by Lori Milner

If you struggle to fall asleep due to an overactive mind, or perhaps you fall asleep easily but wake up in the night with a mind full of racing thoughts, consider introducing the habit of journaling. Journaling is an incredible tool to get those circling thoughts out of your mind and trap them on the page so you can get out of your own way.

by Lori Milner

If you don't have a 'pause' button, you're probably a Striver. We associate being a Striver with a badge of honour. It's linked with traits like being a high achiever, disciplined, organised, and successful. It's the mark of the go-getter and having it all together. These superpowers may have led to our success, but as with anything, there is a shadow side.

by Lori Milner

Consider a positive brand experience that stands out for you. It could be purchasing a product online and receiving your delivery ahead of schedule. How about a restaurant that created an amazing experience from start to finish? What experiences have you told friends about and done free PR because you were left with a lasting impression and impact?

by Lori Milner

The difference between where you are and where you want to be is found in the dance between your current self and your future self. A dance is successful when both people are in a rhythm, with the understanding that one person needs to lead and the other needs to follow.

by Lori Milner

As a life coach, my job is to listen to what is being said and mine for the hidden limiting beliefs that hold my clients back from maximising their potential in their personal and professional lives.

by Lori Milner

Consider what unmet goals are gnawing at the back of your mind that are taking up precious headspace. Rather than beat yourself up for not taking action, ask yourself, 'When would now be a good time?'. Now right? Here are six tools you can incorporate into your productivity toolkit to ensure you end the year on a high no matter where you start:

by Lori Milner

Some of us need accountability partners, like hiring a personal trainer to get us to the gym or joining a group so we have other people to motivate us. The problem with this approach is that you always rely on others to keep your promises to yourself. What happens if they don't show up? Will you keep the commitment or be silently grateful you got out of the run or the gym session?

by Lori Milner

When my son was seven, he asked me for a guitar. I was elated because I thought he was tapping into some creative instinct, so I was happy to go along. He sat down with the guitar and then burst into tears a few minutes later because he had imagined he would pick up the guitar and instantly be able to play. He hadn't considered there would be lessons, hours of practice and feeling out of his depth in between. That's not what he signed up for. He wanted instant gratification! That's what TV and YouTube had sold him, and he wanted the dream. Now! He wanted the outcome without the messy process.

by Lori Milner

It's astounding how four simple words can simultaneously create so much anxiety, fear, excitement, and intrigue… What do you want? Most people don't know what they want because they have not spent time reflecting. Or they're too fearful of saying it out loud because what if it's wrong? Or they don't know what they want because they base their needs on what others want.  Why does it matter knowing what you want? How do you know what to say no to without knowing what you are saying yes to first?

by Lori Milner

Personal mastery is not a destination; it is a lifelong journey. It isn't one sweeping action that creates mastery; it's more like subtle brush strokes that bring the masterpiece together over time. It's not always new actions that bring about change but a new perspective. This palette of personal mastery advice comes from author Tony Robbins who continues to inspire me on my journey. Dip your brush in and see which resonates with you:

by Lori Milner

Interpersonal relationships can be one the greatest sources of energy builders and drainers for people. It has nothing to do with their colleagues but everything to do with them and their interpretation of a situation.

by Lori Milner

January has the special aroma of a fresh start combined with energy, enthusiasm, and new dreams. This feeling typically lasts until the end of March, and then your energy begins to dip, and before you know it, you're counting down to Easter because you need a serious break. It's not like you waste your energy intentionally or even consciously; it's a slow drip like a nail in a tyre; it leaks air so slowly that you don't notice until it is completely flat or inches from it.

by Lori Milner

Diets don't work because they're temporary; they are a pseudo-commitment. For sustainable change, it's your lifestyle that must change. It's your identity that changes. You start to call yourself a healthy person and then act like healthy people do. More importantly, your mindset shifts from a victim mentality of punishment to an owner mentality of freedom. Ultimately, your way of being changes. It is not one thing you do but a stacking of choices over your day that contributes towards your weight loss goal. It's not just one meal but sleep, water, nutrition, and your emotional world – everything in the periphery done consistently will help you achieve this.

by Lori Milner

Most high performers will only allow themselves to acknowledge the big wins – when they get ‘there'. Some people fear complacency or mediocrity; others place self-worth on achievement and, therefore, will only recognise the 'significant' wins. Many people attribute success to others and won't acknowledge their success, so they sweep the achievement under the rug and quickly move on to the next big thing. If you resonate with any of these points and can only allow in the big achievements, here are some reasons why you should reconsider:

by Lori Milner

Consider your relationship to willpower. It isn't a trusted friend who's always there for you; willpower is the scapegoat you blame when you hit snooze for the 7th time. When you blame, you lose control and a sense of power over the situation. So, if you can't count on willpower to make the changes you want, what can you count on? You need a reason to want to keep your promises to yourself, not only on the good days but on the days you don't feel like it. Especially the days you don't feel like it!

