Do You Have a Dream Team?

In my work as a life coach and speaker I encounter many women from many walks of life, ethnicities, ages and races. I am reminded that despite our differences we all come from the same hood, womanhood. Despite our life challenges we as women have a common thread, we tend to take care of everything else and everybody else before we take care of ourselves. We expend a lot of emotional, physical and spiritual energy often on auto pilot going through life focusing on everything but ourselves. In one of my recent monthly inspirational power hours for women we discussed “energy” and how it is our livelihood and that we must at all costs preserve it and fortify it so that we can live a more fulfilling life.

Without adequate energy we not only cheat or fail ourselves we deny those we love the opportunity to experience our full vibrancy. We often take on the role of superwoman and work to save the world while we often emotionally and spiritually become weak. I’ve also realized that when we are low on emotional and spiritual energy we have less power to fight off the inner critic. The voice inside of us that tells us we can’t, we shouldn’t or how dare we take care of ourselves. We must begin to surround ourselves with other women who are living vibrantly and pulsating with emotional energy. This allows us to glean from their luminosity and be re-energized to thrive in life.

Do you know the power of having a DREAM TEAM to help you craft your vibrant life? A dream team is a small, committed network of women who will help you every step of the way as you create the life you desire. If you do not have a dream team I strongly suggest you begin carefully selecting other vibrant women to be a part of your “loving life” circle. I also encourage you to diversify that special team and include women who are different than you in age, race or ethnicity. There is great benefit in diversity and I guarantee it will enrich your life.

Here are a few tips on preserving your emotional energy, quieting the inner critic and assembling your DREAM TEAM!

1. When your inner critic begins to talk loudly, it means you are on to something big. It means you are about to cross the threshold into greatness or success. The best way to guiet the inner critic is to do exactly what it says you cannot do. Take baby steps forward and call on your support system (dream team) to help you cross over.

2. If you have a goal that you really want to accomplish you must have a dream team. This is a team of 3-5 people who will help encourage and support you on your journey. Include the following people on your team. a) a cheerleader, someone who whill keep your spirits high, b) a confidant, someone who you can share anything (fears/doubts etc) with, c) an advisor, someone who is level headed and logical and can help you keep things in perspective, d) a visionary, someone who can see your vision just as clearly as you and believes in it, e) a creative, someone who can help you work through obstacles and challenges. Carefully select these people because you cannot share your dream with just anyone and be sure to meet with them once a month.

3. Take time for yourself every day! Start with 10 minutes a day for a week and each week add 5 minutes a week until you are up tto an hour a day of YOU time. Spend this time doing things that feed your passion, make you smile or make you feel alive inside and or that help other people experience more joy!

Despite our differences we need each other and we must connect at our common thread… womanhood!

By Catrice Jackson