It’s no secret making conscious choices is a foundational component of my life.
I believe we have the ability to make aligned choices in everything we do. Even when it’s hard, even when we come up against barriers, even when it feels scary, or all of our options are less than stellar – we have control over the choices we make, even if it’s only how we react or continue in the moment.
All of those kinds of choices have come up for me in the last year.
And hooooooo-boy, that year has not been without its challenges. Thankfully, I have some incredible people in my life who will support me through the tough times. One of the most important people throughout my recent decision-making journey has been Amber Mikaelsson, aka Rural Rebel Mama.
Amber and I have been connected for years, but in the last two years have quickly grown thick as thieves. She’s someone I connect with in a million ways, she’s someone I’m constantly inspired by, and she’s someone I think of as a true friend and conquer-the-world partner. Also, she’s someone I can send and receive kitten pics and videos with, so that bumps her above, like, 90% of other people in my life.
Something I really love about Amber is that she’s not afraid to open up, be totally vulnerable, and also shower praise on people completely uninhibitedly. Honestly, I still blush when she does it about me, but because I know she knows her shit too and would never BS anyone, I take the compliments and believe her.
One of the biggest compliments she’s given me is a tiny slice of credit for encouraging her to start her podcast, Living Deliberately. And the next big compliment she’s given me is inviting me to be a guest on the show.
Obviously, the entire idea of Living Deliberately is right up my alley – perfectly aligned with my own choices – and of course, with that as a catalyst, we had a wonderful conversation. We chatted about my deliberate shift from fitness to life coaching. We chatted about deliberate play (so fun!). We chatted about books (obviously). We even chatted about my new favorite non-profit.
I hope you’ll take a listen to the episode, which you can find right here (and a list of noteworthy time stamps here). Honestly, I hope you’ll listen to all of the Living Deliberately episodes, especially Amber’s solo episode 04 on Deliberate Relapse. If you’ve been looking for a new podcast to add to your favorites, this is definitely one to consider.
I think we can all use the reminder to be a little more deliberate, to be conscious of our choices. And while that process is rarely linear, I can say with all the conviction in the world, being deliberate about it is still going to get you where you want to go. Speaking from experience, quite a few deliberate choices that didn’t turn out to be great still ended up leading me closer to each choice being more perfectly aligned than the last.
Enjoy the podcast, and let me know what you think!
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