As the weather warms and signals the end of winter, it's the perfect time to delve into the rejuvenating practice of spring cleaning and deep clean our environments. Spring cleaning involves more than just tidying up; it's about decluttering, reorganizing, and refreshing our spaces to promote physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

The episode explores the concept of environment, encompassing our homes, offices, and outdoor spaces. We examine the impact of cluttered and messy environments on our mental health, productivity, and even financial stress. Through anecdotes and insights, we uncover the hidden benefits of spring cleaning, from reducing stress and improving sleep to enhancing creativity and productivity.

Viewers and listeners are encouraged to start small, tackling one area at a time, armed with simple strategies for decluttering and cleaning. By taking charge of our environments, we can experience a sense of accomplishment, control, and renewed energy. As we embark on this seasonal journey, we're reminded that spring cleaning isn't just about sprucing up our spaces—it's about embracing a fresh start and investing in our overall well-being.

Klara has over two decades experience as a professional counselor and a woman-centered transformational coach. Her journey began with overcoming severe trauma from her early years. After moving forward from being married and divorced two times, Klara has been able to step into her own by creating an extraordinary life for herself with her now husband of 23 years. Klara believes that there is always a way to escape difficult situations and live a life of your own choosing. Her passion is centered around relationships and success where she is on a mission to help women discover and reinvent themselves after divorce and create the confidence they need to live an extraordinary life.

This week we are talking about Fear and how the fear of vulnerability and conflict are a barrier to communication in relationships.

Marcy McDonald is an escapee from the corporate world, where she was a six-figure senior leader who created multiple million dollar products. She has worked with 100s of top experts and professionals in a variety of fields, is an internationally certified End of Life Doula, was a featured participant in Season 2 of the reality TV show, 4 Days to Save the World. She is also the author of UnStuck Yourself and Build Happiness as well as a contributing author in the “Transforming Your Life” series.

Marcy has used all this knowledge and experience to become a self-talk and mindset expert who developed a unique coaching tool, UnBlocks, that she uses in her transformational coaching program for women who struggle to believe in themselves and want to shift their mindset to gain confidence, so they have the clarity, drive, energy, and focus they need to pursue their dreams and build a life worth living. Her proprietary process of numbering your days while changing your self-talk is key to unlocking lasting change.

This week we are talking about Defensiveness--another barrier to communication.

What is the definition of defensiveness? Defensiveness is a self-protective, impulsive emotional response to feeling criticized or attacked in a situation or conversation. It is about denying responsibility, blaming others, making excuses and counter-attacking.

Defensiveness is a barrier in communication as the main message is that “The problem isn’t me, it’s you.”

Ways defensiveness can come out in:

“You” statements

Statements of “You have to, or You will” or “you shouldn’t feel that way”

“Yes, but” statements

Double messages

Karin Whitbeck has almost 30 years of experience as a massage therapist and is the owner of Therapeutic Massage Center in SW Florida.

A big part of her work is teaching clients to wake up, pay attention and listen to their bodies, to be aware of what their body is telling them in order to feel better from the inside out.

Karin also helps her clients change their stories about themselves so that they can love themselves as they are, right now, and to find their 'Happy Place' which we all have within us.

This week’s topic is how avoidance and distractions can be barriers to communication and what you can do about it.

Avoidance--In a relationship, one might keep away or steer clear of another when they don’t want to talk to them. They might not make eye contact, may not want to be in the same room as the other, so they do not have to interact.

Distraction--These can be internal or external distractions that prevent a listener from comprehending and properly understanding what is being said to them.

Today's guest is Ellie Calhoun. She is a Licensed Massage Therapist, is certified in Rossiter Stretching Technique, Core Movement Integration®, Neurokinetic Therapy®, Breathing methods and Lymphatics.

Ellie is dedicated to helping people take charge of their wellness, learning best core movement and breathing practices to achieve a pain free body so they can gracefully and joyfully live life to the fullest. She believes that with the right tools, mindset and practice, we can move with ease and get better as we get older!

Communication is something we use in every relationship we have, every single day. Communication includes not only the words we use but also, how we say it and our body language. When we use good communication skills such as active listening and asking clarifying questions, our relationships flourish. But if we don’t, we will find ourselves in the midst of some unpleasant times.

This is the first in a series of four episodes, I will be discussing four different categories of communication barriers and what to do about them. Today's episode is about Assumptions.

In a relationship or in communication, assumptions come out when a person thinks they already know without asking or figuring out the facts; already knowing what the other person is thinking and feeling, how they will respond, or what they do without checking with them first.

Assumptions include mind reading and jumping to conclusions.

Today's guest is Jason Haglund, 5th generation farmer, substance abuse counselor, speakers and founding member of Rural Policy Partners who brings over 20 years experience leading, managing and navigating the behavioral healthcare system in numerous leadership and consultative roles.