Inspired Elephant

Parenting Through Uncertain Times

5/20/2020

If you have children, you know raising kids presents challenges on your best days. Parenting through uncertain times and when we ourselves are not feeling 100% is even harder. And, let’s be real when Mom isn’t feeling great, the whole family feels it. So, what to do about it?

First, let us start by acknowledging that NO ONE can be their best selves 24/7. Yes, even MOMs are human. We will have good hours and bad hours, but the goal is to foster more good ones and minimize the effect of the bad ones.

Here are my top 3 go-to steps that have proven to be helpful.

1. BE REAL - it’s important to be clear and honest about what’s going on when things aren’t going well. Trying to act like nothing is wrong only makes us exhausted and confuses our kids (that intuitively know something is not well). Experts agree there is not a one-size-fits-all guide on how much to say to kids and what words to use; so every Mom needs to decide that based on their child’s personality. But, addressing what’s happening head-on with our children will ease some of the struggles for the whole family.

2. ASK FOR HELP - When it comes to action, this is the key…enlisting allies. Of course, that means you have to be willing to reach out for help. I have a hard time asking people for help but I am super lucky that I have people in my life who recognize that. Those that love us truly want the best for us, but sometimes support needs to be carefully cultivated, even when it feels uncomfortable to us.

3. ADJUST EXPECTATIONS - During stressful times, I have to re-calibrate and scale everything back. This may mean adjusting your expectations of what a normal day looks like, and sometimes that means just surviving until bedtime. It doesn’t even matter if the kids logged in extra screen time, stayed in PJ's all day, did takeout for dinner, etc. Did you make it to bedtime? You’re good.

Parenting is a tough gig under the best of circumstances, and when we’re struggling with stressful, uncertain times it can feel especially overwhelming. I hope knowing that you are not alone has helped a little and that the above ideas can provide some assistance. I leave you with one last reminder…it is totally fine that whatever solutions you pick to cope may not reflect some mythical idea of what motherhood is. And that is OKAY! Keep it real and keep going.

xo,
Cher

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What's (self)-love got to do, got to do with it?

5/8/2020

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Hiya Sweet Friend,
When things feel out of control, and the news has got you down, stress and anxiety levels tend to skyrocket – and it’s not without reason. Some of you may be or have a loved one directly impacted by the Coronavirus. Others may have lost jobs. Some may be “working from home” while managing their children’s needs. You and your partner may be operating on high-stress levels. For those living alone, this social distancing mandate can be incredibly isolating.

It’s a lot to deal with.

So what’s (self)-love got to do? …got do to with it? Sorry! Tina fans here. We couldn’t resist.

Self-Love allows you to be your best possible self in the worst possible scenario. It enables you to more present and calm in all aspects of your life and better support for your loved ones. Studies show that self-love and -compassion are vital components of strong mental health and keeping anxiety at bay. These studies also demonstrate that having more self-compassion builds resilience in the face of adversity, helping people to recover more quickly from trauma. And just so we’re clear, living though this COVID pandemic IS traumatic.

On Wednesday, May 13th at 7pm, we invite you to join us for Managing Coronavirus-Related Anxiety: A Workshop on Self-Love & Preservation. Self-Love Coach and Psychologist, Joann Tavares, shares her personal journey as someone who deeply struggled with her own sense of self-worth to becoming a Self-Love Ninja . Specifically, she will help you to:

understand why cultivating self-love is so critical in managing your anxiety – especially right now.
learn simple tools to embrace self-worth and quell anxiety
identify your personal self-limiting beliefs, kick them to the curb, and choose a new narrative for yourself
recognize your inherent core values, and how to live and lead by them every day
embrace gratitude as your inner superpower
realize that strengthening your mindfulness muscle will give birth to an unshakeable inner core of strength and calm. Buh-bye anxiety!

In short, this workshop is going to give you the tools to dive deep, self-empower and FEEL BETTER. Please join us for this FREE workshop on Wednesday, May 13th at 7:00 pm. All you need is to RSVP and the Zoom App.

We hope you’ll join us! RSVP here.

Stay inside. Stay healthy. And love yourself.

