Jane was feeling happy, energetic and in love with life. But as the weekend rolled into Monday a darkness began to descend. By Friday she was feeling really low. Jane worked hard to discover the problem … work … kids … husband … what could it be? She could find nothing wrong and yet everything felt wrong. Jane had lost her connection to herself.

You know if you’re connected to yourself by how you’re feeling. If you feel good, you’re almost certainly connected. But what if you feel bad? If you’re like most people you are not at your best when you feel frustrated, tense, overwhelmed or angry. You make mistakes, hurt people’s feelings and then beat yourself up for it. Feeling bad disconnects you from all the good stuff in life.

Try not to make yourself wrong for feeling bad. After all, feeling bad about feeling bad only makes it worse! You can get relief right now by checking in with yourself. Get really quiet and focus your attention on your heart. Let your breathing slow way down. Ask yourself, “What do I need right now?” Go slow and let the answer come from your heart.
Jane finally checked in with herself and discovered that she needed to back out of some commitments she had made. When Jane was in a great mood she had carelessly said “yes” to anything people asked of her. Now just looking at her schedule made her feel exhausted and depressed. She retraced her steps, cancelled several commitments and by doing so made a bigger commitment to her health.

Coaching Tips:

• Notice if you say “yes” more easily when you are in a good mood. Does that always work out for you?
• The next time you are feeling bad try asking yourself what you need instead of asking what is wrong.
• Remember the last time you felt really good. How connected did you feel to yourself? How did you feel in your heart?