Write your new story

Last week I talked about the power of writing a new story that you tell yourself about who you are and what you can accomplish and experience in your life. If you're still not living the courageous, authentic, joyful life that you want to be living, it is time for you to write your new story. Some of you have heard my transformational story before, but it's a great example of the process of writing a new story. So here it is again.

In 2007, I decided to write a new story about myself as a successful private practitioner who helped other people experience wellness and inspiration all the while living a healthy, balanced lifestyle of my own. I didn't consciously know it at the time, but hanging up a shingle meant that I had to face and clean out societal conditioning and self-worth issues. With each step I took towards "legitimizing" my practice, another fear, limiting belief, or doubt would pop up. The first six months were mostly full of trial and error, facing fears and limiting beliefs and my own personal growth into the role of practitioner.

In addition to the inner clean up work that I had to go through in order to confidently offer my services to others, I had to learn how to run a business too. There are so many authorities on how to run a business out there - it was confusing and overwhelming. I listened to what the experts said, and I tried this or that technique, bought client attraction and marketing systems from "experts", and doubted that I really had what it takes to practice in a way that served others and myself.

I did build a private practice quickly, but after injuring myself towards the end of the first year with overwork and poor body mechanics at the Reiki table, I realized that the only way this new story was going to really work for me and create the life I wanted was if it was built on my values and aligned with what was healthy for me.

With the help of my mentor, I learned how to go within to find my own Inner Voice of Authority and start making decisions and taking actions that truly aligned my practice with my beliefs and values. My mentor helped me clear away the roadblocks that caused my old story to repeat itself and truly learn how to write my new story.

When some of my Reiki students were ready to start practices of their own, I found a deeper calling than I had heard before. I realized that I could assist them in the process of becoming a practitioner and business owner by showing them how to listen to their Inner Voice of Authority and use it to write their own story of success and fulfillment instead of spending months, maybe years, listening to all the experts about what they should be doing to become a successful practitioner.

Truly, there's a transformation process that we each have to go through, like a caterpiller becoming a butterfly, in order to write and step into our new stories. It requires a shift in perspective and understanding on the deepest level about ourselves, our motivations, desires and our fears and limiting beliefs.

My process Clearing your Path for Success guides practitioners who are stuck in their old story through a 5 step process to identify the new story they desire, find their inner voice of authority, identify the roadblocks (fears, limiting beliefs, external pressure) keeping them stuck in the old story, work through the roadblocks to clear their path, and then write and step into their new story.

This process gives my clients the courage and confidence to live the lives they desire and do the work they love and feel called to do in a way that not only serves others but supports their own lives as well. Clearing Your Path for Success can take you step by step through the transformational process of clearing out your old story and writing your new story. It will quickly begin to create momentum and attract the energy you need to step into your new story. The best part about the process, in my opinion, is that it empowers you to find and overcome your roadblocks, access your inner voice, and make decisions from your heart.

If you are struggling with stepping into a new story in your life or your life or your practice, I invite you to sign up for the online class version of Clearing your Path for Success that starts March 1st. All the details and link to the registration form are here: Write your New Story!

It's time for your new story

Recently, I re-discovered how powerful thoughts are in creating our experience of life.

Without even realizing it, our subconscious thoughts set us up to experience the same emotions in new situations as we had in old situations. If your past experiences involved struggle, disappointment, suffering, lack of love, not enough money, etc..., you may be letting this story about who you are and what you can expect from life shape the life you're experiencing today and blocking the effortless love, abundance and success that you really want.

That's pretty powerful, isn't it?

Here's the thing though: you don't need to let your past define who you are today and how your life is going to be in the future. If you're tired of the pain, suffering and frustration your story puts you through, or if you've simply outgrown it as you have grown and changed in your life - you can invent a new, wonderful, exciting story for yourself. It's that easy.

