Lake 961 Blog

Always sharing the good resources for you. Have a great memorial day and enjoy the start to a great Summer!

P.S  I am truly torn…who is going to WIN IDOL tonite?

Best,
Katie

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Who Do You Surround Yourself With?
www.warrior-women.com/blog

You likely grew up hearing people provide cautionary notes about who you choose to hang out with.  The fact is, in order to live your best life, examining who you are surrounding yourself with is an important part of the process.  Who are you allowing into your life and what role do they play?  When you interact with these people do they reflect your core values?  Do they help you live in alignment with your core values?  And, what do you do when you are faced with people who do not reflect your core values?

Begin by examining those closest relationships you have.  Are the interactions healthy (i.e. NO drama)? Do you pracitice your core values with these people?  By the way . . . do you even know what your core values are?  If not – you must begin your journey there.  Being crystal clear about your core values  and aligning your behavior around these is the heart of life.  In your heart of heart; uninfluenced by the pain, the wounds and hurts you have recieved in life – deep in there, are your core values.  Take the time to determine what they are and begin aligning your behavior – AND, your relationships to them.

So, I can hear you thinking – well the “world” doesn’t live by my values – how can I do this?  At the risk of sounding like a bit of an old hippy – change begins with ONE individual. . . seriously.  So, here’s the deal for me personally (and I believe this to be universal).  I can only control the things I think and do, not how others think and act.   This bears repeating . . . I can only control the things I think and do.  This is a choice, a choice that needs to be made every day.

I choose to interact with integrity, honesty and compassion.  Not always easy – so, it’s a practice.  I like to surround myself with people who can be a mirror for me, this reminds to align with my basic principles and values.  For example my interactions with Sara remind me not to be too harsh, Jim reminds me of the value of humility and Jeff  keeps me in touch with the passion for what do.  I am grateful to have many such friends who, maybe unknowlingly to them, very much influence me to live my best life.  When I pay attention to who I am surrounding myself with, my life flows so much more easily.  So, while many choices and actions made by others do not align with what I would have done or action I might take; this does not necessitate – in the bigger scheme of things - that I chose them.

People will come in and out of your world across a lifetime.  You need to be thoughtful about who you allow into your inner circle – as these relationships are a direct reflection of who YOU are.  Being the best you can possibly be requires choices to be made and conscious intent.  For some, this process is a radical shift but, for many more, it is a process that is gradual – in either instance, it is all about putting forth your intentions.  This will attract into your life the right teachers who come disguised as friends. 

Snow in May? That is what makes living in the Midwest a GEM of a place. I have yet to see a snowflake though. Happy Mothers Day to all the Moms out there who work their butts off and give their best everyday! I honor you on your day and wish you had more days of appreciation that are strictly yours.

It is Saturday morning and I am enjoying a cup of very strong coffee. I can across this article and it really pulled at my heart strings this morning. It made me reflect on the following:

Sometimes we like to go into “rescue mode.” Our intentions are pure and we do it with love but what is the message that you might be sending? What would happen if you held the person capable of getting where they need to go? What if their process of getting there is just different from yours?  It’s like we all have our own GPS systems for life and there are many different ways of getting to your final destination. What would happen if we held that person as whole and complete?

Butterfly Lesson

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.  One day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.  Then it seemed to stop making any progress.  It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and could go no further.  So the man decided to help the butterfly, he took a pair od scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged with ease.  But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.  The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that any moment, the wings would expand and enlarge to be able to support the body which would contract with time.  Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings.  It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and hassle did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the opening were Creators way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it could be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Often times struggles are exactly what we need in life.  If we were allowed to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.  We would not be as strong as we could have been.  We could never fly.

I love it!
Katie

www.coachkatie.com

MAY DAY MAY DAY MAY DAY!!!!!

 Greetings friends!

I hope you are finding EXCITEment with the anticipation of Summer! I know I sure am. I got my first ’sunburn’ this weekend and it felt…riveting. (I think that is the appropriate word…woot woot~!!!!!) 

I wanted to share with my some pictures of my first Hiking experience. Matt and I went about 2 hours North to Devil’s Lake State Park. I was excited to see the state park, I have heard great things about it. I was not expecting to LOVE it as much as I did. 

Hiking really gave to be a chance to be in the moment with nature, life and the world at large. I couldn’t believe it! I was ‘frolicking’ around so much on the rocks that Matt was the one telling ME to be careful. I was not concerned with being 1400 feet up, I was not worried about ‘falling rocks’ or ’slipping’ I was truly practicing ‘BEing in the moment’…There was a certain calmness that came over me with the experience. HOWEVER, that is not how I felt in the beginning of my journey. 

As soon as I changed my mind about what kind of experience I wanted to have hiking…I started instantly experiencing it. In the beginning I kept saying to myself and Matt “Oh man, what will happen if I dont make it?” and “damn my legs are already killing me, how do emergency vehicles get this high up?” or “I am so out of shape, this sucks!” 

CLEARLY that attitude was not working for me or Matt. 

The moment my language changed, my experience of hiking shifted.  

I was pulling on energy that I didn’t know I had. It was a great experience. 
In the end, I found myself ready for more despite tornado like winds, despite my new sunburn, despite the grumbling in my stomach…Simply put, I wanted more. 

MY GREATEST LEARNING: 
Never tell yourself and others what YOUR NOT. 

“I’m not a hiker” 
“I’m not ‘outdoorsy’” 
“I’m not in the right shape to be climbing anything“ 

BE OPEN TO THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE SOMEBODY YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN BUT NOT ALWAYS KNOWN
(p.s MATT that does not mean I will go camping with you yet in a tent baby steps. lol

Quick after thought…I also tried FRISBEE golf and you know what friends……I was not that bad at it. It was fun. 

CHEERS to trying new things…It’s very exhilarating! 

Here are some pictures:

My first ferry ride

That’s Matt…he is my little ‘poser’

I felt strong…I have made it!

Thanks for reading and letting me share.
Create a great week and do something that is ‘out of my box!’
Take an “I’m not” and see if you are. Give yourself another shot.

Best,
Katie