I tell my clients “It all begins with a decision . . . Your decision to say YES to a different future.” It’s true. . . . And sometimes life just makes the choice for you.
I’m a radical coach and I didn’t just decide to be radical, my experiences in life have guided me on a pretty crazy path at times. In order to satisfy my seemingly insatiable desire for understanding I have been dished up some pretty awesome learning experiences disguised as life hurdles, challenges and tragedies. I’m radical because of the approach and perspective that I take around business and life. I just don’t see life the way most people do and I give you permission to question the heck out everything as well. And in the face of it all I have not only survived . . . I have THRIVED and I continue to face challenges and refuse to just be a survivor of life.
I desire to THRIVE.
You B E A U T I F U L are a RēL Woman just waiting to thrive!
I would bet that you desire to thrive too.
Have you found life is a continuation of challenges and lessons and hurdles? As soon as you have one thing under control or figured out then another seems to fall apart or break down taking you on a constant spiral downward. It is one of the most heart wrenching things to see another woman struggle when it really doesn’t have to be this hard.
The problem isn’t that you aren’t smart — you are brilliant and resourceful and truly phenomenal. The problem is that because of all these attributes there is also the belief that you “should” know how to fix it or how to just “get over it”. Maybe if you just try harder!
Look sister, if you could have done it alone, you would have already. Right?
As women we carry a false belief that if we try hard enough we will be able to figure it out on our own. Life is meant to be shared . . . and the journey is so much sweeter when we open our hearts (and ears and eyes) to learn from and with each other.
It is in how we choose to approach these obstacles that makes all the difference. Our approach depends greatly on the self-awareness that you have along with your mindset and the tools and techniques that you have collected along the journey of life.
I would like to share with you the first 2 of my RēL Woman! critical components that will allow you the ability to continue to create the life and business you dream about while sustaining your success through building a strong foundation. Once you see the value of each one, creating your own plan to more fully engage in your life becomes a priority.
So just what is self-awareness? In Radically Engaged Living self-awareness is defined as:
Self-Awareness: The consciousness to really understand what makes you tick . . . what you really desire. What brings you deep joy and the awareness of how to align your desires with your unique and individual integrity . . . your truth.
The Cosmic 2 x 4
We have the opportunity (heck, many opportunities) to WAKE UP! to our life. Usually people that are AWAKE have been hit hard by the cosmic 2 x 4. They have faced serious life tragedies or major challenges and have lived through it . . . not to survive, they have figured out how to thrive. These soul jarring experiences crack us open and leave us raw and exposed to the harshness of life. It is almost as if we are forced to face the delusion that we have created about life. We are cracked open to really see ourselves and the world around us through a new reality.
These experiences are life changing. It is almost as if to move from survival to thriving we are forced to face our personal responsibility in the choices of our life. Often we change friends, rethink relationships, change careers and reevaluate health choices. This takes most people years to go from Waking Up! to actually being AWAKE. During this process we develop self-awareness. It comes at a cost and with much pain and suffering and ends up with the sweetness called being AWAKE. Life has new meaning and purpose.
The other way to gain self-awareness I will call the short-cut.
The shortcut.
The shortcut is achieved when you follow a proven path to creating the results you want: with expert guidance. In this case it is a guided journey through WAKING UP! to become AWAKE to your life and her magical mystical journey.
While I call this the shortcut, please know that it takes years and I believe it is an ongoing unfolding that will continue to occur throughout your entire life. The difference between the Cosmic 2 x 4 approach and the Shortcut is that there is awareness. Awareness allows you to be awake to what is happening in your life so that you don’t get broadsided. Challenges still happen, however you have the ability to stay in alignment with your own integrity, with your own heart’s desires and make choices from that foundational center. Life takes on a honey sweetness that seems to slightly flavor even the most mundane aspects of life.
The pain and suffering we often experience is caused by being out of alignment with ourselves. Without knowing yourself how could you possibly know how to stay in alignment?
Mindset is a buzzword that seems to be flying around these days. It is however so much more than just sunshine and positive thoughts. In Radically Engaged Living™ mindset is defined as:
Mindset: Knowing the proven perspective to open yourself (which in turn opens your life experiences and opportunities) to possibility. This information we are NOT taught through our schools and society. It is deep . . . complex and IMPERATIVE to living Radically Engaged.
When I think of mindset I see it as if everyone had a pair of sunglasses on as we walk through and experience life. Each of us wears our very own pair, uniquely our own. These glasses are like filters that only allow certain perspectives to be seen. So what I see is different than what you may see.
If we have cloudy lenses on our glasses then we can’t see the vivid beauty of the world around us . . . everything we see is cloudy and fuzzy. Through life we have choices to change our glasses for ones that can SEE the world more clearly. We can choose ones that fit us better, feel good or we can choose to wear the ones that are popular and the trend. . . you know the ones someone else told us we should be wearing.
Mindset is the ability to know what glasses you are wearing and to make a different choice to continue enhancing your life experience. It takes courage because seeing life through clear lenses can be challenging. You however are oh so courageous. And a success mindset requires you to be wearing the glasses that see the possibility of success.
When we choose to see truth . . . our truth – we give ourselves the gift of freedom. The best part is that mindset and self-awareness together create an amazingly powerful foundation to create and live your life from. AND they both can be taught!
So, what are the other 2 components to Living Radically Engaged?
Strategy: The tools to create an action plan to get you from where you are to where you desire to be. Structure to create a strong unshakable foundation and processes and systems to keep it running once you create it.
Tribe: The right people around you to help you achieve your dreams as well as sustain your new level. The people around us play such a key role in our ability to sustain our new way of living. If you don’t have it now . . . it’s time to create it!
All it takes is taking that first step, in courage and belief in yourself. When you show up in your life with self-awareness, a success mindset, a clear strategy and surround yourself with a supportive tribe everything moves in sync and the flow of opportunity and life is like a beautifully orchestrated dance. For right now I encourage you to connect to our RēL Woman TRIBE on Facebook and start to feel the difference of being connected to likeminded and RēL Women.
Life is meant to be lived BIG and yet nobody can do this for you. It requires you deciding to make a change, to engage in your life in new and expanded ways. Until next time.
XO,
Marianne
