Reflect, think and plan to achieve your goals.

Time passes so quickly.

Today is the 1st of July, as we start the second half of the year, it is a good time to reflect and think about how to make 2019 a great year for your professional and personal life

What were your goals?

Most of you started your year with New Year resolutions or did a list of goals to achieve by June 30th or December 31st.

How far are you from completing them?

Taking the time to think about your goals and reevaluate them is important.

You will have a clearer view of your main goals for the rest of the year, and a plan to achieve them.

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I did the exercise: I took my list of goals, my calendar. I checked what was on my planning for the first half of the year, and what I actually did.

No surprise, I had a lot in my planning, and like most of you, I didn’t achieve all of my goals.

Why?

So many reasons, but I think the most important is that my values (love, family, honesty) were challenged a lot and I choose to follow my own values and protect myself from burning out.

For example, I need to sleep more than 7 hours per night.

One of my goals was to do my Miracle Morning every morning at 6 am.

Actually, it happened that I cannot plan at what time I will wake up in the morning because my baby can wake up me at 4 am, 5 am or 6.30 am.

I need to sleep at least 7 hours per night (or my health and sanity will be damaged) and I definitely don’t want to wake up at 4:30 am which means getting to bed at 9.30 pm to get enough sleep.

My good resolution to adopt the Miracle Morning in my life had to be postponed.

For the same reason, I cannot work at night after my kids are asleep.

I keep myself away from screens.

I use my time to relax, meditate, read a book or cleaning up.

As a result, the time allowed for my daily tasks and my main goals were less important than planned, and I was not able to achieve all of them.

And I am completely ok with this, as I am flexible, I adapt my priorities, and I reevaluate my goals each month.

This week, take the time to think about your initial plan, and how it went finally.

Why did you do this?

What is the main reason why you failed to achieve your goal?

On the other hand, what were your successes?

How did you get them?

It can be the amount of energy you put into it, motivation, self-confidence, your positive mindset.

It can be money, relationships, persistence.

The goals you have can be professional, like finding a new job, getting promoted, launching your company, gaining new clients.

You can have goals to increase your quality of life, your relationships, like losing weight, gaining confidence, stopping smoking, getting married, having children, traveling more, adopting a dog, having more fun.

Some goals are easier to reach than others when you can have a plan and follow logical and measurable steps.

Finding a job, losing weight, traveling more are more measurable goals than gaining confidence and having more fun for example.

How do you know when you feel better?

How do you know when you had more fun than before?

We are looking for evidence.

We are looking for happiness.

We are looking for a perfect life.

I can tell you that your life is perfect as it is.

It is the life you choose, and if you’re not happy with it it is up to you to change because nobody will change it for you.

When I was studying happiness, I quickly realized that it is not the goal that matters but the process to go there.

So enjoy the process, have fun, it’s the best part!

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”

– Anonymous

Contact me at marie@rainbow-lifecoaching.com to discuss how I can help you with planning your goals for the next 6 months and getting the best out of your life.

Enjoy your day!

Marie

Life offers neither problems nor challenges, only opportunities.

Every week, I take time for myself, to relax, meditate, and write my weekly newsletter.

Some weeks I am full of ideas, others I suffer from the “blank page syndrome”.

It doesn’t last long, as I always find something to tell.

I often have the question from my readers “Where do you find your inspiration, your ideas?”.

My life, the books I read, the places I visit, the people I met inspired me every day.

I learned so many things in my life experiences and choosing among them to share what stood out for me is not that easy.

One week, I remember that the only thought that came to me was “Hakuna Matata”. 

I watched the video of The Lion King, and I felt better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB5ceAruYrI

It’s a problem-free philosophy.

And it’s completely aligned with a life principle very important to me, and I invite you to think about it: Life offers neither problems nor challenges, only opportunities.

In my opinion, a situation can be seen from many different points of views and it is only about you. Every situation or life events is an opportunity to grow.

Even in the hardest situations, you can try to have another look at a situation and see what you can learn from it.

If you are facing a difficult situation, ask yourself this question: “How could I see this problem as an opportunity to grow?”.

Rephrase it as an opportunity. An opportunity to learn, to grow, to improve, or to adjust in a way that leaves you better off than before the problem existed.

