No matter how much personal development you do, addressing new things in your life will always challenge you. 

Changing yourself, your old patterns, your behavior, your toxic traits or your limiting beliefs takes courage and true dedication to your growth. 

In today's episode, I want to share with you what are the two most common challenges we face when it comes to changing our lives.

Although you may think that addressing difficult things about yourself is a challenge, the real challenge is pretending our perfection and creating an illusion that we are without flaws. 

The second challenge is to take responsibility for your behavior. 

The difference between people who break generational curses, healed their traumas, or resolve their pains and those who don't isn't only about the intensity of their experience but how they choose to respond to it. 

Since many of my friends and clients express their desire to be empowered, I will share with you two types of empowerment we can experience. One is based on our emotions only and doesn't last, while the other is based on healing and provides lasting results. 

In the second part of this episode, I will share with you three steps on how to find the courage to change yourself and your life and how to achieve true inner empowerment in the process. 

Well, hello my beautiful soul.

Let me ask you a question: "In your day to day life, do you choose more love or more pain?"

We can argue that often, we don't choose pain or at least think we don't. So let me explain.

Last week, I put a quote on my Instagram that says: "Self-Forgiveness is loving yourself more than the pain you feel."

But do we choose self-forgiveness as a way of choosing love, or do we get stuck in self-blame and self-shaming and never feeling good enough?

Since many of us tackle these situations regularly and our relationship with guilt and shame is a never-ending healing process of self-love and growth, we'll take a look at how we can exercise more love than pain in our lives.

First, we will talk about two different types of pain. One pain is also known as a growing pain. That's when our experiences turn into lessons.

The other pain is suffering. It often occurs when we get stuck in victim mentality, self-blame, or simply refuse to take responsibility for what's happening in our lives.

To understand the love and pain relationship, it's imperative to know the difference.

We will also cover how fear impacts our overall healing, why so many of us get stuck in this very first stage of transformation and how to overcome it.

Lastly, I will teach you three simple steps to start choosing love over pain more often and share some very effective, yet easy daily practice you can start doing today.

Well, hello there!

Since it's about to go down in a few days and my very first course "The Ultimate Self-Forgiveness" is launching on February 14th, in today's podcast episode, I want to talk to you about the four stages of self-forgiveness.

Also, I want you to think of the stage you are currently in.

Since people often ask me what it means to manifest your dream life through healing, here is how I began to understand it.

When we heal and learn the art of self-forgiveness, we practice self-love and begin clearing any negative energy. The more we love ourselves and feel in control of our inner world, the more we enjoy every moment, encourage joy and attract abundance.

The amount of self-judgment and self-criticism we exercise regularly is too much to carry. Even though we think that it's people's judgment that affects us the most, it's often our inner voice that has the most power.

In today's episode, I am going to walk you through 4 stages of the ultimate self-forgiveness. 

The first stage is denial. If you haven't listened to the previous episode #115 Breaking Through Denial, I recommend to go ahead and give it a listen.

The two most common reasons why we stay in denial are fear and our ego.

The second stage is anger. Once we acknowledge what we need to forgive ourselves for, we may feel angry. Either for things we have done or what we have allowed.

The third stage is forgiveness. When we are fully aware of what we need to forgive ourselves for, and we felt anger for some time, it's time to let go.

And the fourth stage is healing. It is where we measure the progress of our healing journey by answering one simple question: "What is the emotional charge I feel when I say "I forgive myself for...[fill in the blank].

And last but not least, I will give you a simple challenge at the end of the episode.

The number one reason why we live or choose to stay in denial is FEAR. Although fear in this instance can have many forms, in the end, it's all about the willingness to face the truth.

The truth about the situation we are in, the truth about ourselves, the truth about our healing or unresolved pain from the past.

You know, my friend, the thing with denial is that no matter how hard we try to look away and not face the hard stuff, deep down we know we are lying to ourselves or refusing to look at things that need healing.

I recorded this podcast episode for everyone who feels stuck and is ready for more healing and personal transformation.

We can only grow and change if we are aware of what needs our attention. Therefore, we have to be willing to step out of denial to experience transformation most authentically.

In today's episode, I will share two ways we can use to break through denial. One is driven by our pain and the other happens when we consciously choose to change.

I will teach you three simple steps on how to break through denial by consciously choosing to change while healing in the process.

First, we will look at areas of your life you aren't satisfied with.

Second, we will define the story around the situation you are denying and what has been difficult for you to face.

Last but not least, I will encourage you to ask yourself the two most powerful questions. They will help you to step out of denial and experience lasting transformation.

I was talking with my good friend, and we were brainstorming what has been the biggest game-changer when it comes to embracing self-love.

We both agreed it has been the shadow work as well as addressing and accepting things we don't like about ourselves.

Shadow work isn't about changing things you don't like but about accepting them as they are - that's the challenge.

Here are some questions I want you to consider:

1. Is there anyone in this world who is perfect and doesn't make mistakes or have flaws? (I think we both know the answer to this question).

2. How can you love yourself fully if you choose to ONLY accept things about yourself you like? And probably the most important question of today's episode is:

3. What are the benefits of your unwanted traits and how they helped you in the past?

In today's episode, I will share with you some of the benefits of shadow work. Probably the biggest is a lack of desire to be validated.

In the second part of the episode, I will lead you through three steps on how to practice shadow work.

First, you will make a list of your unwanted traits (no worries, I tell you what to look for).

Then you will pick one trait to start with. In the beginning, one is more than enough, my friend.

You will find the benefits of this trait and how it has positively shaped your life. Last but not least, I will share with you one of the best ways how to work towards acceptance and healing of your unwanted or denied traits.

"How can we love ourselves and others without condition, prejudice, judgment, expectations, and criticism?"

It is one of the biggest questions that I have been thinking about lately.

