Mary Flanagan Gleason's Blog, page 20

What the Heck Does Mercury Retrograde Even Mean?

You’ve heard people throw around the term “mercury retrograde,” and maybe you even know that it means things can go haywire. But what is it really?

Simply put, Mercury Retrograde is an optical illusion. A time when Mercury looks as if it is moving backward.

Its effect can feel like you or things in your life are also moving backward. Communications, situations, relationships can all feel like they are taking you back from where you were heading, like a tether around your waist applying resistance when trying to move forward.

As frustrating as it is, going backward can be a gift. It causes you to slow down, rethink an old situation, giving you time to realign right before you are launched like a slingshot in powerful forward momentum.

Welcome these moments.

This latest illusion ends on October 18 and does not recur until January. For some, it is a relief, but for all, it can be a gift.

If you feel like you are meeting with resistance and can’t find the gift, let me help you get unstuck.

Mary

Want to shift the energy of a situation? Try sacralizing it.

Some things get overwhelming, and you may or may not know why. A simple or obvious thing becomes bigger or harder to deal with, seemingly more complex the more you try to deal with it. When this happens for you, I recommend “sacralizing” the situation.

Let me explain.

Whenever I acquire a new crystal, I sacralize it. I set it in a dish of sea salt and put it on a windowsill for seven days. The light and the salt neutralize the energy the crystal acquired before it was mine, removing any mistaken emotions or vibrations that do not belong to me.

It can also work with a situation or “rock” in your life.

Try this.

Assign your situation a mental image. Maybe it is a scepter for a leadership issue or a bowling ball for a group problem. Then see it sitting in the sunlight and know that the light is purifying it, taking away negativity, and highlighting only solutions and possibilities.

Then let go. Walk away. Breathe.

When you return your thinking to it, notice the new energy. Not the dread that it is still there because it will be. Instead, notice the new energy that allows solutions to become apparent and the tasks at hand to become lighter.

You may need to leave your situation to sit for a few hours, a few days, maybe a bit longer. However long, I promise you, real possibilities and solutions are emerging.

Give it a try and see what you notice.

Want more suggestions? I’d love to talk with you.

“When the terrain differs from the map, trust the terrain.” -Jerry Devill

My husband and I set off on a three-week road trip through the southwest.

On two occasions, we have made the risky decision to ignore our GPS and gone a slightly different route. Both times, we were correct in doing so and saved as much as ten to twenty minutes of travel time. Since we are spending a lot of time in the car, that time was precious.

Sometimes, it is better to trust the terrain over the map. For all of life’s planning and expert guidance, there are times you do better when you lead with your instincts.

This struck me as a good metaphor for my clients who tell me how things are not going according to the plan. Looking at a two-dimensional map or plan leaves no wiggle room for intuition, inspiration, and the pure thrill of going a bit off-script.

Just two days ago, we decided to take a three-hour detour to scope out an out-of-the-way city in New Mexico — just because. What we found when we arrived was

the craziest, most delightful bookstore owner and access to every book I’ve been meaning to read at dirt cheap pricesa really good brewery with equally good food, andartists’ galleries on every block

It is okay to go off plan. It is okay to discover and play out a few “what if” scenarios that can lead to new ideas, plans, experiences, and joy.

None of our quirky decisions took away from our overall goals. None of our “risks” would derail us from our destination. Each of them would hold lessons and treasures. But even if they had just been foolish risks, we would have laughed and learned.

Are you holding on to a map or plan that can get you to your destination but without risk? Then I would counter your plan is uninspired and possibly joyless. Is that really what you want?

When opportunity presents itself, trust the terrain that is before you. Trust your instincts. Trust that even a bad decision can lead to some exciting discoveries.

Let me help you look up from your plan and allow for intuition, a sense of discovery, and the ability to take more risks. Schedule your one-hour complimentary call and let’s get started.

I solve your problems

Actually, I help you solve your problems, and then I help you stop creating more problems.

“How,” you say?

 Most problems come from bad decisions, and problems get in the way of achieving your goals. With my process, I show you how to make better decisions using your whole brain (and body!)

Good decisions, the kind that consider both logic and intuition, have a far greater chance to move you forward instead of sucking your time trying to manage the backlash.

No decision-making process can guarantee you won’t have problems. What I do know is that whole-brained (and body) decisions are more likely to lead to new doors, new decisions, and all in service of your ultimate goal.

Want to create fewer problems and make better decisions? Let’s get started…

Life at the End of a Yoyo String

There’s one visual that keeps coming to mind when I think about this year so far. A yoyo. More specifically, what it means to be at the end of the string.

Some things have taken me by surprise, while other things didn’t go as I had hoped.

This whole year has felt like I’m riding the ups and downs and loop-de-loops of a yoyo over which I have no control. Ups and downs and all the tricks in between.

Through it all, I have had to make one consistent decision regardless of the circumstance: avoid the woe-is-me response.

It is a very conscious decision.

Indulging in self-pity is a great way to stay stuck.

Feeling like the world is against me ensures that it is true. Feeling like the world needs my active attention serves me better. One keeps me stuck, while the other keeps me moving forward.

How do you choose to respond when the chips are down — or up and down as the case maybe? I can help.

Not Unique Enough? Someone Else Already Doing That?

Ever found yourself thinking you’re not original or unique enough?

A client explained that every time he thought of something he really wanted to do, someone else had already thought of it, so he couldn’t do it.

That is when I shared with him this secret that I discovered years ago:

All the good ideas have already been had.

Our job is to find the ones that call to us and put our personal, magical spin on it.

