The Taylor Way

46 Things in my 46 Years

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 16:32:40 GMT

Groundhog day: living the same day and same year over and over and over again.

What if we did something different? What if we added fun things to our world because we intentionally decided to?

This really hit me a few years ago and I started a fun thing.

43 things to do in my 43rd year. 44 in my 44th. 45 in my 45th etc and this year? I thought why not take you along with me on this!!

This is the start of the list that will start this year. Do I always do them all? Nope. I missed 5 from last year. But what this list does? It fills my life with memories. Done intentionally. And that makes life SO much more fun.

What would you add to this list?

This will be the best year yet. Because I will make it that way!

Ride a bike
Downhill ski 4 different mountains
Hike to a waterfall
Wear 50% of my clothes
Cook Korean food
Cook Filipino food
Make homemade dumplings
Wallpaper a room
Write a book
Deepen 5 friendships
Host a housewarming party
Laugh every single day
Eat a whole cauliflower in NYC at Miznon
Eat pizza at PizzaToo
Go to a hockey game
Go to a broadway show
Go to a concert
Go to a new sporting event
Craft something new
Take a series of classes in something (maybe gardening?!?!)
Get my ________ designation (this is a secret and not attached to anything important!)
Plant a magical garden in my yard
Create an eating area outside
Create a sitting area in front of the house
Go to the island for Chiro and fun
Go to Terrace
Go to Winnipeg
Go to somewhere new
Take my niece on her big birthday trip
Learn to braid my hair
Bake bread (is focaccia cheating? LOL)
Write my new cookbook
Eat one meal per day for the whole year (trying some fasting things)
Hit my yearly business goal
Try a new restaurant monthly

Real Questions From Real Clients (And The No-BS Answers That Changed Their Lives)

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 15:22:03 GMT

People often think coaching is about motivation, positive thinking, or someone cheering you on from the sidelines. That’s not what happens here. Most of the people who come to me have already tried therapy, books, courses, podcasts, and white-knuckling their way through life. They’re smart, capable humans who still feel stuck in the same patterns. So I thought I’d share a few of the kinds of questions that show up in my inbox and in my sessions. Names and details are changed but the struggles are very real.

Dear Dawn,

I’ve been in therapy for over 20 years and I still feel like I’m stuck in the same patterns. Is it possible my brain just can’t change?

Answer:

Your brain can absolutely change. But here’s the truth most people won’t tell you: awareness alone doesn’t create change. You can understand your trauma, your childhood, and every single coping mechanism you’ve developed… and still keep living the same life. Why? Because the real work happens when you stop intellectualizing your life and start confronting it.

Healing means:

Digging into the root cause
Challenging the stories you’ve believed about yourself
Rewiring patterns that have been running your life for decades

And yes - it’s uncomfortable. But when you’re willing to do that work, real change happens. I’ve watched clients completely transform how they see themselves, their relationships, and their futures. Not overnight. But absolutely for real.

Dear Dawn,

I feel like I wasted years of my life raising kids and putting everyone else first. Is it too late for me to do something meaningful?

Answer:

Let me be very clear about something: Your life didn’t start when your kids moved out. And it definitely didn’t end because you spent years caring for other people. What most people call “wasted time” is actually experience, resilience, and perspective - the exact ingredients that make the second half of life powerful.

The problem isn’t that you’re too late.

The problem is that somewhere along the way you started believing you weren’t capable of greatness.

That belief is a lie.

The moment you start questioning that story is the moment everything can change.

Dear Dawn,

My inner critic is brutal. No matter what I achieve, it tells me I’m not good enough. How do I shut it up?

Answer:

First - you don’t “shut it up.” That voice developed for a reason. It likely protected you at some point in your life. Maybe it helped you survive criticism, chaos, or environments where perfection felt like the only way to stay safe. But survival strategies often outlive their usefulness. So the goal isn’t to silence the voice. The goal is to take your power back from it.

That means learning to:

Recognize when the critic shows up
Question whether it’s telling the truth
Build a stronger voice inside you that knows your actual worth

And yes, that takes work.But once you stop letting that voice run the show, your entire life opens up.

Dear Dawn,

I know I need to change things in my life, but honestly… staying where I am feels easier.

Answer:

Of course it does. Comfortable misery is incredibly seductive. Your brain loves what it knows - even if what it knows is anxiety, unhealthy relationships, burnout, or self-sabotage. Change means uncertainty. It means confronting things you’ve spent years avoiding.

But here’s the truth: Staying the same doesn’t actually protect you. It just slowly shrinks your life. And the people I work with eventually reach a moment where they realize something important: The pain of staying stuck becomes greater than the fear of changing. That’s the moment real transformation starts.

Dear Dawn,

What if I try to change and people don’t like the new version of me?

Answer:

Some people won’t. And that’s okay.

When you start healing, setting boundaries, and stepping into your real potential, it disrupts the roles people are used to you playing. The people who benefited from the old version of you might feel uncomfortable.

But the right people? They’ll respect the hell out of it. Your job isn’t to stay small so everyone else feels comfortable. Your job is to become the person you were meant to be.

One Last Thing

Every person who comes through my door has a moment where they wonder: “Can I actually change?”

The answer is yes. But only if you’re willing to do the work.

The Taylor Way isn’t about staying comfortable. It’s about getting to the root of what’s holding you back so you can finally move forward. Sometimes that means tough conversations. Sometimes it means confronting the past. But on the other side of that work? A life that finally feels like yours.

And trust me - it’s worth it.

How I Have Stayed Married Happily for 26 Years

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 02:59:19 GMT

I have been with my husband for 30 years this April!!! And married for almost 26 of them. To say it has all been easy? That would be a lie. To say we are happier than we have ever been right now? That is the greatest thing ever. How have we done it? I asked Mr Taylor and here are our biggest tips:

Learn to fight. Learn how to shut up and stop and listen. Learn how to walk away when you are about to get mean. How to regulate yourself so that you can engage in a reasonable healthy way in order to get the result needed. With that being said? You also need to learn to agree to disagree and be ok with that. You are two totally different people who have different dreams/goals/ideas in life and beliefs and that means you will not always 100% agree on everything. You can hate their viewpoint and not hate them.

“How can I love you even more right now” this is the motto in our marriage. That means that as we go through our days we actively seek out ways to make the other persons life easier or more enjoyable. This is not a Hallmark way of doing things, this is making them a coffee while making your own, seeing how exhausted they are at the end of the day so cleaning the kitchen for them even though it was not on your list or not your responsibility. This can be NOT good if it is one sided though. This works only if you BOTH want to be engaged in being healthier and happier.

Stay each others best friend. DON’T LOSE YOUR SILLY!!!! If you are wanting to reach out to someone else with the big wins, or the funny stories it is time to reconnect. I want laughter daily if possible. He is also my best friend. My person. That makes ALL the difference in how we interact.

Allow honesty with disconnect. We are very open to talk when we feel disconnected and there is NO blame. We accept that it is where we are, we talk about what we need to change and create a plan. It is normal!!! EVERY couple has times of disconnection. It doesn’t mean you are over. It just means you have to plug back into each other and try a little harder for a bit. Honestly? Most of the time just saying the words reconnects us and it is simple. But sometimes? It takes work.

I promise you can do it!!!! Ignore this “love month” bullshit and focus on your relationship. It is a partnership. It is a team. Put even half as much work into it as you do other things in your life and I will help you all celebrate when you hit 30 years!!

Skiing Even If I Believed it Would Kill Me

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 16:51:45 GMT

I woke up early. I ran to the bathroom. I laughed as I realized I was having nervous poops. Yes. I just wrote that here. It was Christmas Day 2025 and I was about to drive to Sunshine Village Mountain and ski. YAY you think. What a fun way to spend your day. But man alive was I scared.

Let’s back up a sec. In high school I was an avid skier. I spent HOURS on those hills and loved the hardest runs on the hill. Just before my 18th birthday I had a brain aneurysm and everything in life ground to a halt. You may have heard me talk about the fact that I was not supposed to survive this long. There was a 50% chance that I would die in 10 years and no one makes 20 years and so I settle in to just try to survive. The part I never talk about though was the fact that I was also not allowed to do anything that would cause pressure (had to stop playing french horn, loud music, even flying was scary) could cause me to fall ( good bye to all sports!!) and my body size had doubled in a few month so I was a bobble head doll that didn’t even have winter gear that fit me. It was devastating and in the typical fashion of an 18 year old I really wanted to say screw you to the doctors and do it all anyways but from fear and pain convinced myself it would all kill me if I did it. That’s right. Skiing would kill me. Skiing meant death. Don’t ski.

Last year I realized that I have now made it to year 27 and am still HEALTHY alive so what if I tried these things again!!!! And so I have. I have done ALL the things and had fun but I have never skied. I made it my goal almost 2 years ago that I would ski on a big mountain by end of this year. And to ski at Christmas was even more important!

We got to the hill and I kinda panicked a little. Yes I held it together for the niece and nephew and family that were with me but sit in my shoes for a second. This is what I fully believed would kill me. Dead. Done. Finished. YES I had done a few runs the week before but not on an actual mountain.

Here’s why I am telling you this. I refuse to die pathetic. I don’t want to stop living. I don’t want to not have new memories or to stop pushing myself. I refuse to let my fears stop me from living. I refuse to let some crazy idea in my head stop me from moving forward in life. I refuse to believe all the thoughts in my head!!! I am a skeptical human on a good day and I realized that even my thoughts could be wrong or garbage or lying to me. YES out of a need to protect me but still. So I challenged them all that day.

11 runs in 6 hours. I did 11 runs in 6 hours and thought I was going to collapse but I DID IT!!!!!! I may have cried at one point standing part way down a run realizing what I was doing. I may have spent more time than I should stopping to catch my breath not from being out of shape but from being on a stunning mountain. It was an amazing day. And I was so proud of myself I could have burst.

What made this happen?

Pure sheer stubbornness to believe I could do the hard things
The silly playlist called Ski Lady Ski that I listened to over the last 2 years as I worked out (thank you @pivotyourwellness!!!! https://www.pivotyourwellness.com )
Working out to make my body stronger so that I could do this
Finding people along the way to cheer me on. There have been many. You know who you are
Committing to people and clients that I was going to do this and following through

You can do the hard things

You can plan a long term goal and crush it

You can live life……

All so you don’t die pathetic.

“I Needed Something Else”: A First Responder’s Journey Through PTSD, Depression & Real Healing

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 16:21:52 GMT

“After a rough childhood and a career in policing, I was diagnosed with complex PTSD and major depressive disorder in 2011… Seeing my doctors, getting medical assessments and taking medication was not showing any significant health improvements. I needed something else.” — Brent

I’ve worked with a lot of people who come to me after years - sometimes decades - of doing all the “right things.” The therapy. The medication. The coping. The surviving. And still feeling like… nothing is changing.

When Brent first walked through my door, it wasn’t for emotional healing.
It wasn’t for trauma.
It wasn’t for the heaviness he had been carrying for over 14 years.

It was for back pain...

What he didn’t know was that red light therapy would be the opening we needed to get to the root of this pain and so many others. And honestly?
That’s how healing often starts. Not with a dramatic moment. Not with some perfect plan. But with a quiet nudge. A “what if.” A moment where you realize the survival you’ve been living in… isn’t enough anymore.

When You’re Doing Everything “Right” and Still Not Getting Better

Brent told me:

“Over 14 years… relationships crumbled, my ability to communicate disappeared, and trusting myself was nearly impossible.”

If you’ve lived with anxiety, depression, or PTSD — especially complex PTSD — you know exactly what this feels like. You can be doing every single thing professionals tell you to do and still feel stuck. Still feel broken. Still feel like you’re failing at life.

But here’s the truth I tell every client:

You’re not failing.
You’re using tools that were never built for the depth of what you’ve lived through.

Sometimes healing depression and healing anxiety require a completely different approach - one that includes the body, the nervous system, your lived history, and the patterns you’ve been carrying your entire life.

Why My Approach Felt Different for Him

During his very first red-light session, I shared how I blend coaching, nervous-system work, trauma-rewiring strategies, and body-based tools for clients with PTSD. Something clicked for him: “Something about Dawn seemed different and that appealed to me.”

The truth? I don’t sugarcoat. I don’t coddle. And I don’t pretend healing is easy.

But I do make it possible.

My work is about digging deep — past the surface stories, past the “I’m fine,” past the survival mode that has been running your whole life. We look at the patterns. We look at the pain. We look at the things you’ve never said out loud. And then… we rebuild. Slowly. Intentionally. Honestly.

And yes… it’s uncomfortable. But it works.

The Real Changes — The Ones People Don’t Think Are Possible

When Brent describes the shifts he experienced, these words still hit me: “I’ve found a profound increase in my confidence, my ability to communicate, and my overall happiness… My relationship with my wife and children has never been better.”

That’s what healing PTSD looks like. Not perfection. Not being “fixed.” Not pretending you’re fine.

Healing is being able to sit with yourself without the intrusive thoughts.
Healing is feeling emotions other than anger.
Healing is making a mistake and knowing it doesn’t define you.
Healing is reconnecting with the people you love.
Healing is feeling safe inside your own skin again.

This is the stuff most people don’t believe can change — especially after 10, 15, or 20 years of pain. But it can. And he’s living proof.

If You’re Reading This and You’re Struggling… Let Me Be Honest With You

You can heal.

Not by ignoring things.
Not by surviving harder.
Not by pushing through like you always have.

You heal by doing the deeper work — the work that includes your emotions, your beliefs, your patterns, your body, your past, and your present reality.

You heal anxiety by retraining the nervous system.
You heal depression by reconnecting with the parts of yourself that shut down to survive.
You heal PTSD by building safety, tools, and awareness where there used to be chaos, shame, or numbness.

Your story won’t look exactly like Brent’s. But your transformation can be just as real.

I Get It — Because I’ve Lived It, Too

This isn’t just a job for me. This is the work I wish someone had done for me when I was drowning in my own trauma. I understand the anger.
The shutdown.
The exhaustion.
The loneliness.
The feeling of being unfixable.

And I know the road back — because I've walked it myself, and I’ve walked it with hundreds of clients. If you’re at the place where you know something needs to change… that’s your opening. That’s where your healing begins.

You Don’t Have to Do This Alone

If Brent’s story speaks to you — if it gives you even 1% of hope — hold onto that.

Healing isn’t a miracle. It’s a process. A path. A choice. And if you’re ready, I’m here to walk it with you. Whenever you’re ready to begin, I’ll be here.

— Dawn

You’ve Got This - I Promise

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 22:55:14 GMT

Take a deep breath my friend
We’re in the home stretch of the year and guess what?
You’ve made it.

Maybe it wasn’t picture-perfect.

Maybe it was messy, wild, and nothing like the plan you made in January.

But here you are. You are still standing, still learning, still showing up.

That’s called growth and being a human!

Let’s get real for a second...

We love to talk about starting strong , but finishing strong? That’s where the real magic happens. Finishing strong doesn’t mean grinding until you’re exhausted or checking boxes just to say you did. It means looking at your year and saying: “Yeah, it was a ride… and I’m proud of who I became through it.”

Because let’s be honest... some days you crushed it. Other days, the win was simply getting out of bed and doing your best.

And both of those deserve a round of applause.

Time to drop the “I should haves,” stop dragging your “should haves,” around like a bad purse from 2012. You’ve learned what you needed to learn. You’ve grown where you were planted (or repotted yourself entirely).

And now? You get to decide what’s coming with you into the new year and what’s staying behind. Because not everything deserves to make the trip, right?

Here’s what it looks like:
~ Letting go of this bullshit idea of perfectionism
~ Celebrating the messy wins and even celebrating the losses! That is where we learn
~ Trusting that you’re exactly where you’re meant to be
~ Choosing to protect your damn peace. Please protect it

Finishing strong isn’t about doing more — it’s about owning your power and ending the year knowing you’ve grown, healed, and showed up in ways you couldn’t have imagined 12 months ago.

So here’s your challenge... For the next month of this year, I want you to do three things:

Write down three things you absolutely nailed this year (yes, even the small ones).
Say goodbye to one thing you’re done carrying — an old story, a bad habit, or someone else’s opinion.
Set one bold, feel-good intention for the last month of this year

Then say it with me, out loud, shoulders back, maybe even with a little hair flip: I’ve got this.

Because you do.

You’ve always had it.

And now it’s time to finish strong, have a little fun doing it, and take a deep breath and enjoy the Christmas lights

Annual Check In List

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 00:11:30 GMT

The questions below are what I challenge you to answer!! I do these every single year for myself personally and also for my business. Have fun!

Reflection of 2025

What was your biggest triumph in 2025?

