Challenges The Juicy Life

30 Day Minimalism Challenge

Posted on September 6, 2021

Overwhelmed. 

Yep, that is what I’m feeling.  For me it’s been about a ¼ cup life pressure, but more the increasingly negative and polarized information I’m seeing on my social media. 

And as easy as it is to say just turn it off – I like social media.  It makes me smile, makes me think, and when someone shares a meme that makes me laugh out loud, it’s everything.  So I decided to research what I could do about it instead and created a 30 day minimalism challenge.   

You Can’t Be a Fence Sitter

I’ll admit it. I’ve been fence sitting.  I’ve gone through some massive life adjustments and have kept a low emotional attachment to these extremely important and divisive current affairs.  

But after starting my vision coaching practice guiding myself and others to understand our individual values and create a true vision around them, I am feeling my mission, feeling more in tune, more alive.  

My 1 value is Growth in order to continually learn to be a better friend, family member and member of society.  

Growth takes connection, it takes contribution, it takes vulnerability, courage and a whole lotta love.  

What brings me happiness, and what makes me feel free and light, is being true to myself and my values.  

To be rooted in my values, I can’t be a fence sitter.

A Spin on Minimalism

Let’s dig into Minimalism and what I wanted to accomplish with this challenge.  

Minimalism defined is taking a look at what you already have and finding meaning to it.  Simple examples would be the couch you sit on, or the clothes in your closet. If we have too much of something, it can end up causing us more anxiety instead of what we thought it would do, which is make us more *happy*.   

Besides just our stuff, what are other things that crowd our sense of joy / peace / calm / well-being?  

What are the actions or habits that take our attention away from what is important to us? 

I don’t believe that we should live our lives without social media. But how can I more responsibly engage?

Ideally, social media should be educational, entertaining and encouraging in some way. My own platform should share a bit of who I am, what my values are, but should also be used to identify and help fight when there are inequalities in my community.   

Abundance is a beautiful thing, and we might have it a bit backwards.  

30 Day Minimalism Challenge

I love a good challenge, this one especially. This challenge is about performing small tasks, and asking ourselves questions to better understand who we are and the platforms we stand on.  And if I can do a challenge and get others involved, it becomes so much more meaningful.

Here are the first 6 days to get you started.  Follow my stories on Instragram / Facebook but I’ll store them all in a nice handy list on this blog post.  

Day 1:  Minimize the workout.  Don’t feel like you have to have sweat dripping on the floor to feel the accomplishment.  Go for a walk.  Even 15 minutes.  Don’t think about it.  Just go.   

Day 2: Take a sentimental item out of storage and put it to use. Like your Grandmas china. 

Day 3: Take 1 closet or storage drawer that gives you anxiety and organize it (ie. knick knack drawer). Identify how good you feel after it’s done.

Day 4: Digital clutter. Take all the unread emails from 6 months or longer and just DELETE. If they were important to you you would have dealt with them by now. Then, Unsubscribe from at least 5 email newsletters.  You know the ones. The ones that you signed up for when all you wanted was that 1 thing. 

Day 5: Get to know your body.  Research your total daily energy expenditure.  Experiment creating a meal plan for 1 day of your favourite good for you foods and equals your TDEE.  Try it and identify how it feels.  

Day 6: Take 30 minutes to take 20 things from your closet that you haven’t worn in at least 10 months. Shirts, pants, socks, undies, jewelry – nothing is safe. Put it all in a bag and donate it within 5 days. Or make some money and put it on Facebook Marketplace.

Comment below on what you’ve taken from each day. Your experience and feedback is motivating!

Xo Juicy

The Juicy Life

Admitting You Don’t Know What the F**k To Do

Posted on August 22, 2021
Canoe Beach, Salmon Arm, 2021

That’s right.  Just admit when you don’t know the answer.

Who just cringed when they read that?  Did it bring up a memory or two?  I have my fair share.  

