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4 Steps on How to find a career when nothing interests you

Have these words ever graced your big, beautiful brain?  God I don’t know what I want to do with my life? or So, how to find a career when nothing interests you? You, brave, generous soul, are in the right place to find an answer. Heidi Esther is a career coach for women and a certified emotional intelligence life coach with your next 4 moves.

A Story

working woman and mother going mad while sitting with children, wondering is this it and how to find a career when nothing interests you

I sat there, on the floor of Meijer grocery store. You know, that aisle that has all the fish tanks at the back? 

My large, full shopping cart off to one side, a pink bundle of sleepy, slow-drinking baby in my lap. Next to me, my toddler shoveling handfuls of Cheerios into his mouth, staring at the fish. Cheerios spilling everywhere.

I closed my eyes and heard the ice cream dripping from the bottom of the shopping cart. 

But I wasn’t sad or mad. This was my life!  I prevented another complete meltdown. And that’s the exact moment when a familiar thought punched through my mile-long to-do and to-clean and to-care for lists…

Is this it?

I stared at the fish tanks. All those fish, swimming around and around the little castles and fake plants. I wondered if they ever had that question.  

read more of this fishy story, beautiful!
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hi, beautiful! How to confidently deal with Life’s Transitions

A story, a hug, and a storytelling invite generous and hardworking helpers can use to confidently navigate life’s transitions.

Don’t want to read the story? Skip to Your HUG and a Storytelling Prompt!

Does any of this sound familiar?
dawn man love people

“I just feel like a part of me no longer fits with my life.”

“I’m grieving…everything (climate change, my kid graduating kindergarten, divorce, loss of a friend, the body I once had…)”

“I’m exhausted and can’t keep up with everything and everyone. Where will I find the time?”

“Is this it?” – a small voice inside of you

If so, you might be in – or close to – a time of change in your life. Take heart, beautiful, generous soul, you can learn to navigate them with grace and ease. Here’s an example of life’s transitions on my side of the fence

during times of transition, you can still flourish.

3 Unconventional Presents for Working Moms

Get ready for some affirmations and unconventional presents for working moms of any cloth. You’ll be surprised – they work for pretty much ANYONE. And you can’t buy them in a store…

A Story

As we went around the discussion circle, it became apparent. Being a working mom in the summer is its own dilemma. Each woman was asked to answer this question:

What would Success look like for you this summer?

“I love spending time with my kids, but…”

“How can I keep up the momentum and stay present for my kids?”

“I am not taking on any new clients.”

“…I know I’ll never get this time back.”

“Because I’m not the primary breadwinner…”

I could see the hope and despair in every woman’s eyes. The joy and exhaustion. The guilt and the longing.

In the midwest, summer can be glorious. And it can be full of competing priorities and values. Enough to flatten any strong hard working mom and send her pleading for Sleigh Bells and Stuffed Schedules.

My turn was coming up; my head was spinning. What to say?

My logical brain started: My kids are self-sufficient. Well, in most ways. But, to be honest, my son is leaving for college soon. (insert sadness) Homelife has been (insert: stressful.) And I’m still trying to figure out what a solid foundation for my business is. (insert worry)

Though the kids are picking their own blended schedules over the summer for the first time, I felt only one answer scream at me.

what are the gifts???!?

Are You the Hero, Damsel, or Evil Stepmother?

How are you, beautiful? My wish for you today is to welcome in the darkness with stillness and curiosity, while also holding space for hope and light. As my dear friend and astrologer says (I’m paraphrasing) “may you welcome in the yin and yang, the duality of life.” The duality of the knowledge in the dying and rebirth of the light within you. After all, it’s only after we let things go that we can let in the new. Speaking of letting go and letting in, I feel called to share a little story with you.

Are you the Hero, The Damsel, or The Evil Stepmother?

When my kids were little, I was a bit of an exhausted perfectionistic doormat-y mommy. Who tried to do it all. Who tried to create a life for my kids where they learned, thrived, and were properly bathed and socialized… I called my mom everyday, to learn things from how to mash potatoes and even plant something in the ground.