What was the smartest decision you made in 2025?

What one word best sums up and describes your 2025 experience?

What are the greatest lessons you learned in 2025?

How have you seen yourself grow in 2025?

What was the most loving service you performed in 2025?

What is your biggest piece of unfinished business in 2025?

What are you most happy about completing in 2025?

Who were the three people that had the greatest impact on your life in 2025?

What was the biggest risk you took in 2025?

What was the biggest surprise in 2025?

What important relationship improved the most in 2025?

What would you like to acknowledge yourself for in 2025?

What else do you need to do or say to be complete with 2025?

Intentions for 2025

What one word would you like to have as your theme in 2025?

What would you like to be your biggest triumph in 2025?

What advice would you like to give yourself in 2025?

What is the major effort you are planning to increase your financial results in 2025?

What would you be most happy about completing in 2025?

How would you like to see yourself grow in 2025?

What are you looking forward to learning in 2025?

What's something that scares you that you're willing to do in 2025? Your biggest risk?

What about your work, are you most committed to changing and improving in 2025?

What is one as yet undeveloped talent you are willing to explore in 2025?

What brings you the most joy and how are you going to do or have more of that in 2025?

You don’t have to wait till January to do this!!! Do this now.

If you want to really dive into this, we can do it in a session! Book a damn call here!

Emotions Are Assholes. And The BEST THING EVER

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 16:00:15 GMT

According to the internet, Dr. Google, and a few things I have researched, emotions work like this: “Emotions work as a combination of your body's physiological responses and your brain's interpretation of those signals, which are then influenced by your thoughts, memories, and past experiences. Key brain regions, including the amygdala and prefrontal cortex , process sensory information and bodily sensations, helping to assign emotional meaning to situations and guide your subsequent behavior. This process involves subjective experience, physiological changes, and behavioral responses, all working together to create the complex feeling of an emotion.”

So what does that mean in a simple way? Emotions are fickle. We give them so much power and yet they are so fickle!!

The word that always makes me pause when thinking about emotions and how we use them is “interpretation." That what we are feeling may not be real, or the correct feel or even the appropriate one!! I know, I know. You are truly feeling what you are feeling. But what if you are interpreting it incorrectly? That is a thing….

Our feelings change so rapidly that we can’t keep up sometimes but the double edged sword of that is that they change rapidly. Think about it. Have you ever gone on a date with someone or a networking event, you start nervous or excited, you then go to tense or calm or even frustrated depending on the situation. You order food. You are hungry. You get so excited to get your food and the first bite makes you gag. You are immediately irritated, pissed off, frustrated, disappointed or all of the above. Do you see how our emotions can change SO FAST?!?!

What if we took all the power above and made it into a new way of processing?

I was talking to a friend today about emotions and she was laughing at my OVERLY logical way of looking at them. I am fairly logical. Most would agree. She was asking how I don’t get super overwhelmed often and I told her that I ask myself, “is this emotion actually going to make this better? Will it solve anything? Fix anything? Make anything better?” if the answer is no, I focus on a different emotion.

A moment today felt overwhelming. Everyone else needed something from me and everything felt urgent. I paused before responding to ANYTHING. I asked what I was feeling. It was hungry LOL! I had been working for 5 hours with no breaks and your girl was STARVED. I realized that hanger overpowered the rest in importance. As in that is one emotion I could take care of that made the rest of them seem smaller. It was actually helpful. So I had lunch. Surprise surprise I felt so much better after and then dealt with everything else in a WAY more productive way.

Take back some control. Reign in the emotions a little bit. I am not saying shut them down, just maybe don’t give them the power that you normally do.

Curious how to do this? Reach out!!!!

P.S. For those of you thinking this is all bullshit and feelings can’t change that quickly, have you ever stubbed your toe?!?!

5 Real Strategies to Get Through Hard Sh*t

hello@thetaylorway.ca (Dawn Taylor) — Sun, 08 Jun 2025 16:54:41 GMT

Because pretending you're fine isn't working anymore.

Let’s be honest: life gets messy . Maybe you’re in the middle of a breakup, burnout, grief, a huge transition, or just a season that feels like it’s stretching you way too thin.

Here at The Taylor Way , we’re not about toxic positivity. We’re about meeting you where you’re at, in the real stuff, and helping you move through it with tools that actually work.

Here are 5 strategies to help you navigate the hard times. Not because everything will magically fix itself overnight… but because you’re worth showing up for, even when it’s hard .

1. Feel it. Fully.

Stop pretending you’re okay when you’re not. Suppressing emotion doesn’t make it go away, it stores it in your body until it shows up as anxiety, illness, or burnout.

Instead, pause. Breathe. Feel what’s there without judging it. Anger, sadness, shame — all of it is valid. Let it move through you, not define you. Feeling is part of healing. And no, it doesn't make you weak, it makes you real .

2. Control the controllable.

When life feels out of control, zoom in. What can you influence today? Maybe it’s taking a shower. Maybe it’s texting a friend. Maybe it’s just drinking water and getting out of bed.

Start small. Micro-moves matter. Don’t underestimate the power of one grounded choice in the middle of the storm. That’s how you build back your sense of power one honest step at a time.

3. Speak it out loud.

Silence isolates. Shame festers in secrecy. Whatever you’re carrying, you don’t have to do it alone.

Call in your people, the ones who can hold space without fixing, judging, or minimizing. Or book a session with someone who knows how to hold you through the messy middle (psst… we’ve got space for you here at The Taylor Way). Vulnerability isn’t weakness, it’s a lifeline.

4. Talk to yourself like someone you love.

Here’s a radical thought: what if you were kind to yourself on purpose ? Not just when things are going well, but especially when they’re not?

When that inner critic gets loud telling you you’re too much, not enough, failing, talk back with truth. You’re doing the best you can. You don’t need to have it all figured out. You are still worthy — messy emotions, unmet goals, unwashed hair and all.

5. Ask: what could this be teaching me?

We’re not saying everything happens for a reason but everything can shape you if you let it.

Hard seasons crack us open. Sometimes they strip away the distractions and bring us face-to-face with what matters most. With who we really are. That’s powerful.

You don’t have to rush to find the lesson. But hold space for the idea that something good might grow here eventually. A deeper strength. A clearer voice. A wiser version of you.

One Last Thing:

This moment you’re in? It won’t last forever. You don’t have to rush your healing but you can choose to stay with yourself through it. That’s what we’re about at The Taylor Way: showing up, telling the truth, and doing the deep work that changes lives.

You’re not broken. I promise.

Need support that goes deeper? Book a session or explore our offerings here . We’ve got you.

Fighting for It and Through It: My Journey Through Hard Decisions

hello@thetaylorway.ca (Dawn Taylor) — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 20:51:29 GMT

As most of you know, my journey has been anything but conventional.

From surviving childhood sexual abuse, battling a brain aneurysm, facing infertility, to overcoming a suicide attempt (and so much more… you should read my book LOL), I've walked through fire and emerged stronger. These experiences didn't break me - they built me. They taught me the power of resilience and the importance of making hard decisions to reclaim my life.

Embracing the Fight Mentality

Life doesn't come with a manual, especially when you're navigating trauma. But one thing I've learned is the importance of embracing the "fight mentality." It's about facing challenges head-on, refusing to be a victim, and choosing to fight for your healing and happiness. This mindset was crucial when I decided to take control of my recovery and not let my past define me.

Harnessing Hope and Faith

Hope and faith have been my anchors. Even in my darkest moments, I held onto the belief that things could get better (yes, I have religious faith too). This unwavering hope pushed me forward, helping me to seek out the support I needed but also built in me the insane desire to fight for myself. To never give up. To never stop trying different ways and new things. And more importantly to dream big.

Developing Resilience Through Adversity

Resilience isn't something you're born with, it's something you cultivate. Each obstacle I faced was an opportunity to build resilience. By confronting my traumas, seeking therapy, and implementing coping strategies, I developed the strength to make tough decisions and stand firm in them. I was recently on a podcast talking about this and the actual tools I use in my daily life: Click here to listen!

Taking Ownership of Your Choices

One of the most empowering steps in my journey was taking ownership of my choices. I stopped blaming others for my circumstances and started making decisions that served my growth. This shift in perspective was honestly the hardest thing I had to do. But it was 100% worth it. Every. Single. Time.

Seeking Support and Community

Healing doesn't happen in isolation. I sought out communities and support systems that uplifted me. Surrounding myself with people who understood my journey provided the encouragement and accountability I needed to make and stick to hard decisions.

Through my experiences, I've developed a unique approach to coaching, combining empathy with actionable strategies. If you're ready to take control of your life and make the hard decisions necessary for your growth, I'm here to guide you.

Am I claiming any of this is easy? No. If it was, everyone would do it. What I am claiming is that you are not alone. And you can do the hard things!!!!!

I’ve got you.

I Can't Change

hello@thetaylorway.ca (Dawn Taylor) — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 18:31:24 GMT

“What if they don’t like the new me?"

One of the hardest things ever in healing is the fear of “what if they don’t like the new me”. What if I am no longer funny healed, what if I have nothing in common with anyone anymore. What if….. I get it. I not only dealt with all those fears in healing but also after the brain aneurysm that rocked my world at the age of 17. I was terrified to change. To be different. To embrace who I was. What came out of it? Once I learned that the new me was pretty awesome? There were people out there willing to love me just as I was. They loved the healed me. The new quirky me. Am I saying it is easy? NO. Did I lose a lot of friends and people over it? Yes. But it was 100% worth it. Here is an excerpt from my book to give you an idea of some changes that happened. Want to read more?

Click here: https://www.thetaylorway.ca/shop

“Loss of Identity - the aneurysm happened at 17 almost 18. The time when we are figuring out who we are. I truly believe I was robbed of that. Have you ever seen Runaway Bride the movie? The one with Julia Roberts? There is a scene in that movie where Richard Were is making her try different kinds of eggs “you are so lost you don’t even know what kind of eggs you like! Yes. Yes. Yes. With the priest you wanted scrambled. With the deadhead it was fried. With the bug guy it was poached. Now it’s like “Oh, egg whites only. Thank you very much” That is called changing your mind. “No. That’s called not having a mind of your own” You're so lost, you don't even know what kind of eggs you like. That line haunted me after. I remember watching it and seeing her trying all those kinds of eggs and realizing I was her. Let me explain. After the aneurysm, anything and I mean anything that was even remotely not what my family was used to was chalked up to being an issue. It was all “oh no. Something is wrong with her”.

I realized very quick that for everyone around me, they needed me to stay as same as possible. I know that this wasn’t done in malice or ill intent. But for me? It felt like I was caged. At a time where I should be experimenting with hair or colours or clothes or what I liked and didn’t like, I was constantly having it thrown in my face. It was only after my mom passed away (just wait! That chapter is coming!!) That I remember watching that movie again and sobbing to myself. I had spent so many years trying to be what everyone needed me to be and it wasn’t working. So what if I wanted to wear makeup! Who cares! Maybe I want to have crazy hair! I hid it from everyone. I actually wore different clothes and makeup and hair styles around my family. I was so scared to change for them. My personality was different for them as well. My niece was living with us this year for a bit and made the comment that no one really knows me. She felt she was in on a little secret. What she doesn’t know was how hard that was for me. To actually allow a family member into my inner sanctuary in that way. She saw the real me. She learned who I am. I often think that if I were to die today, there would be 2 different groups at my funeral. The ones that know me now? And the ones that know me from prior to 2009. I struggle to integrate both of those groups in my life. I often have almost a bi-polar sense in my head. I have to switch on someone different depending on who I am with. On top of that, SHIT KEEPS CHANGING!!!! My hair will not stay the same color. It is 100% natural and I get asked weekly if it is died. It is this crazy gray/white/blonde/brown thing and I have no idea what it will do next. My eyes have gone from DARK brown to light brown to green to hazel. Good grief, give me a few years. Maybe I will get blue too! That would be fun. That is oddly one of the harder ones for me to deal with. I often will stand and look at my eyes in a mirror and be oddly scared. I don’t recognize myself. Due to all of these changes, it took till only a few years ago before I was not scared if I saw my reflection in a mirror in the middle of the night. I used to actually scream. Now? I realized that this year? I am finally dreaming in my new body. For 20 years the vision in my head and what people see are two VERY different things. I always have this discomfort with it. I have no idea how much it will continue to change but I have determined that if I don’t learn to enjoy the word and meaning of “fluid” I will struggle forever. Throw in all the hormone changes and stuff is just nuts around here! I will get to that more in future chapters.

Other losses - the one that makes me cry. Music. I spent my entire life focused on music. It was my saving grace more times than I care to admit. I had taken singing lessons for years and now my voice was changing. I lost my ability to sing the way I had. I had also taken piano lessons for years. I didn’t have the hand eye coordination after to play. My memory was so short, I could not look at a page and see the notes and then play them. By the time I looked back up? I would have forgotten what I had seen. The hardest one though? The French horn. In grade 5 or 6 we had to go around and try all the musical instruments if we wanted to play in band. Maybe it was even before that! I tried them all and when I tried the French horn, I was hooked. There was something about it. I hated the size but the sound was incredible. I signed up right away and much to my parents dismay chose one of the most expensive instruments you can play. I didn’t care. I was hooked. I played in band for a few years before I hit grade 8 and that is when it moved to a place of even more importance for me. I had the most amazing band teacher. His name was Mr Wen. He was a French horn player and the quirkiest man you have ever met but was so crazy passionate about music. I started private lessons and things kept growing. I had found my safe space. I practiced as much as I could, showed up for every practice and my focus became music. In grade 10, I was asked to do a French horn solo in the music festival. I played that year as part of a brass quintet that I started with a few friends, I was in jazz band pretending to be a trombone as they needed an extra one, in regular concert band (forgive me while I geek out for a minute), private lessons and more. At the music festival, I not only played a solo with our main band and then got invited to go to Nationals, but in the French horn quartet I was also a part of I was called out to play with the adjudicators.

This was unheard of and I was so excited and proud of myself!!! I was finally not failing at something and I loved every second of it. That summer I was sponsored by an adjudicator (judge) to go to band camp. *interesting fact. The camp was held at Pamela Andersons high school and the security guard was obsessed with that fact and would show up pictures and tell stories non stop. While there, I got the work with the number one French horn player in the world at that time. I do not remember his name but he was a drunk old German man. He even composed a piece of music for me to play on my own at the final concert. It was amazing and life could not get better in that area. My parents had a deal with us that they would pay for half of whatever instrument we wanted. Needless to say, they were not impressed when I saved my half for a $7500 French horn! Custom from Germany with a detachable bell. I loved that thing. I had so much of my identity in music and when I came out of the hospital I was so excited to play. The first time I tried, I landed in the emergency room. My head hurt so bad I thought I was having a second brain aneurysm. What I didn’t know was that the pressure of how you have to blow into a French horn to make music was too much. I also could not handle the loud sound or the hollow base tone that it had. The thing that had made me fall in love with it was to be the nemesis of my life forever after.

To this day, if I want to listen to loud music? I either have to turn off the base almost completely or choose to have the worst headache for days. My band teacher by this point was NOT the nicest man and he made me sit through band each day even if I couldn’t play. He had no idea the torture that it was. To sit there listening to the instruments around me and not be able to play was the worst kind of torture for me. To this day, I don’t cry when I talk about the aneurysm but the loss of the music breaks my heart. That is a sure fire way to bring tears. Years later when I finally sold it, I felt my heart break. It shattered into pieces and I am still hesitant to learn a new instrument. I know that it will not be the same. I will not have it taken away but the fear is there. I avoided all instrumental music for years. I remember the first time I went to the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra where I live. Husband took me for a Christmas present to Handels Messiah and with tears streaming down my face I allowed my heart to heal a little bit. He also laughed at me. The entire concert, I was playing parts of songs and still moving my hands for the notes. Yes I can still remember way too many notes and what finger combos I need. Want to hear something crazy? When I write? I listen to orchestra music. It makes me crazy emotional and helps me get my words out. This loss was a big one. It is also one that I plan to tackle next year.

Friends - how is an 18 year old supposed to deal with almost losing a friend? What about one who is super sick and has no idea how to live after? I am not sure the aneurysm could have come at a worse time for friends. EVERYONE minus MD bailed on me. And while it hurt like hell a the time? I can’t blame them. Their friend was gone. I was not the same person after and who wants to deal with that at 18? I truly believe that everyone was just that busy. They were going away to school, moving away, growing up and didn’t know how to deal with me. I also did not ask them to. I had my boyfriend and my MD and that was all I knew how to deal with at that point. It was odd though. Looking back and seeing all those people who I thought were so close to me and realizing that we completely lost connection at that point. I really do not have much for hard feelings around this but this has not ended. It is hard to be my friend. My life is not simple. It is not always easy. There is a lot there and I am a lot to handle for a lot of people. Part of it is that I don’t share a lot. In my mind that is. I am sure to others around me, I overshare but I always feel like I am one big walking secret.