Sitting in a lecture hall getting asked in front of 50 people I don’t personally know my opinion on Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality.  Like, aren’t we supposed to put our hand up if we want to speak up at these things?    

Or the strategy session at work.  Jordan, where do you think it’s best to focus our efforts in the coming year?  (cue cricket sounds).  

But even more importantly when I’ve personally been challenged with a big decision in my business and not sure what route to take.  

Why Do We Fear Not Knowing? 

Those feelings we all hate to feel.  Feeling stupid, uninformed, or incompetent.  

But the fear of experiencing those feelings might actually prevent us from getting the right answer when we need it. 

Throughout my journey as a business owner, I didn’t know the answer.  Often.  What helped me was figuring out that when I did ask others for help, it ended up making me feel more confident because I understood the options that were available to me.  More confident with the decisions I went with.       

You quickly discover when you’re ‘in the weeds’, it’s a lot harder to see the right answers.  

I learned that phrase during my server days: restaurant slang used to describe being behind or beyond their capacity to handle a situation. Struggle bus’n hard.   

Ditch the Stigma  

Being able to admit what we don’t know and asking for help.  Sounds like vulnerability to me.    

If you run your own business, or just want to acquire more confidence in this area, let’s break down why we should ditch the insecurity and start admitting when we don’t have it all figured out. 

Fact.  Our brains just can’t know everything there is to know.  So why can’t we admit it?  

Sit on this for a minute: 

Insecure people pretend to know things they don’t. They dismiss expertise from others.  

Secure people admit what they don’t know.  They defer to expertise in others.  

Proactive people take the initiative to learn what they don’t know.  They acquire expertise in others.  

Adam Grant

I find it strange that the feeling when you find the best possible answer or solution doesn’t outweigh the feeling of not knowing.  

For example, doesn’t it feel awesome and give a little high five to your ego when you have an opinion that others agree with? So why wouldn’t we want to share that feeling or allow others to feel it too?

I love brainstorming / strategy sessions.  The actual goal is not to come WITH the right answer, it’s to come together and FIND the right answer.  The team proactively discusses areas of improvement, collective goals, and everyone has a chance to contribute.  What a concept.    

If we open ourselves up a little more we can actually acquire even more skills and knowledge.  A collective of intelligence.  Not just one person with ‘all the facts’.   

Why You Should Give it a Try

  1. Idea generation is key to teamwork, collaboration and ultimate success.  Being open to learning from others around you, can end up leading you to becoming even more knowledgeable.     
  2. Admitting you don’t know can allow you to also gain and provide confidence that you’re going to find the answer.  
  3. Connection.  The process can allow you to reach out to people, and have a reason to connect.    

Ways To Start Practicing

Reframe the perceptions you have to allow yourself to feel courageous instead.  Being the knower, as Brené Brown puts it, it’s “armour”.  It’s a defensive mechanism and frankly, a total buzz kill.  

The perception needs to change from wanting to “be right” and have yourself heard to wanting to “get it right.”  

Remember

No one really knows what the hell they’re doing anyway.  Shifting your perceptions towards your more vulnerable self and admitting you don’t know will ultimately help you find the best answer you really need.  So, admit you don’t know what the F**k you’re doing more often, and enjoy the learning process.

xo Juicy  

The Juicy Life

Finding Clarity in a Psychic Reading

Posted on August 15, 2021

I’ll admit there have been few times in my life where I’ve felt LOST.  What I mean by LOST: feeling like there are too many things coming at me, seemingly impossible to decipher which next path to take; or even what each path looks like to make the choice on what to do next.  

Those are the times where I’ve sought outside help.  And it’s made all the difference.  

There are many different approaches.  I’m a huge advocate for employer assistance programs.  They’re an easy avenue to short term support for a variety of issues you might be facing.  And when they’re offered as a part of your benefits, it makes complete sense to make use of it a part of your personal health routine.      

But this post is actually about the times I’ve been to a Psychic.  

Different strokes for different folks as they say. 

