Core Values #3: Happiness – The fun one!
steffani

Core Values #3: Happiness – The fun one!

I’m sharing my Core Values this week. I hope you’re enjoying these posts and that it’s sparking some core value exploration within you.  (If you missed the others start  here.) You won’t be surprised by the next core value of mine…. as a happiness coach I’m sure you’ll expect it. 🙂

 

core valuesCore Values #3…. Happiness. 

 

I didn’t have to force this core value into place.  It’s really something that has always been ingrained in my DNA.  But not because I’ve always been a ‘happy’ person. I haven’t. When my parents got divorced when I was 8, I wasn’t happy.  I didn’t think I could ever be ‘happy’ again. When my sister died when I was 11, happiness was a concept that I just couldn’t grasp.  I thought it was reserved for other people. People who had a happy childhood and that was definitely not me. 

 

Happiness became a core value of mine because it was something I had to work for.  It was something I had to fight for and something that eluded me but it was something I valued.  So I worked my ass off to make it a big part of my life. So much so that I now teach people how to fight for their own happiness and how to take it on like it’s their full-time job.  Because guess what? It’s no one else’s job. It’s all on you.

I believe happiness is the meaning of life.  That we all deserve to be happy and that, in a nutshell, it’s what we’re all after.  We want some form of joy, happiness, contentment, inner peace, or bliss. Call it whatever resonates with you but it’s all essentially the same thing.  We all want to feel good. I call that happiness. 

How does happiness show up for me?  It shows up through my positivity, when I focus on solutions over problems and when I am grateful, joyful and have reverence for life.  That’s how happiness shows up – not through ‘being’ happy but through embodying happiness.  It shows up when I’m more positive than negative, when I don’t gossip, when I don’t judge and when I expect the best.  It shows up when I set a powerful intention and when I COMMIT to being my best and happiest self. All good things. And speaking of good, I embody happiness when I FEEL GOOD. So feeling good becomes a huge priority. 

Are you safeguarding your happiness?  Do you know what makes you happy?  Start by creating a happy list.  Write down all the things that bring you joy and light you up inside.  Even that one simple act can spark more joy.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the next core value that has a lot to do with YOU. 

Happiness Non-Negotiables
steffani

Happiness Non-Negotiables

Over the last 10 years, deep in my own personal growth work, I’ve finally designed exactly what I need in order to keep my happiness in check. 

My “happiness non-negotiables”. 

Here are mine:

#1. Regular daily exercise. I’m sure you know why this is the first one for me. It not only releases endorphins that help you feel amazing but it also makes you feel like a badass. There’s nothing that compares to pushing your body physically beyond where you thought you could. 

happiness

#2. A healthy, connected, inspiring morning routine. The way I “prime myself” every morning makes a huge difference in how I go about my day. And how prepared I am to face any challenges that can, actually that will, come up. Meditation. Gratitude. Affirmations. Music. Lemon water. Visualization. All of that in one bundle is a non-negotiable for me. 

#3. Working on my thoughts. I’ve been playing this game for almost 30 years. Yep. Three decades of work on my mindset and my thoughts. And I’m not done. I will never be done. Figuring out how to consciously direct your thoughts. And to consciously course-correct your thoughts is the biggest game-changer of all. And therefore a massive non-negotiable for my happiness. The Byron Katie work is it for me!

#4. Me time. I might still be technically “happy” but I feel really OFF without any me time. Time totally alone. To self reflect. Not to work. Not to complete a project. But to catch up with ME. To let my mind catch up with my soul and my life. 

#4. Lots of water and healthy food. I don’t always nail this. But when I do I feel AMAZING. I can feel so out of sorts

happiness

 when I eat a lot of processed foods or too much sugar or even caffeine. The jittery edgy feeling is not fun. So this is a big one too. What we put into our physical bodies definitely helps determine our inner state and internal happiness. 

#5. Connection. Similar to me time in the sense that I can go without it, but I just won’t feel fueled properly. If I’m spending too much time with kids and no adults, if I don’t have deep intimate conversations, game over. 

What are your happiness non-negotiables? Comment this post. I would love to hear from you!

Stay Sane Over the Holidays
steffani

Stay Sane Over the Holidays

I hope you’re finding a LOT of peace and ease these days especially with the holidays approaching.  Here in the U.S., we have Thanksgiving SOON and that can always bring up some sticky, heightened drama, high anxiety, and a lot of other negative emotions and experiences.  Not exactly what you want to experience during the holidays. This should be a time to celebrate life and be present with your family, right? Well, it doesn’t always go that way.  

Check out this FB Live I did recently where I share 3 key shifts that will help you have a better holiday experience.  

If you want the cliff notes version here it is: (but there are a lot of great questions and some gems in the video, check it out if you have time.) 

With these heightened emotions and lots of expectations, we can feel personally injured during the holidays.  We tend to ‘should’ all over people. They ‘should’ want to be here. My Mom ‘should’ be more organized. My sister in law ‘should’ have told me in advance.  Etc. Etc.  

I had a major adjustment to our Thanksgiving plans just 2 days ago.  And through that experience, I realized I had to use all my personal growth tools to help me out of it.  Here’s what I came up with.  

#1.  Don’t take anything personally and don’t let any negative stories about yourself or others spiral out of control.  

#2.  Release your unreasonable expectations around what the holidays should look like and the MEANING you choose to place on them.  

#3.  Have radical acceptance for what IS showing up. 

It’s not the circumstance that brings you stress it’s your thoughts that the circumstances should be different then they are.  

Most importantly what we really need to do is come from a place of love.  Love all those around us. And show up as our best selves. When you allow all this in, you’ll be present, you’ll be more patient and you’ll find a lot more joy.  

For practical ways how you can do this watch this video training.  I have a lot to share on the ‘meaning’ we chose to place on things and how we can change the meaning.  

You are ridiculously in charge of your inner peace.  You are ridiculously in charge of your emotional well being.  You are ridiculously in charge of your holidays. Take charge now. 

Keep your eye out for my first ever Black Friday sale for your soul. 🙂 

Grateful for you!