I am pretty sure when people read this book, if I put it out there to sell!! That people will be shocked at what they read. I have lived with an overwhelming feeling of “I am too much for you” my entire life. I just have an intensity about me that is hard for people to handle. This is not all good or bad. It just means that in order to get close? You have to fight a little harder than the average person. I was laughing with my assistant tonight that I realized recently that I really like and love her. That she got through and she laughed so hard! “Mission accomplished!!! CRUSHED IT” Like I said. There are a lot of layers to this old girl. It is one of the hardest parts of this book. To open up and share all of this in this way is a crazy vulnerability that I never thought I would have the guts to do. My friends that get close though? I LOVE them hard.

So how do I deal with all this on a daily basis? I laugh a lot. I have a lot of grace for myself. I remind myself that I am a miracle and it is insane that I am even alive. And then I laugh a little more. I have days where I get SO MAD and where I cry and scream and get overly angry at my body/head etc. and then I put on my big girl panties (actually they are super hero underwear) and pretend that I am iron man and no one can hurt me and I go through my day. I allow myself to change my clothes lots. I allow my nerves to hurt. I see more specialists. I count to 60 sometimes, realize I survived a minute, and start again. The one thing that I consistently do though is to fight for myself. I never give up. I give myself time to be mad and then I keep going. I google for new options one more time. I see one more doctor. I try one more diet. I search out one more new friend. I go to sleep one more time a little earlier than I think is normal. I don’t ever stop fighting for my health and my life because dammit! I am worth it.”

And this is a small part of what all changed. Keep fighting for yourself. I promise you are worth it ��

3 Ways You are Holding Yourself In Your Misery

hello@thetaylorway.ca (Dawn Taylor) — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 16:54:26 GMT

Ok... I know this is a statement that may make you mad, but stay with me.

You are most likely holding yourself in your misery. You may not even realize it! How do you recognize it? How are you participating in it?

Recognizing it can often come just from stepping back and asking yourself “what is my part of this story” “how am I participating in this?” “how is this problem serving me in some way” Be honest with yourself. If we weren’t doing any of the above? We would have a way easier time making the changes we want to…

Not stopping. Not stopping the bad habit, not admitting the bad habit in the first place, not being willing to feel discomfort. I LOVE gluten. Gluten made me feel like death. Like I was drinking Nyquil all day every day. Was it hard to stop eating it? Yes. I am not saying it was easy. But how amazing I felt without it? Made it worth while. What do you KNOW you need to stop doing. If you really wanted it? Would you make the change? Be honest with yourself…

Choosing to say yes. You only have so much capacity. Do you know what that is? Do you know your level? Most people don’t. I challenge you to figure it out. You CAN say no. I promise you can!!! You don’t have to say yes. You also don’t have to make excuses for why you just can’t. I often say “I just can’t human today”. Take a moment and ask yourself what makes you have to say yes. What are you afraid of? EVERYONE and I mean everyone is overwhelmed and busy these days. The greatest gift you can give yourself and others often is to say no. How much energy do you have? Do you actually have the time to do what you have said yes to? If the thought of saying no scares you, what about it scares you? If it is because someone will be mad or not like you? Ask yourself, if that the type of person you want in your life? Did they like you in the first place?

Refusal to change. If we want it that bad? We do it. Have you ever REALLY wanted the trip, the job, the pair of jeans and somehow figured it out? Me too. Yet when it comes time to make a change that could be amazing for us we struggle. I hate to say it, and yes I am saying this to me too, but in this situation? We know we can make the change if we want it bad enough but we are choosing not to. We have not put enough importance on it or prioritized it enough. A few weeks ago my trainer almost made an excuse for me as to why I was not doing all my workouts in a week and I laughed. “Nope! I said. I was just lazy and didn’t want to” I think I shocked her with my honesty.

You CAN change.

You CAN do the hard thing

You CAN heal from the hurt and misery.

I promise.

One step at a time.

3 Ways Love Works (and Doesn’t Work)

hello@thetaylorway.ca (Dawn Taylor) — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 20:26:23 GMT

Love is powerful, but it doesn’t work the same way for everyone. At its core, love tends to show up in three main ways:

1. Like Water

There is always enough. You don’t run out. You can pour it into as many cups as you want or keep it all to yourself—but you control the flow. Some people get a full glass, some get a sip, and some don’t get any at all. But the source? Endless.

2. Limited Supply

Think of love like pieces of paper. You only have a few. If you’ve given them all away and someone new comes into your life needing one, you can’t create more—you have to take from someone else. This kind of love feels scarce. It can create jealousy, competition, or the belief that if you love them, you can’t also love me.

3. Transactional

This is love as a trade. A transaction. “I love you if…” or “If you don’t, I’ll take my love away.” Many of us grew up in this kind of love—where love had to be earned. Good grades? Love. Messed up? Love withdrawn. Hello to my fellow ‘80s and earlier babies—I see you.

Because the majority of people out there have not been loved in a healthy way (hello trauma….. Of course you are hurting me because you love me, of course after you abuse me you tell me you love me etc) we don’t really know what love is or even how to love in a healthy way. Due to this? I believe that you CAN love someone not really loving yourself but you can’t do it in a healthy way.

Do you have a co-dependent relationship? (Codependency is an excessive emotional or psychological reliance on another person or when two people have unclear boundaries such that it's difficult to know where one person ends and the other begins. The latter is known as enmeshment.)

Do you have a service based relationship? (constantly serving the other person but NOT in a healthy way and not 2 sided)

Do you have no boundaries? So you could be easily taken advantage of?

Pretty please spend some time figuring this out for yourself. You are worth loving. You are being loved. But in a healthy way.

How to Plan Your Year

hello@thetaylorway.ca (Dawn Taylor) — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 03:53:05 GMT

Oh planning… let’s go.

If you are planning out your year and have no idea where to start, I thought this year I would share how I create my plans.

First things first are the categories I am setting goals and plans for. This year they are: health, brain, travel, relationships, and work. And in that order! So what do these mean?

~Health : what am I focusing on. This year? Fasting and testing. I am planning a 7 day full water fast 2 times this year and a 4 day water fast every month. This is to do a detox/refresh of my system on a regular basis. It also helps break some habits that creep up and are hard to stop (snacking… I see you). I am so researching some crazy cool testing you can do on your health in other countries! So yes I will be doing some of that as well.

~Brain : what am I learning this year. I have a few new trainings I am researching to help with clients but also what do I want to learn personally. I am looking at courses, retreats, etc. to see what makes most sense for me and can’t wait. Don’t worry. I will share as I go!

~Travel : I have realized over all the years of being me that I decompress best away from the office. I know I know. Common sense. The problem? My office is also my home. So I have learned that running away for a few days per month? The best thing for me and my health. So we have a budget for me running away and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone! I get that it is not an option for many but even if you go to a friends house or go camping or something to change your space it is so good for refreshing yourself. I also travel for work and health so that plays into this as well. The other part of this? If I had a corporate job, I would get weeks off every year so as the business owner? I damn well better make sure I am taking them or else it would make more sense to just get a job.

~Relationships : I choose 5 people per year to set up regular dates with. I intentionally build my relationships in that way as I am not a great regular touch point friend. I know this about myself and get sick of the “we should connect” conversations. If I have ever said that to you? I MEANT IT!! This allows me to deepen relationships with people in my life. One of my favourite things I started years ago.

~Work : financial and future work plans. I figure out what I need to make to hit my goals and map it out from there. Do I have to work 15 hours a week, 40 hours a week or 70 hours a week in order to hit them. I don’t work to just work but limit my hours based on what my outside goals are. Saving for a house? I work a little more. Saving for another medical machine? Work a little more. Feeling good with where things are at? Work a little less. If I just chase a number on a financial statement it takes my heart and motivation and drive out of the equation and that is not healthy for me.

I then sit and plug this all into my calendar! Days off, naps, client hours etc. all get mapped out. Knowing I will move them 1000 times but knowing that it is now in there and I know I have time for it.

I hope this helps!! If you have any questions at all around this please email me hello@thetaylorway.ca and I would love to answer them.

5 Biggest Tips to Stay HAPPILY Married

hello@thetaylorway.ca (Dawn Taylor) — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 22:18:43 GMT

“Mawwiage is what bwings us together today. Mawwiage, that bwessed awwangement, that dweam within a dweam. And wuv, true wuv, will follow you forever, so tweasure your wuv”. - Princess Bride

SO how do you stay married WITHOUT hating it? Did you know I work with couples as well? A few things I have witnessed over the last decade, including my marriage, that have proven effective are as follows:

TALKING : You need to know how to talk. How to communicate. How to be vulnerable. How to not jump to the defensive. This takes practice. This takes tools. But this is probably the BIGGEST AND MOST IMPORTANT thing you can master in any relationship.
SPACE : Give the other person space!!! Co-dependent relationships are never super healthy. Mr Taylor and I realized years ago that while we LOVE to be together, we also thrive being apart. I don’t mean living in separate houses (I can’t imagine and yes people do this!!) It means that often I am downstairs playing Lego and watching a movie and he is upstairs 3D printing or gaming with a nephew or sibling. And that is ok. We pause and check in often but we give each other space to have our interests and hobbies knowing that by choosing it we aren’t rejecting each other. I also travel without him! Go grocery shopping without him! This is not out of avoiding him (that is very different) But it is out of knowing that we are safe and comfortable in our marriage and being away from him will not kill either of us.
FIGHTING : Learn to fight. It is going to happen so how are you going to do it? Learn your fighting style, your forgiveness style, and your apology language ( https://5lovelanguages.com/quizzes/apology-language ) and talk these through PRIOR to a fight. Not during. While Mr Taylor might want to just fight it out in the moment, I need to walk away and process for a bit. While I need words as an apology, he needs actions. I get cold and logistical in fighting and he gets loud. None of these are right or wrong, good or bad, they just are. Learn them so you understand the other person
KNOW WHAT YOU ARE FIGHTING FOR : Are you so disconnected from your partner you are not sure what you are fighting for? That. Is. A. Problem. If you are just talking to friends and not them, not sharing your wins and losses, pushing them away due to past hurt, you need support. Find a coach, or a therapist or sit down and hash it out together. Create an action plan on what your goals are in the relationship and remind yourself why you loved and chose them in the first place. The grass is always greener on the side you fertilize. Don’t think that leaving is going to magically make a new relationship perfect. You have to fight for it. But you need to remind yourself what you are fighting for!
CREATE A MOTTO : In a healthy relationship, you fight to get to the back of the line. We have a saying in our marriage “How can I love you even more right now”. This is what has Mr Taylor bringing me coffee in bed most days, this is what has me driving HOURS to do his laundry or bring him goods when out of town working. This is what takes so much selfishness out of our marriage but also what connects us. We BOTH try to go above and beyond for the other person. Because they are ours. We chose them. We love them. And we sure as hell don’t ever want to date again. The last time we dated was 1996. Holding hands walking the hallways of a high school. I can’t imagine trying it again. So I will fight.

If you need support reach out. While I may not be the right person for you, I will help you find the right one. Marriage is amazing. Relationships are amazing. But they do take some work.

The Snow is Falling… MOVE!

hello@thetaylorway.ca (Dawn Taylor) — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 19:22:51 GMT

Ah, winter! That magical time when hot chocolate is more than a drink; it’s a survival tool.

Snow is possibly making its debut and so is the temptation to hibernate. If you're somewhere between 35 and 50 and feeling like your goals are wilting faster than your summer plants, congrats, you’re right on schedule! But fear not, fellow seasonal slumper. But don’t worry, fellow winter warrior—Let’s jump into how to kick that winter fatigue to the curb and give your ambitions (both personal and professional) a much-needed shot of peppermint-flavoured zest.

The Winter Wither: What’s Going On?

As the days shorten and the cozy blankets start calling your name, it’s easy to let our goals slide into hibernation mode. You might’ve had big dreams of launching that side hustle or finally establishing a solid workout routine, but instead, you find yourself on the couch, engaging in an epic Netflix binge. Sound familiar?

First, know that it’s totally normal to feel a bit lethargic as the seasons shift. Winter naturally encourages a slower pace. But instead of letting your goals gather dust like holiday decorations in storage, let’s flip the script!

Goal-Setting in Cozy Mode

Reframe Your Mindset:

Time to swap “I’m slowing down” for “I’m gearing up.” Think of fall as your prep season for the grand finale of the year. Reflect on what you’ve accomplished so far—yes, even that time you finally organized your sock drawer counts! Celebrate those wins and use them as fuel for your next moves. You’ve got this!

Set Seasonal Goals:

Why wait until New Year? Create “Autumn Aspirations” that are tailored to the season. Break those big goals into bite-sized, manageable tasks. Want to grow your business? Focus on networking this fall—aim for two new connections a month. Looking to get fit? Set a seasonal challenge like a fall 5K or joining a local sports league. Make it fun!

Cozy Up with a Plan:

Take advantage of the cooler weather to retreat and strategize. Find your favourite comfy corner, and grab that warm drink (extra whipped cream, please). Write down your goals and the steps you’ll take to reach them. A little planning now can keep you motivated throughout the season. Plus, you’ll feel like the organized guru you always knew you were!

Embrace the Season

Snowy Walks & Mindful Moments:

Don’t underestimate the power of a brisk winter walk. Fresh air does wonders for creativity and clarity, and winter’s quiet beauty can be surprisingly inspiring. Bundle up, step outside, and let nature help recharge your mind and goals.

Join a Group or Class:

If you’re feeling isolated in your goals, it’s time to change things up. Find a local group or class that aligns with your interests. Whether it’s a book club, a fitness class, a business networking group, or a coach, surrounding yourself with like-minded people can reignite your passion and provide that much-needed accountability.

Celebrate Your Progress

As the season progresses, make sure to celebrate your wins—big or small. Did you finally tackle that project you’ve been avoiding? Treat yourself to a decadent fall dessert! Spent an hour with a friend instead of mindlessly scrolling through social media, or go see a movie. Recognizing your progress is key to staying motivated.

This winter, let’s use the seasonal shift to reframe our goals. The snow may be falling, but that doesn’t mean your ideas have to freeze! Grab that hot cocoa (because, at this point, it’s non-negotiable) and let’s turn these winter days into “I actually made things happen.”

Here’s to a productive and blissfully cozy winter!

Embracing the Seasons of Life and Business: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 14:27:59 GMT

Life and business are much like the changing seasons—each one brings its own mix of joys, challenges, and downright messiness. From the fresh energy of spring to the cold grip of winter, every season has its good and ugly sides. Understanding and adapting to these shifts can help us navigate the transitions with grace, humour, and resilience.

Spring: The Season of Renewal (and Overwhelm)

Spring is the season of new beginnings. In life, it might bring a burst of creativity, fresh starts, or new relationships. In business, it could mean launching a new product, expanding your team, or entering a new market. Everything feels possible, and the energy is contagious. With so much new growth, spring can also be overwhelming. There’s a risk of taking on too much, spreading yourself too thin, or getting lost in the excitement of too many ideas.

Ways to manage:

Channel the energy of spring by setting clear, achievable goals. Use tools like Trello or Asana to organize your ideas and keep track of your progress. Remember, not every seed needs to be planted at once—prioritize the projects that align with your long-term vision.

Summer: The Season of Abundance (and Burnout)

Summer is a time of abundance and activity. In life, it’s the season for vacations, socializing, and making the most of long days. In business, summer often means high productivity, increased sales, or a busy schedule filled with opportunities. However, the heat of summer can also lead to burnout. The constant hustle, combined with the pressure to keep up with everything, can leave you exhausted and running on empty.

Summer strategies:

Avoid burnout by setting boundaries and taking regular breaks. Incorporate tools like time blocking to manage your time effectively, and use apps like Calm or Headspace to keep your mind centred. Remember that it’s okay to slow down and recharge, even in the midst of abundance.

Autumn: The Season of Harvest (and Letting Go)

Autumn is a time for harvesting the fruits of your labour. In life, this might mean reaping the rewards of hard work, enjoying stability, or seeing long-term projects come to fruition. In business, autumn can be a time for reflection, refining strategies, and capitalizing on what’s been working. With harvest comes the need to let go. Autumn is also a season of shedding—whether it’s letting go of failed projects, outdated strategies, or relationships that no longer serve you. It can be a bittersweet time, marked by the recognition that not everything will make it through to the next cycle.

