The Most Important Person to Listen to is You 
It took me quite a long time to buy this story and understandably so!  When your outside world is a hot mess, it’s a hard pill to swallow that you might just be responsible for it.  I mean who in the world would want negative people or experiences in their life?  Don’t we all just want peace and joy? 
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Of course, we do and the good news is, we have more control over the situation than we think we do. Simply put, our outside world is a reflection of our inside conversation.  What we think we synch. So in my case, I once thought I was unworthy of love. In turn I attracted people and circumstances that showed me I was unworthy – disloyal friends, men that used and betrayed me and financial failure just to name a few. 

It wasn’t until I admitted to myself that I was the common denominator in all my life’s drama that I begin to regain my personal power. I discovered that my thoughts were the root to all my life’s circumstances.  Yes!  Our thoughts are that powerful because they turn into “our story” that we tell, which becomes our belief system. 

Begin by Taking Responsibility
Discovering the sheer power of your thoughts is both liberating and scary.  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. If you want a different outcome than you’ve had in the past, you need to retrain your brain to think differently. But how was I to monitor every thought I had?  It sounded so very exhausting.  

It is actually quite simple.  You start with how you feel. Most of us choose one of two ways to process feelings.  Either you suppress them by stuffing them down and pretending they don’t exist. Or you can get stuck in the never-ending hamster wheel of over-analyzing them (this was my poison). Both are simply a way to avoid the feeling. It’s natural.  We just want to protect ourselves from being hurt but the fact remains the feelings won’t go away. Might as well face them head on! 

Be the Master of Your Thoughts, Not the Servant
The healthiest way sounds so rudimentary but it works as simply as it sounds – just feel how you feel.  Acknowledge – that made me mad, sad, stuck, lost – whatever feeling it is that has arisen. Breath into this acknowledgement. Then, instead of shaming or judging yourself, begin to get curious by asking questions about your feelings.  

Through our feelings we become more conscious of our thoughts.  This is because our feelings are triggered by our thoughts. If you have good thoughts, you have good feelings and then you take positive action.  The opposite is true as well – think negatively, feel negatively, take negative actions.  I was all too familiar with the latter scene. So, I decided to try the opposite, it worked! 

In physics this is called the Observer Effect - the mere observation of a phenomenon inevitably changes that phenomenon. By becoming aware of how we feel, we can decide if our thoughts need to change.  We simultaneously build our self-confidence because we are now in the driver’s seat.  We are in control of our actions.  Therefore, we operate from a place of decision making rather than just reacting to a feeling.  

Voila, you’ve now become the victor of your reality, not the victim of some circumstance!  You have taken back your personal power by taking responsibility for your thoughts which can now manifest as positive experiences in your life.  

t would be my pleasure to work with your family on intuition and to teach you what I learned from my personal journey and professional training.  Follow me for more to come! 

As Henry Ford said “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.” ​
 
Join Me  
I hoped you received some valuable information!  Follow me for free tips & tricks, and I look forward to serving your family's needs!  Here’s to happy coaching, the Mom’s Coach 
Find tips & tricks to help your family:  https://www.facebook.com/MichelleColeBeBraveBeYou 
Follow my stories as a parent:  https://www.instagram.com/bebravebeyou_org/ 
Contact me with Questions:  Michelle@BeBraveBeYou.org 
Connect with my Blog:  http://www.bebravebeyou.org/blog 
Join my Free Membership:  http://www.bebravebeyou.org/membership 
​
Let's teach our children how to Be Brave, Be You - by learning the Power of EQ! 

Spiritual Beings Having a Human Experience 
Spirit is defined as “the nonphysical part of a person which is the seat of emotions and character; the soul.”  Most of us identify with ourselves as being a body with a spirit.  However, it’s actually the other way around!  In reality we are actually spirits having a human experience.  

We are not in physical form to learn to elevate or enlighten our spiritual nature.  Our spiritual nature needs no tweaking.  We are here in physical form to experience our spiritual nature. To find out our unique likes and dislikes, what we do and don’t want to experience, and how to leave our unique legacy. 

Part of how we care for ourselves is giving our spirit room to create in its own individual way.  Creativity is a form of playing for our spirits.  A form of expression of who we uniquely are.  There never has been nor will there ever be someone exactly as you are.  Isn’t that exciting? 

Living in the Present Moment 
Creativity also fosters living in the present moment.  Most of us spend our time fretting over past mistakes made or worrying about events in the future.  When we do this, we rob ourselves of the present moment.  When in reality the present moment is truly the only moment there is.  

