I have taken a couple of wrong decisions in my private life the past few weeks. I haven’t been inspired neither excited to write articles or lead workshops. There are phases in our lives when there is no flow and that’s okay. Nothing is wrong. It’s simply just life trying to teach us something. I want to share what I’ve learned recently about what helps me to find my way back to creativity.

My promise to myself.

I promised myself three years ago to take part in one retreat a year. I was on Crete two years in a row for a “Light and shadow retreat” and a “Soul retreat”. This year I didn’t want to follow a specific program, this year my strongest wish was to follow my own rhythm and take part in workshops when I feel like it and partly be in silence.

Right now in Thailand.

After a couple of days of just rest, no plans and chilling out on my self-created retreat in Thailand, I noticed how joyful, inspired I feel and how much kindness I’m showing myself.

I wasn’t sure where my inspiration had gone to lately, maybe it just had left me in peace for a while. Now I see it was not only the acceptance of my current state of being that brought me inspiration back, it was also my CURIOSITY, my constant curiosity on people and the world around me.

I realized that my curiosity is my STABILITY, my pillar to lean on and my solid foundation while inspiration and excitement come and go.

My curiosity led me to go dancing.

Yesterday I was ready to take part in the first workshop here on Koh Phangang. My curiosity led me to a “Sacred tantric dance” gathering with women. I have never taken part in a workshop like that before. Still it felt totally natural.

When we started to share our ideal lives, I saw how much I had in common with all those women, women I had never met before. I felt totally PRESENT and AWAKE even though I hadn’t slept much the night before.

We were asked to share the two most present feelings we experienced while fantasizing about living our ideal lives. Mine were: ALIVE and AUTHENTIC.

The teacher showed us a couple of techniques which we can use in order to bring forth these feelings. One of them was to dancing the feelings in the middle of a circle of women while they scream out the qualities they see in us.

FREEDOM and ALIVENESS they screamed to me.

At the end of the workshop each of us completed a meditation dance and received feedback from the other women.

The teacher told me: “What I appreciated in you was how you dared to express your AUTHENTICITY.”

I was moved to tears. So many years I’ve spent on learning not to push, pretend or perform. I’ve desired to discover my true self and bring her back to life, and here I stood in my light of vulnerability, gentleness and truth, fully expressing my authentic self.

It can’t get much better than this.

What is your most desired self-expression?

Authenticity is the way back to creativity.

I’m sitting on the terrace of my bungalow, watching the rain become one with the sea. And I know that this is one of these very important days I will always come back to, to reminding myself of how I want to feel, being alive and authentic.

It’s of course easier to open up to your desired feelings in Thailand on a retreat, but when we become aware of HOW we want to feel, and we remind ourselves which our most desired self-expressions are, I believe that the journey to our ideal life will be much shorter than if we would live without this awareness.

Do whatever you need to do to open up to these feelings, go for a retreat, take a break from your everyday life routine or whatever works for you, but do it, it’s so much worth it, I promise!

When you feel a lack of inspiration, ask yourself:

What are you REALLY interested in?

When you feel tired, unmotivated or restless, ask yourself:

Which step do I need to take to access my most desired feelings?

Book tip:

I highly recommend the book: BIG MAGIC by Elisabeth Gilbert.

Coaching offer:

If you’re stuck and don’t know how to get back to your creativity and you are ready to open up to your ideal life, check out my coaching packages and book a free consultation: https://katarina-stoltz.com.

Love, 

A year ago I wrote my first blog article. Since then I have kept on writing articles regularly. It has supported me to stay committed toward myself, and to live what I preach. Writing has also become a way for me to acknowledge my learnings. Today I wish to share and acknowledge my most important learnings this year, and I hope I will inspire you to make a similar list.

Ten things I did to make sure there was movement in my personal and professional life 2017:

1. Got rid of at least ten boxes with old school books, notes, and other stuff, which I don’t need anymore, from the past. Since I started experiencing the power of completing things, I regularly clean up in different areas of my life. This year it was time for the boxes in my parents’ basement.