I’ll start by saying that I’ve only been to a Psychic twice in my life.  Technically 3 times, but one was a group session that didn’t allow me to feel a connection and get in the zone.   

One time was with my friend, who took me to the Russian Tea Room in Edmonton.  She didn’t know it at the time, but I was seriously considering starting my own business.  

Another time was even more impactful for me.  Terri lived in Fort Saskatchewan and conducted readings out of her home. I was going through a difficult time in my life, and since a friend of mine was heading out to see her, I tagged along.

The Experience

What do you envision when you think Psychic?  for me, it’s the neon sign hanging in a city street window.  

Photo by Mark de Jong on Unsplash

The Russian Tea Room in Edmonton was different than I imagined – more of a social set up where you can order food, sit and relax with some tea (or in my case a glass of wine) and when it’s your turn, you go and sit with your Psychic of choice.  

With Terri it was all business.  No tea, no wine, just her cards, and my energy. 

I don’t know what it is about sitting across from a Psychic in a dimly lit room, but I’m down for it. It’s a bit uncomfortable, but what do you have to lose?   

They talk about Psychics hearing a different frequency, having the gift of intuitiveness.  They can just feel the energy from you, which we often have a hard time doing on our own.      

Of course for every good Psychic, there can be Practitioners that aren’t in it for your best interests.  Which is why researching, reading reviews and word of mouth is so critical. 

What Should You Expect? 

Having a reading can help you understand what’s happening in your current life position, gain better insight into potential upcoming challenges or ways you are blocking your own progress, and help guide you toward making choices that can lead to greater accomplishment and fulfillment.  

In other words:

Psychic’s claim to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, which can be defined as telepathy (the supposed communication of thoughts or ideas by means other than the known senses) or clairvoyance (the supposed faculty of perceiving things or events in the future or beyond normal sensory contact)

https://www.britannica.com/topic/extrasensory-perception

The sheer force of intuitiveness should make your Psychic take charge of the session. They should be doing most of the explaining as they receive specific insights.  My suggestion is to sit back, listen and ride the journey. 

Both times I didn’t go with specific questions.  I felt that if they could truly read me, they would read my energy and tell me what was necessary for me to know.   

Ask to record it.  I know that there was no way I could remember everything that was said, so it was nice to have the opportunity to listen back to the experience when needed.  

Oh yeah, and what about all that ‘seeing your future stuff’? It’s more about assessing the situation you’re currently in, allowing you to see the choices you may have and how they might affect you in the future.  A reading might help give you a little hope and confidence that there are good things coming your way, regardless of the choice you make.    

What if they tell you something you don’t want to hear?  

My advice is review it and ask if it serves you.  Remember – it’s only knowledge.   You have the power to act on it or not.  The choice is ultimately yours. 

Psychics are not there to tell you the end of your story.  If you go in understanding that, with an open mind, it could become a really amazing experience. 

So What Happened?  

The Psychic at the Russian Tea Room spread out the tarot cards, and asked me to pick.  He asked if there were any specific questions I had.  I said no.  

During our session, he confirmed to me that I was a natural entrepreneur and that I should explore that in my life.     

Terri told me that there were good things for me, regardless of which path I chose.  Both paths involved work, but both paths would be successful.        

She saw a big move in my future – like different Province move, she said.  

Well, what do you know?  

Why Do I Consider This A Life Lesson?   

It was the affirmation I wanted and needed.  And I was all for trying out new methods to hear it.     

My philosophy is, if you don’t know what to do, try something new.  I said yes to something I had never done before and it provided me with confidence.  Both sessions helped affirm the life decisions I was faced with at the time.   

Only YOU can make decisions that are best for YOU. But it’s our responsibility to gather the information we need from the resources available to us.   

What We Seek Is What We Know.  

I chose to use those sessions and their insight to help me figure out where I should focus my energy.

It was a way to adjust my viewpoint.   It wasn’t that they told me something I didn’t already know.  I just needed the kick in the pants to see it.    

