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In this episode, I'm sharing reflections questions that you can explore so you can gain more clarity on what you want to take into the next year ahead, and what you want to leave behind. I also share how the reflection exercise can help you not only set your goals, but achieve them with more ease.  Get access to journal prompts here

I am sharing something completely different this week and answering a question I get so often: "How do you create so much content consistently?" If content creation is a major part of your business, like it is for mine, I'm sharing my personal process that helps me stay connected, consistent, and committed to creating content and keeping the creative juices flowing.  "Your value and your worth is not defined by how many you likes you get." 

I am so excited that Emily Harrington and I were finally able to sit down and have this conversation. Emily and I have been wanting to record a podcast together for over a year. We have conversations often where we say, “Why weren’t we recording this?!” Emily is an entrepreneur, blogger, online educator and all around amazing woman. Her main mission is to help other women, especially moms, as she is a mom of two young girls who are only 18 months apart, launch and grow their businesses.  We share our thoughts on women in business, the importance of women supporting other women, and how we are both passionate about how what we do with our uterus is no one else's business.  You can follow Emily on Instagram @emilyharrington.ca or her website: www.emilyharrington.ca

In this episode I talk about how to create terms of success that are based on your needs, wants and desires, not on the external world + Knowing how to listen to your inner guide so that you don't make sacrifices that affect your mental and emotional health. If you have been working towards success and you still feel unhappy, unfulfilled and burnt out, this share is for you. Instagram: @contagiously_positive Email: lauriesheldrick@contagiouslypositive.ca Digital Workshops: www.contagiouslypositive.ca/services

In this episode, I'm chatting with stress management expert Jolene Watson of Clarity Coaching and Development. We chat about the impact that stress has on you mentally, emotionally and physically. And we discuss how to recognize normal stress vs chronic stress.  You can learn more about Jolene here: www.jolenewatson.com At the end of our conversation, I share an exercise with you that you can begin to practice to help to you to manage the emotional and mental impact of stress. The show notes below support this practice.  Time Stamps My conversation with Jolene begins at: 21:08 The Emotional Scale Practice begins at: 1:22:15 Show Notes  The Emotional Scale: https://contagiouslypositive.ca/the-emotional-scale/ Supporting Workshops: https://contagiouslypositive.ca/services/

We all get scatterbrain, especially when we are taking on too much. When that happens, we feel overwhelmed, frustrated, irritated and mentally and emotionally exhausted. In this share I am giving you one tool you can practice, just one because I don’t want to add on to your overwhelm, that will help you calm your scatterbrain and experience mental and emotional freedom, which will also impact your physical well-being as well. Journal Prompts: How do I feel when I'm not living in the moment and taking on too much? How do I feel when I am living in the moment and I'm not worried about the next thing that I have to do? How does my body react when I take on too much and/or I'm future-tripping? https://www.instagram.com/contagiously_positive/ https://www.facebook.com/contagiouslypositive

In this share, I am talking about 4 things you can do to prepare yourself mentally in a difficult situation so that it doesn't have an emotional and/or physical impact. I’m using examples based on my past experience, but these tools can be used in any situation. JOURNAL PROMPTS Do you have any fear that has turned from normal cautious fear to panic? Where are you not feeling safe and why? If there is, go into a meditation for 10-20 minutes and ask yourself this question, "How can I turn off these alarm bells of panicked fear so that I feel safe?"  When you get out of the meditation, grab your journal and free-write what came up for you. INSTAGRAM: @contagiously_positive UNLEASH: www.contagiouslypositive.ca/unleash

