Feeling like your life is stuck in a rut? Then this is for you. Keep reading to find out 7 sure fire methods to help you get unstuck.

Hello friend, September is upon us, and after the back to school flurry things are starting to settle down in our household. And this weekend, along with hockey tryouts, a piano lesson and grocery shopping, we will be beginning to pack up a few things here at my parents farm, as it looks like our renovations are finally nearing completion! Woot!!  After almost 10 months away from home, I hope to be sleeping in my own bedroom by the end of the week. Yipee!!! The house looks fabulous and I will be sure to post some pics in the next Fullflight missive. But back to what to do if you are stuck in a rut…..

I was working with a client recently and she was describing her mood when she returned home from work. Going to work uplifts her, she enjoys her job and the people she works with, but returning to her house is a different story. She described driving home from work and rounding the corner to see her house with her front yard strewn with junk, and once inside, being greeted by more mess. Certainly not an uplift.

The family dynamics are such that my client ends up being responsible for most everything, walking the dogs, grocery shopping, getting the meals, looking after an ailing relative, and ALL the cleaning. There are other grown ups in the house but for one reason or another they aren’t pitching in. (And that is a whole other discussion).You can see now why coming home weighs so heavily on my clients shoulders.

Rules to getting out of a rut-

1. De-clutter / clean up / throw out the junk:

Heck hire a maid service if you have to! This is the suggestion I gave my client, and I do this myself when the ‘stuff’ of life starts piling up around me and I can no longer see my counter tops. Maybe it’s just a quick tidy that your place needs, but if it is a big job, pay someone to help you out. It’s worth it.

2. Try the fresh flowers cure:

This goes hand in hand with Rule #1 above. Once you have tidied up an area, and the surface is clean place a vase of fresh flowers there. Instant mood boost!

3. Shift your perspective:

Instead of looking at what is wrong in your life, start look at all that is going right. For the client above I suggested that she write down 10 things she is grateful for, every night before bed. Maybe there is junk in her front yard but she has a grassy, big lawn. Her house may need cleaning but it is hers, and she loves the neighbourhood it sits in. I like to greet the morning like this as well, noting all the things I am grateful for just after waking up. This is my way of ensuring that the day starts off on a peaceful and positive note, before I am swept up in the ‘to do’s’ of the day.

4. Start with the easy.

Let’s say you are feeling so overloaded at work or with your life, that you are frozen, you don’t even know where to begin. Start with one small action. If you are at work, at your desk, start with something doable. Maybe it’s calling a customer you know will be friendly as opposed to calling the grumpy one.

Or maybe your being hard on yourself for getting out of shape, or putting on some extra pounds? If that is the case, again start with something easy. Lace up your kicks and go for a walk around the block. If you want to get to a gym class in the morning, pick out your exercise clothes the night before and lay them out, so when the alarm goes off you will be ready and your morning will run smoothly. Just take one small action in the direction of where you want to go.

5. Be your #1 cheerleader:

When I ventured out into the coaching / entrepreneurial world I had the expectations that my friends and family would gather round me and give 110% in supporting this new venture of mine.

Nope.

Did not happen.

There are only a couple of my close friends and family members that helped me out when I was in that fledgling stage, and I so appreciated it, and do till this day!

But I did expect my cheerleading section to be bigger. But you know, people are busy, they are focussing on their needs, and maybe they don’t even know what you want from them.  What I have realized is that you need to be your own biggest cheerleader first. It doesn’t matter what goal you are trying to reach, the number of set backs along the way, or the number of ‘likes’ you get,  what matters is how YOU feel about what you are doing. I have put up blog posts and released work into the world that has been greeted with …crickets. But you know what, I don’t care, because I love what I do, it is my way of ‘serving’ and I would do it even if no one paid me, and to me that is a BIG win.

Be your own biggest cheerleader, ‘nuf said.

6. Try something new:

Hip hop dance class, wake boarding, poetry slam contest, motorcycle lessons, whatever. Find one thing that lights you up and go for it. Go for it even if you feel like a ‘shlumpadinka’ (lazy person in yoga pants on couch), go for it even if your roots are showing and you haven’t shaved your legs in weeks. Go for it even if you feel silly, scared or self conscious. Move through that fear and you will discover the goodies on the other side and suddenly you won’t feel so stuck.

7. Consult a professional:

If you have tried some of these suggestions and you still feel stuck, or you can’t contemplate even attempting any of the above, then it might be time to consult a professional. Depending on your level of need you could hire a coach, see a counsellor or therapist, or book time with a psychologist. If money is an issue check out free counselling resources in your area or inquire about ‘sliding scale’ payments.

This is your one life and you don’t want to be living it from the ‘in the ditch’ position on the side of he road, watching everyone else zooming by enjoying themselves.

You deserve to zoom too!

Getting to ‘zoom’….

That being said, everyone’s ‘stuckness’ is different, so different strategies will be employed for different people, but the above techniques I have shared are guaranteed to give you a quick jump start, they will help you see things differently, and hopefully get you out of the rut you are in and back on the road of life.

And if you have any tools you employ for when you are stuck in a rut, I’d love to hear about them- so put them in the comments, or if that is too public for your liking, contact me at admin@fullflightlifecoaching.com

Until next time my friend,

xo

Eliz

The post Stuck in a rut? Here are 7 ways to get out. appeared first on Elizabeth Ritchie Counselling & Coaching Services.

I was working with a client recently who has been succumbing to ‘stinking thinking’. And by ‘stinking thinking’ I am saying that she is thinking thoughts that do not serve her. In response to this trend we had a chat about viewing her life from an observer’s perspective, instead of getting triggered and reacting.

‘Just observe your thoughts as they come up’ I said to her.  As we are both Game of Thrones fans I added; ‘Like an internal ‘watcher on the wall’ if you will.’  For you non GOT fans, the ‘watchers’ are the men from a group of soldiers called the Night’s Watch, who, high atop the ice wall, keep a look out for invading bands of ‘Wildings’ and zombie like ‘White Walkers’.

Tapping Into Our Inner ‘Watcher On The Wall’

When we learn how to tap into our inner ‘watcher on the wall’ BIG changes can occur.