Many of us were not taught this as children and we’ve grown to waste precious time in the present moment trying to fix the past or forecast the future.  If we can teach our children in their formative years about living the present moment, they will have a better chance at reaching their fullest potential. 

What is Your Individual Expression? 
Creativity comes in many forms. The usual suspects that first come to mind are art based – painting, singing, playing an instrument, sculpture, drama, dance, photography or creative writing.   

The creativity I am referring to encompasses so much more.  It includes anything that you are passionate about – it is not limited to the arts.  Examples are sports (skating, biking), education (solving math problems, spelling bees), nature (collecting rocks, gardening) and creating (sewing, knitting).  

We spend so much time at work or school conforming in groups, that it is important for us to teach our kiddos how to unleash their personal imprint of their soul.  To explore many different types of activities and find what makes your heart sing gives meaning to our lives. 

Help Your Kiddo Tap Into Their Creativity 
As a parent I have both listened to what my son would like to try and also introduced activities. For a balanced, well-rounded structure, I choose three types of creative activities each quarter. 

I’ve worked his out around sports, which are his jam. Each league lasts three months and we choose two more activities.  For example, this winter we chose sports (basketball), creative (lego class) and education (math app on his tablet). Voila, it’s that simple! 

In addition to finding what he uniquely likes to create, he is also learning the habit of trying new things.  Each time he does so, he gets less fearful of the unknown because he is practicing building those Neural Pathways! 

It’s also great for our kiddos to see we value expressing our creativity as well.  I love to read, work out and sing and my son sees my joy, which reinforces the importance of creativity.  Way to set an example for your kiddo that creativity is not a luxury it’s a must-have skill! 

For more information, check out my blog Comfort Zones:
http://www.bebravebeyou.org/2/post/2019/10/jumping-from-your-comfort-zone-into-the-end-zone.html
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As Sam Owen said - How we care for ourselves gives our brain messages that shape our self-worth. So, we must care for ourselves in every way, every day! ​
 
Join Me  
I hoped you received some valuable information!  Follow me for free tips & tricks, and I look forward to serving your family's needs!  Here’s to happy coaching, the Mom’s Coach 
Find tips & tricks to help your family:  https://www.facebook.com/MichelleColeBeBraveBeYou 
Follow my stories as a parent:  https://www.instagram.com/bebravebeyou_org/ 
Contact me with Questions:  Michelle@BeBraveBeYou.org 
Connect with my Blog:  http://www.bebravebeyou.org/blog 
Join my Free Membership:  http://www.bebravebeyou.org/membership 
​
Let's teach our children how to Be Brave, Be You - by learning the Power of EQ! 

This is one of my favorite topics!  It is so very dear to my heart because for the longest time, I got stuck - like in quicksand stuck – in fear of trying new things, in failure when something didn’t go as planned and in mistakes I’d made.  I couldn’t seem to let go.  I just kept revisiting it over and over in my mind.  Not for the opportunity to learn from the experience but for the chance to endlessly shame myself for my inadequacies.  In summary, I was letting these disappointments define me. 

Looking back, I can see clearly now how I fell into that trap.  It’s only natural to feel down about fear, failures and mistakes.  Who wouldn’t?  But the key is not to get stuck in these feelings.  To know that you can move past these seeming obstacles. And to become stronger for it! 

What we believe, we achieve.  If we continue to identify with our fear, failures and mistakes we miss tapping into our true potential.  And don’t we all want our kids to live bravely and become all they are meant to be?  Well then it is our responsibility to teach them that fear, failures and mistakes are all a part of life.  We need to teach them to expect them, not be surprised by them. We do this by equipping our kiddos with skills to deal with what life throws their way. 

Shifting Your Way to Victory 
We live in a world of duality.  You’re either up or you’re down.  You go right or go left.  You are right or you are wrong.  Now that you get the idea, let’s build on it.   

Events are actually neutral.  We are the ones that define them as good or as bad.  Which means how we react is a choice.  We can either look to failure and mistakes to define us – “I made so many errors in the game today, I’m just not athletic.” Or we can look to them to teach us - “I kept getting penalties today that were all for the same thing.  How can I become more aware of what I’m doing before a penalty is called?” 

How we respond enables us to either stand in our personal power or shrink into a victim.  By standing in our personal power, we realize we have a choice.  Being a victim only gives your power away by not feeling in control.  Good news is, if we do choose the victimhood first, we can always change our minds!  We do this by shifting our perspective of the failure or mistake.  