But, as if all that wasn’t enough…

Something always followed me around, from the time I was a teen through the next two decades of my life. A sinking pit in my stomach. Every time there was a movement, I would jump. Every time I got in the car and looked in my rearview mirror. Every time I was on the sidewalk and someone walked towards me, that sinking sensation in my stomach would happen, and I would move to the side and apologize for my double-wide (stroller.)

YEA, it’s like I was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was waiting to be “found out”. I was at-the-ready to apologize for whatever came up, whatever I did, just to make sure everyone had the best experience. It’s like I was constantly feeling that I was doing something wrong. In reality, I was overhelping and people pleasing to exhaustion.

But I thought, all this time: I am a Helper, after all! That’s my superpower. I’m the best Robin that Batman ever saw!

So, what was the problem?

When my life fell apart in all its kaleidoscope of colors, being the helper and the sidekick didn’t work. I had to work on myself and my mess.

And that’s when it happened.

I realized I was not meant to live my life as Robin.

HONEST EDIT > (I did try living my life as a damsel in distress and also as my own evil stepmother, those didn’t work either, fyi)

After a fractal journey of learning through pain points, ( < welcome to the hero’s fractal journey and my logo) I realized that…

To live authentically,

while having the most joy, and

no longer “waiting for the other shoe to drop”…

I had to let go of living in the shadow and embrace standing in my own Heroic light.

I had to embrace being someone who doesn’t get pits in their stomach. Who doesn’t apologize for taking up space.

So, I had to ask myself this question all the time. And now I’m asking it of you (in each little situation you get into…) Are You the Hero, the Damsel, or the Evil Stepmother?

AND, if you notice you’re NOT the hero, here’s your #JoyChallenge!

Hero Step >> Believe You are Equally Worthy

I had to believe that I am just as worthy as everyone else of living life as The Hero. Having this belief was the first step to claiming my Heroic Joy.

Now, I walk alongside women through the process of believing and owning their worth. Of feeling they are just as divine and as much as a gift to our world as Mother Theresa.

How do I do this? I hold space to reflect your unique brilliance. I walk you through Three Frameworks: Emotional Intelligence, Self-Leadership, and Co-active Coaching for fulfillment and balance. I provide the questions. Because I know, beautiful {{ subscriber.first_name }}, you have the answers inside.

So, are you ready to Embrace your Hero?

Here are two steps you can do any day, beautiful 💃 💃

  1. Share how you are Embracing your own Inner Hero in the My Joyfully Ever After Facebook group!
  2. ​Chat with me ​about your journey and see if support is what you need to unleash your inner Hero (FYI I have only 2 OPENINGS left in January)

💝 💝 💝 What a better present to give YOU and YOUR LIFE than one of empowered Joy, amIright? 💝 💝 💝

sending you love, light, and worthiness to light a thousand galaxies,

heidi esther

*What does this phrase mean, anyway? According to grammarist.com… The phrase wait for the other shoe to drop became popular at the turn of the twentieth century, and originated in New York tenements. Tenements were usually poorly constructed, crowded apartment buildings. A resident could certainly hear his upstairs neighbor dropping his shoes on the floor as he took them off at night–first one, then the other.

PS Let us know how you embrace the Hero! Pop over to ​my Joyfully Ever After Facebook Group​!

PPS Are you ready to stop waiting to be the Hero of your life? ​Book a Joy Discovery chat here​.

HONESTLY, it’s pretty much impossible to live a life that brings you Joy if you are always treating yourself not as equally brilliant as everyone else. So, if you want more joy, then give yourself permission to be the Hero of your day! And, if that’s too hard, try being the hero of your morning, first. Rooting for you 💕 💕

Never Grateful

Does the prospect of practicing gratitude annoy you? Gratitude used to bother the crap outta me, to be honest. A voice in my head was like “so what? it’s not like gratitude puts the food on the table, drives the kids around, or helps me deal with my ex.” Right?

ahhhhh, therein lies the secret sauce of gratitude.

ahhh! read on for the sauce!

(mom-guilt) Your Journey to Freedom Starts today

How can you live Guilt Free? Here’s your DIY Cheat sheet! 👇 💃 🥰

  • Know you are just as worthy as everyone else.
  • Soften The Inner Critic
  • Take care of yourself first for once, dammit!
  • Relax / Journal / talk out alternate solutions.
  • Learn about and embrace your power that is your value center
  • Ask for help without feeling bad.
  • Figure out what your values are!
  • Practice setting boundaries that honor your values.
  • RESULT?
  • Avoid proven long-term guilt consequences

So, that’s the secret sauce.

