by Carmen Ohling | Feb 6, 2020 | Live.
I’ve been thinking some heavy thoughts this week. One moment I’m on top of the world and the next I’m all up in my head worried about things I have no control over. …⠀
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Anyone feel me?⠀
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It’s easy to do, especially when you share love so freely. ⠀
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I’ve been reminding myself these two important lessons:⠀
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1. Nothing has meaning, until YOU place meaning on it. ⠀
Have you ever heard the phrase, “life is empty and meaningless”? Did you instantly think that that is a negative statement?
If so, why?
Likely, it’s because when you think of the word “empty”, you think of that as something that is lacking something. That is the meaning that you put on it.
And maybe when you hear the word “meaningless”, you equate that as something that isn’t worthy of anything. That is the meaning you put on it.
But could it be possible that if something is empty, it could mean that there is infinite room for greatness and possibility?
If something is meaningless, could it mean that it is available for us to put all the color and life we want into it?
The answer is yes. It CAN mean any of those things but it is up to YOU to decide which one it is.
In that spirit, it’s also up to you to decide what it means when someone walks past you without saying hi.
It’s up to you to decide if something your boss said was a jab at you or not.
It’s up to you to decide if that broken promise means anything about what you are worth.
It’s up to you to decide if your last try at something meant success or failure.
It is all up to you – so choose carefully how you decide to color your world.
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#2. Life is all about experiences.
Both the ups and downs.
Everything is happening FOR you, for your growth, for you to remember to rely on the strength that is not your own and have UNSHAKABLE faith. ⠀
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So if things are rocky right now, look around and try to see your circumstance through a new lense.
How could this be for you?
What gold is hidden underneath the mess?
I’m sharing because I know that I’m not alone and I want you to know that you are not alone either.
Could you use someone to chat with? Email me at carmen@carmenohling.com if you need some help putting new meaning on the life happening around you.
Wishing you a ton of light and love,
Carmen
by Carmen Ohling | Jan 30, 2020 | Live.
Have you ever set a goal and were SO excited about the outcome? But then your schedule ends up looking something like this –
- Week 1 – It’s a little hard but you’re confident about pushing through it
- Week 2 – Life gets in the way and then you give up
So what happened here? How were you able to have an amazing thought that lit you up and yet you were able to drop it in just two weeks?
You know what most people say?
“I lost motivation.”
Let’s change this!
Let’s make a paradigm shift and instead of relying on pure motivation, let’s use your present day discomfort be what fuels your goal.
For example, say you are unfulfilled at your job or in your business. Everyday you wake up and hit snooze because you dread the idea of going into the office. Really take a moment to lean into that feeling!
Those feelings likely –
- Do not give you energy
- Do not make you fulfilled
- Do not fill you with joy
So now, ask yourself what would happen if you continued this every single day?
Or say you have chronic back pain. Maybe you’re not moving your body daily, not doing proper stretching or mobility work, and you’re not nourishing your body every day. If this path continues, you will likely –
- Feel crappy
- Lose the ability to do things in life
- Potentially develop a chronic health condition because of the lack of movement
Now, use THAT as the motivation to start working out, eating healthy and nourishing your body! Do that instead of using this pie in the sky idea of “wouldn’t it be so great if I did x, y and z.”
It’s wonderful to journal about your goals but if you’re not reaching them, perhaps consider writing down what would happen if you don’t reach them and use that as the reason to get it done and make it happen.
This is just a different way of looking at things because realistically, most people’s primary driver is discomfort and pain because we don’t want to experience it!
Throughout my time as a nutritionist, I can tell you that the majority of the people who came to me weren’t in great or optimal health. They came to me because they just experienced the pain of a recent diagnosis they received at the doctors office.
So the next time you have a goal that you really want to achieve, ask yourself –
- What will happen if I do nothing?
- Who will I help if I do nothing?
- Who will I become if I do nothing?
- Who will I continue to be if I do nothing?
- How is my life going to feel if the pain or discomfort don’t go away?
Email me at carmen@carmenohling.com if the first month of 2020 didn’t go as you had hoped! I’m here to support you and would love to go over any roadblocks that may be in your way.
Wishing you a ton of light and love,
Carmen
by Carmen Ohling | Jan 23, 2020 | Live.
The #1 thief of joy is…
COMPARISON & WATCHING WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING!!
