2016: I Am Ready to Live My Best Life!

"Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation." - Brian Tracy

I am taking bold action and putting out to the Universe my 2016 Intention and Declaration Statement.

"I, Beckie Jorgensen, hereby in this moment on January 1 4, 2016 surrender my past. I am open and ready to receive right now LOVE, JOY, PEACE and GRATITUDE. I BELIEVE in me; my potential, my strengths, and my higher PURPOSE & MISSION in LIFE. I am WORTHY of abundance and success."

My purpose in life is to inspire, serve and lead others to be their best selves. I help people to discover their own purpose so that they never give away their passions, dreams and HOPE!

“Accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in what will be.”

- Sonia Ricotti

What is your 2016 Intention and Declaration Statement? Feel free to comment and share! Let's hold each other accountable for achieving our best life starting right now! 

To learn more, check out my new book: Live Your Life ~ The Art of Leveraging Your Strengths to Live Your Purpose.

POEM: The Power of ME

In many of my posts, I talk about discovering your innate talents, turning them into strengths, and discovering your purpose in life. I have walked you through my own journey of discovering who I am, what I do, and why I do what I do. I have done this by walking you through my own life story and writing about scenes of my life where internal and external struggles have taken me into a dark pit. I make connections to memories of past successes and how the power of persistence helped me crawl out of the pit on a search for solutions. And, most importantly, I teach you how my search led to discovering my own strengths which pathed the way to my breakthrough moment in life. But, today, I want to pause for a moment to address a fundamental part of this journey, self-acceptance.

The path of learning, inner-growth, and discovering your life purpose is a long winding road. One that never really ends as every new day brings with it different experiences, challenges, bumps in the road, and transitions. It can take years of self-observation, investing in coaching, practicing mindfulness and meditation, and inner awareness to truly acknowledge your innate gifts and accept who you really are. The truth of the matter, my friends, is that not everyone achieves this state of clarity ever in their lifetime.

“Self-acceptance is an invitation to stop trying to change yourself into the person you wish to be, long enough to find out who you really are.” – Robert Holden

When I speak about self-acceptance, I don’t mean liking some things about who you are and dismissing the rest. I don’t mean suppressing your weaknesses and pretending they don’t exist. True self-acceptance is about loving all of you inside and out.

This is by no means an easy task. In fact, it can be very painful. Those of you, who follow my Blogs, read my social media posts, and consider me your friend or colleague know I come from a heart-centered place. My consistent and authentic message is to inspire you and others to never give away your passions, dreams or hope. This is my personal value statement and my purpose in life.

But, self-acceptance is an area of struggle for me too. Despite all that I have shared openly, the path to success has not been straight and narrow. It has had it curves, turns, and detours along the way. To be perfectly honest, it continues, even today, to be that way. I can gain clarity, confidence and calm in one direction only to veer slightly and find myself driving down a road of fear, self-doubt, and frustration. I discover I am lost, have no sense of direction, and need to decide if I am going to stop to ask for help.

Take a moment to remember a time when you were lost. Metaphorically, a time when your GPS failed you? Despite your passenger begging you to turn around, you spent several minutes, maybe even hours, driving around and around? Yet, you were so determined that you could find your way, you refused to stop and ask for directions.

I hope in this very moment as you continue to read on, you have a slight smile on your face, let out a chuckle or paused to reminisce at a time when you too experienced this.

My point in yet another story is to share a poem that I wrote last night as I was contemplating my own journey and the day to come. It is a subtle reminder that can be read over and over again to help achieve the true desire of self-acceptance. It is a gift not only to me, but to share with you too. Visibly post it, read it daily and…if you really like it, please click like, comment, or share. Enjoy!

“Today, I choose MY life. Not what you think it should be, want it to be or expect it to be.

Today, I choose ME. Not who you want me to be, think I should be or expect me to be.

Today, I AM me.

The REAL me!

The me I was BORN to be.

Nobody can TAKE me away from me.

Today is the first step to FREE me.

It is the only step forward to BE.

Without the real me, I am useless. With the real me, I am LIMITLESS.

I AM ME.”

– ©2015, Beckie Jorgensen

Are You Tuned In?

Have you heard the buzz recently about mindfulness? According to the experts, becoming more mindful can impact many areas of your life including your mood, habits, peace of mind, how you interact with others, and so much more.

