Inflation. Lay offs. Viruses. This is all “bad,” right? Well…that depends on which part of your brain is running the show. Humans are wired for a negativity bias as a matter of survival. That voice is loud and fearful. We also have a quieter, positive voice that knows any outcome or situation can be turned into a gift or opportunity.

In design and construction, you may be hearing about or even feeling a slowdown. Just typing that my gut constricts and my mind starts conjuring scenarios of gloom and doom. But wait! We are not responsible for our first thought, but we are for the second, third, and so on.

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Let’s be honest. Somewhere along the way, busy became a badge of honor and burnout got normalized. This is not the path of ease and flow; it’s the path of stress and burnout. It’s the lies of the saboteurs—the voices of the inner critic, controller or pleaser to name a few, that create all our stress. In a complex business like interior design, architecture or construction, it’s tempting to believe the lies and to hop on the crazy train of reactivity, urgency, blame and dare I say, drama. That’s a surefire recipe for stress, anxiety and burnout. Sound familiar? Read on.

Our true essence of love, empathy, creativity and curiosity gets drowned out by shoulds, doubt, shame, judgment, fear, numbness, anxiety, and so on. While we might get some results from this place, it ultimately keeps us from performing at our best with lasting happiness and peace in our hearts.

Our emotional state has the power to destroy or nurture—performance, relationships, happiness—thanks to our miraculous neurobiology and the wonders of energetic principles. Stress, anxiety, numbness and drama (your Saboteur’s currency) are all contagious. So are peace, calm, creativity and empathy (your Sage’s powers). Where are you hanging out?

Our society values achievement, applauds competition and rewards performance. Unfortunately many of us depend on constant performance and achievement for self-respect and self-validation. That’s the hungry monster. This post discusses what to do about it.

Those with the Controller have a lot of great traits--confident, action-oriented, persistent, decisive. Yay! Taken to an extreme, however, the impact is not good--high anxiety, lack of connection, and temporary results at the price of resentment from others. In a creative field like interior design, this one is common and it's a killer. Our Saboteurs over-use and abuse our greatest strengths, impacting our performance, our relationships and our happiness.

Janine Aurichio and Lou Ionis discuss the source of your stress and the simple, effective solution of Mental Fitness. Recorded on Lou’s Coaching Lab, this video covers the why and how of your inner Saboteurs and the power and wisdom of your inner Sage to turn your stress into ease and flow.

Remember Mr. Spock on StarTrek? 100% rational, 0% feeling. Know anyone like that? How much are you like that? Our Saboteurs over-use and abuse our greatest strengths, impacting our performance, our relationships and our happiness.

Ever notice you just like being around certain people and not others? Or maybe you know someone who just seems to have all the "luck" and good things seem to come their way effortlessly? Chances are they are operating at a high vibration. Listen to why.

With seventeen years in the interior design business, I know firsthand the joys and challenges of running a thriving firm. Design, architecture and construction is a complex business with countless moving parts; many of which are out of your control, and can lead to stress, lost creativity, and disconnect from your vision and the joy of creating. Add to that our own personal patterns that get in the way and, Houston, we have a problem.

Mental Fitness is the foundation of Life Styling and the end result of using the Positive Intelligence (PQ) operating system, developed by Shirzad Chamin. PQ is a gym for your brain! It trains you to minimize your Saboteurs and to grow your Sage using simple, embodied exercises for breakthrough results in your life and business. This work has deep impact on relationships, work and overall enjoyment of life.

I cannot contain my enthusiasm, gratitude and inspiration that I am now a Mental Fitness Coach with Positive Intelligence (PQ). PQ is a gym for your brain! It trains you to minimize your Saboteurs and to grow your Sage using simple, embodied exercises for breakthrough results in your life and business. This work has deep impact on relationships, work performance and overall enjoyment of life.

In a society that values doing vs being, information vs wisdom, analyzing vs intuition, it can be challenging to buck the norm and be still and be quiet. Sages for millennia have been telling us that this is the way to freedom, and my personal experience confirms this. Being quiet allows us to connect with the infinite abundance energy of the universe; the source of all creativity, prosperity, joy and wisdom. Quiet contemplation raises our vibration and attracts other high vibration energy.

What I know from experience is this, our thinking mind is like a data processor, capable of generating one, two or maybe three solutions or options; while our intuitive mind is infinite and connected directly to Source. Unfortunately, our society reveres the thinking mind and rejects the intuitive one so most of us have lost touch with our intuitive senses. Which would you rather be tapped into?

We all need to be creative, whether you’re a designer, parent, accountant, salesperson, teacher or healthcare provider. Creativity on demand is part of the deal. So are interruptions, distractions, changing deadlines and urgent demands. Unfortunately, these are all blocks to the creative energy necessary to produce beautiful designs and a thriving business. The solution is 100% in your control.

In our go-go, hyper-connected, 24/7, device dependent society, one very rare and valuable element is space. Not exactly the “final frontier” of Captain Kirk, and not that far off actually. Space for wonder. Space for stillness. Space for spontaneity. Space for grace.

When you’re an entrepreneur, your business is a huge part of your life; heavily influencing your mood, your satisfaction levels and your overall wellness. That’s where a Life Coach can help. There is so much to deal with as an entrepreneur to ensure that your business thrives and that you thrive in the process. I call it sustainable business ownership, and it’s not something we’re taught in school (or at least not when I was in school).

First, what does regenerate mean? When I looked it up, there’s a ‘biology’ definition (regrow) and a ‘theology’ definition (reformed/reborn). I love that! And of course there is. These two realms are getting closer and closer in my studies (think quantum physics). Anyway, the definition that’s closest to what we’re discussing here is…”To become formed again.”

Self-acceptance can be such a challenge and yet it is a requirement for self-love and joy. It takes tremendous courage to take a good, hard look at yourself, warts and all. The reward is priceless.

In this conversation with my dear friend, Carrie Friedberg, SF Money Coach, we discuss the how's and why’s of our self-acceptance journeys, where and how money played a role, and how Life Styling can help.

We have so much thrown at us every day and expect so much of ourselves; it can be a total joy suck. There is no way one human can attend to, process and respond thoughtfully to three email accounts, texts, WhatsApp, MarcoPolo, Clubhouse, Messenger, LinkedIn, Slack....and that's all before you get to what you need to do today.

Stop. Take one deep breath. Feel your feet on the floor. And try this instead.