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Transformation: A Question Frees Us

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What’s the difference between a question and a statement?  Why do we care?

While writing a new piece for my next book, I began to notice a subtle and perhaps life-changing difference between questions and statements. 

My first book, “Thriving Work,” includes 33 affirmative prayers/poems.  I love them.  They remind me where to focus.  For example, “I see with new eyes.” Yes I do.  Do I?  Well, I would love to see with new eyes.  Yes, seeing with new eyes is better than seeing with old eyes . . .

Hmmm . . . this statement takes me to a lot of internal conversation about seeing with new eyes.  I haven’t been aware of going there.  Now that I am, I notice that my thoughts seem to be heading toward self-judgment and argument.

new eyes

What is possible when I see through new eyes?!?

And, “new eyes” seem to be a one-time event.  There, I now see with new eyes.  Good.  Done. Check.  What’s next?

So, what if we instead try a question?  How may I see with new eyes?  Who would I need to become to see with new eyes?  What would it take to see with new eyes? Why might I like to see with new eyes?

Do you feel lighter, more expansive with the questions?  I sure do.  And, I feel hopeful and energized!  What is possible when I see with new eyes?  What else is possible?  How can I continue to see with newer and newer eyes?

What if I continued to ask these questions?  As I feel into that, I am pulled forward.  I am creating an entirely new future, not based on repetitive cycles of the past.  I don’t know this future, yet I love the freedom in the inquiry.  I love feeling the hope of experiencing more of me.

What about you?  What is your sense of being with questions? How does being with this question shift your perspective and experience?

Post your comments, insights and progress below.

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My book, “Thriving Work” is now available
on Kindle at Amazon for just $3.99:
Click here to order

Spiritual Awareness: Who Are We as Divine Wholeness?

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Take a deep breath.  Who are we as Divine Wholeness?

Divine: of God, sacred.  When we divine (verb), we experience insight, intuition. 

Wholeness: full, complete. Not broken, damaged or impaired.

If we are Divine Wholeness, what of our humanness?  Such a delightful and annoying question! 

Some days I cannot comprehend why we would choose all these earthly contrasts rather than hang out in our infinite home in the spiritual realm.  Other days, I feel moved to tears by this extraordinary experience of life in my body, here in this incredibly imperfect, perfect world.

072314 Blog Post

I’ve noticed that I take many variations of this same scene – lots of land
and even more sky.  I think it’s one of my ways of staying in touch with my
humanness the – the earth – and my Divine Wholeness – the infinite sky . . .

It certainly lightens my perspective when I remember to remember that I am first Divine Wholeness.  And, it really lightens my experience when I become present enough to experience my Divine Wholeness.

What about you?  What is your sense, your experience: Who Are We as Divine Wholeness? How does being with this question shift your perspective and experience?

I’d love for you to post your comments, insights and progress below.

Mindfulness: How Might We Stop Judging?

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How might we stop judging?

Let’s back up for a moment.  Why might we be interested in releasing judgment?  Hmmm.  Who do we judge the most?  Even when we judge others, isn’t there an element of self-judgment?

What’s the cost of judging ourselves?  Well, what’s the cost of an internal war?

“Oh, it’s not that big a deal.  Everybody judges, right.  It’s just human nature.”  What if that’s true only as long as we believe it’s true?

How would my life be different, how would your life be different if we stopped making ourselves wrong?  About anything.

Seem impossible?  Maybe even wrong? Ah, there we go . . .

pink flower

I love to take my cues from nature.  Would
this wonderous one judge itself? I think not. 
Maybe that’s the secret.  A judgment is simply
a thought.  Why don’t I think a different thought?!?

I’m not posing these questions because I no longer judge myself about anything ever and now I think you should stop too.

I’m asking because I’m in this inquiry and I’m wondering if you’d like to join me?  How does it feel to you?  It’s an amazing inquiry for me.  Maybe it’s not right for you.  Or maybe it feels intriguing to you, too.

If you’d like to play, what if we noticed when we judge ourselves or made ourselves wrong, and then asked ourselves, “How might this be right, great or perfect that I just don’t see yet?”  And then, holding it lightly, be on the lookout for what we hadn’t seen before . . .

Feel free to post your comments or insights below.

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Would you love on-going inspiration for the Third Chapter of your life?

I highly recommend my friend Rolf Evenson’s new digital magazine,
“Boomers Rising.”

Boomers Rising is the world’s leading digital magazine for “encore entrepreneurs” inspired by a vision of passion, prosperity and purpose.