I have made this mistake time and time again, and it has always left me feeling like I wasn’t enough and I wasn’t doing enough… This might resonate a lot with you and to be clear, who is to blame you?!
In a world of picture perfect photos that only show someone’s life as a highlight reel, it’s easy to think that we just aren’t measuring up.
But I’m here to tell you that that is a lie.
Here’s what I’ve learned and want to share with you. For starters, it’s simple but not easy! This takes practice especially when there’s so much noise coming at us everyday!
3 Simple Truths
1️. Everyone has something unique and valuable to share but when you start emulating others it dulls your authentic voice. ⠀
2️. Constantly consuming what others are doing leaves you feeling inadequate and slows or completely stops your progress.
3️. You can do anything but you can’t do everything all at once; and when you try you simply stretch yourself too thin, create mediocre results and leave yourself feeling burnt out. ⠀
Ready to get off the comparison train and stay in your own lane?
3 Simple Rules
1️. Decrease the amount of time you spend consuming content.
That means less scrolling, no more buying courses that you don’t complete, or signing up for free webinars to learn and never taking action. JUST STOP 🛑⠀
2️. Spend time with yourself, with your thoughts, and trust your intuition.
You are always what you’ve been looking for and you have all the answers. Give yourself this gift of time. Start trusting and believing in yourself!
3️. Get a coach or mentor in your life ASAP that is where you want to be.
You don’t need a $20k mastermind, simply someone you’re connected to and is showing up how you want to show up. They will guide you, help you learn your lessons and push you to a place you’ve only dreamed of! 💛
If you’re feeling called and you know you’re ready for this next step, I want to help! Join me and an exclusive group of other ambitious women who are ready to take action, build community, practice radical responsibility and finally step into their power through my private group coaching and mentoring! All you need to do is click here to apply.
Wishing you a ton of light and love,
Carmen
by Carmen Ohling | Jan 8, 2020 | Live.
Did you know that the words we say emit energy and that either gives us power or lessens our power?
As women, we’re taught to step back, to be more reserved, and to not shine as brightly as we should be shining every day. The language we’ve adopted feeds right into this which has sparked me to invite you to join the three day Sorry Experiment. I want all of you to be able to show up each and every day, shine your authentic light, and step into your beauty and all of your magic! I created the challenge because the truth is, saying sorry just takes away from all of those things. If the words that we choose to say guide both our thoughts and our actions (and they do!) it’s important to be careful when choosing them.
Here is the three day road map for you to follow:
Day 1: Assess The Situation
For Day 1, I want you to simply assess how many times you say, “sorry.” Maybe you’re walking in public and someone bumps into you and you say sorry. Or perhaps you’re washing your hands in the bathroom and there’s a line waiting which causes you to feel rushed, so you say sorry. Maybe someone expresses that they don’t like something, so you say sorry. Whatever it is, just note down the incident that occurred which prompted you to apologize.
Day 2: Observe Your Energy
Going back to how our words and thoughts either give us power or takes away from it, I want you to reflect on how you felt the moment after saying sorry. Here’s a personal example: One day, I was about to deboard a plane so I stood up to stretch my legs. The couple in front of me did the same, except when they stood up, they pushed me a little backwards which caused me to stand super close to the man behind me. I turned around and said something along the lines of, “I’m sorry for stepping into your bubble!” and the gentleman kindly said that I could step back if I needed to. However, the moment right after telling him I was sorry, I felt the energy in my body literally shrivel down. Once he gave me the permission to take up more space, I felt empowered. After that incident, I told myself that I was going to start catching myself with this because in all honesty, I didn’t truly feel sorry for stepping into his space. I didn’t feel remorseful or sad. Yet the words I chose made me feel smaller. So take some time to to revisit the moments you said you were sorry and reflect on how you felt afterwards.
Day 3: Choose Different Words
The more that you say something different or think a new thought, the more you’re able to authentically step into your power. Here are three common circumstances that we apologize for and words you can use instead of “sorry”!
Maybe you’ve taken a while to get back to someone by phone or email, or you took an extra day to fulfill on a request, here’s a perfect thing you can say: “Thank you so much for your patience with me while I {insert task or event}.”
Maybe you’re walking in public and you accidentally bump into someone, try saying “excuse me” or “pardon me”. There’s no reason to apologize for being in the world next to someone else!
