A Swift Doula Blog, Chicago

Blogging Bits: TLDG Live Fall Sessions

10/18/2018

This past weekend a facebook group I love (and Admin) had 12 fun and informative video sessions about doula work and more. I wanted to share the talk I did on blogging and some small bits to consider about this flexible communication medium.

If you are a doula and would like to join in our next live sessions in January, join the Tough Love Doula Group on Facebook. We'd love to have you!

Cheers, Ariel

PS - WARNING: I cuss in this video.

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Start Where You Are

10/11/2018

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Goal setting. It's proven to be a part of "successful" people's approach to life, and it is often part of any coaching, therapy session, or exercise consultation. And that makes sense! Where do you want to go, what do you want to be able to do, and how do you want to feel are all incredible questions that give our actions direction and purpose.

And I am one of the best at goal setting. I can make some serious goals. I can goal with the best goalers out there goaling.

But.

Um.

I need to admit something.

Hi. My name is Ariel and I'm a recovering start-overer.

While I am incredible with ideas, getting things started, and making a started something into a finished something, I suck at delegating, following through on boundaries on my time, and trusting other people.

And because of those things I suck at, I get really really tired and have to muster up quite a bit of sparkle to turn my ship back to having my goals on the horizon and my feet firmly planted.

These things I suck at are things I'm discovering and starting to own how they became my struggles. Brene Brown says I'm starting to "own my story." It's been a tearful process. It's been an angry process. AND it's been a very good process.

The last weekend in September, me and 10 other incredible women spent some time in the Michigan woods talking and thinking about hard things. Things like why our brains are wired to make up stories when we don't know what's going on. Things like perspective and why being generous towards those we have a conflict with can actually be a self-serving act. And things like grief.

Our brains are incredible and capable of amazing things, and when we are willing to take some time, we can unlock some interesting truths through a very simple act: 15 minutes of writing.

When you write, your brain transforms feelings and thoughts into tangible stories we can start to analyze. Once we take the time to let our feelings and thoughts OUT OF OUR MINDS, we can do ourselves a huge service and decide if that story is based on facts, or if it's made up.

But none of that can happen if we don't acknowledge where we are right now, and what is going on.

So like my GPS asks if I need directions from my current location, or somewhere else - I've been choosing to start where I'm at and see if that doesn't get me closer to all those goals I'm so good at making (but not actually meeting.)

Cheers, Ariel

Image from Brenebrown.com

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Blogging Bits: TLDG Live Fall Sessions

Start Where You Are

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