#7daysforme Challenge Day 1

Day 1 in my #7daysforme Challenge starts today and it begins with choosing my word for 2016!

So I've thought a lot about my word for this year and I've finally settled upon COURAGE (to be a Catalyst). I chose this word and this phrase because when I look back on my life, the one thing that has always held me back from the biggest blessings is fear. Fear to try something and not have it go the way I want it to. That may sound strange and unbelieveable coming from me, but it is 100% true! So this year, I'm going to place COURAGE where there is fear :-). 

What's your word?

Heading into the New Year

And so we are a few hours away from the New Year and I’m sitting down to write you all. I’ve been trying to write this newsletter for 3 days now :-). However everytime I sat down to write, no ‘right’ words would come out. Every beginning felt contrived, not the right thing to say, lacking of soething. And since I’m a believer in divine timing and wisdom, I decided to let the shoulds go and just write what comes through when it comes through. And now, I’m sitting in my favorite spot, in a lull of the day and the time feels right. So be forewarned, this is a bit stream of conscious and I’m just going for it :-).  

I think it’s because it’s ‘this’ time of year. Our minds are tuned to the frequency of reflection, shedding, and renewal. We are winded down with the expectant energy of a new start, ready to jump forward into the newness, the rebirth, the doover of a new year.

I always am excited about this time. Particularly the feeling that I get to doover what I didn’t get to do exactly how I wanted to this year. What I mean is that I get to try again. Everybody wants a rockin’ year. Everybody wants to look back on it and say, man, I really rocked it out this year. I blazed through all of my goals. I was the me I wanted to be and I embraced happiness 99% of the time. I am 100% rockstar!

But the truth is that often times, we may make it to only 85% rockstar, maybe 75%, sometimes barely 30%. And all I’m saying is that it’s ok, because you know what, a new year gives you a new chance (actually a bunch of new chances) to do it over again – to get just a little bit closer to rockstar status :-).

New Tradition

I want to encourage you to take on a new tradition this new year. You may have already heard of this and if so, I hope you are doing it. If not, go for it, this is a great time to start. For the next 365, create a memories jar. Every time something awesome happens, big or small, write it out on a small piece of paper and drop it in your memories jar. You can get fancy and buy a cute little tin from the dollar store or you can go straight utilitarian and rinse out an old glass food jar for your memory keeper. I suggest keeping it somewhere that you can easily see, 1. to remind yourself to keep up the habit and 2. To remind yourself that good things happen :-).

#7daysforme Challenge 

So remember in last week’s newsletter, I said that I wanted to invite you all to do a very easy, very impactful ritual/challenge with me to set off our new year right? Well over the next 7 days I will be posting my challenge over on Instagram and sending you a quick daily email reminder about it. Don’t worry, I won’t make a habit of sending you daily emails :-D .I just really want our new year to start with a good burst of rah rah energy. And intentional focus is a good way to do that ;-).

Simply, we’ll be answer 1 question a day to help us reflect on what we want for this new year. I encourage you to share your answers on Instagram with a picture and the tag #7daysforme or leave a comment here. Participating makes the mental work that much more powerful ;-). You can find me on Instagram at www.instagram.com/leahrpatterson. Look out for my posts :)!

Best blessings lovely people!

Self Love, Self Sabotage, Cinnamon, and Nutmeg

Do you ever have that feeling that things are starting to flow. Kind of like you’ve stepped into the river and for once, you are swimming with the tide instead of against it. And it’s Flowing, like a warm caress carrying you along. You’re not even exerting a lot of energy per say, mostly just gloating along in the ebb and flow of the currents warm embrace. And as you go along, you take in more beauty, more fortunate sights, more one of a kind moments, all the while moving forward with intention (for the river is taking you somewhere).

Do you have a good picture? It feels peaceful doesn’t it. Even joy filled right? Well sheesh, that’s how life has been feeling lately. Like things are coming together. Ebbs and flows and all in my favor, some giving me the gumption to go go go, others giving me the cue to take a step back, get my mind right, evaluate, and open my eyes to the next fortunate occurrence.

But I realize that there is a fear cropping up – a fear that some other figurative shoe is going to drop. That something out of my control will happen and smack, dab, bomb – back to the setbacks I’d gotten used to. Back to the complacent thoughts about certains things just not ever changing.

Does that happen to you ever?  You know what it can cause?

Self sabotage.

Yep, that uncanny ability to shoot your own foot in the effort to shoot the villain that you can’t see.  Self sabotage makes you do silly things that the unafraid you would never do. Self sabotage makes you doubt every single action until you’re crippled into no action. Self sabotage takes your sense of control and scatters it all over the place into tiny little pieces that now only resemble franticness.

That’s why self-love and ACTIVE practices of self appreciation are so valuable to me. That’s why this space even exists.

Lip service has never really been strong enough to combat self-sabotage. Thinking good thoughts sometimes just doesn’t cut it. Self sabotage is active even in its ability to shut down activity. We’ve got to be just as active to counter it.  

So I’d like to challenge you to think of all the things I suggest here for you as acts of self love and appreciation. Carve out time for them so that over time, you’ll have a memory file of how much you mean to you. And how much You are in control of you. And how much your active energy devoted to you has made an impact and a difference. Because it will – trust me. Do this and look back even 3 months from now. You will be different and better for it ;-).

And how does this relate to the fear of the other shoe dropping above?

Because it will show you how much is within your control. And it will show you that YOU are the important piece. Not the elusive “what if”. It will show you that YOU being an active participant is what was really moving that river’s current along all that time ;).