To be more mindful means to be more aware – more tuned into – and accepting of your thoughts, feelings and actions in the present moment. But too often, mostly out of habit, we simply go through life doing things mechanically, or mindlessly.

Have you ever driven by your exit on the freeway, or eaten something and couldn’t remember if you did, or gone into a room to get something and left without it? These are all acts of mindlessness. No, we’re not losing our minds, or getting old. It’s just that our minds are so filled with ‘noises’ of the day that doing things without thinking about them seems to save energy for the things that require extra thought and effort.

However, studies have shown that by clearing your mind, focusing on one thing at a time, and creating a habit of being in the present moment at all times will dramatically increase your energy, health, mood, well-being, and overall enjoyment of life.

Aside from those powerful benefits, being mindful or ‘in the present moment’ awakens you to many things you otherwise would miss as you go throughout your busy day.

“Learning to live in the present has taught me that there is no such thing as problems unless I choose to create and view opportunities as problems. By being open to and welcoming opportunities, and removing negative self-talk/perceptions, I open my Universe to receiving the good out of every situation.” – Beckie Jorgensen

To heighten your level of mindfulness, try these simple activities.

Activity #1: “Open Your Eyes”

Slowly look around the room you are in, taking in everything with your eyes. While you notice the objects in the room, hone in on the things that are red. Write down 10 things that have the color red in them.

When you have identified 10 items with red, answer the following questions:

• What does it take to be aware of something?
• How did having a specific thing to look for change your mind set?
• Give an example of something you started seeing all the time once you became conditioned to seeing it?
• How does ‘finding what you are looking for’ apply to your business or personal life?
• What are some visual triggers that have challenged your level of awareness?

While going through your day, deliberately notice and acknowledge the things you see. It may sound like this:

“The leaves on the trees are so vibrant.”

“The water glistens as the sun reflects off of it.”

“The mountains are hazy today behind the clouds.”

“My lunch is perfectly balanced on my plate.”

“The sofa brings out the blue in that picture.”

“My socks are slightly different shades of black.”

Activity #2 – “The Sounds Around You”

Get to a place where you can sit, get comfortable and be uninterrupted for one minute. Close your eyes and listen to your surroundings, noticing the sounds you hear in the ‘silence.’

After one minute, answer the following questions:

• What did you hear in the ‘silence’ of your surroundings?
• What internal disposition do you need to have in order to be mindful of what is going on around you?
• What does it take to be fully present?

You will notice that as you become more mindful of what you see and hear, and as you say the words to yourself as you observe them, that your life will literally get clearer and brighter.

We need to be aware of when our thoughts shift from the conscious (present) to the unconscious mind (past or future). Listen to those thoughts, feel the emotions, and observe your reaction. But just listen, don’t waste precious energy judging or analyzing them. The art of listening to your mind alone can recenter you to the present moment and bring forth the tremendous value of clarity, confidence, and calm!

Are you thinking about hiring a Coach to help you? I offer a complimentary introductory coaching session to help you discover if my program is right for you. Go here and complete the contact form and I will be in touch to schedule your session!

To learn more, visit: www.beckiejorgensen.com

Is There A Monkey Chattering In Your Head?

We all have negative voices in our head.  For some they are subtle, passive, and even deceive us into thinking they are there to protect us and keep us safe.  For others, they are much more aggressive, and downright mean.  Sometimes we are aware of their words and influence.  Most other times we are oblivious to their destructive messages, and they impact our beliefs, sense of self, motivation, and happiness.

One of the best ways to become savvy to the negative inner voices in your head is to practice mindfulness.  To be more mindful means to be more aware of your thoughts, feelings and actions in the present moment.

The problem with not being mindful of our thoughts is that we treat our thoughts as if they are facts. We just simply accept whatever comes into our mind as truth without giving it a second thought. And we have these thoughts so often that we believe them as fact. But really a thought is not a fact.  A thought is just a thought. And when they are destructive (which they mostly are), they have very negative ramifications.

You may have the thought “I am no good at this,” or “I’m fat,” or “I’m not smart enough,” or “Nobody understands me,” or even “I am brilliant!” Does thinking it make it so?  Once or twice, probably not. But if we think it enough, our mind will accept it as truth, regardless of whether it is good or bad.

When you start to pay attention to your thoughts through mindfulness with gentle curiosity and no judgment, you can observe your thinking more objectively. You can notice your thoughts, assess them for truth, then either accept or reframe them more positively. This is a powerful tool. Imagine catching even a fraction of your negative thoughts, assessing them for truth (which most aren’t), and reframing them in a more positive and truthful way.     

