by Carmen Ohling | Oct 23, 2019 | Movitation
LET’S DO THIS TOGETHER!
Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life!
One of my daily intentions is focusing on what I have and what I know I can have, instead of picking myself apart or focusing on what I don’t have. Today, I invite you to join me. To get started read a few of my thoughts below and ask yourself these questions:
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A FEW THOUGHTS 💭👉🏽⠀
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1. Do you ever notice when you focus on what you don’t have or what you don’t want, you only seems to get more of the same?⠀
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2. Do you ever notice that when your in a state of constant stress (like many people everyday) you tend to pick yourself apart and feel like shit?⠀
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3. Do you ever notice that by focusing on what you don’t have all the time, you never actually get what you truly desire?⠀
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So here’s my daily game plan and again I invite you to join me:
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1. When I notice myself focusing on a lack mindset (ie- I am so stressed, I am never going to get this done, why does this come so easily to other people, etc) I will immediately stop 🛑 ⠀
Then, tell myself “I recognize that this thought is not of my highest self, I choose again.” And in this moment, with this intention, I can choose a higher thought. One of abundance and gratitude. ⠀
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It’s not always easy, but with consistent practice this can be a game changer for my life and yours! ❤️⠀
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If you’d like to share this intentional, daily practice with me comment below: I CHOOSE A HIGHER THOUGHT!
Want to chat more about this topic? Email me at carmen@carmenohling.com!
Sending you a ton of light and love,
Carmen
by Carmen Ohling | Oct 17, 2019 | Uncategorized
I remember when I left my 16 year, successful corporate career.
For 16 years I worked on average 6 days a week, 10 hours a day. I loved my job and I was freaking good at it! So why did I find myself in my car before work one day crying? You know what- I had no idea why I was crying but after that day I was on a mission to find out!
There were a lot of thoughts with me when I thought about what I should do. I should stay in my career because –
- I’ve been here for 16 years
- I’m the primary breadwinner for my family
- My entire community knows me as this career woman
The loudest thought that downed out all of the “should’s” was that I had forgotten who I truly was. There was no congruency in my life and I had no idea what I stood for as a woman. I cried that day that I left my successful career, and I’d love to say they were all tears of joy but the truth is that it was scary to let go of a career that I had established as my identity. It was like ripping off a bandaid and all I kept thinking to myself was, “who the hell am I without this?” Not knowing what was next and heading into the unknown was terrifying but it was what I needed to do.
The New Shift
Fast forward 5 years….. My husband and I decided to sell the home we lived in for 15 years in Oregon, along with 90% of our belongings, and move to Colorado. You’ll never believe this, but the day we moved into our condo was actually the first day I ever saw it. If we had moved 10 years prior, there’s no way that would have happened!
The truth is that today, one of the most exciting things in my life is the uncertainty of the new opportunities that I’m experiencing. I actually like not being in control of what’s happening and rather, being open to the world and what might happen.
The more that I have released my grip on everything in life, the more open I have been to what the world has for me. This has led to more connections and more opportunities than ever before.
Do you want to know why?
The Power of Letting Go
I’ve realized that trying to be in control of everything keeps you playing small because you have less to lose. By releasing your hold on control and opening up, it allows you to experience more, play bigger and see what is possible.
Letting go does not mean letting your goals go, it just means letting go of the outcome. This means that every day, you can take deliberate, intentional action to achieve your goals, but you don’t have to white-knuckle it daily for a specific outcome. Instead, you’ll see the world around you with open eyes and an open heart rather than limiting yourself with tunnel vision.
Does that tunnel vision sound familiar?
It’s okay if it does! As an ambitious, goal oriented woman, I’m sure you’ve made it where you are today by “keeping your eye on the prize”. But imagine what you could create with the world around you if you open your heart to exploring the unknown.
Use This Question to Keep Moving Forward
I invite you to sit down and start asking yourself this question, “What am I curious about today?”
Is this a new book or podcast? Taking a new fitness class? Trying out a new recipe?
When we follow our curiosity, we can really understand what we’re passionate about.
If you can’t think about what you’re curious about today, that is okay! Can you think about what you were curious about 5 years ago? 10 years ago? 15 years ago?
When we were children, we were curious about everything! However, we heard “no, don’t do that” about a million times and it’s become ingrained in us to not do things. But by allowing some time for play and for joy, the creative and curious version of yourself is likely to emerge.