Instead of reaching for that third bowl of potato chips, when our ‘watcher’ is activated, we have an opportunity to pause and question our automatic responses (like reaching for more potato chips!).

And with the pause comes the chance to ask;

‘Is eating this third bowl of potato chips really what I want to do right now?’ Or am I just bored? Maybe I am actually tired and what my body really needs at this moment is sleep, not more potato chips’.

With our inner ‘watcher’ alert we are less prone to falling for triggers like a snarky comment from a co-worker, or a judgmental remark from a family member. Instead we can simply sit back and observe the scene, and then tune into our inner dialogue ie. how we are reacting to what is being said, and questioning why we are reacting as we are.

The ‘watcher’ at work….

The watcher on the wall process might go along the lines of;

 ‘Wow. That is so interesting. I was telling X all about my fabulous new work project and then she said;

‘I hope you got that raise you have been wanting given all this extra work you are doing’.

Your ‘watcher’ contemplates her statement.

Hmmmm. How curious. She said that and then I felt irritated, because I have not yet asked for that raise. I can feel myself wanting to get defensive and argue with her, but I’m going to stay with this and let the situation unfold. I will let that trigger slip away. Yes, that certainly feels better.

‘Shoulding’ All Over Ourselves And Others

The client I was referring to at the start of this post has been troubled by thoughts such as;

‘I should have been promoted to senior management years ago”.

‘Really? I ask her. Should you have been? Who said that? Because I didn’t. Seems to me you are putting that pressure on yourself.’

To my client I added this.

‘And when you repeat that thought to yourself; ‘I should have been promoted to senior management years ago.’ How does that make you feel?

My client responds.

‘I feel bad’. 

‘I feel bad’.

Not how we want to feel right?

No, we want to feel good!

How can we take steps towards our goals and create amazing things in the world when we feel ‘bad’?

We can’t.

That is why we need to work on feeling good. And to feel good you need to think positive thoughts. Thoughts that will serve you and energize you and keep your momentum up.

Train Your Watcher To Do This….

So train your ‘watcher’ into catching these red flag phrases;

I should, I must, I need to, I have to.….

If you are thinking these kind of thoughts, that means is that your ‘watcher on the wall’ is asleep at the switch. The barbarians (unhelpful thoughts) are at the gate and your ‘watcher’ need to ‘get woke’ pronto or they will slip past and once they do, well then there will be trouble.

There will be trouble because…

….your thoughts create your feelings, your feelings create your actions, and your actions create your life.

Wake up your watcher, keep him / her alert and keep your thoughts helpful.

And it will all be good.

xo

Elizabeth

Jumping June 50% Life & Career Coaching Sale! … (*only until June 30th)

**** And there is just under a week left to take advantage of my ‘50% Off for 50 Years On The Planet’ (my fiftieth birthday!) June special.

50% off my 3 signature coaching programs but only until June 30th.

Space is extremely limited so book your spot ASAP.

Get the full deets HERE

The post Like on ‘Game of Thrones’? Kind of. Activating your inner ‘watcher on the wall’ for a better life. appeared first on Elizabeth Ritchie Counselling & Coaching Services.

Oliver at my parents pond.

Hello friend, hope you are having a lovely April. It is a rainy afternoon as I write this but the air feels warmer and the blossoms are out so yay! Feels good doesn’t it? I am also feeling good because I finally picked my ‘word of the year‘. Keep reading to find out what word I eventually landed on is and how I landed on it.

Apologies for the delay between posts!

As you may know life is a bit upside down for us at the moment due to our home renos.  You might recall we moved out of our place before Christmas and here we sit 3+ months later with not a lot of progress. Despite getting the permits last week the City inspector has a backlog so he hasn’t made it our place yet, which means all the trades are backed up – electrical, plumbing and drywall.

So we wait…and I continue to drive 2 hours a day back and forth to the boys school, and then back again for things like baseball practice. Sigh. At this rate we are hoping to be in by the end of June, early July??? ….it is really out of our hands though so I am trying to go with the flow (see my leaf analogy and how it relates to my ‘word of the year’ below).

It hasn’t been all bad though.

We had a Hawaiian vacation in February that warmed our souls. The boys were in heaven, swimming, strolling and eating, and so were we. Then in March Steve and I made a short, surprise trip to the UK for Steve’s uncle’s birthday. We even were able to fit in a few days sightseeing in London, getting to the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tate Modern Museum (where we saw the Picasso show), Churchill’s War Rooms (fascinating) and Harrods. You really need lifetimes to see all that London has to offer!

Steve and I enjoying the Tate Modern Gallery, London, U.K.

More good things have been popping up as well but I will save that news for another day. Stay tuned….

My Word of the Year! Finally!

I am not sure if it was the hectic blur of my life these last few months or a lack of inspiration, but I could not settle on a ‘word of the year’ for 2018.

You might remember that I pick a ‘word of the year’ every year that represents what I want that particular year to be about and for 2017 it was ‘Lean’. Not in the one dimensional sense of say having a ‘lean’ body but more about paring things down; a leaner coaching practice (streamlining programs and services), leaner financial services (paying no unnecessary fees), a leaner home (lose the clutter and make better use of space), and leaner in terms of my body / weight (overall better health and wellness).

Did ‘Lean’ Work? 

To be honest with you when I started writing this post I couldn’t recall what my 2017 word was! So when I went back and read that it was ‘lean’ I had a chuckle. For one, my house certainly is less cluttered as there is NO stuff in it, and we have less ‘stuff’ in general because we are living with minimal things out of boxes at my folks and have either gotten rid of our other ‘stuff’ or it is packed away in storage!

I also have to say that in terms of my health and wellness, that following our Hawaii trip this past winter I was feeling the best I have been in years. For the last 14 months I have been attending a great gym, the planters fascitis that was dogging me for the last year and a half went away so I was able to go for a run every second day in Maui. So yes, I am feeling stronger and leaner health wise (although I took a few steps back due to lots of eating out in London and too much Easter chocolate but I’m getting back on the horse this week! Public accountability!)

So ‘Lean’ worked for me, just as ‘Clarity’ worked in 2016, ‘Ease’ worked in 2015 and ‘Freedom’ worked in 2014.

