I'm doing a deep dive on change and the challenges it presents. I'm writing a book about it! "Launch Your New Life - Embracing the Challenge of Change will be finished by August and available in September.

We resist change, even though it's inevitable. There is a biological reason for this. Our nervous system perceived change as a threat, and, perhaps, a life threatening threat. And our bodies are right.

Change means the life we are living, the person we are, will be different. We stay stuck because we would rather deal with what we know than what we don't know.

We crave certainty. And life is, and always will be, uncertain.

Over the next weeks and months, we'll continue to explore change and why resilience is such an important part of the process.

Happy Friday! And thanks for listening.

Kathryn

Ready for a change? To increase your odds of success, prepare. Making a change obviously requires us to change. But most people secretly want to stay the same, but have the outcome that change brings.

Lose 20 pounds but still eat anything you want. Save more money but keep your current spending habits. The key is to take small consistent steps towards implementing that change.

I have a friend who needed to lose more than 100 pounds. She increased her odds of succeeding by focusing on losing 5 pounds, and then 5 more pounds.

Realizing we won't see immediate results is often a deterrent to making change. But if you implement a change and acknowledge you won't see the major effects of the change for three to six months, perhaps you won't quit as easily.

Change is an inevitable part of life. Wishing and wanting things to stay the same isn't possible. So take charge of your changes!

Have comments about this podcast or a topic you'd like to hear my thoughts on? Let me know.

Thanks for listening. Till next time, take care and be safe.

Kathryn

Listeners know I am a student of change and resilience.

When our efforts begin to pay off, are we ready for the change that success brings?

I am starting to see things I've been working on for years start to come to fruition. It's exciting. It's terrifying at the same time.

Why?

Because in order to receive that success, I have to leave the part of me that believes I'm not worthy, or it will never happen behind.

It also means that I am exposing new, and often vulnerable, parts of myself to others. Just as a toddler learning to walk falls down, I will stumble as I move forward into unknown territory.

The worst thing I can do is say "This is uncomfortable. It's a sign I should stop."

Discomfort means you're growing. Keep going!!!!!

If you're ready to make a change in your life, your business, your organization/agency, join me at the next "Go Together/Grow Together" retreat in Golden, Colorado September 10, 11, and 12.

Space is limited to just 7 lucky attendees. Don't miss this extraordinary opportunity to grow with support. Drop me an email to get more details.

Have a great weekend!

Kathryn

Fractures in our lives are not failures. They are the cracks through which wisdom can appear.

I live at the top of a mountain and can see where a tiny pine tree seed found a spot of dirt in a crack in a rock and decided to grow.

Were the conditions ideal? Of course not. Did that stop the seed from growing? No, over time the growing tree forced the crevice to open.

I'm writing a new book "Launch Your New Life: Embracing the Challenge of Change". There are so many changes happening in my life, and in the lives of others I care about, I decided to create a guide to successfully navigating the choices we choose and the choices that life thrusts upon us.

If you enjoy this episode, please share. And if you need ideas or information on managing change, reach out. I'd love to hear from you.

Kathryn

Every great story of overcoming features a Dark Night of the Soul, a descent into the Underworld, a reckoning with our shadow side and a re-emergence.

When we are in the darkness, we can't see what's happening. We feel lost, vulnerable, and defeated believing this is our lot in life and it will not change.

I spent several months in that dark place. Externally, you never would have realized it. I put on a brave face. But in today's episode I get real about emerging from that place and reclaiming my magic.

If I can do it, you can too.

Enjoy.

This week was a tough week for me. I had a big disappointment which you'll hear about in the podcast. It was an opportunity to feel the disappointment and the anger, acknowledge it, and move on.

Wallowing in disappointment wastes time and energy. Feel it, experience it, but don't get stuck in it. If you've done all you can do, if the situation is out of your control, surrender the disappointment, release it, and see what good thing comes in to replace what was lost or didn't happen.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Kathryn

If you're like me, there are times in life when I fight harder for my limitations than I do for my strengths. The transition I'm experiencing in my life right now, is HARD. And my internal dialog blindside me and deliver a TKO I didn't even see coming.

That's why paying attention to what we're telling ourselves and what we're thinking is soooo important when life is throwing us curveballs.

It's easy to double down on negative chatter. Refuting stories we tell ourselves about who we are and what we are capable of takes discipline and commitment - the same kind any professional fighter has.

They schedule their training and if they want to be champions, the stick to the schedule and push to become better versions of themselves.

So, are you going to fight for your strengths of your limitations today? If you're ready to fight to become a better version of you, I'll be cheering you on ringside.

Is something that happens to you good or bad? It depends on your perspective. Hard things that happen may lead us to one of our biggest breakthroughs. When we honestly examine how we react or respond to something, we find that we have the ability to react differently.

But our brains are designed to conserve energy and change takes effort. So we default to familiar, well-established habits of thinking and feeling and end up feeling the way we've felt before.

When we make a choice and do something differently, we are voting for who we want to become instead of running a default emotional pattern that feels comfortable and familiar.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Kathryn

Why do we expect ourselves to be experts at things we've never done before? I wish I knew. Yet so many of us hold us to a standard when doing or trying something new that we would never hold for someone else.

Several friends have children who are graduating from high school this month. Navigating the unknown of what life looks like after their children leave is a source of mixed emotions.

The joy of accomplishment and graduation contrasted with the realization that supporting this child through the K-12 educational process is over.

If their leaving makes you an empty nester, you may simultaneously look forward to and dread what's next.

You haven't done this before. Give yourself grace and allow yourself permission to feel all that you're feeling. You're navigating the unknown and you'll get through it.

When life changes are accelerating, we can feel completely overwhelmed. But living life by design instead of default, provides a clear direction. Yet we often feel like we have no control over what happens.

That's a lie. We always have a choice (although we may not like the choice.)

For those of us in our latter years of life (I will be forever young) time is more precious than ever. Where are you wasting time? What are you letting fear prevent you from doing? Whose opinion is more important to you than your own? Where are you advocating for you and the life you want.

It may be news, but there's no perfect time, there's no there (when I get there, I'll be happy). The joy is in the ever evolving journey we call life.

We need witnesses to our greatness and cheerleaders to help us stay the course.

Reach out if your spirit is sagging. Admitting something isn't working or isn't what you want is the first step to changing.

And, soon, you'll have my new book "The Challenge of Change" to guide you through the process of becoming who you were meant to be.

Much love to you all - Kathryn