Inflation. Lay offs. Viruses. This is all “bad,” right? Well…that depends on which part of your brain is running the show. Humans are wired for a negativity bias as a matter of survival. That voice is loud and fearful. We also have a quieter, positive voice that knows any outcome or situation can be turned into a gift or opportunity.

In design and construction, you may be hearing about or even feeling a slowdown. Just typing that my gut constricts and my mind starts conjuring scenarios of gloom and doom. But wait! We are not responsible for our first thought, but we are for the second, third, and so on.

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Let’s be honest. Somewhere along the way, busy became a badge of honor and burnout got normalized. This is not the path of ease and flow; it’s the path of stress and burnout. It’s the lies of the saboteurs—the voices of the inner critic, controller or pleaser to name a few, that create all our stress. In a complex business like interior design, architecture or construction, it’s tempting to believe the lies and to hop on the crazy train of reactivity, urgency, blame and dare I say, drama. That’s a surefire recipe for stress, anxiety and burnout. Sound familiar? Read on.

Our true essence of love, empathy, creativity and curiosity gets drowned out by shoulds, doubt, shame, judgment, fear, numbness, anxiety, and so on. While we might get some results from this place, it ultimately keeps us from performing at our best with lasting happiness and peace in our hearts.

Our emotional state has the power to destroy or nurture—performance, relationships, happiness—thanks to our miraculous neurobiology and the wonders of energetic principles. Stress, anxiety, numbness and drama (your Saboteur’s currency) are all contagious. So are peace, calm, creativity and empathy (your Sage’s powers). Where are you hanging out?

Our society values achievement, applauds competition and rewards performance. Unfortunately many of us depend on constant performance and achievement for self-respect and self-validation. That’s the hungry monster. This post discusses what to do about it.

Those with the Controller have a lot of great traits--confident, action-oriented, persistent, decisive. Yay! Taken to an extreme, however, the impact is not good--high anxiety, lack of connection, and temporary results at the price of resentment from others. In a creative field like interior design, this one is common and it's a killer. Our Saboteurs over-use and abuse our greatest strengths, impacting our performance, our relationships and our happiness.

Janine Aurichio and Lou Ionis discuss the source of your stress and the simple, effective solution of Mental Fitness. Recorded on Lou’s Coaching Lab, this video covers the why and how of your inner Saboteurs and the power and wisdom of your inner Sage to turn your stress into ease and flow.

Remember Mr. Spock on StarTrek? 100% rational, 0% feeling. Know anyone like that? How much are you like that? Our Saboteurs over-use and abuse our greatest strengths, impacting our performance, our relationships and our happiness.

Ever notice you just like being around certain people and not others? Or maybe you know someone who just seems to have all the "luck" and good things seem to come their way effortlessly? Chances are they are operating at a high vibration. Listen to why.

Mental Fitness is the foundation of Life Styling and the end result of using the Positive Intelligence (PQ) operating system, developed by Shirzad Chamin. PQ is a gym for your brain! It trains you to minimize your Saboteurs and to grow your Sage using simple, embodied exercises for breakthrough results in your life and business. This work has deep impact on relationships, work and overall enjoyment of life.

I cannot contain my enthusiasm, gratitude and inspiration that I am now a Mental Fitness Coach with Positive Intelligence (PQ). PQ is a gym for your brain! It trains you to minimize your Saboteurs and to grow your Sage using simple, embodied exercises for breakthrough results in your life and business. This work has deep impact on relationships, work performance and overall enjoyment of life.

Self-acceptance can be such a challenge and yet it is a requirement for self-love and joy. It takes tremendous courage to take a good, hard look at yourself, warts and all. The reward is priceless.

In this conversation with my dear friend, Carrie Friedberg, SF Money Coach, we discuss the how's and why’s of our self-acceptance journeys, where and how money played a role, and how Life Styling can help.