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Tag: Living Fully

The Antidote to Panic — Mindfully Reducing Fight or Flight Response

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Controlling Stress.

Mindfulness is Key to Reducing Fight or Flight Stress Response

If you’re hiking in the woods in Oregon and you see the glowing eyes of a cougar, will your heart start racing? Of course it will! The fight or flight stress response kicks in with a vengeance and panic makes you want to run! However, your life depends on getting a grip on your panic and courageously standing your ground, maintaining eye contact, and raising your arms to make yourself appear bigger and noisier to scare the big cat off.

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Got a Plan for Personal Growth? Set Intentional Goals for an Optimum Life

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Embodied Leadership, Self-Leadership Skills.

You are the captain of your life and a plan for personal growth will get you to your desired destination“One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen, again and again, fear must be overcome again and again.” ~ Abraham Maslow

Before any captain sails from port, she has multiple, detailed, and documented plans that include checking each operating system. The Navigator creates a passage plan, (a comprehensive, step-by-step description of how the voyage will proceed from departure to destination) and advises course corrections, as needed, throughout the trip. Every crew member has prepared a mental game plan for any contingency they might meet. If one trip involves this much planning, how much planning do we invest in our lives? Do you have a plan for personal growth, so you can live your optimum life?

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How Embodiment Coaching Strengthens the BODY, Mind, Spirit Connection

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Embodied Leadership, Somatic Coaching.

Embodiment coaching teaches self-awareness on a deep level, seeing the connection between emotions, thoughts and body sensations, posture, movement, etc.“Embodiment is living within, being present within the internal space of the body. It’s something quite different from being aware of the body.” ~ Judith Blackstone

Think for a moment of someone that you admire because they are very centered and grounded... They’re living in harmony with their body instead of fighting against it. Would you like to feel that way? Are you tired of feeling like you’re always reacting to outside forces, instead of being propelled from deep within? Do you want to have more control and influence, but at the same time be more empathetic, and sensitive to others? If so, then embodiment coaching is a great tool for learning about yourself — many things you never knew or even thought about before.

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Are You a Perfectionist? YOUR Key to Success — Change Digital Thinking to Analog

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Self-Leadership Skills, Transform Your Life.

Are you a perfectionist? Try my “Are You a Perfectionist? Not Anymore!” Exercise to expand your view of a situation so you see all possible adjustments. "We can choose to be perfect and admired or to be real and loved." ~ Glennon Doyle

When was the last time you adjusted a dial? We used to dial our phones or change a radio dial to find a favorite station, but not anymore...we punch buttons. On TV, they used to say, “don’t touch that dial!” meaning don’t switch programs or you’ll miss out on something important...now we hit our remote buttons. When daylight saving time approached, we turned the clock’s dials...spring forward/fall back...now the atomic clocks do it for us. We see precise, computerized readouts everywhere. I think this has caused us to lose a valuable tool for living. It’s influenced our thinking more than we realize. In what way? Well, are you a perfectionist? If that’s your tendency, then it’s time to embrace the dial again!

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How to Engage The Power of Mindfulness to Lead a “Delight Full” Life

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Mindfulness, Self-Leadership Skills.

Do these mindfulness exercises to increase your awareness of self and the environment thereby unleashing the power of mindfulness.About the power of mindfulness: “The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently.” ~ Pema Chödrön

It’s a hot summer day in the garden. Diana is miserable. All she can think about is getting done with work and getting in the house. On the other hand her sister, Daniela, although uncomfortable in the heat, is delighted to have spotted a swallowtail butterfly on the gloriously scented roses, as a delicious bit of breeze tickles across her arms. She feels filled up. Both women have the same physical reaction to the heat, yet one can’t wait to get the day over, while the other is savoring the delights around her. Would it surprise you to know that Diana, not Daniela, is the one that loves gardening?

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