Love,
C&C

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Our tips for thriving during the "New Normal" - Video Chat

4/26/2020

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Hiya Herd,

Last week we had the great privilege of being interviewed by Lynn Fitzgerald for the We Love Metuchen online community. It was a fun and insightful chat with her and we offer a sneak peek into our 2 upcoming virtual events that are specifically geared to provide you with guidance and support during this pandemic:

Writing for Clarity Workshop on May 3rd: ($25)
Our most cathartic and revelatory workshop that will take you from feeling helpless to empowered - even in the midst of all the fear and lack of this pandemic. Click here for details and to RSVP.

Managing Coronavirus-related Anxiety: A workshop on Self-Love & Preservation on May 13th: (FREE!)
Self-Love Coach and Psychologist, Joann Tavares provides the tools and techniques to help us be our best possible selves in the midst of crisis. Click here for details and to RSVP.

If you have any questions on either event, please feel free to reach out here!

If you have some time, take a listen! We also shed some light on our personal challenges and tips as working moms for getting through this roller coaster ride of a “new normal”.

How about you, friend? If you have any tips for what’s helping you cope, please share below in the comments section. This is the time, more than ever, to share and come together as a community.

Finally, if there is a specific topic you’d like us to cover that you would find helpful, please let us know. We’re here to help.

With so much love,

C&C

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Reduce Your Mental Overload with Journaling

4/22/2020

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Dedicated journaling for 15-20 minutes a day for just three days can address many unresolved emotional events in our lives big or small. How does this work? Well, the process of writing itself helps our brain to organize complex feelings. So, writing out complex feelings helps our mind and the body let go, organize, and process emotions.

The best part is how simple it is for it to have such a powerful, positive impact. Ready to give it a try?

What you will need:

15- 20 minutes of uninterrupted time for 3 consecutive days
A timer (best if not your cell phone – it can be distracting)
A plain spiral notebook or loose-leaf paper (less pressure than a pretty journal)
A pen (because you process information differently when writing)

Getting Started:

Set your timer for 15-20 minutes and write without thinking about grammar, style, who will read it or anything else. Just free-write. Think about it as a brain dump, or as we prefer to say it, a brain release. Really tap into your emotions — your deepest thoughts, worries, and concerns. Take time to explore those feelings. Try to tie those current feeling to past events.

Afterward:

Accept and let go! When you are done take a moment to read the words out loud (to hear them spoken gives them weight). Now, let go of them and what they represent by throwing the pieces away or burning them.

Back to Reality:

These “brain releases” can get emotional so, time to re-center yourself. Take a few deep breaths and ready yourself to re-engage with the world, hopefully feeling more centered and aware of your needs.

As shown in multiple studies, writing about your emotions improves your life — it leads to better health, stronger personal connections, and overall success. We have experienced it firsthand and encourage you to give it a try.

If you would like a little help kicking-off your personal journaling experience, we are currently offering a hands-on 90-minute Writing for Clarity workshop (Sunday, May 3rd) via ZOOM. Learn more at www.inspiredelephant.com/writing-for-clarity-workshop.html

Be Well,
C&C

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How to go from feeling helpless to EMPOWERED

4/16/2020

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How is our Herd holding up? We hope you, your family, and loved ones are safe and healthy.

We are reaching out to you today to talk about something called contrast.

Contrast is what we experience when something shows up in our lives that is contrary to what we want. Sometimes it presents as an instantaneous situation like... well, like this pandemic. Other times, contrast manifests as a buildup of super-annoying incidences like your dishwasher dying, the printer continuously jamming, and not being able to find your key fob.

Ugh! Why does contrast even exist?

Well, it's like yin and yang. You can't have light without darkness or strength without weakness, etc. Until you experience that which you don't want, you won't truly know what you do want.

Contrast is really not meant to mess with you. It is meant to both enlighten and empower you... if used correctly.

Have you ever had an MRI with contrast done? In this scenario, the contrast is dye that is injected into a patient's affected area prior to the scan. Physicians order contrast MRIs for their patients because they do a better job of showing clear images for certain conditions. Sometimes a physician will recommend an MRI with contrast following a regular MRI because the initial scan did not successfully reveal anything.
Contrast gives physicians a higher quality visual so they know the next steps to take to heal their patients.

The same can be said about the contrast in your life. It gives you a razor-sharp focus on your desires by showing you what you don't want. Once you have that vision of your desires etched into your mind, you can steps to foster that image and eventually, actualize it. Even in the midst of this pandemic, you can use this contrast to focus on and invite more of what you do want into your life.

We may not have control over this healthcare crisis, job cuts, or even toilet paper supplies; but we can choose to shift our focus away from the lack and fear, to things we appreciate and do want.

