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This article was written by Christina Brown, Catholic Life Coach.

As a Catholic Life Coach, it is my goal to take my clients from surviving to thriving and bring joy into their life. Here are 3 tips to get the ball rolling in your life. Want someone to walk this journey with you? Reach out to me for a free discovery call so that I can show you how we can work together to invite the Holy Spirit in and get results in your life!

3 Tips to go from Surviving to Thriving!

1. Get specific: Make very clear goals

Define the areas of your life you want to grow in: emotional, spiritual, physical, mental. Rank them on a scale of 1-10. Then invite the Holy Spirit into these areas to bring awareness and ask, “What does thriving look like to me in these areas?” Journal about it. Set a goal for what you want to attain. Make sure it is measurable. Break it down to smaller, mini goals.

Try “habit stacking”, where you build those mini habits on top of one another to reach the next mini goal. You want them to be clear, manageable and attainable to keep your motivation from lagging.

Need examples of what this might look like? Here are a few!

Emotional goal: I want to stay calm and react quietly but firmly when my children do things that make me feel anything but calm!

Spiritual goal: I want to go to confession more and take time to truly examine my conscience.

Physical goal: I want to make sure I go for a 20 minute walk every day.

Mental goal: I want think positive, happy and grateful thoughts each day.

2. Schedule time to fill your cup

Don’t forget about self care!

We as Catholics often get caught up in thinking that self care is being selfish, when it is really being selfless! We can’t give to others if we are dipping into an empty cup.

When our cups are empty, our family and friends are just getting the last drops or sludge at the bottom of our cup.

The loving thing to do is to refill our cup.

“But I am already in survival mode, how on earth do I find time to fill my cup????”

Put self care on your schedule and calendar.

Yes, make sure you are scheduling self care!

That can mean anything from exercising,

taking a bath,

tinkering in your shop/garage,

gardening, getting your nails done,

playing your instrument, reading, etc.

Make time for yourself each week.

It could be 15 mins each day, 3 times a week or a block of two hours on the weekend.

This isn’t just fun and me time, it’s necessary in order to be able to love and serve others well.

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3. Try something different

Continue to learn and grow! Pope Benedict XVI said, “The world gives you comfort, but you are not made for comfort, you are made for greatness”. Growth requires stepping out of our comfort zone and trying something new.

If we expect things to change, we must change.

The definition of insanity is trying the same things and expecting different results. Are you part of a bible study, accountability group, reading spiritual and inspirational literature? Is there a class or seminar about something you want to learn? Are you trying to gain a new skill or form a new hobby? This can be part of your self care.

** Talking to a Catholic Life Coach could be the one different thing that will help you tremendously!!!***

Invite the Lord in and ask for His wisdom for where He would like you to focus.

BONUS TIP! Surround yourself with people that will walk with you, pray for you and encourage you in growth. Cultivate relationships with people who uplift, inspire, and encourage you to reach your full potential. Seek out mentors or role models who have achieved the kind of thriving life you aspire to. This is where Catholic Life Coaching comes in! Reach out to me as someone that can journey with you and take you from surviving to thriving!!