This is a great year to focus on vision (get it: 20/20?)! I’m personally using the word FOCUS and the mantra “FOCUS UP!” as my new year tools. What word(s) are you feeling for this coming year? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Happy 2020
Managing Deadlines
Here’s a short video with some great tips for managing deadlines.
Managing Deadlines with Filomena Jack
I love love love the book Atomic Habits by Jame Clear. Have you read it? Perhaps your library has it or an audio copy.
Watch this short video for some of my favorite tips for managing deadlines.
Say it with me: “YES I CAN!”
Be well!
Filomena
MIU NOW ON STITCHER SMART RADIO!
We’re super happy to announce that we’ve been approved to air on Stitcher! Can we get a “Wooo Hoooo!!”?
Find the link above, or, if you like you can still find us on iTunes and such 😉
Xoxoxo
MIU!
Back in the Game!
Hello hello!
Here I am in Edinburgh near Arthur’s Seat Park. A wonderful, breezy hike!
I’m just back from a lovely and refreshing trip to Northern Ireland and Scotland. It was truly the best trip I’ve ever had and I highly suggest setting your sites on visiting this part of the world.
Here’s a photo from The Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. It felt like magic to be here among these lava formations.
I am feeling so grateful for having these experiences. I was missing my books, my clients, and my doggo back in the US, and though vacation was terrific I feel great being back in the coaching game!
Are you ready to get in the game? Ready to work on your systems, habits, and mindset? Let’s chat, I’d be thrilled to act as your ally as you reach your goals. Email me today to start the process. CoachFilomena@gmail.com I can’t wait to work with you!
Own It Women’s Conference Oct. 3rd, 2019
Hellloooo there! I’d love for you to join me at this year’s Own It Women’s Conference in Watkins Glen, NY. I’ll be giving a talk in the morning (soooo excited!) and there will be others sharing their gifts later in the day (again….sooooo excited!) Join us for a fantastic day of learning and growing. Own It Women’s Conference tickets
Sky’s the limit to what you can achieve!
Oh, and PS, 2 words: GOODIE BAGS
Learning Never Ends!
I’m loving the course I’m currently taking, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP for short.
At a basic level, NLP looks at patterns we make in our heads and through our words. I will be concluding the class in a few weeks and am so grateful for all the info I can synthesize and use in my coaching sessions.
What new info are you bringing into your world? I’d love to hear about it!
Get Out!
The last few weeks have been a struggle for me. Sleeping too much, not enough exercise…you know, the late winter “I don’t wanna” syndrome.
I’m a big fan of Dr. John Arden’s mindfulness tool: S.E.E.D.S. Balance the following areas of your life and things won’t be so draining:
Sleep (not too much, not too little)
Exercise (just do it!)
Educate (yer mind)
Diet (all the things…food, media, negative relationships)
Socialize (with other righteous folks)
As I write this I’m on one of my jaunts to NYC. Today started out with sleeting snow and muck on the ground. Earlier in the week I RSVP’d to a meetup in the hitherlands of Brooklyn. After walking the dog early this morning I began to talk myself out of schlepping ALL the way to the event [insert snark face].
I thought about just jumping back into bed.
I thought about staying in and arting all day.
Instead, I put myself together (brushed my hair AND my teeth!) and headed out for the meetup adventure.
AND I’M SO HAPPY I DID (yup, shouting!)
The meetup was produced by Matt Rosenblum of Advanced Life Coaching https://advancedlifecoachmarketing.com/
Go check this man out! (I’ll wait…)
I’d met Matt at another meetup a few months ago and am glad to be able to get to know him. He’s smart, thorough, and shares his knowledge freely. Win win win!
Today I also met A, an entrepreneur working on a fashion related business and M, an advocate for students and families trying to manage the world of higher learning.
It felt great to chat about our projects, and the feeling of useful focus (versus twirling thoughts that lead to burnout) was refreshing.
If you’d like to check out this fabu meetup, here’s a link: https://www.meetup.com/Life-Coaches-In-NYC/events/
I’m so glad I went on today’s adventure! What fun thing(s) will you be doing today? Have any other suggestions for meetups you love? Let me know!
Lessons from 2018
We’re getting to the last few days of the year and it’s a great time to celebrate our accomplishments, and learn from things that fell sort of flat.
