I may cry right now.(fanning face) Don’t worry, it’s happy tears. I did it! I am a Certified Health, Wellness, and Life Coach! Tears are necessary right now, and I am completely ok with that.In fact to be honest I actually cried and ran around my house with my arms up in the air when I got my test score. There really is something to the saying ”pain sets you free”, and I do feel free. I feel like I have endless opportunities ahead of me and I know I can do anything I set my mind to. AND you know what? YOU can too! What are your dreams? What would you love to do but don’t think you have the time? Time… is a funny thing. As well as you can’t control it but you can control YOU. I am telling you that you can do this. You can make this dream into reality. Did I have time to do 10-15 hours of school work each week? Hell no, but I made it happen. I was so efficient with my time that I actually finished the self paced course two months earlier than the time limit I had. I am not saying this to brag but to show you it can happen with the right mindset and tools. 

• Find your ultimate goal (What lights you up? What is your true purpose?)
• Make a plan on how to get there (What do you need to sacrifice to achieve this goal? FYI do not sacrifice sleep). Easy sacrifices could be email, social media, or screen time. 
• DEEP WORK. Depending on what you are trying to accomplish, find time to go deep. Take a 30 or 60 minutes without phones or little people running around and just focus. Cal Newport from “Deep work” says : “To produce at your peak level you need to work for extended periods with full concentration on a single task free from distraction. Put another way, the type of work that optimizes performance is deep work.” 

Don’t bother me. Nothing fun. Just deep work. This is what I did for an hour every morning for four months. If you’re wondering why I wake up at 4:30am, it is because that’s when I do my best work. Instead of going on social media, shopping online, or looking at my texts or email… I would hunker down and complete an assignment. Wherever I was; at work, at home, or while my daughter had an activity I would go deep and get it done. And let me tell you it took some laser focus! There are distractions everywhere. FOCUS on what is most important right now. 

Sharp dramatic lines. For instance this is what your plan would look like on paper if you were following a path.  But in reality your plan will be like a roller coaster ride that will not go in a straight line. You will have to adjust it many many times and that is OK! However each adjustment made is something learned. The first week of my course I got horrible headaches to the point I had to lay down. Insert a squiggly line. I had to readjust my current plan, because clearly something wasn’t working. I realized I was doing too much and putting way too much pressure on myself, and moved on from there. 

The word perfect should just die. One of the most important parts of my journey so far has been getting out of my perfectionist ways and just being the best that I can be. This is so important!!! Listen closely!! There is no such thing as perfect. NOTHING will ever be perfect. If someone seems perfect they aren’t. If someone tells you it’s easy, they are lying. If they are making it look easy, they have probably had years of practice. HEAR IT. Above all I realized perfect is never going to come for me because IT DOESN’T EXIST,  and I would have broken myself trying to get there. I do have me though –the absolute best version of me, and that is enough. 

When I submitted my test to be graded, I said to myself, “Did you try your best? Did you give this test all you could give? Will you have any regrets submitting this right now?” Knowing that I did my absolute best, that I gave it 100 percent effort, I could press the submit button and know that everything was going to be ok. Did I know I was going to pass? Nope! Was it perfect? Nope!  But I did know that If I didn’t pass I would adjust my plan, add a squiggly line and make it better because I gave it my all. That’s all you have to do. Be the best you. My journey is far from over, and my roller coaster will continue on, but I will celebrate this moment for myself… and appreciate the squiggly lines that brought me here. 

Go for your dreams.

Give it your all. (no regrets, remember?)

Kick perfect to the curb and show up as the best, one and only you. 

Everyone starts somewhere on their journey. Start Today.

“The bird dares to break the shell, then the shell breaks open and the bird can fly openly. This is the simplest principle of success. You dream, you dare, and and you fly.”― Israelmore Ayivor