Some of my favorite articles:
– Confidence in Your Business
– Top 10 Food Lies that Keep Us Sick and Fat
– The Tribes We Lead
– Lessons Learned on E Street (Think Bruce!)
– The Illusive Obvious

You can read it on your iPhone, iPad or Android.

Check it out HERE.

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My book, “Thriving Work” is now available
on Kindle at Amazon for just $3.99:
Click here to order

Conscious Choice: The Energy of Freedom!

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What greater freedom is there than truly being me?  And you truly being you? Me in my artsy energy, you in your adventure energy; me loving to eat delicious food, you loving to cook delicious food; me wilting in summer heat, you living for it; and our list goes on . . .

Human/Divine, strong/scared, selfish/selfless, playful/self-conscious, flawed/perfect, you get the idea . . .

I love our US holiday of July 4th, Independence Day.  Our forefathers had a vision of being independent of certain constraints.  And yet today, our country and our world face challenges that our forefathers could never have imagined.  And still, each of us has the opportunity to choose our own freedom in any given moment.

While each of us has a list of certain things that will help us to be free – losing 20 pounds, getting out of debt, getting a new job or relationship or car, making more money, healing our broken leg or broken heart – there is a much more immediate way to be free.  In this moment.

Simply allow yourself to become immersed in the energy of freedom.

fireworks

Ooooo, aaaaah, the energy of freedom!

What does freedom feel like to you?

For me, I’m without concern and judgment, slowed down, excited and alert, and at the same time peaceful and present.

If it’s challenging for you to feel into it like that, then remember a time when you felt fully yourself, fully alive.  Once you remember the event or activity, then remember what it felt like.

That’s the energy of freedom.

No new car purchase or more money in the bank necessary.  Yet, interestingly, the more you live in the energy of freedom, the more whatever you require or whatever you’d like then tends to show up!

Happy Freedom!

Feel free to post your comments or insights below.

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I want to turn you onto my friend Rolf Evenson’s
new digital magazine, “Boomers Rising”

As baby boomers with generous entrepreneurial spirits, we face significant challenges. What to do next with our lives? How to make it work financially? How to create a life that allows us the freedom we crave, while offering opportunities for connection and creative engagement?

Join Boomers Rising Magazine to be an active part of the solution.

Boomers Rising is the world’s leading digital magazine for “encore entrepreneurs” inspired by a vision of passion, prosperity and purpose.

Some of my favorite articles:
– Confidence in Your Business
– Top 10 Food Lies that Keep Us Sick and Fat
– The Tribes We Lead
– Lessons Learned on E Street (Think Bruce!)
– The Illusive Obvious

You can read it on your iphone, ipad or android.

Check it out:
http://www.boomersrising.com

==========================

My book, “Thriving Work” is now available
on Kindle at Amazon for just $3.99:
Click here to order

Discovering Your Way: Strong Me, Strong You, for Heaven’s Sake!

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I need your help!

Since 1989, I have been publishing a newsletter.  That was back in the day when it was printed, stamped and mailed – through the post office!

Human evolution must be speeding up.  The first three newsletters, Taplight, Success Notebook and Sacred Space Notebook, all had good runs for many years.  Similar content about being the Light that we are, with slightly different focuses.  Then, Sacred Space Notebook morphed into G Notes last year. Yet the “G” never settled down: Genius, Godness, Goddess, Grace . . .

Last week, Born-for-This Notes wanted a turn.  The idea is accurate, yet it does not roll off the tongue.  G Notes rolls off the tongue, but which G?  I’m both amused and a little bit embarrassed that I’m doing my marketing testing right before your very eyes!

pink flower

May the name of the newsletter/ezine be as
clear and radiant as this flower I encountered
on my walk yesterday!

People have been asking me for two decades why my business isn’t named Strong Coaching.  And, this was before I had started working with StrengthsFinder.™  The coaching isn’t about me and it seemed too corny.  Thus, I created a community, Thriving Coaches, and wrote a book, “Thriving Work.” My blog has been “Strong You, Strong Biz” since February 2009.

This week, the newsletter/ezine is “Strong-You Notes.”  I would love to settle into a name for this ezine.  And, I’m holding that desire lightly!

Has something jumped out for you?  I would love your help!

Post your comments and your vote below.

Mindfulness: Playing to Play Instead of Playing to Win

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How does it shift your experience of life if you play to play instead of playing to win?

