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July is the Month of Mastery.

Master your own life and help others Master theirs!  Promote Master Membership in July and Compass will reward you with some SELF-CARE CASH!

Enroll 2 Reps, 5 Master Clients EARN $250 CASH

Enroll 5 Reps, 10 Master Clients EARN $500 CASH

Enroll 10 Reps, 25 Master Clients Earn $1000 CASH

We don’t care how you spend it, as long as you SPEND IT ON YOU and tell us what you plan to do with YOUR SELF CARE CASH!

Pay your mortgage!

Make the downpayment on your Compass Mercedes!

Hire a housecleaner for the month!

Spend a day at the spa!

Go on a shopping spree!

Escape for the weekend!

Whatever it is, use the comment field below to share your self-care splurge with the rest of us.

Master your own life…Don’t Dream It, DO IT!

What would be possible for you if every action you took, every habit you had and every goal you set were dictated by your own personal priorities and values?

About the Expert:
Kim is the CEO and founder of My Life Compass.com. She is a sought after speaker and author of “Remodel Your Reality; Seven Steps to Rebalance Your Life and Reclaim Your Passion,” along with dozens of eBooks and advice columns.

Welcome back to the Remodel Your Reality Challenge!  There are four primary situations that impact your emotional energy: Your own actions, your own inaction, your failure to speak the truth, and other people’s unacceptable actions. Today we’ll be looking at your actions and inactions.  We’ll address the other concerns over the next few posts. Invariably, you will identify with each scenario to some degree.

One Thing To Think About

Your Own Actions
If you have done something that violates your sense of right and wrong, you may feel incomplete. If this action caused harm to another person, you will almost certainly feel incomplete. The actions in this area vary from person to person, as everyone has a different set of rules that govern his or her behavior. Examples of these actions can range in seriousness from something as seemingly harmless as failing to keep a commitment, to more serious offenses such as telling a lie or gossiping about a friend or family member.

Your Own Inaction
If you failed to follow through on something you now wish you would have, you may need to resolve your lack of action in order to avoid an insidious circle of thought, which I’ve coined “The Inaction Cycle.” Inaction results in missed opportunities. Missed opportunities fuel fantasies about what could have been. Focusing on what could have been causes you to live in the Neverland of “what if,” instead of the reality of “what is.” Living in fantasies of “what if” guarantees that you will never take the actions necessary to have a fabulous “what is.” I’ve worked with countless people living in this cycle of fantasy and projection. Not only is this energetically expensive, it’s a certain recipe for dissatisfaction with life.

Examples of inaction include failing to complete your degree, not following up on an interesting professional opportunity, failing to pursue a relationship with someone you were interested in, or putting off your study of a much-loved activity.

One Question To Answer
Where have your actions or inaction created emotional turmoil and energy drains? Take inventory of your personal behavior to find out.

Actions:
Do you have regrets about anything you’ve said or done that you may need to address? Do you owe anyone an apology? If so, consider the situation. What part of your actions do you regret? How would you act differently if given a second chance? Would it make sense for you to communicate with the person who was affected by your behavior?

Inaction:
What do you think you would have gained had you acted on the opportunity you’re remembering? What do you fear you missed out on?

One Challenge To Take

Deal with the results of your own actions:
In some instances, offering a clear apology can support you in reaching a place of energetic closure, even if the other person involved doesn’t accept your attempt to make amends. In other situations, the simple act of recognizing that your behavior was not acceptable and committing to make a change can bring you to neutrality. The objective in addressing situations involving your own actions is to arrive at a place of emotional neutrality, so that your energy is not required to keep past regrets alive.

Address the results of your inaction:
You cannot change the past, but you can create a compelling future. Get clear about the essence of what you wish you would have created or accomplished. Once you’ve connected with your true intention, brainstorm several ways you could pursue that outcome today. It’s been said that the longest journey begins with a single step. Your willingness to honestly assess what you regret, and embrace the possibility that you can create the essence of what you believe you missed out on can be a great source of drive and dynamic power.

Until next time, take care!
Kim

Welcome back to the Remodel Your Reality Challenge!  Now that you’ve gotten a handle on your physical and mental energy, it’s time to think about your emotional energy – your feelings and your reactions to those feelings.

The emotional factor of energy has a powerful effect on your vitality and your sense of self. Treating other people with respect, taking action on your own behalf, and communicating clearly will help you maximize your emotional power.