It takes time to adopt this mindset.

Are you happy with the life that you have?

How do you think your choices impacted your life?

What is your process when you make a choice?

Message me here if you want to find out how I can support you!

 

How I made my choices

Sometimes you have opportunities and you can choose to make a turn and change your life. And sometimes life decides for you and you have no choice.

Like everybody, I had to make tons of choices in my life, from the smallest to the biggest. But each one of them was my choice.

I choose to do law school.

I choose to move to Nantes to do my business school.

I choose to work in Tokyo for a summer internship.

I choose to do my semester abroad in Washington DC.

I choose to say YES to my husband.

I choose to buy an apartment and invest in a place for my family.

I choose to change jobs 5 times.

I choose to have kids.

I choose to live in New York and quit my life in Paris to start a new adventure with my husband and our daughter.

I choose to continue this pregnancy and take on my own fears.

I choose to start my own business as a coach.

Each one of these choices was right for me.

I made these choices with all the information I had at this moment. No idea of the consequences and of the future. I did my best. I followed my intuition. And I have no regrets.

Most of these choices changed my life. They are part of my story. They made me the woman I am now.

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Some of my choices were made with the help of my family or my friend, but I am the one who lived with them.

That’s why it is important to make your choices according to your values and your life.

No one knows better than you what is best for you.

Pieces of Advice are good to take, Orders are not. When it’s your life you have to choose what is best for you, at this moment of your life.

A woman can decide to say no to her lover (or run away the day of the wedding, it’s still her choice).

A little boy can choose to do a ballet class instead of football.

A little girl can choose rugby instead of gymnastics.

A man can choose to quit his wife and his kids.

A woman can choose to have no kids.

A young man can wear long hair.

A young girl can have short hair.

When choices are right for you, make you feel good, no matter what the society tells you, no matter what your family tells you, no matter what your friend tells you, it is your choice.

But sometimes, you want to have the choice but you cannot because you don’t have this freedom of choice, this courage to go against society, your family, your friends. And it’s completely ok. And it is still a choice to decide not to go in a direction because you cannot do it or it will hurt you or the people you love.

Sometimes your life is in danger because you live in a country where you have no right to speak or choose even the way you dress. You still have the right to think, and the hope that things will change one day.

If you live in a country where you have the right to do what you want, where you can choose your life, it can be scary too. Too many possibilities are around you and you just want to follow the path and don’t think too much. Sometimes it can be easier to stay in the career you choose when you were younger, even if you feel it is not right for you anymore.

Changing is hard, the process is long and we love, as a human being, staying in our comfort zone. Believe me, following your dreams, getting out of your comfort zone, living new experiences, meeting new people is worth it.

It is worth it and it is teamwork because you will need help to change your life. The help of a friend, of a coach, of a family member, your significant other, that will be with you every day, every week to check your progress and keep you motivated.

If you are thinking of changing your life and have no idea where to start, I will help you to set-up a plan with concrete, short and long-term goals and I will be there to support or push you, depending on what you need. You can read the testimonial of Laurène to know more about the benefits of my coaching and contact me for more info.

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Progress is impossible without change and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” – George Bernard Shaw

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Read my last article “The Power of Choice” and follow my website Rainbow Life Coaching and my Facebook & Instagram page,  to be updated with the next one “How to make the right choice for you”.

 

Next week, I will talk about how to make a choice that is right for you (and only you!).

Marie Rousselle

Rainbow Life Coaching

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Not a Cyber Monday offer

Between Thanksgiving on Thursday, a traditional holiday to celebrate the gifts we have, and Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year, you can see how difficult it is to not consume, and not to be focused on what you have and what you need to have.

One day you take time with your family and your friends, you enjoy a great meal together and create memories, and the day after you are rushing to the shopping mall to buy products you don’t really need. And today, on Cyber Monday, you will certainly find my email lost between dozens of Cyber Monday offers.

We are in a society of over-consumption and we don’t need to look at the news to see that something is going wrong. We can decide to observe and suffer or to be part of a needed change.

We know that if only 3% of society decide to change, it could change the entire world. Every act counts and you can find many examples of small changes that you can make on your daily life on ON EST PRÊT (We are ready) and “Le Grand Défi pour le climat”.

