The Art of Mastery: Staying the Course

The first week or so of making a change or getting on the path to mastery in life or a skill is always new and exciting. Then you’re reminded of life and its unexpected wrenches it throws into your plans. You’re excitement and enthusiasm begins to wane and soon enough you’re back to the routine you are trying to change. BUT, I have a few secrets to help you keep the energy to stay the course and bounce back onto the path of mastery whenever a wrench is in your way.

The human body follows The Law of Attraction, what is in motion stays in motion. We gain energy by using energy (within healthy limits). Also, you cannot hoard energy or save it for later, it comes into existence through use.

Now there is some conditioning that occurs in childhood that affects our natural source of energy and the ease to tap into it, but I am here to motivate you to get out of the rut you are in and live your best life; not talk about your upbringing.

So, here are my 5 Secrets to Staying the Course:

1.      Maintain physical fitness

From my very personal experience, finding time to move and connect with my body and mind is a game changer. On mornings when my alarm goes off and I tell myself it’s ok to sleep in today verses the mornings I tell myself you’ll feel better afterwards my mood is completely different and my day goes smoother. In turn, it is easier to maintain the course when you are in a good mood and you can handle the days hiccups with ease.

2.      Acknowledge the negative and accentuate the positive

It is clinically proven that people with positive mindsets suffer less illness than those with a negative outlook. Illness is a major energy suck so when you’re prone to getting sick it is hard to have the energy to keep on track with your goals. There is no such thing as too much positivity, unless you deny that there are negatives that do occur. Speaking of negativity, a hard blow in life can be one of most energizing experiences… if you acknowledge it, face it head on, and move forward. Proving to yourself you can do it is the MOST energizing act you can do.

3.      Tell the Truth

When you don’t beat around the bush you save ample time and energy by getting to and working out the issue at hand faster. There is a right way and wrong way to tell the truth. Focusing on how you’re feeling and not placing blame allows for constructive criticism, discussion, and a gameplan to happen without hurt feelings. Remember, sometimes the person you need to be truthful to the most is yourself.

4.      Honor but don’t indulge your shadow side

Burying apart of yourself limits access to your energy potential. Emotions carry a great deal of energy and relearning to feel anger, sadness, jealousy – all the emotions we are told not to feel – can help us tap into more energy. When dealing with these powerful emotions, choosing to tap into their energy in a responsible manner is key, like using anger’s energy to work on a project or jealousy’s energy to keep you motivated to reach a goal. Emotions are not a bad thing but when we bottle them up they explode like a shaken can at the worst possible moment and we have no control over our actions.

5.      Set your priorities, make commitments, take action

You must know what you want to spend your energy on, or your energy will be in control taking you wherever it wants to go. When you have a lot on your plate and feeling overwhelmed the worst thing you can do is attempt to do it all at once. Making a list of what needs to be done, putting the items in order of importance, and attacking one at time creates more energy than multitasking. Plus, checking things off is quite cathartic and energizing in itself if you ask me. Another way to maintain course is to set a deadline to reach a certain goal. Remember though, mastery is not about goal accomplishment but more about the daily process. Too much goal setting can have the opposite effect. If it is a work goal you have coworkers and bosses to keep you accountable, but if your goal is personal making it public to supportive friends and family will be your accountability. Lastly, GO FOR IT!!! Have the confidence in yourself to know you can do this.

You now have all tools and knowledge to go out and live your best life! We defined what mastery is, learned keys to master anything, gained an understanding of why making a change is so difficult, and secrets to maintaining the course.

To re-read previous blogs go here: ShaktiShiva’s Blog shares information & resources to help YOU! — ShaktiShiva Massage & Yoga (katieschlieppwellness.com)

Want some extra support? Join my Facebook group Helping Each Other Live Our Best Lives: https://www.facebook.com/groups/863542008429963/

The Art of Mastery: Making Resolutions Stick

The start of the New Year is a great time to implement changes you want to make in your life. The New Year resembles a fresh start, a clean slate, a good starting point to reset. We vow to make these changes, you tell people what you’re going do to, you are excited. The first couple weeks go great but then ‘life’ happens, and this perfect new routine gets challenged and it ends up being the first thing to go to fit ‘life’ in. You have all the right intentions; you made a great plan, but you still backslide. You’re frustrated because this happens every year no matter what you do. You ask yourself if making a change is worth all the hassle and does change ever stick.

YES and YES is my answer to these questions, but there’s fine print to my answers:

The ’backslide’ is inevitable whenever ANYONE makes a change. There is more to making a change than just physically doing the actions. Our body and mind are built to remain in homeostasis, there is a built-in mechanism that keeps us ‘within normal limits’ and it will force us back into these limits if we exceed this boundary. For the most part, this is a good thing. This built-in mechanism controls our bodily functions and keeps us alive. It regulates our breathing to keep enough oxygen in our body, it pumps our heart at a specific pace so nutrients are circulated properly, it will release insulin if our blood sugar gets too high. This mechanism keeps us in equilibrium.