Dealing with challenges:

Embrace the process of letting go by conducting a personal or business audit. Use tools like SWOT analysis to evaluate what’s working and what’s not. Focus on what truly matters and be willing to prune away the rest. This will create space for new growth when spring rolls around again.

Winter: The Season of Rest (and Challenges)

Winter is a season of rest and reflection. In life, it’s a time to slow down, enjoy the quiet, and recharge for the year ahead. In business, winter can be an opportunity to review the past year, plan for the future, and focus on internal growth and development. However, winter can also be a time of struggle. The cold, dark days can bring about feelings of isolation, stagnation, and even depression. In business, winter might represent a slowdown in sales, cash flow challenges, or difficult decisions that need to be made.

Finding ways to thrive:

Winter is about survival and preparation for the next cycle. Focus on maintaining resilience and finding small victories to celebrate. Use financial planning tools like QuickBooks or Mint to keep your finances in check and ensure you’re prepared for the challenges ahead. Strengthen your relationships and lean on your support system during this time.

Coping with the Seasons: A Survival Guide

Stay Flexible: Just as you wouldn’t wear summer clothes in winter, don’t cling to strategies that aren’t suited for the current season. Adapt and evolve with the times.

Build a Support System: Whether it’s friends, family, or a coach, having a strong support system can make the tough times bearable and the good times even better.

Plan Ahead: While you can’t predict every change, having a plan in place for different scenarios can reduce stress and help you navigate transitions more smoothly.

Embrace Change: Change is the only constant. The more you resist it, the harder it becomes. Instead, learn to see each season as an opportunity for growth, even when it’s challenging.

Find Humor: Sometimes, all you can do is laugh. Humour is a powerful tool for coping with stress and maintaining perspective.

The changing seasons of life and business bring a mix of the good, the bad, and the ugly. But with the right mindset and tools, you can not only survive but thrive through each transition. So, when the seasons start to shift, embrace the change, adapt your approach, and look forward to the new opportunities that lie ahead.

Written by,

Jenny Ryce, member of The Taylor Way Team

www.jennyryce.com

Movements to Move Emotions

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 08:42:07 GMT

Someone has betrayed or disappointed you. Where do you feel it?

A recent health diagnosis makes an appearance in your life. Where do you feel it?

You didn't get that promotion or sign that client, financial stress arises. Where do you feel it?

Every emotional experience creates a physical experience in our body.

Here are typical places the body holds onto emotion and trauma and how you can move through it:

Jaw. A result of head trauma, chronic anxiety and the feeling of biting onto the tongue to suppress emotions in life (“bite your tongue”) often find a way to be stored in the jaw, leading to chronic tension. Here is a guided video to help you move through this.

Diaphragm. This is a muscle under the ribs that facilitates breathing. Shallow breathing and chronic bracing of the diaphragm are often associated with suppressed emotions and trauma in the diaphragm. When our system is in a chronic state of self-protection, we often see the holding of our breath and the tightening of our diaphragm closely related. Here is a guided video to help you move through this.

Psoas muscles. These muscles are deep in the hip that brings your leg towards your chest and that contracts in our startle response as if we needed to run from something. When trauma is stored in these muscles, it can lead to hip pain and chronic low back. Here is a guided video to help you move through this.

Pelvic floor. The female reproductive system is a powerful space that can hold onto trauma. It is deeply associated with sexuality and can hold onto suppressed emotions for a long time. Here is a guided video to help you move through this.

Over time, when we hold onto these emotions without offering them space to be felt, processed, and moved, it can manifest into physical pain.

I invite you to see pain as an alarm bell singing “pay attention to me please!”. Pain is not good or bad, it just is, and worthy of existing.

Pain is one of the loudest ways our body communicates with us, in hopes of falling on open ears. Our bodies are effective communicators and it is up to us to be effective listeners.

Pain has wisdom, and instead of fixing our pain or getting rid of it, I encourage you to listen to what it has to say and increase your capacity to hold it.

Because emotions are stored in the body, motion can guide us to feel, process and hold space for them. This improves our bodies capacity to hold space for pain, which helps us feel more pain-free and resilient.

We can move ‘stuck’ emotional energy and transmute it to holding less power over us. This is why we may cry, yell, and pass gas with physical activity, a common response with some of the somatic moves above too.

Of course, trauma, emotions, and pain are beautifully intricate. When we consider all elements that impact the human biopsychosocial and spiritual experience, such as relationships, physical environment, and our lifestyle, this holistic approach can promote better healing for us remarkable humans.

You are more than a person with tight hips, a “weak” core, or “bad” posture.

You are human.

If you’re challenged with chronic pain and have yet to pursue a holistic approach to befriend it, check out my Making Friends with Chronic Pain video to explore this potential path for yourself.

Cheers to your human journey.

Written by Michelle Falzone, Pivot Your Wellness

www.pivotyourwellness.com

References

Common places the body holds onto emotions and trauma. Hindustan Times. (2023, November 5). https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/health/common-places-the-body-holds-onto-emotions-and-trauma-101699172380795.html

Embrace the Slowdown: How a Simple Checklist Can Transform the Slow Times

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 09:27:31 GMT

Most businesses have slow periods, maybe that’s around the holidays, or if you’re me, it’s during the summer. In Canada, we get such a short warm season that it feels like everyone disappears to the lake or the mountains. Throw in kids being off school and many business owners would rather spend the sunny summer days with family and friends than be stuck in an office.

It took me longer than I care to admit to realize that my business wasn’t coming to an end every summer . Rather, it was just the ebb and flow of being in my industry.

When Business is Slow

I’d spend the very short summer fretting, worrying and feeling guilty. Most days looked like me sitting in front of my computer, doing nothing, and feeling sad.

What was worse is that summer would end, work would get busy and then I would feel guilt again about all the things I could have and should have done over the summer. Think of all the things I could have accomplished if I decided to use the extra time effectively! When times are busy business owners are grateful for breathing room and the opportunity to squeeze in maintenance time on their business, and here I was squandering it.

So, how did I mitigate the feelings of guilt and worry during my slow season?

My Slow-Day Checklist

My solution became my slow-day checklist. The idea behind it is that if I accomplish each of the things on the list, I can do whatever I want for the rest of the day guilt-free. Nap, go for a bike ride, read a book, garden, enjoy summer .

By worrying about work I was missing out on everything. I wasn’t productive in my business and sitting in my office all day wishing work would show up meant that I missed summer as well.

If you have a seasonal business or even just the odd slow week, I highly recommend creating your own Slow-Day Checklist to enjoy the break while still feeling like you accomplished something.

Customize the list to your hobbies, interests and commitments. Here is how I’ve structured mine as an example.

My List

One hour working on the business

This is the most important chunk of my Slow Day Checklist. It allows me to get work done that I put off throughout busier times. This can be blog posts, social media content, writing birthday cards for my client, writing systems and processes, or so many other things.

This is the time I get to tackle the endless business owner to-do list that we all have. It allows me to progress when times are slow while still being able to enjoy the summer. I don’t enter the fall feeling bad that I wasted my free time and it allows me to try new things and experiment.

One networking meeting

Networking is a large part of my lead generation. Because summer is a time when I’m getting less business, doing one networking meeting (Zoom, coffee, networking event) a day reminds me that I’m doing the right things to grow my business, but it’s just a matter of timing.

All of the networking I do in the summer comes to fruition in the fall - September is one of my busiest months!

Hobbies

Too often our hobbies fall by the wayside as we prioritize work and family. Slow times can be an excellent opportunity to revisit hobbies we love and recharge our brains!

Thirty minutes on my hobby podcast

I have a hobby podcast, and much like my business, there is always something that can be done on my podcast. I take thirty minutes a day to transcribe an episode, rewrite show notes, create social media posts or research our next episodes.

Thirty minutes on the not-for-profit I volunteer for

I am also on the board of a not-for-profit organization in Western Canada. Our busy time is in the spring, so summer can be an easy time to put it on the back burner. However, the more work I can do leading up to spring, the less chaotic things are. Just like the podcast and my business, I take this time to work on social media, reach out to donors and get out in the community.

Slow Times as a Business Owner

By putting a slow-day checklist into place I’ve stopped feeling guilty when I have a slow period. By letting go and making progress I’ve found that my slow times are shorter and further between. I can feel good about slow periods because I know that they are being used effectively while still giving myself the permission to enjoy them!

By Katie Dooley

Owner, Paper Lime Creative

https://paperlime.ca/

Netflix, Wine & Burnout

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 09:51:36 GMT

Put down the bottle.

No, put it down.

Lower, lower, you can do it.

Good job.

Now let's chat about burnout!

As a culture, we have adopted this strange idea that wine and Netflix will actually fix our burnout and I am here to break your heart. It won't.

While it may help us feel relaxed, feel lazy, or even calm for a little while the results don't last more than a few minutes or hours if you are lucky and cause us more problems in the end!!

The reason? We haven't fixed the root we are just drowning it for a minute and hoping it can't swim.

The problem? The issue is deeper than we realize. We haven’t dealt with the root and the more times we burn out? The harder it is to recover.

Ask me one day about the time my husband had to cancel all my clients because I literally lost my words and couldn’t make a sound….. Please trust me on this. I have been there too many times and cannot proudly say I haven’t in a very long time.

Below are some tangible steps to overcoming it!

…And some to make sure you never go there again.

5 Steps to Overcoming Burnout:

IV Therapy. When you burn out? Your adrenals and cortisol levels are typically ALL OUT OF WHACK and need some love. For this? You need to supplement your body again to get those levels up. I recommend talking to a Naturopath about this but a few good doses of Meyers Concoction have fixed this issue for more people in my life than anyone realizes. Yes, I have made staff members go for IVs!

Capacity! Be honest with yourself. How much capacity do you have? Do you need to go to that girl's night, that soccer game, or do that shopping or craft project… Do you need to take on one more project at home or work? I always challenge clients to find a way to reduce their calendars by at least 30% immediately. I am known for living on bag salads during times in my life when my capacity is low and I am giving you permission to do the same.

Infant check. Have you pooped, have you had anything to drink, have you slept, are your clothes uncomfy, have you eaten recently and do you need a hug? We often let these things go first!!!

SAY NO!!! We talk about boundaries but people have no idea what that means. We don’t put boundaries on other people (you don’t fence THEIR yard) we put them on ourselves.

Examples:

● I will not have people talk to me in a certain way. I will not have them talk to me about specific topics. If they do I will walk away, it’s my job to hold my boundaries.

● I will not work on Sundays no matter what, even if that means I have to say no to a client.

● I do not work in the week around Christmas. This is my gift to myself every year. I also block holidays in my calendar before ANYTHING else goes in. If I don’t pay attention to this, I work forever and ever and ever and ever and never take time off. Even the worst job pays vacation pay. It is literally the law that you get time off…..

The stuff no one wants to talk about. Food and exercise . You can do all of the above and if you eat horribly and don’t ever move your body you are setting yourself up for failure. If I eat wheat or sugar? I can work 23% less in a day. Yes, I did the math. Yes, I have tracked it. Do you know how much that sugar and wheat cost me in a year?!?! So I don’t eat them. I track my steps and make sure I am moving every day. NO. I am not a gym person. But even around my office/house? I can easily get 4-5,000 steps in and feel better for it. There is no magic way of eating. There is no magic number of steps but making even small changes can make a world of a difference.

Start today . One really tiny step . One little tiny change.

Burnout is not something that magically goes away. If we don’t make the changes to the root of the issue, we will continue to go there. We will continue to struggle.

Ask yourself: Is this worth burning out for? Whose expectations am I trying to meet? Am I scared to slow down? Is there something bigger going on?

I promise. You can do hard things.

Always in your corner,

Dawn

Written for Pivot Your Wellness check out the article here: https://www.pivotyourwellness.com/blog/netflixwineburnout

The Love-Hate Relationship with Our Parents

Wed, 01 May 2024 11:44:47 GMT

May can be an interesting month in my head and heart. My best friend of 30 years walked away 12 years ago! Happy birthday Dad. My parent's wedding anniversary. My wedding anniversary. My husband's birthday!! So many emotions that sometimes I feel like I am on a roller coaster. While this month holds so much good: see the picture below!! It also is a month of tears and sadness. Let's dive in.

According to the Oxford Dictionary:

● Love: an intense feeling of deep affection.

● Hate: intense or passionate dislike.

2 very different but connected feelings!!! So what makes us feel like we are only allowed to feel one and not the other? Or that they are not connected in some way. Let's talk about something real: the love-hate relationship many of us have with our parents. It's like riding an emotional rollercoaster, with ups of affection and downs of frustration. It's messy, it's complicated, but it's oh-so-human. What makes it even harder? When they are no longer in your life.

Ever felt a rush of warmth towards your mom or dad, only to be followed by a wave of irritation? That's the love-hate cocktail at work. Maybe it's because of old stuff from childhood, clashes in personalities, or just because they did something that really hurt you. Whatever the reason, it's normal. Although they did their best with the skills they had, it does not negate the impact that the relationship had on you.

Navigating these conflicting feelings can be tough. On one hand, there's that deep-rooted love and longing for connection. On the other, the anger and resentment is bubbling up. It's like having a tug-of-war inside your heart, and it can mess with your head big time.

This rollercoaster ride isn't just thrilling; it can also mess with your mental health. Bottling up your emotions can lead to anxiety and depression while letting them out might bring on a heap of guilt. It's a fine line to walk, and it can take a toll on your well-being. You HAVE TO FEEL THE FEELS!!!! Even if they are uncomfortable.

So, how do you navigate this emotional minefield? First off, give yourself a break. It's okay to feel conflicted. Talking it out with a friend or therapist can help you untangle your feelings and figure out your next steps. Setting boundaries and managing expectations can also keep the peace and protect your sanity. We also need to learn how to grieve. How to process emotions. How to release the hurt and embrace the good. One thing I did? I re-did a childhood album with just the good photos and memories. I have also raged about the hurt! We have to process them both.

Loving and hating your parents at the same time is messy, but it's also part of being human. Embrace the ups and downs, lean into your feelings (all of them!!!), and remember that you're not alone on this rollercoaster ride. With a little guidance, some grace (more for yourself than anyone!) and maybe a rage room, you too can get through this grieving of what could/should have been and settle into the new normal of your relationship.

5 Reasons It is SO HARD to Release Our Trauma

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 11:05:27 GMT

1. We are terrified to let go of our identity. Who would we be without it? What would we talk about? How would we connect to people? "I don't know me without it" quoted from a client. Who you are is the same. YOU are still you. With or without the story of what happened to you. Read that again. It happened TO you, it is not YOU. I promise that if you heal? You will finally find the NEW YOU but more importantly? The old you that was there pre-trauma. I bet they are pretty amazing.

2. It is too hard. Hard is such a subjective word. How do we even define it!!! We have all heard the saying "It is hard to diet, it is hard to be fat.... choose your hard" While I hate that saying it can be true sometimes. I have heard many times that it is just too hard. I am functioning where I am at, is that not good enough? One thing I would ask you to look at if that is your reason is: if you were TRULY honest with yourself, what areas of your life are being harmed or hindered due to this pain... It may be more than you think

3. It is our community .... ummmm.... a relationship formed on the basis of common dysfunction or shared traumas can be VERY unhealthy. It is one thing to have sympathy or empathy for a friend in this way but if the only reason you "fit in" to a group or a friendship is because of where you are emotionally? You have a VERY strong chance of becoming stuck there. It is time to start that car!!!!! There is a saying "If you want what they have, do what they have done". This is in ALL areas of your life. Ex: don't take relationship advice from someone on divorce #3. Or mental health advice from someone who has never healed.

4. The unknown. This used to be my greatest fear. What would life look like? What would I do with all my energy? What about all that extra time? What if I could create healthy relationships? What if I didn't have to struggle all day every day? While the answer to all of these is amazing, the problem was that the life I was living still felt safer than stepping into the unknown. The unknown can be scary. But can also be the most amazing thing ever!!! Have you ever eaten something and thought "That was pretty good" and then had it again at a later date from somewhere else and thought "What the hell are those other people serving???" Think of this with your life. What about the unknown could be exciting.....

5. I don't know where to start. Start somewhere. Phone a friend and ask for a recommendation, phone a support line, go to a church and join a group, or find online support. Just start with one simple step.

P.S. Or reach out to me!!!!! I've got you. And if I am not the right fit? I have MANY other people who will be.

Love Yourself

Tue, 30 Jan 2024 14:05:23 GMT

Picture this: Your daily routine is like a quirky therapy session with yourself. Are you giving yourself a pep talk, or is your inner voice more of a strict librarian shushing you?

