Why is it that some people seem so focused and purposeful, and that I feel so chaotic and overwhelmed? If I hire a life coach, how would it help me live with greater purpose?
I used to think that to hire a Life Coach was a dumb idea. Why in the world would I spend money to get someone to tell me how to do my life? “I am decent at living – don’t really need help with that, thank you very much.” Ha!
Well, hindsight is 20/20, isn’t it?
At some point along the way, sitting in the middle of a fog of depression, lack of motivation and clarity, I realized I probably could have used help sooner.
How did I even get here?
Well, my pride had gotten the best of me, making me think I could figure out my life and purpose on my own. I didn’t want anyone’s help.
Looking in the rearview mirror, I see that I missed the clues that could have shown me it was a good idea to hire a Life Coach.
Do you see any of these clues? Friend, don’t ignore them like I did, ok?
Ooff. Anyone else realize how much we idolize busyness? Like full agendas and breathlessness are virtues or something. Almost like if we aren’t over-scheduled, we’re not doing it right.
When was the last time you looked at your calendar from a position of peace, and not from a place of perpetuity or pandemonium? (Do you like all the alliterations?)
Friend, ask yourself these honest questions:
Get curious about those.
This relates to #1, but it’s not entirely the same. Chaos and overwhelm are regular companions.
Chaos: a state in which everything is out of order
Overwhelm: incapacitating emotional or mental stress
Do either (or both) of those sound familiar? Things out of order & disorganized? The inability to move because everything is tooo stressful?
This is not how you were created to live, friend. This does not reflect the peace and the joy that Christ offers to us in this life.
Your life coach can ask gentle, hard questions to help you to uncover what’s behind these things, and point you in a healthy direction forward. We don’t need to live in fight, freeze, or flight mode.
You’re not alone in this one. I’ve actually found that far more businesses than individuals can articulate a mission statement.
A mission statement actually points us out of chaos. It helps us align our direction with our values. Developing one is honestly one of the most clarifying tools I have found in building a life of joy and purpose.
Mamas. Motherhood is a beautiful gift. And with the number of friends I know who yearn for the opportunity, I sometimes struggle to call moms out of the crowd for fear of hurting someone else.
But mamas – we know that motherhood is a gift, and also so hard. And it’s so easy to get lost in the busyness and the mundane day-in-day-out of it. And when multiple kiddos rule our every moment, we sometimes forget to function as unique individuals. We can’t think, we can’t stay rested or tidy, and the goal of keeping everyone alive and fed so easily takes over every other thing.
It also often lures us into escape mode, which is definitely not ideal.
Because God created us even before He created our kids. And we have unique passions, gifts, and skills that are not only meant for our families, but for people outside of our families as well. We are made for community, and we have special roles to play in the community to bless others, and for advancement of the Kingdom.
If we limit ourselves to just our homes for the period of 18-25 years or so that we have our brood growing under our roofs, we will easily lose sight of the impact we can simultaneously have on people outside of our homes.
(PS This is not a SAHM vs Working Mom convo. This is a purposeful woman convo – and purposeful women can work outside the home or stay at home. It comes down to living with intentionality into the specific thing God calls us to.)
You just don’t have to put it off until the kids are grown.
This relates closely to #4, but is definitely not only for moms.
Maybe you aren’t even sure what your unique value-add in the world would be. You haven’t necessarily clarified for yourself what it is about you that makes you you. You aren’t sure what it is that you could do, or how you could live on purpose to make a difference in someone else’s life. You have a sense that there is more, but you’re not sure what it is
A Life Coach is uniquely called and qualified to help you uncover these things about yourself so you can be set loose to radiate.
Oh gosh, friend! We are invited to dream with clarity, with imagination, with vivid color! Our God is so creative. And if we are made in His image (spoiler alert: we ARE) then that means we get to dream about our future and joyfully plan for it; Not obscure, vague dreams, but clear, on-purpose ones.
If you aren’t sure how to give yourself this kind of permission, it’s time to hire a life coach who can really help you get out of your head and into the world!
You know those people who seem to thrive at life? Or who seem to be able to create the exact life that they want to live, blending vocation seamlessly with passion?
Maybe they are working from home or on the road, and it never seems like “work”.
Maybe they are visiting lots of fantastic places.
Maybe they are having a crazy meaningful impact on people, doing what really makes them thrive, and makes the people around them light up.