Do you believe in psychic abilities?  Have you gone to a Psychic? I’d love to hear your stories and maybe the insights that were manifested for you during your session!

The Juicy Life

Vulnerability

Posted on July 25, 2021
getting vulnerable hiking
Nigel Pass, Banff AB – 2020

Learn it, Practice it, Fail at it, Keep getting better at it.  

It’s a hot topic, vulnerability.  As I embark on this new blog, I felt it right to start with this lesson learned.  You can’t write a blog, regardless of the goal or point of interest, without taking a risk and getting vulnerable.  

Vulnerability stems from our juicy innards – the core of who we are.  Our emotions, our feelings being expressed in their truest form.

Vulnerability defined “is a state of emotional exposure that comes with a certain degree of uncertainty. It involves a person’s willingness to accept the emotional risk that comes from being open and willing to love and be loved”.

Very Well Mind.

And from Brené Brown: 

“Vulnerability is the core, the heart, the center, of meaningful human experiences.” –

Brené Brown, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

I thought long and hard about my own ability to be vulnerable before starting this journey.  Could I expose myself, openly and honestly, with the fear that I may receive some serious criticism (well intentioned or not)? 

Am I passionate enough about this project to open myself up and maintain one of my core values, growth through vulnerability?    

Yes and yes – I definitely don’t want to present sugar coated stories with sugar coated outcomes.    

Emotional Exposure.  

Emotional Exposure. The scariest, yet probably most important thing someone can do for connection.     

I used to be a very sensitive person.  

And to that person, the thought of people reading your words is as scary as someone suggesting ‘lets go streaking’ (cue image of a naked Will Farrell in Old School).  

Actually scratch that.  I still am a sensitive person.  I don’t think I could go streaking now through any quad.  😉

Through practice, I learned that if I could step back from a situation in order to first identify my emotions, then I could step back in with better understanding and express myself with more clarity – with more vulnerability. 

*Slight honest reminder here that this process doesn’t always play out that way.  But what is life without a little bit of learn, burn and return!

I think back to how I dealt with my emotions when I was a kid.  

I cried. 

I cried when I was mad, I cried when I was frustrated, and I cried when I was sad.  I felt that it was impossible to express myself so this was the way it ended up coming out.  

My parents also didn’t communicate their emotions very well.  

The spectrum was full force.  It was either insane outrage, or tepid disappointment.  Then a soft roll back to “everything’s fine”.  

And in most cases, the real issue was often not resolved. We would forgo the “let’s sit down and discuss what we were really trying to say” part.  So, the moving on part often wasn’t a success.  

The issue just stayed nicely swept under the carpet and we could get on with our day.  

My best guess is that this led to me lacking in the verbal expression department and having trouble identifying, expressing and then dealing with issues.  

I stayed sensitive.    

Writing It Out – A Different Sort of Exposure.

I started journaling over 25 years ago.  Writing in my journal was my emotional expression which 100% helped me work through things within.    

But then I started taking the outlet outward.   And I started writing letters to my parents.  

Identifying how I felt, and what problems I was facing.  

I would slide them under my parents door, so they could read them when I wasn’t around in hopes that it would help them realize it was ok to just talk our feelings out.   

I would read it back to myself, as a way not only to understand but to identify and solve the problem, even if it ended up just helping me.

At first it felt like a cop out – why couldn’t I verbalize what I was thinking and Get-It-Out?  

If you’re being faced with someone who’s communication style is yelling absurdities and slamming doors,  it’s scary shit.  Your brain will easily break down and not process what it needs.  

It took me doing this a few times to realize it was how my brain worked.  That this was how I was able to best communicate. 

I realized I need time to reflect.  

My brain’s a slow processer, and I’m down for it.  

How Did Vulnerability Even Become Such a Hot Topic?  

I was introduced to the concept of Vulnerability through Brené Brown’s TedTalk.  

