Live Life with Clarity, Courage and Creativity
What does it mean to live life with Clarity, Courage and Creativity? For me, it’s been a progression, a journey.
It began in 2008 – the year the world came crashing down. My life was a little crazy. My husband was undergoing cancer treatments and his company was going out of business. My mother-in-law came for a holiday visit and what she thought was a rash turned out to be a form of cancer. She stayed with us for nearly a year while she underwent treatment. In February 2009, I was diagnosed with lymphoma and went through months of chemo. One saving grace for me was the coaching training that I was taking throughout this period. I not only learned how to be a coach, I learned what it was like to be coached through difficult circumstances. My mantra during that time was to live with Clarity, Courage and Calm.
It took a few years for life to become “normal” again. In 2014, my husband and I moved to the Twin Cities area and slowly I achieved the Calm that I longed for. Then Creativity began to bloom. I learned that it’s not enough to be calm and still in the midst of chaos, we also have to move forward, create our new reality, become our biggest, best selves in the world. That’s what I believe we are all called to do. To use our inherent talents and skills in a manner that is in alignment with who we are meant to be. That’s where Clarity, Courage and Creativity come in.
Clarity in this context is creating a clear answer for the question: What do you want? Another way to phrase it is: What do you want to be when you grow up? I often ask clients to think back to when they were 8, 9, 10-years old and an adult asked them that question. At that age, my youngest daughter would confidently answer that she wanted to be an astronaut and horse trainer. And she saw no reason to believe that she couldn’t be/do both. However, a few years later she was imprinted by her 10th grade English teacher and then she knew that’s what she wanted to be when she grew up. Unlike many of us, she followed that North Star until she achieved her goal and became a 10th grade English teacher!
Here’s why it’s important to be able to answer the What Do You Want question: It gives you a clear picture of where you want to go. Because if you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll never get there.
Courage takes many forms. It’s not necessarily the “running into a burning building” kind of thing, although we all have had those kinds of moments in life. In this case, it’s about answering the question: What holds you back? Once we set aside limitations of time, money or physical abilities, the answer to that question is often ourselves. It’s the voice in our heads that tells us that we’ll never achieve that goal because we’re not good enough, smart enough, rich enough, thin enough… You get the idea. Our internal saboteur is often our greatest enemy.
The key to this kind of courage is learning to quell that saboteur voice and move forward toward your big, beautiful dream of what you want to do with your life.
Creativity is where the magic happens. We are all creative beings. We’re born that way. As children we created imaginary worlds with our toys or out in the world with nature. As adults we express our creativity in the way we dress, the environments we create in our homes, the food we cook and even in the way we juggle our finances. We’re creative in our daily lives simply by the energy we bring to our everyday interactions with other people.
As we step into a life that is lived with Clarity, Courage and Creativity we need to answer the question: What can you do now? What is the one small thing that you can do now that will put you into action toward your big, beautiful dream?
A client who always wanted to be an artist took one small step by buying a sketch pad and some pencils. Eventually she created a corner in her house that she used as her studio and began creating the art she always dreamed of. Another client wanted to move to a new house, but the task of de-cluttering his current home was too overwhelming. He began by buying three moving boxes and filling them with the books, records and mementos that he wanted to keep. Next, he agreed to fill three garbage bags with the items he wanted to discard or donate. It’s still a work in progress, but with each small step he’s coming closer to achieving his goal.
Perhaps you are still needing to create Calm in your life. I understand. It’s a progression, a journey. However, no matter where you are in your life, I invite you to consider what it might be like to live it with Clarity, Courage and Creativity.
If you are in need of...
Then Carla Beach has the solution for you!
She’s fearless when helping others face their dark times. She listens deeply, points towards possibilities, acknowledges actions, and humbly honors the trust and confidence placed in her by her clients.