There really is a special energy that forms when you chose a word to represent your aspirations for the coming year. Writing that word down, telling others, or sharing it on social media as I do, goes a long way to holding one accountable and keeping momentum up.

How I came across my WOTY….

…Oprah Interviewing Pema Chodron

This morning as I was doing the dishes I was listening to Oprah interview the Buddhist nun Pema Chodron. They were discussing heart advice for difficult times. The Buddhist tradition speaks a lot about ‘sufferring’ and Pema explained that suffering refers to encountering difficult times, disruptive times, anxiety provoking times etc. You know, those times that make you feel fearful and insecure.

Well these past months I,  like many other humans, have had some challenging times.

It isn’t easy to pack up your entire house and along with your dog and your two young sons (one with special needs who thrives with structure and regularity), and all your holiday paraphernalia; like 20 plus Christmas gifts, wrapping paper, gift receipts, snowshoes, bikes, pot and pans, food etc…and move in with your parents a few days before Christmas.

If you haven’t done it, well I can tell you it is quite unsettling. And it was unsettling for my folks too, who were used to a quiet, kid free house.

Living at my parent’s place means I often can’t find things like my son’s baseball glove which he now needs for practice, or there is an important file I need but it is locked away in our storage container so I can’t access it. In the scheme of things this may seem like small potatoes, but hey it’s my life and like you I have good days and not so good days where I find myself getting irritated by these types of little things.

So I am working on it.

Which brings me to my word of the year for 2018.

‘Surrender’

Go With The Flow

Pema Chodron spoke about how in the face of suffering, however big or small that suffering is, that surrendering to what is going on and accepting it is the key.

For 2018 I am surrendering to what is; storing my clothes in boxes, working out of my old bedroom instead of my office, a school run of 2+ hours a day, experiencing yet another delay with our renovation permits, finding out that we need to pony up another $12,000 for a leaky roof, whatever it is I will surrender to it.

I will try to be like the leaf that floats on the surface of the water, sometimes getting whipped around in a whirlpool, sometimes tumbling over the rapids, sometimes getting caught on a branch, and sometimes being carried gently down the stream. No resistance. No suffering. Only surrender.

So did you pick your word for 2018?

How is it going for you? Are you keeping up the momentum? Everyday gives you an opportunity to hit that reset button if you are not.

I’d love to hear what your WOTY is so feel free to put in the comment section below or if you are not reading this on my website, over on the blog .

xo

Eliz

*Update- Alongside my usual coaching packages I now offer a career coaching package as well. If you would like more information about this contact admin@fullflightlifecoaching.com

The post My ‘word of the year’ for 2018, finally! appeared first on Elizabeth Ritchie Counselling & Coaching Services.

Sunset the other night -looking from the back porch of my parent’s home towards the peaks of the Golden Ears basking in the alpenglow – amazing!

Happy 2018!

Hope you had a wonderful holiday season had some reflective time over the holidays to consider your New Year’s intentions and aspirations. New year equals blank slate! Wheeee!!!!

I have only started getting clear about my goals for 2018 this past week after a very hectic holiday season and seems I needed an extra week (last week) to recover from moving out of our house and in with my parents -the week before Christmas!- Nutso!  Then I need a few more days to recover from a bad cold.

Now that we are settled into my folks place I continue to unpack and shift things around finding places for our stuff, and I’m doing A LOT of driving, pretty much a one hour round trip to and from the boys school. Luckily it is only for a few months until we can move into our renovated home.

Looking forward to that day!

My husband and I have also been quite involved in the renovation details and last week I was picking out the tile and changing my mind about a tub for the ensuite, and reconsidering how much storage we will actually need, which resulted in new orders for the framers. It is a work in progress.

So lots going on and you can see why I haven’t  been putting out my newsletter or running any coaching events lately!

A view from our family room looking into what was the kitchen and dining room. #renolife

BUT…

…I have two things for you today!

1.  THIS VIDEO on how I did with last years ‘word of the year’ (‘lean’) and thoughts on this new year’s intentions. And speaking from my personal experience one of the KEY THINGS that is required if you want to achieve your goals and without this one key thing well, you ain’t gonna get there….

…AND

#bestquotesofourtime

2. A short post I created for social media (Instagram and FaceBook) about the above Martin Luther King quote that never fails to uplift and encourage me when life or the news (current U.S. President I am looking at you!) is bringing me down. This quote has helped me big time and I think it will help you too.

Here is the post;

Martin Luther King Uses the ‘moral arc’…. 

***

End of post….

Hope January is treating you well and that you find some time to set out your New year’s intentions and dreams for 2018.

Let’s make this our BEST YEAR EVAH! 

xo

Eliz

The post New Year’s Intentions and why you won’t reach your goals if you don’t do this one KEY thing! appeared first on Elizabeth Ritchie Counselling & Coaching Services.

Surf board art at Islands Cafe- I’m dreaming about Hawaii…

Aloha!

Hope you are having a great weekend!

I snapped this pic while thinking about one of my current dreams and enjoying a hot Kona coffee at Islands Cafe, a Hawaiian themed coffee shop near my house. It was one of those mornings where I felt the need for a change of scenery (this is a by product from working from home- you get cabin fever from time to time!).

This past week I have divided my time between all things coaching including creating this video (scroll to bottom), organizing for my son’s birthday, and continuing to pack up the house as we get closer to our move out / renovation date.

It felt good to visit Islands Cafe as it reminded me of essential life ‘survival’ tip number 6 from the video, which I think is a MUST if you want more JOY in your life. It has to do with creating ‘anchors’ in your life, which tether you to, and remind you of, your big DREAMS, and we all need to have dreams if we want to live a joyful and fulfilled life.

Anyhow I talk more about some of my dreams and anchors in the video (below) so I hope you check it out.

Also!!!!!!

I have extended the date of the special offer ($100 off!) on my 6 week e-course Passion Dream School until Sunday, October 1st at midnight as I was a wee bit slow in getting the information about the course out. I put the baking of my son’s birthday cake (9 years old!) before my social media posts so decided to extend the special offer through to the end of the weekend.

