2017 has brought some big changes for my life personally. I had felt like I had hit a low as a mom and wife. I wasn't very happy and most of the days, Bryan would get home from work, I was a mess. I had white knuckled mom life throughout the day that by the time dinner and bedtime came, I was usually yelling at the kids for something.

I didn't like the way I was showing up to my kids and Bryan. One day, my sister out of the blue introduced me to a podcast, called Bold New Mom, and this episode was all about mom guilt. It was from an LDS life coach and the podcast was really insightful. I started to listen to more and more of her podcasts. Then I saw that she was putting on a class on "How to stop yelling at your kids" and so I hopped on, hoping to get lots of good info. Then at the end of her class, she started talking about her membership and I felt this pull to do it. I realize I don't spend a lot of money on hobbies for myself and this seemed like something I really wanted to do for me. And even better, my sister Julia signed up the same time too.

The life coach program is all about recognizing the thoughts you are having and changing them to more empowering thoughts that will serve you so much better as a mom, wife, friend, sister and daughter.

I had realized that I was going day to day with my brain on auto pilot. Something would happen and then I had thoughts about it and unfortunately a lot of it was negative. I learned that there is always a circumstance and then follows a thought which create a feeling, fuel an action and produce a result. That model has helped me see that thoughts Ive always been having have felt like facts but they aren't and because of that, I have the option to change my thoughts so I am a better version of me.

I learned that my kids can be negative or upset and I don't have to mirror their emotions. I learned that worrying is not a useful emotion and there's never an upside to worry. I realized that its good to experience all emotions and to how to process through the emotions so I'm not resisting it. I also learned that when I'm experiencing negative emotion, I don't need to buffer to escape those feelings but to process them. And with my marriage, I learned to let go of any manual I have for my husband and to love Bryan as Bryan and nothing else!

All of this work has been so life changing for me! Best of all I love myself more. That was work I hadn't done before. I praise and appreciate myself throughout the day for the things I do and don't get done and see myself as amazing because I'm a child of God which means everyone else is amazing. Because I do this, I don't crave that appreciation and recognition from others because I'm getting it from myself. Along with this huge progress I've noticed I don't yell at my kids as much, love Bryan and my life that I've been given!

This work has blessed my life and most of all I love that it aligns with the gospel. I never understood how to love those that I see as enemies. I now know! It's all my THOUGHTS!

I can't wait to keep learning from this program and hopefully one day to become a certified life coach!