Donnalynn Civello's Blog, page 18

Let Go of What Didn’t Work This Year

[image error]… to make room for what WILL.

You can’t have both.

Nor do you want both!

All too often we make the mistake of packing up WHAT DIDN’T WORK FOR US that year and dragging it forward into the new year thinking that it will somehow be different? But it NEVER is.

Chances are if something has been troublesome for you for awhile, it’s time for you to LET IT GO. Continued struggle is never a trajectory for success.

Stop the struggle. Learn to trust the process of your life. It will always bring you to where you need to be; you don’t have to control it. But you just have to be brave enough to know when it’s time to walk away and surrender.

If something didn’t work for you in this calendar year, LEAVE IT THERE. Put your focus on creating something BETTER for yourself. Even if you don’t know what that means just yet. It’s always better to start with nothing then to start off the year behind the 8-ball with the same drama. Why put yourself on that same road when you know exactly where that road leads?

The new year is a time for change. Don’t waste it packing up what didn’t work and dragging it into the new year. You don’t have enough space to find new answers if you are fighting the same dysfunction. Make some new year’s resolutions and resolve yourself to making them a reality. Get out of the way of yourself and let go of what was not working for you this year, so you truly have the space to find what will work.

Read more inspiration in Donnalynn’s new Book, “Life Lessons,” click here.

If you would like more information on Life Coaching Sessions with Donnalynn, click here.

If you would like to schedule a session with Donnalynn, click here.

Follow Donnalynn on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook.

 

Never Expect People To Be Other Than Who They Are

[image error]… and you’ll NEVER be disappointed.

It’s a beautiful gift to be able to see the potential in people – to be able to see what they’re capable of and to believe in them (even when they don’t believe in themselves).

But just because you see the potential in someone doesn’t mean they themselves are ready to rise to that potential. Not everyone is ready to embody the idealized version of them you might be holding. Expectations destroy relationships. Never expect someone to be other than who they are. It’s unfair to them and it’s unfair to you.

When people show you who they are, BELIEVE THEM. And don’t expect them to show up otherwise. It doesn’t serve you to EXPECT that people act in a certain way. It only sets you up for disappointment when they don’t.

Stop believing in people’s potential and start believing in how they are showing up in this moment. Because that is all you have. Nothing else is real.

The easiest way to destroy a relationship is to expect someone to act in a way that is not authentic to them. Let your expectations go. Stop trying to change people. People have to want to change on their own.

Let people be who they are and if who they are doesn’t work for you, make another decision. But don’t spend one more second trying to make them into who you think they should be. When people tell you who they are, believe them and never expect them to be other than who they are and you will NEVER be disappointed.

Read more inspiration in Donnalynn’s new Book, “Life Lessons,” click here.

If you would like more information on Life Coaching Sessions with Donnalynn, click here.

If you would like to schedule a session with Donnalynn, click here.

Follow Donnalynn on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook.

Making a Mistake Isn’t The Problem

… carrying it with you, is.

We make mistakes everyday, it’s human nature. In fact it’s an important part of life because it leads to our transformation.

The problem is NEVER in making the mistake, it’s in REGRETTING the mistake versus moving on with its wisdom. 

Regrets lead you nowhere. What’s done is done. Now you have the opportunity to apply the learning to move forward into a better life. Mistakes make you better. They teach you what you will never do again. They make you wiser and put you on a much better life trajectory.

But all too often we choose to focus our energies on regretting the very mistakes that were necessary for our growth. But regretting your mistakes will NEVER move you forward into a better future, it only keeps you stuck reliving your unfulfilling decisions – over and over again. And why would you want to do that?

Cut yourself a break. You’re human and you’re here to learn – mistakes are all part of that paradigm. You are who you are and you can only make the best decisions you can in that moment. Then you need to let go and NOT BEAT YOURSELF UP. Take the learning from the mistake and shut it down, then take that learning and make the rest of your life better for it. There isn’t any other way to live. Just know that making a mistake is NEVER the problem, carrying it with you, always is.

Read more inspiration in Donnalynn’s new Book, “Life Lessons,” click here.

If you would like more information on Life Coaching Sessions with Donnalynn, click here.