We are really good at the following, aren't we?

● Throw an epic pity party with our own internal DJ spinning the latest hits of self-criticism.

● Setting ourselves up for disappointment with expectations that even superheroes couldn't meet.

● Denying ourselves the good stuff through ninja-level self-sabotage moves.

● Treating our bodies like a playground without any rules, making choices that are more like wild rollercoaster rides.

Now, these behaviours are like the crazy friend wreaking havoc in the delicate dance of our mental and physical health, relationships, and careers. Time to swap out the comedy routine and throw in some improv.

After all these years of marriage (24 this year!!) and working with clients (9 this year!!) One thing has become clear to me for myself and my clients. We have to lower our expectations of others. And show up for ourselves in a bigger way.

We can only feel genuine love when we're tight with our own amazing selves. But here's the burning question: How do you really love on yourself?

Enter Gary Chapman's "The 5 Love Languages," now remixed with a twist of humor:

Words of Affirmation: Give Yourself a Pep Talk

● Shower yourself with compliments like you're your own hype person.

● Look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself how amazing you are

● Keep a self-love journal. Document your wins, your quirks, and that time you made a killer coffee.

Acts of Service: Pamper Yourself

● Cook yourself fancy meals. Your taste buds deserve a treat

● Make your space look Instagram-worthy. Budget-friendly glam is the name of the game.

● Schedule check-ups for your mind and body. Because you're the CEO of your own well-being empire.

Receiving Gifts: Treat Yo' Self

● Buy only what sparks joy. Marie Kondo would give you a high-five.

● Gift yourself that dream adventure. Skydiving, anyone?

● Invest in yourself. Learning is the gift that keeps on giving, like a subscription to the "You" channel.

Quality Time: Hang Out with Yourself

● Time to play lego! Do that puzzle or meditate!

● Schedule playtime. Life's a playground – swing on the swings!

● Prioritize beauty sleep and exercise. You're a superstar, and superstars need their beauty rest.

Physical Touch: Treat Your Body Right

● Give yourself a muscle-stretching, foam-rolling massage. Ah, the sweet touch of self-love.

● Bathe in love (and epsom salts). Stress, meet the exit door.

● Pamper yourself like a Queen with a spa day. Manicure, pedicure, and a facial? Yes, please!

Remember, self love is so important. It is meant to be a kind gift to yourself. You will also realize that you can meet so many of your own needs!!!!! What a gift that is.

Dawn��

Grieving what we believed should have been

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 12:32:14 GMT

I miss her. But not her. My mom and I had a HARD relationship for the majority of our time together. When she passed away unexpectedly in 2008 I grieved and I grieved hard but there was a lot of anger and hurt mixed in with sadness. There would be no closure. I wouldn't get the answers I needed and wanted. I would never be able to have that last fight I wanted to have!!! The funny thing? Life and business are no different. One thing I have come to understand is life is unpredictable. Health issues shifted things, moving shifted things, family shifted things and life, in general, has been the biggest shift creator of all. So what do I do to manage all of the change that occurs, I make sure to grieve the possibilities. Because we attach meaning to things, we attach stories to things not only in the present but in the future! We plan, we execute and already have a vision in our head of how it MAY turn out and when it does we are ecstatic but what about when it doesn't…we need to grieve. Every day I talk to business owners and friends who are having to change something in their business or lives. Either a relationship, where they live, their spending, or the entire focus of their business and the hardest part is letting go of what we believe should have been.

I challenge you this year, to start to release the "you" from your business. Your business is not you. You are not your business. Your worth is not determined by it and therefore the outcome. Our business should not destroy us or make us!! If you this makes you uncomfortable, I recommend you take a deeper look into your business/personal relationship and start the process of letting go. Find things outside of them to fulfill you. To make you feel whole. Grieve what could have been. Cry, scream, stomp your feet and then let time heal the bruises. But don't allow that dream to hold you hostage in your future and be unable to move forward.

Dawn Taylor

Reflection

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 16:42:33 GMT

My Answers…What are Yours?

Reflection is an incredible way to revisit the year. I invite you to ask yourself these questions and answer them as it pertains to your business and personal life.

What were my biggest wins this year that brought a smile to my face?

● Business : To not trust people so easily! I dealt with some hard lessons in this area this year.

● Personal : I am more than my story. While I truly believed I would be gone by now there is so much more to life and future dreams are slowly starting

What life lessons did I pick up along the way?

● Business : To not trust people so easily! I dealt with some hard lessons in this area this year.

● Personal : I am more than my story. While I truly believed I would be gone by now there is so much more to life and future dreams are slowly starting

Who are the new folks who joined my journey, leaving their mark on my life?

● Business : New marketing company, new website building team, 2 new team members in-house and so many collaborators and business friends!!

● Personal : Some amazing new mentors and friends all around the globe. I have started connecting in a different way with people this year

In the daily tug-of-war, which challenge really tested my mettle?

● Business : My health! (I am fine!! Just a thyroid disease) It has slowed me down more than I had hoped

● Personal : My capacity is also based on the above! It has caused some struggles with friendships this year. That has been hard

When did I feel a wave of sadness wash over me?

● Business : An unmet goal that was MANY years in the making. Time to shift…

● Personal : Watching my nieces and nephews grow. I have been grieving what was but also really working on what can be in these relationships moving forward. This has brought sadness but also excitement

What battles did I reluctantly let go of?

● Business : See the project above! And social media…. I am calmly doing it now with no expectations

● Personal : Realizing that there is no way to push through the thyroid stuff . No amount of IVs or supplements will magically heal it. I need the downtime

Where did I stumble upon valuable knowledge?

● Business : Masterminds that I have been going to, relationships outside of my normal networking

● Personal : Long road trips by myself!! No music, no podcasts, no phone calls. Just time alone with my thoughts

What cool places did I explore?

● Business: Group coaching!! Masterminds with other business owners

● Personal : I finally lived in New York!!! I have dreamt for years of doing that and I had the opportunity this year to do that for 3 weeks. It was magical. I want to do it again.

What new skills did I acquire?

● Business : SO many tech things!!! But also more trauma training, grief training and more. I love learning!

● Personal : Gardening! I learned a few new things. I also have had an amazing year of using my new smoker and learning how much I adore brisket….

How did I spend my time, and did it align with what truly mattered to me?

● Business : It did!! I can proudly say that this year

● Personal : 50%. I watched WAY too much Netflix and napping this year. While some of it was needed I also did not have one fire in my backyard, I did not spend enough time with friends this year. I have some changes to make next year!!

Did I take good care of my body and mind?

● Business : YES! I love growth and this was a good year for it.

● Personal : Again 50%. I did amazing in so many ways but will shift a few things for next year

What did I keep procrastinating on?

● Business : Writing my next book……

● Personal : Painting some spots in my house Literal spots. The size of a dime. I really should do it. I also left a drawer with spilled coconut oil in it for almost a year before I cleaned it up! I just dealt with the chaos of it

Did fear hold me back from anything?

● Business : Launching the group coaching earlier in the year. I don’t know why I was so scared!

● Personal : Saying no and walking away from some toxic relationships. They are gone now but it took WAY too long

Did I manage to conquer any of my fears?

● Business : I launched the hard things!!! I made some massive shifts in my business this year and it has been so scary but I am so proud of it

● Personal : I did!! I am no longer living in the space of being scared of “d” day. I am no longer scared to die

When did self-doubt creep in?

● Business : Launching programs and meeting new people

● Personal : I struggled this year with trusting my body. Will it get sick again if I do something cool? Will it crash? I have been working through this

Did I love my job?

● Business : YES!!! 100% yes.

● Personal : See above

When did I feel most alive?

● Business : Travelling to see clients and to network

● Personal : Spending more time with my husband with his job shift!

What doors did I close, what stories did I finish, and what people did I say goodbye to?

● Business : Big dreams from the past and acknowledging that I don’t have the capacity anymore to do ALL the things I have wanted to do!! This is not a bad shift but a massive shift

● Personal : Grieving our dog, toxic relationships I allowed to go on for too long

Which new door did I open?

● Business : New networking, new programs, new staff. It has been a big year!!

● Personal : New friendships and more travel

Did I kick bad habits and embrace good ones?

● Business : Laziness!! I have struggled to DO the work on my business this last year and I got that under control this year

● Personal : Cooking! I have embraced not cooking as often but cooking a larger meal each time

What doors closed, which fears were conquered, and what valuable lessons await your reflection? ...

Remembering Sacrifice: A Military Wife's Perspective on Remembrance Day

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 17:53:00 GMT

As a military wife to a retired Combat Engineer and a mother to two daughters, a son-in-law, and a nephew, all proudly serving in the Royal Canadian Navy, Remembrance Day holds a special place in my heart. It's a day that goes far beyond the traditional ceremonies and poppies; it's a day that reminds me of the sacrifices our family and others have made and continues to make in service to our country.

For years, I stood by my husband's side as he faced the challenges and dangers of military life. I witnessed his unwavering dedication to his duties and the unspoken burden he carried. I also watched our daughters grow, following in their father's footsteps, and forging their own paths in the Navy. Their service is a testament to the values we hold dear as a military family: duty, honour, and sacrifice.

Remembrance Day allows us to reflect on the sacrifices made by countless men and women, including our family members, who have served and continue to serve. It's a day to remember the comrades lost and the families forever changed. It's a day to honour the courage and commitment that unites us all, from soldiers on the front lines to the families supporting them from home.

As we wear our poppies and gather at memorials, we are reminded that the freedom and peace we enjoy come at a cost. Remembrance Day is a time to honour that cost and to thank those who have given so much. It's a day when we come together as a nation to say, "We will never forget."

I will never forget,

Jenny Ryce

Trauma Has Multiple Faces

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 13:04:32 GMT

Trauma Has Multiple Faces

There are so many faces to trauma. It is all around us and we are feeling it collectively these days more than ever before. Trauma is never the thing that happened to us, it is what happens inside of us as a result of external circumstances.

Let’s chat kinds:

1. Acute trauma: a single moment.

○ Acute trauma is characterized by a single, often sudden, and overwhelming event that has a profound impact on an individual's emotional and psychological well-being.

○ This type of trauma can result from events such as accidents, natural disasters, physical assault, or witnessing a traumatic incident.

○ It can lead to symptoms like flashbacks, anxiety, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as the individual struggles to cope with the aftermath of the traumatic experience.

2. Developmental trauma: any extended period of more than a year in the ages of 0-7

○ Developmental trauma sometimes referred to as complex trauma

○ This form of trauma often results from chronic adversity, such as neglect, abuse, or exposure to a consistently unsafe environment.

○ Developmental trauma can have far-reaching effects on a person's emotional and psychological development, potentially leading to issues like attachment disorders, emotional dysregulation, and self-esteem problems.

3. Preconscious/precognitive trauma: 0-18 months and came from our mom often in utero or in childbirth

○ It can include prenatal experiences or trauma during childbirth, which can affect an individual's emotional and psychological development even before they have conscious memories.

○ Such traumas can influence a person's sense of safety, trust, and attachment in their early relationships and throughout their life.

4. Intergenerational trauma: family. Our good old families and how we were taught to deal with situations. Trauma that has been carried through us at a cellular level

○ Intergenerational trauma, also known as ancestral or inherited trauma, refers to the transmission of trauma through family lines.

○ This type of trauma occurs when traumatic experiences and coping mechanisms are passed down from one generation to another.

○ The impact of intergenerational trauma can be seen in patterns of behaviour, coping mechanisms, and even physical health issues that persist across generations.

5. Collective trauma: war, groups, racial

○ Collective trauma involves the traumatic experiences shared by groups of people, communities, or entire societies.

○ It can result from events like war, natural disasters, pandemics, or racial and social injustices.

○ Collective trauma can have profound and long-lasting effects on the mental health and well-being of individuals within the affected group, often leading to shared grief, anxiety, and a sense of loss.

These are a few of the kinds of traumas that we deal with in life. How we deal with them is incredibly individual. Trauma is complex and is not one-size-fits-all. It can manifest in various ways and impact individuals at different stages of life.

How we heal them is also unique. It is important to recognize that trauma can have a cumulative effect, with one type of trauma potentially compounding the impact of others, and addressing these issues often requires a multi-dimensional and holistic approach to healing and recovery.

Often what we do is look at the stories of our lives and see our deficiencies. “I feel unwhole so I choose you” for example. When we try to change our patterns or behaviours, we can get stuck. It is often because the patterns and behaviours came as a protection mechanism tied to a situation or trauma that has happened. The problem? Our survival instincts will ALWAYS overpower our willpower.

Is there some area of your life that you can’t seem to get under control? Could it be rooted in one of the above?

Just curiosity and no judgment.

Take a look at your life! What needs to heal to get where you want to go?

How gratitude and thankfulness are seen and celebrated across the world

Sat, 07 Oct 2023 00:02:15 GMT

How gratitude and thankfulness are seen and celebrated across the world

We are just hours away from the annual tradition known as Thanksgiving here in Canada. It’s the most important holiday during autumn, and it’s a time for Canadians to get together with their loved ones, share stories and be grateful for the blessings they received throughout the year.

Not surprisingly, many countries worldwide celebrate their version of Thanksgiving as well. Some, such as the United States, hold a lot of similarities to Canada’s Thanksgiving. Both countries partake of a bountiful feast with their families and it wouldn’t be complete without the turkey, the centrepiece of the occasion. Meanwhile, most countries have their own specific holiday with particular customs.

For example, Brazil’s celebration, while taking heavy inspiration from America’s, has its own cultural flavour. After the Brazilian Ambassador at the time visited the States and had tons of stories to tell about the wonderful November holiday he took part in, their version of Thanksgiving was born. To appeal to the sensibilities of the Brazilian people, their version of the holiday has two very important things the country holds dear - masses to start the morning and parties that last all night.

In China, their version of the holiday is the Moon Festival. At the time when they believe the moon is to look its best, they pay homage to it during a two-day celebration for the whole family capped off with the signature dish known as moon cakes. For Koreans, Thanksgiving is a massive three-day holiday where airports and roads are at their busiest, as everyone travels to go see their families. This holiday is called Chuseok, which also serves as a holiday where they pay tribute to their ancestors who have passed away.

Japan’s way of Thanksgiving is one that is a unique mix of two existing holidays in the States. For them, Thanksgiving Day honours employees and the working class, not too different from the American Labor Day. For the Philippines, Thanksgiving was celebrated as an actual holiday from the ‘30s to ‘70s. However, after the People Power revolution, the holiday was abolished, yet the spirit of thanksgiving as a whole lives on today in the form of fiestas big and small held all over the country all year round.

While it’s smack dab in the middle of their well-renowned holiday Oktoberfest, Germany’s version of Thanksgiving (called Erntedankfest) doesn’t get much traction compared to its more cheerful counterpart. Nonetheless, Germans still have their fair share of poultry during this time, though ironically enough, their massive feasts don’t include turkey.

From these examples among countless others, it’s interesting to see how other countries celebrate Thanksgiving in their own special way. However, in the end, an occasion isn’t necessarily needed when one wants to practice thankfulness and gratitude. Beyond the holidays and delightful get-togethers, we can still practice being grateful in the smallest of ways.

Journaling and keeping track of what makes you happy. Saying “thank you” to other people’s acts of kindness. Even giving gifts to your loved ones as a sign of appreciation. Being grateful and being in the moment can happen at any place and any time no matter where in the world you are, and carrying this gratitude can not only help us appreciate the past but also be more excited for the future.

~ Miguel Asistio, Member of the Taylor Way Team

Structure is not the devil!

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 20:04:09 GMT

Structure is not the devil. I promise. Have you ever wondered why we are so scared of structure? I have always hated being told what to do. I know I know. Surprise surprise!! I can now fully see that this is a response to my childhood and the life I have lived. This doesn't change the fact that I find structure incredibly hard. Habits to me feel like a cage. A little tiny cage that I have been locked in and don’t have to key to get out.

Years ago I started to look at this behavior in my life and wonder about where it was from and how it was serving me. I often say in coaching "no judgement just curiosity" and while it can be hard to do, it is such a powerful shift in how we look at things. What I realized in my curiosity is that the structure I was so terrified of was attached to feelings of being controlled, not having options, and feeling trapped. The fact that it was attached to people outside of me was also interesting. It was their expectations of me and their judgements that were causing it. Once I was able to acknowledge this and recognize the fears for what they were it was very empowering. To realize that I could add structure to my life without those emotions showing up.

So what did I shift? I found ways to add structure to all areas of my life that laid the foundation for opportunity.

