Getting Unstuck

By looking at the title of this episode, you may be quite surprised by the topic. But, I encourage you to tune in as I have two powerful stories for you regarding getting CLEAR in order to avoid getting STUCK that you don't want to miss! Shira Gura is an award-winning author and authority on emotional health and well-being with over two decades of experience in the wellness field. Her background as an occupational therapist, yoga instructor, and mindfulness teacher led her to create two ground-breaking self-help tools, The unSTUCK Method® and The CLEAR Way®. Shira is the author of the books, Getting unSTUCK: Five Simple Steps to Emotional Well-Being (winner of the 2017 International Book Award in self-help) and The CLEAR Way: Five Simple Steps to be Mentally Prepared for Anything. Shira is also the host of the weekly, Living Deliberately podcast. Through her coaching, courses, and community, Shira guides people to Live Deliberately.  

Do you experience anxiety sometimes? A lot of people do, whether they realize it or not (or whether they want to admit it or not). And the truth is, people are feeling anxious now more than ever. Anxiety is a difficult emotion to experience and most people aren't equipped to cope with it. And so, they resist feeling the anxiety, so they don't have to feel that difficult emotion. The problem is, resisting your feelings never helps you feel better. Ever. But, there is another way. Join me for this week's Living Deliberately podcast episode to learn more about the key to coping with anxiety. As always, I look forward to getting unSTUCK, getting CLEAR, and Living Deliberately with you, Shira Links mentioned in this podcast: On numbing your emotions: https://shiragura.com/episode-153/ On child-like reactions: https://shiragura.com/episode-177/ On adult-like reactions: https://shiragura.com/episode-178/

I was speaking with my parents the other day who told me that because of Corona restrictions, they are most likely going to have to spend Thanksgiving without family and friends this year. I'm sure they are not alone in feeling stuck with the reality of the situation due to Corona/COVID. If you are feeling stuck as well, tune into this episode to see what you can do. I welcome your responses to the episode in an iTunes review, response on my website, or sharing a comment on Instagram.

Maintaining your emotional health and well-being is just as important as the other things you work to maintain in your life, such as your car, your physical health, or your job. Good emotional health and well-being isn't a birthright. It's something that needs to be cultivated on a daily basis. Tune in to hear about some of the things that I do to maintain my emotional health and well-being.  I'd love to hear more about yours. I welcome your responses inside the Living Deliberately Facebook group.

It's certainly not pleasant to live with someone you believe has a disgusting habit. What should you do? Try to change their habit?  What if they don't have the power to change it? How is it possible to go on living with someone you feel so ashamed about? Tune in to learn how you can get unSTUCK from feeling disgust about your partner's disgusting habit.

Last week (episode 183), I shared about creating "crazy" goals. This week, I share with you why it's not about the goals. No, my intention is not to confuse you, but rather it's to challenge you to look at your own life and realize where does your sense of purpose really lie - in achieving the goal or in becoming the person you want to become while on your way to achieving the goal. Tune in to learn more. I'd be grateful to hear your comments!

Living Deliberately is about playing it big. It's about giving yourself permission to dream. It's about taking leaps of faith. It's about creating crazy goals to stretch and evolve you into the next best version of yourself. Tune in to this week's episode to learn why you may want to consider creating crazy goals in your life.      

In my private community on Facebook, I lead monthly group Challenges. Tune in to this week's podcast episode to learn more about what these Challenges are about, why you may want to consider participating, and the next steps you need to take in order to join my community. www.shiragura.com

I recently posted a question on Facebook in three different places and was fascinated by the responses I received. "If you could name one thing, what would you say is the most important thing in your life?" How would you respond? Tune in to this week's podcast episode to hear my response. It may catch you by surprise.

Optical illusions occur when the brain perceives something that in reality, may or may not exist.  The way we perceive things in the world is not only what we take in with our eyes, but how our mind interprets that information. Many people are familiar with optical illusions in the form of artwork, but have you ever considered the optical illusions that exist in your life? They do exist and they are boundless.  Tune in to this week's episode to learn more about optical illusions and what you can do to be aware of them in order to improve your emotional health and well-being. 

