Skip to main content

Maria Connolly, LPC Facebook Facebook Facebook

Tag: Self-Love

Start the New Year Off Right — Chart Your Course & Follow Your Compass

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Dream Big - Start Small, Self-Leadership Skills.

Are you ready for 2021? The practical way mariners sail through stormy seas shows us the way to put 2020 behind us and start the new year off right. Starting a new year has great symbolic meaning for us. It’s a fresh start that usually energizes us. But if  the problems of the previous year are dragging on, you’re still sailing on troubled waters. Changing your calendar won’t ensure you start the new year off right. 

How do we start the new year off right, with enthusiasm and renewed energy?

If you’ve had a fairly good year, you can take stock of your year and make sense of your losses and victories. Look for what worked and what didn’t. See what you predicted and what you got. However, this process needs to be very different when you’ve experienced major life shifts or traumatic events.

Continue reading

Courageous Self-Loyalty in a Busy World — It’s Not Selfish. It’s Vital!

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Dream Big - Start Small, Transform Your Life.

Striking a balance between loyalty for self and others means staying true to who we are while honoring our commitments to those we care about. True loyalty is sustainable when we respect both others and ourselves.Do you value and expect loyalty from those closest to you?  When we’re loyal, we’ve got their back no matter what. We never lose faith in them, because we know how devastating disloyalty is — it’s the ultimate betrayal. So, let me ask, Do you have that kind of loyalty for yourself? Or do you think loyalty to others means giving up self-loyalty?

Yes, in good relationships we all make sacrifices and compromises. That’s the give-and-take that helps us dance through life. However, all give and no take makes us off-balanced and unwell. Take, for example, Zoe…

Continue reading

Importance of a Self-Care Mindset — How to Help Your Clients See It!

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

As life coaches, we must teach our clients a self-care mindset that balances all aspects of life so they can discard the lie that self-care is selfish.This may be controversial, but I have to speak up…

As coaches, we’re often told we need to specialize in one area to stand out from the crowd, like nutrition coach, business coach, public speaking coach, mindset coach, personal development coach, etc. But to make a real difference in our clients’ lives, we can’t be so hyperfocused on only one aspect of life. Everything affects everything else. We need a holistic approach and that involves a self-care mindset!

Continue reading

Ten Centering Techniques to Live an Embodied Life

Written by Maria Connolly. Posted in Mindfulness, Somatic Embodiment, Stepping Forward.

One of the first steps toward living an embodied life is learning to observe and center self as you fully connect your mind, emotions, spirit and body.

An embodied life is a way of life that embraces what Plutarch said centuries ago…“What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.” So much of modern coaching techniques focus on thought process, emotional control and presence. Yet learning to live in and with our bodies is often neglected. People are left with a chasm between the person they want to be and the person they are daily and especially when under stress. (For example, you want to make good nutritional choices, but the argument with your boyfriend makes you so frustrated you binge on ice cream and chips.) 

Continue reading

Introvert Success — Your Quiet Best is More Than Enough

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

Introvert Success — Your Quiet Best is More Than Enough.“Solitude matters, and for some people, it’s the air they breathe.” ~ Susan Cain

An introvert can’t be a leader. They just don’t have what it takes. Introvert success depends on forcing yourself to be more outgoing, more competitive, more like Richard Branson than yourself.

Do you believe that? If I was to ask you to draw a scale or spectrum with extroversion on one end and introversion on the other, which would you place at the high end? Did you automatically place introversion as the downside of extroversion? You’re not alone. Many people do.

Continue reading

Let's get started with 30 free minutes

I invite you to learn more about me and my coaching and counseling services. Please contact me to schedule an “It starts with you!” 30-minute complimentary consultation with me, in-person, by phone or via video consultation, so we can explore our partnership.

SCHEDULE

How to Step Forward to a Future You've Created

Discover how to replace your old, self-limiting map with a new map full of possibilities for the future

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE INTRO TO STEPPING FORWARD TODAY!