One Thing To Think About
The emotional factors of energy are usually the most challenging to deal with. These have to do with life experiences that are unresolved and are directly linked to your interactions with other people. They can be charged with angst—such as feelings of guilt, shame, fear, embarrassment, frustration, anger, and regret.

One Question To Answer
Is your emotional energy strong, or is it being drained by unresolved or unaddressed issues?

Experiences that impact your emotions only diminish your energy when they’re left unresolved. The best way to determine if a situation is unresolved is to connect with the charge of feeling you have associated with the experience. If you can recall the scenario with a level of neutrality and calm, it’s probable that you’ve reached a level of closure related to that event. It’s even possible you’ve pulled valuable lessons from your encounter.

If, however, you feel a jolt of emotion, such as anger, fear, shame, embarrassment, or regret when recalling the event, it’s likely you have some unresolved feelings to contend with. These are the experiences that use precious units of your energy and that you need to inventory.

Take the following assessment, designed to help you identify where you may be losing emotional energy. Answer either yes or no to each question.

1. Do you tell the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable to do so?
2. Do you say no to invitations you aren’t interested in accepting?
3. Do you spend time only with people you like and enjoy?
4. Do you require the people in your life to treat you with respect?
5. Do you feel loved and accepted by those closest to you?
6. Have you accepted the experiences in your past?
7. Have you let go of any past anger or regret?
8. Are you able to ask for what you want?
9. Are your current relationships clean and constructive?

Any question you answered no to is very likely contributing to your energy deficit. These are more complex issues than those within your physical or mental inventories. For that reason, you may need to approach them more slowly, carefully, and thoughtfully.

One Challenge To Take
Identify one situation in your emotional inventory that you feel ready to address. Get clear about what you require to resolve the situation.

• Do you simply need to process it? If so, writing a letter allowing yourself to express your feelings may be enough to reach resolution.
• Would you like an apology or a changed behavior from the other person? Once you’re clear about what you’d like to communicate, arrange to have a conversation with the other person during a time when you will be uninterrupted.
• Do you need to make amends or take action on your own behalf? If so, get clear about what you’re sorry for, or the circumstances you’d like to create for yourself.

Decide to work through only one item at a time and allow yourself to move at a comfortable pace. Seek the support of a close friend, family member, or your coach, and remember that small steps will lead you to the energetic liberation you seek.

Until next time, take care!
Kim

Welcome back to the Remodel Your Reality Challenge! You’ve done a great job so far of identifying and addressing the things that drain your physical energy, and have begun to look at how you can increase your mental energy. Just like how decluttering your house reenergizes you physically, reclaiming your mental energy involves clearing out mental clutter that drains you, distracts you and holds you back with unfinished business. We’ve already tackled your to-do list in previous posts, so today we’re going look at all those projects you have sitting around.

One Thing To Think About
A project is something you’d like to create or accomplish that requires multiple steps. For example, drafting a financial plan or redecorating a room. Most of us keep an inventory of uncompleted plans in our minds. But having all that unfinished business hanging over your head can suck the energy right out of you. It can also leave you feeling anxious and depressed. This creates a vicious circle, since the energy drain this creates leaves you too tired and too stressed out to work on any of your projects.

The simple act of getting your projects out of your head, sorting through those you are committed to versus those that no longer make sense for you, and prioritizing what remains can be incredibly liberating. Couple that with committed, consistent action and your energy level will begin to soar.

One Question To Answer
How many projects do you have up in the air?

Work
Do you have any pending projects that you keep putting off or that you never manage to get around to? Keep a particular eye out for projects that don’t align with your normal responsibilities, your work priorities or your scope of expertise.

Home
How many unfinished or unstarted home improvement projects, organizational tasks, landscaping or gardening plans and so on are waiting for your attention? This includes things like major or specific cleaning projects, attic sorting expeditions and making plans for an automobile upgrade.

Personal
What sort of personal projects do you have hanging around in limbo?  What about that half-finished Spanish language course, or those craft projects you never get around to completing? This also includes personal plans such as setting up an exercise routine or a self-care regimen.

Family
Are there any unfinished family plans or projects hanging around making you feel guilty? Maybe you still have a camera full of photos from your last vacation waiting to be downloaded and printed, or perhaps that family trip you keep putting off planning.

Community/Friends
Do you keep “forgetting” to make plans for a girls’ night out, no matter how many emails the group sends you? Or maybe you’re supposed to be working on a project for your favorite charity, but just haven’t gotten around to it.

