Many people I care about and love are in the midst of significant life challenges! You might be one of those in the midst of a significant challenge. These challenges could be best described as “being in a war.” The challenge never seems to let up. No matter which way you turn, there it is seemingly waiting to torment and therefore, torture you. It is said that when we face challenges of this intensity we come face to face with our true self.

I have to be honest and admit that the intensity of some of the challenges I am seeing go beyond a “problem to be solved.” Truthfully, a problem would be far preferred than a challenge. Problems can often be solved through advanced thinking, surrender and increased support. Challenges seem to dig at our humanity, value system, spirituality, and in some cases, our very existence. They force us to quickly assess our emotional, social, spiritual, and at times, financial resources.

How are we to respond when faced with a...

I think most of us would agree that increasing strength is a good thing. Athletes invest countless hours training for the purpose of increasing their strength. They do this because the rigors and challenges about to come REQUIRE ENHANCED STRENGTH to succeed. Without adequate strength they will be overwhelmed and out matched by the demands of the sport.

ATHLETES THAT TRAIN INADEQUATELY ARE ILL PREPARED FOR THE DEMANDS OF COMPETITION.

Physical strength is trained by utilizing resistance. I have never heard of an athlete that goes to the gym to train with AIR. Resistance is a CRITICAL element of strength building. However, if the resistance is not moved with correct form then INJURY can occur which has the exact opposite effect on the body. What initially was intended for BENEFIT has now become HURTFUL simply because of the use of IMPROPER FORM. The RESISTANCE is not the problem. The FORM is the variable that allows for injury.

Through the thousands of conversations and observations I...

I attended my first teen support group about 30 years ago. I remember that night like it was yesterday. My first encounter was with a 15 year old that asked, “What the ******** are you doing here?” To which I honestly had no good response. To be honest, as a recent college graduate I believed that I had answers to the problems that many teens were experiencing at the time. I was there to share wisdom and provide a pathway to better living for those that were lucky enough to listen to my counsel. (I now realize how misguided I was)

This is where MY education began!

For the next 6 months I listened to young people talk about family breakdown, drug abuse, suicide, school failure, rejection, depression, hopelessness, and deep discouragement to name just a few. I realized that my answers were weak and unwanted, not because they were without merit, but because my presence reeked of superiority and judgement. I certainly did not intend this, but in retrospect, I understand.

You...

When people think of a mirror they think of a piece of glass that reflects the image that faces it. Mirrors can be useful because they reflect back to us an image. Mirrors do not judge, have an opinion, talk back, or hate. Like most things when utilized for their intended purpose the value is high.

However, a mirror can be turned into a weapon of mass destruction because of the user. Many spend hours in front of a mirror shaming and hating on themselves because of the judgment and self-condemnation they generate from the image being reflected.

Let me offer a different way to think about a MIRROR.

Recently, I was mentoring a young soccer player. She just finished tryouts and I asked her to share a moment that stood out in her mind. She proceeded to vaguely tell me of a moment where she passed the ball to her teammate and that teammate scored. The initial description was lacking detail and it would have been easy to gloss over with a statement like “good job” or...

Have you ever backed down from an opportunity because you were afraid?

Have you ever felt your heart race while doing something that evoked incredible fear?

Have you ever wished you could have more COURAGE?

Maybe you have organized your entire life in a manner that guards you from facing your fears?

If you can relate to any of these statements I have some GREAT NEWS FOR YOU!

YOU CAN OVERCOME the debilitating nature of FEAR.

I am not saying you should overcome ALL FEAR. Some fear is based on the awareness of danger. Feeling afraid in the face of real danger is normal, natural and helpful. In this case learning to calm oneself is valuable.

For the remainder of this blog I want to focus on HOW TO OVERCOME DEBILITATING FEAR. This is the type of fear that inhibits us from LIVING all out in FULL EXPRESSION of our best self. There are three basic fears that I believe we all need to wage war against on a regular basis.

First, is the fear of what others will think. Second, is the fear of...

Have you ever been getting ready to do something that you have prepared for only to find yourself overwhelmed with doubt? It could be a test you have studied for, a game you have marked on your calendar as significant, a tryout that will determine your next opportunity, or a meeting you have coming up that might open some doors for you.

These types of situations can all spark doubt.

WE ALL HAVE MOMENTS OF DOUBT.

However, doubt doesn’t have to derail you! In fact, when you experience doubt it is your CUE and SIGNAL to tune into or cultivate a NEW SELF TALK. What is self talk? It is the dialogue we cultivate within ourselves. The nature and coding of this conversation can either fuel us with COURAGE, PEACE, JOY, or DOUBT, DESPAIR, FEAR to name a few.

If we are going to OVERCOME DOUBT we need to speak to ourselves differently, not just once but ALL THE TIME.

Here is an example:

Recently I was preparing to shoot some training videos. Being in front of the camera has often brought...