Bouncing Back

Hi ya!

This past week was full of unexpected surprises, emotional highs and lows, and a curve ball. Have you ever felt so thrown off course by an event, person, or experience that it made you re-evaluate your direction and focus? Did you wrestle with feeling discouraged because you thought you were on the path you wanted to be on, but then realized maybe it isn’t the path you wanted after all? If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few years it’s the power of resilience and getting back in the game mentally, physically, and spiritually as quickly as possible.

So not that long ago, I attended a conference I knew very little about and signed up for last minute. Based on what I had seen and experienced at the conference, I realized I was not fully combining my strengths, creativity, and passions to create a life path that both fulfilled and energized me. When this realization hit, it was accompanied by some pretty brutal self-talk. My inner critic was ruthless – Now what do I do? What is wrong with me? Why can’t I just pick something and stick with it? As I started to beat myself up, I realized from my own coaching training that beating myself up was not the answer, and that as a Mom and for myself, I needed to be resilient, course correct (in other words, re-evaluate which direction I wanted to go), and then keep moving forward.

The first thing I did was to ask myself what activities leave me feeling energized and excited. I was flooded with joy as images of The Ellie Project and public speaking flashed through my mind. I had taken almost a year off from speaking to get certified as a life coach, so I decided to focus more of my energy on creating a new keynote speech for the 15 speaking events I had already booked for this next year. By shifting my energy toward something I was really excited about, I started to feel less discouraged and more re-energized.

Have you heard Ralph Waldo Emerson’s saying, “Life is the journey, not the destination”? It’s a concept I constantly remind myself about, especially when I’m course-correcting. I have learned that to motivate myself to keep going, I have to tell myself it’s OK to try different ventures in order to decide if they work for me or not. I learn best by doing. For me, dwelling on why an endeavor is not working is useless, I just admit that it’s not working, take time to reflect on what really brings me joy, and then keep moving in that direction.

This week gave me a new opportunity to bounce back from emotional distraction. Although I wanted to eat a whole bag of chips, lay in bed all day, and watch TV, I decided I had come too far in my life to allow this specific distraction to keep me down. Even though I was all over the place emotionally, mentally, and having a hard time knowing where to start, I decided to pick smaller tasks I could make better and see to completion. I tackled making my bed, doing the dishes, folding clothes, sending that email, writing this blog post, etc. Doing something from start to finish made me feel accomplished and motivated me to get back on course.

What do you do to bounce back from obstacles you may encounter along your life’s journey? They happen to the best of us! Remember: “Everything is Figureoutable.” – Marie Forleo. That truth helps me know I can handle whatever comes my way, and so can you! Blessings.