Happy New Year! As we are wrapping up 2022 and looking to the future in 2023 and beyond, how intentionally are we thinking about the future?  This short and sweet episode shares one of my favorite coaching strategies: since our brains tend to focus on the worst case scenario, we can give equal airtime in our minds to the best case scenario as well. Doing so will loosen up our fear of the future and open up possibilities that we may never otherwise consider.  This strategy is just as valid in relation to relationships and regular life as it is in relation to those with concussions looking to their future.  People dealing with post concussion syndrome sometimes feel like the future is hopeless and overwhelming due to the unpredictability of their symptoms, but this strategy is just as applicable to their situation.  Let the potential possibility of goodness in the future share airtime in your mind.  You've got this.  Happy New Year!

In today's episode, I share an experience I've had recently that I was initially resistant to, and how I've moved through acceptance to embracing it. I also describe the pivot I'm making in my business to focus on concussion coaching (think: life coaching through the eyes of an occupational therapist).  If you or someone you love has had a concussion and would like a 30 min consultation, I'd love to meet with you! Sign up on my website: www.theconcussioncoach.com

Join me as I interview Paul Parets about how music inspires him and the life lessons he hopes to have instilled in his students over the years.  Mr. Parets taught band at Alexis I. duPont High School for many years, and has thousands of students who continue to feel his influence in their lives.  Listen as he discusses his journey into teaching music, the power of music in bringing people together, and how striving for excellence is the best approach to life. "We have one and only one ambition: to be the best! What else is there?"

Join me as I interview Nancy Winn about how to find the joy and the fun in life, regardless of the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Nancy is hilarious, entertaining, and so wise. She is so fun to listen to, and shares many uplifting and inspiring ways we can stay light-hearted and happy despite life's challenges. Enjoy this conversation with Nancy Winn!  

And as mentioned, I'd love to have you join me in my Ladies Self-Care Retreat, where we'll be caring for our minds and bodies with coaching, yoga, and relaxation.  October 21-22 in Eden Utah. Find out more details and register at www.lifeinspiredcoach.com.  I hope to see you there!

My friend Jenny Drake was kind enough to interview me on her podcast and let me post our interview on my podcast. Jenny's podcast is called "Falling In Love...With Yourself," and she can be found on Instagram at jenny_drake_  or at her website: jenny-drake.com    

Jenny is a self-love life coach, who is doing a lot of good in the world, helping people to overcome their negative self-talk and limiting beliefs about themselves and learning to love themselves.  Her work is so needed in the world today, and I love what she's doing and how she helps us remember to tune into our inner selves and seek light and love. 

In our interview, I mention Jody Moore, who can be found at www.jodymoore.com or listened to on her podcast, Better Than Happy.  Her mentor, Brooke Castillo of The Life Coach School, is also mentioned.  Brooke's website is www.thelifecoachschool.com.  Both of these women have had an important and positive impact on the way I think and view the world.  I also mention my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose website is www.churchofjesuschrist.org.  

Join me as I interview Kaylie Ferguson about a cutting-edge concussion clinic, CognitiveFX.  This clinic utilizes a superior and individualized approach to treat post-concussion symptoms (PCS).  Using fNCI scans, they are able to determine specifically which areas of the brain have been affected by the brain injury, and use a multi-disciplinary approach with a variety of therapies and technologies to target those affected areas. They treat patients from all over the world, helping people gain their lives back after enduring a concussion, and the treatment can be effective even years following the initial injury.  Patients with head injuries from bike accidents, motor vehicle accidents, falls, skiing, soccer, other sports injuries, domestic violence, etc., have had their symptoms decrease or disappear completely.  Check out their website to review their research, gain access to their incredibly helpful information about Post-Concussion Syndrome, or sign up for a free consultation.  www.cognitivefxusa.com

Common post-concussion symptoms may include brain fog, sleep issues, anxiety, depression, visual problems, reading difficulty, memory problems, light and noise sensitivity, dizziness, balance issues, headaches, fatigue, or difficulty with attention and concentration.   

*This conversation contains content that may not be suitable for young children.  Join me as I interview Amber, a survivor of domestic abuse, who shares some of her experiences with the physical, emotional, verbal, and sexual abuse she endured in her marriage, and the knowledge and understanding she has gained through the process. Her story offers an important perspective, whether you're in an abusive relationship yourself, or love someone who is in one, or just want to gain some more understanding around how and why people stay or go back to these types of relationships.  Amber offers ideas and tips on how to help someone in an abusive relationship, and shares some important insights on forgiveness--what it is and what it is not. 

