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Continually grow as a person and find your work/life balance

Will You Work from Home Post Pandemic? Self Leadership Skills Required!

If you want to work from home post pandemic, the key is learning these 4 self-care and self-leadership skills that keep you moving forward. “Self-care is, fundamentally, about bringing balance back to a life that has grown imbalanced from too many commitments or responsibilities.” ~ Robyn L. Gobin, author of The Self-Care Prescription

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your work routine? Do you still go to the office to work? Or were you forced to work from home?  Perhaps you already worked from home as an entrepreneur, coach or business owner. Whatever your circumstances, this unique time in our history creates an opportunity to think about what you really want from life, including whether or not you’ll work from home post pandemic.

As with many of my clients, I had to quickly learn how to work from home. Thankfully, I was already using Zoom to work with clients who live in different parts of the country (and the world!) so was able to transition to that format very easily. I’m also grateful I already had self-leadership and self-care practices and routines in place, which allow me to balance new demands in a healthful way. It’s like riding a bicycle — we have to keep moving forward to keep your balance.

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Bored by Routine? Learn to Unleash the Power of Repetition to Improve Your Health and Life

When you tap into the power of repetition and routine actually gives you more freedom to enjoy novel experiences and improves your overall well-being.  Is predictability passé? Do you thrive on change? Is chasing novel experiences your thing? Do you view routine activities as boring, even a waste of time? I get it. I’m the kind of person who craves something different. For example, I’m not happy unless I rearrange my furniture every few months. But I’ve learned that tapping into the power of repetition and routine actually gives me more freedom to enjoy novel experiences in my life, and I think it will work for you, too.

The number one reason why routine and the power of repetition gives you more freedom, is that repetitive actions reduce your overall stress levels. Every time you have to stop and make a conscious decision, you’re adding stress to your life. But once the decision is made, you’re free to not think about it again unless you choose. 

Doing things routinely allows you to become more centered. I’ll get to how to do that in just a moment. However, let me first assure you that learning to love the power of repetition will improve not only your mental health, but also your physical health. So many people tell me they don’t like the rigidity of counting calories, tracking their food intake, or doing the same exercise routines. With a simple mindset change, you can flip this thinking on its head!

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5 Key Values of a Modern Day Renaissance Woman. Is This YOU?

A modern day Renaissance Woman has many interests and skills.“I want to be a Renaissance Woman. I want to paint, and I want to write, and I want to act, and I just want to do everything.” ~ Emma Watson 

Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga, Mae Jemison — to name just a few — can all claim the distinction of being a modern day Renaissance Woman. To understand this reference, we have to go back in history to Italy during the 14th century. 

Since I grew up in Italy, I greatly enjoyed studying the Renaissance period. The name “Renaissance” comes from the French word meaning “rebirth.” It was a rebirth from the Middle Ages. It gave birth to discovery and exploration, innovation, and a resurgence of classical learning and spiritual enlightenment. 

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Overwhelmed? Gain Clarity of Mind with One Simple Yet Powerful Practice

Feeling out-of-control, with thoughts racing and jumbled? Try this powerful practice that helps my clients gain clarity of mind and inner peace. “I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.” ~ Anne Frank

Chris (not her real name) came to me feeling out of control. She described herself as always being in a hurry. She had to hit the ground running every day. Chris had minimal self-care. She had no time for deep relationships. She never got enough sleep and couldn’t remember the last time she sat down to eat a decent meal. A vacation? What’s that!  And at the end of the day, she couldn’t say what meaningful things she had accomplished. She felt empty and lost. She needed to gain clarity of mind. 

As we talked, I could see that her mind was ablaze with new ideas, which were quickly being extinguished by her many self-imposed obligations. She spent a lot of time just trying to retrieve information from her brain, notebook and computer files. She often didn’t know if she’d completed a project, because she was already on to the next. Then she’d have to retrace her steps and recreate mentally what had been done. Can you relate?

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Rising Early — The Natural Way to Look Better, Be More Energetic and Enjoy Life Fully

Out of the many benefits from rising early, these five are the ones that give me long-lasting motivation to get out of bed and wake up early every day.“It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom” ~ Aristotle

I wasn’t always an early riser. In my 30’s, I used to stay up really late and had a hard time waking up. Eventually I realized that morning time is a much more creative and dynamic time for me. Mindfully I started to shift my internal clock. I intentionally practiced baby steps toward rising early. Nowadays, waking up early is a real treat – it’s a time for me to workout, write, think, meditate and set my day. It’s no longer a practice; now it’s a way of life. Is that something you desire?

What I’ve learned from rising early: 

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