10 Ways to Live an Extraordinary Life

As I’ve worked with clients over the years, the same issues seem to pop up. Here is an overview of 10 ways to live an extraordinary life – from the shifts that my clients (and myself) have made! Enjoy!

1. Love: even the people you don’t like. Everyone teaches you something about yourself and if you look hard enough, there is something about them that you can appreciate. Even yourself when needed!
2. Work on your strengths, not your weaknesses. We can only get so good at our weaknesses, so manage them – but focus on your strengths and the sky is the limit! *Like this tip? Try reading Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham*
3. Take responsibility for what you feel. No one else can ever make you feel a certain way. It’s the way you interpret and internalize what is happening. No more blaming or making excuses. *Like this tip? Try reading The Success Principles by Jack Canfield*
4. Know what you mean and say it! We expend a lot of energy holding grudges for situations that the other person has long forgotten, waiting for someone else to guess what we want and hoping things will just change on their own. Remember that everyone thinks differently and very few of us can read minds. Our lives would all be a lot more fulfilling if we took the time to understand what we want in any given situation and then provided an explanation to those around us who could help foster the change. *Like this tip? Try reading The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz and The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman*
5. Stop procrastinating. Do the hardest thing on your list first every morning. Get it out of the way so it doesn’t take up valuable energy throughout the day that you could be using to steamroll ahead on the things you love to do. *Like this tip? Try reading Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy*
6. Step through fear. Fear and excitement carry the same vibration. Fear is man made. Every time you step through fear, your tolerance grows and before long fear is seldom an issue. Picture a protective circle around you and each time you step into something that causes fear, that circle gets bigger.
7. Stop tolerating. People or things. If you don’t like it, if it annoys you, if you are trying to ignore it, just take care of it. Be done with it for good b/c it’s taking up valuable space in your subconscious. And don’t forget…the subconscious rules!
8. Follow your heart. Have good boundaries between personal life and work life, but make sure that what you do is an extension of yourself and your heart.
9. Tap into your senses. Engage your five senses every day (and your sixth sense). Be aware of what you experience. Eat slower, taste more. Breathe in the smells of spring. Feel when someone hugs you, or when you put your toes in the grass. Listen without judgment or personal intention to what someone is saying to you. See what is around you – what colors are you attracted to? What catches your eye? What intuitive feelings do you get from the people you meet? Challenge whatever sense you feel you’re neglecting…focus your attention there for a week and see what happens.
10. Stay positive. Set a daily intention. Plant intentions within your heart before important meetings, etc. Be clear about what you want. Take a walk for 15 minutes every day (or just meditation time) to focus only on what you want. *Like this tip? try reading The Law of Attraction by Jerry and Esther Hicks or Excuse Me Your Life is Waiting by Lynn Grabhorn*

Best,
Coach Katie Mattson