2. Started to express my emotions in a more appropriate way. This resulted in better skin (I used to have acne), sleeping better, more energy and feeling much more balanced.

3. Some more cleaning up to make space for the new. I regularly went to a second hand store to sell clothes, that I did not wear anymore, and some I gave away. I started to shop less and prioritize quality to quantity. The feeling of lightness amazes me, when I don’t have to think of all this clutter anymore!

4. Stepped way out of my comfort zone and started to lead workshops, and I led 5 workshops in personal development during 2017!

5. Spent a lot of time searching for the right coaching practice and found one, which I share with other professionals. I started to work as a Life Coach and have supported over 100 women to live a fulfilled life.

6. Got myself a proper alarm clock and started using it instead of my I-phone. Now I leave my phone in the kitchen when I go to sleep and instead of checking emails first thing in the morning or last thing in the evening, I focus on starting and ending my days in a much more conscious way.

7. Managed to communicate with more compassion and less reaction and defense. I learned how much we influence others with the way we communicate. The way I used to communicate was a bit aggressive and defensive. Today I notice how much easier it is to reach someone with a more understanding and compassionate language.

8. Read the book “Body process” by James I. Kepner and learned a lot about the relationship between our bodies and our mental and emotional health.

9. Went for a retreat and learned about my soul’s purpose and other karmic stuff. Went through a very challenging ritual, and since then my gratefulness towards life has been present every day.

10. Started seeing every single discomfort as an opportunity for learning.  I’m becoming better at handling situations and people, who are triggering me, with looking at what I can learn from it or them and also at what still needs healing. This has had the effect that I’m almost not going into conflicts anymore.

My most important learning 2016 was: Slow down, you move too fast. My most important learning 2017 is:

Get rid of emotional and physical baggage and you feel healthier and lighter. 

What can you acknowledge yourself for this year? Write a list and discover how you have grown personally and professionally.

When we are able to acknowledge ourselves we take a BIG STEP forward to a life that feels more joyful and fulfilling.

Wishing you all a grateful ending of 2017!

Are you a drama queen? Are you creating a little drama out of every misunderstanding or unfair situation which is happening to you? Do you spend hours trying to understand why somebody treated you badly? Do you blame parents/partners/old schoolteachers for not living the life you deserve? This used to be me. 

I constantly blamed the world for my unhappiness

I used to spend hours analyzing, dramatizing and trying to understand why I wasn’t happy. What did I learn? A lot about why things turned out the way they did, but I was still stuck in my unhappy life. And the worst thing was that I kept on making the same mistakes.

It was much easier to blame the world and stay the same then really get to know myself and make a change.

Drama does not just walk into your life. Either you create it, invite it, or associate with it. 

This is what works for me

I did not move forward until I started to look at my needs behind my drama. I believe that creating a drama is a result of our unfulfilled needs. Most of the time it’s needs like:

I need to be cared for
I need to be listened to
I need to be seen

Becoming aware of our needs and wishes is the first step out of drama. 

Today I am a recovered drama queen

It took me a lot of courage to get to know the drama queen in me. Today, most of the time, I recognize when I create drama and I can decide to:

STOP IT
CHOOSE ANOTHER WAY OF EXPRESSION
LOOK WHAT I CAN LEARN FROM IT

It has not only given me fulfillment, but also a sense of inner peace.

And believe me, life does not get boring without your dramatic outbursts! Life as it is in it’s true nature is exciting enough and doesn’t need to be filled with theatrical stories.

With minimizing drama in your life you can expect:

– More time for things that are important to you
– Less confusion and more clarity
– A more loving relationship with friends and family
– A sense of responsibility for your current reality
– Feeling less tired/exhausted/sick 

Life with less drama is a possibility for you too

If you wish to learn how to minimize drama in your life and look at your needs behind it, I offer one-to-one Coaching sessions.

Sign up for a FREE OF CHARGE coaching consultation via Skype https://calendly.com/katarinastoltz.