If you would like to schedule a session with Donnalynn, click here.

Follow Donnalynn on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook.

 

Life is Never Black or White

… it’s always in the shades of grey.

We’re a solution-driven species and hence we feel very uncomfortable when we do NOT have all the answers.

But life isn’t about knowing all the answers. It’s about exploring the depth/richness behind the range of ambiguity within all 5,000 shades of grey, because as humans we are much more complex than just being black or white. There is much more to our emotional wellbeing, our intelligence and our rational thinking then just black and white.

Black or white is an easy label but living life in the grey pushes you further. In other words, needing guarantees in life keeps you limited; being comfortable with uncertainty/exploration keeps you expanding into yourself.

Don’t stop at black or white; you can go further in the grey areas. There is much more to explore in the realm of uncertainty than there ever is in the realm of certainty. To be the best YOU, you always want to explore the levels of grey – push yourself further, take chances, take risks, and move out of your comfort zone. Being in the grey area shouldn’t be scary, it should be embraced and savored for all it’s potential.

Guarantees don’t make you safe in life, they keep you stuck and narrowly defined. Be comfortable within yourself to navigate all 5,000 shades of uncertainty. Then once you have sufficiently explored the varying shades of grey, you will be ready to define your own unique shade and it’s sure to NOT be black or white. How could it be?

Read more inspiration in Donnalynn’s new Book, “Life Lessons,” click here.

If you would like more information on Life Coaching Sessions with Donnalynn, click here.

If you would like to schedule a session with Donnalynn, click here.

Follow Donnalynn on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook.

You Can’t Change The Cards You’re Dealt

… but you can ALWAYS change the way you play them.

And that’s EVERYTHING.

Sometimes we get caught up with the cards we’re dealt. Maybe they haven’t put us in a very favorable position? Maybe they haven’t set us up for success? Maybe they are presenting obstacles to our progress? Maybe… maybe…? But it doesn’t matter. You can’t change the cards you’ve been dealt, but you can absolutely change the way you play them and that ALWAYS determines your NEXT experience.

Bet you didn’t know that.

A hand is just a hand; the winning strategy is in the game plan. It doesn’t matter what you’ve been dealt in life, all that matters is that you play it to the best of your ability with integrity, authenticity and tenacity. Then your work is done.

Sure you can blame the cards you’re holding for the disarray in your life, but that NEVER serves you. The cards will NOT change for you, but you can get smart as to how you play them. Here’s the secret: playing a smart hand will bring you to an even better place then a great hand could have ever yielded.

Learn to stop lamenting a bad hand, and learn to accept the challenge of playing it. Life is too short to blame the hand you’ve been dealt. Recognize that a bad hand will always make you a better player. It can be no other way.

Read more inspiration in Donnalynn’s new Book, “Life Lessons,” click here.

If you would like more information on Life Coaching Sessions with Donnalynn, click here.

If you would like to schedule a session with Donnalynn, click here.

Follow Donnalynn on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook.

 

 

Every Time You Get Knocked Down

… get yourself right back up again.

It doesn’t matter WHO knocked you down, WHY they knocked you down or HOW they knocked you down, if you’re down, it’s your responsibility to get yourself back up. No one else can do it for you.

You may not be in control of getting knocked down, but you are certainly in control of staying there. Staying on the ground is a choice. And it’s a choice that will ALWAYS keep you down.

Don’t focus on the drama of being knocked down. It’s just a story you tell yourself. Learn to re-frame that story to find the empowerment behind it. Pick yourself up, pick up the pieces, and put them back together the best way you know how in that moment and keep moving forward.

Sitting on the ground in the rain, just gets you wet. Learn to pick yourself up and run for shelter. You just have to decide that you want better for yourself. Get up and give yourself half a chance to find it.

Read more inspiration in Donnalynn’s new Book, “Life Lessons,” click here.

If you would like more information on Life Coaching Sessions with Donnalynn, click here.

If you would like to schedule a session with Donnalynn, click here.

Follow Donnalynn on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook.

 

Falling Into a Habit

… is EASIER than changing it.

But that doesn’t make it right for you.

Just because a behavior is comfortable, doesn’t mean it’s the right course of action for you.

