By this time, it’s likely that you’ve experienced a range of emotions. I think it’s safe to say that we all have. These emotions are formed and nurtured by the sentences we repeat in our minds over and over again, and after a series of days, we begin the cycle of doubt, fear, & lack that pulls our focus away from our purpose. Today, I hope to help you in reclaiming that focus so that you break free. 

***A LIST OF ACTIONS TO GO ALONG WITH ARTICLE PROVIDED AT THE BOTTOM***

If you apply the actions below, you will be blown away by your mental transformation! 

I’ve listened to many of you share your feelings over on social media, and what I’ve found is a range of perspectives. For some of you, our world’s current situation has shaken you to the core.  And, others of you, you’ve felt mostly ok. Your heart goes out to those being impacted around the world, but it’s not so close to home for you. Staying home and having more you-time hasn’t felt so bad.

The one common theme amongst almost all of you is that you’re battling to maintain focus on your business. Your mindset varies moment to moment and bounces around like an untamed rabbit. We’ve all been there! My purpose in this writing is to show you a clear path that will result in clarity, drive, and refined focus.

It’s ok to feel however you’re feeling right now. Just be sure to allow yourself to feel. Be honest, compassionate, and patient with yourself. We’re going to talk about how to move forward in just a moment. 

First, let’s all take a moment to honor our health care providers. We will forever owe a debt to these incredible hearts that lovingly serve our world. May God bless each one of them! We must also show respect and care for the people that have been impacted – those that are experiencing loss, pain, and suffering. My thoughts and prayers are with you. 

We’re in this adventure together, aren’t we?

“NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF DREAMS & THE INFLUENCE OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT. WE ARE ALL THE SAME IN THIS NOTION. THE POTENTIAL FOR GREATNESS LIVES WITHIN EACH OF US.”
– Wilma Rudolph

Now. Let’s begin. I’m going to speak honestly here, and I’d like to write to you just as I would a dear friend. Honesty and tough love often serve as great guides in our lives. If you’re ready to lift your head, push through that wall, and reclaim your business today, it will require effort on your part. Most importantly, this is a decision. This choice you must commit to daily. 

Remember a few paragraphs ago, when I mentioned allowing yourself to feel? Let’s talk about what comes next. After you’ve made space for those feelings, it’s time to move forward. The first step is to check in with what thoughts you’re having on a daily basis, and from there, you’ll discover a few sentences that you’re repeating. 

You see, feelings are a guide to what’s holding us back, and this gives you the power to break free! 

Think about it! Does any of this sound familiar?

“I never have enough time.”

“I wish I could photograph weddings like that.”

“I can’t handle all of this.”

“I’m just not a good writer.”

“I’m so fat.”

“I have too much work.” 

You have to ask yourself this one question: “How do any of these sentences serve me?”

Most of the time you’ll find that it’s not serving you at all, and in fact, these thoughts are stopping you right in your tracks! We believe these thoughts, and they impact our decisions and daily actions! Over the span of months and years, our thoughts lead to actions that unfold our destiny. 

So now what?

It’s time to create new habits. Whatever sentences you’re repeating, forgive the thought, and replace it with a new thought. 

For example, maybe you’ll start saying:

“Time is expanding for me.” 

“I have more than enough time.” 

“I’m moving in the right direction”

“I know I’ll book weddings like that one day.”

“I believe I can do this.”

When you do this mental check in, another element to consider is what content you’re consuming regularly and how often. Listen. It’s great to stay up to date with the current pandemic, but if you find yourself constantly pulling up your phone to check for updates on the latest news, maybe you should consider less of that input. 

Our brains are wired for survival. If we continue to show our brains the tiger, we’ll stay in fear, and none of you deserve to be caged up! How could you ever focus on your business living in a constant state of survival?

Feed your brain loving thoughts and content! This is the first step to regaining your focus on what matters! 

Once you’ve begun a more positive thought cycle, your brain will naturally begin to show you more positive facts all around you! It’s true bliss, but as humans, we tend to struggle to keep our thoughts in the right place. 

After all, that’s why we often say, “I’m only human.” 

We may be really positive for a day or a week, but when something happens that doesn’t fit our expectations, it’s easy to fall into the old traps that lead to negativity. It’s a perfectly normal struggle. However, you need to be able combat the negative thought monster in order to move your business in the right direction. 

Clarity provides a clear and resolute vision for your path to success!

Clarity comes with perspective. A lack in clarity will create insecurities and procrastination. These emotions open the door to our old thought patterns, and this is one of the top reasons people will have incredible strides but not consistent on going strides. There’s a rush of energy in the right direction with a hard landing of doubt, unanswered questions, and simply a lack of clarity.

This is why people struggle with diets, addictions, and even posting regularly on IG!

So you’ll want to examine a few areas:

1. Why are you doing all of this, and who are you doing it for?

Connecting with this may be one of the most valuable things you could do right now. Why do you love what you’re doing? What do you have to offer the world? Who will you impact in your circle and around the world?

Take some time to journal these thoughts, and dig deep!

2. Your expectations vs. reality

We can all agree that the world is almost unrecognizable to the way we expect our world to be for us. If we’re honest with ourselves, we don’t have control over this pandemic.

But, there are many things that we can control. 

We must choose to be at peace with what each current moment presents to us. We may be very unfamiliar with this reality that we’re facing, but we must face it. Accept it for what it is and move forward. Living in the pain serves absolutely no one!

Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t find ways to serve others in need during this time! Our deepest purpose on earth is to love, and if you can show love to people being impacted, that would be a wonderful idea. 