#priorities #familyfirst #always

Will’s birthday cake -baked and decorated by moi (but he picked out the candles)

If you liked what I share in the video and want to take this work further, then Passion Dream School is for you! Chock full of videos, audios, meditations, worksheets etc. and I have to say this program contains my BEST stuff and is priced really well. Click HERE for more info about Passion Dream School.

$100 off until midnight SUNDAY, OCTOBER 1st!!! 🙂

Ok thats it lovely, take care!

xo

Eliz

The post Spilling some secrets (new video about anchors, dreams and more!….) appeared first on Elizabeth Ritchie Counselling & Coaching Services.

And so September draws to a close. What a blur! One day I will experience a calm and quiet September but I don’t think it will be for many years! lol

Back to school, kids sports and lessons kicking off, prospective clients calling about booking strategy sessions, clients booking coaching sessions after taking the summer off, business meetings ramping up, and on top of this typical September activity I am trying to pack up the house as we prepare for our move out and upcoming renovations. Last week,  I was feeling overwhelmed by it all.

However I am an old hand at feeling overwhelmed AND getting myself out of it, and I willl share six techniques I used this past month which got me out of overwhelm and helped save my bacon.

1. Having a meal plan-

Ideally having five days of meals planned out, or at the very least, three.  Know what you are preparing and make sure you have all the ingredients in house. This will save you time and and energy, keep things running smoothly on the home front and ensure that you are eating nutritious foods.

2. Early bedtimes-

During the last few weeks of summer my husband and I got into a habit of staying up late watching TV. This caught up with us in early September when my eldest son was waking up at 4:30-5:00AM anxious about the coming school day (which meant we were waking up at 4:30-5:00AM!). We started going up at 9:00-9:30PM so we could do some quiet reading, wind down and fall asleep at a decent time. This made for much better mornings!

3. Keeping up the exercise-

During stressful times regular exercise can be the first thing to go. However, it is when we are at our busiest and most harried that we need to get our heart pumping and move our body. Since January I have pre-booked and pre-paid, a bi-weekly workout at my gym. This means I will get out of bed and get to that 6:25AM class on a consistent basis.

This arrangement has been working really well for me and since January I have only missed two classes due to illness. When I attended my old gym which was a ‘show up when you feel like it’ and ‘work out on your own’ arrangement, it was much easier to take a pass or go, but not work out to the best of my abilities. Pre-booked and pre-paid small group training is the way to go for me now.

4. Doing a ‘Mind Dump’ and using a ‘Priority / ‘Non-Priority’ list when overwhelmed-

If you participated in the Passion Dream Challenge or have been following me for awhile you may remember these two tools. I had to use them last week as I was getting bogged down by all my ‘To Do’s’.

I took all the thoughts swirling around in my head and captured them on paper. Immediately I felt lighter. Then I sorted them into one of the two columns. Was this item a ‘Priority’ or a ‘Non-Priority?’ Seeing my ‘To Do’s’ noted in their respective columns instantly made me feel more organized and capable and I knew I could handle all I needed to do.

5. Use a ‘Daily Compass’ every day-

The second step after doing a ‘Mind Dump’ and a ‘Priority / ‘Non-Priority’ list is having a ‘Daily Compass’. From my ‘Priority’ list I then take the top three items I need to get done today and I write them down and put the paper where I can see it.

If I am working at my desk my ‘DC’ is next to my computer, if I’m in the kitchen it’s taped to a cupboard, if I am out it’s on my phone. Then, regardless of how nutso the day gets I will not be thrown off track. I can look at the ‘DC’ and be reminded of my true priorities and focus on what really needs to get done.

6. Have an ‘Anchor’ to remind you of your goals-

Keeping our eyes on the sweet things in life helps us to stay joyful and not get bogged down in the day to day minutiae. I have a friend who said she always has to have something to look forward to like a holiday to keep her feeling good.

One of my big goals is to go on a safari in Africa and there is one specific company I want to travel with and the cost of their safaris? Well let’s just say you would not call them inexpensive! 🙂  I am not in a position to go on this trip anytime soon but regardless, I have signed up for their e-mails and love getting their newsletter and being reminded that this is a treasured goal of mine.

Newsletters or e-mails from this safari company act as an ‘anchor’ to my big goal and reminds me that this is what I want to do, and that there are delicious things in store for me if I stay on track with my dreams. I had one of their e-mails pop into my in-box yesterday, with news about three new leopard cubs and it was a welcome treat!

If you haven’t done so already, I recommend you create some kind of similar ‘anchor’s in your life. This can be a vision board with pictures on it that represent your dreams or having a password on your work computer that reminds you every day of one of your wild and juicy goals. Use these ‘anchors’ to keep your dreams alive and present in your everyday life.

Want more tools like these? 

There you have it my friend, six essential survival skills that will help you get through ANY month with joy and ease.

If these tools resonated with you and you want to take things further, check out Passion Dream School my 6 week e-course all about creating a more beautiful and peaceful life. It is chock full of techniques like these as well as videos, audios and more!, AND I am offerring $100 off until Friday, September 29th at midnight. Correction! – Now extended to Sunday, October 1st at midnight as I was slow to get the information out on social media 🙂 !

If you want to de-clutter your world (mentally and physically), get some more awesome coaching tools like these, and create a more gorgeous life, get my fun and easy e-course HERE

xo

Elizabeth

The post Six Life ‘Survival’ Essentials You Need to Be Using appeared first on Elizabeth Ritchie Counselling & Coaching Services.

How to make the most of September…

One week in and September is sizzling!

Can you feel the rush of energy as we move into the second week of the back to school season?

That thrum in my veins compels me to hit the reset button, tweak old projects and start new ones. Maybe it is amplified for me as I worked very little over the summer and threw myself into kids activities, holidays and a BIG new project I am excited to tell you about (below), and now with the arrival of September and my boys back at school I can really get to it, in terms of work-  yippee! But first a little backstory.

As you may recall, a few months back I launched the Passion Dream Challenge, seven days of videos, each with a daily mission, meant to help you de-clutter your world and create a more peaceful, beautiful life.

As I was putting the videos together and designing the on-line course that followed the challenge (Passion Dream School) I couldn’t help but do all the exercises myself, (all those that I wasn’t already doing regularly that is).