For me the most wonderful and miraculous difference: when I play to play, I allow myself the simple perfection of being in the moment.  When I’m playing to win, I instead experience a subtle, and often not-so-subtle, anxiety about the future.  I also experience nagging thoughts about my worthiness.  If I don’t win, then I’m not good enough, right?  If I do win, how will I keep proving myself?

teamwork

How great is it to be fully present in the moment, playing to play
without self-conscious concern about outcome?

So, with innocent curiosity and without judgment, would you like to experiment for yourself?

If so, for the next 24 hours, simply notice as you go through each of the activities of your day whether you are playing to play or playing to win?  Then, observe your thoughts about how you’re playing and observe what feelings those thoughts are generating.

To living our Radiance . . .

Feel free to post your comments, insights and experiences below.

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STRONG YOU? Are you in the Denver area?

Want to spend an afternoon diving into
your strengths? 

Or diving a bit deeper if you’ve been playing
with yours for awhile?

We have a few spaces left in an experiential
StrengthsFinder workshop on Wed, June 25.

Is one of them yours? Come play with us!
http://www.annstrong.com/strong-you-strong-life

==========================

My book, “Thriving Work” is now available
on Kindle at Amazon for just $3.99:
Click here to order

Allowing Flow: Present and Curious

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Awhile back, in the middle of a tense conversation with my sweetie, I could feel my mood going lower and lower.  Instead of engaging fully in what was quickly becoming an argument, I instead got curious.

What would it take to not go to a low mood?

Instead of firing back my good argument, I sat quietly, looking at the clouds.  Really looking, being present to the wonder of the clouds.  All of the sudden, my argument became irrelevant.  In an instant, I lost interest in proving my point.

I told him I didn’t need to go on, that I could let it go.  And I did.  Just like that. My mood immediately bounced back up.

Blog Post 061114

Some of my best friends are trees and clouds.  The
more time I spend outside, the more present I become.
The more present I am, the less I get upset with the
“small stuff.”

What had happened?  How did I access that beautiful miracle?  I became more interested in a high mood and connection (to the clouds, to me, to him) than in “winning” an argument.  I held the situation lightly and became present to the moment.  In the preciousness of the moment, the argument made no sense.

When we begin to notice more consistently that our innate well-being is always available, we naturally begin to make more choices consistent with it.

So, what about you?  What does this bring up for you?

Feel free to post your comments, insights and experiences below.

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Are you in the Denver area?

Want to spend an afternoon diving into your strengths? 

Or diving a bit deeper if you’ve been playing with yours for awhile?

We have a few spaces left in an experiential StrengthsFinder workshop on Wed, June 25.

Is one of them yours? Come play with us!

http://www.annstrong.com/strong-you-strong-life

==========================

My book, “Thriving Work” is now available
on Kindle at Amazon for just $3.99:
Click here to order

Affirmative Prayers: I Was Born for This

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Today I offer you one of the poems/affirmative prayers from my forthcoming book with a working title of:  Strong from Within: Simple perceptions and practices for returning to the joy of you.

 

I used to wonder
Why does nobody see this?
Why hasn’t this already been done?
Why do I want something
that nobody else seems to want?

Doubt, self-judgment.
Telling myself to be happy with what is.

Yet, it didn’t leave me alone.

If only we could each be as clear as this magnificent tree, I was born for this.

If only we could each be as clear as this
magnificent tree, “I was born for this.”

And so I began to realize
This is mine.
My part.  My vision.  My love.

This is why I’m here.
I was born for this.

My expression.
My contribution.
Expressing and gifting
what I alone can give.

My way.
Unusual.  Precious.  Needed.
My full expression.
Contributing to the Whole.
I was born for this.

I was born for this.

So, what about you?  What were you born for?  If you’re not sure, what’s your next step in knowing?  How can I help?

Feel free to post your comments, insights and experiences below.

==========================

My book, “Thriving Work” is now available
on Kindle at Amazon for just $3.99:
Click here to order

Conscious Choice: Mild Preferences Free Us

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All suffering comes from our need to have things a certain way.

I can hear your protests.  I can hear them because I’ve had them, too.  I still sometimes have them.  “I’m suffering because of this illness or physical pain.”  “I’m suffering because someone I love died.”  “I’m suffering because I don’t have enough money.”  And our lists go on.

