However busy or stressful your life may feel day-to-day, you deserve to find contentment in things big and small. Contentment is beautiful because it is a hum of joy and appreciation from within, not from the external world.

What if, in addition to those tools to manage the moment, you also looked at your triggers as a gift? Read this article written by Rebecca Fellenbaum for the May 2024 issue of Today’s Family magazine.

In second grade I turned to the boy who sat behind me in class and asked him if off was spelled with one f or two. He erupted into laughter and teased me for being stupid. My innocent 7-year-old self immediately spiraled into shame.

In the fall of 2020, I met the failure gremlin inside of me. Instead of pushing the feelings away, I turned towards it. What happened next surprised me.

It was hard to go from learning about improving my life to doing it. In that chasm was the hard work I’ve spent the past four years trudging through. But I know I am the best person to live my life.

To live as our healthy, conscious adult selves, we must live in the present moment. This is a choice we can make over and over again.

The other day a friend asked me if I could offer one piece of advice for someone who wants to make positive changes in their life. Without hesitation, I said meditate.

My two-minute practice to finding stillness.

I was recently interviewed for the online magazine, Bold Journey. They asked me about my purpose, my work as a coach, and the three qualities that were most impactful on my journey. They are: 1. Slow down and turn inwards; 2. Get curious; and 3. Do the next right thing.

That’s me at the Certified Adult Chair Coach training retreat in Evans Mill, TN last May. Man did it take courage to listen deep inside to my inner voice and decide to take the leap to become a life coach.

You have to take charge of your self-care. There is no genie coming out of a bottle, or fairy godmother going to clear the calendar, or savior of any form coming to roll out the self-care red carpet. This is sooo irritating and why even the term self-care sounds like nails on a chalkboard. But, it’s true.

To live as healthy adults, we need to face our feelings. The full range. Not just happy, sad, angry, fearful.

If we want to change our actions and our mindset, we have to change our thoughts. We have to choose healthy thoughts that propel us in the direction we want to go. We must release the thoughts that don’t serve us.

My word of 2024 is ease. I will check in with myself throughout the year and say, how is this going?

Our authentic self is the self that came here to have a human experience. It is our true nature.

What’s next on your illuminated path?