If you are ready for some targeted lessons that will eradicate this guilt, I have something else.

Guilt-FREE Life! Course

What is it? Seven Bite-sized, empowering Lessons on how to get rid of guilt. Specifically made for busy working women, mommas, and helping professionals. One email a week, delivered straight to your inbox, for seven weeks. Each short video lesson building upon the last. Each lesson gives you the tools to understand and find peace from the guilt-monster.  Each lesson is small enough to fit in the busiest of lives! 

⭐️ PLUS! One powerful, comprehensive, playful, yet-not-overwhelming workbook to accompany you on your journey. 

⭐️ PLUS! Portal to access all the lessons at once if you want to binge them! 

And…bonuses!

  • BONUS! One 45-minute Laser-focused Joy Session to help you with any sticking points, valued at $150! 
  • BONUS! 7-day 💯% money-back guarantee

NO time? No Problem! If you can read these messages, you have time for the course! 

So, really, how much would you pay for a guilt-free life? If you knew you’d never feel that pang again? 

My migraine-ridden overworked soul would have paid thousands of dollars… 

But you’re in luck 🙂 

(mom-guilt) Imagine your Guilt-Free life!

Really, I want you to imagine a guilt-free life. Yes, this is the first step!

Visualize pulling out that guilt-thread from your brain and heart and putting it in a museum. Or better yet, JAIL! 

What would you feel like? What would your life look like? What would you feel free to do if you couldn’t feel any more guilt? Do you feel that tingly wide-eyed excitement of a kid looking at a giant piece of chocolate ganache cake, fork at the ready? 

Write down how you could take a long lunch, or get a guilt-free massage while the kids are at school… Write down the dream. Seriously!

This is the first step of untangling your life from your guilt. Are you ready for the next step? The keys are waiting for you! 🔑

Your Journey to Freedom Starts Here >

(mom-guilt) Guilt-Busting 101

So, you’re trying to do it all, take care of it all, and you got this guilt that you want to go away, you now know it’s because it’s a feeling created from a thought you have. 

What’s the solution? 

Root out and change the guilty thought. 

There are left-brain and right-brain thought patterns we’ve learned from family, society, community, then reinforced ourselves, that keep us in this guilt loop. That keep us stuck in a mucky old fishbowl of someone else’s needs. 

That keep us from walking our true, scary, brave, more joyful path. That keep us from reveling in our own Joyfully Ever After Ocean. 

On average, us humans think 60,000-80,000 thoughts a day. And only 5% of them are conscious!

👉 Here’s a link to a workbook on Core Beliefs that can help you bring some of those unhelpful, unconscious thoughts to the surface. (best done with a therapist if you’re new to core beliefs!)

Another answer that’s more fun?

Imagine your Guilt-Free life 🌈 >

(mom-guilt) Welcome in your new teacher, guilt

Guilt is an emotion. It’s neither good nor bad. In your body, feelings are chemical reactions that we’ve evolved to feel based on what we are thinking. 

YES! It’s our thoughts (we have 60,000-80,000 per day, fyi) that trigger our emotions, not what is happening. 

Here’s an example: 

Say you got married on a beach. It was picture-perfect, clear skies, turquoise water, a soft kiss of wind keeping all the bugs at bay. You embraced, toasted with your best man and maid of honor, spent your honeymoon there… 

When you thought of that beach, you’d be flooded with all the good feels, right? 

What if, on the same beach, you didn’t get married. What if, at this paradise point, you were playing in the water. You were pulled under by the undertow, and almost drowned? 

And, whenever you thought of that beach, or any beach, you’d be flooded with an entirely different set of feelings – fear, helplessness, exhaustion? 

Guilt is the same way.  Now we know that it’s our thoughts – that we don’t even notice – that trigger its unwelcome arrival. 

Here’s what you gotta do to replace those thoughts, and become guilt-free. 

READ ON TO Guilt-Busting 101 >

If you’re still reading this, try clapping your hands together 10 times. Each time you high-five yourself – or someone else – it releases a feel-good hormone called dopamine. Ahhh. Now, where were we?

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