the resilient entrepreneur

Four Ways to Feel Better Without Spending a Dime

Croissants always make life rosy! — Coffee + croissant = think time

LOVES!! How are you?

To be honest, I’m feeling more excited about my work life than I have in a long time. You know that feeling, when you get to do the thing that makes you come alive? As in, you would do it probably even if you didn’t get paid? This is the season I feel like I am stepping into.

And a HUGE part of this is because of the Resilient Entrepreneur e-course Sarah and I are launching in ONE WEEK, May 3!! Ahhhh! Y’all, we are doing it! And FYI, t he early bird $35 rate ENDS SATURDAY, so sign up today!

But, if you wait until after Saturday and pay the $75, you do get a surprise goody in the mail with your registration. So there’s that!

But back to today. The thought life part of our e-course is (between us) my favorite section. Before I did the research and study for our mindset teaching, and living with what felt like chronic anxiety and fear about my job, I just assumed stress was normal. Ending every day feeling like your head had been put through the ringer was par for the course of entrepreneurship. Overwhelm was something you just had to get through. I believed if I worried enough, somehow the effort was going to catapult me into another financial stratosphere.

Bigbsy and I on what I call a “walk and pray” to clear my head

Wow, how wrong I was!

What I learned, PRAISE the LORD, is that pressure, overwhelm, anxiety- is a lie. We are not (literally, physically are bodies are not designed) for chronic stress. We are made to live in health! To feel good, do good, have faith, think the best possible outcomes about the future. Worry does NOT pay the bills- but positivity can.

And that’s what Sarah and I talked about last night- 4 Ways to Feel Better Without Spending a Dime. Here are our notes!

Baking is a huge stress reliever and mindset reframe for me!

Drop worry today! As in, THIS very MOMENT!

YOU control how you feel. You are not powerless!
Worry does not pay the bills. Worrying “enough” (aka the American mindset) does not earn you anything but stress and negative health outcomes!
Worry is nearly always negative speculation and self-sabatoage.
Worry takes energy away from doing the positive things you are made to do!
Identify if it’s a worry thought. Ask yourself questions like: is this within my control? Is there anything I can practically do to resolve this?

Declutter Your Space.

Overwhelm and worry can make us feel paralyzed. Check yourself before you wreck yourself and do something active instead!
It’s amazing how when your office or desk is clean, you feel your brain relax and recharge.
Clean your space every Friday, or take a 20 minute break and organize your desk.

Reframe how you think about the crappy things that happened to you.

Make a list of five things that frustrate you. Do a deep dive and journal to reframe those things!
Reverse the perspective- Why are you better, stronger, or smarter? How have these things benefited you?
Life is seasonal! As cheesy as it sounds, the sun always shines after it rains. Trust that things are working out for you.
Remind yourself that this is a work in progress but YOU have the choice on how you communicate your circumstances. Use words to add hope and life to your situation.
Choose gratitude when crappy feelings come up and you will feel empowered instead of victimized.

Lemon-Smoothie-Bowl-006 — Bonus points for taking time to treat yourself!

Stair step, don’t leap!

Appreciate emotional stepping stones as progress! Leaping isn’t genuine.
Ask yourself: what could I do to feel just a little bit better? This question is more empowering and “doable” than trying to make a dramatic shift and feeling like you can’t.

Ok guys. YOU inspire me! I hope you have the most peace and gratitude-filled weekend. Go on a walk and eat a slice of cake! Annnnddd let me know if any of these strategies help in the comments below!

Four Ways to Reclaim Your Impact!

IMPACT.

That word rings loudly in my head these days! For someone quickly rounding the corner to 33 and with five years under my belt as an entrepreneur, I’ve done a lot of thinking about this.

Like- what exactly do I want my impact to be? What do I truly care about, at my core? What makes me uniquely me?

And the same goes for you. What are your values? What’s important to you? What impact do you want to have?

APC_1225 — These are the people (and Bigbsy) that I want to impact and live life with!

Because I know, my dear Luv Cooks readers, that besides our collective love of food, there are lots of other loves in our lives too. For me, I’m realizing more everyday what I want the impact of my entrepreneurial life to be. I want people to feel loved, encouraged- like they experienced a bit more JOY in their day than they otherwise would have through encountering either myself, my videos or my recipes.

I also realize that there are LOTS of things that vie for our attention. I mean- the emails, the family events, social obligations, community or work shin digs, chores, texts, facebook messages- you get it.

But here’s the thing that Sarah and I talked about last night on our Instagram live teaching: you don’t HAVE TO allow these other things- the things you don’t really care about, I mean deeply, at your core- to ruin the impact you want to have in your life. That’s right, I said “allow those things.” We actually have a choice- to choose to pursue the things we are uniquely gifted at, to build the dreams only we can accomplish- or, we don’t. We choose other things instead. And the missing key for us to BUILD THE IMPACT that we want? One word: boundaries.

APC_1164 — I’m learning to say NO to distractions so I can say YES to quality time with my hubs!

Boundaries are a game-changer.

Boundaries define us. Literally- they allow us to communicate to the world where we end and others begin. They teach us to take responsibility for our decisions because WE (not other people) are the ones who have to deal with the consequences. They give us freedom to decide to do the things that make us happy and others’ lives better (it’s soo good y’all, what we are going to teach about boundaries in our course!!)

So, to help us ALL develop that boundary-setting skill a bit more (because it’s VITAL to our impact) Sarah and I came up with a list of the TOP 4 WAYS to RECLAIM your impact for GOOD!

KNOW YOUR VALUES

What’s important to you?
What annoys you? You VALUE the opposite of this!

KNOW YOUR GOALS

What do you want to accomplish this year?
What feels exciting to complete?

KNOW YOUR LIMITS

How to spot when a boundary is crossed?
Check your “emotional check engine light”- You may feel disappointed, insecure, exhausted, angry, unhappy

SET BOUNDARIES

Make a conscious rule to protect your values and goals
Start slow with small “no’s” (i.e. if a restaurant gets your order or coffee wrong, send it back)
This teaches us NOT to ultimately care what people think
These decisions build self-worth and confidence, which leads to impact!

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Take Action Challenge:

Look at your list of goals, and pick one. Actively set a boundary around that. What will you say no to and yes to, to ensure it will happen?

*Take a goal, then turn it into a rule. Add it to your schedule!

Also, don’t miss, FOR FREE, this Reclaim Your Impact boundary-setting worksheet! We included it in our teaching last night and it is CLUTCH for making those boundary commitments LAST!

APC_0829 — Bigbsy’s future is so bright he needs shades

Also, we will both be going into much more detail on boundaries and impact during our 3-week Resilient Entrepreneur course! You can register and check out more info on the ways we are going to teach you to be an overcomer here. Happy weekend my loves!!