Another common circumstance that people apologize in is when they perceive in their mind that someone doesn’t like something that they did. Instead of saying you’re sorry, how about opening up the dialogue and asking, “How did this make you feel?” or “Did you like it when I did this?”
I’d love to know how this experiment goes for you! After the three days, email me at carmen@carmenohling.com and let me know how often you apologized and what circumstances you found yourself doing that in. As always, if you need any help incorporating these new phrases into your life, just reach out and I’ll be here to help.
Wishing you a ton of light and love,
Carmen
by Carmen Ohling | Jan 2, 2020 | Live.
Things don’t always go as planned.⠀⠀
There’s always a shit ton more red tape then there needs to be.⠀⠀
Challenges always arise just when we’re sure we can’t take anything more.⠀⠀⠀
As you think about these three statements, I want you to think back to the last time something went differently than expected, when shit got hard, when you were presented with a challenge….⠀⠀
Do you have that thought in your mind? ⠀
Here are some of my own reflection on things in 2019 that didn’t go as planned….⠀
1️⃣ I received rejections (aka NOs) to my ideas and pitches to speak at multiple events and conferences. ⠀
2️⃣ I spent a shit ton of time, energy and money developing a new holistic health program for women (that I thought was SO freaking awesome) but it was a flop. ⠀
3️⃣ I trained and prepped for a bodybuilding show to WIN and I placed 10th. ⠀
4️⃣ I met only 3 of my 5 personal and business goals for 2019.⠀
For me, the true gift of all of these so called “failures” is the growth and confidence I have built within myself. Each of these challenges presented a hardship that I was able to overcome, learn from and keep taking action….⠀
Now, I want you to answer these questions based on your thought;⠀
- What did I learn?⠀⠀
- How did I grow?⠀⠀
- How can I help someone else?⠀⠀⠀
You see my point here is that while it may not seem like it at the time, life is all about experiences. Sometimes they are good in the moment and sometimes they are bad. But they are all experiences that shape us into the amazing, authentic humans that we are today.⠀⠀
When we choose to view our experiences through a lens of love, instead of fear, everything changes. We find more joy in everyday life, are able to give ourselves more grace and able to see others for who they truly are without judgement.⠀⠀⠀
I encourage you this week to visit a few of those past “bad” experiences and ask yourself the questions above. I promise, you’ll uncover something new and special.
I’d love to know what you learned and grew from in 2019! Email me at carmen@carmenohling.com to share and discover how you can use these lessons to make 2020 your best year yet.
Wishing you a ton of light and love,
Carmen
by Carmen Ohling | Dec 18, 2019 | Live.
Feelings…⠀
Thoughts….⠀
Actions… ⠀
Guidance… ⠀
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I’ve been having all the feels over the last couple of weeks. You know those times when you’ve got so much going on, but on the other hand, so many amazing this are happening you just can’t believe it?!?
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It’s funny because I used to over plan, control every detail, and was always full of expectations. Expectations that were never met, leaving me empty and longing for more. Now I ask for a sign, for a mini miracle and wait… I think waiting is the hardest part. ⠀
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I’m waiting for the Universe to continue to show me a sign (🖤) that I am on the right path. I feel blessed that in the meantime I am patient. I feel grateful that I am able to still take deliberate action daily in the direction of my dreams. I am ready and willing to receive my next opportunity and assignment for spiritual growth and healing. I am ready to show up and show up and continue to show up for myself and others.⠀
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For the first time in my life I feel complete. There is no rush to be “busy” or fill my schedule. I continue to make new connections, find opportunities and explore my curiosities- just on my own pace. It feels…. like freedom. ⠀
How do you feel today?
How do you want to feel today?
Take a few minutes to jot that down.
As we approach the last few weeks of the year, everyone is reflecting on 2019. We think about how far we’ve come, things we wish we did but didn’t, how good it was or how tough it was. So I ask you, what do you want and who do you want to be?
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This next year, do you want to embrace uncertainty?
Maybe even live life based on what’s important to you?
Let go of dumb, unrealistic expectations and just fall in love with life?
I’d love to guide you! Email me at carmen@carmenohling.com so we can chat about how to make this 2020 the year that you became obsessed with your life.
Wishing you a ton of light and love,
Carmen
