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    Lisa Schwaller

    Support for Overwhelmed Working Parents

    love

    Learning to Love with Coach Bailey

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    Here is Bailey, my hard to photograph best dog friend. 🐶

    In the Fall of 2018, I was standing in my lovely backyard. I had the thought, “Yes, it’s time. This yard needs a dog again.”

    Bailey and I met in December at the Houston Humane Society. She was estimated to be 6 years old at the time.

    I am 48 but only learned to love like an emotional adult in the past 2 years.

    Bailey is part of that evolution.

    She is a good practice partner in the art and skill of “unconditional love”.

    I learned to love as a gift instead of a set of rules or a shopping list of expectations for the other person.

    Love for my benefit, for me to experience, and then to radiate out into this gorgeous world.

    Coaching taught me this lesson.

    Did you know love is a decision not a feeling?

    Yes! And I help people learn how to do this!

    My clients see their relationships transform dramatically! And the other person does not change a single thing! Mind blown.

    Guiding people through this breakthrough is the closest thing to magic I’ve ever experienced.

    Benefits of learning to love like a grownup include being a better:

    • romantic partner
    • steward to humans (kids) and non-humans (pets, the planet, etc.)
    • friend
    • colleague

    Thank goodness I finally learned how to love!

    Now I’m free, and so are all the people that I love! Super cool. 💕

    I want to be your coach! Sign up for a free consultation.  

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    The Stars Are Always There

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    tree and dirt road at golden hour
    Photo by Daniel Olah on Unsplash

    As I write this, my family and I are vacationing in the Texas Hill Country. We are staying in a cabin on the top of the hill, far secluded from civilization. 

    The stars at night are amazing. I thought last night, “We don’t see stars like this in the city.” But then I thought, “But they are there all the time!”

    I’m an early riser, so I woke this morning around 5 AM. I stepped outside to look at the sky and the stars and planets were still there, bright, shining.

    Until the first rays of the morning sun changed the sky. 

    And the sky changed quickly, warming up and then the bright sun turned the Texas night into a colorful cloud filled miracle painted orange, pink, and yellow.

    But the stars are still there. They are there right now during a thunderstorm. They are there when I’m home in the city. No events on this earth move the stars from their place in the universe. 

    The stars are still there. 

    There is something inside of us that is as beautiful, pure, and constant as the stars are in the sky above us. 

    This is the part of you that is beneath your overwhelm, your stress, your disappointment with the events and people in your life. 

    The stars are there in you. And we can coach together to help you feel them no matter the time of day, no matter the weather happening in your life. 

    I want to be your coach! Sign up for a free consultation.  

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    Be YOUR Best Self

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    Working out is a matter-of-fact part of my day. 💪

    Each day, I face my planned workout with whatever I’ve got that day.

    Tired? That’s okay. I do my best.

    Not feeling it? That’s okay. I do my best.

    The lessons learned at the dumbbells and yoga mat are making me stronger everywhere.

    We get nowhere when we compare ourselves to anyone including (especially!) our past selves.

    Inspired by the example set by others? Yes! Comparing yourself? Nope. Just stop it, ‘k? 😆

    Do your best today. I promise that your best is good enough. 💗

    I want to be your coach! Sign up for a free consultation.  

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    Bailey and the Fox

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    My dog, Bailey, is almost 8 years old. She’s fairly lively and kind of mellow. Perfect dog for me since Dec 2018. I was willing to search the wide world for the dog with the temperament that would compliment me. She’s one of my best friends!

    When planning vacation, I wanted Bailey to join us. I wanted a simple escape from the everyday. I wanted to be somewhere that felt normal, like it could be 2020 or 2002 or 1982. 

    Our secluded Texas Hill Country cabin is perfect. We’re on the top of the hill, the wind whipping by us, and we have the place to ourselves. 

    Tonight, Bailey and I took the hilltop trail to enjoy the sunny rays. 

    It was supposed to rain today, thunderstorms in fact. We will drive home into a Tropical Storm in Houston, so this bonus sunny, breezy day is an especially welcome gift. 

    Bailey was trotting along, happy as can be to be off leash. Queen of the Mountain in an almost literal sense. 

    Then…the fox appeared. 

    A beautiful fox ran right down the hill past us. Bailey didn’t blink. 

    Nor did I. I shouted, “Be a mammal!” and celebrated as she ran like the wind after that fox. 

    I loved watching her chase. Sure, we didn’t think she’d catch that fox. But the chase? Oh, such joy and beauty in the pursuit. 

    She eventually came back, proud, tired, happy. 

    And I thought to myself:

    Shouldn’t we all pursue our dreams like that?

    110% focused and running, testing our capability?

    Oh, that’s the world I want for myself. I want that for you, too.

    I want to be your coach! Sign up for a free consultation.  

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    Surprising Feelings: Jealousy

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    One of the most challenging aspects of self-coaching for me is learning to get in touch with my emotions. Not just labeling them but – ACK! – feeling them. Like with my body and stuff!

    I see the benefits of this touchy-feely feeling practice now. As a result, I consistently practice feeling my emotions. 

    This increases my general awareness of my feelings. 

    One emotion that has been popping up with more regularity is…

    jealousy

    Gross! I do not want to be a jealous person. At this stage of life, I am what I am, I love myself, and I am full of expansive love for other people. Truly, I feel in a nirvana enlightened state a fairly high percentage of the time. 

    So…jealousy? It’s at all kinds of things, a pretty outfit or someone’s financial fortune. 

    And then, finally, my coach mind caught up to my Observer mind and I had an epiphany:

    The jealousy was not wanting what person X had for myself. 

    It is an indication of my increasing self-awareness of my general desire. 

    I want things. After years of feeling anxious about, um, everything, it’s so encouraging to be a thought away from so many beautiful wishes. It’s a 180 degree shift from feeling overwhelmed.

    Are there emotions surprising you lately? What are your heart and mind trying to bring to your attention? Be curious and see what beautiful lessons await. 

    I want to be your coach! Sign up for a free consultation.  

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    My Very Best Friend

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    What is your relationship with yourself?

    Do your thoughts about yourself sound like an impatient parent scolding a child?

    How does that make you feel?

    Probaby awesome, inspired and motivated to make big, healthy, positive changes!

    NOT!

    Think about what the world would be like if we were all our own best friend first. How would it feel to love ourselves that much?

    Now, in most cases, we love our best friends because of how we feel when we’re in their company.

    We feel supported. Or like our individuality is seen, recognized, and valued. 

    In time, the relationship grows. We earn each other’s trust through positive shared experiences. 

    We learn that we can really, really count on that person to be there for us in times of celebration and need. 

    How does your best friend talk to you? How do you talk to your best friend?

    Does it match the way you talk to yourself? 

    Imagine this…

    Something awesome happens! Your best friend says, “Meh, that was a fluke. Anyone could do that?”

    Or, imagine making a mistake.  Your best friend says, “Oh, how could you do that! That was pretty stupid. You’ll never get to your goal doing that!”

    How you talk to yourself about yourself is the most important choice you’ll make. 

    It really does seem true that we can only love others to the level at which we love ourselves. 

    So…hold yourself to high standards if that works for you. Just…be friendly and supportive in the process. 

    I want to be your coach! Sign up for a free consultation.  

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