Kerri On Down The Road

 It is amazing how the messages you need to hear always seem to land at just the right time.  I had the absolute privilege of attending an inspirational key-note speaking event featuring Elizabeth Gilbert this past weekend.  The event had initially come across my Instagram feed last year and I decided treat myself and  grab a ticket.  I knew that no matter where I was in my life when the event took place, I would find something in the messages shared that would provide insight and also would likely help to add clarity to the work I was doing.  I was not wrong. The theme of Elizabeth's key-note centred on something that I had never really considered before - how moving towards living life in a relaxed state could result in powerful outcomes.  When I think of being relaxed the last thing that comes to mind is power or strength.  Often the word relaxation brings a pang of guilt with it because I have believed that allowing relaxation in means looseni...

Have you ever given yourself permission to fail?  What does that even mean, you might wonder.  I had never really considered this to be an option until I was listening to a podcast discussion between Rich Roll and high performance psychologist Michael Gervais.  Their conversation centred on the mindset and psychology that elite athletes embrace in order to achieve the incredible feats that they do.  And also how these same concepts apply to non-athletes as we strive to achieve goals and work towards successes in different areas of our lives. The one idea that made me stop in my tracks and take note was a simple question - are we living our lives to avoid failure or to approach success?  Mind. Blown.   What struck me about this question was the fact that essentially we need to be open to failure in order to move towards success - one doesn't often happen without the other.  Top performing athletes and individuals did not roll out of bed one mornin...

 It is interesting how certain words and phrases can elicit a physical response.  "I got you" is one of those phrases that seems to have that effect on me.  Often when I ask my eldest son to help me reach down something off of a shelf that would require my step stool otherwise, he simply replies "I got you".  And the flood of warmth that accompanies that simple response always takes me by surprise.   I wonder what it is about those three little words that causes this to happen.  Maybe it's because it feels good to be taken care of.  Maybe it's because it equates to being seen and loved.  And maybe it's just because it feels good to have someone else do the thing for you.  And while it feels great to have someone else tell you that they have your needs covered, what I started to think about was the last time I  said those three little words to me . When was the last time that I needed something and was open to showing up for myself? ...

The other week I came across an Instagram post by poet Andrea Gibson: Dear Overripe Avocado, Thank you for reminding me  there is such a thing as  waiting too long to be ready. This resonated with me pretty deeply.  It made me stop and think about the number of times I have held back or second-guessed myself regarding a new hobby, challenge or adventure based upon a question of readiness.   When you stop and think about it, are we EVER ready for most of the things that life brings us?  How would we really know if we were ready and what would determine being ready?  Is it all about success or the end product or outcome?  Feels a bit empty if those are truly the only parts of the equation that are meaningful. The hard part about this question comes with the realization that going into something before you actually are ready can feel mighty uncomfortable.  There is definitely a fine line between being under prepared and being "ready".  I wi...