1. I picked a few areas of my life where I could add structure that would actually SUPPORT my life and my dreams. Little things. Ex. fuel up my car every Sunday, wash my bedding every Sunday, drink the exact coffee every morning, get dressed in a specific way every day, and organize my closet in a way that makes more sense (not by style or item but by when I wear them ex. networking, casual, work, travel etc).

2. Gave myself grace and understanding that I will probably never be the person who has a HUGE structured routine in my life. I just don't like it. And that is OK.

3. Looked at the areas of my life that were feeling out of control or chaotic and found ways to add structure to them to make them feel calmer which in turn makes me feel safer!

In the spirit of curiosity, what are some areas of your life where you could use some structure? How would your life change if you embraced structure as a positive not a negative?

Say "No" This Summer

Wed, 16 Aug 2023 20:39:59 GMT

Barbecue upon barbecue upon barbecue. Fishing here, a hike there, sangria on a patio with this friend, tea on different patio with another friend. Vacation, a weekend getaway, kids' gym camp this week, horse-riding next week, oh, and let's not forget about soccer. Sound familiar? Yes! The summer season is back. And while most of us love summer, its long days and (mostly) beautiful weather, it can be a period of exhaustion. Have you ever made it to September and thought "whoa, summer went by too fast!" before having to dive right back into the busyness of fall? If year after year, you feel like summer doesn't give you a breather, it's because it's usually self-inflicted. The good news? You can make changes to get through summer without a burn-out at the end.

We all get busy this time of year, and it is so important to say no and give yourself so much grace when it comes to what you have going on. Grace means accepting your need for rest and giving yourself space to take a step back and practice self-compassion. What grace is to you, is completely dependent on your needs and your situation. How do you decompress? Do you take a picnic basket and a good book to the park? Do you sit on your balcony or in your yard, enjoying the sun? Do you spend an afternoon cooking up that recipe you've been meaning to try? Or do you light candles, take a bath and put on some mood music? Whatever it may be, you need that time to yourself. And sometimes, that means saying "no" to people. Don't book yourself silly. Ensure you block at least one, preferably two days or evenings per week where no matter what, you do not make plans with anyone. That time is yours and yours alone. Don't be afraid to tell your family or friends that, no, you cannot meet this week. If (and this is important), IF you want to, suggest meeting up another day, week or even month.

So, grab your planner right now and look at your schedule. Is every day fully booked? Cancel or reschedule some items. Start making space for yourself. Prioritize your wellbeing this summer. It is always important, but especially at times where time just seems to slip away. Pause for a minute, breathe in the flowers and carpe diem. You deserve a break.

And to the voice in your head that is saying "but I have to do it all!! I have to say yes!!!" Stop for a second. Will they actually be mad if you cancel? Is that because of you or their own insecurities..... I bet if you explained what was going on? You would both feel better in the end. I promise. If they are worth keeping? They will understand and stick around

Breaking the Chains of Guilt

Wed, 16 Aug 2023 20:39:58 GMT

Guilt. A feeling I never imagined would be associated with sexual trauma. "I laid there awake and terrified all night. I was numb. First thing in the morning, I heard my dad go into the bathroom across the hallway. I ran as hard as I could and shut the door. I huddled on the floor against the door, crying, and told him everything. To this day, I don't understand his reaction. He was calm. He didn't say anything. He took me to my room while I got dressed. Then we went to breakfast, where I had to sit beside Uncle B. We posed for pictures on the front steps and then my family left his house. I remember going quiet at this point. My parents were arguing about what happened. Dad had made me tell my mom what happened, and she didn't believe me. Something broke in me that day" ~ excerpt from my book P.S. I Made It. If you would like to read the whole story you can get your copy HERE.

So where you ask did the guilt come in? It came in so many small ways. Guilt at the fighting that started in the family. Guilt at the pain I caused everyone else. Guilt at the financial strain due to my mental health later on in life. Guilt for the ways the trauma affected my marriage. Guilt for believing I could stop him but not being able to. Guilt for how it changed my family. Guilt for how it affected my friendships. Guilt for how it changed the relationships between my dad and his family. SO. MUCH. GUILT.

I worked for years to heal all of this guilt and the reason I write this to you today? According to the Oxford Dictionary, the definition of guilt is the following: "GUILT: the fact of having committed a specified or implied offence or crime" and from what I know? NO one who has been victimized has committed the offence or crime. I realize now that it was not my fault. ANY of it. But many of us are left feeling it is.

I am living proof there is a pathway to healing if you are struggling with this, please reach out. To me, to someone else, just reach out. I promise you can find release from the guilt.

10 Things I Learned During My Time In NYC

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 15:13:06 GMT

I don’t like climbing a ladder to get into bed. Nope. I really don’t. I really don’t love climbing up and down to pee. Up and down to go to bed every night. Nope. Just don’t. It took me 15 days but I finally moved to the couch
I have allowed myself to connect to people differently in my everyday life which is AMAZING but it has made me MISS PEOPLE so deeply. I have been LONELY on this trip!!! I realized how much I love my people and need to put more energy into connecting with them and maintaining relationships. I am not amazing at this. I know this but this trip is challenging me to make changes.
It is NOISY here. Not just the actual crazy volume of the city but also the energy. The fear, the anger, the scared, all of it. It is a different feel than I have ever experienced at home in Canada. I had one NOT safe cab situation but figured it out quickly and was ok. I had one person say horrible things to me that made me go directly into a store and not leave until I had someone to walk me to a cab. But other than that? I didn’t feel unsafe. I did feel very sad a lot. I felt a LOT of people anger and energy and fears and that was hard.
I drink a LOT of my daily fluids at the end of my day. Please see #1
I could live in a tiny home. But I could NOT work in it as well. I have dreamt for years of living in an RV or in a tiny home but mentally? I need to have a different space for work and living and sleep and play and all the things. This has DEEPLY shifted my dreams and goals for the next 10 years. And I am glad I figured it out now and not later!!
I change easily. I went from cooking with 60 spices and an amazing kitchen to NO spices and a 4 foot tiny space and it didn’t really phase me. It was very interesting to see how a different kitchen created whole different ways of eating and drinking. All of a sudden my cooking changed, my beverages changed (no more bougie coffee!!!!!) and new flavours. It was a nice break but I miss my old food.
People. I miss hugging people!!!!! I am such a hugger and LOVE the connection that it gives. It took me 19 days to ask a complete stranger for a hug. Yes. Yes, I did. NO SHAME.
Day 1-5? FUN Day 6-9 Lonely. Oh so lonely but still fun. Day 10-14 LIVING THE DREAM!!!!!!!! Day 15-18 I just wanna go home. Change my ticket!!!!! Why did I ever do this!!!!! Day 19 I think I want to move here…… Day 21 crying as I go home but excited to see my Husband!
Every single person who actually talked to me and visited with me while I was in NYC was NOT from here. They were from all other states. People here? Were oddly snobby. I laughed out loud at some people's responses when I smiled and said hi or asked how they were doing. This poor friendly Canadian girl is just not fitting in.
I can’t wait to go back. I will go for less time. I will bring someone with me. But I will 100% go back. I LOVE it here. I love the parks, the energy, the food, the architecture, the subways, the odd little neighbourhoods and more. I love it. So much and am so glad that I did this.

Honoring Father's Day Without a Father: Reflections and Coping Strategies

Sun, 04 Jun 2023 15:09:48 GMT

As someone who has a dad who walked out of my life, Father's Day can be a tough and emotionally charged day. It's a reminder of the absence of a parent figure in my life and the impact it has had on me.

Although it's been years since my dad left, I still feel a mix of emotions on Father's Day. There's a part of me that feels angry and hurt by his decision to walk away, but there's also a part of me that longs for his presence and wishes things had been different.

Despite these conflicting emotions, I have found ways to honor my feelings and cope with the day.

I also take time on Father's Day to reflect on the lessons I have learned from my dad's presence and also his absence. It's taught me the importance of resilience, self-reliance, and the value of healthy relationships. It has also taught me to see the good in the years we were together. He was my favourite person for most of my life!! And while it is not the same now? It doesn’t take away from what was.

Ultimately, Father's Day is a reminder that family relationships are complex and often fraught with challenges. While I may never fully understand my dad's decision to leave, I've learned to accept it and move forward. And while I may not have a traditional father figure in my life, I'm grateful for the support and love of the people who have stepped in to fill that role.

While it may be tempting to ignore or avoid Father's Day altogether, there are ways to honor and celebrate the memory of our fathers, even if they're no longer with us. Here are a few ideas:

Remember your father's legacy

Think about the impact your father had on your life, the memories you shared, and the lessons he taught you. Take time to reflect on these memories and what they mean to you. Write down some of your favorite memories, and keep them in a special place.

Celebrate with family and friends

Surround yourself with loved ones who understand your situation and can offer support. Spend time with family and friends who knew your father and share stories and memories with them. Celebrate the life of your father together.

Do something in honor of your father

Think about something that your father would have loved, whether it was his favorite hobby, food, or activity. Plan to do this thing in honor of your father on Father's Day. It could be something as simple as cooking his favorite meal or visiting a place that he loved.

Volunteer or donate to a cause in your father's name

Consider volunteering or donating to a cause that was important to your father. This is a great way to honor his memory and continue his legacy. You could also donate to a charity or organization that supports research or care for the illness or cause that led to his passing.

Take care of yourself

Remember that it's okay to feel sad and mourn the loss of your father. Take time to care for yourself and do things that bring you comfort and peace. Whether it's taking a walk, reading a book, or spending time in nature, make sure to prioritize your own well-being.

In conclusion, Father's Day can be a difficult time for those who no longer have a father in their lives. However, there are ways to honor and celebrate the memory of our fathers, even if they're no longer with us. Remember their legacy, celebrate with loved ones, do something in their honor, volunteer or donate to a cause, and take care of yourself. Remember that your father will always be with you in your heart and memories.

A Resource Guide to Mental Health Help

Mon, 22 May 2023 14:51:09 GMT

May is Mental Health Awareness Month in Canada and the USA, but if you ask me, a month isn’t quite cutting it. Mental health is year-round. It is always present and flows from the positive into the negative and, hopefully, back into the positive again. But what happens when you’re finding yourself needing help? Many people don’t know where to start. With a wide array of mental health professionals and treatments it can be hard to know what type of help is available and who and what is best for you. Need help but don’t know where to begin? Let’s send you on the right path.

Types of Mental Health Professionals

Who should you talk to? The answer depends on your needs and personal situation. Choose your mental health professional based on their specialty, training, methodology, availability and—most of all—how you feel in their presence. A personality match is important, so if you don’t feel a connection with your chosen person keep looking until you find who’s right for you.

Life coach: offering a therapeutic process, a coach focuses on what’s happening now, what you want next (in your relationships, career or day-to-day life), and how to get there. Naturally, some of the obstacles you may be experiencing are rooted in past experiences. A life coach will help you identify them, help you overcome them, assist you in finding motivation and pinpoint resistance to change.

Psychologist: perhaps the best-known type of mental health professional, psychologists usually hold a Ph.D., specializing in emotions, behaviors, and thoughts. They typically work in hospitals, schools and private offices. Through counselling they treat a variety of issues from mental illnesses to relationship problems. Psychologists can’t prescribe medication.

Psychiatrist: a psychiatrist is a doctor with a medical degree. They diagnose, treat and help prevent mental, emotional and behavioural disorders using psychiatric medicine, physical exams and lab tests. While general practice doctors can prescribe medications, it is recommended to go to a psychiatrist for complicated disorders.

Psychoanalyst: Sigmund Freud paved the way for this practice, which helps people explore their unconscious or repressed anxieties, impulses and internal conflicts. They do this through free association, dream interpretation and analysis of resistance and transference.

Psychiatric nurse: these registered nurses specialize in mental health, perform psychological therapy and administer psychiatric medication, under the supervision of a medical doctor.

Counsellor (Therapist): this is a broad term to describe someone who provides counselling (therapy) and who can hold the title “professional” or “licensed.” Their educational backgrounds can vary as they choose to specialize in areas like addiction, personal and professional stress, families and marriage or relationships.

Social worker: a social worker can be a public employee or work in hospitals, universities and treatment centres. While they can address personal problems and disabilities, they focus on social issues such as unemployment, housing, substance use and family troubles like child abuse and domestic violence.

Types of Mental Health Treatments

Treatments come in all forms—and based on your reason for seeking help, you may favour one type over another. Here are some of the options available to you.

Psychotherapy or Counselling: this is when you talk about your issues with a professional, one-on-one, with someone who is also involved in the issue at hand (such as a spouse or family members) or in a group setting. Talk therapy contains relaxation exercises, coping skills and an educational component and comes in many forms, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Some workplaces also offer employee and family assistance programs (EFAP) where you can connect with a mental health professional rapidly and usually for free.

Support Groups: these groups can help you gain insight into your condition and provide friendships, support and resources on how to live with your situation. Its group nature also helps address feelings of isolation.

Residential or hospital treatment programs: offered at specialized facilities these long-term programs address severe issues that become insupportable and hinder day-to-day life on a massive scale. They are also a common route for people who are in danger of harming themselves or others.

Prescription medicine: this changes brain chemicals that regulate emotions and thought patterns. While they don’t cure conditions, they can improve your symptoms, making other treatments such as counselling more effective.

Suicide helplines

If you are in an immediate crisis or in danger of harming yourself, you can talk to a crisis responder 24/7/365 at

Talk Suicide Canada: 1-833-456-4566
Suicide & Crisis Lifeline USA: 988

I hope that this breakdown has helped provide you with the knowledge to begin your journey on finding the right professional for you. If you need any guidance or would like to start with a conversation with me, please reach out! I am here to help you. - Dawn Taylor

How Do I Fight with Someone?

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 03:52:00 GMT

“How do I fight with someone?” is a question I am frequently asked. My answer...

My husband and I were together for three years before we got engaged and didn't live together until we were married. I had experienced significant trauma in my life and his was fairly “boring” in comparison. When we came together, we simply didn't know how to fight, we didn't know how to argue or compromise. And boy did we have to learn and grow up in our first year of marriage! But we did and this was our biggest lesson learned when it comes to arguing...

No matter how old you are or how far into a relationship you are, you first have to be aware of how men’s and women’s brains work and how different they are. Think of the difference as a box versus cooked spaghetti. For men the two lobes in their brains (logic and emotion) work like this: when they are in their logic, they are super logic, but when they have to fall back down and dive deep into their emotions, they are then not logical at all. Those two opposites are neatly stored in boxes, they don't cross paths. That’s okay. That’s just the way men’s brains are wired. Women are the opposite, their logic and emotions are all intertwined. Women tend to hold onto sh*t. They remember every argument, every fight. Everything gets contorted and mixed up which creates a level of emotional distress that is unhealthy.

Many times we end up in a big argument, bringing up things that don’t belong there, and in the end we’re mad about something that probably started off as silly and ridiculous. Now we’ve made a mountain out of a molehill and we keep digging and getting more vindictive by the second. Our tongues can be so poisonous and have immense power to really hurt. And unfortunately, people don’t recover from that very fast and that greatly affects relationships in the current moment and in the long term.

And so, in our early days of fighting I realized that I wasn't willing to fight like I've seen everyone else do in my life. We were in the middle of one of our biggest arguments and I handed my husband a pad of paper and a pen and told him to go write it out. Blank stare. But he picked up the pen and paper, we both sat on opposite sides of the house and wrote letters to each other. Here’s how the letter strategy works: start with writing out pure rage. Frantically write your deepest, angriest feelings – yes, verbal diarrhea – right there on paper and let it all out. Don't sweep it under the rug or bottle it up. Emotions will start flowing, which is perfect. The best part? You don't have to give the letter to them that way.

After you've written this crazy letter saying all the things that fly out of your head, look back at it and filter it. Have you ever wished you could go back over a conversation and white out sections of things that you said and did, behavior's and facial expressions? This is when you get to do that. You have that ability to safely release everything. You can cross off the things you didn't really want to say and rewrite them. And when that's done, you can do it again as often as you need until you get a letter that reflects your point of view in a way that’s not going to tear the other person apart. “This is what I'm trying to say, what I need you to understand.” When you get to that point and you’re both done with your letters, you pass them back and go back to your corners to read them. Here's the cool thing: you can't fight with a piece of paper. It holds no energy. You can read this letter and be as mad as you want. But after the initial shock of the first reading wears off, you can read it again and think, “this is what they're trying to say.” And then you can respond when you're actually calmed down enough you can discuss it.