We have to keep this in mind when are making changes to the way we live. Initially, our body will fight back. It will want to remain in what it knows as homeostasis. The best example, and most popular change people make is adding a workout routine, let’s say jogging. You’re excited to start, you bought new workout clothes, got the fancy shoes. You get 100 meters into your first jog and you’re sucking wind, dizzy, and you are walking already. Most of us will immediately say “my body is just not made to run”, and we stop; however, these physical reactions are just the body trying to remain in equilibrium. This built-in mechanism is basically screaming, “WARNING! CHANGES OUTSIDE THE NORAML ARE OCCURING, STOP IMMEDIATELY”. Anytime anyone makes a big change our bodies will react like this.

So how do you keep from backsliding?

First, you must accept that you will backslide and when you do be kind to yourself. Whether the backslide is for a day, a week, a month, reset. Go back to your plan and start again. Kinda sounds like the mastery curve I mentioned in my October blog 😉(read that one here: The Art of Living in Mastery: What is Mastery and the Mastery Curve — ShaktiShiva Massage & Yoga (katieschlieppwellness.com)).

Second, you gotta put the work in. Change doesn’t just happen because you make the plan. You must be intentional with your actions, work at it every day, and find ways to make it fun. Staying disciplined is the hard part because, like I just explained, the body will fight this change. STAY STRONG! (Among other reasons, this is why I take a long weekend to myself every 3-4 months and reflect. It allows me to see what is working, what I need to get back to, and what is not working. It’s a great tool to help with discipline).

Lastly, start small. The worst thing you can do is implement a major change day one. Instead, make a plan using the idea of starting with the end in mind. Sticking with our jogging example, lets say you vow to run a half marathon. If you go out day one with the goal of running 13 miles, it is not going to go very well. You start with the end in mind, choose a race you want to run a few months out then build a running program back from that. That way you start with shorter distances and work your way up to 13 miles. This will help minimize the push-back from that built-in homeostasis mechanism. I am not saying this will make the change easy, it may still be tough in the beginning, you will probably still backslide, but starting with the end in mind will decrease the amount of backslide and increase your success rate.

Alright, now that you are in the know about mastering change, what changes or resolutions are you going to make for the New Year? I’d love to hear from you, and if you would like assistance in making a plan for this change I am here to help.

GOOD LUCK AND ENJOY THE PROCESS!

My Month at Yogaville

Words are hard to come by when trying to express what a month at Yogaville meant to me.  It was beautiful, simple, mind blowing, insightful, accepting (ok, maybe I found a few words); a place I didn’t just stay at for a month… a place I kindly called home for a month.  I found peace there.  I found my purpose there.  I found a connection to a part of me that I didn’t know was there. 

I took this journey with 8 other people; Lisa, Monica, Gwen, Francesca, Tia, Nancy, Leela.  I love them all for helping me grow.  With a large group you get many different personalities and perspectives, and when you are required to accept them into your life for a month you learn a lot about yourself.  I became close to a few and butted heads with a few, but it is the people I did not relate with that gave me the best insight about myself.  I very easily could have kept my distance and stayed in my bubble of comfort, but after a few days I realized I was missing a chance to grow by building a barrier just because my perspective was different than theirs.  I learned that, even though we may have different viewpoints, it is about respect, and when I am centered in respect I can counter with my viewpoints without being defensive, aka an adult discussion which we don’t see enough of lately.  When I drop my barrier and allow myself to truly listen whether or not my values align with theirs I give myself the opportunity to learn something new. 

The question I get most is, “what did you all do there? Just yoga?”.  Well, yeah, but what most people don’t realize is Yoga is more than your typical yoga class.  It’s a lifestyle that integrates the relationship between your mind, body, and spirit.  I meditated 3 times daily to remain focused on my goal and connect with my Inner Self.  I did a daily physical practice (alternated between yoga class and running) to stay strong in my body.  I read the ancient texts and went to discussions to deepen my understanding of Yoga Philosophy.  I worked (Karma yoga, aka selfless service) 24 hours a week in the kitchen, farm, and guest services to learn to give without expecting anything in return.  Doing this for a month helped me realize that there is more to me than just my body and mind.  I tapped into something deep within me, an energy that is constant, never-changing.  PEACE.  I have never felt as content as I did living in Yogaville. 

Wanna hear something crazy? (if you don’t think I am already, lol).  EVERYONE has this constant, never-changing, peaceful energy within them.  We just cover it up with thoughts, to-do lists, material items, things we are told from a young age are important.  Yes, we need these things to live, but… we can also have this serene sense of contentment as well.  THIS is what I did for a month.

I can hear you already… “I don’t have time to do all that stuff”.  Being home now I don’t either, but I’m slowly making changes to have time for SOME of the practices that I used while at Yogaville.  I am letting go of some of the old to make room for some of the new.  Is it easy?  NO!  But nothing worthwhile is easy.  Yoga Sutra 1.14 states, “Practice(change) becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break, and in all earnestness”.  In other words, change will not happen over night or in a week, it will come with consistency over a long period of time and with enthusiasm. 

Was it hard to come home? YES.  Do I yearn to go back? YES.  But, my path isn’t at an ashram, not yet at least.  I am here to empower others, YOU! my students and clients, to find peace in mind, body, and spirit.

OM SHANTI