Yesterday, I sat in solitude in the forest near my home for the purpose of reading through the journals I wrote in over the past year. The purpose of this exercise was to remind me of where I "missed the mark" (and also a reminder of where I "hit the mark.") Tune in to hear why you may want to pick up a journaling practice (if you don't have one already). And why you may also want to create a yearly tradition of reading through your journals for the purpose of sharpening your efforts of living deliberately.

When you get triggered, there are only two options of responding: 1) With a childhood reaction, or 2) With an adult response. Adult responses are defined by how you consciously choose to show up, not necessarily how others behave. They're about how you choose to respond, despite how others act. They are powerful because you are not dependent on others for your emotional health and well-being. Adult responses are about taking full responsibility for your own happiness (as well as taking full responsibility for your unhappiness.) Tune in to this week’s episode to learn more about adult responses and where you may want to consciously create more of these in your life.

When you get triggered, there are only two options of responding: 1) With a childhood reaction, or 2) With an adult response. Many of us respond with childhood reactions because that is what we are most familiar with and have more experience responding in this way. Yet, childhood reactions typically do not help us, they do not help the other people involved, and they don't help resolve the situation. And yet, we often continue to express ourselves with childhood reactions nonetheless. Tune in to this week's episode to learn why we have childhood reactions and where you can wake up to them so you can consciously choose if and how you may want to respond alternatively.  

Living Deliberately is a framework for living. It includes understanding the big picture of what it is you want to create - (Episode 175) And the moments in time that comprise the time as you go from "here" to "there." Identifying and visualizing what it is you want to create or change can be very exciting. But, if you don't keep in mind the moments in time that you will face along the way, you may not only get stuck, you may not know how to get yourself out of the pitfalls you find yourself falling into. Tune in to today's episode to learn more about moments in time.  

Living Deliberately is a framework for living that incorporates two main parts: The big picture (what it is you want to create and who you need to be to manifest that), and the moments in time that comprise the big picture. While the moments in time are crucial for achieving our goals, often we get stuck in them and forget to see the big picture. When living deliberately, it is important to appreciate and respect both aspects in order to continue moving forward. 

Today is the birthday of my new book, The CLEAR Way: Five Simple Steps to Be Mentally Prepared for Anything. You can grab your copy on Amazon. (On launch day, Tuesday August 25th, the book is available for FREE on Kindle!) In today's podcast, I share with you some excerpts from the book and a few testimonials from those who graciously participated on my book launch team. I am grateful to be able to celebrate this occasion with you today! Thank you for being a part of it. Shira  

What would you say is the greatest legacy you can leave your children? If you could leave just one thing to your children, what would that one thing be? Today, I invite you to consider that the greatest legacy you can leave for others is your ways of being. Who you are and how you show up in the world on a regular basis - when things are easy and even when the going gets rough. Because your ways of being can (and do) have a ripple effect on others which can impact generations. There may be nothing more important in your life than you ways of being. Tune in to this week's episode to hear a story about my father's ways of being which influenced a decision I had to make just two weeks ago, and why you may want to identify and commit to your ways of being starting today. www.shiragura.com

Last week I had an idea to create senseless love in my community. I never heard of such an idea before, but I thought it would be a worthwhile effort. Tune in to this week's podcast episode hear more about what happened and where you can create senseless love in and around your life, too.  www.shiragura.com  

When you feel stuck, you get stuck on a particular emotion. The question is, is it possible to feel better when you are deeply attached to a difficult emotion? The answer is "yes." Tune in to this week's podcast episode to learn more about creating the emotions you want to feel. www.shiragura.com

We get stuck when something happens that we didn't expect. In a state of shock or surprise, we get stuck on what we believe should have happened instead of what actually did. Yet, if we can practice releasing our expectations (or fully accepting the opposite of what we wish will happen), we can reduce the chance of getting stuck in the first place. Tune into this week's podcast episode to hear about how I got stuck during a recent guitar lesson and what I learned from that experience moving forward regarding radical acceptance. In this episode, I share with you an excerpt from my book, The CLEAR Way, which will be published on Tuesday, August 25th, 2020. www.shiragura.com