong points while gently and lovingly pointing out where you need to do some work? Are you learning anything from it? Train your ‘Inner Coach’ by telling it what you need in order to succeed! You are the foremost authority on yourself.
I’ve begun to dialogue with my ‘Inner Coach’ more often and am getting great results. We do things together too. We took a walk yesterday and we plan to go to the gym later this week. We’re making fast friends and I am achieving intended outcomes in my life. You too, have an ‘Inner Coach’ ready and willing to guide you gently through life. Just imagine, your own personal coach!
If our self-talk was broadcast to the world through a loud speaker, we would ‘get it’. We would be able to hear for ourselves some of the damage we do through our self-talk. Let’s tame our inner critic and form a healthy relationship with our ‘Inner Coach’.
Mental Diet ~ Food for the Soul
I just started a diet (Weight Watchers) in January. I know, I know, lots of people begin diets in January, don’t they? And then, many times, they go back to their old ways and may end up gaining even more weight. Been there done that! With so many weight-reducing programs to choose from, which is the "right" one’? There are low carbohydrate/high fat programs, and then there are the low fat ones, the super low calorie ones, etc. You can wrap yourself in saran wrap, sit in a sauna, exercise like a fiend--I’ve tried them all, yet I found my waistline (and the country’s) expanding! Eek! There seems to be a missing ingredient!
Sole Work – Walking the Spiritual Path
For the past several years I have struggled with getting (and staying) fit. Ok, I admit it, the struggle has been longer than just a few years. As a kid, instead of playing nicely with the girls, I fought with the neighborhood boys. I attempted to join their fun and received new scars weekly in bloody games of soccer. I was always the last one picked to play on the kickball team and, as the catcher of my 5th grade softball team, I hit the pitcher in the head with a fast ball. Uncoordinated in team sports, I succeeded only at baton twirling which was fun, but I barely broke a sweat.
Good Grief
If tears are an indication of how special my relationship with my mother was, I cry with pride! I’ve come to see grief as pain with a purpose. Interestingly enough, as I cared for my mother in my home the last several weeks of her life, much of what I had learned through spiritual teachings about death had gone out the window. It seemed as though I were losing her forever!