If you read all the self-help books, you will find that many contain the same insights and information. Yet, each is worth reading because sometimes you need to hear the same thing in different ways before it has meaning for you. And sometimes it helps to hear the same thing from multiple sources to feel comfortable with the information.

Are you holding back because you want to be the  only  person to have had an idea? 

That’s choosing to stay stuck.

That is hiding from making the dynamic and necessary decisions to living a meaning-filled life.

There are so many reasons one can find to stay stuck, to avoid making decisions, and all while being dissatisfied by where you are. Why hide when you can shine?

Be uniquely you in whatever you decide to do.

Discover a new form of yoga or instruct the yoga principles with your own twist.

Write the book that tells your story of discovery even if others have arrived at the same place. Other authors did not take your journey.

Mostly though, do not deny yourself the vision and passion that bring your life true purpose.

Seize the idea and make it your own.

Let’s get you unstuck. No more excuses. Just forward momentum.

What decisions are you putting off?

“ Decision is the spark that ignites action. Until a decision is made, nothing happens…. Decision is the courageous facing of issues, knowing that if they are not faced, problems will remain forever unanswered.”

Wilferd Peterson

What decisions are you putting off? 

Solutions remain elusive until you make a commitment.

What you decide doesn’t matter.

Once you get into action, the way will become more clear.

Not making a decision is making the decision not to take that next step.

Do you need a little support around a big decision?

Have you been on the fence too long?

I can support you with that – 

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/sche...

#BigDecisions #CourageousAction #PersonalLeadership

Do you makeup Heart-full or Head-full decisions?

Do you find that you lean more toward heart or head when making decisions. With a child you might lean more towards heart but at work more towards head but let’s think about that.

A heart-full decision is guided by how a decision makes you feel be it good or scared or somehow moves you. A heart-full decision can sometimes overlook the data and the realities of limited resources. It relies on everyone agreeing that the vision is most important and when others see that, they will all fall in line and the resources will magically appear. Or even more disturbing, is when a decision is made for other people’s approval.

Here are some examples of heart-full decisions:

“So-and-so will think this is wonderful and I do so want them to be pleased.”

“I can see it now. It will all be so beautiful, and everyone will receive my decisions with the same clarity and goodness in which I made them.”

“OMG! What if the stock market falls and I lose all my money?!? I better cash in now while I still can!”

A head-full decision is one that is based solely on the data. It makes sure the numbers add up, the schedules are in place, the necessary resources are at the ready. The data is more important than how it feels or what other considerations might need to figure in the calculation. Things like willingness, motivation, shared vision, moral correctness.

Here are some examples of head-full decisions.

“This candidate has the perfect resume. Their people skills suck but I’m sure they will make a productive member of the team.”

                “All the numbers add up so we are good to go.”
                “The (board, CEO, boss) is going to need me to give them absolute data. I’m ready.”

Using just one or the other is a crash-and-burn strategy.

One is not better than the other. You might as well spin the wheel and see where it lands. Or, better yet, feed your dollar to the arcade gypsy machine and see what she recommends.

Better decision making. It requires consulting both the head and the heart. Both the left and right brains. Both the data and the intuition.

The tricky part is understanding how to consciously access the information and then how to interpret it.

I can help.

How do you end a tug of war? You drop the rope.

The past few months, it has been a struggle for my elderly mother to accept that she needs assisted living to stay safe. She’s not having any of it. Every day she is combative and adamant and all kinds of cranky.

It has been exhausting and sad. Being my mother’s perceived “jailer” (her word) is not the role I ever wanted to play. It has weighed heavily on my mind.

And then, the other morning, I woke with a tremendous sense of calm. I knew at that moment … the sanest thing for me to do is to drop the rope. End the tug of war.

It’s funny how hard it is for someone so ready to fight when they meet with no resistance.

In many ways, my dropping the rope honors her decision to be upset. That does not mean I’m okay with her determination to return to independent living; I’m just not going to fight about it anymore. I will still care deeply, even be a little sad, but my sanity will be intact.

What tug-of-war are you engaged in? Where are you trying to change someone’s mind or make them see reason, and they simply cannot or will not?

A tug of war is just another way to stay stuck. It is surrendering your personal power to another, trying to get them to change their mind.

It is easier to say than do, so call me and let’s begin planning your drop the rope strategy.

What is that one conversation you’ve avoiding?

“By definition, the courageous conversation is the one you’re not having now. By definition, the courageous conversation is the one you don’t want to have, and by definition is the one you hope isn’t true, and there’s another one you can have in its stead.” – David Whyte

This quote is a real butt kicker.

When David Whyte spoke it, he was talking about the courage to have conversations with other people and the importance of understanding one another’s story.

Avoiding difficult conversations can also include the one you are avoiding having with yourself. The one that keeps us stuck and caught in a belief or a truth that no longer serves.

When I work with my clients to get unstuck and regain forward momentum, we start by expanding their awareness.

To get unstuck, you have to challenge your truth.

My client was sure his mother didn’t love him. End of discussion. Believe it or not, it also worked to his benefit to believe this about himself. In some ways, it meant that his failed relationships were not his fault, just further proof that he was unlovable. When he no longer wanted to be unsuccessful, he had to examine this truth. What he found astounded him, and he began to understand that his mother did love him, that he is lovable, and that he can have successful relationships.

It was not easy for him to let go of this long-held belief. It took courage and commitment and then time to understand and craft new strategies. When he did this, relationships improved in all areas of his life.

What truths do you hold about yourself that you are willing to examine? What is the courageous conversation you need to have?

With my coaching program, I hold a safe space for you to explore, discover, understand, reconcile, and craft new approaches.

Click here and let’s begin that courageous conversation.

Mary