Habits limit your potential. Some habits are bad, some are innocuous but all habits keep you WHERE YOU ARE, they never move you forward into unchartered territory. They only keep you caged in a box of your own design. But life and growth only happen outside that box.

Know that it is much easier to blindly fall into that habitual pattern then it is to challenge yourself and step outside your comfort zone.

Break the box that confines you. Take risks, show up differently. Push yourself outside your normal operating space and open up to a new way of life that has the ability to transform you.

Falling into habits only numbs you into accepting a mediocre existence. Greatness only comes by breaking those habits and redefining new strategies.

Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security by your habits. Breaking those habits may be difficult because they are so ingrained, but once they’re broken, your new life will be ready to begin. What are you waiting for?

Read more inspiration in Donnalynn’s new Book, “Life Lessons,” click here.

If you would like more information on Life Coaching Sessions with Donnalynn, click here.

If you would like to schedule a session with Donnalynn, click here.

Follow Donnalynn on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook.

History Repeats Itself

… until you CHANGE it.

How else would it stop?

History happens over and over again until you LEARN THE LESSON FROM THE PAST and use it to REDEFINE A BETTER FUTURE.

But how many of us know that?

How many of us realize that history ONLY repeats to give you ANOTHER CHANCE to make a DIFFERENT DECISION.

Instead of lamenting history repeating, wouldn’t it be better to learn the lesson from it’s past and move forward in a new way?

If you want a different result, you have to do something differently. Until then, history will continue to repeat itself in hopes to give you all the new chances you need to make any/all different decisions. Create a new future for yourself, show up differently when history repeats, and you’ll find that your life changes in the most amazing ways. What are you waiting for? Ready to change your history? Whenever you are, a new story is ready to begin.

Read more inspiration in Donnalynn’s new Book, “Life Lessons,” click here.

If you would like more information on Life Coaching Sessions with Donnalynn, click here.

If you would like to schedule a session with Donnalynn, click here.

Follow Donnalynn on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

if something is happening to you over and over again, it’s a pattern that’s meant to be worked through differently NOT repeated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When People Try to Tear You Down

…they are trying to pull themselves up to your level.

Because you have something they want and they are trying to compete for it.

It’s actually a sign of admiration.

But many of us fall into the drama of being “stabbed in the back” or “betrayed.” But it doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t have to become part of someone else’s “jealousy story.” You don’t have to own it. It’s not yours.

Just know that people who do not feel good about themselves will try and take you down. And sadly, anyone who tries to take you down doesn’t believe in their own ability to rise up. But you can’t change that for them.

If people try to tear you down, don’t fall into the drama of it, take it as the compliment it is and detach from their venom. In time, they will learn that they will NEVER get what they wish someone else didn’t have. In the interim, you’ll rise even higher when you learn to detach from their lower vibratory games.

Read more inspiration in Donnalynn’s new Book, “Life Lessons,” click here.

If you would like more information on Life Coaching Sessions with Donnalynn, click here.

If you would like to schedule a session with Donnalynn, click here.

Follow Donnalynn on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook.

Trying To Control Your Future

… takes away your freedom in the moment.

And that is everything.

The best laid plan has to be able to change. Because YOU are always changing.

Don’t hold so tightly to your goals and plans, be flexible with them because things change, people change and new opportunities present themselves every day.

You never want to lock yourself into a future plan because your growth is continual. Make a plan and allow it to be flexible. Choose your highway and select an exit, but then keep your eyes open and take in all the scenery around you. You may decide you want to take a different exit and explore a new town. You may surprise yourself. Life is full of exits and the best of us explore as many as we can before we declare a final destination.

Trying to control your future takes away your freedom in the moment – the freedom to decide to change your mind and take a new exit. Learn to let go and listen to the wisdom of the moment. Plans are meant to be changed. New exits are always meant to be taken. Don’t try and control your future. Pay attention to the moment, it will tell you everything you need to know about your future.

Read more inspiration in Donnalynn’s new Book, “Life Lessons,” click here.

Follow Donnalynn on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook.

If you would like more information on Life Coaching Sessions with Donnalynn, click here.

If you would like to schedule a session with Donnalynn, click here.