intention Archives - Page 2 of 3

Where Is Your Focus???

November 15, 2013 by Lamisha

This week I have been a little MIA on my blog and for that I apologize, but I promise I had a good reason. I decided to take some time to really reset my focus for the rest of this year and into the new year. Re-focus sort of suggests I have been making plans and outlining my strategy, but what I did was a bit different from that.

I realized in the last two weeks especially, I have allowed the details of the future get the best of me. Mostly, the unknown details and the many questions that come with them. Questions about business success (or lack there of), questions about where I am headed, and what is on my path. I have spent much of the last two weeks trying to desperately solve problems, figure things out, set plans, and FOCUS on what is coming when I have no clue what that might be.

Up until a few weeks ago I was okay with the not knowing. In fact, I was more than okay with it…I was flowing with it and things were good. It wasn’t until I received comments from someone else on what I “should” be doing, that I began this crazed focus on what is going wrong.

I am sure you have been there before too right? Instead of basking in the wonderful things that are going on in life, we have a tendency to hone in on the one (or two) things that are lacking. We allow those one or two things to be the main focus, main theme, and our primary concern, until we realize it is getting us nowhere.

That is why this week I spent some time changing my focus. Instead of focusing on all the things I feel aren’t quite up to par, I have set the intention to practice flowing with what is good, abundant, beautiful, and magnificent in my life. Does that mean I won’t ever notice when my glass is half-empty? No, but it does mean that I am making a bit of an extra effort to soothe myself and know that it is okay for a glass to be half-empty some of the time, because when it is we appreciate the full glass so much more.So, I ask you lovely readers. Where has your focus been as of lately? Have you been enjoying and appreciating the magnificence that surrounds you or are you honing in on the things that are still missing? If you fall into the latter category, I invite you to change your focus up a bit. You may not have all the answers right now, but by enjoying the little things and the big things that are going well, you somehow find the answers you were looking for not only much faster, but also in the most amazing places.I hope you have an amazing weekend and turn your focus to the abundance and beauty all around you. As always, thanks for reading!

How The Coach Coaches Herself

September 16, 2013 by Lamisha

One of the things I love about my entrepreneurial journey is my ability to share my lessons, inspirations, and insights on my blog. Even when I have moments of doubt or when I am feeling frustrated about how things are unfolding, I am glad that I am able to share my experience with you. It not only helps you to know that we all go through rough times, but also helps me become a better coach in the process.

Lately I have felt a bit like a firefighter, constantly responding to what is going on around me and taking care of things without really being intentional about life in general. That lack of intentionality goes against a lot of what I believe in, yet in the past few weeks it seems I have had to put out a lot of urgent fires in order to make it through each day. Whether it is with my day job, home life, or family, I have been far more reaction oriented rather than intention oriented. I am finding this is not only feeding my anxiety about the future, but also leaves me wondering how to best find balance.

I have written a lot about accepting ‘what is’ in the current situation and not fighting it and I still believe that is important, but I can’t help but wonder how we can balance it all? How can we remain open and present in this very moment, while still setting our intentions for the future? How can we loosely plan for our future while still being open to what happens to come our way?

I guess all the questions come at a time when my future is a bit foggy and I fight between two extremes of surrendering to ‘what is’ and falling on faith or jumping into action mode to make things happen. I know that having faith in what is happening and leading with my inspirational foot is really best. And as a coach, I know I am simply allowing normal doubt to creep into my otherwise positive thoughts and they will pass as long as I don’t hang on to them for too long.

So, if I had a client in my exact shoes what would I tell her?

Well, I would encourage her to take a step back and breathe without making any decisions one way or another. This helps us gain some perspective on the “issue” and can often result in nudges from our intuition that leads us to the next step. Sometimes when we are so close to a situation, we allow our limited view to send us into a tailspin of unnecessary worry. Sometimes we just need to press the reset button and allow ourselves a chance to regroup.

Message received coach!

Instead of trying to fit my future into a container of reality, I am going to be like the bird in my logo. Free-flying and open to the endless possibilities that are out there. I know that by taking a step back and regrouping a little bit things will become clear again. The momentum will pick up again, and things will fall into place. Until that happens, I am going to do what I tell my clients.

“Do things that feel good and feed your soul. Allow yourself some time to just have fun and once you take the stress off a little bit, the inspirational nuggets will return and things will get moving again. Just be easy, this is all part of the journey.”

Thanks Coach!

Intention and Small Actions=Progress

September 4, 2013 by Lamisha

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about how quickly things have happened in terms of my dream of becoming a life coach. Just last night as I worked on getting my new Facebook page up and running, I remembered a time not too long ago when this was just a dream. My coaching business was a thought, a hope, a desire that felt like it was off in the distance somewhere. It wasn’t until I took the leap of faith, that it all became real.

In an instant.

I have seen this phenomenon happen over and over again. It seems that when we make a choice to do something and put even the smallest action into it, things seem to unfold almost magically. The intention and thought have a way of creating a bit of momentum and even the smallest step adds just enough energy to allow everything to align and progress is made. Add a little more action and the pieces continually fall into place.

Is this a formula for guaranteed success? Not necessarily. There are some things that require more intention, a bit more action, and what seems like a lot of momentum…while you are in it. I can tell you there have been many times when I feel like I am standing still in terms of progress and then when I look back on it, I realize I have come much further than I realized. Sometimes you just have to be easy about your dreams.

What I find interesting is how often we hear people talking about setting a goal, creating an action plan, working the action plan, working hard, etc. in order to reach your goals. I think this method works for some people, but I find myself taking score of what I have yet to accomplish. I am constantly looking at if I have arrived in order to move on and if I haven’t, I tend to get discouraged.

