Living the Life You Want

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Parents, I need your help, please respond to this

Posted on July 15, 2010 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare

Hi, this is Gerrianne and I need your help. I am passionate about families feeling connected and whole and I love supporting parents in creating the family life they want.

Receive the Gift of Calm Audio email series ABSOLUTELY FREE by taking 20 seconds to complete this survey.

Please watch the video below and respond to the 20 second survey below.  When you complete this survey you will help me design a program just right for you. 

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Parent Your Teens With Confidence

Posted on June 10, 2010 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare

If you are like most parents you want to guide your children into being happy, well adjusted, responsible adults. 

The challenge is you are overwhelmed and frustrated with their acting our behavior, they don’t listen to you anymore and you don’t know how to let things go and let them grow. 
 
They don’t come with a rule book.

There is a way to meet your goals of being an effective, clear parent and not feel tortured on the inside by the decisions you make and the expectations that you have.   

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Summertime Connection and Fun

Posted on May 20, 2010 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare

Making this a reality for you Family

When you look ahead to summer, the knowledge that there will be less structure to your days can be very appealing. Imagining lazy days of sitting in the back yard or at the beach relaxing and enjoying the company of family and friends tends to dominate our thoughts. 

However, creating the opportunity for quality connections and fun this summer does not happen without some intention, action and planning along the way. 

What does your ideal summer look like?

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Who am I - Answer this question and reduce your stress

Posted on May 13, 2010 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare

Do you know who you are and what is important to you? 

There may be days that you feel like you are everyone else's person defined by the roles that you fill in their life.  Whether you are a mother, teacher, lawyer, garbage collector, or unemployed who are you behind the roles?

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After Mother's Day - How are you doing?

Posted on May 11, 2010 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare

Mother's Day is a beautiful day both.  It is a day to bask in our accomplishments as moms and to allow others to let us know how we have impacted their lives.  Whether your children are school age and love serving you breakfast in bed (I miss those days with the toast crumbs all around me) or if your children are grown and gone from the house the memories of your family can be so special. 

All Mother's have regrets.  There is always something that we could have done differently, should have done differently or would have done differently under different circumstances.  Regardless of what we wish we could change, the fruits of our labour (literally) are in front of us.  This past Mother's Day I felt quite melancholy.  All three of my children are moving on in their lives and I get less time with them.  There have been Mother's Days in the past that for me were not very pleasant, with words spoken and unspoken that did not relay the love and respect that was important at the time.  This is water under the bridge - the knowing that regardless of what happened then, I have the beautiful knowledge of how things are today. 

I have recorded a video of my After Mother's Day musings.  Please let me know your thoughts.  Take care and I will blog with you later.

 

Mother's Day after the fact from Gerrianne Clare on Vimeo.

Gerrianne

 

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What does Having it All Really Mean?

Posted on May 6, 2010 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare

So many of us are busy doing it all, being it all and trying to have it all that we have lost sight of what "All means to us". 

 
Listen to this video to get perspective on what we can do about this NOW. (It is my first video log - would love some feedback)

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Take Charge of Your Family Stress - What Now?

Posted on May 5, 2010 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare

Yesterday, I held the first of many webinars on "Taking Charge of Stress".  I have come to the conclusion that people are unaware of how much stress they and their family is under.  This lack of awareness is creating havoc on our health, our relationships and our performance.

Many people are resigned to the fact that their life is stressful and there is really nothing that they can do about it.  After all, we need to pay the bills, feed our children and make a living.  This is all true, but what many people fail to realize is that it not "What we have to do" that creates our stress, but our reaction to "What we have to do".

Between the stressful event and your reaction to it, you have a choice as how you can react.  Many people do not know any other way to be so they often act from anger, frustration, withdrawal or complacency.

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Executive Women Having it All - What is the truth?

Posted on April 23, 2010 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare

I would love your help. 
I am in the process of developing more “in the moment” tools for busy executive women to reduce their stress and feel better NOW. I also am working on a book to be written for the top executive woman who wants to “have it all” in her life. To that end, I would love your thoughts about the following!
 

How are you doing – really? Are you excited about where your life is going? Do you feel “at peace” with who you are and what you have accomplished so far?

 For the past 35 years, through my work as a nurse, workshop facilitator, life coach and stress management expert I have had the privilege of working with thousands of individuals (primarily women) in helping them find the answers to these questions honestly. It has been an amazing journey.

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5 minutes to Self Discovery - Yes you need to take the time

Posted on April 6, 2010 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare

Who are you? Many people answer this question with a description of their various roles.

For me I am a mother, coach, workplace consultant, former nurse, wife, sister, aunt, friend etc. With each of these roles I have certain expectations as to how I want to fulfill them. For example as a mom, I have three adult children whom I love spending time with, imparting my words of wisdom to (always being careful not to overdo the WISDOM part) and for many years my children defined me. By that I mean, everything that they said and did were a direct reflection of me i.e. their accomplishments, their dreams, their sorrows, their joys and their mistakes. I was totally tied into their stories and their lives to define me as a good mom, an attentive mom, someone who had it handled, someone who makes mistakes or someone who was not good enough or there enough for my kids. I had many judgements as to how well I fulfilled my role.

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To Stress or Not to Stress - That is The Question

Posted on March 17, 2010 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare

Do I want to be stressed or not stressed – that is my question.