I highly recommend this technique. Eventually, you will wire your brain to naturally go to that place so that you won’t need a physical pen and paper anymore. You will learn to decompress faster which will allow you to stop and hear what someone is saying without reacting to it impulsively. Is this fight the hill I want to die on? Will this conversation make it or break it? Is this going to matter in a day, a week, a month, a year? Is this worth fighting over? When we can get our heads out of that space and say, “I love you more than I love my point of view in this situation; I can agree to disagree,” it’s a beautiful place to be.

Let Go of Expectations = Let Go of Stress

Fri, 31 Mar 2023 02:09:00 GMT

These days, many people struggle with feelings of overwhelm. Even at times when everything is remarkably quiet, people are stressed out; stressed about everything else that's going on, all the things that need to be done, and the seemingly never-ending to-do list. And also, the stress of failure for not getting “everything” done, the guilt of taking time to rest and recover.

So, let’s talk about stress and how we can think about it in a different way. Someone once asked me if I ever get stressed out and I replied - never. Their reaction is typically disbelief. “Who doesn’t get stressed out?” Me. I don’t. There are only two things in this world that should make us feel the feeling of stress. One - if you have unrealistic expectations of yourself, or, two - if you have unrealistic expectations from others put on you. Think about it, what is causing you to feel stressed is a story that’s going on in your head, unrealistic expectations is making you feel “less than." So, anytime this feeling of stress comes up, check it. Don't allow it to come in. Don't allow it to step foot in your life. You wouldn’t let any stranger into your house, so why are you going to let these feelings you don't like into your head? Check them at the door. Ask yourself, what is it about this that's causing me to feel stressed out? Is it an expectation I have with myself? Maybe we need to check that. Is it an expectation that somebody else has of me? And am I okay with that?

People have expectations of us all the time - of our time, our money, our energy, what we give, what we don't give, how we help and how we communicate. Everyone has expectations about people. But it doesn't mean that we should let those affect us and how we feel. Ignoring those expectations can be difficult and can feel uncomfortable. But look at the facts, go to the source, and ask who is at risk and what is actually going on? Fear of not fulfilling other people's expectations of us is what’s causing us to be sicker and have more issues than anything else. Nobody can make us feel a feel. We get to control our reactions and responses every single day. That's it. You take it in and you determine what it's going to mean to you. You attach the meaning to it. You get to control how you feel. Part of that is paying attention, especially when things are scary or uncomfortable. What feelings are we allowing other people to make us feel and how is that affecting the stress levels in our lives?

If you are feeling stressed from the weight of expectations you can shift your thoughts to gratitude. You could think of what would make your life better. What you could do to help other people around you. Anything that will shift your focus off of the negative and onto something beautiful because it's a hell of a lot nicer to be in that space of gratitude and joy and fun and laughter and happiness than it is to think about misery.

Start by making a list of all the things in life that are causing you stress right now. Then, look at every single one of them and create an action plan around removing it, solving it, or reframing it. It can be overwhelming, so tackle the list by deciding what the most important items are. Then, put the items in that selection in order of importance. Figure out how long it is going to take to do these things, because it’s easy to get overwhelmed and not take a minute to look at how look it’s actually going to take to do them – usually, it can be done faster than you think.

So, take control back of your space, of your mind. Stop letting other people get all up in it and change your headspace. They're just not worth it and they have no right to be there. You are in charge of yourself. You can make things beautiful.

How to Keep Your Mind from Racing to the Negative

Wed, 01 Mar 2023 15:14:00 GMT

Picture this: life is going great. Everything is rolling smoothly. Life is like a well-oiled machine on a set course. Until one day, the...

Don't Quit, Reflect.

Mon, 05 Dec 2022 05:53:00 GMT

“I can’t wait for next year”

“Next year is going to be amazing”

“I just need this year to be done”

Have you heard any of these or variations of them floating out there these days? Have you said them yourself? It is so easy to jump right to “THIS YEAR SUCKED AND I WANT IT DONE”. The problem with that is that often we not only start focusing on the suckage part of it (yes that is my created word for it) but in doing that I have seen people give up and quit with up to 3 months left in their year!!!!! I don’t know about you but time flies fast enough these days. I really don’t want to just walk away from something so valuable.

So here is what I want to challenge you to do. Continue living life to the fullest up till the end of the year. Find a positive. I know it can be hard. I know it can be depressing. This time of year brings up A LOT OF FEELS for so many of us. Missing family members, reminders of breaks in relationships, being alone, not having kids, not feeling financially able to handle it all. Not including the stress of all the meetings and work and life and kids and concerts and fun and parties and and and and……. I get it.

Find your happy. What does this mean? It means find your happy. What makes you happy? Look over your calendar for the rest of the month and cancel EVERYTHING that doesn’t have to be there. Is there a meeting that can wait till January? Move it. Is there a show you don’t actually want to go to? Cancel it. SIMPLIFY YOUR WORLD!!!! Lower those expectations and take a deeper breath.

At the end of the month I want you to try something new.

I heard somewhere once that we only have an average of 57 Christmases after we move out. Or 65 ski seasons. We only have 13 summer vacations with our kids. We are so quick to move on to bigger and better years and days that we forget to enjoy what we have had. I know this will take a little time but I promise it is worth it. I do it every year and am always SO grateful I did.

Here are a few of the questions that I ask myself every single year. Feel free to email your answers. I would love to celebrate with you! Here are some of mine below:

What about this last year was amazing?

Road trip to the states and back, friendships that have grown deeper than I could have imagined, passion for business and future full force again, figuring out health things

What did you learn this last year?

How much I can really handle. The level of stubbornness I have in me!! The true meaning of radical self care

Who were 3 people in your life that influenced you the most?

My husband

My doctor

My friends

What is one decision you made that changed your year the most?

To move back to Edmonton

What is something you did that you are proud of?

Paid off debt and got a million IVs!!! I have a massive needle phobia so it was a BIG ASS DEAL

What is one thing you did that you would undo if you could?

The time we lived in Vernon. It was such a waste of time and energy and money when we should have just moved back here right away. In the time? It was the best decision but looking back? Heck no

What are three words to describe your year?

Rollercoaster, grounding, connection

What is one thing you want to remind yourself of for next year?

Even though you have a million ideas of what you want to do, stay focused on a few at a time and follow them through to completion. YES I mean finish book 2 before book 3 (probably won’t listen to that last part)

What was the biggest risk you took in 2021? Hard slowing down my business to focus on my health and hoping and praying it would recover. Most people don’t know that I slowed it down to about 20% of what I had been doing…. SCARY

What was the biggest surprise in 2022? That we moved back to Edmonton!!!

What important relationship improved the most in 2022? The one between me and my body and health ❤️

How to Avoid Self-Sabotage

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 01:50:00 GMT

Self-sabotage. We all do it—and we’re all really good at it. But what causes us to do it? What are some of the ways we can stop it? It’s a strange thing we do, when we have ideas and expectations in our heads of how life is supposed to be and how it’s supposed to turn out; and when they don’t happen, we get caught up in a place of not believing we’re worthy anymore. It makes for a rough life.

We think this year, we’re going to straighten all our relationships and get our finances in order and our businesses are going to be outstanding, and, and, and… Then when some or all these things don’t fall into place, we start thinking, “Of course, this is happening because this is just how my life goes. ” We get caught in these thinking patterns and suddenly we find ourselves self-sabotaging. This can happen in really small ways like not getting up in the morning, not reaching out to people, not making necessary phone calls or answering emails. One of the biggest reasons for doing so is that we are scared to pivot.

We are so scared of change in our lives because we’ve attached our worth to it. We’ve attached our worth to our relationships, our businesses, our financial status, and so on. That was our identity. That’s what we were doing. We told everyone we were going to do all these things and they didn’t happen. And then we beat ourselves up over it. That’s when self-sabotaging roars its ugly head.

What if we took our worth off our businesses and relationships and started realizing, “What if I’m just worthy—without all those things? What if these things did not rule my life as much as I let them? How do I pivot?” Have you totally released it? Have you considered that instead of feeling like you failed, you have an opportunity for a shift? Imagine you have ingredients sitting on your counter and your original plan was to make lasagna; except that you don’t have lasagna noodles. What are you going to do? Well, you could make a great pasta sauce. You could make spaghetti or chili or anything you want. The options are plenty. Just because you didn’t get the lasagna noodles doesn’t mean that you failed.

So when you start to feel like a failure, you need to stop and acknowledge your feelings, and ask yourself what has to happen in order not to feel that way. You must face those feelings head-on . Look at them and tell yourself you are not willing to go there and feel that. And when you can face that and come up with some rules for yourself, you become not scared of failure. You enable yourself to try a new direction again and again until you get it right. It gets you out of your rut and out of thinking about how things were supposed to be. Think about the feelings that you would do anything to avoid and the areas of self-sabotage in your life. What are the feelings attached to those? What are the feelings that you're avoiding? What are you scared of? Do you think you’re not smart enough? Not pretty enough? Not kind enough? Here’s the truth: stop thinking “not enough.” Your worth is not a unit of measurement. You will not find it on a conversion chart. You cannot buy it, you cannot sell; it is not a publicly traded commodity. It is not a thing. Your worth is not tied to your business. It's not tied to the money in your bank account. It's not tied to your house. It's not tied to your relationship. It's not tied to your looks. It isn't tied to any of that. Set a new standard for your life. Step up and go. One step at a time.

#avoidsabotage #lifecoach #thetaylorway #motivation #asskicker #hopegiver

Grace vs. Laziness

Fri, 09 Sep 2022 01:00:00 GMT

If you know me at all, you know that my body is always pretty much fighting something. I’ve learned to deal with it, but some days it hits harder than others and the day feels like a write-off. One such time, as I started to feel better and tried to regain energy in the following days, the thought popped into my head: when do we give ourselves grace, and when are we actually just lazy? It’s a thin line from one to the other. While grace is about accepting your need for rest and giving yourself some space to take a step back and practice self-compassion, laziness equals displaying an all-around unwillingness to work or take care of business. To know where you stand, you have to check where your mental headspace is at. It is easy to go quickly from giving yourself grace to rest, recover and feel the feels to just laying on the couch, watching TV and doing nothing all day. That's why you have to start paying attention to your state of mind, because the feeling of giving yourself grace but still having accomplished something, however small, is much more rewarding than allowing laziness to take over your life. Understanding where grace ends and where laziness begins can be challenging, so I challenge you to pay attention to that this week. Figure out what your level is. What are the projects you’ve wanted to get done for a long time? What is something that you are unmotivated to do? Choose a project, set an alarm for 15 minutes each day and pick away at it. We’re not talking about putting your superhero cape on and getting everything done overnight. Just start doing something because slowly, as you start to feel like you’re accomplishing something and succeeding, you will come to feel good about yourself. You will still realize that, despite not feeling great, you still got up and did things—and that’s amazing. Push yourself a little extra hard once in a while. Just a little extra. Do that small thing that will make your environment better. Picking away at something will keep the laziness away, and you will learn what grace vs laziness means for you. Try it! You'll feel good.

#grace #laziness #challengeyourself #motivation #thetaylorway #lifecoach

Guilt.

Mon, 15 Aug 2022 02:37:00 GMT

Who here has felt guilty about something in their lives? Anyone? Anyone? ($25 gift card to the person who gets the reference).

Oh, just me? I highly doubt that. A word that we throw around so often and yet we don’t even really know what it means or why we feel it. Let me break it down for you.

Guilt according to the dictionary is…

“Responsibility for having down something wrong and especially something against the law”.

So knowing this, why do we always feel it for things that are not our responsibility?

These and many more are examples of unhealthy guilt. Unhealthy guilt is when you feel guilty for things that are imaginary or beyond your control. One way to deal with this is to understand what you can and can’t control! Often what I see with client is that they are actually feeling shame but they define it as guilt.

I read a perfect description of this a while ago (I think Brene Brown…) “You may sometimes confuse shame with guilt, a related but different emotion. Guilt is a feeling you get when you did something wrong, or perceived you did something wrong. Shame is a feeling that your whole self is wrong, and it may not be related to a specific behavior or event”.

Always look at your intention. What was your intention behind the action. Did you go to work to avoid your kids? I say you could feel a little guilt for that! Maybe time to ask yourself what it is about your kids you are avoiding?? Did you steal a shift at work from a co-worker? Or did you just get scheduled more because of something outside of your control.

ALWAYS check your intention before you just hop on the guilt train and torture yourself. Guilt is often a healthy emotion and feeling! It is a red flag for sure. Don’t know if what you are feeling is appropriate? Run it past me! Maybe I can help.

Big hugs,

Dawn

Acknowledging Your True Feelings and How to Face Them

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 01:56:00 GMT

Last year, I was in a course and one of the things we talked about kept bugging me for days afterwards—in a good way. The question was: how often do we realize what we're actually feeling?

Oof. That was a heavy question for me as it transported me to a real-life situation I was experiencing. My grandmother at the time was ready to leave this life, and it simultaneously made me sad because I'd miss her and grateful and excited that she would get to go at a time that she was prepared to do so. This intense mix of emotions is what made the question "how often do we realize what we're actually feeling?" very relatable. Do we know? Do we ever actually pay attention to it or do we just chalk it up it as an all-too-familiar word: anxiety?

It's true that many of us struggle with anxiety. I do, too! But because of that, we sometimes barely acknowledge our feelings and quickly label them as anxiety. Let's stop for a minute and think about it.

Here's a common example. It's a regular day and, while there is nothing that could have seemingly upset you today, you all of a sudden feel irritated and tired and simply "off." Then, when asked what's wrong, you just shrug out shoulders and reply, "nothing's wrong; I'm just pissy ." More often than not, your answer is not met with resistance so you go about your day feeling grumpy for no reason at all—or at least that's what you think. Here's the thing: there is a reason why you are feeling off. Something is actually going on but you're simply not acknowledging it. One time when this was happening to me, I gave my husband the classic answer to "what's wrong?"—and he challenged it! He laughed and said "why don't you use a better word and say what is really going on?" It threw me off! I realized that nothing had happened that day to put me in a bad mood.

So, I sat down and I started thinking, really thinking about what I was actually feeling. I soon realized I felt a certain heaviness; a heaviness of what was happening in my life. Personally, my grandmother's imminent passing was constantly on my mind. Professionally, while I absolutely love my job, I am often called to help people with extremely deep trauma, and at that time there was an abundance of it that was weighing on me. And so on that day, all the feelings came pouring down like dreary rain. So, no, I wasn't pouty; I wasn't in a bad mood; I was feeling heavy. All this time I had been attaching the wrong word to my emotions, therefore I had been unable to address them appropriately. And when I acknowledged my actual emotion and where it was coming from, I was able to do something about it. So, how do you balance that out? How do you combat heaviness? You add some lightness to your day! To me, lightness meant I was going to take a bath, do some colouring, watch a cheesy Hallmark movie and have a cup of tea.

We hear it all the time, "oh, I'm just feeling really anxious." In reality, someone might be feeling overwhelmed, stressed, nervous or scared. And that is very different than anxious. When someone says they're angry, perhaps what they truly feel is violated, unseen, unheard, abandoned or rejected.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

These feelings are so different, but when you can get down to the true emotion, it's amazing how your brain will figure out ways to process it and deal with it. Unacknowledged feelings take a toll on your relationships, work and health, too. When you go to the fridge and you just have to eat, are you actually hungry, or is it something else? Yes, it's scary to face our true emotions. Opening the fridge door and eating would be so much easier, and while it may provide in-the-moment satisfaction, it is short-lived. In those moments, we often let our brain take us to this place of complete anger and rage, a so-called negative "emotional home." The solution? Switch homes. Move. Pack up and get a new emotional home. You totally can!

By acknowledging your feelings, you give yourself the headspace to continue on, and not in a discontent way. It allows for a better life; one with more emotional strength and a greater skill level to face emotions head-on. So, I challenge you, next time you feel "off," stop. Take a moment and think. Really, truly, thoroughly think. What are you feeling? Where is it coming from? Once you know it, figure out how you're going to counter it—and do it. What is your lightness?

Loving One's Self

Tue, 25 Jan 2022 19:02:00 GMT

Ah, falling in love... Many of us have been there. Do you remember a time when you fell in love? How did it make you feel? I'll take a guess and say that you probably said "wonderful," "amazing" and "exciting," and that you thought very affectionately of that person. Am I right? Now, what if I told you that that person, that other person, that you fell in love with and thought so fondly of, could—and should—be you ? That's right—you. Have you fallen in love with yourself? Do you think of yourself and think of those words—wonderful, beautiful and exciting? If you don't, then this is for you. Loving yourself is the key to a more beautiful life.

I know, I know; it's easier said than done. I've been there too; that place where you look at yourself in the mirror and nothing but criticism, hatred and reject reflects back at you. Oh, do I ever know how hard it is to love yourself. But let's dive into this, shall we?