You know that old saying;

‘You teach what you need to learn.’

Well it totally cracks me up because;

A) It is TOTALLY true and…

B) I have so much to learn!

About being ‘uneasy’… 

Immersing myself in the PDS course helped me gain insight and inspired me to up-level my life (truth be told, as a self development junkie working in the coaching field I am always doing this, and I totally love it!)

So this past Spring, after applying the practices laid out in the PDS course, things in my world started shifting a bit more than usual, and it was unsettling. Everything felt off, and I think it was because I had just put out a coaching program about creating a beautiful, peaceful life, yet my own life did not reflect this (or at least to the extent I wanted it to, and knew it could be).

I felt compelled to acknowledge this inconsistency and make an effort to design my life in a way that felt more congruent. To do this meant creating a mess, but destruction, chaos, disorientation, whatever you want to label it, is a natural part of the creation and / or transformation process. To build something new you often need to tear down the old.

I tell you about our big ‘mess’ below…

To Move or Not to Move?

…right before the launch of Passion Dream School, I had moved my home office into our laundry room, in preparation for redoing my office. My husband and I got to work on the spring cleaning, we decluttered and sent a bunch of stuff to recycling, but despite our efforts we still weren’t happy with the office, and if truth be told, we were not happy with our entire living space. We just could not get our heads around what we were going to do with our poorly laid out, 1980’s era house which is in need of a lot of repairs.

As we live in a wonderful neighbourhood, with our kids settled into school, activities and routines, we had decided against moving. This past winter, we had agreed to fix up the house ourselves, starting with a make-over for my office, but soon realized that was, as another old saying goes, like ‘putting lipstick on a pig’. LOL

I had been dissatisfied with our house for years and was now determined to ‘Create An Environment Worthy of a Passion Dreamer‘. That is the title of Module 2 in PDS fyi, and basically means creating a beautiful, peaceful environment that is reflective of the person(s) who inhabits the space, and despite our best efforts in clearing clutter, and applying a coat of paint, the underlying issues (walls deteriorating, poor layout etc.)  were still obvious.

So we took the plunge and hired a general contractor, and this past month we have been working on a new and improved design for our house, and I am still camped out in the laundry room.

Chaos Before Creation

In keeping with the ‘you need chaos in order to create’ model, I have spent the last few weeks going through every item in our house with an aim to discard, give away, recycle or store – it is a decluttering on a major scale. Once most everything is stored away in containers (which will happen soon) we will be moving into my parents place, about a thirty minute drive away, for about eight weeks while the renovations are done.

Although I am not looking forward to uprooting our lives, and despite the fact I still have a ton of packing to get through, I am very much looking forward to living in a congruent, peaceful living space – one that is worthy of a ‘Passion Dreamer’!

September’s Energy is Available to You!

Now I know a lot of peeps feel moved by the fresh energy of the fall (just as the Spring energy moves us) and if you are feeling the need to pare your life down, or clean out your home in preparation for winter, keep in mind that there is great power in de-cluttering! As I can attest to, it can take you in directions you didn’t even know that you wanted to go! (at least consciously anyways!).

This doesn’t have to mean having a garage sale or taking items to the Salvation Army either, it can also mean ‘clearing out’ relationships that no longer serve you, leaving a difficult job or work situation, or setting stronger boundaries with certain people in your life in order to protect your wellbeing.

If you can, take some time out to reflect on what is, and is not, in alignment in your life, and see what areas you feel inspired to ‘tweak’.

How You Do’in?*

(*Said like Joey on ‘Friends’ ha ha)

If you are feeling that pulse of fall energy and are keen to harness it and make some changes in your life – whatever that looks like for you, but you aren’t really sure where to start or what to do, then you might be interested in becoming a student of the Passion Dream School. 

The purpose of PDS is to create a more gorgeous life and the program is chock full of videos, audio recordings, meditations, checklists, recommended readings and other awesome things.

(Keep scrolling for the full description below).

Keep in mind this course is all done on-line, you can dive into it whenever you feel inspired (no deadlines!), and until the end of this month I am offering PDS at a special price (until September 29th at midnight). Check out the description below if you want ALL the details.

What Will Passion Dream School Do For Me?

In a nutshell?

 It will help you create the life you want.

The Passion Dream School on-line program comes with;

• 3 videos
• 14 audio recordings on topics such as; ‘Life Hacks’, ‘Negativity Busters’, ‘Managing Fear’, ‘The Power of Anchors, Totems, Talismans and How to Make Them Work For You’,  ‘Setting Up Your Own Board of Directors’ and other juicy topics
• Questionnaires like ‘What’s Draining You?’ and ‘How Ready Are You For Change?’
• Meditations, visualizations and ‘how to…’ links re: how to meditate and specific meditations (forgiveness meditation, cutting ties with someone meditation)
• Handouts such as the ‘Life Systems Checklist’ and ‘Goal Setting Cheat Sheet’
• Checklists on de-cluttering and creating your ideal environment
• Recommended readings (my ‘go to’ bedside table books that have helped me get me through any situation life throws at me- and continue to help me!)
• My ‘getting into alignment’ (good vibes only!) personal music play list and lots more!

I must say I’m particularly proud of PDS because it contains some of my best stuff, coaching tools, techniques and info that I ONLY share with my coaching clients or in my groups, and truth be told, this is information that, through a variety of coaching and educational experiences, I have paid thousands of dollars to access.

I am pretty pumped with how I have packaged and priced it (hello- affordable!), in a way that makes it easy and fun, and you don’t have to shell out a ton of cash to access the information. And this program is meaty, so you are getting great value when you purchase it at this special price.

 Now in a previous Full Flight post I did share one of the videos from the program (about the ‘Change Cycle’), and if you missed it and want a taste of what PDS is about, and are interested in how to get a 1,000 foot view of your life, watch it HERE.

But if you know you want Passion Dream School now and can’t wait to get started-  click HERE

And If you would like more information about  Passion Dream School  click HERE.

Ok my friend, over and out and have fun with all that marvellous energy September has to offer!

xo

Elizabeth

The post How to make the most of September… appeared first on Elizabeth Ritchie Counselling & Coaching Services.

TGIF!

Hope you are having a fantastic day!