Often our love is based on conditions, not only towards others but also towards ourselves. We think, "If you do X, Y, Z, then I will love you and approve of you."

But what if the person we expect something from doesn't do what we want? Do they deserve to be loved less?

My client and I decided to take on an accountability game. We have to tell at least one person that we love them each day. I will go into details in today's episode and share with you our results, but frankly, it has been challenging and super fun for both of us.

I know that some of you may be thinking, "Does it mean that I have to tolerate things I don't like? Does it mean I have to let people do whatever and still love them despite that?"

Yes and no. Unconditional love doesn't mean we lower our standards or remove our boundaries. Unconditional love means we love someone no matter what, even when it has to be from a distance to honor ourselves and our healthy well-being.

In today's episode, I will tell you the details about the accountability game with my client and how it is improving our interpersonal relationships. I'll also talk about what unconditional love is but mostly, how to apply it towards loving yourself first.

At the end of the episode, I will share with you a simple tip on how to become more mindful of loving others and set the right intentions every morning before you approach the day.

In today's episode, we will talk about experiencing discomfort on purpose. That is a certain level of pain we consciously choose to go through in order to grow faster, understand more, and level up our spiritual journey. 

Discomfort in and of itself often isn't something we desire or feel excited about unless there is a bigger goal associated with it. 

So if your goal is to experience discomfort on purpose for the sake of higher-good or reaching your most important goals, you can still prepare for it and enjoy it more than you thought possible. 

There are two things you want to focus on. The first is the awareness of the process as well as answering the most important question: "Do you love the process as much you love the reward?" 

The second is the drive behind your actions. How to learn to "suck it up", embrace discomfort, and make your WHY bigger than your excuses.

We will look at the pain and pleasure factor and how they impact your motivation to do things, and why being motivated by pleasure provides you with more sustainable results than pain. 

At the end of this podcast episode, I will give you a challenge. 

Although the end goal is your primary goal, your secondary goal should be to seek resilience in the process and understand that no matter the outcome, the time of discomfort provides the opportunity for tremendous growth and mental evolution. 

Since I want us to start this new year strong, today we are going to address the subtle inner voice inside of you. 

Does this voice support you and empower you or is it shaming you and keeps you small? 

I see so many people posting on social media about 2021 being a year without toxic relationships and non-supportive family and friends. But my question to you is; "What if we are the ones who are toxic and non-supportive of ourselves?" 

This is not a judgmental statement - this is an awareness moment for all of us. 

As much as we want to create healthy surroundings and live in a positive environment, we need to start with ourselves to make sure that we aren't standing in our way or sabotage our success. 

In today's episode, I will teach you four steps on how to spot this voice and work with it effectively.

As a first step, we will learn how to listen to this voice. Although this may sound obvious, some of our thoughts are so habitual we don't even know they are there. 

As a second step, we will learn how to check with ourselves through the day to make sure that we are aware of what we are thinking and feeling. Remember that your emotions drive actions.

I will share with you a fundamental question I use daily. It will help you to observe yourself and become aware of your inner dialogue anytime throughout the day.

As a third step, we will find the distinction between your inner dialogue and your belief system since how you talk to yourself is often rooted in what you believe yourself to be or what you think you are capable of. 

And last but not least, I encourage you to move towards self-forgiveness. Especially when you become aware of how shaming or guilt-tripping your talk is (I certainly did), you want to approach it with love, compassion, and understanding.

Today, I will share with you three principles I decided to keep real with myself in the new year and invite you to apply some of them (or all of them) to your life too.

Before we dive into the topic, I want you to join me (during this podcast episode) to deeply reflect on one single thing you feel utterly grateful for when it comes to 2020. 

We all can agree that 2020 got a pretty bad reputation. How about we take all the lessons and benefits and focus on those instead?

Therefore, we are going to play this gratitude game together. I will share with you what I feel thankful for the most this year and how this seemingly negative event transformed my life in a positive direction. 

Here are 3 principles we will work on:

Principle #1 Keeping it real with your fear: This is where we address the true nature of our fears, how valid they are, and how they stop us from doing what we want. 

We will distinguish between rational and irrational fears and use the exercise to manage the fear that has been preventing you from taking action and achieving your goals.

Principle #2 Keeping it real with your commitments: In this part of the podcast, we will take a close look at some of your commitments as well as your new year's resolutions and identify how stable and effective they are.

When it comes to commitments, you want to prepare for the time when momentum subsides, your inspiration isn't at its peak, and when discouragement and overwhelm take place.

I will teach you how to strengthen your commitment level and prepare for those "lazy" days, so your new year's resolutions become a reality and not another forgotten goal. 

Principle #3 Keeping it real with your healing (I couldn't leave this one out) 

The crucial thing I will be sharing with you is the importance of shadow work, what shadow work means and how to develop healthy relationships with parts of our personality we don't approve of. 

Since our focus is often on what we need to become or what habits we need to develop in order to achieve our goals, in today's podcast episode we are going to talk about everything we need to unbecome to find the path back to ourselves and slay 2021 like a true manifesting boss. 

In today's podcast episode, there are two most important questions I want you to think about: 

"Why aren't we all those things we want to be?"

"Why have we become many things we don't want to be and how to unbecome these things?" 

Since answers to these questions are often rooted in your belief system, we will take a close look at who you believe you are and how it is preventing you from reaching your full potential. 

First, we will talk about awareness and how to find out exactly what keeps you stuck and what you need to unbecome in the first place. 

Second, we will take a close look at the origin of your belief system, where was it shaped, and how it impacts your confidence and overall mindset today. 

Since 2021 is right around the corner and 2020 has been a different year for many of us (to say the least), I want you to enter the new year with a fresh mindset, powerful knowledge, and useful tools in hand.