Since early March, we were all given a massive wake-up call. Whether we expected it, were ready for it, liked it, or not, it was forced upon us. For many of us, this forced wake-up call has made us look at many parts of our lives and examine what needs to be changed. One question I have been asking myself lately is, “do I really want every area of my life to go back to “normal” after this is over?”  So here we all are, experiencing so many collective wake-up calls. As you sit there, reading this, your life might be on the edge of a precipice. You may be in need of a change, and quite possibly, your life needs a shake up. Don’t worry, that is your wake-up call. It might feel scary, but I promise you, it gets so much better. But it only gets better if you wade through the emotional discomfort. In this episode I’m sharing how to recognize the whisperings of a wake-up call and how the practice of embracing change. JOURNAL PROMPTS Let’s take the conversation to our journals:  ·  What are the whispers you have felt that is time for a shake-up? ·  What has been coming up for you when you think about making a change? Is it fear, excitement, uncertainty? ·  What has been the obstacle preventing you from taking that first step? ·  What support do you need to help you fully embrace and take action towards making the changes you want and need to make? Related Workshops: www.contagiouslypositive.ca/unleash Instagram: @contagiously_positive

I wanted to share these steps with you because there is something really powerful when we can claim what we are feeling, instead of it claiming us. This is how we are able to move through the stages of grief (over any loss) with more ease. Not by bypassing our feelings, but in the awareness of what we are feeling. My hope is that knowing what each stage might feel like for you, the awareness will guide you through it.

We all have an emotional compass that guides us in our decision-making. This is really important because our decisions are made from how we feel, or how we think it will make us feel, or how we want to feel. In this share I want to guide you in creating an emotional compass to help you find your true north. SHOW NOTES Emotional Scale from Esther & Jerry Hicks: 1. Joy/Knowledge/Empowerment/Freedom/Love/Appreciation  2. Passion  3. Enthusiasm  4. Positive Expectation/Belief 5. Optimism  6. Hopefulness 7. Contentment  8. Boredom 9. Pessimism  10. Frustration/Irritation/Impatience 11. Overwhelm  12. Disappointment  13. Doubt 14. Worry 15. Blame 16. Discouragement  17. Anger 18. Revenge  19. Hatred/Rage 20. Jealousy 21. Insecurity/Guilt/Unworthiness  22. Fear/Grief/Depression/Despair/Powerlessness Journal Prompts: 1. How are you currently feeling? 2. How do you want to feel? 3. Think about every area of your life. What do you need to feel the way you want to feel it and what will take? Go through each life area: your career, relationships, personal and professional growth, your health, even your finances. How do you want to feel in each area and what will it take to achieve it? 4. Are the current actions, thoughts, reactions, response and decisions currently supporting the way you want to feel, or enhancing how you don't want to feel even further? SOCIALS + WORKSHOPS Instagram: @contagiously_positive  Facebook: Contagiously Positive with Laurie-ann Sheldrick  Unleash Your Limiting Beliefs: www.contagiouslypositive.ca/unleash

Life can feel so hard sometimes; especially during a global pandemic where there is so much learning we have to go through. And it can definitely feel challenging when you are in a state of learning, growing, changing and even unlearning. My hope is that this share will help you become aware and open to the stages of learning that we all go through and that this awareness will make things feel easier, give you a sense of peace, faith and hope. Contagiously Positive 

Every once in a while, I go for a walk in nature and the inspiration hits me. So I hit record on my phone and bring you a WALKSPIRATION. Last week I walked in the rain and got inspired by some ducks, had a little cry out on the trails with mother nature and felt my heart expand. In this share, I'm talking about feeling what you need to feel, including joy, stopping the negative self-talk, expanding your heart, giving yourself what you need, and allowing yourself to experience joyful moments. 

Every month Jolene and I chat about our life and give you questionably helpful tools :-) If you have ever been in a coffee shop and eaves dropped on the table beside you, that is what our conversations feel like.  This month we are talking about our visions and goals, why it is important to stay optimistic even during this COVID-19 challenge, redefining success and how we are both coping. 

In this share, I sat down for a chat with Shulamit Ber Levtov, MA, RSW, CCTP. This was an amazing conversation and Shula is an incredible human being. We talked about ways you can cope when you are on an emotional rollercoaster, what you can do if you are experiencing trauma, what happens to our body and mind when our nervous systems response to threat is turned on, and normalizing our primal instincts to an abnormal situation. We talked about how all this relates to the COVID-19 situation we are in now and what might be happening in your body and mind. We even talked about why you might be eating more and moralizing language around food. Connect With Shula: https://www.compassionatesupport.ca/about-shula/ https://www.shula.ca