–> How do you think they got to build that kind of life? Not accidentally, I assure you.
Instead, they decided that their future self was worth investing in now.
They decided that fear and insecurity weren’t going keep them stuck anymore in a place of discontentment.
They got brave, challenged their uncertainties, became creative about resources, and dove in.
(And they aren’t looking back, are they?)
That kind of confident, vibrant, meaningful living isn’t just for a select few – in fact, I believe it’s really the way we are intended to live. God created us to be masterpieces, and He created good works for us to do.
With such a kind, vibrant, colorful, imaginative, and abundant God, I just can’t see that He meant for us to live in gray monotony. It doesn’t fit His character.
You know what? Transition doesn’t have to be scary. It can actually be a thrilling gateway to something new.
But it does take wisdom and care to proceed. And it often takes another perspective to help us see past our blind spots. It takes the nudging and confidence boosting from a third party (or even a couple of third parties) to help us quell the limitations and do. the. thing.
Life Coaching and Purpose
I became a Life Coach because I truly believe that we are made to thrive at life, and that a purposeful, colorful life now is possible as we build a joyful & lasting legacy.
I love to come alongside women to ask the questions and help them move from chaos and overwhelm into simplicity and insane purpose.
I love to help women create the calendar that makes them light up, do the things that they love that most fully radiate who God created them to be.
If you are curious at all about what it would look like for you to get brave now to invest in your soon-to-be future self and hire a life coach, man alive, I’d LOVE to dream about that with you!
I’m easy to find right here, and it would be my JOY to talk about this with you!
The New Year brings lots of hope for change, but often convinces us to make unreasonable promises to ourselves. This year, let’s simplify and commit to repeated small steps toward our ultimate purpose.
Happy New Year to you!
I pray that you had a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends, and that you have experienced the nearness of Emmanuel this season.
As we enter the New Year, we are often tempted to make huge (sometimes unreasonable) promises to ourselves, unwittingly setting ourselves up to fail.
I don’t want that for you.
Instead, I pray that you stay close to the heart of the Father, asking Him for guidance. I pray that you are intentional to simplify your activities. I pray that you are reasonable and purposeful in setting one daily and one weekly action step that help lead toward your goals, seeking accountability from someone who will help you stay on track.
I pray that in this next season you make the choice to invest in your wellness and your future by trusting a coach who hears from the Lord and desires to help you unlock your purpose.
You can find out more about how I help people with their life purpose right here.
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
May God be with you and bless you:
May you see your children’s children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.
May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.
May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you
For your joy,
No matter what shape or form they take, or how they came to be, families are special. I believe they are a primary place where God intends for us to experience His joy in our lives. In a culture where there are so many breakdowns to the family unit, having Family Traditions is one helpful way to foster unity, create special memories and build legacy.
Sometimes traditions begin on purpose, and sometimes they grow almost by happenstance. Some are tied to holidays, and some to the regular days, to create interest or to instil values. The traditions we have created in our family have been a source of joy for us as our crew has grown and changed.
I’ve collected together 12 Family Traditions for Holidays or Regular Days that I hope you find inspiring for your family. You can use these ideas just as they are, or perhaps your family will put its own spin on some of them. Share in the comments below if you try out any of these ideas!
A few things were certain: the baby didn’t know it was his birthday, he wasn’t sick, and he still needed to eat! In true super-dad form, my husband Scott took one for the team and went to make breakfast. He wanted to make something special, and relatively new for our little guy, and decided upon pancakes. Long before ‘pancake art’ was even a thing, Scott made one pancake in the simple shape of a “1”, which he then served the baby, snapping a picture to keep for posterity. That was about the extent of the celebrations for that day.
When the next birthday rolled around, Scott remembered the previous year and poured a “2” with his pancake batter. Voilà, the first of our Family Traditions was born! As crazy as it seems, just this week, our oldest son will receive his 18th birthday pancake from his dad! In addition, we have served 28 others, between our second son and our daughter. It has become an enjoyable thing for each of them to look forward to on their big day. And, by virtue of our pictures heading out on the internet, we have seen the Birthday Pancake tradition spread from family to family over the years.
*If you have adopted the tradition of making birthday pancakes somewhere along the way, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
When Grace was very small, I got the book Just Mom and Me Having Tea: A Fun Bible Study for Mothers and Daughters