It takes a bit of diligence and courage to root out and say goodbye to those familiar old beliefs about what your life is like based on your past, but as you begin to choose the new thoughts that shape the life you truly desire to live the shift into much better circumstances becomes effortless.

There are a lot of techniques that you can use to write your new story - positive affirmations, vision board, chanting mantras, visualizing and visioning, energy work, dreaming, working with a mentor or coach like me, journalling, and so much more. All of these techniques require a willingness to be really honest with yourself about your habitual beliefs and a Decision to step into a new, exciting worldview of what your life could be.

Writing a new story comes down to one thing - deciding to define your life based on what you want out of it instead of your past experiences.

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be introducing some new programs to help you do this and shift into the life of prosperity, love and success that you really want. Stay tuned!

What's holding you back?

Isn't it frustrating how how we sometimes get in our own way while we are trying to achieve our goals? You can set intentions and goals, be as positive as a cheerleader about them, doing affirmations and visualizations, but if deep down you don't believe that they can become reality for you - they won't, will they?

For example: you set a goal to go to the gym 3 times a week after work, or an intention to attract new clients to fill out the empty spots in your schedule or dream of taking your practice to the next level, and within a couple of weeks you stop working towards it because deep down you don't really believe you can achieve it anyways.

How many times has this happened to you? It sure has happened to me more times than I'd like to admit to myself. This is a pretty frustrating phenomenon.

Do you believe you can't succeed with your intention because deep down you know it's not realistic? (such as wanting to lose 50 lbs in just a few weeks). Or maybe you believe you can't achieve your goals because you don't believe you deserve to achieve them or you're afraid of what it means to your life and relationships if you are successful?

Whatever the reason, getting to know the limiting beliefs holding you back can empower you to work with yourself instead of against yourself.

Limiting beliefs can be tricky to root out because they become ingrained as habits. These thoughts happen so fast as we face a situation that we don't even realize we were thinking them. We let this happen because they originally served to protect us from something. The problem is that these protective beliefs often stop being effective and end up holding us back from moving on with our lives instead of keeping us safe.

It helps to spend some time questioning your assumptions and reflecting on past events which may have contributed to forming the belief in the first place. Ask yourself questions like "What do I let this situation mean about me?" and "What does this belief protect me from?"

You might also realize, as a result of your time reflecting, that the goal you didn't believe in wasn't something YOU really wanted to do for yourself anyways. It might have been motivated by cultural or peer pressure or be something someone else encouraged you to do.

Of course, it can be really hard to identify limiting beliefs - I mean if you knew what they were you'd have changed them by now, right?

That's where having an unbiased supporter such as a coach like me comes in. Someone who can see and hear you from an objective, impartial perspective to help you get to the root of what's holding you back from the success, abundance, health, and happiness that you desire.

If you need help getting at the root of what's holding you back from the growth and forward movement you desire in your life or business right now, contact me to schedule a strategic consultation or find out if one of the mastermind groups is right for you.

What's holding you back?

Isn't it frustrating how how we sometimes get in our own way while we are trying to achieve our goals? You can set intentions and goals, be as positive as a cheerleader about them, doing affirmations and visualizations, but if deep down you don't believe that they can become reality for you - they won't, will they?

For example: you set a goal to go to the gym 3 times a week after work, or an intention to attract new clients to fill out the empty spots in your schedule or dream of taking your practice to the next level, and within a couple of weeks you stop working towards it because deep down you don't really believe you can achieve it anyways.

How many times has this happened to you? It sure has happened to me more times than I'd like to admit to myself. This is a pretty frustrating phenomenon.

Do you believe you can't succeed with your intention because deep down you know it's not realistic? (such as wanting to lose 50 lbs in just a few weeks). Or maybe you believe you can't achieve your goals because you don't believe you deserve to achieve them or you're afraid of what it means to your life and relationships if you are successful?

Whatever the reason, getting to know the limiting beliefs holding you back can empower you to work with yourself instead of against yourself.

