Mid-August 2016 Newsletter

Hello, and a amazing Mid-August to you!
Welcome, or welcome back, to my newsletter. The photo above shows me in a desert setting, my lavender shirt matching the purple cactus, which is why my photographer friend took it. I feel like a chameleon blending into my surroundings!

Today's issue has an article on changing long-standing patterns. Enjoy!

In my training with EFT teacher Carol Look, I've become highly aware of others, or myself, saying "I've always been...". Complete this sentence however you wish. Maybe it's with "short-tempered", or "bad with money", or "lazy", or something else. Well, does the way it's been have to be the way it is in the future? Or could we be unnecessarily limiting ourselves? Sometimes we move forward naturally, supported by those around us. A 20-year-old can't remain in elementary school! And sometimes our interests or priorities change, and we leave that restrictive job or relationship for one that suits us better. And yes, occasionally we do have to be dragged out of our familiar cozy role, or be pushed.

In thinking about times in my own life when I've moved out of my comfort zone, it was easiest when I was un-comfortable! Change, even when I wasn't sure how it would turn out, looked like a clear improvement over my current situation. In late winter in my second year of teaching math, I told the head of the department I wouldn't be coming back the following year. I didn't have anything else lined up, yet going home with a headache most days from what felt more like baby-sitting than true teaching was not for me, and I couldn't deny it any longer.

After teaching, I was fortunate to find a corporate programming job. Looking back, I was a little too comfortable here, using my math and analytical skills, and hardly communicating with anyone. It took me many years to realize how this job was keeping me from growing. I wound up spending my non-work time exploring what really interested me, first dreams, then vision improvement. Yet when I tried to discuss these subjects with my engineer co-workers, I was laughed at or dismissed.

The last few years in my corporate job felt like going to a prison cell every dsy. When I shut my office door I felt trapped. The difference between what was desirable in a "corporate slave" and who I was as a person seemed to grow wider and wider. When I finally left, though I was a bit nervous about losing that great salary, I was so much happier -- I felt free.

As I adjusted to living on less and hardly saving anything, I grew very comfortable not having to answer to anyone. I could study and work out as much as I wanted! And in a few years I started to feel selfish -- I was learning so much about how to be heathy and happy, so why wasn't I sharing it for the benefit of others?

An area which hasn't been comfortable for me is interacting socially. I have been so introverted at times, it seemed I was afraid of people. As I grew my business of teaching and coaching, every single step scared me. I also knew it was necessary. Create a website? ACK! Write a blog? Yikes -- who would read it? If someone did, would he or she yell at me for what I wrote? Hold private sessions, setting myself up as a professional? Who do I think I am (in the accusing tone of someone criticizing me for hubris). Well, once I started to earn money, and my tax guy validated that I had a real business, it was so affirming!

So I'm finally learning to recognize when I'm not stretching myself enough, when my comfort zone of today feels too cozy to leave. Right now the challenge is advertising my business to bring in more clients, without being pushy. I'm hoping people will "just find me", some of which does happen, but if I promoted myself gently, maybe I could help more people with what I know. Take a look at your own comfort zones: career, relationships, family, health. Is it time to move toward some temporary discomfort, so you can grow?

To read more about comfort zones, including visual ones, click here.

Have you wondered if my work could help you?
I'm now offering complimentary Discovery Sessions of 20 to 30 minutes, for us to discuss what you're looking for in a coach, and to decide whether you and I feel like a fit. To schedule your Discovery Session, click here.

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Please send me your questions and comments
Let me know what you've wondered about concerning energy medicine or vision or dreams. I'll be glad to write a short article addressing that topic. Thank you to those who have sent me questions, or see a question you asked me in a private session written about here. You're helping many other people! Enjoy the second half of your August. I'll write again in a few weeks. Take care!