I was on our yearly ‘Girls Backcountry Hiking Trip”, which is something I look forward to each year.  

As we were in the car on the way down to the mountains, my sister Kathryn said we all needed to watch this TedTalk.   

To this day, I still watch it.  And you should too.   

Brené Brown describes vulnerability as “uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure.” It’s that unstable feeling we get when we step out of our comfort zone or do something that forces us to loosen the reigns, Barbara.

So why are we all thinking that emotional exposure is a sign of weakness?  

 “What most of us fail to understand…is that vulnerability is also the cradle of the emotions and experiences that we crave,” says Dr. Brown. “Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy courage, empathy, and creativity.” 

So while starting something new, such as acting on a new passion, might open you up and expose you in ways you may feel uncomfortable, you’re also opening yourself up to the opportunity to connect, and learn new things from others.  

Sounds pretty risky to me.  But also, full of excitement, joy, courage and connection.  

How Do We Practice Vulnerability?  

Understanding our values is a great start.  I want to be as honest as I can about who I am and what I need to fill this bucket of mine.   

For me, one of my core values is growth through connections.  Some of the best human connections in my life have come to me through times of vulnerability.  

Understand the idea of vulnerability for yourself and what it means to you.  Brené Brown’s book Daring Greatly is a great start – link to audiobook.

PS – I’m all for Audible. I listen to books while I drive instead of get frustrated re-reading pages after dozing off. Win win 😉  

Tips to Practice Vulnerability.

  1. Define vulnerability for yourself
  2. Get to know yourself – your values, your beliefs, what makes you feel good
  3. Take the time to put your thoughts in writing
  4. Get familiar with the feeling of vulnerability:
  5. Push yourself outside your comfort zone
  6. Share your truth
  7. Take responsibility for your actions
  8. Practice, practice, practice!

The Power of Connection.

I feel strongly that vulnerability will always lead to better connections. 

What I feel is that the crux of emotional expression – the core –  can make everything feel so much fuller.  So much more in colour.  So much more…Juicy.  

When we value vulnerability we understand that it’s not about perfection.  It’s about rolling up the sleeves and doing the work.  Not leaving anything on the table.  Even when it’s as hard as fuck.    

We never got there, my parents and I, until much later in life.  And it continues to be a struggle most of the time. A struggle I pursue, but sometimes let go (hint to another lesson learned).    

So yes, definitely scratch that. I am still a sensitive person.  I’m so down with feelings of uncertainty, and fear, because I’m also so down with connecting, learning and growing.

xo Juicy 

Connecting Through Stories.  

I’d love to hear a story of vulnerability from you; A time when you’ve practiced being vulnerable and what was gained, and/or, maybe, what was lost.    

My Story

The Beginnings Of Living Juicy

Posted on June 27, 2021
King Creek Ridge, Kananaskis AB – 2020

2020 taught me to list less and listen more.  

I’m sure we can all relate.  ‘How it started vs. how it’s going’ memes are viral. 

Robyn Schall, an amazing comedian is pouring her heart out (and the entire bottle of wine) on social and laying it down for reals.

After the longest zoom call of your life finally ends, your coworker decides it’s a good time to give you the play by play of why they don’t believe that wearing masks does anything to ‘stop the spread’.  You slowly move your hand towards your mouse, while you say “I’m sorry Karen, but my laptop battery is dying…”    

When you look for a common thread, the question is, ‘what was/is this insanity trying to tell us’?  

That’s me in a nutshell.  For as long as I can remember, I’ve threaded things together by reflecting on my life and my experiences. 

Asking ‘what is this trying to tell me?’ is much more wise than asking ‘why do I not remember anything that happened last night?’ after I finished that bottle of wine…by myself.  

The History Behind Living Juicy.

Let’s back this bitch up a bit.  

It’s December 2019, feeling good, wanting my 40th year to be my best yet.  I own a fitness studio with my husband, living a hard but fulfilling life: he works full time at the studio and I work full time at the Edmonton Airport as a Safety Coordinator but ALSO teach spin classes after the ol’ 9-5 to make this entrepreneurial dream of ours a success.  