How can I have my business, be with my family and live the life I want within the context of my current day reality? There are so many demands from different aspects of my life that I often get pulled in a zillion different directions. I was under the misguided belief that if my children were grown and gone from the house that I would not have anything that would get off balance. Was I ever mistaken, I have a whole life that I want to keep healthy and strong. This means I need to pay attention to the many facets of my life. I have a great husband and I want to nurture that relationship. I have wonderful children whom I want to stay in contact with. I have great friends whom I want to stay connected with and I have my body, mind and emotions that I want to be respectful of. My choice is simple however, do I want to fully be in my life, loving what is and being present in all that I do? Or, do I want to try and do more, be more, accomplish more because I should.

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What Do You Want Your Life to Look Like?

Posted on January 19, 2010 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare

 If you were to sit back today and take stock of your whole life, how are you doing? Take some time and look at the following categories. Write a list of the things you would like to complete in each of these areas. This list is not meant to stress you out but to bring into your conscious awareness the things in your life that you know need some attention. By being more aware of these areas, you can then set up a plan of what you can do to take care of them day by day.

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7 Reasons to Change Only One Habit at a Time

Posted on January 15, 2010 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare

 When you look at your whole life, do you feel you need a major overhaul or just need a minor tune up? 

 For those of you who feel a major overhaul is in order, the tendency is to try and fix your whole life all at once. For a variety of reasons those who approach changing more than one habit or circumstance at a time, are often unsuccessful in achieving their goals. 
 
Here are 7 reasons to change just ONE Habit at a time.

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Keeping your New Year's Resolutions - One Moment at a Time

Posted on January 4, 2010 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare

Many of us make New Year’s Resolutions on January 1st then turn around and break them a week later.  People put pressure on themselves to change all of their bad habits at once, hoping that the New Year will bring in a New Resolve to make all the changes happen. This often fails however, as there is little thought put into how to create changes that are both positive and that can last. 

With some soul searching and some planning this year, you can come closer to creating the changes you want in your life.

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Doing the Holiday Season Differently

Posted on December 3, 2009 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare

 

Are you ready to let go of doing what you think you should do and really do what you want this Holiday season?  
 
For this blog I will use “Christmas” as it is what I know and what all of my expectations are around.
 
How many of you look forward to the holiday season with a sense of dread? There is so much to do, so many expectations, and so little time that the intention of the season seems to get lost in the mayhem. What I want to offer you here is a chance to do Christmas differently. If you are like many people (moms especially) the desire to have Christmas be an intimate, memorable and family bonding time is very strong. The season is full of anticipation and expectations as planning begins early and holiday wishes are expressed.

 

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Are "SHOULDS" running your life?

Posted on December 1, 2009 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare

How many of you live your life by "SHOULDS"?

By shoulds I mean those expectations that come from a wide variety of sources:

  1.     Society
  2.     Parents and other members of our family
  3.     Friends with all of their best of intentions
  4.     Media - TV, books, internet - all with advice from the so-called "experts" on how you should live your life
  5.     Self - all of your expectations about how you should "think", "do" and "be"

 

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Noticing Stress In Your Life

Posted on October 29, 2009 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare

My last few blogs have focused on Living the Life you Want and steps to help you get there. We talked about
  • “Who are you” 
  • What is important to you 
  • What is your truth and
  • How not living your truth creates stress.
 
A couple of years ago, I really got it about how not living my truth was causing me stress and negatively impacting my life. I began a very busy job that was both exciting and fulfilling. I was excited about all the opportunities that presented themselves for me in this position. As I became more immersed in the work, I had several ideas about how this position could grow and evolve. I used my creativity and determination to try and bring about all that I believed was possible. It was a challenging time.

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Not Living your Truth Creates Stress

Posted on October 27, 2009 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare

 

Stress for many people is caused by their living life out of integrity with what they hold near and dear to their heart – their truth. 
 
For example, if you value honesty but fear that speaking up and telling the truth in your workplace will result in losing your job, you may consciously or subconsciously make a decision that you will not say anything about the situation. Another example may be that you were educated and trained to deliver care or service in a particular way, yet the realities of the workplace make it impossible for you to do that.  You try and stuff the thoughts to the back of your mind and ignore the situation.  If you are like most people, trying to ignore the situation, not say anything and “letting it go”, creates an internal turmoil that often shows up in different ways.
 
Withholding your truth creates stress

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Living Your Truth

Posted on October 20, 2009 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare

When do you know that you are living your truth? What does that even mean? In my last couple of blogs I have written about developing a relationship with yourself i.e. “Who are you” and finding out “what is important to you” i.e. your truth. In my coaching practice, I spend many sessions with clients helping them to discover the answers to these two questions. However, as many come to realize, it is not enough to know who you are and what is important to you. How do you make it a reality in your life – how do you live your truth?

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What is important to you?

Posted on October 13, 2009 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare

In my last blog, I asked you to take a look at your relationship with yourself. Have you started taking time to just be with yourself, taking your intentional breaths and connecting with you? I know it takes time, but when you begin the journey of self-discovery and start developing that relationship with you, it is hard to close the door again.

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Who are you?

Posted on October 6, 2009 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare

Have you been asking yourself this question? What answers have you come up with? 

For many of us, when we are asked “who are you” we answer with a description of our various roles. These roles often include our family status “I am a wife, a mother, sister, aunt, uncle, brother and so on”. Some people describe themselves by their occupation “I am a nurse, teacher, secretary, business man, plumber” and others describe themselves by their sports or hobbies such as “I am a golfer, runner, hockey player, artist and so on”. Others may describe themselves by how they interact with the world “I am happy, fun, connected, loving, inspirational, creative” and any other words that describe their personality.

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