Does the following sound familiar to you?

You’ve quietly spent your whole life trying to fit in and belong in a world that doesn’t quite “get” you. You’ve always done what you believe you’re supposed to do but lately you’ve felt restless, unsettled, and a little scared that life is going by quickly and you’re not as happy as you think you should be.

You may have spent the last several years in a career that you thought you wanted. It pays the bills and…

One of the main reasons we stay stuck in jobs that don’t align with our values and goals, stay in relationships that aren’t supportive, and don’t follow our intuitions and dreams is because over the years we’ve learned not to trust ourselves.

We listen to and value others’ opinions over our own. We’ve been socialized to care more about what others think instead of what we think.

If you want to create a life where you feel truly alive and aligned with your purpose, then you must start to trust yourself.

Why is it so hard to make decisions, especially in midlife and beyond?

Everyone faces challenges making transformative life decisions, and it seems particularly difficult for many of us to believe it’s possible as we get older. By the time we reach midlife, we’ve had a lot of years of social conditioning and worries about what others think, along with feelings of lack (i.e., money, confidence, and/or time).

We tend to get stuck in our ways, and it doesn’t need to be like that.

One of the main reasons it’s so hard to make decisions is that our brains don’t like change and will do everything possible to keep us in a state of indecision and confusion.

In case you’re not familiar with it, To infinity and beyond! is a famous quote by Buzz Lightyear in the movie, Toy Story (Disney, 1995). Buzz is described as an “eternal optimist” and that quote is filled with positive energy.

I’m fascinated by the concept of infinity. For me, it inspires hope and encouragement that we can keep reaching for our dreams throughout our entire lives.

“Your limits are somewhere up there, waiting for you to reach beyond infinity.”

Arnold Henry

Do you ever lack motivation to show up for yourself and your dreams? I bet you said “yes” and you’re not alone. Most of us do.

As we get older, it becomes even more challenging to stay motivated. We make excuses more and more, often citing lack of time, money or energy as the reasons.

We think it’s an outside circumstance, something beyond our control, that’s stopping us. Often, though, we’re just scared and making up excuses. It’s fear and uncertainty that’s holding us back.

When I was a girl, I lived the dream of many young girls; I had my very own horse. He was a dark palomino Quarter Horse and his name was Curly.

I didn’t fully realize it at the time, but he was one of the wisest teachers I’ve ever had. He’s long gone now, but I still think about him and all the lessons I learned from him.

He taught me patience, and he taught me how to be present and calm. When I was uptight and anxious, so was he. When I was happy and calm, he mirrored my emotions.

What I didn’t understand back then was that horses use emotions as information and they’re really good at helping you understand how you’re feeling and how to move through those emotions.

The title of this post comes from an inspiring quote I read by Roy T. Bennett:

“Turn your obstacles into opportunities and your problems into possibilities.”

That quote got me thinking about all the ways we stop ourselves from moving forward. So often when we have a problem that creates strong emotions and feelings, it’s difficult to believe that there will ever be a solution.

Our brains like to create all kinds of obstacles to keep us from failing and we become stuck and we think we’re not capable. We create obstacles and problems for ourselves.

Are you looking for ways to calm your anxious mind, improve your sleep, and create more peace and joy in your life?

I love puzzle books, and the other day as I was solving one of the puzzles, the above quote revealed itself to me.

It came at the perfect time, just when I needed it (like so many things do). I’d been having problems sleeping as my thoughts whirled around in my mind and this one word made all the difference: forgiveness.

Stress and anxiety are common and many of us experience them from time to time. Sometimes, though, life situations can send our thoughts spinning out of control, creating feelings that seem overwhelming.

Years ago, I was diagnosed with an anxiety and panic disorder that I’ve learned strategies to manage and, most of the time, I’m able to manage them quite well. Recently, however, I’ve had some personal experiences that have been very challenging, and these experiences have created a good testing ground for all the mindful practices and self-care strategies that I’ve learned over the years.

When I ask clients why they aren’t following through with their dreams, many limiting beliefs often come up, but the top one is usually, “I don’t have enough money”, “I can’t afford it”, or something along those lines.

Many of us use lack of money as an excuse and we avoid the topic because we think it’s complicated.

Thoughts about money get tangled in our minds, cause stress and keep us awake at night.

So what can we do about that? The first step in getting clear about money and creating an abundant money mindset is to learn more about our money and actually develop a relationship with our money