In the Northern Hemisphere, the calendar says we are officially in Autumn. Hours of daylight will continue to grow shorter.

Changes are coming.

Notice the changes as nature prepares for winter: birds fly south, temperatures get cooler, leaves change colors, animals’ coats thicken, and we have less daylight.

As many of us experience a seasonal change, it's a natural time to reflect.

What changes are coming?

How are you preparing for the next season?

What do you want for yourself for the rest of 2021?

Identify something you want and go for it!

You still have time.

It doesn't have to be perfect.

Avoid the doom and gloom.

Stay focused.

Stay positive.

Create your life.

Do you want a support preparing for what’s next or what remains of 2021?

Schedule time for us to chat at https://markstaelgraeve.as.me/breakthrough.

Need to get into a groove? Need to be more present for something? Try this 30 second activity.

Put everything down.

Close your eyes, feel your feet touching the floor, feel contact with the chair.

Take a deep breath in and then slowly exhale.

Notice your breathing. ----

Take another deep breath in and again slowly let it release.

Put attention on your shoulders. What do you notice there in your shoulders?

Let go of any judgement you might have about "geez, my shoulders are so tight" or whatever.

Welcome whatever is present.

Just notice. ----

One more time, take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Now let your eyelids just drift open and notice what's different.

Can you feel how you are just a little more "in" the present moment?

Create your life.

Do you want a partner to help you get present or learn how to pause when the world keeps spinning uncontrollably?

Schedule time for us to chat at https://markstaelgraeve.as.me/breakthrough.

We make SO many choices in life and certainly each day. Sometimes the choices are hard and sometimes not as much.

Of all the choices we can and do make, there is one that can brighten your day and the day of those around you.

A simple gesture really.

It's a choice.

Be your own internal beacon of light.

Be a beacon for those around you.

Choose to smile.

Create your life.

😊

Do you want to create a life that helps make you smile?

Schedule time for us to chat at https://markstaelgraeve.as.me/breakthrough.

You put your all into everything you do. Now there just isn't any more of you to give.

You tried to do more of the things that bring you satisfaction. Maybe you took up a hobby or started to coach little league.  You spent more time with family and friends.

Instead of more satisfaction, you got more on your plate.

You might even begin to feel like you've lost a bit of yourself.

In between doing nothing and doing everything, there is lots of gray.

Gray that might include exploring what you truly want.

Gray that might include making intentional choices about where to direct your energy.

Gray that might include acceptance of yourself the way you are (which is pretty darn great!).

Embrace the gray.

Do less instead of more.

Lead a life that honors your personal values and gives you fulfillment.

Rediscover balance.

Create your life.

Do you want support in embracing the gray? Schedule time for us to chat at https://markstaelgraeve.as.me/breakthrough.

"A dream is only impossible if all you do about it is dream." ~ Lou Holtz

This quote from former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz always reminds me that we need to take action to realize our dreams.

What is your dream?

What small step do you need to take that gets you moving toward your dream?

Take action.

After the first small step, identify and take another step.

Then another and another.

Eventually, you'll realize your dream.

Then it will be time to dream up another one.

Create your life.

Life moves fast. Every day, go, go, go! Hustling from meeting to meeting, rushing to the store, scurrying around from here to there and back again, dropping kids off at school, picking them up again, going to kid's baseball or soccer practice. We're all so busy doing things.

This week it struck me (again) how quickly everyone wants to get somewhere or do something.

What happens when you slow down?

For me, I observe the craziness around me. I appreciate green grass and well-manicured landscaping. I view one tree that is taller than another. I notice someone's smile. I listen to the sounds. I behold the good that exists.

What if you slowed down? What might you notice? What might you appreciate in a different way?

Take a breath. 

Slow down.

Appreciate what's around you.

Feel more energized.

Create your life.

Do you want someone to help you apply the brake? Schedule time for us to chat at https://markstaelgraeve.as.me/breakthrough.

Ambition is what we want to achieve. Aspiration is who we want to become.

I aspire to be a great leader, to help others grow and become great leaders themselves. I aspire to be a great colleague and friend, to be a great husband and father. I aspire to be someone who makes a difference in this world.

Who do you aspire to be? Write down meaningful goals that help you become someone, not achieve something. 

Choose today who you want to be tomorrow. We always have a choice.

Who do you want to become? Become who you want to be.

Create your life.

Do you need nurturing to become who you want to be? Schedule time for us to chat!

It is easy to look back at what was or what could have been. It takes courage to look forward.

