Friday, April 24, 2015

My Story of Being Sick and Tired




I am a very driven purpose.
  
Once I set a goal for myself, I achieve it. That works unless someone or something disturbs my plan.

I went into marriage, confident I would enjoy an intimate, mutually satisfying relationship in which we both could be everything God wanted us to be while contributing to the life of each other.

I knew I had my rough edges and wanted to be refined so I began reading every self-help book out there.   I have read over 500 books on marriage, resolving conflict, understanding personality differences and improving one’s life.

All that reading didn’t prevent the struggles from happening.  It did help me understand the “why” behind the events, but it did not remove the sting of disappointment.

As my husband and I began having children, it became apparent we weren’t on the same page in regards to our parenting goals.  I assumed he would be just as involved in our children’s lives as I was.  Apparently I was wrong.  This was a huge disappointment. 

When I asked for his help or involvement,  I was asking for too much.  If only I could do more, than things would be fine.  So I did. Everything.  I stuffed my resentment and disappointment and did it all.  I cared for all of our children’s basic needs, educated them at home and shared my Christian beliefs with them. Alone. 

When our third child died at 4 days old, I was devastated.  I clung to my faith in God, accepted the help from church friends and did the rest. Alone.

While I clung to Christ, my husband ran to substances. 

Finding objectionable items in our home was not part of my plan.

Being the “good Christian wife”, I did everything I thought was right.  I prayed.  I died to myself.  I fasted.  I forgave. I initiated conversations.  I overlooked. I stuffed my pain. Alone.

And then one morning I woke up and realized how much energy I had consumed trying to help someone who really didn’t want  or could accept my help. 

The only person I could help was myself.

I needed to figure out how to do that.

I needed to know thyself.

Thus my journey in Life Coaching began.

So, what is your story of being sick and tired?  What area of your life are you feeling stuck?  What is keeping you stuck? What is it costing you?

Stacy Rothenberger, M.S. CCC-SLP, CLC
Communication Disorder Expert
Mindset and Relationship Coach
Keynote Speaker

Friday, April 17, 2015

Do You Love Your Life?

Do you love your life? 

I mean do you REALLY love your life?

Not just some parts of it, but ALL of it?

If you are like most people, you probably love SOME areas of your life, and that’s good.  But if you were honest, and I mean REALLY honest, you would probably admit there is at least ONE area of your life you aren’t loving.

Maybe it’s your job. You hate it.  Driving there every day makes you physically nauseous.  You would love to do something else, but the fear of the unknown is too immense.

Or maybe it’s a relationship you are in. You spend more time and energy arguing and fighting than you do actually enjoying the other person.  

Or maybe it’s those 30 extra pounds you’ve been carrying around.  

That “one thing” we aren’t totally content or happy with can end up preventing us from loving our lives.

You don’t believe me?  Think back of the last time you got in a horrible fight with someone you love.  Were you able to concentrate on anything else? Probably not.  Our minds tend to ruminate on something until there is some kind of closure or healing. Yet so many of us go through life with so much unfinished business. Our minds are left to work over- time wondering, worrying and fearing the worst.

Life may not always happen exactly as we would like it to; however, we can learn to love our lives regardless of the circumstances.  Don’t worry, this isn’t another one of those, “fake it until you make it” speeches. 

I’m not one who espouses to putting on a happy face and pretending as if everything is okay when it really isn’t.  In fact, I’m suggesting just the opposite. 

Sometimes, we need to wipe those fake smiles off our faces and allow ourselves to show the hurt, disappointment and anger we are truly feeling.  We may need to end some relationships which are no longer serving us. We may need to find the courage to try something we know we were destined to do. We may have to finally face those fears which have been keeping us stuck.

But unless we take the time to truly get to know ourselves, we may stay stuck and never truly love ourselves or the lives we are living. This means we need to make time to figure out who we are. What brings us the greatest joy?  What makes us ache inside? What pain and disappointment have we carried into adulthood?  Until we get to the root of all of those questions, we may struggle loving our lives.

Life is too short not to love every minute of it.

Invest in yourself today.  Learn how to love your life.

Stacy Rothenberger

Certified Relationship and Mindset Coach
www.lovingyourlifecoaching.com