One Challenge To Take
Take inventory of the unfinished projects in your mind. Get them on paper and evaluate them to determine if they’re still meaningful to you. If they’re not, give yourself permission to put them to rest. You have a right to change your mind! If they are, get clear about what you want the outcome of each project to be—for example, a completed financial plan—and decide why this end result is important to you. Meaning creates momentum, so the process of connecting with why you’d like to accomplish the goal at hand will energize your actions.

Once you’ve identified those projects that you’re committed to, prioritize them. Decide which you’ll do first, which second, and so on. Then, begin working through the steps you’ll need to take to act on your first priority. Decide to commit a specific amount of time to the completion of your enterprise each week and follow through on that commitment. Work on one project at a time, giving yourself permission to move slowly and steadily.

Until Next Week,

Kim

Welcome to Week Eleven of The 52 Week Remodel Your Reality Challenge!  Last week we started the process of taming your to-do list.  I asked you to clear your mind of the many tasks and projects you had stored in your mental inventory by moving through a brain dump, and writing down every item floating around in your mind.  I also challenged you to create some structure around these items, by grouping similar tasks.  Today we’re going to put that structure into your calendar.

One Thing To Think About

Last week we organized items on your to-do lists into two groups; repetitive activities and one-time activities.  We’re going to take three steps to incorporate both activity groupings into your life. We’ll do that by integrating them into your calendar.  First, a few words of advice:

Repetitive Activities: An effective way to manage repetitive activities is to establish a routine around their completion. For example, if you know you need to pay bills weekly, the most effective way for you to make this happen is to pick a day of the week (even a time of the day) you will do so.  Schedule that appointment into your calendar, and show up to complete this task every week.  While you may need to make exceptions occasionally, this is by far the most effective tactic I’ve used in helping my clients work repetitive tasks into their calendars with ease.

Another helpful approach to managing your repetitive tasks is to take advantage of outside resources.  For example, could you make a standard grocery list, and use an internet grocery service to deliver food items to your house each week?  Is it possible for you to have your dry cleaner deliver to your home, instead of having to make the trip to their store each week? Investing a small amount of time to set up a system that supports your repetitive errands can simplify your process.

One-Time Activities: When addressing occasional errands, it’s most productive to group them together and attempt to complete them within close proximity to one another. While this is not always possible, your willingness to consider this new approach can support you in managing your inventory of tasks.

One Challenge To Take
Okay, it’s the moment of truth.  No more overwhelm.  No more excuses.  It’s time to take control of your to-do list.  You’ll do that by taking control of your calendar.

Step One: Get your calendar out.

Step Two: Pull out your list of repetitive tasks.  Pick one item, and make a standing appointment with yourself, where you will show up to address that task each week.  (I understand you will have multiple items on your list.  It’s okay to get your structure started with just one of these items.  If you feel incredibly ambitious, you can develop a structure for all of them.  Yet, even committing to one will put you well on your way to success).

Step Three: Consider your list of repetitive tasks.  Does any item lend itself to delivery?  Can you set up an internet grocery delivery or delivery of your dry cleaning?  If so, make an appointment with yourself for the upcoming week to complete that process.

Step Four: Pull out your list of one-time errands.  Put them in order of priority.  What has to be done first, second, third?  Now, pick two to three items to complete this week, and schedule an appointment in your calendar to address them.  Next week, come back to your list, and select the next few items to tackle.

I know this sounds simple, and it really is.  Taking control of your to-do list can be successfully accomplished when you combine structure with routine.  Now you just need to show up to work your routine!

Until Next Week…

Kim

Welcome to Week Ten of The 52 Week Remodel Your Reality Challenge!  Last week I challenged you to take control of your mental energy.  Your homework required you to do a brain dump; literally writing down every to-do, task, and project you had floating around in your head.  This first step was designed to help you clear a bit of mental real estate.  Over the next two weeks we’re going to tame that to-do list!  We’ll get started today by putting some structure around your list.

One Thing To Think About
I’m convinced that all women will reach the end of their lives with a to-do list. You juggle so many roles and responsibilities in your daily life, how could you function without one? Used proactively, lists can be great tools for supporting you in tracking the actions you need to take. Used destructively, lists can create feelings of overwhelm, frustration, and defeat.

One Challenge To Take
Take a look at the list you created last week.  Review each item on your list and ask yourself if the item in question really needs to be completed.