I’m talking about goals today so keep reading to find out what my pant size has to do with my current goals and my ‘word of the year’!

Well it is the end of the week peeps and we finally seem to have seen the back end of the winterish weather. It is sunny as I write this but more spring rains are a coming apparently, on par with living in a rain forest I guess!

I am in a ‘fabulous Friday’ kinda mood as I am off to see U2 and Mumford and Sons at BC Place tonight with Steve!

Cannot wait!

I think the last concert we went to together was Coldplay about 5 or 6 years ago, we are well overdue.

And yes I did pay WAAAAAYYY too much for these tickets through a ticket resale site (thinking I was purchasing in Canadian $ when it was really $US-gulp!) but I am going to put that aside and enjoy the show, and for the record I am TOTALLY going to lobby for legislation to out- law ticket re-sales, I cannot believe that this is allowed! What hasn’t anybody done anything about it? I will be contacting my MP this week (I don’t know why I didn’t do that at the time I got fleeced, but will do so now!).

I am also feeling particularly pumped this morning as I am on an endorphin high from my workout at Thrive Fitness Studio. The instructors there really know how to push you (so much so that you can barley lift a loaf of bread the next day) but overall I haven’t felt this good in a long time.

I need to give my friend Erin props for suggesting it to me;

‘Thx Erin!’.

I have a bunch of updates to share with you today – related to my ‘Word of The Year’ so be sure to keep reading because there are some points I am hoping you can take away and apply to your own life.

Let’s go! 

Passion Dream School is Underway!

This week I am fine tuning Module 3 of Passion Dream School, my online course that is all about creating a more peaceful and gorgeous life.  I can’t believe it is Week 3 already, we are about half way done! And the feedback about the course so far has been good. Yay!!!

As I review the information contained in the first 3 weeks of the modules – about owning your worth, creating your ideal environment, and goal setting, I find it is helping me recalibrate my daily practices and improve my focus as I continue to work towards my goals.

‘Word of the Year’ Update

If you have been a Full Flight Insider for awhile you will know that every year I like to choose a ‘word of the year’ (WOTY) -a word that represents how you want to feel in the coming months, and for 2017 I choose ‘LEAN’.

I liked ‘LEAN’ as it represented what I aspired to, not just in my body and overall health and wellness, but in my home environment, business and finances too.

So that means for this new year I intended to;

• lose some weight and gain muscle (become ‘lean’ in my body)
• de-clutter my home and create a more uplifting, peaceful environment (make my space ‘lean’)
• weed out unnecessary expenses, fees, charges etc. from our financial investments and ensure that we only hold worthwhile vehicles  (make our finances ‘lean’)
•  in my coaching business, get more specific about what I provide as a coach and who I can best serve, while paring down programs that no longer resonate with me, or my overall business model (make my business ‘lean’)

We are now four months into 2017 and let me tell you, for the first two months I really wondered about the wisdom of choosing ‘lean’ as my WOTY AND announcing this publicly on social media!

February was a dismal month as the kids were sick and then there were snow days so school was cancelled, and it all felt like two steps forward, one step back.

By month three though, I found my stride, and I want to share with you a few things that helped me stay on track with my WOTY, as my experience may help you as you focus on your own ‘WOTY’ and your own goals for the remainder of 2017.

SO ABOUT ‘LEAN’

Why I quit my gym…

Although I liked the gym I was going to (and had been going to for about 15 years) I quit last month, because in January I started a small group training exercise class (as mentioned above) at a studio close to my house. Going to my previous gym and working out on my own wasn’t getting me the desired results, so I knew I needed to change things up.

When I first started the class (1x per week each Wednesday)  I could barely get through the 45 minute circuit (and my ongoing plantar fasciitis didn’t help matters either-still not cured of that BTW), but over the next few months I saw an improvement in my cardio and strength, so a few weeks ago I decided to add a second class.

I am happy to report I feel like a different person!

Here are some changes I have noted;

-I went for a bike ride with my kids and my youngest said “Mom slow down you are going too fast”, where as in September I was huffing and puffing, trying to keep up with them. *That was my first big clue that I was making gains (I have not weighed myself since January and I have NO CLUE what I weigh right now).

-Last weekend I went in for my 3 month assessment at the studio and instead of holding the plank for 40 seconds I held it for a one minute 15. Instead of lifting an 8 pound weight like I was doing back in January, I was now lifting 15 pounds. I could not even do a proper burpee when I started and now I can do 10 in a row.

-I went shopping the other day for new summer pants and bought two pairs that were both a size smaller than what I was wearing last summer.

Improvements!!!

Why I didn’t care that I irritated our financial planner…

So you know how I was focussed on making our family finances ‘leaner’?

Well in February I spent TWO WEEKS, (yes two entire weeks) reviewing every aspect of our financials- mortgage, debt, investments, RRSPs, RESPs and Oliver’s RDSP (registered disability savings program) AND doing research on the best investment vehicles for our family. (Handling the family finances doesn’t really turn my husband’s crank, but I actually enjoy it and I think I am pretty darn good at it too!)

This financial overhaul meant talking at length to our advisor and asking him any question that came up. My advisor is a patient man and he responded to all my emails and spent a couple of hours over those two weeks on the phone with me explaining anything I didn’t quite get.

There would have been a time not so long ago where I would have just accepted the advisors recommendations and not spoken up about anything I was confused about, but I can’t live like that anymore. I am at that point in my life that I don’t care if I ‘make waves’ (and it has taken me a long time to get here!).

I figure it is our money and I need to understand where it is going and what it is doing, and I don’t care if my many questions irritate someone.

Because I spoke up I now have a much better understanding of what is going on with our investments and the market,  and once I had the information I needed I instructed our advisor to move money from funds of their choosing to funds of MY choosing and in the process switched over some $ from mutual funds to index funds (lower fees).

Last month our investments had a great month, so so far so good!

But really, regardless of what happens in the market, I feel it is a big WIN, because spending time and energy to understand what is going on with our money and then making our financial investments ‘lean’, turned out to be a very empowering experience.

The state of my office

Welllllll……, it hasn’t come along as far as I had hoped but my husband is almost done with scraping the ‘popcorn’ off the ceiling, so I am hoping that by next weekend we can start prepping to paint.

