A word can be the difference between holding an empty or full cup.
That’s some strong claim, Coach Jenny.
Why yes it is, allow me to continue.
We feed ourselves words from the moment our eyes open and our feet hit the floor each morning. We continue to nourish or starve ourselves all day long with a digestive vocabulary until we hit the pillow at the end of the day. We tell ourselves all sorts of things, we tell ourselves a story. Here’s an example of a story we choose to begin our day:
Story #1 – It’s going to be a rough day we exclaim, holding our breath. I hope I survive it all with everything I have going on. So and so is going to be a challenge to deal with, such and such is going to be painful and hard and oh, there just isn’t enough time in the day for me to do everything I need, want, have or desire to get done. This hurts, that hurts. I can’t. He won’t. She isn’t. Life sucks.
It’s not even 6 am. You haven’t even poured your first cup of coffee, let alone brewed a full pot, and you are pouring yourself a cup draining story. Feeding yourself with a story that can set you up for depletion, exhaustion, burn out and frustration.
Oh, I get this story. I wrote this story. I spoke it so many times that it finally got really old and lost its power. I had to start creating and living a new story in order to find my happy place. I was able to discover and choose my joy so that ultimately I began holding a full cup.
Story # 2 – Thank you for this new day. Big inhale. Big exhale. I get to live it deeply and embrace all that comes my way with grace. I am ready for so and so and such and such and I release my expectations and assumptions. I say yes to ease and flow even in the painful and hard. I have all the time I need to do what must be done. I am ready. He will. She is capable. All is well.
Do you feel the difference in story one and story two? Story one leaves no breathing room – it’s going to be a crappy day – end of story. Story two is anchored in possibility, positivity, strength, authenticity and leaves so much room for the light to get in. We have the power to change our reality. I’m not being Pollyanna with my head in the clouds shading my eyes to life’s challenges. Not at all. I’m inviting you to consider your words carefully. I am opening up the door for you to try a different language then the one you are highly trained and quite good at using.
As a mama myself and a life coach, I hear a lot of opportunities to switch things up, to adjust the story. For example, a client might say, I don’t have enough time during the week to do anything for me, my family needs me for everything right now. This is an understandable thing to say. I said it ALL the time when my children were little and I hear this time and time again from clients. This is where I invite them to hold a different belief, change up the tune because what we believe becomes our truth, our reality, our living story. For a statement like this that leaves no breathing room for possibility, I offer something like – There is plenty of time during the week to honor my needs, I am open to creatively discovering new possibility as I demonstrate to my family that not only am I worth it, we all are worth my taking care of me while I take care of them. When you believe a different story your actions changes.
As a mama, when I hear I’m not smart enough or I’m bad at such and such, I offer a new approach. I ask, what are you feeling? A response may be that one of my children is feeling unaccepted by peers and believing they don’t fit in. This is when I invite them to attach themselves to an empowering word that is in alignment with how they want to feel. Accepted, Confident, Appreciated — to name a few suggestions. Then I invite my child to attach themselves to one of these words in an I AM statement rather than the above thought of I’m not liked or accepted. There is a vibrational quality difference between, I don’t fit in and I am accepted. Do you hear and feel the difference?
What if you listened to the habitual voice that keeps those thoughts churning and really paid attention to the message? When you hear a word or phrase that is the opposite of life giving play around with an alternative message, a new story.
What story do you want to tell yourself every morning when your feet hit the floor? Will you anchor your words, thoughts and stories into a life giving foundation rooted in possibility?
A story can be the difference between holding an empty or full cup.
Give it a try, you’re more than worth it.
Cheers, Jenny