I find that setting an intention to do, be, or have something sets the energetic wheels in motion and when you follow your inspiration to the next step because it just feels right, there lies another opportunity for progress. Continue to follow that feeling and you will find yourself much further than you ever thought you could be.

Sometimes you don’t need a step-by-step map of how to get to your dream. With a vision, an open mind, and a little action, you can trust that your intuition and inspiration will lead you to the very next step. And if you aren’t sure where to start, just take a tiny step and watch as your path is illuminated little-by-little.

What can you do today to get you to the very next step? Share in the comments below, I would love to hear your intentions!

From Faith To Fear And Back Again

August 19, 2013 by Lamisha

I know I typically begin the week with either my Inspiration Round-up or Dreamer Highlight, but in light of keeping it real with you lovely readers, I decided to start the week this post instead. It is something I have been dealing with in the past few weeks and I am sure many of you have (or will) go through it as well.

I spent most of June and July imagining, envisioning, and creating my coaching framework as well as figuring out how I would present the information to potential clients. The process was very easy-going and high-flying as everything was so exciting. I didn’t feel a sense of urgency to get things completed by a certain date because I was simply following my inspiration to the very next step. I had this intuitive knowing that August 1st would be when I open practice up to take new clients. I had an idea that once I did, clients would come to me and would immediately want to get started. I even went so far as to set a goal for how many new clients I wanted to book by the end of the month.

We are halfway through the month and I am not anywhere near my goal.

Bummer.

Actually it hit me much harder than just a “bummer” moment. In fact, I have found myself deep in the throes of doubtful thinking, fear, and disbelief. My self-talk was running rampant as I condescendingly asked myself “How could you actually believe it would take off so easily?”

This was an admittedly ugly place to be for sure.

As I began moving through the muck of self-doubt, I realized I had allowed fear to take the place of the light, easy-going faith I had as I created my coaching model seemingly effortlessly. Through that process I kept reassuring myself (read my Ego) that I didn’t have to have it mapped out as to how, when, and who would want to work with me. I just knew that as long as I do what I love and stay true to myself the people who are meant to work with me will.

While I might have doubted how quickly I would book clients, I never once questioned that life coaching is what I am meant to do.

This weekend I did some thinking about my client goal for this month and couldn’t help but wonder if I had made a mistake by having a number I wanted to hit for the month. Instead of focusing on writing blog posts, working with my current awesome clients, and creating resources for my readers, I found myself keeping score of how many clients I had (or didn’t have). And while we are taught in the traditional/logical business world to set goals, map out a plan, and execute, I am beginning to see that might not be the best tactic for me. My philosophy does center around following my inspiration and the general goal setting is not all that inspirational for me.

So, I am happy to say I have moved through the muck and am moving back into trusting this process. I honestly believe and know that if you do what you love, the rest will fall into place, so that is exactly what I plan on doing.

In the past two weeks I have moved from a place of faith in the process to fear and back again and I must say it feels so much better.

Do I think I will always be high-flying and trust the process? Probably not, but I now know it is not where I have to stay. I can allow my Ego to have her say before I kindly tell her to relax and trust the process. And what is even better than that? I can use my personal experience to help my clients who may be struggling with the same thing.

Where do you have doubts in your life? I am interested to know how you deal with your own doubts, please feel free to share below!

Making Peace With Your Starting Point

June 27, 2013 by Lamisha

Have you ever had the experience of being in a situation, job, relationship, or circumstance that you simply wanted to get out of? Maybe you wanted it to move in another direction or you wanted to have a different outcome. Simply put, you were in one place, but you desperately wanted to be in another without knowing how to get there.

I think we all have had that experience. I know I have had that many times especially when it came to my job. At one point (not too long ago) I was working for a company that was ok, but I couldn’t get over how demeaning, mean, and completely unfair my boss was. My daily focus was how much I wanted to leave that place and yet no matter how many resumes I sent out I couldn’t seem to land another job. At one point my focus for what I wanted next was so diminished I would have taken anything just to leave the toxic environment I was working in. Unfortunately I couldn’t just quit with nothing else lined up so I stayed.

I was on the job hunt for over a year all the while I woke up each morning with anxiety and dread as I made my way into work. I couldn’t get over how uncomfortable the place was. Then one day something happened. I stopped looking for another job. I don’t know if it was out of pure frustration or because I had accepted my fate, but I stopped. I decided to find something to do in addition to my work there that would make me happy.

That thing was writing.

I began writing greeting cards and dabbled with some freelance work that I have continued 3 years later and I am so happy I did. Not only was I more inspired to write, but I had somehow made peace with where I was. Not too long after that point my horrific boss (though she was nice as a person) left the company.

Poof! One day she was gone. I thought that was the absolute best thing that could happen, but it gets better.

A few months later I received a call from a former co-worker with a potential job offer. A job I hadn’t even been looking for! A job that turned out to be more money than I was making and would allow me to work from home. I had always toyed with the idea of working from home, but I had no idea how that would be possible. Not only that, but it turned out to be the perfect scenario since my partner and I knew we would be moving in the next few months out-of-state. I knew if I didn’t have a job lined up I would have to stay behind to keep my job and now I didn’t have to do that at all. My job moved with me!

It turned out to be the perfect situation and in it I learned a very valuable lesson.

When you make peace with your starting point, the Universe can work on your behalf to bring things to you that will move you toward your heart’s desire no matter how big it seems.

The moral of this story is this…

Stop struggling with where you are now for it is just your starting point. Make peace with it and find some way to appreciate and enjoy where you are now. When you do, you will be amazed at the opportunities that unfold before your very eyes. Opportunities you may never have thought possible.