Once painted I can move out of the laundry room (where my desk and computer currently are) and set up shop again. When I moved into the laundry room several months ago I did a big purge of old papers, files and books and I will do another before moving back in.  I am slowly getting streamlined and creating a beautiful new space to work in, and I bought a new picture for my office wall which I can’t wait to put up.

So in terms of streamlining my home (making it ‘lean’) it is coming along!

The state of my business

As mentioned the Passion Dream School course is underway and I am having a blast with it !!!

I discovered the I really love creating audio trainings (a big part of PDS), and this is something new for me. This course is all done on-line which is fabulous as the participants can work on it on their own time, and re-listen, review portions as need be.

Due to scheduling conflicts, I decided not to run another round of the ‘live’ Power Posse group this spring, but I am looking forward to catching up with the last PP group next month for a coffee, a hike and coaching ‘brush up’ session (if the gals are interested in a ‘brush up’ that is).

We will also be stopping by Vista D’Oro winery, as Lee, who was part of the last Power Posse group, has just published a cookbook ‘The Preservatory’ all about her delicious preserves and I am looking forward to getting a copy and taking home another jar of her delicious vanilla rhubarb preserve.

As usual I have other ideas percolating in regards to Full Flight Life Coaching so watch this space for info about more about future offerings…

What I learned about this ‘word of the year’ process – in a nutshell

I’m sharing all this with you because I think choosing the right (for me) WOTY helped keep my focus in the above areas of my life.

So that being said I recommend;

-That you have choose a ‘WOTY’ that is right for YOU, and if you have chosen one, now would be a great time to review it and see how you are making out in terms of your progress.

-That you have the necessary supports in place to help you achieve your goals. (I could not have made progress on my health & wellness goal without enrolling in a new exercise group, or trying something new)

-Don’t be afraid to ‘make waves’ and ask the questions that need to be asked. Women have a particularly tough time with making themselves heard but when we stay small and quiet we lose our power. Don’t accept the status quo if you are uncomfortable with it.

-Make changes if you need to. Just as I quit one gym and signed up with another you may need to juggle things a bit too.

-Listen to your gut but do your research as well. I knew that in terms of our finances our fees were too high, so I asked to move our money, but before I did I made sure to do all my homework so I could stand my ground with my advisor and not get ‘talked out of things’.

As we approach the half way point of the year, take a few moments and check in with yourself and see what small adjustments or tweaks you might like to make in order to get closer to making your goals, (your dreams really!) a reality.

Hope this helps my friend!

And now I must dash, get my kids over to my Mom and Dad’s and head downtown for the big show!

Have a wonderful weekend!

xo

Eliz

PS

The below clip is from a social media post the other day (word of the year update on Instagram).

The post U2, my pant size (lol), going after your goals, and more …. appeared first on Elizabeth Ritchie Counselling & Coaching Services.

Not sure who designed this fabulous poster for the Women’s March yesterday-possibly Shepard Fairey / The Amplifier Foundation / Ladies Who Design – Love it!

Hello! We will get to the New Year’s goals in one sec ok?  But first a rant.

As I write this a massive crowd is gathering at the foot of Trump Tower in New York. It is like the peasants with the burning torches and pitchforks at the palace gates (and I say that with much love and respect for the peasants). My head has been spinning with the US inauguration and then the protests today but my husband and I are absolutely THRILLED by the turnout for these global marches- including a women’s march in Antarctica! (who knew there were even people in Antarctica!?)

Although many of us remain shaken by the choice of the new American president, I am feeling buoyed by the sight of hundreds and thousands of women marching today. I really do believe that this is the last gasp of the dying patriarchy and that great, positive changes are headed our way.

It may not have been Hilary Clinton’s time but she is our ‘grandmother warrior’ and the spark that she and others like her have ignited in all of us who are fed up with Trump’s attitude (and that of some of his supporters) towards women, minorities, the LGBTQ community,  Obamacare and Planned Parenthood, and his ‘let’s roll back the clock 70 years’ attitude in regards to US foreign policy in an era where we are basically a global village, well this spark will only grow BIGGER!

by Shepard Fairey who designed the iconic Obama poster in the same colors #greaterthanfear

Ok on to our New Year’s goals and making them happen!

New Year’s Goals – Turn Your Fear into Fuel and Make Your Dreams Come True!

What I really wanted to chat with you about today is going after your dreams and I have a short video (at the bottom of this post) that I hope will support YOU in making your 2017 goals come true.

This past week I have focussed on mapping out my 2017 life and business goals (it takes more time than you think!) and as I was doing so I realized how good this process really is, and how, by making time for it and reviewing the past year thoroughly, you can glean so much insight!  Insight that can then be used in the formulating of new goals.

Not A Goal Setter?

If you don’t think goal setting is important than you REALLY do need to watch this, because I believe that setting intentions and having big dreams is critical for a happy, fulfilled life.

Since I was a young girl I have been a goal setter and a goal getter, and generally whatever I set my mind to materializes in some way shape or form. I don’t think it is because I am anything special,  but I do think it is because I am good at focussing on what I want, and I follow a process which I talk about in the video. This process has been refined over the years but the basic components and tools remain the same.

I hope you enjoy it (and I would love to hear your feedback!) and I hope you keep chasing your dreams!

xo

Eliz

The post Master your New Year’s goals and make your dreams come true! appeared first on Elizabeth Ritchie Counselling & Coaching Services.

We had a wonderful Christmas, complete with family, friends, and a bit too much good food (of course!). I unplugged from social media and news for a few days and it was a breath of fresh air!

Noon on Christmas Eve and I am heading for a nap having unplugged from social media

Over the break we also went on our first ever family snowshoe trip. It was snowing heavily and way more of a work out then I thought it would be but was so much fun!

First family snowshoe day -Mt. Seymour

Shifting to the New Year

Although our tree is still up and the kids continue to get mileage out of their new Christmas gifts my thoughts have shifted to the New Year and being mindful about what I want to feel and create in 2017. The power of your thoughts is KEY my friend and it pays to monitor what you are thinking and what vibes yu are picking up from your environment. Here’s an example;

The other day I popped into a coffee shop and was confronted by a glaring newspaper headline all about how 2016 was the WORST year ever.