Now, I love a good challenge.  Fitness challenge, no drinking challenge, make my bed every morning challenge…anything to break up the routine. 

So naturally after seeing others create their own ‘insert age by age’ challenge, I start writing a 40 by 40 List of all the things I hadn’t yet tried or accomplished to complete in 2020!  

I announced it on social media even!

Turning 40 in 2020.

First, let’s unpack turning over a new decade in any year, let alone 40 in 2020.  

Why do we focus so much on these milestones in particular?  Let’s dig in a bit and use the good ol’ internet to find some articles on why this is. 

Are you having a midi-life crisis? How the stress kicks in when you turn 30

Well Fuuuuuck……’The stress of turning 30’?  Can we talk about a crisis?!? I swear I said to someone once that your 30’s are the best times of your life! 

Give me a heck yeah in the comments section if you’ve ever laughed to yourself or your bestie about how old you said you felt in your 20’s and or 30’s, or secretly snicker to yourself now when the younger people in your life start bitching about their laugh lines or ‘saggy parts’.  

In that case, then we must have our shit together by 40 for sure.  Let’s find some uplifting articles about turning 40…. 

The One Thing Everyone Should Know Before Turning 40

…well, the headlines are much more friendly. Could this be an uncovering of sorts?  Perhaps a ‘coming of age’ realization? 

That if we take all the lessons and experiences we’ve learned over the years – by the time we turn 40, we can just calm the f*%k down already?      

Disclaimer: I Love Lists.

I really do.  I always have.  I used to ‘pen’ my lists, but now I have an app for that. 

The Grocery List, the Classic To Do list, the Honey-do list, which by the way, props to whoever came up with that one.

And when you search on the internet, there really isn’t anything you can’t learn about that isn’t identified in a list these days: 6 ways to cure….7 reasons why you shouldn’t….8 easy steps to lose those last 10 pounds…

But, why do we make lists?  

First off, “If you didn’t write it down it didn’t happen” – Health & Safety Rule #1. 

Secondly, lists save sanity, and keep our daily lives in order.  When I found out about Google Keep I pretty much nerded out in my colleague’s office. You mean I can write as many lists as I want AND edit and correct my spelling??

Getting Back to the Point…

My all time favourite list is a Gratitude List.  We humans have the ability to identify, analyze, and determine the next steps in life by reflection – keeping what we want and leaving what we don’t.  Leading with gratitude for the learnings, to move forward with a positive mindset.   

So instead of completing my 40 by 40 list (which was seriously CANCELLED by COVID anyway), I was able to rediscover the art of gratitude and reflection by creating a list of the lessons and experiences that helped me get to where I am in my 40th year, and who I have become.   

And this is where Living the Juicy Life Blog will focus.  A collection of advice, knowledge, and wisdom that I’ve been blessed by the lucky stars enough to pay attention to.   

Things I’ve learned in my life that I think mean something. Sharing a few of my own stories along the way.   

I believe it just takes someone saying it at the time of your life where you really need to hear it to make it resonate. Hearing people’s experiences that have gone through it before helps maintain some connection through this crazy world and what it throws at us.  

Each week, I’ll write about a new learning from the list. They won’t be in order, just in order of my list on Google Keep haha.  

This isn’t the be all and end all list either.  I’m still learning, and I’m still growing. 

I hope you’ll laugh, and share some of your stories with me.

If you shed a tear, shed 10 because it feels good to cry sometimes.  Just keep it out of your glass of wine, alright?

Connection.

2020 taught me that connection is the key to keeping us whole.  We can’t do this thing called life alone, and why would we want to?  Comment below and let me know 1 thing you thought was going to happen in 2020 and either how you pivoted or how you ended up making it happen anyway.

Cheers to sharing our stories, the good AND the bad. XO Juicy