This morning I didn’t feel like doing anything. It’s a combination of exhaustion from a few days of hard work and preparation for a group coaching event we’re hosting for our Getting Back to Happy Course students, and a lack of sleep with a sick 7-year-old in the house.

I couldn’t motivate myself to do anything important, which is a rare occurrence for me. I just felt completely drained. I started overthinking things and doubting myself, and wondering whether anything I do is worthwhile.

I sat there in this funk for nearly an hour and wondered how to snap out of it. Should I just forget about today? Should I just give up on this project in front of me, because I’m not as good at it as I thought I was?

That’s what I was considering, at least for a fleeting moment. But the better part of me knew this mild state of depression would soon pass. And just as I started to feel better, a neat bit of synchronicity arrived in my email inbox from Gina, a new course student Marc and I have been coaching over the past few days. The opening lines of her email read:

“I feel so drained, so uninspired. I’m stuck again! My mind is spinning with worry and overwhelm and just a general lack of enthusiasm. Anything you could share? What’s something small I could reflect on and try to remember when I’ve lost my motivation?”

With our student’s permission, I’m answering her inquiry publicly because I know we all need a good reminder in this area sometimes—heaven knows I needed one this morning, too.

While there are many approaches to momentary self-motivation, reflecting on and learning from other people’s stories is paramount. The right story at the right time can move us at our core. Fortunately, the nature of the work Marc and I do as personal development coaches and authors allows us to hear these kinds of stories from clients, students and readers on a daily basis. So, this morning, that’s exactly what I was reflecting on when Gina emailed me. And right now, with full permission from the original sources, I want to share powerful snippets from some of these stories with you. [Read more…]

We all struggle.  We all suffer on the inside.  Every day…

We worry.
We procrastinate.
We feel overwhelmed.
We feel angry.
We feel lonely.
We don’t feel good enough.
We wish we were more fit.
We wish we had more money.
We wish our jobs were different.
We wish our relationships were different.
We think post-COVID life should be ‘back to normal’ again.

And yet, every one of these struggles is self-created.  They are real, but they are only real because we have created them in our minds.  We have attached ourselves to certain ideals and fantasies about how life has to be right now in order to be good enough for us.

We worry because things might not turn out how we expect.  We procrastinate because we fear discomfort and failure.  We feel overwhelmed because we think we should be further along than we are.  We feel angry because life should not be this way.  And so it goes.

But again, it’s in our heads.

And it doesn’t have to be this way.  At least not for YOU.

You can [Read more…]

The richest human isn’t the one who has the most, but the one who needs less. Wealth is a mindset. Want less and appreciate more today.

As we enter another holiday season, we will inevitably be bombarded with flashy advertisements and gift buying guides championing the latest and greatest gadgets, jewelry, cars, and more. And while I’m not against investing in new products that add value to our lives, I don’t like hearing about how people think they “need” a bunch of new and expensive things to be happy.

Truth be told, unless we’re investing in our personal growth and taking action, most of the money we spend on things doesn’t make us any happier or better off in the long run. We simply don’t need more fancy items in our closets collecting dust to find joy and contentment. In fact, we can find most of what we’re looking for by paying closer attention to the gifts we already have in front of us—the simple yet beautiful moments that make us smile… [Read more…]