What’s Really Holding You Back?

”It’s not what you are that holds you back, it’s what you think you are not!”

-Henry Ford

Happy Monday gorgeous, I hope that you had a great Thanksgiving filled with Love, Gratitude and Hella good Food!!!

Mine was great, we had a wonderful time together, the food was delish and the after turkey nap was absolutely Divine!  We’ve had our tree up for a week now and the Kurp household is full on Christmas mode now!  (Ya, we’re totally those Crazy Christmas people, elf on the shelf and all!)

Today I wanted to pose a question that’s centered around life setbacks, self sabotage and a general lack of self worth.  

This is the time of year where we can blame everything on distractions like shopping, extra events relating to Christmas and an overall heftier To Do list because, Hello? It’s Christmas time and throughout the month of December most of us stay firmly rooted in Fight or Flight Mode because we are simply trying to keep our heads above water.  Our ever present To Do list is crazy long on a regular basis as is and then you through Christmas into the equation and BAM its survival mode baby! 

I get it, I feel it, and I Soo do it too, but this year I don’t want to allow the business of the holiday to become an excuse for me to not continue moving towards my goals, you feel me?

In the past I have allowed an event or a holiday deter me from a goal by making the excuse that I was simply too busy to continue on towards the goal and my intention was to ‘pick up’ where I left off after said holiday or event.

Guess What? 

A lot of times that didn’t happen.

I wouldn’t always pick up where I left off, and if I did it was a hell of a lot more work to get back into the groove then I’d anticipated.

Have I used an event or holiday to figuratively hold me back?

Hell yes!

Have I blamed the event or holiday instead of digging deep and witnessing the fact that I was really self sabotaging?

Sure Did!

You see I believe that when we have a goal that means so much to us that it brings a warm happy smile into our hearts, that goal should become a factor in our lives that is Non-Negotiably on our schedule at All times, All year round.  

No more, I’m too busy.

No more I have to shop from sun up to sun down, therefore there is not enough time in the day.

No more I have to do XY and Z for this person, that party or that dinner.

Make time for your Goal.  Schedule that time in your calendar at least once a week and become as committed to that weekly Goal time like you would be committed to meeting your Closest and 

Dearest Friend for a coffee date.

That time is so precious darling and Time is something we can never, ever get back again.

Invest in yourself.

Don’t make excuses.

Don’t sell yourself short and don’t be the one that holds you back.

No more.

Your time is Now and Today is a Perfect Day to start!

Remember in your core that you are made of love and light!

The world is ready and waiting for you to shine your brightness onto the rest of us!

Have a great day friend!  MUAH!!!

Have A Grateful Heart

Happy Almost Turkey Day Friend!
This is that special time of the year when our desire and even our need to express gratitude is magnified ten fold.  Whether its by giving a gift, cooking a delicious home cooked meal for loved ones and friends or even saying out loud all the things in life that we’re grateful for.
I think its the most magical time of the year and I love how it brings out the generosity and gratitude so naturally in most of us.

What is it that springs to mind that You have that your grateful for?
Is there anything that you can take an honest look at with a Grateful Heart that you may have been taking for granted?
It’s totally OK if you have, that is normal and these questions I pose are in No way to make you feel bad for taking things in your life for granted.  In fact I can honestly say that there are quite a few things in my everyday life that I take for granted yet without them I don’t know where I’d be.
Our lives are filled to the brim.
We live such hectic, crazy busy lives most of us, that because we don’t slow down much we don’t notice, or don’t see for that matter, all of the many little and huge blessings and gifts we have all around us at any given moment.
Taking the time to slow down feels some what un-productive and that goes against all we see to be Right.  Being productive, getting shit done and being the best at it.

Well I’m here to tell you today that You need to take a moment.
Take some time for You darling.
Take some time to get a sense of all the wonderful people and things in your beautiful life that you are Grateful for.
Who in your life makes you smile?
Who in your life holds your hand, gives you hugs, and listens to you with an open heart?
What makes your life more convenient and easy?
What is something you cannot live without?
I’m sure by now you have quite a Gratitude List going, I know I do!

So amidst this holiday season enjoy your turkey, pies and yams and don’t forget to tell the ones that make Your Life even more special just how Grateful you are that they’re in it.