I don't know about you, but I feel like the universe has put floaties on me and I'm learning how to swim again. I believe that right now it isn't just important to do a weekly check-in, but a daily check-in. These questions are a beautiful way to connect to your inner guidance system and help you to navigate your way through this unchartered water.⠀ In this podcast I share how these four questions are helping me to take inspired action on what I need each day to wade through the daily emotional rollercoaster that myself, and many of us are experiencing right now.  What do I need mentally today? ⠀ What do I need emotionally today? ⠀ What do I need physically today? ⠀ What do I need spiritually today? Free coaching is available to anyone who needs it right now. Contact me at lauriesheldrick@contagiouslypositive.ca

Jolene Watson and I are back having what has become a weekly podcast chat. Being able to support and communicate with all of you with my best friend has made a massive impact on my mental and emotional health during this crisis.  In this conversation, we are talking about:  Introvert vs. extrovert communication (including engaging your team on conference calls).  The importance of expressing your needs based on your unique personality, or the needs of your current situation.  How now is the best time to learn about each others personalities and stress triggers.  Giving grace to your team, your leader, yourself and those at home while we all navigate these unchartered waters.  We also talk about getting out of busy work and how it seems to just be our default.  And Jolene shares her THINK acronym that we can follow before we speak. And so much more because we are just two friends chatting, wanting to give you tools and a distraction :-)   I'll be offering free coaching until this crisis ends. If you need support, you can reach out to me anytime. My email is lauriesheldrick@contagiouslypositive.ca

In this episode, I sat down with Lorraine Driscoll of Building Better Brains to talk about how to continue educating your children at home during COVID-19 and school closures. Lorraine has over 13+ years as an elementary teacher, and has studied and works in Neuroplastic Learning Therapies. She is also a Registered Nutritionist. Triple powerhouse! We talked about ways you can continue to educate your children at home, how you don’t have to replicate the educational system, the importance of teaching your children emotional intelligence and resilience so this doesn’t become a trauma, and she offers advice on how to speak to your children about COVID-19. We also talk about tools to help your children (and yourself) process all the emotions we are feeling right now. Contagiously Positive Website 

Jolene Watson and I are back and answering questions about how to adjust to working from home. When we first recorded episode 98, it was pre COVID-19, so we thought we better come back and do a part 2 addressing what is happening today and how to cope to a new work from home routine. We discuss how to stay disciplined, planning and organizing your day, creating habits and rituals that strengthen your mind, the importance of doing the inner work and not letting fear run the show. We also talk about how it is no longer business and life as usual, so what does a new normal look like and how to stay connected to your team. Show Link Mentions:  ASANA ZOOM Conferencing Positive News Connect With Me 

When Jolene Watson and I first recorded this podcast, over a month ago, we had no idea what was to come with COVID-19, which is why we don’t discuss it. It hadn’t reached us yet. We decided to still release this podcast anyway, and will create a part 2 shortly with what we are experiencing today. With that being said, this podcast is a discussion about the benefits of working from home, from a corporation and entrepreneurial perspective. I believe that once this crisis ends, and it will, we will be implementing better strategies, policies and procedures that not only protect the physical health of employees, but also the emotional and mental health. Contact me anytime if you require any support. 

In this episode, I'm talking about how to ask for and receive help when you need it, without feeling guilty of being a "burden" It is okay to say you can’t do it alone. It is okay to ask for help. It is okay to not have the answers. It is okay if the problem feels bigger than you can handle. When my husband needs help with something, he simply just asks, “hey, can you help me with this?” He doesn’t stress over it for hours, or break his back trying to do it by himself. He simply just asks and accepts. I have always admired this about him. My pattern is quite different. When I need help with something, my default tends to go to, “how can I figure out how to do this all by myself so that I don’t bother anyone or become a burden?” I proceed to try a bunch of different things, huff, puff, stress myself out, break my back, and finally I give in and I reluctantly ask for help. Or, I’ll get asked if I need help and I’ll proceed to say, “no, don’t worry, I got it.” Even though I know full well that I don’t got it! Sound familiar? If yes, this share is for you. I also share some journal prompts so that you can do some self-coaching.  Website