Move ahead to the future.

The future YOU get to create.

Don't let fear get in your way.

Fear only makes the situation worse.

Fear is a choice. 

Don't give in to fear.

Keep going.

Look forward.

Create your life.

Harmony or lopsidedness? Many of us encounter times when we experience imbalance in areas of our life. When we focus on one area too much, we allow the others to slip.

Work, home, self, and spirit are out of whack.

We are out of whack.

Perhaps you have spent too much time in the office. This can mean you miss out on dinner together as a family, skip your workout, or get less sleep.

Often, this imbalance comes as a result of losing sight of what's truly important to us. What we value.

Instead of saying "no" to the work, we "double down" just this one time so that we can later possess more of what we're missing.

The problem is, the only thing we hold more of is the work.

When faced with a choice, say "yes" to what you value deep down inside.

If you value family, put family first. If you value honesty, tell the truth to yourself and others. If you value freedom, take actions that release you.

Enjoy your improved harmony and notice where you are finding balance.

Create your life.

You feel like you are losing your balance. You struggle or act clumsily or helplessly. You claw for everything you get. No matter what you do, you do not seem to make any progress. Your work, home, self, and spirit are all a bit disjointed.

You might be floundering!

You find yourself trudging through your days due to weariness, lack of energy, or stress. It can be tough "out there" in the world!

When you try to change, you run into more of the same thing, growing more weary, muddling through your days, tripping when there is no apparent obstacle.

Instead of bumbling around, consider giving yourself permission to step back. Explore what is important to you. Reconnect with your inner strength and authority.

Doing this will help you rediscover your balance and bring the disjointed parts back into alignment. You will stop floundering and begin to flourish instead! You can do it!

Create your life.

We often get caught up in the negativity around us. It's easy when we hear about and perhaps even experience violence, death, destruction, loss, accidents, or simply our own unmet expectations. We might find it nearly impossible to see any of these in a positive light, perhaps even see them as gifts.

My basement flooded a couple of weeks ago. Too much water fell in a very short period of time. The sewer line backed up into my basement and many of those in the neighborhood. There was nothing I could do. Nothing. Except watch the water flow in.

The gift, the perspective I choose to take, is that I now had the opportunity to enjoy a different view while working from the dining room table instead of the desk in the basement. Inconvenient? No doubt. Would I have moved my working space if not for the flooding? Definitely not. The gift is that the flooding forced me to move my daily workspace.

What has happened in your life that you could turn into a gift?

Discovering the gift in life's events might lead to a whole different outlook for you.

Find the gift.

Create your life.

When faced with a challenge, or an opportunity, which dog do you feed?

Jon Gordon writes in his book, The Positive Dog, "We all have a positive-versus-negative battle going on each day. Every moment and every situation presents to us an opportunity to see and experience the positive or the negative."

"We can feed the positive dog or the negative dog inside of us, and whichever one we feed, grows. So feed the positive dog."

Focus on the positive. Experience the positive. Seek to find the gift presented through each opportunity.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Which dog do you feed? Which part of you do you want to grow?

Feed the positive dog.

Create your life.

Spending time with family is an opportunity to enjoy people who accept us as we are, we do not need to pretend around them.

My family and I look forward to spending time over the holiday weekend with my siblings and their families. We're excited!

We get to share stories, experience common activities like yard games and fireworks, and enjoy good laughs. We "might" even enjoy a barley pop or two.

We will relish just being with each other. It's been a long time since we have all gotten together!

Getting to do things together with people we love. That's family time.

What do you appreciate when you get together with your family?

Happy early birthday America!

Create your life.

When faced with life, we can choose to look at the negative or consider the positive. Whatever you choose, that's what your subconscious will make happen. 

Stay positive with what you tell yourself.

You give power to what you focus on. So, focus on the good. Focus on what you want.

Make THAT happen.

Create your life.

When we are young, we seek out the puddles. As we get older, we generally shy away from puddles. We don't want to get our feet or clothes wet. We don't want to create a scene. We choose to "act our age" instead.

What is it about a puddle? What makes a puddle so nearly irresistible to play in? Those wonderfully fun collections of water just begging for someone to disrupt with their feet or bicycle tire.

It is hard to match the pure joy of splashing in a puddle. Nothing matters except how high and how far the splatter goes. Nothing else matters.

I want to break free or perhaps let go of the voices in my head that say I shouldn't do that or I'm too old to do that. I want to feel the joy and freedom of those moments when nothing else matters.

I want to splash in more puddles.

Create your life.