Understanding Emotions

(image courtesy of http://wiaob.blogspot.com/)

Oprahs site can be unbelievably hard to navigate through as there are so many links and brilliant bits to read it's easy to end up far from the original page you wanted to view!
Subscribing cuts this problem out to some degree. So this week I found a brilliant article in my emails from the site about understanding your emotions surrounding reaching for your dreams.
As a coach, when setting goals for myself or with a client, the focus can be more placed on motivating and maintaining a positive frame of reference to get to the end. Via this article however, the flip side of this was examined. It made for some really thought provoking reading!
What really struck me is how often people, myself included, just won't LET themselves get what they want. They have the goal, they go for it, and then they stop short. They give it a shot but perhaps don't fully succeed, then the goal/dream is left alone with citings of valid reasons for why it wasn't meant to be.
So by falling short or giving up, what emotions are we resisting or dodging? Even when it gets hard, what are we most scared of and what are we avoiding?
There are 4 approaches to dealing with it, and I recommend giving it a shot (copy link to go to the page - http://www.oprah.com/spirit/How-to-Reach-Your-Dreams-Understanding-Your-Emotions/3).
It can be really refreshing to sit with yourself in honest conversation and greet the fearful emotions that hold you back. It may not result in you rocket launching yourself into your goals but it does lighten the load and get you moving again.

Seek truth and you will find a path. ~Frank Slaughter

We do not err because truth is difficult to see. It is visible at a glance. We err because this is more comfortable. ~Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Happy New Year

The end of 2011 is a few hours away and by most counts, reviewing the year has been interesting but 2012 is decidedly something to look forward to.
Most of us will be out partying at some point between now and the next few hours to bring in the new year with a bang. However, it is always worth taking advantage of the energy the beginning of any new journey elicits.
In a quieter moment, take some time to look over the good and bad bits of the last 12 months. Give thanks to the lessons learned and various growth periods that came disguised as testing times. Be grateful for the times when you had peace and bliss and allow those memories to revisit to give you pleasure.
Most of all, remember that the next 12 months for 2012 can hold as much joy or misery as you choose in each moment. It is essentially up to you to stay present in each moment and make the most of it, whatever it is.
Planning, setting goals or winging it, whichever way appeals to you for the next while, just go with it. We're going into a period of new beginnings I reckon, and whether they're good or bad are going to be largely down to how we perceive things and how we choose to act.
It sure as hell won't be a boring year, that much feels certain! :)