For more tips and to learn more about my story, Click here to listen to the episode of the Why Should I? Podcast where I talk more in depth about why I continue to pursue the uncomfortable and how it’s changed my life!
Wishing you a ton of light and love,
Carmen
by Carmen Ohling | Oct 10, 2019 | Live.
People always tell me that they need more time in their day.
I disagree.
I believe that what you actually need is more energy. The amazing thing about energy, is that you get to protect it! You can shield yourself from distractions and other things that drain your energy. (This topic is something that we can ALL use – even myself.)
It’s probably no surprise that one of the biggest distractions for most people is their phone!
Did you know that the average person checks a social media app around 10 times (or more) per day. Often times, we end up reaching for our phones out of habit! On top of that, we don’t even realize that we’re checking it!
Fun fact: Studies show that when you check one of your social media apps, you’re average session is between 10-20 minutes. The math is clear and simple.
If you check your phone 10 times a day and spend 20 minutes each time on it, you are spending nearly 3 ½ hours of your day on social media! (And you say you need more time, huh?)So I ask, why are you on social media in the first place?
Most responses to this question including “trying to connect with friends or family” or even “connecting for business reasons”. But the truth is that most people fall into the 90/9/1 rule.
Here’s what that is:
- Most people are spending 90% of their time are consuming information.
- 9% of the time we are interacting with information.
- 1% of the time we are actually creating a post.
My next question for you is, what kinds of content are you consuming?
Often times, we are looking at people and wondering why we aren’t doing what they are doing, or we’re comparing ourselves and feeling less-than. These kinds of thoughts take up so much space in our brain!
This content is not building us up, it is sucking energy out of us.
It’s completely distracting us from all of the things we’re trying to accomplish in the first place!
So – if you are trying to get things done while dealing with these distractions, think of what you could be doing with the 3 ½ hours social media may be taking from you.
We have less than 90 days in 2019 and that means that if you still want to take powerful steps forward to reach your goals, you may need to tweak some of your actions. I’ve got you covered – here is a challenge and a tip.
Challenge: Don’t hop on social media for the rest of the day and cut yourself off mid-day for the next three days. I encourage you to do this as thoughtfully and as intentionally as you can. Don’t just try to rush through the next 10 hours and celebrate by curling up with your phone before bed. Really think about how checking out for a bit makes you feel.
- Are you more present?
- Are you actually listening to what your family and friends have to say?
- Do you feel more engaged with the world around you?
- Are more focused and alert?
- Are these feelings you haven’t felt in a while?
- Do you want to keep feeling this way?
If so, you can try incorporating something called ‘batch working’ into your routine. There are plenty of apps that can help with this, but essentially you’ll choose one task to focus on and turn off all notifications so Facebook, Instagram, email, etc. aren’t there to pull you out of focus.
I want to hear from you! Email me at carmen@carmenohling.com and type “I’m in!” the subject line so I know that you’re trying to make this change. I’d love for you to check back with me after your three days and let me know what showed up for you…..
I’m so excited to see what you discover.
Wishing you a ton of light and love,
Carmen
by Carmen Ohling | Oct 3, 2019 | Uncategorized
You cannot do everything.
I know, I know… This may be confusing because it sounds like the opposite of everything you’ve ever heard!
But here is the thing… What you have actually heard is, “You can do anything.” In fact, we’ve been hearing this message since we were younger. Now, whether or not you truly believe this is one thing that I’m sure we’ll get into another day, but this one is for my believers. If you truly believe that you can do anything, I urge to be sure that you aren’t trying to do everything.
My main point today is that as we grow in life, we have to make trade-offs and let go of things to allow new things to come into our lives.
Let’s illustrate this. For example, let’s stay that maybe you go to college, become a career woman, get married and have kids. Now all of a sudden you’re trying to be the best mom, wife, career woman, volunteer at your kid’s school all while trying to keep up with your health and squeeze in the tiny amount of time you have left to catch your breath. At the end of the day, you find yourself so unfulfilled, so tired, and actually have no time for yourself because you’re to-do list is on all day, everyday. This is not the way to live!
So, I ask you to pause and figure out –
- Where are you at today?
- Who are you today?
- What do you stand for?
- What is important to you?