Once you’re at peace with what is, I’d like for you to make a list of all that you can control right now. We can all choose how we respond to updates, how we spend our time, how we show up and serve, and how we commit daily to the promises we’ve made with ourselves.

That’s the true reality.

When we set specific expectations, we close ourselves off to creative possibilities! Oftentimes, we set goals and require one specific route. However, the path isn’t always what we expect and when we stay open to creative possibilities, the outcome is always better than our original goal!

Focus on what you can control, and let go of the rest! 

III. CLAIM YOUR MORNINGS

Let’s be honest, most people around the world wake up to a phone screen. Minds are filled with the agenda others present in their inbox, stories, and messages. This sets our mind in a mode of survival and in a state of pleasing others.

To keep your focus on what matters most, to have clarity, and become better than you were the day before, you need time alone.

It’s that simple. You need to allow time to ground your thoughts in truth and to set the tone for the day! This is one of the ways you’ll maintain clarity in your life which helps to keep your thoughts in the right place, and that’s why you’re here!

Pick something that resonates with you. Some great ideas are prayer, reading, journaling, going for a walk, deep breathing, meditation, yoga, stretching, singing, reviewing positive affirmations, keeping a gratitude journal, or anything else that works for you!

You’ll create the most success in your life when you always start each day excited about your purpose and clear on the actions required to fulfill your goals! These consistent actions produce confidence and momentum in your life and business!

Use your mornings to connect with who you are without your business. That’s something I think we all struggle with – our identity is so tightly tied up in our careers, the number on the scale, our relationships, income, and the list goes on. Deep down we know that we are perfect just as we are, and we’re being guided. 

No achievement will ever make you worthy! We are all connected, and we don’t need to do anything to prove ourselves. You are worthy just as you are in this moment right now! And, no matter what comes your way, clarity will reveal that you’ll always make it through anything that you face! Knowing this, brings peace and allows you to pursue your dreams with an open heart!

When we don’t slow down to set the tone for the day, we often forget this truth.

Here are three questions I start with each day:

“Who can I surprise today?”

“What am I excited about today?”

“If I’m being my best self, how would I handle the worst thing that could happen today?”

“WHATEVER THE PRESENT MOMENT CONTAINS, ACCEPT IT AS IF YOU HAVE CHOSEN IT.”
By Eckhart Tolle

IV. SEEK FOR PROGRESS

Sure, we’ve all heard that we create our own happiness. Many people suggest that happiness comes from having things to look forward to – the end of the pandemic, a new baby, a raise, a wedding date, a vacation, or even looking forward to when the kids move out of the house. I find that this presents the problem of always needing something new to feel happy.

I believe that happiness comes from being at peace with the moment and in achieving progress daily. We’re all staying home more than we’d prefer these days, and the problem is that we’re fearful creatures that feel trapped with nothing enjoyable to do – nothing to pursue! Joy, confidence, and focus come by having little wins every day.

Now more than ever, you need something to work towards each day.

This could look like getting active every day, updating your site, taking new portraits of yourself, eating clean, organizing your house, and doing the things you’ve always said you haven’t had time for! Now is your time! 

This quarantine is not a call to become sedentary. This is a time to rediscover the value you have to offer the world. This is a message from the earth to wake up! 

You are here on this planet for a reason!

You’re capable of greater than you could ever dream, and you’ll begin believing this when you start to show yourself that you achieve those little wins. The more progress you create in your life, the more likely you are to take action on your BIG business & life goals!

For example, if you prove to yourself that you can run an eight minute mile, maybe you’ll begin to push yourself to eat clean. From there, you’ll start having more energy and clearer thoughts.

If you can see yourself create that success in your life, don’t you think you’ll believe you can do more in your business?

I certainly believe so!

We should be having fun every day! So find something you enjoy and seek progress each day!

Another sneaky veilen that will pull your focus away from your business is time itself. We all set our goals at the beginning of the year, and now that so much has changed, it’s very likely that some of your goals are no longer realistic for this year. You may also need to create new goals that are more suitable to our current situation.

We must adapt to our new reality. 

This doesn’t mean that we are limited in what we can accomplish. This is only true if we choose to believe it is so, but the real truth is that there are countless possibilities! If you’re reading this, it’s probable that you’re creative to the core.

So use your super power!

It’s times of intense pressure and emotion that lead to some of the most innovative ideas ever created. We all experience hardships, and it’s through these hardships that we come out on the other side stronger and wiser. Everything you need to create abundance is already within you!

Reassess your goals for the year, set new goals, and create an action plan to achieve! Spend time reflecting on these goals as they will drive your actions for the remainder of the year. From there, create a road map for each goal and outline the subtasks required to achieve each one. Select two to three goals to focus on for each quarter.

Listen closely. When it doesn’t work out as planned, please remember to be flexible. Rejection is only direction to another path! All you need to do is reassess with each unexpected road block. It’s like a puzzle, and you just need the right pieces!

After all, achieving your goals should be fun!

Humanity is resilient. Our ancestors successfully made it through famines, pandemics, and wars. They even survived without toilet paper! These events have marked our existence, but one thing remains true: this too shall pass. 

Our current suffering is only temporary. Our lives will continue, and we have the privilege of choosing where we will place our focus, the progress we achieve daily, and how we balance our time.

So now the future is in your hands! What will you do with the rest of your year and how will you take your business to the next level?

xo,
Marissa

“WE DELIGHT IN THE BEAUTY OF THE BUTTERFLY, BUT RARELY ADMIT THE CHANGES IT HAS GONE THROUGH TO ACHIEVE THAT BEAUTY.”
By Maya Angelo