Your Monday Minute - The 3rd Step

Congratulations! You're about to learn the third and final step of the Passion Test Formula for how to create a life that you absolutely LOVE to live! We've covered Intention, Attention and now (drum-roll, please)... No Tension!

 That is the Passion Test Formula! Now, press play below and find out what that means! 

Make sense? These three pieces are just the icing on the cake. To fully step into creating a life you love, to really understand the process, you need to go through it. It's a lot to communicate in just 3 short videos. One vital aspect of the entire formula didn't fit into this week's minute, so be sure to tune in next week because you do not want to miss it.

In the meantime, I promised an example. Remember what I said about getting to the other side of the pool? If we're grabbing on to the water, we're more likely to drown than to get to the other side. We must relax and flow through the water. One passion that comes up for about 80% of my clients is friendship. If you feel like you don't have a few good friends to laugh with, cry with and simply be with, you are not alone. 

Just over two years ago when I took the Passion Test with a Certified Facilitator for the first time, I had just moved overseas to England and felt completely isolated. I remember dropping my kids off at school and longingly watching the easy greetings and conversations shared between a sea of unfamiliar faces. 

One of my top 5 passions turned out to be having an "open-minded, expanded circle of friends" with whom I could have fun and be myself.  I didn't want just any friend, my intention, my passion, was very clear on the kind of friendships that I wanted to cultivate. 

So, I gave friendship my attention. I approached other mothers with children in the same classes as my kids. Even though I felt a bit nervous, I gave my attention to maintaining a state of no-tension. If I had gone up to someone and grabbed her shoulders and said, "Be my friend!!!" Do you think she'd want to be my friend? No way! She'd think I was crazy. 

So, I relaxed in the knowledge that if I simply kept my attention on my intention in a relaxed, peaceful way, friendships would bloom. I trusted the process. I took action (action engages attention) and released the outcome, trusting in my co-creator (God/the Universe) to provide me with the right people and opportunities to create the friendships I so desired. 

It didn't take long before I had an amazing group of friends. A few were those other 'mums' and a few more were further afield and equally incredible. I have never been so blessed with friendship since setting that intention and giving it my attention in a state of no tension. I have never felt so completely loved and accepted by so many incredible people. And do you know what? Quite a few of my marvelous friends were feeling very much the same as I was... they just didn't know (yet) what I knew (The Passion Test!).

Now you know how it works, so you're 3 steps ahead of the rest of the crowd! When you start living life with your Passions leading the way, magic and bliss become an everyday experience. 

I love you! See you next week. 

Your Monday Minute - The 2nd Step of the Formula

Welcome to another edition of Your Monday Minute! Last week we discussed the first step in the Passion Test Process to create a life that you LOVE (click here for a refresher)! This week we're moving on to the second step: Attention. 

What you put your attention on grows stronger in your life. Watch this week's Your Monday Minute to learn more and then, reader, read on!

Make sense? How about a real life example to clarify? Since many of my readers and viewers are parents and nearly everyone else has some experience with children, I'll share with you the story of when I decided to stop yelling at my children. 

I was a big, serious yeller. You wouldn't think it of me, would you? But I'm a passionate person and that translates into every area of my life. I had been on this personal growth and development path for several years (well, a lifetime, really, but that's another topic) when I realized that the old excuses no longer jibed with me. I was at the point where I had become my own coach, calling myself out on any crap I was still throwing out there, like, "What else can I do?" "They only listen when I yell," and other such things you may have spewed a time or two yourself. I felt like a great mom most of the time, but man did I lose my temper a lot. 3 kids + a (kid-like) husband + the stress of life. Good excuses, right? Excuses keep us stuck and I was (and am) on the fast-track of growth. 

As it does, the Universe put a post in my path by a woman who was calling herself The Orange Rhino. There was a 30-day challenge to "yell less and love more." It was just what I needed! I felt so relieved that I wasn't the only one out there struggling with this issue. 

So, I began the challenge and set my INTENTION (remember, part 1 of the formula?) to STOP YELLING. I managed to get a few days under my belt before snapping again and becoming a thunderstorm over my children. Then a few more and eventually almost two whole weeks! Confession: the last 5 of those days were spent in Oslo completing my Passion Test Facilitator training. I slipped just a day or two after getting home. 

I was yelling less and I could see a definite affect on my children, which was great! But I was still yelling far too often to feel good about it. Then, everything that I had learned in Norway clicked into place. What was I putting my attention on again? To "stop yelling." 

My attention was on yelling! When that became clear in my heart and mind I immediately rephrased my intention to "speak with loving kindness to my children." Now, all of my attention was focused on speaking with loving kindness. That's a big difference. Can you see and feel the change in your own physiology when you read those two phrases? 

"Stop yelling" vs. "Speak with loving kindness"

You get more of whatever it is that you are putting your attention on in your life. Set a positive intention, give it positive attention and you'll get positive results. It worked wonders. I still yell once in a while, but there is such a dramatic shift in the energy of my relationship with my children and therefore with myself. I broke the guilt and drama cycle by setting a very positive, loving intention and we have all bloomed because of it. I stepped more profoundly into integrity, as well, which enabled me to love myself more and fully embrace that I really do matter. 

Attention: You Matter!! Now go and act like it and I'll see you next week with the 3rd step in the formula to create a life you LOVE! 

Do you have any examples of how this has worked in your life? We'd love to read them! Please, share below! If this post resonates with you, I welcome you to do that other kind of sharing, too! Share buttons below! 

*** Photo Credit to Harold.Lloyd via Flickr.com