personal growth

Dear Georgia (or why I came to Santa Fe)

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 8 Conversations

 

Before I discovered coaching, photography was my passion and before that, painting.

One of the painters that inspired me (not only with her art but also in how she lived her life) was Georgia O’Keefe. Today as I wandered the streets of Santa Fe I couldn’t help but think of her and the land that captured her heart.

sunflowers in Santa Fe

“I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty.” – Georgia O’Keefe

adobe buildings in Santa Fe

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.” – Georgia O’Keefe

sculptures Santa Fe

“To create one’s own world in any of the arts takes courage.” – Georgia O’Keefe

Santa Fe has long been on my list of places to visit and it feels wonderful to finally be here. I am soaking up the sun, the colours and of course, the spirit.

What place is calling to you, and why?

 

Everything is practice

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 17 Conversations

 

Sometimes I am blinded by the light.

My light.

Sometimes I go to a dark and scary neighbourhood.

In my head.

It’s bleak in there.

I do my best not to visit very often, but sometimes?

The pull is magnetic.

It’s a slippery slope once I’m there, but over the years I’ve discovered a few ways to pull myself out of the dark and off the slope.

 

How to Resist the Pull

1.  Unplug

I step away. From my laptop and phones. I turn off all the ringers, bells and whistles. Simple? Yes. Easy to do? Not so much.

But here’s the thing – it works every time.

“Every step you take is a step away from where you used to be.” – Brian Chargualaf

Continue reading →

How to Grow Yourself Up in 5 (not-so-easy) Lessons

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 44 Conversations

 

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” – e.e. cummings

Almost 11 years ago I found myself sitting on a plane en route to Amsterdam, wondering “How did I get here?”  It was a surreal moment, and it all began with a question (by now, surely you know that I’m all about asking questions!).

I was at a weekend workshop (an amazing program called Wisdom Unlimited), confronted by life and my inability to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up! I was doing an exercise, beating around the bush, not quite answering when the person I was working with blurted out in frustration, “Sandi, what the hell do you want? Just say it!”

In that moment I responded without thinking, “I want to be a photographer and travel, and get paid for that.”

I said it quickly, mumbling under my breath, but I said the words out loud for the very first time. A new dream, spoken into existence.

Fast forward six months, and there I was on the plane heading to the Netherlands to apprentice with a professional photographer in his studio.

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We Are All Meant to Shine

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 29 Conversations

 

Ever notice how quickly you can shift from feeling inspired to feeling attached?

A sudden, intense drive to make things happen a particular way takes over and inspiration is nowhere to be found; gone like the breath you took 10 seconds ago.

You fixate on a goal and suffer when it’s taking longer than you wanted or expected.

Pretty funny if you can get back to the realization that you made it all up to begin with!

Maybe you. . .

  • Obsess about your progress until you give yourself a headache
  • Try forcing the outcome thereby pissing off everyone involved
  • Refuse to quit, even though everything in you is saying “let it go”
  • Exhibit a dog-with-a-bone-like determination. Grrrrr, get out of my way!

So what’s a results oriented, bottom-line human doing supposed to do when it’s not about the doing? Continue reading →

10 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Coaching (and Life)

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 33 Conversations

 

When I began coaching almost 10 years ago, it was common for people to ask, “What sport?”

These days more people know about coaching but here’s what I’ve been hearing in conversations – they don’t necessarily know how to use it or apply it to what they’re up to in life.

It’s like when you buy a gadget (I’m sure I’m not the only one with a drawer full of kitchen gagdets, right?)

You think it’s awesome and you impulsively buy it. You get the awesome thing home and then…you forget about it. By the time you do pick it up again, you have completely forgotten what it’s for or how to use it.

Coaching is a bit like that. I’ve had clients hire me all excited to begin pursuing a dream, only to change their mind, succumb to their doubts and fears (hello lizard brain) and forget all about it.

Just like that gagdet in the drawer.

You didn’t really want to write that book, run that marathon, build that business did you?

YES, you did. And I think you still do so let’s pull your dream out of that drawer, shall we?

Continue reading →

My-12-year-Self and I

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 59 Conversations

 

Today was one of those days; an emotional roller coaster kind of day. Yes, coaches have those days too and yes, I still beat myself up about it.

I’m human you see. And truth be told, I’m a wee bit arrogant (I can’t help it I’m an Aries) and this lead to buying into my own story.

After years of education and training, personal development work, numerous courses, programs, CDs, books and thousands of dollars, I really believed. . .

wait for it. . .

that my life should be handled by now.  The roller coaster should have morphed into a journey of smooth sailing.

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Knowing the Power of Your Strengths

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 22 Conversations

 

When something intrigues me I just have to know more.

This really is not that surprising when you find out that my top strength is curiousity.

Authentic Happiness is an amazing site (be prepared; you could lose hours there) and the home of the positive psychology movement.  It offers up a wealth of information and free assessments such as the Signature Strengths test. Whether you call them values, strengths or virtues, this test is eye-opening.

“The good life consists in deriving happiness by using your signature strengths every day in the main realms of living.” – Martin Seligman, from Authentic Happiness

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5 Steps to Managing Your Lizard Brain

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 33 Conversations

No matter how much personal development work you’ve done, no matter how many self-help books you’ve read, there’s one thing you need to know…

Salamander: photo credit - Mark Faviell

This little fella ain’t never going away!

 

Your lizard brain is never going away and it’s never going to shut up.

It’s there for your survival and we’re still here as a species so it must be doing something right. Thing is, survival isn’t what it used to be.

Our Neanderthal ancestors? They had to deal with survival; saber tooth tigers and warring tribes were a real threat! That you’re afraid to try something new and step out of your comfort zone – not so much.

So if it’s never going away and never shutting up, just how do you manage this ancient, survival driven part of your brain?

1. Talk to it

“There is only one cause of unhappiness: the false beliefs you have in your head, beliefs so widespread, so commonly held, that it never occurs to you to question them.” – Anthony de Mello

Start questioning it! One of the best ways I’ve found to talk to the lizard brain is through The Work, a process created by Byron Katie. It’s a process of identifying and questioning the thoughts that cause all the fear that trigger your lizard brain.

Continue reading →

Who are your 5?

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 15 Conversations

 

I just spent an amazing weekend with a friend.

Whether we were creating goals over coffee in my living room, or out on the town, we experienced a connection and rapport that left me feeling deep gratitude.

You know the kind of great time that leaves you tired from bouts of laughing, late night chats and conversations for world domination?

Like that.

We consciously set an intention to get together for the purpose of brainstorming, creating and inspiring each other to take on some big-time goals in our lives and businesses.  Because we live in different cities and we know how easy it is to stall when we’re on our own again, we created a structure to support each other.

It was seriously a productive, energizing weekend and I’m still giddy from the possibilities!

So where am I headed with this? Continue reading →