To further improve your mindfulness, try this activity.

Activity: “The Monkey-Chatter in Your Head” 

Start this activity with mindfulness of your breath.  Focus specifically on your breath –slowly in and out. Perhaps even speak the words in your mind. “I breathe in deeply, filling my lungs, and then exhale slowly, emptying my lungs.”

Then as you continue to breathe, allow yourself to notice any thoughts that come into your head. Pay attention to these thoughts without judgment. Thoughts are just thoughts – it’s whatever is going on in your mind at this particular moment.

It may sound like this:

“This is different - O.K. I’m going to do this.  Hey, there’s a fly.  Breathing in, exhaling out.  Ouch, my back hurts.  I should just get back to work.  There’s me thinking about work again.  Give yourself a break for a minute.”

Then it may go to something like “I’m sitting here thinking of my thoughts…  O.K.  It’s a beautiful day.  My stomach is hungry.  Hmmm, I can’t do this very well.”

These are all valid, normal thoughts. And very often they are all over the place like the example you just read.  Allow yourself time to think about your thoughts. Don’t rush, don’t judge, and don’t stop.  Find curiosity, interest and even humor in your thoughts.

You can also imagine your thoughts floating by like clouds in the sky, or leaves in a stream. Notice each passing thought and then the one that comes after it, and then the one that comes after that. You may notice that just at the moment you become aware of a thought, it passes and is replaced by another thought. That’s what happens – thoughts come, and they go.

Finally, to end this exercise bring yourself back to the awareness of your breath.

The value in this exercise is to realize first how little attention we pay to our thoughts, yet how extremely powerful they are.  Then learning to notice them can lead us to better control them to serve us for the better. 

"Remember...positive thoughts create a positive emotion which creates desire ~ resulting in new possibilities!" - Beckie

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Live Your Life Purpose: Tips and Tools for Coping on a Bad Day!

I am going to be frank and honest here. Discovering your life purpose is hard work. It requires a lot of inner work to change limiting beliefs, stay grounded, and keep a positive attitude despite all the noise around you. I refer to noise as life situations that challenge you consciously and subconsciously. You know…those bad moments, days, or weeks that derail your positive mindset and forward progress. It could be a financial difficulty, poor interaction with someone you care for or love, or mounting moments of rejection (not getting a client, being told you didn’t get that job or promotion, or a refusal when asking for help). Whatever the situation is, it leaves you feeling defeated, angry, irritated, anxious, and disappointed…you name the word, emotion, or reaction that resonates with you.

Well, despite positivity being my # 5 strength as identified by StrengthsFinder, I too have those back in THE PIT moments. I wrote about THE PIT in my previous Blog, Confront Your Real Story: The Power of Persistence. The PIT was referred to as the depths of darkness where you experience thoughts of despair, failure, and unworthiness and feel depressed, stressed, and utterly exhausted. You find yourself paralyzed and wanting to give up all HOPE.

I had one of those weeks. Yes, TGIF! But the good news is that whatever challenge, negative emotion, or limiting belief you are experiencing right in the moment, it is temporary.  The key is to develop proper coping skills so that you get “unstuck.”

In this Blog, I am going to share with you some of my methods and resources used to get back up, dust off, and persist on.  Now, I know that everyone has their own ways to cope and that success with these methods is going to be different for everyone. But, humor me here! I have tried many different coping skills and, by far, the following list really works for me. So, I said to myself, Why not share?

