Since New Year’s I’ve been invited to join at least a dozen different ‘Challenges’. No word of a lie.

Exercise challenges. Internet visibility challenges. Business challenges. You name it. My Facebook thread is flooded with all sorts of invitations to better myself.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit the irony of this post, as I’m guilty of creating such challenges and groups. (Although, I hope that mine are slightly different, but I will get to that a bit later).

The thing is, how I FEEL when these challenges are staring me down. And how I feel when I don’t accept them.

I start to question where I am on my path.

Will I be behind if I don’t sign up for this one? Will I lose my edge and not be on top of my game as a mother, coach, solopreneur?

Then comes the “for a limited time only” spiel, and I feel like an even bigger loser. If I don’t say yes, I’m going to miss out on not only a valuable lesson, but a discount to boot!

So, here’s what I do.

I leave the offer open on a tab on my computer for days. Then, one of my kids comes along and closes my internet browser and it's gone! (And I feel a sense of relief, “oh well, missed that one”).

Or... I click BUY. And then I hope this is going to be the challenge that changes my life.

Once I’ve said yes, one of two things can happen.

I dive in, full-hearted and envelop myself in the material. (This is rare. Once a year if I'm lucky). Or it joins a long list of to do’s which gives me permission to feel bad about myself and my lack of commitment.

Do you do this too? Read on!

Do you get bombarded with wonderful ‘opportunities’ for personal and business growth?

Do you struggle with how to say, “no”? How do you decide which ones to say “yes” to?

You are afraid to miss out on the ONE thing that will make all the difference for you if you take a pass. BUT THEN, the ones you take on just sit in your inbox reminding you of your failure to commit to something, yet again.

You can’t find the time and between cooking, taking care of kids and building your empire. How do other women pull this off?!?

WHAT IF WE let go of this constant mental chatter? This FOMO?

How about getting laser-focused on the specific steps that will move us closer to what we really desire in our lives?

Imagine if we focused on our own path, stopped comparing ourselves to others and simply picked ONE thing that would move us further along.

For me the list was LONG. Brene Brown, Marie Forleo, Leonie Dawson... They all wanted a piece of me. And bless them, they are all incredibly helpful women.

When I looked at my own desires, I knew that what I really needed was to focus on self care.

It’s been awhile since I had a daily physical health practice. My body was craving a momentum in the opposite direction than I’d been heading. (Chips and sitting just weren’t cutting it any longer!).

Although a deep dive into my vulnerability and my business growth would be helpful, something else had to come first. And that was ME.

So, what did I do? I scrolled past all the B-school emails, the video course discount offers and the online group class deadlines. I picked one challenge that really fit with where I was at - a fitness journey.

And I jumped in with both feet!

It feels really good to be taking better care of myself than I have in years. It’s giving me a sense of confidence and self-love that are spilling over into other areas of my life.

I also know that Brene will wait for me. She’ll be there with open arms when I have more time to dedicate to the work. I look through my FB feed and say to myself, “Thanks anyway, I’m focusing on me right now. But great offer!” It feels great to have a focus and more importantly an INTENTION.

So my question to you is this...

What do you need most in your life right now?

What is that ONE thing that will move you closer to what you want to bring into your life?

If there are several, put them in order of priority. Then you can see more clearly what you can wholeheartedly say “YES!” to.

And, you can say “no thanks!” to the rest, trusting that they will be waiting for you if you still need them.

Baby steps sister. Baby steps.

You might notice that by taking on just one little thing in your life, the ripple effect can be profound.

So this is where I get to have an ironic giggle because I too put those offers out there.

In the coming months, I will be offering small group coaching to busy moms.

Could this be your one thing? Could this be the one challenge where the benefits ripple out and impact your whole life?

BUT, here’s what’s different about what I do. Instead of giving you a ‘challenge’ or a list of things ‘to do’, I will hold space for you to discover who YOU want to be and how to walk a path that feels deeply authentic to you.

That perfectly imperfect, shiny self is in there just waiting to be discovered. You don’t need to do it all, you simply need to take the first step.

In my upcoming Happy Summer Sisterhood, the focus will be the opposite of ‘doing it all’. Our sessions will take a look at what can feel like a crazy couple months and make sure that it becomes a manageable balance of self-care and family needs by:

Taking time to consider what is truly meaningful
Shifting overwhelm into playful excitement
Accessing authentic meaningful ideas
Putting together a simple, common sense action plan.

If you would like to join a group of supportive women who are laser-focused on running their own race, sign up below and I will keep you up to date of when our next group starts!

AND if my offer feels right to you when you receive it, I hope you’ll jump in with both feet!

Oh, and PS- In the meantime, here’s a free gift! A mini coaching session with me on how to survive Mother’s Day (when you don’t have a Hallmark family).

Love and Light,

Cate

The Challenge of 'Challenges'