Then I returned home, sat down at my computer and read another news piece about how 2017 is going to be EVEN WORSE. This style of reporting got me steamed so I made a video. (Link to the video is below if you want to watch).

Year End Closing Ceremony

Here is a brief rundown of the questions I reflect on for this closing ceremony and my answers:

Top highlights of 2016? 

The talk I created for UBC Interprofessional Continuing Education 5th Health and Wellbeing in Children, Youth and Adults with Developmental Disabilities Conference this past November where I spoke about my ‘heroes’ journey’ in regards to my son Oliver’s diagnosis (Autism / Fragile X) and how my life became richer for our struggles. (*We are ALL the heroes of our own journey’s fyi).

Another highlight was the 7 month Power Posse ‘Make It Happen!‘ group coaching program that I facilitated with a tremendous group of women. I learned so much from them and I hope they learned a little from me…

…and of course the addition of Mr. Rebus to our family! Our now 8 month old Cairn terrier- how could I forget him!?

Oliver, Will & Rebus -Crescent Beach on a snowy day

Lowlights of 2016? 

The U.S. election and the election results. The long lead up to the actual election was nasty and the realization that Trump had won knocked me for a loop (and still does!). But life rolls on right?…

Changes for 2017?

In the last couple of years I have for the most part focussed on my family and then my coaching training / business. Health and wellness has taken a back seat I am sorry to say. During the months the kids are in school I workout 1x – 2x per week but have realized that this isn’t cutting it. Since my youngest was born (8 years ago) my weight has been steadily creeping up 🙁

For the coming year I have resolved to put more focus on my health, improved food choices and losing weight. The plantar fasciitis in my right foot which I have had since August is a total drag and I can no longer run but at least I can walk, swim and bike (and snowshoe!).

A couple of things I have started doing post Christmas is imposing a ‘no eating after dinner’ policy,  adding more fruits and veggies to my meals,  and regular exercise including riding the stationary bike we have at home if I can’t make it to the gym. Last night instead of watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix I hopped on the bike in our garage and listened to a good podcast (Gary Vaynerchuk if you are curious).

I’m also feeling called to get back into yoga which I first started way back when I was 17. I fell off the yoga wagon when I had my kids and I would like to get back on!  Not sure what that will look like yet but will keep you posted.

Below I share my ‘word of the year’ and you will see how it ties into my health goals for the year ahead.

So what about you?

What were your highlights for 2016, and what were some of the challenges? Is there anything you are planing on changing in the upcoming year?

Have you chosen your ‘word of the year’ yet? (WOTY)- the word that best captures how you want to feel in 2017?

My ‘word of the year’ for 2017 is…

I have been humming and hawing for a few weeks now about what my WOTY for 2017 will be.

I went back and reviewed my previous ‘WOTY’s’…

2014- FREEDOM

2015- EASE

2016-CLARITY

Hmmm. I think I achieved a sense of freedom for 2014 as that was the year I quit my job, started my coaching business and got a story published in a national newspaper. That was a breakthrough year for me.

Ease – 2015. NO WAY did I achieve that!  In fact it was probably the exact opposite. I hustled like a demon in 2015, simultaneously running my business, finishing my coaching certification alongside everything that goes into being a Mom and wife. I will have to take a ‘re-do’ on that one!

Clarity- 2016. I think I did achieve clarity or the feeling of being clear in most areas but for sure there is still work to be done,  particularly in regards to my business – because it is always changing it is a challenge to continuously be ‘clear’.

When I thought about my WOTY for this year the word that kept coming up for me was ‘less’.

As in, I want less;

-clutter

-weight

-stuff

-waste

-news (unless it’s good)

-negativity

-plastic bags (plastic bags stress me out as I know they cannot be recycled and the great Pacific garbage patch is growing bigger everyday!)

-busyness

-friction

-mean people

How Can You Feel ‘Less’?

But how can you feel ‘less’? You can’t really- you can feel ‘light’ but that word didn’t resonate with me. I narrowed it down to ‘lean’ ‘fierce’ and ‘joy’.  Can one feel lean, spare, pared down, streamlined?  I think that would work. I liked the energy that came with the word ‘fierce’ but it felt too aggressive in this context. ‘Joy’? Well joy always works! If you really think about it ‘joy’ could be your WOTY year after year because it doesn’t really get any better than feeling joyful does it?

However, I wanted to make my ‘word of the year’ be relevant to what I am experiencing in my life right now so I went with LEAN.

Yep – my ‘word of the year’  for 2017 is lean,  as in a lean, capable, strong, flexible body with no excess weight, as well as a lean, pared down, focussed business (no overwhelm) and a lean life / home with excess clutter, distraction, busyness and negativity eliminated (as much as possible).

So there you have it. A tall order I know but I want to set the bar high and I want to set it high publicly as it will make me more accountable to you all!

Your Turn!

If you really want to be actively creating your life I think choosing a ‘word of the year’ is a good start as it forces you to be mindful about how you want to feel and the things you would like to see come to fruition in the year ahead. If you haven’t already done so I hope you can make the time over the next few days to reflect on the lessons you learned in 2016 and feel inspired by the blank slate before you which is the new year.

Lastly…

For you local ladies I have chosen Sunday, January 22nd for our workshop based on Glennon Doyle Melton’s best selling book ‘Love Warrior’ so mark the date if you intend on coming.

It will run 9:30-3:30 in Ocean Park. I encourage you to read the book (whether you are planning to come to the workshop or not -it’s that good!)

I’d love to see some new faces coming out also so don’t be shy! If you are reading this newsletter you are part of our tribe already and you will love the energy and learning that comes from a group experience like this one!

More details about the LW workshop coming soon!

…and here’s my rant if you are interested (and apologies for my giant face! lol – I can’t seem to shrink this!)  

Happy New Year!

xo

Eliz

‘We live in an abundant universe and even when we feel loss and limitation, our choice to affirm what we know to be true – that we are limited by nothing – brings rewards.’

The post My ‘word of the year’ and closing out 2016… appeared first on Elizabeth Ritchie Counselling & Coaching Services.