I could have made this post 12 scrolls long, but I’m saving you from that and will be just highlighting some of the ups and downs in my year…
Having a solo art show is exhilarating! This year I checked off a big “to do”…secure and create a successful solo art show in a gallery. Many of my paintings were adopted from the show, and a portion of the sales went to a charity I care a lot about, The Potters Hands Foundation. Win win win!
(To see more about my art life check out: Filomena Jack Studio)
Winning a Halloween costume contest is also exhilarating! The hubby and I went as The Dude & Maude. We won Halloween and I’m still giddy about it 😉
Get a Roomba Just do it.
Friendships are fluid, and sometimes the waters don’t run as deep as you thought. It’s ok. Not everyone has a place in our lives for the long hall. Just enjoy the good times you did have and move on.
Use Mel Robbins 5,4,3,2,1, GO! technique to get sh*t done. Google her, she’s amazing. Basically, when you have something you need to do (but don’t wanna) count backwards from 5 and get your ass moving. That’s how I get out of bed some days, and how the dishes get done around my house.
There are angels everywhere…just call out to them. I guess this lesson isn’t a new one for me, but I was happily reminded of it’s validity. My husband and I had the opportunity to work with homeless couple in these last few months. By simply asking our community to help us help them we were able to make some huge strides in getting this family into a safe and warm apartment. My gratitude towards these angel helpers can’t be expressed well enough in words.
I am able and capable and smart and full of potential. Again, not all of these are new ideas, but this year I’ve really come to study them closely.
Happy New Year to us all. 2019 is going to have a lot of opportunities for growth…let’s make a plan to reach our goals, be willing to stretch ourselves out of our comfort zones, and be present to enjoy the adventure.
Looking to have an ally on your side while you reach your goals? Let’s chat, I’m here for you.
Things Change
When I was studying for my life coaching certification my instructor warned his students that we might experience a change in our social circles.
The work to become a (well equipped) life coach includes working on one’s own issues, baggage, limiting beliefs, and all the other sh*t that doesn’t serve us.
This can be threatening to those around us. They may not be ready to explore their own issues, or may not have the maturity to relate to people working to better themselves.
THINGS CHANGE AND THAT’S OK
My friend group has gone through this recently. I’ve had to find ways to come to peace with the fact that friendships are living entities. They ebb and flow. They stretch, and sometimes they break.
Being warned during my certification process definitely has helped take the sting out of these recent changes. Taking counsel from a friend who is also stretching her wings really has helped me as well. She’s experienced some of these changes with her pack of buddies in the last few years.
TAKE AWAY:
Be flexible. Understand that change is normal. Stay focused on what feels like your true track. Don’t get bogged down when others can’t or won’t keep up with your progress. Your paths are not theirs and theirs are not yours.
Be well, thanks for hanging in there with me 🙂
Filomena
The Power of Practice
Let’s start by me telling you I wasn’t a great meditation student in the early days of my practice. In fact, I was sort of reluctant and (ahem…) crabby about it. I once a asked a pretty well known author and meditation mentor something like: “Why wouldn’t I just crochet instead…I don’t see why I can’t do something active…”. In a room filled with devoted followers of said guru…
Oh girl…
Let’s fast forward to two of my experiences in the last 20 or so hours…
Last night I had a (long story short) TERRIBLE time driving home. Wintery weather + darkness + no reliable GPS + anxiety… At one point I was just going to leave the car in a ditch and take my chances walking the 6 miles to my house.
Then this afternoon I had to have an unpleasant medical exam lasting about 30 minutes. I found myself slipping into a panic attack, confined in an MRI machine.
OK, here’s how the Power of Practice (capital letters!) saved my butt…because I choose to practice meditation many times each week I have a strong foundation on how to control my breathing, slow my heart rate, and make more clear decisions. I can become much more reasonable about any situation with which I find myself. I can remember that time passes and situations (such as being stuck in an MRI machine) aren’t forever. I can control my urges of fight and flight.
The take away:
PRACTICE MEDITATION EVERYDAY, in the small moments where you don’t NEED to calm down or reset. Practice when it’s easy in order to make your “meditation muscles” strong when times are tough.
Easy peasy: Breathe. In then out. Then out again. Do it with the intention to slow your heart rate and hamster wheel mind. You don’t have to get all fancy with cushions, candles, and memberships to apps. Those things are nice, but not necessary.
I am so very grateful my meditation muscles kicked in during these stressful events. I hope you find the practice useful too.
Much love,
Filomena
Coach Filomena 