Inspirational Mom :: Rachel Davis of YOU@the Center

A few months back I was asked to participate in a 100-day course from the fantastic ladies over at Enlist Moms.  What I didn’t know at the time was how much it was going to change my life.  That is pretty profound, but oh, so true.  When they asked me to join Rachel Davis YOU@theCenter course I was feeling very overwhelmed with my life – between work, my family life, husband changing jobs, new books coming out, I really didn’t think I could take on another task. But something inside told me to give it a try and see what I might learn from this rather unique and powerful course that helps you analyze what is working in your life, what you want to see change, AND most importantly, provides you with the daily tools so that you can navigate the life you want.

Many of us are so busy with our day-to-day lives we don’t make the time (or think to take the time) to really think about what we want out of life.  What are our goals?  What do we hope to leave behind as our legacy for our children?  What are our dreams? Such important aspects of a full and well-lived life that few of us have the mindset to really think about, dream about and move towards our goals.

I came across this quote from Lao Tzu “If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading” which really sums up what YOU@theCenter is about.  It helps you assess what is working in your life, what isn’t and provides tools to help you get to where you really want to go in your life.  Pretty powerful stuff!

And I think it demonstrates that if we don’t stop, analyze, and them shift gears if we think we need to, we may end up at the end of our lives wondering how we got there which reminds me of the popular Talking Heads Days Go By song! I plan to write another post about some of the fundamentals of the course but one of the main things I have learned from the course – is that it is possible to balance your life.  Finding time for yourself allows you to be more fully present for those around you.  I know many moms who don’t take the time out for themselves to refuel.  Rachel used the analogy of putting your oxygen mask on first so it allows you to help others.  She also explained to me that my multi-tasking was one of the reasons I was so exhausted at the end of the day.  When we multi-task, our brain’s effectiveness is cut to about 40%!  This was quite the revelation to someone who thought being a multi-tasker a good thing!

I am really excited to share with you this wonderful woman who has helped thousands of people realize and go after their dreams!

Tell us what inspired you to create You At The Center?

YOU@the Center came from a confluence of two things. 1) My previous 25+ years of teaching, leading, coaching and training more than 100,000 people in different settings, cultures and roles. 2) My observation and experience of the negative effects on people’s effectiveness (and happiness) when they are perpetually busy. So there was an obvious problem, and a problem for which I had the skills and experience to provide a real solution.

Today’s culture validates the busy person and the busy lifestyle as a “sign of success” despite that the research demonstrates that the busy, multi-tasking lifestyle is a detriment to willpower, energy, intelligence, relationships and happiness.

Our natural state is one of wholeness, awareness, connection and purpose; yet most people don’t feel this way. Most people are living and experiencing some level of discontent or dissatisfaction – I propose these are the not so hidden costs of our busy lifestyle. These are the not so hidden costs of not listening to our inner self.

What do you hope people who take your course gain from this experience?

I hope each person experiences a greater trust of themselves, a greater confidence in their abilities, while at the same time discover a new way to approach “all that there is to do.”

I want for people to experience a taste of a “deeply satisfying and sustainable lifestyle” unique to them, and that they experience they do have the power to design their life for deep satisfaction and live at a pace that they can sustain and enjoy.

If someone feels they just never have enough time in the day – what are some small steps they can take to clear out some mental space?

In most cases, when we feel that way we are operating in a high stress, high adrenalized state, which biases our brain toward the negative – in that state “all that we have to do” looks worse than it really is. It feels like we really don’t have enough time and we usual react by pushing more, sacrificing sleep or fun activities or perhaps collapsing in exhaustion.

What I have found effective in those situations is to “pretend for a moment that there is plenty of time what would you take the time to do for you?” i.e. Relaxing in a hot bath for 10-15 minutes can help interrupt this state, especially if we notice that (in reality) the world did not crash while we took the time to relax. Often while we are sitting in the bath we can actually experience our minds racing, and then notice that our minds are racing faster than reality.

Incorporating eight hours of sleep into your routine, eliminating multi-tasking, connecting with nature, connecting with your body through deep breathing, yoga or other exercise, connecting with your inner self (thoughts and feelings, clarity of what you want) through meditation or journaling, and taking time to “enjoy a good moment” are all helpful in creating more mental space.

Any news you want to share with our lovely dandelion moms? 

I am looking forward to expanding our reach and accessibility in 2015.

• Our core book YOU@the Center of Your Life: Finding Your Balance and Your Brilliance will be published and available to people who are not taking the 100-Course.

• Our new online platform for participants, means we can include more people in the 100-Day Course without losing the customized personal experience.

• We will launch our first “advanced curriculum” in January as well.

• We will also have more resources available from our website – audio recordings and e-books, etc.

Here is an excerpt from YOU@theCenter that explains more about the importance of FLOW in your life:

Drawing from the Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s extensive research on FLOW: the psychology of optimal experience, the YOU@theCenter 100-Day Course™ assists participants in creating the space, the mastery, and the direction of their lives to produce a lifestyle of flow.

When our lives are in flow

• There is plenty of time
• We are flooded with feelings of enjoyment
• We have an energized focus
• an experience of being completely present, even one with the universe

The flow experience allows us to grow more unique as individuals as well as more connected with universe at the same time.

To read more about the 100-day course and Rachel Davis check out their website and on Facebook.

And stay tuned – we will have a YOU@theCenter giveaway coming up soon!

Note:  Through the Enlist Moms program I am enrolled in the YOU@theCenter 100-day course but this did not affect my opinion in any way.