1. If you have taken StrengthsFinder, take out your assessment results and read it again. Pay close attention to the words and phrases that resonate with you the most. Remember, your top 5 Talent Themes are your gifts, what makes you unique, and drive your purpose in life. You can NEVER, in my opinion, read your report too much. It is a good reminder to intentionally use your strengths and definitely a way to “ground” you back to reality! If you have not taken StrengthsFinder and would like to know more, visit me at www.beckiejorgensen.com.
2. Meditation. Clear your MIND. Get rid of the noise. Give yourself a break from your racing thoughts. For me, meditation gives my brain a break, renews my hope, and increases my positive spirit. I typically do a meditation exercise before I go to bed. It really helps me clear my head and get a good night rest. Click here for a 108 Meditation Techniques from The Meditation Society of America.
3. Affirmations. Take time to read and recite inspiring affirmations. I love to search the internet and Pinterest for inspiring quotes. I make it a daily routine, first thing every morning for about 15 minutes, to collect, pin, or post inspiring quotes on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites. You can also create a quote board and display your favorite affirmations in a visible area to read daily. I love using Inspired Living Affirmations as a resource. Here is a link to their website and Facebook page. On Facebook, you can even request a FREE E-book download full of quotes!
4. Essential Oils. Essential oils play a powerful role in emotional healing. Essential oils assist in healing the physical body, healing the heart, releasing limiting beliefs, increasing spiritual awareness and connection, and inspiring the fulfillment of our life’s purpose. As part of my own journey of healing and inner work, I have incorporated essential oils as a natural and healthy part of my life to find emotional balance, increase my energy levels, and improve my sleep. I have been using essential oils for just over a year with great results! If you would like to learn more, just e-mail me directly at beckiejorgensen@gmail.com.
5. The Law of Attraction: Learn and practice the law of attraction. I will admit I am new to this one. I have started to learn how to incorporate this in my daily “time for me” routine. I believe that it is so important to schedule time for yourself on a daily basis to reflect, give gratitude, and attract good things into your life. The law of attraction is the name given to the maxim "like attracts like" which in New Thought philosophy is used to sum up the idea that by focusing on positive or negative thoughts a person brings positive or negative experiences into their life. Visit The Law of Attraction 
   website or Facebook page. On their Facebook page, you can sign up and download a complimentary Law of Attraction (LOA) Tool Kit.
6. Get a Coach. NO JOKE! Yes, I am a Coach, but even trained professional coaches, like me, need a Coach. The power of hiring a Coach, Mentor, or Accountability Partner is so valuable that I consider it priceless. Having an objective person to talk to, guide you, and hold you accountable for being your best self is key to living out your purpose. Observe and/or read about any successful person you know or follow and you will recognize that they did not get where they got by doing it alone! HIRE A COACH!

My list could go on and on. Of course, reading books, writing, journaling and yoga/exercise are important to add to the list as well. However, for me, I need at times to shake things up a little. Therefore, I am sharing some of my favorite “unconventional” approaches to coping with life situations. Whatever healthy coping strategies you have, try adding one or two different approaches. It is always a good idea to have different tools in your toolbox.

What other coping strategies have you had success with? Visit me atwww.beckiejorgensen.com , post a comment, or send me an email to beckiejorgensen@gmail.com. I would love you hear from you!

Living Your Purpose: The Power of Present vs. Future

Recently, I listened to the audio book, The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle. I am going to share my own interpretations and learnings from this book, which I applied to my fourth talent theme, Futuristic, identified by StrengthsFinder 2.0. There are many positive attributes to possessing the strength Futuristic, but there is an awareness that comes along as well.

My StrengthsFinder Report described Futuristic in me as follows:

“Driven by your talents, you possess a high level of skill and/or knowledge about specialized issues, subjects, processes, or programs. You probably combine this expertise with your ability to set definite goals for the coming weeks, months, years, or decades. Because of your strengths, you channel your mental and physical energies toward what you can accomplish in the months, years, or decades ahead. The question you must answer is this: ‘How far into the future can I think before my ideas start becoming vague or uninspiring?’ It’s very likely that you periodically establish performance targets for the week. Once in a while, you think about what your life could be like in the future. Some of these forward-looking images may motivate or energize you to meet your weekly goals. Perhaps you do better work when you can concentrate on your near-term objectives. Instinctively, you create detailed and vivid images of what the future promises. You can describe it long before others can imagine it. By nature, you are eager to get started on a project once you realize what you can accomplish in the coming weeks, months, or years. You work very hard to breathe life into your big dreams. These often push and pull you into the future.”

Part of my journey in living out my purpose is the realization that I need to consciously live in the present moment. However, using my strength of Futuristic in my work as a Success Coach allows me to carry out my “Mission” to:

1. Paint the picture of what could be, 
2. Help my clients understand what makes them unique, 
3. Connect my clients to their talents and strengths to achieve awareness of their true potential, and 
4. Inspire my clients to take action, move forward and live their life purpose.

My point is that I made a very clear distinction on how best to use my talent, Futuristic, without creating mindset limitations that could prevent me from being my best self, living out my purpose, and achieving my dreams! Futuristic is only one of 34 talent themes identified through StrengthsFinder.

