(Life) Mission Statement

Every business owner knows the importance and inspiration that lives in a Mission Statement . It is used to help guide decisions about priorities, actions, and responsibilities. It keeps the team/company on track and working towards a unified goal. It is the simplest way to have that constant reminder of how to make decisions based on the Core Values.

"Founded with a rebellious spirit and a lofty objective: to offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary price, while leading the way for socially-conscious businesses" - Warby Parker

"Celebrating Animals, Confronting Cruelty" - The Humane Society

Why not treat your life's mission with the same intentional drive as a Business? This is a way to bring your essence into focus so it is clear who you are, what you do, and why you do it. You can explain your motives and add detail or keep it simple, clear, and concise.  

"To create content that educates, informs, and inspires" -PBS

"Give our customers the best food and beverage values that they can find anywhere and to provide the with the information required to make informed buying decisions. We provide these with a dedication to the highest quality of customer satisfaction delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, fun, individual pride, and company spirit" - Trader Joe's

Start by writing out some key words that you strive to live by....

i.e., Create, Support, Learn, Fun, Grow, Empower, Inspire, Motivate, Drive, Adapt, Evolve, Simplify, Leader, Balance......

Draw it out on a big blank piece of paper. Connect words that embody the same meaning. Circle words that stand out to you most, add new words in as they come to you.

Then, ask yourself:

What gives you the most joy and sense of purpose? What is your goal in life? Who do you want to impact with the work you do? What do you want your legacy to be? Add this to the same piece of paper. Make connections, try out phrases.

Now, What trends do you see? What is a simple and concise statement that embodies your purpose, core values, and the legacy you want to leave behind?

"Question Assumptions. Think Deeply. Iterate as a Lifestyle. Details, Details. Design is Everywhere. Integrity" -InvisionApp (core values)

"Spreading Ideas" - TED

It may also help to try the exercise, "I am....." Choose your 3-4 core values, and turn it into....

 "I am _____, ______, and _______"

For example, when I did this exercise this morning, I came up with "I am fun, collaborative, and invested in growth."

William Arruda has created a formula for discovering and declaring your Personal Mission Statement. It looks like this...

The Value You Create + Who You're Creating It For + The Expected (Desired) Outcome

NOTE: your "VALUE" --> your core DNA, your operating principles, what inspires and energizes you.

For example, Oprah's Mission Statement,

"To be a teacher. And to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be"

The New York Public Library,

"To inspire lifelong learning, advance knowledge, and strengthen our communities"

And, Make-a-Wish foundation,

"We grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy"

Your Mission Statement provides you with a path for success, and an accessible guideline that gives you permission to say NO to things that do not align with your Values and Purpose. Live with Intention and watch as your life becomes your most beautiful creation.

xoxo

Note: Life is a constant practice, and practice makes perfect practice. So revisit your core values and mission statement often. Make it look beautiful and keep it somewhere noticeable to offer inspiration when you need it most. Have fun! 

Dopamine - the magical neurotransmitter

The more I learn about dopamine, the more impressed and excited I am about this magical neurotransmitter. It truly is what makes us human and allows us the potential to be driven and happy in our day to day lives. My mission in life is to create dopamine in everything that I do, for myself, and for others. If I am not having fun, learning, sweating daily, creating, and taking chances, I will not feel that boost of dopamine that gives me the best natural high possible. 

Neurotransmitters control communication in the brain. The inability to produce dopamine naturally results in Parkinson's Disease or varying degrees of ADHD. If you have too much dopamine in your system (due to drugs, i.e. cocaine, or disorders), you will have a sense of extreme euphoria, aggression, and intense sexual feelings (too much of a good thing is no longer a good thing).

As is the case for everything in life, the pursuit of balance - between the two extremes - is what we should aim for. When dopamine is released at a healthy rate, depending on the neural pathway it takes, we feel pleasure, a call to action or motivation, increased mood stability, regulation of movement, boost in ability to sleep soundly, increased attention to detail, and increased ability to learn and remember. Doesn't that sound nice??

So how do you ensure that you are getting the most out of your body's potential to create dopamine? There are certain things you can do each day to create the conditions and environment and allow your brain to do the rest.

1. Diet 

-Eat foods rich in tyrosine (which your body needs to make dopamine). Almonds, avocados, bananas, low-fat dairy, meat and poultry, lima beans, sesame and pumpkin seeds.

-Avoid sugar as much as possible. Sugar activates the reward system and boosts your dopamine initially. But this quickly drops and then you are left with the craving for more! Get the same high you get from sugar, by eating foods rich in tyrosine or follow one of the other suggestions below.

2. Exercise

-Perhaps you have felt that euphoric feeling after a really tough and satisfying workout. That is the endorphins and dopamine pulsing through your body. Exercise increases blood calcium, which stimulates dopamine release and uptake in your brain. Exercise because it feels SO GOOD when you're done. Your body will learn to crave that feeling, which will be enough (most days) to push you past that initial "I don't know if I feel like working out" thought.

3. Sleep 

-Being rested just makes everything easier. Having dopamine in your body helps you sleep soundly, and getting a good night's sleep will allow your brain to better produce dopamine the following day. It's a beautiful cycle.

4. Set incremental goals

-Setting goals boosts dopamine, dopamine motivates us to get into action, which then gets us working on that goal we set. Achieving a goal, or reflecting on the process to see what we have learned and where we have grown, also boosts dopamine, calling us to set more goals and get into action. So set incremental goals daily to get those small-wins to work in your favour.