One of the things in my life that I struggled with was hating myself. Hating my body, my voice and my looks. In such a state, it would be easy to blame it on how I was raised or on what people have said to me over the years. It would be even easier to blame it on all the bad things my health has put me through, instead of loving my body for how strong and resilient it's been and that it's still holding on. But at the end of the day, hating me simply meant I had fallen out of love with myself. I didn't allow my body to do what it needed to do; I didn't give it the grace, love and time it needed to heal. Now think about this: if that body had been somebody else's, I would have told them to rest and take it easy on themselves. So why was I not taking my own advice and being kind to myself like I would be to a loved one? Much of that has to do with the crazy expectations of ourselves, and some placed on us by others. The idea that if you don't do this or think like that, you're not good enough. That in order to be loved, people have to need you and you have to have all these things. And when life doesn't meet those expectations, you stop loving yourself because you've disappointed yourself. You never feel loved because you've handed the power over to everyone outside of you. You've given it away. If you need to feel wanted and accepted to feel loved, you are waiting for actions that happen to you. This means that somebody else has to step up and you're imposing heavy unspoken rules on people. So, how do you reconcile those feelings of hatred and turn them into love? Take back your power. Disconnect and reconnect. Gently press the reset button with a curious and open mind. Most of all, stop beating down on yourself. Instead of criticizing yourself, take a small step and think of a positive thing about yourself each day, like "hey, you're cute. I like that messy bun. Nice shirt! You've got this. You're good!" and eventually, you will start believing yourself. The day that I was able to look at myself in the mirror and say "I love you" was monumental. It's impacted my life for the better. Sometimes that comes across as arrogance and conceit, when in reality it's a deep confidence in myself, who I am and what I can do. The confidence to do what is good for me , and to listen to my own needs as opposed to what others think I should be. So, what if we actually loved ourselves? Maybe we don't like all the parts of us. But what if we actually, truly loved ourselves? Would we eat differently? Would we walk with our shoulders held high? The answer is yes. We would treat ourselves differently. We would demand more out of, and fight harder for, relationships. We would have healthier boundaries with people. We would lead happier lives. You should try it—it's worth it.

#selflove #selfcare #mindfulness #reconnect #youareworthit #love #confidence

Ten ways to make it to January without wanting to yell at everyone around you

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 23:52:00 GMT

This time of year is amazing. This time of year also sucks for many. There are so many emotions and #expectations in December that destroy people. We get triggered by all the things: activities, people, behaviours, family gatherings, added stress, financial strain, too much food and drink… Like I said, all the things. So how do you make it through this period without losing your cool and getting even more stressed out?

These ten #guidelines will make your life so much easier this time of year. So, take it easy. Say no. Limit your activities. Spend time with those you really want to spend time with. Seriously, do it. You will love it.

How to Write a Book the Dawn Way

Wed, 08 Sep 2021 03:56:00 GMT

It has been one year since I finished my book and I thought I would take some time to answer a few questions that keep coming up about it. For starters? If you have read my book? THANK YOU!!!!! You have no idea how much that means to me. It was a heart project for sure and the process of writing it, publishing it, selling it and now having my story out there has been intense to say the least. If you haven’t? No worries! Click here to get a copy if you are interested. I would be honored.

PS I MADE IT: BEHIND THE SCENES Q&A OF HOW DAWN WROTE A BOOK HER WAY

How long did it take you to write a book? Kind of an odd story! I was plagued by words in 2014. I am not talking just some random words but I was spending most nights reliving my trauma. The words were flowing and the second I sat down to write? I would FREEZE. I could not get any words out and it was awful. You have to read the book to figure out how I started writing but I got around 9,000 words done in 10 days and then ignored it until late 2018. I then decided it was time to go. Get it done. I tried to write everyday but it was NOT the easiest for me. I ended up locking myself torture style in a hotel for a long weekend two different times where I wrote around 35,000 words each time. A few extra days in there? And it was done. I wrote the majority of the #book from Nov 1, 2018 - May10, 2019.

How many words did you write in the book? Just under 74,000 final words. I finished at around 92,000 and then we did cuts.

What was the hardest part to write about? Ugh. The stuff about my mom. That was the hardest for sure. I take that back! The brain aneurysm was also horrible. I forget what damage it all caused and as I had to write it, I found myself incredibly frustrated and angry.

What was the hardest part to read out-loud for audible? The sexual abuse. And to make matters worse? We had to redo that chapter 4 or 5 times. Yes we did. The files would go missing, there would be random sounds in the background, I would mess up too much, the computer would stop working….. it went on and on.

Is that your voice on the audio version of your book? It is! I really wanted it to be my voice talking to the reader.

How long did that take to write your book??? I don’t even know. HOURS. DAYS. WEEKS. MONTHS. So long

What was your process for writing? Just write!! I wanted to tell my story but I wanted it to be a process that people would read through that would allow them some #healing or would #challenge them to find their strength to fight for themselves. I wanted people to feel seen and heard and understood. I also wanted people with no/less #trauma to develop an understanding of people around them.

Who were you most scared to have read it? My immediate family. My husband the most. Interesting fact? He didn’t read it until it was done and at the printers. He refused!

Has it turned out the way you wanted it to? I had no expectations of it! It has not all gone as planned (research your publishers…. Word of advice) but it is here and I am getting amazing feedback.

Would you write another book? I would! I already have ideas flowing through my brain. One day!!! Maybe next year?

What advice do you have for someone wanting to write their own book about their trauma? Deal with your pain first. Once you write about it? It is OUT there and you have no control of it. Make sure you are okay with everyone talking about it and looking at you potentially differently!

Also, what is your intention with it? Who are you trying to write to?

Healing Trauma with S.I.T

Wed, 08 Sep 2021 03:56:00 GMT

First things first – let’s start with trauma. What is it? Simply put, trauma is an emotion, event, or experience of an environment that gets jarred into your nervous system.

A few months ago, I became certified in the Subconscious Imprinting Technique (SIT) method. This is one of the fastest and most efficient ways to heal from any trauma that we carry around with us. By using SIT methods, when clients can reveal the trauma that they were subject to, SIT Certified Professionals are able to reveal the unrecognized patterns clients have been operating on. Through this process, they are able to work through and destroy those patterns, releasing the trauma that the client has been holding onto.

Why would we want to release and destroy old patterns? Because removing trauma held in the body helps us lead fuller lives by reaching our full potential. It allows the barriers that stand in the way of us achieving our goals to be brought down.

What exactly is the Subconscious Imprinting Technique? It can be described as a wipe-and-reset method where our patterns, behaviors, and beliefs that negatively affect our lives are deactivated and changed. Did you know that our behaviors, patterns, and beliefs are locked away in our subconscious mind, and programmed into us from age seven? As children, the information we receive from our parents, teachers, friends, and socio-economic environment shapes our view of the world and ourselves. It engrains an idea in us that tells us how we, and the world, should be. However, as you may have guessed, not all those beliefs are good or beneficial to our growth.

The tricky part? We are not aware of them. The Subconscious Imprinting Technique will bring these thoughts and patterns to the surface and make us aware of what goes on in our subconscious, and why we are the way we are, and act (or react) the way we do. Awareness is where change starts! When you acknowledge that you are holding on to emotions, beliefs, and patterns that limit and impede you, you can choose to change your behaviors. This is the key to the start of living a better, fuller life.

So, how does it work? In our SIT session, I will access your emotions, experiences, emotions, and past events through muscle testing. Once discovered, together we will use release statements that change the way your body understands and interprets information.

How does someone know if they need or will benefit from the SIT method?

Ask yourself these questions:

Do you ever get stuck in the same patterns and negative thoughts over and over again? Do you sometimes feel physical pain caused by issues that you can’t seem to resolve? Do you feel like certain barriers prevent you from achieving your goals, without knowing what those barriers are, exactly?

If you have said yes to any of these questions, then the Subconscious Imprinting Technique is for you!

I’d love to explore this more with you and/or your loved ones, so reach out to me today to discuss your specific situation and start your healing!

#trauma #sitsession #coaching #transformations #mentalhealth

3 Simple Hacks to Declutter Your Space

Wed, 08 Sep 2021 03:56:00 GMT

Hello. Hello. I am wondering who else feels like the world’s falling apart right now, like, in a really big way?

To combat that I want to start off with a challenge to engage with others. Start with smiling and making eye contact with people. In every area of your life and say hi, just even acknowledge and greet people, and ask them questions would be huge.

So, What do you do when the world feels like it is falling apart and you are spending a lot of time at home?

I wanted to talk about #mentalhealth in times like this and challenge you to try some really basic hacks to make your life a little bit easier and better.

So, one of mine is #organization. I don’t think people understand how your physical space and your mental space are tied to each other. When your house is a disaster, when your stuff is cluttered, when your stuff is chaotic, when you have no idea what’s going on around you, that can very very easily be tied to what your emotional state.

So, for me it is super crazy tied together. This is not in a judgement way at all because everyone has a different level of what they think cleanliness is and clean and organized and all those things.

Some people are crazy, crazy, amazing organized where every single thing is in a spot and labeled and fancy.

That’s not me.

But, I am the girl who is really, really picky on the stuff in my space.

One reason for this is that everything around us has energy.

Everything is molecules and #energy and atoms. And right now, with everybody being home and people not working we need to pay attention to the things in your space and how they make us feel.

1 | Declutter Hack

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately just going around my house asking, why is this here? Why is this thing in my house? I don’t love it. I don’t like it. It doesn’t hold any amazing special meaning to me.

So why do I have it? Guess what, don’t keep it, get rid of it. Do something with it. You don’t need it. And that is something not many people do. Not many people actually take the time to look around.

A friend was planning on doing some renovations. And I asked, Are you gonna keep all the same crap in your new space as you had in your old? and she was like, Oh, yeah, I hope not.

If your body’s not feeling 100% in your space, just have less stuff. Let’s make a shift in our mindset about the stuff in our space. One argument that I hear is, Yeah, but I might use it one day? The reality is, if you haven’t used it in the last six months, you probably aren’t gonna use it one day.

It’s so much easier to organize and you will be so thankful emotionally and physically when you have cleared out.

2 | Declutter Hack

The second declutter #hack is how to deal with all those projects that are not completed. Oh, but I’m going to do this craft, or I’m going to do this art thing. You know what, put it in your calendar, sit down and figure out how long it’s gonna take you to do so.

I remember one of my own art projects that was never completed. I gathered all these picture frames, because you know, I was gonna magically spray paint all of them and do some crazy gallery wall. Yeah, no, not happening. I had to get rid of those frames.

So, sit down and look at the project you would like to complete and figure out how long the project is going to take. Is it going to take several hours, a couple days, longer? Then, take out your calendar and figure out where you’re going to put that project and what’s your deadline to get it done by? Because guess what, if you actually wanted to do it, you’d have no problem putting that in your calendar.

Take a moment and think about the conversations you’re having in your head when you look at the piling up stuff around you. Yeah, but one day I’m gonna play that sport again. Or, I love that old car and will drive it again when I have time to fix it. Stop!

HARD TRUTH – You know, if you can’t find room in your calendar for it, if you can’t find the energy to put it into your schedule, you’re never going to do it. If You Like This Post, Here Are Some More You May Like A hard project for me to give up for a lot of years was I used to knit. I learned how to knit in high school, only to make a scarf for my grandma. Then, I stopped knitting. Well, here’s what happened in the years that followed. The knitting supplies sat in this area where I saw it, where I looked at it. Every time I looked at it, guess what feelings that elicited, not good ones. Not positive ones. I did not look at the supplies and think, I’m just so excited for the day I’m gonna use that.

No, it was like this weird guilt and shame over the fact that I still hadn’t used it, and it was still sitting there. And, man, I really have to do something with that. And I can’t believe I spent that much money on it and blah, blah, blah. Why? Why are we keeping these things? Right?

So, finally I just gave it away. I gave it away to someone who knit and it took that negativity out of my house. So, now I’m not looking at it and regretting it.

I encourage you to totally purge your house. We have so much junk, right? We have so much junk in our spaces, and that means we have junk in our brains too. So spend some time in that. Really spend some time looking at it.

3| Declutter Hack

The third #declutter hack is about decluttering gifts, picture, and sentimental objects. My mom was an organized hoarder. And one of the things that she did was like, the house looks really clean on the surface.

It was very, very tidy. But I’m talking like a whole floor of her house. 1200 square feet full of boxes, and full of things and full of stuff. And every drawer and every closet was stuffed, like stuffed to the brim.

For her, so much of it had guilt attached to it or shame attached to it because it was from somebody.

Like, someone had gifted that, or someone had bought that, or that was a wedding gift. Instead of being able to just be like, I don’t love this, why is it here? She could not even allow those thoughts to enter her brain.

So, if you’re spending a lot more time at home right now, go and get rid of things. If you have 120 books on your shelf that you’ve never read, you’re probably not going to read them. Find someone who wants to.

If you have all those clothes in your closet, you’re like, Yeah, but one day I’m going to wear those. Find someone and give them away.

Give yourself permission to let go. If you do need it in the future, buy it again then. With sentimental object, get rid of it. The old musical instruments in your childhood that you’re never gonna play.

Get rid of the clothes from grade 12 that you’ve grown out of because you probably had kids and your hips are wider. So you physically will never get back into them. It’s time go through your house and get rid of it.

If you’re struggling with the emotional attachment to things and can’t get rid of it, take photos of them. Take a photo of it, and then write a little story on what it means to you, or where it came from or something like that.

Then printed into a really cheap book, like mixed book or One of those book things that you can print online. Then you still get to see it and the memory is still there. You don’t need to hold the physical item forever.

The Taylor Way

46 Things in my 46 Years

Groundhog day: living the same day and same year over and over and over again.

Real Questions From Real Clients (And The No-BS Answers That Changed Their Lives)

How I Have Stayed Married Happily for 26 Years

Skiing Even If I Believed it Would Kill Me

“I Needed Something Else”: A First Responder’s Journey Through PTSD, Depression & Real Healing

You’ve Got This - I Promise

Annual Check In List

Emotions Are Assholes. And The BEST THING EVER

5 Real Strategies to Get Through Hard Sh*t

Because pretending you're fine isn't working anymore.

​Fighting for It and Through It: My Journey Through Hard Decisions​

As most of you know, my journey has been anything but conventional.

Embracing the Fight Mentality

Harnessing Hope and Faith

Developing Resilience Through Adversity

Taking Ownership of Your Choices

Seeking Support and Community

I Can't Change

“What if they don’t like the new me?"

3 Ways You are Holding Yourself In Your Misery

Ok... I know this is a statement that may make you mad, but stay with me.

3 Ways Love Works (and Doesn’t Work)

How to Plan Your Year

Oh planning… let’s go.

5 Biggest Tips to Stay HAPPILY Married

The Snow is Falling… MOVE!

Ah, winter! That magical time when hot chocolate is more than a drink; it’s a survival tool.

Embracing the Seasons of Life and Business: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Movements to Move Emotions

Embrace the Slowdown: How a Simple Checklist Can Transform the Slow Times

When Business is Slow

My Slow-Day Checklist

My List

One hour working on the business

One networking meeting

Hobbies

Netflix, Wine & Burnout

The Love-Hate Relationship with Our Parents

5 Reasons It is SO HARD to Release Our Trauma

Love Yourself

Grieving what we believed should have been

Reflection

Remembering Sacrifice: A Military Wife's Perspective on Remembrance Day

Trauma Has Multiple Faces

Trauma Has Multiple Faces

How gratitude and thankfulness are seen and celebrated across the world

How gratitude and thankfulness are seen and celebrated across the world

Structure is not the devil!

Say "No" This Summer

Breaking the Chains of Guilt

10 Things I Learned During My Time In NYC

Honoring Father's Day Without a Father: Reflections and Coping Strategies

A Resource Guide to Mental Health Help

How Do I Fight with Someone?

Let Go of Expectations = Let Go of Stress

How to Keep Your Mind from Racing to the Negative

Don't Quit, Reflect.

How to Avoid Self-Sabotage

Grace vs. Laziness

Guilt.

Acknowledging Your True Feelings and How to Face Them

Loving One's Self

Ten ways to make it to January without wanting to yell at everyone around you

How to Write a Book the Dawn Way

PS I MADE IT: BEHIND THE SCENES Q&A OF HOW DAWN WROTE A BOOK HER WAY

Healing Trauma with S.I.T

3 Simple Hacks to Declutter Your Space

1 | Declutter Hack

2 | Declutter Hack

3| Declutter Hack

Fighting for It and Through It: My Journey Through Hard Decisions