When I feel sick or experience pain, even chronic pain, it is my thinking that causes the suffering.  “I shouldn’t be in pain.  I’m tired of this.  When will I feel better? I can’t take another minute of this . . .”  When I accept what is, when I allow things to be as they are, rather than how I think I need them to be, then the suffering stops.

I may still be uncomfortable with the pain and that too will shift.  When I have a mild preference for being pain-free, then I create more space for the pain to ease or for me modify how I do my day even while experiencing the pain.

beautiful middle aged woman

Mild preferences move us toward accepting what is. 
As we accept what is, we eliminate suffering.

When we feel out of control, we tend to have strong preferences.  We become very attached to those preferences and when they don’t happen, we feel even more out of control.  Quickly, we spin into a downward spiral.

If instead, we can use the feeling of being out of control as the signal to dial back our preference to mild, we then begin an upward spiral.  “It would be great if I felt better,  And, I don’t feel so good at the moment.  And, this is what I can do even while feeling this way.”

Mild preferences move us toward accepting what is.  Because the preference is mild, I’m fine even if I don’t get what I prefer in a moment.  My own personal experience in working with dialing back my preferences to mild: what I would prefer often naturally comes to pass.  I suspect this happens because I don’t have such heavy, attachment energy involved in the mix.

So, what about you?  In what area of your life might you like to play with dialing your preferences back to mild?

Feel free to post your comments, insights and experiences with your strengths below.

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Curious about living and working from your strengths?
Strong You Strategy Consultation

I have a gift for three fortunate people!
Are you one of them?

You may be one of them if:

–  You have taken the StrengthsFinde (SF) assessment and know your top 5 strengths or would like to take it now and learn your top 5 strengths.

–  You have a big vision or an inkling of what’s next for you, yet you’re frustrated by lack of progress or challenges.

–  You know instinctually that you’ll bring your big vision to reality by strengthening your strengths rather than trying to fix your weaknesses.

To receive this gift, be one of the first three people to email me with your top 5 SF strengths and a couple of sentences about your big vision and challenges.

==========================

My book, “Thriving Work” is now available
on Kindle at Amazon for just $3.99:
Click here to order

StrengthsFinder™: Who’s in Charge Inside You?

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Any time we feel frustrated, overwhelmed or stressed, we have an opportunity to call forth different aspects of ourselves to feel calmer, more fulfilled and peaceful.

Recently one of my clients felt stressed because she’s transitioning into new work and her Strategic wanted to look at the many ways she could proceed.  Before Strategic could assess and choose the best one, Activator got impatient and wanted to get going.  Activator didn’t care about the steps involved.  Activator just wanted to get going.

Internal conflict.

When I asked her which of her top strengths wanted to play (and lessen the conflict), she answered immediately, in a much softer tone.  Developer spoke up.  “When I work with my clients, I help them take the next step.  Just one.” Then Positivity chimed in: “And that is great, that is enough.”

My client immediately relaxed as Developer and Positivity balanced Strategic and Activator.

Each of our strengths has their own "personality" and their own needs. As we come to know and understand each, we have this amazing opportunity to create synergistic internal teamwork!

Each of our strengths has their own “personality” and their own needs.  As we come to know and understand each, we have this amazing opportunity to create synergistic internal teamwork!

 

Ah, the good life.  When we notice we have many internal “characters” and they all have needs, we can greatly reduce internal conflict by allowing them all to play.

The trick is: in the right order, at the right time, for the right reasons and at the right intensity!

So, that’s a bit about one of my clients’ stories.  Now, take her out and put you in.  Who wants to play?

If you haven’t taken the StrengthsFinder™ assessment to learn your top 5 strengths, it takes just 30 – 40 minutes and $19.99.

It will change your life, if you allow yourself to stay with your strengths daily rather than thinking you must improve your weaknesses.

Feel free to post your comments, insights and experiences with your strengths below.

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Invest in your strength:
Strong You Clarity Day

If you are on the verge of letting go of trying to fix yourself, I am honored to hold the space for you to step into your Self.

Let’s devote this day to focusing on your strengths, your brilliance, your happiness and your dreams.

Investment:
$1100 for the first 2 G Notes readers
who book before May 23 for a day in June.
(Regularly $1500)

Send an email to me to book your day.  Include four days that you are available 10 am – 5 pm, Tues – Sat.

If you would like help discerning if this day would be a good fit for you, call me on my direct office line to talk about it.
303.399.8737.

– – – – – – – – – –

My book, “Thriving Work” is now available
on Kindle at Amazon for just $3.99:
Click here to order