It’s part 2 in my latest blog series! If you missed Part 1, check that out first. Before we dive into how to instantly relieve stress with just one word, let’s recap what you were supposed to do last week. Last week you were to pay attention to how you felt when you were asked to do something. We were looking for a pattern, remember? Did you notice your hesitation when you said yes to teaching the youth at your church on Sunday? Did any request cause you to feel overwhelm this week?

I have a confession to make.  I put out too many chairs. And I’m willing to bet you have too. Do you often feel overwhelmed or anxious about your to do list, wondering when you will have time to yourself?  If you are saying hell yes right now, you have put out too many chairs too. 

recently took a leadership evaluation at work to determine if I would be a good manager.  Turns out I’m not, but that’s ok because I’m a business owner. Boom! But seriously, how are you supposed to leverage that? The evaluation taught me a great deal about myself even though the result might be viewed as a negative one by some. It taught me how certain aspects of my personality are perceived by the outside world.

Having a child was hard for me. Getting pregnant came easy, but the actually delivery not so much. So after losing 3 children I finally conceived my son. And let me tell you, I don’t want to miss a thing in his life. But let’s face it, I do sometimes. Sometimes I’m traveling for work and I can’t be there to put him to sleep or take him to the park. Sometimes I’m working in my nonprofit or speaking to a group of women and I miss his swim classes and his first ferris wheel ride. Am I less of a mom? Is being a mother not my most important role?

Yes honey, it’s my birthday! Cue the party music! This year has flown by and I can’t believe I’m 40 already! Eek! When I was younger I would wish for 40 because I just knew I’d be retired by then. Ha! So much for that. The whole retirement thing may not have worked out, but there are a few things I’ve learned along the way that I want to share with you. And I’m sharing some special news too, but you’ll have to wait until the end… ;)

I know some amazing women. Amazing women who didn’t have it all figured out, but pursued their dreams anyway. Everyday women I know personally who didn’t have the time, but knew they couldn’t let their dreams die.  Let me share just a few stories with you.

I have a mother who realized her dreams of modeling and becoming a dentist were second to her dreams of being an amazing mother. She wanted to ensure she was available to my brother and me while my father traveled for work and held demanding positions. I’m so glad she chose motherhood.

Let me paint you a picture. You have a large six-figure salary, you travel the world often first class, and dine in the finest restaurants on your corporate card. You stay in luxurious hotels and take frequent vacations. Now add this to the pretty amazing life we just described…You work about 12 hours a day, catch 6 AM flights every week to spend the day in meetings only to later have a dinner meeting. And sometimes the people you meet with don’t even really want to meet, but they do out of a sense of obligation.

Just in case the title didn’t clue you in, let this be your warning for explicit language so stop now if that makes you uncomfortable…. I was at a creative entrepreneur conference recently and we talked about how we talk to ourselves. That wasn’t the only thing we talked about so don’t wonder why we needed a whole conference for that. At any rate, people were sharing the words they use to encourage themselves to do something they’re procrastinating on or nervous about. And to be clear, yes I talk to myself and I talk to myself often.

I danced in the shower this morning to Bailando by Enrique Iglesias. Don’t laugh, I thoroughly enjoyed it. And this was at 4:30 AM mind you. Now let’s be clear, I’m not a good dancer. And what’s funny is that I had the nerve to be on dance team in high school. Even my parents were like, “are you sure you want to tryout for the dance team?”. Yes! I really, really wanted it. So even though I knew I wasn’t a good dancer, I tried out for the team anyway. I practiced and practiced and did that routine for what felt like hundreds of times before the final tryout. And I actually made the team!