I’ve worked with many clients who took such satisfaction in crossing things off their list or who got such a charge from having a full list of things to do that they put items on their lists that really didn’t need to be addressed. Evaluate your inventory, and make sure that each task you’ve noted really needs to be handled.  If it does, keep it on your list.  If not, cross it off.  (See – you’re already making progress!)

Once you’ve cleared any tasks that don’t need addressing, create structure using these two steps.

Step One: Group related activities into categories. For example, all tasks that involve running errands could be organized into one category (errands), items that require phone calls and email responses another (communication), and so on.

Step Two: Once you have your categories defined, separate them into either repetitive activities (grocery shopping or your weekly team conference call) or one-time activities (running to the hardware store or attending an event).

That’s it for the week.  Next week we’ll talk about streamlining both types of activities.  This week, enjoy the process of putting some structure to your tasks. You have taken the first step in taming your to-do list!

Until Next Week…

Kim

Welcome to Week Nine of The 52 Week Remodel Your Reality Challenge!  You are doing great.  By now you’ve made just a bit of time for yourself, have started to set up a support system, begun to take care of your physical body, and started to consider how your physical environment impacts your energy.  You’ve done great work!

As a reminder, in the last couple of weeks we’ve really started to look at energy.  Specifically, I’ve suggested that there are three kinds of energy which impact our lives; physical, mental, and emotional.  Over the last two weeks we’ve taken a look at the two areas that impact your physical energy; the way you take care of your body and the way you manage your space.  This week, I’d like to talk about the second type of energy – mental energy.

One Thing To Think About
In a nutshell, your energy is impacted by what goes on in your head. You can liken the available space in your mind to that of a computer’s hard drive. The more items you save in your memory bank, the less space you have available to support your vitality. While factors in this area are slightly less tangible than those impacting your physical energy, they are no less profound.

Mental energy revolves around your commitments. When you maintain an inventory of projects you’ve started but not finished, a running to-do list, or a series of cumbersome promises, you set yourself up for energetic depletion, because each of these items takes up valuable space in your mind.

One Question To Answer
What does your mental hard-drive look like?  Take the quick quiz that follows.

• Do you schedule more tasks in a given day than you can reasonably accomplish?
• Do you put important tasks or projects off?
• Do you have a list of half-completed projects that need to be addressed?
• Are you consistently late to scheduled appointments?
• Do you accept requests and invitations you would prefer to decline, or spend time with people you don’t like?
• Do you commit to projects out of a sense of obligation; accepting responsibilities because you’re worried about what others will think of you if you don’t?
• Have the same tasks or projects been on your to-do list for more than three months?

If you answered yes to three or more of these questions your hard-drive is on overload!  We need to clean it up.

One Challenge To Take
Making commitments you fail to make good on undermines your self-esteem and diminishes your confidence in your ability to follow through.  (I know – potentially depressing, isn’t it?)  Well, it doesn’t have to be.

I have a truth for you.  I’ve never worked with a woman who didn’t “fail” this quiz (myself included).  That doesn’t mean you are a failure.  It means you are a woman.  Life is designed to set you up for failure!  It’s time to short-circuit this process.  Let’s get started TODAY.

Your homework is simple.  I challenge you to make a list of the various tasks, projects, and commitments you currently have stored in your mind.  (I – quite inelegantly - call this a brain dump).

Do your brain dump today – perhaps even throughout this week.  If you’re thinking about the fact that you want or have to do anything – write it down on your list.  Bring your list to next week’s session.  We’re going to make it mean something.

Until then – just get this stuff out of your head.  Enjoy the liberation you will experience as a result.

Until Next Week…

Kim

We’re in Week Eight of The 52 Week Remodel Your Reality Challenge! By now you’ve likely started to make some real changes in your life, and I’m willing to bet you’ve begun to enjoy an element of momentum - which makes you feel great. Congratulations!

Last week we started talking about energy, and I introduced you to the concept of physical energy, as it relates to the way you take care of your body. (I hope you took last week’s challenge and integrated at least one strategy to take care of your body!) This week we’re going to talk about your physical space. (more…)

Welcome to Week Seven of The 52 Week Remodel Your Reality Challenge! By now you have six powerful weeks of thinking, acting, and answering your way into a more balanced and passionate life. Congratulations on the great work you’ve done so far! This week, we’re going to start the process of reclaiming your energy. (more…)