As I previously explained in my last Blog post, Expanding Your Strengths:

“Your talents do not exist in isolation. You are not just one thing or five things. You use various talents to respond to different situations, and you frequently use several themes at once, whether you know it or not. The more you examine theme dynamics in your life, the more you will understand how your talents make you who you are.” – Excerpt from Expanding Your Strengths by Curt Liesveld.

For the purpose of this Blog, I am isolating Futurist to simplify and demonstrate application of this particular talent to my learning's from The Power of Now, which has given me a new perspective and has reinforced that living out my life purpose is a learning process. A process that has tremendous opportunities for growth and development to be my best self.

Just one other point to mention is that learning to live in the present has also taught me that there is no such thing as “problems” unless I choose to create and view opportunities as problems. By being open to and welcoming opportunities, and removing negative self-talk/perceptions, I open my Universe to receiving the good out of every situation.

“We must be conscious and responsible for our beliefs and behaviors if we are ever to be free.” – Brendon Burchard

The Power of Now provided me with a new awareness, which is, futuristic thinking unregulated (in my own terms) can create an illusion that the future will hold promises of fulfillment, happiness, and success. However, the uncertainty of the future, the “unknown,” creates anxiety and fear within and “negative thoughts” about problems that really don't exist in the now.  

“Why evoke within emotions of fear and anxiety and spend precious energy creating a problem that does not exist? Doing so robs us of the joy of living in the present moment.” - Beckie Jorgensen

So I have to ask myself, "What can I do now?"  If the answer is nothing, I need to trust that present moment awareness will in-of-itself provide me with a clear solution when faced with an opportunity. If there is an opportunity in the current moment that needs my attention, I take action - remove, change or accept it. Viewing situations as problems vs. opportunities causes undue stress, suffering, and pain.

From past experiences, I know all too well the consequences that negative thinking has on physical and emotional health and well-being. I lost my sense of self and weakened my strength of positivity.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that positivity is my fifth talent theme identified by StrengthsFinder. Below is an excerpt from my report:

“By nature, you desire to leave behind a legacy of great value and worth. In the end, you want your life to have mattered. For this reason, you are impelled to make a meaningful and lasting impact on the planet or people’s lives. Often you urge individuals to do their part in making the world, or at least their little corner of it, a better place for all living things. It’s very likely that you exhibit a deep fondness for people. This explains your ability to help others experience and compliment their accomplishments. Because of your strengths, you often motivate people. You patiently observe, ask questions of, and listen to each individual. This is how you pinpoint someone’s talents, skills, knowledge, interests, goals, and/or background. In the process, you usually discover the best way to train, coach, or praise the person. Instinctively, you like to lift the spirits of the people around you. You know what to do and say so individuals feel useful, valued, appreciated, and important.”

I share this specific excerpt because it demonstrates the POWER and meaning that positivity holds for me. Positivity is an innate gift!  If I do not intentionally fuel my positivity, my purpose of leaving behind a legacy of great value and worth is lost. My life will not have mattered.

“Every time you put something positive into the universe, the world changes. Your kindness invites miracles to show up, not just in your world, but in the whole world.” - Unknown

To stay present, The Power of Now teaches to also ask, "Am I experiencing joy, ease, and lightness in what I am currently doing?" If the answer is no, then I choose to change "How" and not "What" I am doing. By drawing upon my other strengths such as strategic #1, responsibility #3 and learner #6, I am able to create new ways to get things done.  

Because of my futuristic strength, I “channel my mental and physical energies toward what I can accomplish in the months, years, or decades ahead.” Setting goals is very important to me. But to fully live in the present, I need to focus on what I am currently doing now, not on the future results. You see, by focusing my actions in the present moment, I do not create those inner feelings of anxiety and fear nor do I create negative thoughts (i.e., What if I fail?) born from a place of “uncertainty or the unknown" or from worrying about the future results. Why?Because in the present state of being, I have already accomplished my goals and achieved success.

The Key Take-Away: We need to be aware of when our thoughts shift from the conscious (present) to the unconscious mind (past or future).  Listen to those thoughts, feel the emotions, and observe your reaction. But just listen, don’t waste precious energy judging or analyzing them. The art of listening to your mind alone can recenter you to the present moment and bring forth the tremendous value of clarity, confidence, and calm in living your life purpose!

“Living your life purpose is in the now. Not in the noise of past or future thoughts.” – Beckie Jorgensen