Your Voice

Hi Everyone!

It has been a busy few months filled with all things exciting and adventurous!  I’ve been traveling the country sharing my story with various groups as well as taking some time for myself.  I recently got back from Costa Rica on a women’s retreat.  I decided this trip was going to be my present to myself for coming through a difficult couple of years.

My former life coach (Christine Hassler) led the Costa Rica retreat. Fourteen women from all over the country (and one from Canada) attended the event.  We stayed at a beautiful retreat center in the Jungle overlooking the ocean.  I literally woke up to the sounds of monkeys in the trees outside of my bungalow.  We had a private chef that cooked all of our vegetables from a garden.  The juices were fresh from the plants on the trees.  It was delicious. During the week we did yoga, boxing, hiking, zip lining and surfing.  I enjoyed how active we were the entire time and how healthy we ate.  I also loved being around like-minded women who had similar interests in personal development.

Another great part of the trip was the life-coaching sessions.  I loved that no one really knew my story and I was just free to release any pent up emotions without anyone knowing me.  It also made me feel comfortable that other women were doing the same.  What came up mostly for me during my coaching sessions was the feeling that I had to be strong for everyone else and feeling like if I wasn’t so strong I wouldn’t be as inspiring to others.  What I learned was that by showing my moments of weakness I actually related more with others, which in return made others feel more inspired.

A couple of the great tools I took away from the retreat was practicing yoga and meditation.  Andrew always connected to God through meditation and tried to teach me, but I could never quite my mind long enough to get something out of it.  I’ve never really gotten into yoga either, but for some reason on this trip I was finally able to connect to it more then ever before.  In the past I’ve had a difficult time staying still and not talking for long amounts of time. It just makes me feel uncomfortable.  For the first time, I was able to sit in my discomfort and just be.  After pushing through the awkward silence I was able to find a peace inside myself.  I then started craving connecting to that place.  In that inner place I felt I was most myself and I could identify what mattered most to me.

Sometimes I get so lost in all the voices around me that I can’t identify my own voice.  Then I make decisions based on the loudest voice I hear and it doesn’t feel right because it is the voice of what others think is best for me. I’ve done this for so long that it’s become a habit. Taking this Costa Rica trip felt like the first step to connecting to my inner voice.  So what I’ve taken away from the trip is the practice of yoga or meditation in order to be silent and connect with my inner voice.  I’ve found once I start making decisions based on what I feel I’m supposed to do versus what everyone else says I should do then I own my decisions and my confidence grows ten fold and the self trust begins to build deposits.

Not sure if you’ve ever felt like you couldn’t connect to your own voice and discouraged because you were making decisions for everyone else instead of what you knew to be true for you. If you can relate I encourage you to take some time this week to stop, breathe, connect with your inner voice, acknowledge that your voice matters and then make some decisions this week from that place.  I would love to hear some comments below on what choices you made and how it made you feel to honor your voice. I love you all so very much. I have a lot of exciting things to fill you in on so stay tuned. Love and Blessings.