Today’s Mini LOVE Fest :-)

Christmas-y sweet mask anyone? How about with nutmeg, cinnamon, and honey?

Alrighty so Nutmeg and Cinnamon invariably remind me of Christmas – those smells drum up images of warm fireplaces, cozy oversized sweaters, hot tea and cocoa and a healthy cup of spiced eggnog :).

Cinnamon and Nutmeg - YUM!

So it’s a perfect time to realize some other ways to experience these lovely spices! Nutmeg and Cinnamon make excellent components of an acne scar healing mask. This mask is super simple to make and can be stored in your refrigerator for about a week or so. I would use it once a week at least and give it a month’s time to work its magic. Remember, skin cells take about 28 days to turn over, so that month is important! Curb your impatience dears ;-).

Why this mask is as awesome as it is simple:

1.       Cinnamon is a natural anti-microbial agent. It’s been used for centuries to fight viruses and bacteria. It also contains powerful antioxidants that help keep healthy skin cells from breaking down prematurely.   

2.       Nutmeg is also a natural anti-microbial agent as well as an anti-inflammatory. It has been used to heal many skin diseases and helps to reduce acne scarring and clear up infections and redness. It contains a number of vitamins that your skin needs for optimal health also.  

3.       Honey is a natural moisturizer that also has powerful anti-bacterial properties. It helps to heal current breakouts faster and also reduces the occurrence of more breakouts.

As an extra benefit, you can also add lemon juice to this mask. It will give an extra dose of anti-microbial activity and also will serve as a natural astringent to brighten the complexion, balance pH, and tighten pores. It also contains tons of vitamin C, a necessary component to building collagen in the skin.

This is one of those mask that you don’t have to worry about using exact measurements. Below is a good rule of thumb.

Cinnamon, Nutmeg & Honey Mask

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp honey

1-2 tsp lemon juice

Mix all of these together in a small glass bowl (glass is best if you are planning to store it).  Apply for 10 to 15 minutes and then rinse with warm water. Your skin should be glowing almost immediately :-)!

I encourage you to spend those 10 to 15 minutes of mask time meditating, reading something soul-nurturing, or painting your nails (my go to "love me" quick activity :-)). Just something to reaffirm that You are in control of YOUR time and that YOU are important enough to spend it on YOU ;-). 

Enjoy!

Life Lessons Learned from Missing Both Tricks

Hey salsa sistas! I have a story to tell. It's going to end up as a story of empowerment but it's going to start off as one of embarrassment :-/. Stay with me! 

As you all may know, I don't just own a dance studio in my town and relegate myself to teaching. I still love to and do  perform. Yep, I still got it, lol ;-). 

BUT, running a dance studio, running a makeup/skincare business, teaching in the dance studio, and still living some version of a normal life can be a little time consuming. So that means time to practice on my own stuff can be a little hard to come by. I'm sure you can relate when you think about your own whirlwind of responsibilities. 

But my dance partner is pretty awesome, crazy dedicated, and truly a blessing (we'll talk about how the universe drops stuff in your lap and then tells you NOW it's time - even when you'd let go of that dream a while ago in a later post). All that to say I could not let him down. 

So I practiced my arse off. I was sore. I was tired. But I was gonna do one more time no matter what. As many times as he hit play, I was gonna hang. 

And so I thought I was ready! There was NO way I was gonna mess up this show. I knew all of my cues. My timing was impeccable. I was poised, calm, in performance mode and ready to rock it. 

And you know what. I totally bombed, like crashed and burned both tricks. BOTH TRICKS my people. Both tricks. Aghast! Sink into the floor. Stop the music and just slink off stage right?! At the very least, spend the rest of the night sulking. Go hide in the corner. Refuse to dance with anyone. Better yet, just go on back to the hotel and wallow in bed - with wine. 

Oh how easy that would have been! So many times, I've done some version of that! I've let my whole entire mojo be knocked off kilter by - what shall we call it - LIFE! And that's all it really is - it's just life - things happen. Just that simple! 

I mean let's be real - what in the world could I have done to change that outcome. I'd already put my best foot forward. No one could have made me believe I should have worked harder to prepare because I was working my hardest. On the night of, I made sure I was rested. I went over the routine in my head. I was in game mode. I was ready. And it still happened. I still flopped the big moments.

And it struck me as I walked off stage, half smiling/half laughing at myself that 'oh well, I flopped but you know what, I still had fun!' AND I still rocked out that show. There was like at least 2 minutes of that show that were OFF THE CHAIN (if I do say so myself). Both of those tricks - 5 seconds tops :-P. Why waste mental energy on  5 seconds? 

And that's a lot like life my salsa sistas. That struck me a few days later. Things are going to flop. We are not going to do 100% like we want to all the time. We are going to try our absolute best - and it's still going to fall short.

My question for you is this - why focus on the 3 or 4 inches you missed instead of focusing on the freaking football field of progress you made? Yes, I like to exaggerate sometimes, but you get what I'm saying right? Which part is really worth your time? Which focus makes you stand up and be happy and proud of yourself. Which focus makes you shrink and try to hide in the shadows. 

You are too awesome to hide deary so as of today, new challenge! For everything that doesn't quite go your way, make yourself pick out the things that were actually pretty cool about it. They are there - you just might have to work a little on that perspective of yours to see it :).

But when you do, I promise you'll be sitting a little higher and feeling a little sassier ;-).

And life won't seem like such a mean punk after all ;-).