“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”
Eckhart Tolle

You Weren’t Meant To Be Perfect

“The Pursuit of Pefection often impedes improvement.”
-George Will

Perfection, that’s a very heavy and loaded word for some of us.
Do you find yourself striving for it even though it’s unattainable?
Do you ever give yourself a guilt trip if you feel that you ‘fell short’ of something?
Do you even self sabotage yourself because you fear failure or success?

Well I can unequivocally say that I do all of those things.  I have found that my default settings have trended as either, I’m striving to be perfect in everything I do, not leaving much room for error.  Or, I throw my hands up and say Fu** it all.  Screw it all because if I can’t do it ‘Right’ or ‘Perfect’ I might as well not do it at all.

This way of thinking, as I said seems to be a sort of default setting that my brain wants to fall back on because its familiar, and as we all know, familiar is comfortable.  But its not cool.  I fight this way of thinking every single day because this old stinky ass way of thinking was getting me absolutely no where fast.  This defaulted thinking has made me sick, it has made me view myself as worthless, it has also made me Very, Very unhapppy with my life at times because this way of thinking leaves no room for grace, gentleness and love with myself.

Striving for pefection may work fabulously well for some people as a way of motivation, incentive, or inspiration and that is freaking awesome!  That’s great for those individuals, but with my default settings being what they are and my addictive personality I strive now for forward movement, progress, and self actualization vs. perfection these days.

So I ask you my Beautiful and Divine Friend; have you been a bit hard on yourself lately?
Have you been unaware that you were pushing yourself towards something that was becoming unhealthy for you?
Do you kick yourself in the ass when you didn’t perform quite “perfectly?”
And are you placing unrealistic expectations on yourself and your life right now?

If you are darling, let it go.
Become the witness to these ways of thinking and please, have grace with yourself throughout this process.  It’s called a process for a reason.  It’s not meant to happen in a day.  It is a slow beautiful process of consciousness like a butterfly hatching from its chrysalis becoming reborn into its most beautiful and divine version of itself.
Go easy, be gentle with you, and love yourself in spite of all your precious imperfections.
After all this world only has one you, shine your light bright for us darling, we can’t wait to see!

Remember in your core that you are made of light and love!
Have a great day my friend, MUAH!!!

Why Am I Stressed Out?

Happy Monday Babe, have you ever woken up and immediately gotten hit by what feels like a damn freight train and that figurative asshole freight train is your ‘To Do’ list?
Well that was so me this morning and I felt like hitting the snooze button and saying screw the damn To Do list, I’m going back to bed!
I find it absolutely fascinating that some days I have the capacity to go, go, go like the energizer bunny and be quite happy running around at that speed, and yet other days, like this one, I hit a complete wall, and my To Do list seems to look like its a daunting mile long.

I have learned to approach these days a bit differently then how I used to.  Used to when I would have a day filled with overwhelm or stress I would push myself to get everything done, inwardly berate myself or try to ‘pretend’ I wasn’t stressed out and tired.
I thought like a lot of women think, ‘I must get everything done, I must do it without complaint and I must have a chipper attitude throughout the process.’
It was insanity because by me not taking a break or acknowledging the overwhelm I was actually making it worse by pretending it wasn’t there and maintaining the fast pace.
So the way that I approach days of stress now is, first and foremost, I acknowledge my stress.  I witness my overwhelm.  I feel it, I honor it, and I take some time in the morning, to tune into what my body needs.  Do I need to make time for a bath today?  Do I need to do Yoga instead of Cardio this morning?  Do I need to do an extra long meditation?  Also is there something I simply need to take off of my To Do List?  More then likely none of the things on our To Do is so important and earth shattering that can’t wait until tomorrow, later in the week or next week.
I’m all about being productive and getting the job done, but listen babe, not to the detriment of my health.  Not anymore.  And the same goes for you.

If you find yourself having a day like I’m having today please just remember to go easy on yourself.
Feel the stress, feel the overwhelm, accept that its there and then tune in.  What do you need?
Do you need to ask for help?  Do you need to re-arrange your schedule?
It is not a weakness to give up some of the things on your To Do list, its just not.  In fact its empowering to Know Yourself enough to recognize how much or how little you can do in a day.  Each day is different and our energies change throughout the month, so no two days are the same.  Honor yourself Babe, take care of You first and everything else will fall into place.

David Allen put it simply; “You can do anything, but not everything.”

Remember in your core that you are made of love and light!  The world is ready and waiting for you to shine your brightness onto the rest of us!  Have a great day friends!  MUAH!!!