Corrie Woods and The Woman's Field Guide to Exceptional Living

Many women spend their days caring for other people.

You may be one of those women who takes care of her husband, her children, her parents, and even her pets but doesn't take care of herself. You're not alone if you've found yourself in this trap, but it's time to start treating yourself a little better.

Before you can really help other people, you have to help yourself first. In her guide, Woods helps women to understand how important it is to take care of themselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually. When you've taken good care of your own needs, you're then able to help others more effectively.

Unfortunately, many women take care of others and leave themselves depleted. Eventually that habit causes you to run out of steam and have nothing left to give. Instead of feeling fulfilled, you may feel empty and even resent those for whom you care.

You may recognize this pattern within your life, but not know what to do to improve the situation. If you don't know where to start, The Woman's Field Guide to Exceptional Living can help show you the way. Within its pages, you'll learn how to begin caring for yourself so that you feel fulfilled and have a great deal to share with the world.

Imagine having inner peace and having the life you've always dreamed of. That's exactly what you can do if you follow Wood's advice. You'll find all you need to help remind you of what's important in your life. You'll be able to recharge your batteries.

You are invited to meet amazing women who will inspire you to take the invitations from each chapter of the WFG book into deeper exploration. From self care to life changes to creativity, and more. The women featured are indeed exceptional and are women I am proud to spotlight. Visit their websites, get to know more about what they have to offer. Perhaps the gifts they have to give can help you!
Spotlight on Exceptional Women

You are invited to settle back and take a few minutes to read a chapter from The Woman's Field Guide to Exceptional Living.Make More Mud Pies!

It seems hard to take care of yourself - especially when you're pressed for time. You may only have a few minutes of peace each day that you can truly work on the things that matter to your own heart.

The good news is that The Woman's Field Guide to Exceptional Living is a book that delivers inspiration in small doses.

Even if you only have five minutes, you'll have enough time to read a little story of inspiration and take down a few notes to help you explore your feelings and take action. If you're on the go, you can put the book in your purse or keep it in your car so that you have it available to you at all times.

While you're waiting for the kids to leave school or have a few minutes before your next appointment, you can thumb through the pages and get a small bite of inspiration to help keep you going for the rest of the day.

Sometimes self-help books cause you to face painful situations very seriously. However, Woods presents a light-hearted approach to motivation that allows you to focus on positive energy and even fun.

The Woman's Field Guide to Exceptional Living can help you to reach your dreams without taking up a ton of your time.

Even in just a short read, you can get the motivation you need to make the rest of your day one that counts. You can get the inspiration you need to live the big, bold, and beautiful life you've always wanted.

To live fully in each moment, it is vital to get complete with your past. Without this completion, it's quite possible that you will find loose threads from your past tugging at your attention and distracting you from being fully here and now. By gently retracing your steps, perhaps you will discover a celebration that did not happen, words that were not spoken, or a loss that was not grieved. In what ways might you wrap up some unfinished business and more fully integrate all facets of your life experience?

A possibility to explore is that you can experience the lessons of your past in such a way that they inform, rather than dictate, how you show up in your world today. The past can be excavated with care, with gentle hands and heart, that tend like the soft tools of an archeologist brushing away the assumptions, the distorted memories, fears, and the moments of glorious celebrations. In that excavation, you can uncover a treasure trove of insights and revelations.

The closer your relationship is with your past, the greater your willingness to embrace, to grieve, to celebrate the trail of your life's passages; the greater will be your ability to live deeply, exceptionally in the here and now.

A question that may come up is: How to invite the past into your present life without allowing it
to overstay its welcome? And, further, how to move through and release the sense of hold your past can claim? And, further still, how to celebrate your past in such a way that you reap the wisdom laced throughout its lessons?

Here are four guidelines:
Be willing to try on a new line of inquiry.
Be willing to invite new insights.
Be open to unexpected answers.
Be willing to reach out for support, as you may need it.