Then, you have to prioritize those things in your day. You have to be willing to make significant trade offs if you want to keep growing and striving to reach your full potential.
What This Looks Like For Me
In my own life, I’ve had my own coaching and nutrition business for the past 5 years. I’ve really transitioned into doing more in the online space, speaking at events and all of this really lights me up! But earlier this year, I found myself really stressed and overwhelmed. After some reflection, I realized what was happening.
I was still doing everything that I started out doing and just added more to it. I added on new amazing coaching programs for empowering women, working with them on a 1:1 basis every week, speaking on big sages.
But, I didn’t give up older programs and habits because they were a security blanket for me! So I made some changes. What I’ve done recently is let go some of my old programs to create space for new opportunities in my life and in my business.
This has been such a game changer! I’ve been able to step into who I am as a woman, who I want to be, what I want to bring into this world and how I can share my gifts better with all of you!
You’ll notice that in my own story, there was a resistance to change because of fear. This is not uncommon. People will cling to an unsatisfactory way of life rather than change it to get something better in fear of getting something worse. But remember, the saying we’ve heard all our lives is still true. We can do anything we set our minds to. So try to let go of the old while going all in with the new.
The act of consciously choosing a new way is something will grow into a habit and will be easier to do over time.
So I ask you…
- Where do you want to be?
- What are you still holding onto today that you need to let go of even if it’s scary or feels expected of you?
I’d love for you to share this message with an ambitious woman in your life who you know is striving for something! Then, I’d love for you to shoot me an email about what you’re striving for and what is is that you need to let go of.
We have just around 90 days left in this year! Let’s make some room for great things.
Wishing you a ton of light and love,
Carmen
by Carmen Ohling | Sep 25, 2019 | Live.
Here’s some real talk – DON’T TAKE YOURSELF SO DARN SERIOUSLY ALL THE TIME!
Ever feel like life is feeling really heavy? Our jobs are demanding. Our family life is demanding. It’s as if time is slipping through our fingers and everything feels so high pressure. When we live our lives trapped by our to-do lists and driven by the outer expectations we think we have to live up to, we tend to respond in a certain way… by acting as if everything is always on the line.
I’m here to tell you that it is time to shake all of that off because the only thing that mentality does for you is dampen your big, beautiful spirit that the world needs to see!
If this resonates with you and you feel like you need to have it all together, I encourage you to try one of the things on the list that will help take the weight of the world off of your shoulders.
1. Lean into being silly
Have you ever been lucky enough to pull up at a stop light and see the person in the car next to you throwing a dance party in their car? They are totally feeling the song, singing along and dancing as if no one can see them. Well, a car tint only takes you so far, but I don’t want that to stop you! Lean into being light hearted, lean into potentially causing people to laugh. Life is too short to let your self worth depend on who’s watching or acknowledging you. Dance to the beat of your own drum. Literally!
2. Appreciate the positive, laugh at the negative
Hey, it could always be worse…Whenever it feels like you just truly are not having any luck, focus on the things that are in control and the rest? Take it with a grain of salt! Remember, you can’t always control what happens, but you can control how you respond. Your response doesn’t have to be negative, or uptight, or one made out of panic… you are an incredible woman who can handle anything that is blown her way.
3. Toss out other people’s opinions
An amazing quote that I’ve heard before says, “It’s not the critic who counts…the credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena.” Do you know what this means? It means that while you are off living your best life and living up to your highest self, other people’s opinions don’t mean anything. You can try new things and even if they fail, you showed up and that’s probably more than they can say! So don’t be driven by fear, do the best you can and laugh along the way.
4. Smile more!
Now, I’m not saying to fake it until you make it, but I do know that how we act is how we feel. So be playful! Wear the brightly colored dress! Put on that shade of lipstick you’ve been dying to try. Go out with your friends for lunch even if it’s just for small talk. Take the time to do the things you find enjoyment out of rest assured that everything else will be fine.
I hope this was helpful for you! Just remember, you’re freaking amazing and life doesn’t always need to be so serious. If you’re having a hard time letting go of your to-do list or are still feeling constrained in life, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me! We can set up a free 15 minute call to discuss how you’re feeling and brainstorm ways to work around it. I am always here to chat and guide you through it, so you can change your mindset to bring you back to the lighter side of life.
Wishing you a ton of light and love,
Carmen