Here are some examples:

– To reduce your impact and your hyper-consumption, you can create a homemade gift, or offer an experience, to create memories. It helps to give a new meaning to these celebrations (Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas).

Creating something with your hands is very powerful because you really think of what you are doing, you are really enjoying the pleasure to create on purpose and to offer a gift. It is rewarding and if you like to create it is also relaxing. That’s why sewing and knitting are so popular because you feel good when you create, learn and use your hands!

– To reduce your electricity consumption, you can turn off your devices every night before going to sleep.

– To reduce your digital impact, you can unsubscribe from newsletters you are not interested in reading anymore and delete emails from your mailbox.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

You are not the victim of the world, but rather the master of your own destiny. It is your choices and decisions that determine your destiny.”

-Roy T Bennett

This week smile, laugh, create, be grateful for what you have.
Enjoy every moment you share with your loved ones.

I wish you a lovely week!

Marie Barbezieux Rousselle

Life & Leadership Certified Professional Coach I rainbow-lifecoaching.com

Mobile: (347) 484 7940 | marie@rainbow-lifecoaching.com 

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Monday Motivation: Harvest Moon Partly Cloudy

Fall is a beautiful season, especially in New York City, with the vestiges of the summer and a tease into winter. Great time to visit parks and see autumn leaves.

And tonight, it’s September Harvest Moon!

Even if you’re not in Koh Tao for the Fullmoon Party, you can still enjoy this special evening, take time to reflect on your life and what you really want and make the most of its powerful, healing energies.

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May the sun bring you new energy by day
May the moon softly restore you by the night
May the rain wash away your worries
May the breeze blow new strength into your being
May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life
~ Native Apache Indian blessing

Last week, between my snowy and cloudy (but beautiful!) trip to Alberta and my busy days of work in New York City, I remembered a very cute video, Partly Cloudy I watched many years ago.
It’s about clouds and storks, if you don’t know it, please take 5 minutes to watch it.
And if you do, please watch it again because it is a good reminder of the meaning of life, its struggles, and its beauty.
If there weren’t people like the worn stork and the storm cloud, there wouldn’t be a decent world to live in.

This week means a lot to me.
One year ago I was about to live a very special week, a powerful and terrible experience that changed my life forever.
It is a big milestone and I know it is a life-long journey.

So this week, more than never, enjoy every moment you share with your loved ones. Make memories, laugh, relax!

Be grateful for what you have.

I wish you a lovely week!

Marie

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Monday Motivation: Love people. Use things. Because the opposite will never work

How was your weekend? Busy or lazy?

Every Monday, I will share with you readings, videos, and inspiring quotes to boost your energy and start your week right!

In New York City, we had a fresh and rainy weekend.

It was the perfect weather to begin a total cleanup and start this back-to-school season with a clear mind and more energy!

It reminds me of a book I read 3 years ago The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, from Marie Kondo (La Magie du Rangement in French).

This book is the Decluttering Bible. It helped me to organize my place, clear my mind, and feel good in my apartment.

In a few words, the concept is to be surrounded by things that you love and that make you feel good and get rid of everything else.

Have you ever tried to get rid of useless things?

It is not easy. But when you think of the things you really need and use in your everyday life, you will quickly realize that you don’t need that much.

If it brings you more happiness and peace in your everyday life, it is worth a try!

As I am on “decluttering mode”, yesterday I decided to watch the Minimalists, A Documentary About the Important Things with Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus.

What is Minimalism?

Some of you are certainly familiar with this concept.

Minimalism is to live with only the things you really need.

It is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts us from it.

Whatever the name you give to this trend, it is in reaction with over-consumption and advertising.

This warning of consumerism was already pointed out by USA president Jimmy Carter in 1979 in its speech “Crisis of Confidence”!

Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we’ve discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We’ve learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose. ”

Finding your purpose and being confident is a journey, especially after a life-changing event.

I am not a perfect example of Minimalism or decluttering, but I know how things in my life are nothing compared to the people I love and the experience I live with them.

Enjoy every moment you share with your loved ones this week.

Think more of what makes you feel good and see how you feel at the end of the week, I’m sure you will feel happier and peaceful.

 

I wish you a lovely week!

Marie Barbezieux Rousselle

Life & Leadership Coach