Keeping these touchstones in mind, how do you dive into the adventure of transforming your
relationship with your past? Here is a powerful and effective process that calls for blank paper, some quiet time, and the courage to be radically honest. This can lead to a sense of completion, of richness and of freedom to move into the future of your life with a collection of treasures from your past. The premise: Transform your language to transform your experience. Contrast a disempowering statement or question regarding your past with a possibility or What if question that instills a sense of growth and empowerment.

Here are some examples:

Disempowering statement:
I was too busy with life and I missed that very
important moment.
Possibility question:
What if I slowed down long enough to celebrate that which I have yet to fully celebrate?
Disempowering question:
Why did that have to happen to me?
Possibility question:
What if I celebrated all the victories and hardships that have been and are my life and that make me who I am today?
Disempowering statement:
I know I can't change the past, but I can't seem to get over it.
Possibility question:
What if I step back into that place that feels incomplete and create a ritual to feel and experience it through to completion this time?

Take time to dive in. Notice your language, explore your language, and upgrade your language.
Moving forward, each time you hear your inner voice murmur words of defeat, longing, or incompletion regarding your past, stop yourself and declare your What if . . . feel it, embrace it, notice it. It may call you to action or simply call your attention.

As you explore new language and a new relationship with your past, you may traverse some difficult trails. Be willing to honor yourself by reaching for support as you need it. It may be in the form of a friend, a therapist, or a warm and caring presence. Some journeys are yours to travel alone. Some call for a sacred circle of support. Let your heart lead you.

You cannot relive the past or change it, that's true. You can, however, transform how you are living your life today by excavating the treasures and the lessons from the path of your life up to this very moment. It all begins with awareness. Integrate the past. Invite it to come live in a nurtured place in your heart and feel a strengthened ability to be fully present and vibrant and fully expressed in the here and now.

Life is all about change. The fact is, the more dynamic our lives, the more we are growing, evolving, blossoming, and the more we are experiencing change. It therefore stands to reason that the better we are at flowing with changes, the more rewarding and enjoyable our lives will be. Imagine the benefits of being change savvy in an ever-changing world.

The first step comes with building a new awareness of how change touches all areas of our lives. If it is an unexpected career change, for example, we may jump into hyper-drive to assure our next paycheck. What if we stopped long enough to see how that change touches our relationships, our confidence, our sense of clarity and focus, and our health? The greater our awareness about the far-reaching impact of life changes and the greater our ability to stay in the moment with each ebb and flow, the more successful we'll be at landing right where we want to on the other side.

One way to build that awareness is to think back to a time in your life when you experienced a big change. What was the situation? Was it expected or unexpected? In what ways did you feel prepared to handle it, and unprepared? How can those lessons serve you today and in the future? Perhaps you are in the midst of a change right now and can apply this line of inquiry to your current situation.

The next step is to identify ways to be empowered by, rather than overcome by, change. Read on for ten ways to do just that:

1. Create a Change Journal to express feelings and to process the events. Find a special book into which you can pour the questions, feelings, doodles, and ah ha's that are a part of your experience with change

2. Exercise you Change Muscle when things aren't changing. During settled times get good at small changes by shaking up your routine: take a new route to work, have a picnic with a friend rather than your regular lunch, try something new!

3. Ask reflective, empowering questions rather than "why me" questions. Example: What do I need to let go of to move through this?

4. Create a nurturing environment. When all the balls
seem up in the air having a quiet corner to relax in and to be surrounded by things that nurture you can provide just the break you need.

5. Get support! Talk with a therapist, a coach, a close friend, a minister. Surround yourself with people who love and support you.

6. Practice body-centering activities - a walk in the woods, yoga, a run, meditation. Choose activities that help you to feel grounded and more centered.

7. Plan personal retreat time for reflection, rest, and renewal. It may be a weekend by yourself, a whole day, or 15 minutes crafted into each day.

8. Look for ways that you may be struggling with and resisting change. Simply be aware of them as they pop up.

9. Practice great communication. Let those around you know what's up.

10. Clear the clutter in your life. Remove the things you are tolerating to simplify and to lighten your load!

With practical tips in hand and a greater awareness, you can embrace the opportunities that come with transitions in your life, become more resourceful, and become change savvy.