by Lori Milner

You get two kinds of people: someone who says they have twenty years of experience or someone who has repeated the same year twenty times. Do you know someone who constantly attracts the same situations yet responds identically and can't understand why they don't have a better result? This is truly the definition of insanity.

by Lori Milner

There is always a gap between where you are now and where you want to be. What separates them are the bridge of apathy and the bridge of action. The bridge of action is scarier to cross than apathy. It’s longer, appears to have more steps and looks quite unappealing from the outside. However, once on the path, there are people who support you, and there are hidden rewards along the way. All you have to do is walk a little further, and they appear. Progress, no matter how small, creates rewards on this bridge.

by Lori Milner

Intention is a powerful tool to direct your attitude and actions. Unfortunately, sometimes intention is not enough. One always needs to consider another variable – impact. This is why, despite your efforts, you may not get the results you want personally and professionally.

by Lori Milner

How would you rate your last conversation out of ten – ten being where the other person felt seen and truly heard and one being where you were so focused on your own inner chatter that you don't even remember what was said? Now, if you scored less than an 8, it's time for a new set of skills. I'm not going to tell you to nod and show you are paying attention because a great listener doesn't need to prove they can listen. A great listener must show the other person they have been heard. A great listener helps other people share more.

by Lori Milner

Most people's first thought on waking in the morning is the fear of not having enough time and how they will get it all done and find the balance. Naturally, finance is another area where scarcity thinking comes into play. Through coaching hundreds of people, I've discovered the fear of running out of energy. Although this fear is common, how it's translated into reality differs from person to person because what may drain one person energises another.

by Lori Milner

If you ask someone if they like surprises, they'll say of course. That's because they are picturing the surprises they would like to receive. You only like the surprises you want, but we know life also gives us the surprises you don't want. These come wrapped in challenges, setbacks or even loss. When these surprises arrive unannounced, they can knock us off our feet, leaving us feeling helpless to participate in the solution.

by Lori Milner

We tend to associate habits with self-care activities, such as drinking water, exercising, and sleeping well. What about the habits that play a role in your professional life? What if you mastered the habits of speaking up in a meeting, sharing your ideas or being seen? Why do we do things that are not in our own best interest and, over time, can sabotage our progress even though it's not our intent?

by Lori Milner

Perfectionism is often worn as a badge of honour, something to strive for. The intention is that it makes you better, but the impact is devastating. In the words of Ann Wilson Schaef, "Perfectionism is self-abuse of the highest order”. Perfection is an illusion and stops you from your best work because behind the façade of being a perfectionist are the deepest fears of being judged, failing or not being enough.

by Lori Milner

Why do some people always appear to have it together? They are calm in the chaos and take life in their stride. They dance with life's challenges rather than go to war with them; it's not to say they don't feel stress, but how they navigate their days sets them up for success.

by Lori Milner

Questions are a conduit to unlocking the resources within you. They are an essential coaching tool because they are a permission device between what someone already knows and what they want to acknowledge. Change happens when a client reaches a new insight, a perspective they never considered previously. However, the insight can only reveal itself when the person is completely honest with themselves.

by Lori Milner

Your thoughts are the turbines that generate the energy of happiness. Affirmations and positive thinking are 'part of the furniture' of personal growth. You can tell yourself you're terrific, but if you don't inherently believe it, there's always an inner critic inside whispering to you – what a load of rubbish, no you're not. If you can't always rely on positive thinking when you need it most, what if you experimented with creative thinking instead?

by Lori Milner

If you're honest with yourself, how much time do you spend scrolling social media? Your intention is to do an innocent 'quick' check-in, but before you know it, you're well over the thirty-minute mark despite having more urgent tasks. This insight has come up repeatedly when I ask my clients to do a time audit of a typical day. These are not fresh-out-of-college graduates but professionals across all levels and industries.

by Lori Milner

Your alarm goes off at 6 am because you promised to start exercising…again. When you reach over to turn off the alarm, your mind tells you it's cold and dark and you should hit snooze for another ten minutes. What do you do? These next few minutes will determine the trajectory of your day. If you keep your promise to yourself, you generate energy, self-confidence and a deep sense of self-trust.

by Lori Milner

What if you approached personal growth like decluttering your wardrobe? If you want to add new items more suitable to your current style, you want to free up space first and let go of the items that no longer serve you or are not aligned with who you are. Instead of reading another personal growth book or attending another workshop, what can you edit out that is no longer aligned with who you are first?

by Lori Milner

Thinking is choice architecture. Laying a foundation of negative and fearful thoughts builds your next levels of emotions, beliefs and actions. Author and Professor John Kabat-Zinn describes thoughts as soap bubbles of the mind. You can choose to attach yourself to the thoughts or see through them and pop them.