Personal Growth Archives - Page 6 of 7

Are You Floundering With Your Calling? Maybe This is Why…

Are You Floundering With Your Calling? Maybe This is Why I believe everyone has a calling or purpose for being here.

We may have multiple callings over the span of a lifetime and most of us feel restless and unfulfilled if we are not doing them. I have especially witnessed that as we reach our 40’s and 50’s it seems to become increasingly uncomfortable if we are not living our life in alignment with our deeper purpose. It is as if, on some level, we know we are running out of time to do what we came here to do.

A calling isn’t necessarily a job or career, although it may take that form. From what I can see, a calling is a deep yearning of our soul to express our gifts and talents and to be of some kind of service to others.

It is the rare person who knows at a young age that they are meant for a certain calling, yet I have heard some say, “I knew as a kid I was supposed to be a teacher, a doctor, a writer,” etc.

I am currently reading the popular book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and the author of that book describes how she was obsessed with tidying up her family’s home as a very young child. She would buy housekeeping magazines and search for the tips on organizing and decluttering as a young schoolgirl and has now created a flourishing career in Japan as the leading expert in her field.

She’s one of the lucky ones. Most of us muddle through life doing what is expected and required of us and are fortunate if we end up expressing our true talents and gifts. Our school system, socialization and parents, as well meaning as they may be, often steer us away from what lies in our hearts and teach us to listen to rational thinking and logic which rarely lead us to our true calling.

The answers to life’s biggest questions do not come from our rational minds.

Five Keys to a Happy Relationship

by Nancy Harris Leave a Comment

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As a transformational coach and holistic psychotherapist, about forty percent of my clients are couples, married and unmarried. I love working with couples. It fascinates me to see who someone chooses as a life partner and to explore the dynamics that they create together. It’s an honor and privilege to be allowed into the private matters and sacred territory of the most intimate part of someone’s life.

I have been working with couples for about ten years. Of course, the couples who come to me are in some kind of distress or they wouldn’t need my services. Lately however, I have seen an increase in couples in distress and what seems to be an epidemic of marriages of people in their 50’s hitting the rocks and breaking up. And in most of the cases, it is the woman who wants out and the man who is devastated.

I think there are many reasons this is happening. Woman are tired of putting their needs last and taking care of everyone else. They often have the economic freedom to be on their own and they crave a deeper emotional connection than they are getting. Many times there is also a basic incompatibility that their younger self just did not see which becomes intolerable as one matures and realizes time is finite.

Oftentimes they still love their partner, but don’t love the relationship. It’s complicated, heart-wrenching and life-altering to make this decision, but sometimes there’s no other healthy choice. I get it. I’ve been there and have been through divorce myself.

What I have come to realize is that perhaps some of these relationships could have been saved if they only knew some key relationship skills to use along the way.

Here’s 5 Keys to a Happy Relationship:

Three Steps to Cultivate the Healing Power of Beauty

by Nancy Harris Leave a Comment

Last week I wrote about the healing power of pleasure. It got me thinking about healing in general and what helps us to heal or feel better. I know for me having fun and cultivating beauty in my life are two of the most healing energies I can tap into.

Let’s face it we live in a harsh world with many forces that wear us down, stress us to the max, and present us with daily challenges that often leave us feeling disheartened and discouraged. It can take discipline to get out and have fun or do something to bring a little beauty into our lives when our spirits may be low.

I often wonder why life can’t be easier —kind of like a 5 star resort with turquoise blue water, scrumptious food, loving people, exotic flowers, clear blue skies and beauty and pleasure all around.

I guess if life was like that we wouldn’t grow, evolve and learn the lessons we all came here to learn.

While we can’t live in a 5-star resort all the time, we can bring the healing power of beauty into our lives and let it heal and soothe our body, mind and soul. Ultimately, this will lift our vibration and transport us into a higher frequency of healing.

Once in a higher frequency, we are better able to tap into inner guidance and chose our best next steps in life. More things feel possible and life flows with enhanced grace and ease.

So what are some good ways to cultivate the healing power of beauty? Here are some of my favorite.

What Does True Success Really Mean and How Do You Achieve it?

by Nancy Harris Leave a Comment

flower-596508_1280 Part of my purpose as a transformational coach is to help my clients achieve success in their life. Since success is often about the fulfillment of one’s goals, I generally start by asking my clients what they would like to accomplish in our work together and how I may help them the most.

I get all kinds of answers to these questions, some very specific such as, “I want to get this book or PhD dissertation written”, and others quite broad such as, “I don’t know exactly, but I want to feel happier or not be so anxious anymore.”

If the accomplishment of one’s goals is part of the path to success, it strikes me that it is important that we chose our goals consciously with great awareness and care. I’ve seen clients slave away to complete certain goals that don’t bring them lasting happiness and joy.

Are You on the Team? How to Reach out and Find the Help You Need

by Nancy Harris Leave a Comment

gull-601890_1280 One of my favorite authors and life coaches is Martha Beck. I completed her 8-month life coach training program in 2007. She’s wise, whip smart, hilariously funny, irreverent and able to discuss woo woo and scientific studies in the same breath.

With three degrees from Harvard she has respectable credentials and is no stranger to thinking way outside the conventional box. I like the way her mind works. I’ve been a fan since her first book and I’ve read every book she’s written since.

In Martha’s latest book, Finding Your Way in a Wild New World: Reclaim Your True Nature to Create the Life You Want, she discusses how we are now living in a world that is changing at a dizzying pace.

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