Amber references a list of things that forgiveness is not. It is included below, and is from a talk called "Be 100 Percent Responsible" by Lynn G. Robbins. https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/lynn-g-robbins/be-100-percent-responsible/  

Part of understanding forgiveness is to understand what it is not:  

Forgiving her abusive husband does not excuse or condone his cruelty. 

Forgiving does not mean forgetting his brutality; you cannot unremember or erase a memory that is so traumatic. 

Forgiving does not mean that justice is being denied, because mercy cannot rob justice. 

Forgiving does not erase the injury he has caused, but it can begin to heal the wounds and ease the pain. 

Forgiving does not mean trusting him again and giving him yet another chance to abuse her and the children. While to forgive is a commandment, trust has to be earned and evidenced by good behavior over time, which he clearly has not demonstrated. 

Forgiving does not mean forgiveness of his sins. Only the Lord can do that, based upon sincere repentance.

Join me as I interview Kent Jordan, a United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit, about how to interact with people with whom you disagree.  He is extremely qualified to discuss this subject and shares important insights regarding engaging in civil discourse.  So how do we get along with others in a contentious world?  Spoiler alert: there is no secret sauce; but there ARE key fundamental principles and values that everyone can work towards incorporating into their lives that will make this world a much better place. Tune in to find out what they are.

Join me as I interview Aselin Maloney, an experienced life coach who shares her journey into coaching, what coaching does for people, and some of the ideas and concepts that she has found particularly insightful for her clients.  She also references many resources that she uses and people whose work has inspired her. I have included the names and some links to these resources and people below.  

Aselin Maloney -  [email protected] 

People Acuity - https://peopleacuity.com/ 

Deanna Murphy Interview she did on Leading Saints podcast - https://leadingsaints.org/mentoring-relief-society-presidents-through-love-how-i-lead-deanna-murphy/ 

Gallup CliftonStrengths Assessment - https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/252137/home.aspx 

Byron Katie - https://thework.com/ 

Jody Moore - https://jodymoore.com/ 

Brooke Castillo - https://thelifecoachschool.com/

Whitney Johnson - https://whitneyjohnson.com/ 

Michael Bungay Stanier - https://www.mbs.works/ 

4 Scriptures - Isaiah 55:8; 2 Nephi 2:11-14; 1 Peter 4:12-13; Doctrine & Covenants 122:5-7  

Other scriptures referenced - Articles of Faith 1:13; Philippians 4:8  

Henry Van Dyke poem - “Thoughts are Things”  

4 Stages of Competence:  1-Unconscious Incompetence 2-Conscious Incompetence 3-Conscious Competence 4-Unconscious Competence  

Dennis Deaton, author of “Looking Unto Christ in Every Thought” - https://lookinguntochrist.com/index.html

Kids have so much to teach us! Their perspective is so pure and innocent, and in observing them we can learn how to be better humans. Join me as I share some of the lessons I have learned from children in my life.   

And here are the quotes I shared at the beginning of class :)  

“Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven.”   — Henry Ward Beecher, reverend and social activist 

“The soul is healed by being with children.”   — Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian novelist and philosopher 

“Every child you encounter is a divine appointment.”   — Wess Stafford, President Emeritus of Compassion International 

“You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance.”   — Franklin P. Jones, American humorist 

“Children see magic because they look for it.”   — Christopher Moore, writer 

“While we try to teach our children all about life, Our children teach us what life is all about.”   — Angela Schwindt, home schooling mom  

“Pretty much all the honest truth telling there is in the world is done by children.”   — Oliver Wendell Holmes, author and poet 

“Children seldom misquote. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said.”   — Author unknown 

“Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.”   — Robert Fulghum, author 

“Children are a great comfort to us in our old age, and they help us reach it faster too.”   — Author unknown 

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”   — Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist 

“A characteristic of the normal child is he doesn't act that way very often”   — Author unknown 

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”   — Fred Rogers, television personality 

“I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.”   — Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States 

“The best inheritance a parent can give his children is a few minutes of his time each day.”   — Orlando Aloysius Battista, Canadia-American chemist and author 

https://www.compassion.com/poverty/famous-quotes-about-children.htm 

"Children are not a distraction from more important work, they are the most important work." – C.S. Lewis