She Did Because She Could

Have you ever been told by someone you care about that you can't do something you wanted to do? Then you feel a more definite conviction to do it anyway. Some would call it stubbornness. I prefer to believe it is perseverance.

That's why I wrote this blog,

What would lead me to believe it was perseverance versus stubbornness?

Perseverance is persistence in sticking to a plan. It is the ability to keep doing something despite obstacles. It shows steadfastness in doing something despite how hard it is or how long it takes to reach the goal. As a virtue, perseverance is essential to be successful in many aspects of life. Perseverance doesn’t happen overnight. It takes practice, commitment, determination, patience with oneself and others, and frankly, a lot of hard work.

The ideas for my quest had been brewing for some time. I had been writing lists, setting the stage for action, and prepping myself to take the plunge forward. I just hadn't plunged yet.

Then COVID-19 made its debut, putting me back in prepping mode and contemplating the fence idea. Like many life coaches, connecting with others is essential to me.

Sitting and doing nothing wasn't going to work. I was determined to find a way to proceed and share a subject matter that I know a LOT about.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that sometimes people we love and care about don't always see it our way or eye-to-eye with us. However, looking at both sides is crucial, and it’s not to say that we won’t understand the other person’s point of view in a situation.

“Don’t find fault; find a remedy.” Tony Robbins

Trust in yourself, seize opportunities, challenge the status quo, take risks, and have the courage to be successful. Margie Warrell, a famous life coach, motivational speaker, and author of the book, "Find Your Courage: 12 Acts for Becoming Fearless at Work and in Life", challenges her readers to rethink "life scripts.” Dream big and overcome everyday fears that keep you stuck.

I love the idea of trusting to seize opportunities, especially those that will benefit personal and professional growth, all while doing something you love.

• Are you being called to action, yet, you keep sitting on the fence?

• If you could do something Because You Can, what would it be?

• What transitions would need to take place for you to move forward?

We can stay on the other side of the fence, we can sit on it, or we can jump over. Which side do you want to stand or sit on? If you would like to jump the fence, figure out what that “because you can” thing is, want to change the status quo, or want to transition forward in life – I’m here.

With love,

Vonie

Look Back - Look Forward

As a life coach, I’m always working on ways to help women achieve success both personally and professionally. With education and teaching being one of my top values, I need to impact and help others. To provide the best possible service to my clients and to help them achieve their dreams and goals is rewarding and makes my heart sing.

One of the workshops I have hosted the past two years does just that. It’s called Look Back/Look Forward, and this year we not only looked back on 2019, but we reflected on the last decade. The process is around what we learned, what we were proud of, what we accomplished versus what we lacked in, or didn’t do.

The entertaining part of the workshop this year was the horses. Elliott Horsepower Ranch, where the workshop was held, has a viewing room and arena perfect for our classroom. With the heat on and window open, the horses were poking their heads in the window and showing a lot of curiosity for the participants and providing support during coaching experiences.

Once done with the workshop's review portion, we dove into the next decade and what top goals to set for 2020. What goals would we set, what tools would we need to accomplish the goals, who do we have to become to achieve the goals? More questions - what character traits will you need, and what habits or skills do you need to develop or strengthen to make your dream happen?

I know so many questions, and not all of them easy to answer. It truly is a reflection and a mindset for growth.

One of the participants had recently relocated to a new barn and desired to achieve more horse experiences and create more friendships with like-minded horse ladies in 2020. We set time aside for a coaching session with Cody. He offered a great deal of love and support to her as she processed through creating new friendships. With the many work demands, how could she find a work/life balance that would give her the desired time she wanted with her horse? Together, we came up with some reasonable solutions and ways to overcome obstacles that might interfere.

Work/life balance seems to be a common thread with many of the women I coach. If you’re at all searching for some answers or still trying to figure out what you want this next decade to look like, talk to your horse. Let them be your coach.

Get into a round pen with your horse. Ask yourself some of the hard questions you don’t seem to have an answer for. Get centered in your body and start walking counterclockwise. Without demanding your horse follow or without a lead rope, start walking. Let him/her connect with you and help you facilitate the answers. Here’s how, if you aren’t honest with yourself and staying in your body and get out of your head, your horse won’t connect. If you do, they will follow. When you stop being centered and in your body, they will disconnect, step in front of you or do many other things to get your attention. Be with your horse and let them coach. Listen to the subtle cues they give you.

If you find yourself still not sure, reach out and let a coach help your horse facilitate the coaching process, or come on over to my barn and let Cody help me help you.

If you’d like some of the questions I provided during the workshop, reach out to me at vonie@atailofnewbeginnings.com; I’d be happy to send them over to you.

Happy New Year,

Vonie

The Fourth Grade Teacher

During my training to become an Equine Gestalt Coach (Life Coach), I worked on my values and what I believed to be true about them. Those beliefs drove my decision making, my behaviors, and judgments of people and events that I held to be most important in life.

Although I knew what most inspired me, I did not know what my values were until I began the process of looking at them and understanding the meaning behind them. It was an eye-opening experience, and I found I could use my values to help shape my future. To use them as a guide to steer me in directions that will be most beneficial versus detrimental to what I want to accomplish.
Here’s what I knew about myself before the sleuthing process began.

I work best for myself or in institutions where I have the freedom to act and make decisions that I know will benefit the majority of the business. Working for other people who want to undermine or control my decision-making process and keep tabs on me puts me in a frame of “hell no.”
The health and fitness industry played and still does a significant career role in my life.
Teaching, guiding, leading, and influencing became my life’s work. I then transferred what I learned from my previous career in the fitness field to coaching people in a whole different and dynamic way.

I recognized that education/teaching was in my top five values, where the fourth-grade teacher comes in.

There I was, in front of the class, erasing the board and clearing it for me to teach. Palms sweaty with chalk in hand, I addressed the class. The feeling of nervousness and excitement are physiologically the same. I was both. My belly churning, my thoughts racing, a desire to run for the door, and yet, I stood there and started to speak. The words were shaky and then got more relaxed as I felt me move into the topic. I felt scared and on top of the world all at the same time. Thus it began, I wanted to teach, educate, and be at the head of the class as a leader.

When I started my career as a fitness professional, I once again stood at the class's head.

What an amazing career! The best part of the many years of teaching were the students. I witnessed the transformations that took place not only in their physical appearance but also in their emotional state.

So, how do Gestalt Therapy and Horses help transform learning about ourselves?

As prey animals, horses are highly intuitive to their surroundings. They are intuitive to our thoughts and energy. They can read our body language, sense our energy, and practically read us like an open book. They know when we are not speaking our truth inside or outside of ourselves. They are natural healers. Horses allow us to be “In the Moment.” We can be a human being versus a human doing. Being in the moment can help unlock buried emotions, states of being and bring us back to a place of healing. We can find clarity, self-empowerment, and move towards action.

With Love,

Vonie