When we are faced with a challenge we have two options:

1.  Go after the challenge

or

2. Give ourselves and others some Grace.

The photo above is an example of not stepping back into grace but literally pounding on the challenge.

Ever do that?

Resist what is?

Sometimes it is hard to tell whether we should go after a challenge full force or whether we should cut ourselves some slack - also known as grace.  Or, in parenting terms - take an adult time out!

How are you showing up when you hit a challenge?

I would love to hear a current challenge you are handling and what seems to be working and what seems to be not working.

To challenges!

Hugs,

Shannon 

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Challenging times.  

Scary even.

I am learning a new tool to help us in these challenging times.

Radical Gratitude.

The practice of Radical Gratitude or RAD GRAD will help you to feel better.

Life will always throw us challenges and some of those will be painful.

We cannot escape those.  It is part of our shared human experience.

But, suffering is optional.

Gratitude is the emotional state that is scientifically proven to lift your mood, to create feelings of happiness and life satisfaction.

Like life mastery, practicing radical gratitude is not a one and done.  

It is a practice.  

Here are the steps of Radical Gratitude:

1. Ground yourself in your current Reality.  Accept your current challenge for what it is no matter how painful. Recognizing this is not where we want to be in the future, it is our current reality.  
2.  Understanding that the world works "for" us not "to" us we know we are getting what we need to evolve to our...

  3 STEPS TOWARDS INNER HARMONY 

Ever found yourself at either extreme:

Frenetic, constant busyness, feeling like you are on a gerbil wheel of activity yet never arriving any place you like?

Or

Do you feel bored, listless, unmotivated like you are going through the motions and don’t really care but a part of you wants to?

Me too. 

I think we all have.

So how do we re-orient ourselves toward inner harmony where we feel excited, vibrant, creative and playful?

We all want something different without changing anything.  Yet, we know a change is necessary.

We need a new environment, a change of pace and support of new friends.

The place of harmony we seek is the balance of eudemonic stress and quiet stillness.  This is a place where we feel energized, excited and vibrant without exhaustion.  This is the place where we feel a deep sense of connection to our inner wisdom and confidence.

How can you create this in...

How I beat my inner doubter to become a firefighter weeks from my 39^th birthday and how to overcome yours.

Part 1 of several.

This is it.  Test day.  I have worked hard to prepare for this day, and I am both terrified and excited.   

I am standing in the gym at station 14 where the first elements of the Firefighter entry physical test are in progress.

The room is small.  It’s a gym where the station 14 firefighters work out while on shift.

Although it is a gym, this is not LA fitness. 

There is No treadmill.

No Stairmaster.

No Elliptical.

Just bars, weights and racks.

The benches scattered about the room show their age with white stuffing visible in the cuts and holes of the thin black vinyl padding.

 There is no bench for this test element, though.

For this test there is a bar with weights totaling 85 lbs and a line drawn on the floor, 4 inches from the wall.

It’s quiet.

You can hear the gentle squeak of gym shoes on wood as our...

What if your Fear was just hiding your biggest gift?

In 1994 I had a dream.

I dreamed I fell off a ladder and seriously injured myself.

And then hours later, I fell off the very ladder I dreamed about and spend 3 days in the hospital. 

That injury provided the stillness I so desperately needed.

The stillness provided a clear choice - I could continue avoiding and denying who I really was or risk full scale ruin.

Seriously - that's how I framed it in my mind.

I did the scariest thing ever.  

And the gift I received was shockingly unexpected. 

I hope my story inspires you to do the scary thing in your life you might be avoiding.

My story is included in a new book:  The Beauty of Authenticity.  

It comes out May 22, 2019.

If you would like to pre-order the book and get a personalized autographed copy please sign up here:

Hugs!

Here is to recognizing what we fear is really a gift.  And you gotta go there to open it! 

We all have two voices in our head.  

There is the loud one - the complainer!  This part of us is looking for safety and security which means if it involves CHANGE it freaks out!

You know  - it starts by saying things like - who do you think you are?  You can't do that?  That didn't work out well last time.  Or, that seems like a lot of effort, what if it doesn't work?  You get the point!

Then there is the encourager.  This voice is softer.  You can't hear her unless you take the time to be quiet.  She is there. She is subtle.  And Powerful.

Make some space for her voice to be heard.

To help you out, go here:  https://www.shannonsaid.com/encourage

 for a download to listen to a 1 minute clip from your encourager.

Hugs,

Shannon

Blind Spots

We all have blind spots.

It's the classic statement - We don't know what we don't know.

We are blind to our own blind spots.

That is why having someone in your life that can tell you what others won't is the fastest way to rocket to your next level.

Shining the light of awareness onto  your blind spots illuminates your path to your best self. 

With love,

Shannon

P.S. Whenever you're ready ... Start for Free Learn more Here

What Gets in the Way of Your JOY?

I love the water.

And, when it is my time to go, I'm coming back as a dolphin.

If you ever spent any time watching them, they know how to play!  

They live with JOY!

I'm not sure if dolphins have rough patches or bad days but they sure show resilience towards play and joy. 

This fantastic photo was taken by a friend of a friend in Florida where we were just visiting.  It makes me smile.

And I was thinking to myself - what gives me great joy in my life?  And, how can I intentionally create more of that in my life.

Water. I love being on it, in it and near it.  So I have intentionally set out to schedule more water dates with myself and my family.  

Then I got to thinking of the opposite.

What things tend to rob me of my JOY?

A big joy thief is FEAR.  

We all fear.

There isn't a successful person in the world who doesn't feel fear.

The difference is they don't let it stop them from taking the action...

The photo above is of a solid gold Buddha.  It's real gold.  Back in the 1700's, Thai monks covered up depictions of the Buddha for political reasons to protect them from theft or destruction.

The above Buddha was covered up with a sloppy mud like substance made to look like a very ugly Buddha statue and hence, not one to steal.  The problem was that they forgot about what was underneath the ugly exterior.  In fact, the inner beauty was not known until may years later.  The huge ugly Buddha was stored outside until a new spot was created.

In 1955, a new temple was built and it was large enough to hold this enormous "ugly Buddha" statue.  During the long process of carefully moving the statue, it became dark and the statue fell.  It was too dark at the time to assess the damage so the monks decided to wait until morning to see how they could repair it.

The next morning, while assessing the damage, one monk noticed a glint under some of...

Life is filled with challenges, right?

Sometimes, it feels like they are piling up.  

Of course, it is part of the human experience to have challenges.

These never go away!

And, sometimes it feels like the hard challenges are, well, adding up!

The last week, I have felt like maybe I have too much on my plate, too many challenges to handle.

I walked out my door on the way to physical therapy for my new hip and noticed something.

The daffodil.

Yes, it was blooming.

Awesome.

But, that isn't it. 

Or, it's not what got my attention.

We have daffodils all over the yard blooming.

This one is different.

This bulb had to grow a stalk over 3 feet high through a bush to bloom!

Now, that is resilience!

And, if you look to the left - there is another one!

Okay so this might seem a tad ridiculous but really if that daffodil can do it, can't we?

Be resilient.

Ok - but what is even better than being resilient?

Being Anti-Fragile.

Being anti-fragile is simply allowing each challenge...