Journey Healers

A Little Encouragement

January 21, 2010
    I had the pleasure of watching my husband's nephew in a  wrestling tournament yesterday.  Up until this point, I had always thought wrestling was a matter of pinning the 'other guy' to the ground for a matter of seconds until you win, which it kind of is, but there's a lot more to it than just body slamming. 
    At one point in time during the matches, I paused to watch the coaches, as they instructed their students in each match.  What surprised me was the difference between the coaching methods that the coaches provided.  There seemed to be two different types of coaches.....one was encouraging, and the other was demanding.  
    The demanding coaches were full of demands (Do this! Do that!) followed by a few profanities if the student didn't listen as told.  A foot might be stomped, or their eyes would roll as they lost all hope for the student they were coaching.
    The encouraging coaches were completely different.  They were yelling, Good job!  Hold it for a little bit longer! That's right...you're doing it!!  Even when the student was obviously losing, they remained positive for the student, and offered pats on the back during round breaks, hugs and more words of encouragement. 
    What I also came to learn was the impact of the 'positive' coaching versus the 'negative' coaching.   Out of 17 rounds (yes, I counted to get stats) 14 of the 'encouraging coaches' students won their match.  Only three of the 'demanding' coaches students won the match. 
    Being a life coach, I know the power of positive encouragement, about believing the best can happen in every scenario, no matter how it may look.  I can not imagine myself yelling at my own clients, and cursing them when they make a mistake....it would be unethical in my books. 
    However, this rings true for everything in life.  Whether it's with your partner, with your family members, or with yourself.....negative feedback promotes self defeat.  Positive, encouraging feedback promotes rising above and beyond.
    When you're talking to yourself about a situation in your life...are you a demanding coach, or are you an encouraging one?  Do you believe you can do something before you've gotten started, or do put yourself in for failure before you've started. 
    Become aware of your own coaching power.  Notice how you speak to yourself and to others.  If you're being negative, try to change your wording...offer words of assurance, inspiration and encouragement.  With it you have a 14-17 ratio of getting what you want.... and those are pretty great odds!

Until next time,
Catherine
 

A Lesson In Fear

January 12, 2010
I've started going to church this year.  Being the beginning of the year, I have only gone twice, as there's only been two services for me to go to.  However, this in itself has been quite a feat for me.

You see, when I was a young child, I was sent very mixed messages about church, and religion.  While my parents didn't force me to go, I was still given some pretty big misconceptions about the ideas of faith and God, and religion in general. 

As I got into my teens, I started searching for a...
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Staying Positive (In A Negative World)

January 3, 2010

Did you know that on average, in only two hours daily media (t.v, radio and internet) sends out over 10, 000 negative messages to you?  Pretty scary, huh?

For each of the negative messages that you receive you need to hear or see 2 positive messages in order to cancel out the negatives. 

So what can you do?  Turn off the radio, the internet and t.v, vowing never to tune in again?  With the world advancing quickly in technology, that's not really an option, however you do have a choice as to wha...


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"Precious"

January 1, 2010
When I read about the upcoming movie "Precious" in an Oprah magazine, I was drawn to the story line, however, it wasn't until I watched the movie, that I became such an advocate for the story, and most of all, Precious, the main character.

Precious, is an overweight, African teenager.  When she is found pregnant for the second time, by her father's baby, her school kicks her out, and she is left to go to a 'special school' that deals with teenagers that deal with adversity.  As Precious goes ...
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"While My Sister Sleeps"

January 1, 2010
Every once in awhile, you happen to pick up a book to read, that changes the way you feel about your own situation, that you identify with, and that leaves you filled with a new sense of hope. 

I recently had such an experience, with While My Sister Sleeps, by Barbara Delinsky.  This fictional story, hooks you on the first page, as you encounter Molly, the youngest of three children, who often feels like the black sheep in her family.  Her sister Robin, is a professional athlete, who seems to...
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Setting New Year's Resolutions

January 1, 2010
 With the mark of every New Year, our own personal evolution becomes a number one priority. We make resolutions to make ourselves a better person for the year to come.

Before getting started on that, I believe it's important to think of all of your accomplishments of the past year (big and small!) By reviewing your past year's accomplishments, you can motivate yourself for the upcoming year. So what did you do last year, that you're proud of? I would love to hear about it!!

And now on to 2010....
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A New Year, A New You

December 31, 2009
As 2009 comes to an end, I find myself looking back at the past year....what a journey it has been!  It was less than a year ago that I received my certification in life coaching, and I must confess that for the majority of the year, I knew that I wanted to coach, but I was unsure as to 'what kind' of coach I wanted to be. 

When it comes to coaching, there are so many different roads you can take.... you can be a business coach, a leadership coach, a personal development coach, the list goes ...
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