It's shifting your focus from feeling helpless to feeling hopeful. That's the first step.

We are four weeks into this quarantine and I tell you this contrast right now SUCKS. But here is one example of how I am shifting my focus right now:

My kids are not really doing what I want them to do, when I want them to do it, or even how. This is a glaring reality when we are together 24/7. But, they are holding their own in all of this. They are getting their online work done (at odd hours and in bed but whatever, they are doing it). They are cooking and trying new and sophisticated recipes.

What is emerging from all of this is that they're becoming RESILIENT. In the face of a pandemic, resilience is a lockdown silver lining.

So I am backing off on how I think things should be done and embracing that my children are rising to this challenge PERIOD. I am adding all sorts of out-of-the-norm ingredients to my grocery lists for their culinary creations. And now my kids are COOKING FOR ME! I had homemade latkes last night. And, it's freaking about time. It took a pandemic for this miracle to occur, but I will gladly take it and do what I can to encourage it.

How about you? How can you use the contrast that exists in your life right now to focus on and invite more of what you do want? Please share with us in the comments below. We are all in this together and by sharing, we can lift one another up.

Implementing this simple shift can do wonders for your outlook, empower you, and positively affect those around you.

At any and every given moment, and with every thought and emotion we choose to hang our hat on, we are breathing life into one of two realities: one that we fear, or the one that we want.

In our next post, we'll share more about this and introduce a technique we call Writing for Clarity, that takes this shift and turns it into manifesting magic!

With love and hope,
C&C

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Self-Care Bingo

4/13/2020

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Financial Wellness in Uncertain Times

4/8/2020

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Last night we had the pleasure of learning from the wonderful Joan Mistrough, Founder and Personal Financial Coach of Money Proud Financial Coaching.

Our one-on-one interview with Joan covered a lot of helpful financial tips. Such as:

The importance of your thoughts, your beliefs, and your emotions around money.
How to stretch out your dollars and grow the dollars you already have. Even in this time of crisis.
Steps to create a budget that reflects your current reality as well as your future goals
What programs are out there or coming into a place that can help you minimize or defer current payments
Ways to mitigate financial stress and keep it from affecting your health and your relationships

Click below for the full interview:

We hope you found the segment helpful and we looked forward to seeing you at future Sister Talks.

Be Well,
C&C

About Our Speaker - Joan Mistrough

Joan Mistrough has always had an interest in helping people handle their money. She has helped people on a volunteer basis for decades. But it wasn’t until recently that the profession of Financial Coach began to emerge to help people with their day-to-day money management.

Once Joan learned about it, she jumped at the opportunity to do this work for others full-time. Financial coaching is her true passion.

The response to Joan’s new business has been incredibly strong. People are learning that a small investment in financial coaching leads to the elimination of financial stress and the fulfillment of financial dreams.

Learn more at: moneyproudcoaching.com

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Anxious About Your Finances? Help Is Here!

4/3/2020

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As you know, we kicked off 2020 with the theme of Self-Care and how critical it is for your overall well-being. Never has this tenet been more true than right now, as we hunker down and navigate our way through a pandemic.

Some self-care practices don’t necessarily feel or look like self-care. They are confronting issues we don’t want to, or initiating tough conversations we’d rather not have. These are the life “tasks” that will negatively impact our well-being if we don’t cross them off our “to-do list.” By sticking our heads in the sand, we ARE failing to take care of ourselves.

One nontraditional area of self-care that often gets overlooked is financial wellness. It’s no secret that money is one of the biggest causes of stress in America – especially today in the midst of a global healthcare and now, economic crisis. There are few people’s finances, if any, that haven’t been negatively impacted by the Corona Virus. Now, more than ever, it’s important to recognize that effectively managing your personal finances IS a form of self-care.

On Tuesday, April 7th at 7pm, we are going to address this very issue in our first ever Virtual Sister Talk. Joining us for this timely event is Joan Mistrough, Founder and Personal Financial Coach for Money Proud Financial Coaching. In our one-on-one interview with Joan, we will discuss:

the importance of your thoughts, beliefs, and emotions around money
specific and simple shifts that will help you decrease debt, stretch our your dollars, and grow the money you already have...even in this time of crisis.
creating a budget that reflects your current reality as well as your goals
existing options and programs coming into place that can help you minimize or defer monthly outlay
ways to mitigate financial stress and prevent it from affecting your health and relationships

This Sister Talk is definitely for you if:

you've been directly impacted by the effects of the Corona Virus, such as job loss or decreased income
you avoid looking at your credit card bills, bank statements, expenses, or any other financial paperwork
you know it's time to put on your big girl panties when it comes to money, yet you continue to resist and procrastinate
you find yourself unable to sleep worrying about money
you and your significant other argue about money

There will be so much to unpack in this interview! As always, we will dedicate time at the end to address YOUR personal questions and concerns.