5. Supplements, Medications

-For some people, the natural ability to produce dopamine may need a little kick-start. If you feel like you need support, reach out to your doctor to get more details on supplements or medications to help you achieve some balance.

Try This.....

The "Dope-Web": Make a list of 3-5 of the PEOPLE, ACTIVITIES, and ENVIRONMENTS that inspire and motivate you to be your best self. When you are having one of those god-awful lack of motivation, lethargic, self-doubting, pessimistic, "I am in over my head" kind of days, choose one person to reach out to (or all of your people!), one activity, and one environment from your list and get into action. Watch as your day goes from "What the hell is wrong with me?!?" into "Well, wasn't I being silly. I got this under control."

You got this. Get into action and watch your life change for the better, one natural high at a time. xo

What do you FEAR?

My good friend Kyle (check out @capture.passion on Instagram) sent me a random text a couple days ago, all it said was "What is your biggest fear?" Kyle recently read a book about a guy that lost his best friend to death and realized that he never truly knew him, nor did he truly know any of the people he called his friends. So he decided to venture out and ask deep and personal questions to everyone he encountered (friends, strangers, family, acquaintances, whoever), and he then wrote a book about the experience. Kyle's question, sparked the inspiration in me to ask deep questions of those around me for the rest of the day, which reminded me how powerful and "real" Fear is for all of us. 

For years, I have been working on moving past my fears and not allowing them to hold me back. What I loved about getting the question posed to me a couple days ago, is that I no longer fear what once held me in its grips, the Fear of Failure. I have spent a lot of time digging in to figure out where that fear came from, what it felt like, and where it showed up in my life (everywhere!). Through conscious practice, reflection, and self-study, I am no longer held back by this fear. It still pops up its ugly head occasionally, but I have enough experience under my belt now that I have changed my perception of Failure entirely. "Failure" is not scary. To me, failure means that I have pushed past my comfort zone, put myself in a position of growth and learning, and when one door closes - a dozen other doors swing open to take me in directions I couldn't have fathomed had I not played big and put myself out in the world. 

In "Living Your Yoga" by Judith Lasater, she talks about Fear as being a sense of losing control. Fear only comes about "...when you think about what MAY happen or what COULD HAVE happened." When you are actually living in the moment, truly present to what is right in front of you, you will not experience fear. If you are actually in danger, in this present moment, your body activates the Flight or Fight response (sympathetic nervous system), which doesn't feel like fear, it feels like getting into action to get shit done! The fear that most people feel is not real, it is projected into our reality because of the thoughts we choose to hold onto. Change your thoughts, change your reality.

"The only real control I have is the choice of my own thoughts, my own words, and my own actions" - Judith Lasater

So next time you feel that Fear creeping into the equation, acknowledge it for what it is. If you can change the way you perceive "failure" or "lack of control" or wherever else that fear comes from, you can change the way you respond. Don't let your decisions be driven by fear, let your decisions be driven by inspiration, growth, improving, and following your passion.

Don't be the one that gets in your own way, be the one that pushes past your comfort zone. 

xoxo

Growth Mindset

We all carry emotional baggage with us. Whether we are reacting to things in the moment that are less than ideal, or holding onto judgements, resentments, guilt, or sadness from past events that rocked us to our core; this emotional baggage weighs us down. Where does this come from? Why are we so hard on ourselves? Why is it easier to pass judgement and compare ourselves to what we are not, versus loving ourselves whole-heartedly and choosing forgiveness as our first instinct?

To unpack things that weigh you down, you must practice "letting go". Your problems, stressors, guilt, expectations, plans, regrets, self-loathing, disapointments, resentments, they attach on like baggage until you consciously choose to let them go. Allow yourself to be just in this moment, just you and your breath. Accept where you are today and what it has taken to get here. Find the joy in the simplicity of just being present to what is right in front of you, and choose in each moment to let go and open yourself up to the world of possibilities and adventure that is constantly unfolding in front of you. Let go of that baggage, and watch as you begin to fill that newly vacant space with love, breath, possibility, joy, inspiration, and resilience. 

Something that has helped me along this path of self discovery and letting go, is to focus on strengthening my Growth Mindset. A Growth Mindset (vs Fixed Mindset) takes the pressure away and the goal is always attainable. The Growth Mindset reminds us that everything is a work in progress, it is about getting better vs the need to be good now, improving vs proving, developing skills vs demonstrating skills, me vs past me instead of me vs you. This mindset allows intimacy and vulnerability in pursuing the goals that inspire you, without possession or expectation overshadowing the beauty and growth that is the Journey.

What Mindset do you choose today?

xo

And we are LIVE....

This website is now live, but, will always be a work in progress. I am excited to let this evolve into whatever the needs of my community express. At the end of the day, I want to be able to sleep knowing that I am pursuing the life I want and supporting and inspiring others along the way. That's it, that's all.

I need feedback and collaboration as I grow, so feel free to reach out to me with any questions or ideas. Each day is a blank slate, and I am excited to paint the canvas as the day unfolds.

So cheers to another beautiful day on this amazing planet. Don't hold back, play big, take chances, and get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Vulnerability is the key to living by your core values and passions, so share what your dreams are and start working towards it. No one can live this life the way you can, so don't hold back your unique talents and perspective. The world needs what you have to offer.

xoxox