What Grounds You?

I just returned from a wonderful Intuitive Arts weekend retreat led by my fabulous colleague Diana Amorde. I came home feeling so much passion/clarity and focus around my work and life. I couldn’t wait to dive back in and start implementing some new ideas for our national Personal Renewal Group program.

Then Monday hit. And as I moved into an overscheduled week, navigating technology challenges, coordinating staff and intern responsibilities, working on my kid’s summer camp registration deadlines, juggling clients, media and meetings and fighting off feelings of collective overwhelm, the question surfaced “So Renee, what are you going to do to stay grounded this week?”

Regardless of what our days look like I think ALL of us are finding it increasingly easy—especially right now--to get swept up in the collective chaos (and yes, fear) that pervades our American culture these days.

And we’re being challenged to be extra mindful about separating what we’re feeling from what others are feeling.

A recent survey on attitudes towards the current economic crisis reported that 75% of all American felt stress/worry around the current economy, yet 75% also reported that personally, they were doing fine financially! Read my tips for navigating these times.

So this morning, I refused to get swept up in the wave that apparently 75% of Americans are riding and I paused to remind myself of what helps me to stay grounded, including:

*Starting every day with meditation/stillness and making this a priority no matter how busy I am or how much my son needs me to help him re-organize his Pokemon cards
*Making my self-care a priority, especially getting enough sleep, eating well and staying hydrated and claiming time for self-renewal (check out my upcoming April Spring Self-Renewal Retreat if you’re really ready to explore self-care!)
*Spending time in nature (this morning I walked around a beautiful lake in downtown Austin—nothing calms me like being in nature)
*Being very judicious about who I spend my time around (being particularly choosy about which friends and business partners I align with)
*Under-scheduling: as a “helper,” I have such a tendency to overschedule in my desire to lend a hand. My husband is great about heading this off at the pass and often suggesting we move things around to create more space and downtime in the evenings and on the weekends (thank goodness!)
*When in doubt, be kind. When I find myself feeling stressed out, I always think there are thousands that are dealing with heavier loads than mine. Kindness—towards ourselves and others-- goes a long way.
*Scheduling time for play! My husband just lined up a sitter for us to go to a free concert and hear some music this weekend.

What do you do to stay grounded? Do you have specific rituals or “mantras” you use to keep you anchored in the here and now? Do you recognize the point just before overwhelm and hit the pause button? How do you manage stress?

Photo: The view off my back porch at my weekend reteat at Canyon of the Eagles on Lake Buchannan.

WIN A FREE BOOK! Share your ideas with all of us and we’ll draw a name to receive a copy of my new book The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal: How to Reclaim, Rejuvenate and Re-Balance Your Life for you to enjoy or give to a friend--great support for the coming months.

The Journey: This blog focuses on life balance and is published weekly by career/life balance coach/author/speaker Renee Peterson Trudeau (http://www.reneetrudeau.com/).

Intuition

This past weekend, my son, husband and I climbed the beautiful, majestic granite Enchanted Rock in the Texas Hill Country.

After climbing to the top, we chose to descend down the isolated west side of the rock—which is not on the map and fairly challenging—so we could end up in Echo Canyon. We like to travel off the beaten path and it looked like a fun, doable adventure.

As we moved down the steep rounded side, John and I each choosing slightly different routes with our agile son at our heels, I reflected on what an individual journey this was for each of us.

We carefully chose where to place our feet and how to move down the challenging landscape based on yes--our comfort, skill level and physical fitness—but also in large part, our intuition.

I have been struggling since last spring with managing two businesses—one 9 years old and one 18 months old—and how, frankly, to do this without falling into overwork and while still staying deeply connected to my family. It has not been easy and if weren’t for financial necessity, I would never have agreed to this as my friend says “crazy making!”

For the past year, I vigorously sought out a phenomenal business coach/consultant who had experience supporting professionals in my specific scenario and with my unique challenges, but no one was showing up. I was surprised and frustrated. I’m a huge believer in asking for help, and help (in the manner I had envisioned it) just wasn’t materializing!

In November, I was gifted with some pearls of insight from three mentors, which I was very grateful for. But ultimately, I arrived at the realization that I could hire someone to suggest business strategies—based on data, spread sheets and such—but none of that really mattered if the course of action didn’t deeply resonate with me.

My intuition is my built in GPS system. And even though sometimes the guidance I receive may not make solid business sense—or even common sense—when it first surfaces, I have learned that if I ignore this, my “work” (whether that be business, spiritual or relationship) will quadruple.

I’ve come to think of my intuition as a dear, dear friend. She is always accessible, never too busy for me and she will sit quietly while I go round and round with my same old story until I’m ready to get quiet and hear her speak the truth.

My only job is to create enough space and quiet in my life, to hear her.

P.S. If you’re wanting to enhance your intuitive abilities, check out my friend Dianna Amorde’s workshops. She is a Harvard-trained consultant specializing in Intuitive Intelligence who works with Fortune 500 companies on harnessing this strength.

And, if you’d like to be in the company of other women from around the US who are also interested in living this way, consider coming to my deeply nourishing April 24-26 Women’s Spring Self-Renewal Retreat at The Crossings.

PHOTO: West side of Enchanted Rock, Renee Peterson Trudeau