Limiting beliefs can be tricky to root out because they become ingrained as habits. These thoughts happen so fast as we face a situation that we don't even realize we were thinking them. We let this happen because they originally served to protect us from something. The problem is that these protective beliefs often stop being effective and end up holding us back from moving on with our lives instead of keeping us safe.

It helps to spend some time questioning your assumptions and reflecting on past events which may have contributed to forming the belief in the first place. Ask yourself questions like "What do I let this situation mean about me?" and "What does this belief protect me from?"

You might also realize, as a result of your time reflecting, that the goal you didn't believe in wasn't something YOU really wanted to do for yourself anyways. It might have been motivated by cultural or peer pressure or be something someone else encouraged you to do.

Of course, it can be really hard to identify limiting beliefs - I mean if you knew what they were you'd have changed them by now, right?

That's where having an unbiased supporter such as a coach like me comes in. Someone who can see and hear you from an objective, impartial perspective to help you get to the root of what's holding you back from the success, abundance, health, and happiness that you desire.

If you need help getting at the root of what's holding you back from the growth and forward movement you desire in your life or business right now, contact me to schedule a strategic consultation or find out if one of the mastermind groups is right for you.

Envision your way to Success!

I remember hearing in high school about a technique that coaches used with athlete's to help them get into the "zone". They would have the athlete's review their performance in their mind down to the smallest detail, envisioning a successful execution or play. This boosted confidence, and it helped ensure a positive outcome in competition. Knowing this, you can use visualization to make your intentions for the new year, your business or your life a reality. Another way of saying this is to manifest your intentions with visualization.

First, you need to get really clear about what you want. Pick just one intention to start with, and write it down. The next step is to look at what you've written and make sure that it's got a positive perspective. We have a tendency to think about changes in our lives in terms of "I don't want to do or experience this (negative) thing anymore." The thing is though, what we're really doing there is focusing on what we don't want instead of what we do want. That's why, when you decide to make a change, the way to succeed is to take the time to figure out exactly what you want and focus on that instead of what you don't want.

For example, if your New Year's Resolution is to stop smoking and have a healthier outlet for stress reduction - the intention "I want to stop smoking" still focuses on smoking. If you frame your intention to represent what you really want, it would sound more like this: "I want to go for walks around the block on my breaks from work and to breathe only fresh, healthy air into my lungs."

Once you have your positive intention, you can start envisioning it to bring it to life. By the way, envisioning is a type of meditation but it doesn't require you to clear your mind or focus on your breathing. When you do envisioning, you are watching yourself achieve the positive outcome you desire like seeing a movie in your mind. This is a lot easier to do than other meditation techniques, so I encourage you to try it even if you've never meditated before or have had trouble meditating in the past.

Here's what to do:

• Sit or lay comfortably in a quiet space where you will not be interrupted for 5-15 minutes.Take a few deep breaths and relax your body.State your intention (either out loud or in your mind), really concentrating on the essence of it.
• See yourself acting out your intention as if you were watching a movie of yourself. In the example above, you would see yourself taking a break at work by going for a walk while taking deep breaths of fresh air.After you've run through the movie once, replay it a few more times bringing your attention to little details and variations that bring you even more confidence and excitement about achieving your intention.
• Try to see yourself succeeding in as much detail and depth as possible.
• Also, while envisioning, try to feel the excitement, confidence, happiness, and other positive emotions that you anticipate feeling once you've achieved your intention. This serves to boost your confidence and prime yourself to feel great as you are working towards your goal.
• Practice watching the movie of yourself being successful as often as possible. First thing each morning is a great time to do this. Repeat regularly until you have achieved your intention.
• Repeat for each intention you have, or do them all together at the same time.

I encourage you to envision your success for at least week and then evaluate how far you've come towards your goal and how you feel about achieving it. I suspect that you will find yourself more confident and excited about how easy it is to achieve the success that you desire! Email me at info@joannascaparotti.com with your success story!