Please register below! All you need to attend this Virtual Sister Talk is a phone/computer/tablet to log into Zoom Video Conferencing App. You will need to pre-register in order to receive a Zoom Meeting invite from us in advance of the call.

We know you’re hungry for a different financial reality than you may be currently experiencing. But the best way to change a reality you don’t like is to look it in the eye and conquer it. And it’s good for your future self, too. The sooner you get started, the more time you have to work toward your goals or rebuilding your goals. Taking action steps, no matter how small, will make you feel empowered. Plus, as with any self-care practice, the more consistent you are with it, the better it gets!

Please join us. Together, we can emerge from this wiser and stronger.

With love and abundance,

C&C

P.S. We are offering this Sister Talk for FREE. You just need to RSVP and we'll send you a personal Zoom link to join us.

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Life is better together....virtually. Please join us!

3/27/2020

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Hello Herd,
We're just checking in with you all. Crazy times, right? We hope you are hanging in there. Who would have thought we’d be living a life straight out of a Sci-Fi movie? It seems utterly surreal.
Challenging times call for ingenuity and rolling with the punches. We just want you to know that we are here for you, and plan on continuing to share positivity and inspiring content to brighten up your newsfeed. Here’s what else we are doing:

Inspired Happy Hour: As you wind down from your day, check in to our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages and share something, that in the midst of this insane pandemic, you are grateful for. Our sanity is going to be found in those sweet, simple moments. We are asking you to share yours because gratitude, positivity and the feel-good vibes that go along with them are also contagious. Corona does not have exclusivity rights on contagion!

Sister Talks: Our next Sister Talk and subsequent ones, for the time being, will be Virtual (hosted on Zoom) on Wednesday, April 8th at 7:00 pm EST . The topic is Financial Wellness in Uncertain Times featuring Joan Mistrough, Personal Financial Coach and founder of Money Proud Coaching.

Workshops: We have our Writing for Clarity Workshop rescheduled for May 3rd from 11:00 am – 1:00pm. If need be, we are prepared to go virtual with this one as well. We will provide updates closer to the date.

Finally, we know some of you have been asking for guided meditations. Guided meditations are one of our favorite tools in cultivating calm, compassion and clarity in the wake of change and uncertainty. Be on the lookout – they are coming your way! In the interim, here are some free resources for you:
Oprah & Deepak 21-Day Meditation Experience – Finding Hope in Uncertain Times
Hot Yoga Revolution Spiritual Reading & Meditations
YouTube Offerings – oodles to choose from here!

Honestly, the best way to be in the know as we share resources and roll these virtual events out is to sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

But what else, sweet friends? What are we missing? Would you like a virtual hangout/happy hour? Are you in need of some coaching? Please let us know how we can be of service to you. It is our utmost wish to provide you with support and guidance during this unprecedented time. Honestly, it would help us too…to feel connected and be helpful to our Herd.

Connection is essential, especially during challenging times. Please, let’s stay connected. We will get through this. Social distancing does not equate social isolation. In that spirit, it is our hope that you join us in the coming weeks for these online gatherings.

We send you all our best wishes for your health (physical, emotional and mental) and a shout out to our healthcare professionals, aka superheroes, who are on the frontline with little resources. We are humbled by their dedication and bravery.

With so much love,

Carolyn and Cher

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Mindful Monday with WE LOVE METUCHEN

3/25/2020

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This Monday, we were interviewed by the wonderful Lynn Fitzgerald, local community leader and entrepreneur, for the We Love Metuchen Group.

It was inspiring for us to see her tackle her passion project to provide uplifting/helpful content to with her local community during this time of uncertainty; and we were beyond honored she asked us to be part of the story.

Below we share with you (our trusted IE Herd) the unedited segment with all of it's technical difficulties, lighting mishaps, and "backstage" banter to showcase the "figure it out as we go" reality that these times may call for. We hope that it inspires you to tackle something new or to push out of your comfort zone.

Enjoy!
C&C