Remember, we should never ignore how we feel.  Our feelings are there for a reason, to alert us to an issue we need to address.  What we do with our feelings is what is important – in other words, how we choose to react.  Do we face the disappointment with hope to learn from it or do we give up, throw in the towel and let the experience define us? 

Practice Makes Perfect  
We’ve all seen those people in our lives, that over time get beaten down by life’s disappointments and we surely don’t want our kiddos going down that path.  Now you can teach them that instead of seeing failure or mistakes as something they don’t want to deal with, they can use the experience as a compass to direct their path – instead of a roadblock that stunts their growth.  Let us all declare - No quicksand for our kiddos! 

Identify a fear, failure or mistake your kiddo has recently experienced.  Work together to change the perspective from something disappointing to what can be learned.  You can even start a Victory Journal where your kiddo logs in each time they do this exercise.  When they encounter a disappointment again, they can read all the times they overcame.  Watch their resilience grow and know you have taught them a life-long skill that will serve them well!  Way to go mom! 

 As Henry Ford said “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.” ​

It would be my pleasure to hear your family’s struggles with moving past disappointments and to teach you coping mechanisms I learned from my personal journey and professional training.  Follow me for more to come! 

For more information, check out my blog Self-Confidence Traps:  
http://www.bebravebeyou.org/2/post/2018/03/self-confidence-traps-and-how-to-overcome.html

Join Me  
I hoped you received some valuable information!  Follow me for free tips & tricks, and I look forward to serving your family's needs!  Here’s to happy coaching, the Mom’s Coach 
Find tips & tricks to help your family:  https://www.facebook.com/MichelleColeBeBraveBeYou 
Follow my stories as a parent:  https://www.instagram.com/bebravebeyou_org/ 
Contact me with Questions:  Michelle@BeBraveBeYou.org 
Connect with my Blog:  http://www.bebravebeyou.org/blog 
Join my Free Membership:  http://www.bebravebeyou.org/membership 

Let's teach our children how to Be Brave, Be You - by learning the Power of EQ! 

Everything we do as parents is to prepare our kids for their future success.  We do this by teaching them a gamut of lessons. These lessons lay a solid foundation for our kiddos to build their unique life and place in this world.  We teach them how to eat healthy. How important exercising is. To always give your best - in the classroom and on the ball field. You are who you hang around. Treat other people the way you want to be treated. And the list goes on. But what if we are missing an opportunity to teach them one of the most important lessons of all?

Society teaches us that by developing our child's IQ, to the best of their ability, we will all but ensure their future success. There is nothing wrong with striving for a high IQ. I grew up on this model. We all did. Learning was so fascinating to me that I've even collected several degrees, all in varying and contrasting subjects and modalities. I've also experienced great success. But, something was missing.

Even though I excelled academically in my life, emotionally I was not as skilled. This affected all of my relationships - my family, friends, professional and romantic. I had a high IQ but a very underdeveloped EQ. This in turn impacted my self-confidence and how i interacted with others (quite often defensively I might add!) which also got in the way of academic opportunities for advancement in my career.

Where IQ measures how smart you are academically, EQ measures how "smart" you are emotionally. By emotionally smart, I mean how competent you are in self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management.  Simply put how aware you are of your emotions, if you take responsibility for them and if you take action to improve upon them.

For many years I surely did not. I saw the world as a place where I was the victim. Where everything was happening to me. My life changed when I learned how to become emotionally intelligent. To accept the fact that when someone or something triggered a negative emotion inside of me, it was my responsibility to get to the bottom of it. And by blaming the other person, I was only postponing future pain that was sure to show up.

How did I turn this ship around? I learned how to become emotionally intelligent. I learned by becoming aware of my thought patterns, I could then take responsibility for them and by taking action, can change them. You see it all begins with our inner dialogue. As Henry Ford famously quoted “Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right."  This is where we truly hold our personal power and the statistics prove it as well.

As early as the age of 7 children's self-confidence can start to decline. 30% of children between the ages of 10-12 experience headaches and difficulty sleeping due to stress. 10% of children are diagnosed with depression by the age of 18. 1 out of 4 children are bullied, with 43% of that happening online.

This need not be so. We can teach our children in the formative years mindset developmental skills that target thought patterns. We can teach our children the brain science behind the power their minds and the power of their thoughts to become the master of their life and not the servant. 

Let's teach our children to Be Brave, Be You - by learning the power of EQ!