Creative Wellness Coach

Expressive Arts Therapist

I used to fear that success would make me sick. I associated achieving my dreams and creating a successful business with stress and sacrifice. Because of this, I held myself back, trying to protect my own wellbeing by keeping success at arm’s length. When [...]]]> Jessica Chilton, MA, NCC

Creative Wellness Coach

Expressive Arts Therapist

I used to fear that success would make me sick. I associated achieving my dreams and creating a successful business with stress and sacrifice. Because of this, I held myself back, trying to protect my own wellbeing by keeping success at arm’s length. When I became aware of this limiting belief I made a decision that my success would flow from my wellness. I committed to caring for myself, keeping my Spark shining, and actualizing my dreams without burning out.

Recently I interviewed 15 inspiring entrepreneurial women with big dreams. I discovered that they shared the fear that in some way their dreams would cause them to sacrifice their wellbeing and enjoyment of life. I also realized through these honest conversations that many of these women felt a need to keep the shadow side of their dreams hidden. Some felt so much pressure to present a perfect public façade that they could not share the whole truth with others.

This blog post is dedicated to freeing us all from the secret underbelly of our greatest dreams. I have synthesized the interview transcripts into a poem in order to release our secrets from the closet and hold them together in the light. No one deserves the additional burden of keeping your greatest challenges inside and carrying them alone. By sharing the whole story rather than only the perfected façade, we can create a more accepting world for all of us to live in together. By sharing the shadow side of our dreams, we can come together to support each other with complete honesty so that we are able to persevere through the ups and downs and realize the dreams that will make a positive difference in our world. Together, we will shine.

Together, In the Shadow of Our Dreams

By Jessica Chilton

(Based on the interview transcripts of 15 inspiring entrepreneurs with big dreams)

We want to have it all

Happy healthy money

Making a positive difference

Passion and purpose

Creating satisfying success

Living our big dreams.

Knowing, together, we will shine.

We hit the ground running

Hard-driving

Craving forward movement

Productivity addiction

Racing past the slow-down signs

Hard to say

To the Achievement Junkie

You’ve done enough today.

Decision after decision

We need to get it right

No room for mistakes

Tightening up

To rigidly control perfection

The serious business of making money

Squeezes out the laughter

Keeps the Joy Fairy at bay

And forgets the ease

Of belly breathing.

And yet, together, we will shine.

Sabotage knocks at our door

It’s me again–

Your own worst enemy

Here to stand in the way

Push you into that old stuck place

The small box

Your hiding ways

The uncomfortable comfort zone

Of holding yourself back.

Yes, small self, you are terrified

Fearing that we cannot do what it takes

And fearing even more

That we can.

‘Cause success means

Stepping into the spotlight

Being visible and vulnerable

Coming out from comfortable dark corners

Behind-the-scenes.

Yes, you’re scared of our hugeness.

Of what will fall between the cracks

And that success

Will make us sick.

And yet, together, we will shine.

We get busy and soon overwhelmed

Tic-toc time

Never seems to be enough

Pulled in so many directions

Frazzled jangled mind

Tired of the chaotic grind.

Suddenly we don’t have energy

Or creativity

Or joy.

It’s become about tasks

Figuring it all out

Desperate untangling of knots

Feeling like we lost ourselves.

And yet, together, we will shine.

The freak out

The melt down

The pit fall

Fly high and then crash

Push, exhaust, implode, collapse.

What if someone sees us like this

Not practicing what we preach?

The pressure is heavy

To be all that we say

110% 24/7

Our incongruence

Embarrasses

Makes it hard to love ourselves

When we want to hide half of the truth

And yet, together, we will shine.

We give and give and give

Yet it’s never enough

Wrung out, drained, depleted

In the piles of our cluttered plate

Where is our ‘No’?

Our boundaries?

How can we come down gracefully

From this suck-me-dry path?

Burning the candle at both ends

Dims our Spark

Burns us out.

And yet, together, we will shine once again.

If you are a motivated entrepreneurial woman who is experiencing the shadow side of your big dreams, I invite you to enroll in SPARK’s private program:

I would love to be part of your team, ensuring that your dreams do come true AND you stay healthy and happy in the process. Together, we will shine! 

***Click here to schedule your “Love, Create, Shine” Creative Wellness Consultation which is the first step in claiming the 1 current opening in this private program. http://www.sparkcreativewellness.com/schedule-your-consultation

***Click here to learn more about the powerful outcomes you can experience through our Thriving Professional Women Program if you choose to claim your spot right now. http://www.sparkcreativewellness.com/professional-women

If you liked this post, I invite you to find out how you can benefit from cultivating your Creative Wellness. Discover your artful path to loving yourself and life by scheduling a complimentary “Love-Create-Shine” Creative Wellness Consultation with Jessica Chilton. http://www.sparkcreativewellness.com/schedule-your-consultation/

I love supporting professional women with big visions and dreams. It feels so good to help them move beyond inner blocks and overcome challenges along the way so that they can move forward in offering their great work in the world.

It [...]]]> By Jessica Chilton, Expressive Arts Therapist, Educator, Consultant National Certified Counselor

I love supporting professional women with big visions and dreams. It feels so good to help them move beyond inner blocks and overcome challenges along the way so that they can move forward in offering their great work in the world.

It is especially rewarding to guide these inspiring women in finding a way for their satisfying success to flow from their personal wellness, rather than from overdrive, perfectionism, exhaustion and stress. This shift allows women to avoid Burnout (and perhaps even stress-related illness) and instead take care of themselves and feel good as they move toward their dreams.

In my work with professional women, I have discovered patterns in the challenges they are experiencing when they first start their Creative Wellness Program at SPARK. Check out this Top 5 List Below and see how many of these blocks are keeping you from realizing your dreams.

Top 5 Challenges that Block Professional Women from Achieving Their Dreams

(Which challenges are you facing? These are some of the areas you can move beyond at SPARK.)

1. I Make Less Money than I Desire— (this challenge is often interconnected with underlying self-worth issues)

See which of these statements describe the way you are pushing away money in your life:

*  I de-value my time, energy, and expertise

*  I’m a pushover with fees

*  I decide in advance that a client won’t be able to pay the desired fee

*  I trade & barter from the mindset of money scarcity

*  I don’t charge enough

*  I give too much away for free

*  I tend to play small and feel invisible

*  I don’t want to stand out, shine too brightly, make too much; it will make others feel bad

*  I keep my accomplishments and income a secret

*  I am in overdrive to meet the promises I have extended to my clients

*  I sell myself as an hourly commodity

*  I believe: I don’t deserve to make a great living

*  Others won’t like me if I make more money than them

*  Other people’s needs are more important than my own

*  I’m not good enough to make good money

*  Who I am and what I offer is insignificant

*  If I ask for what I want, they might say No and reject me

*  My services are not worth the money I charge

2. I Lack Clarity and Confidence—in communicating my purpose, passion, expertise, and who I best serve

3. I Hold Myself Back—with negative thoughts, constricting beliefs, stuck emotions, and self-sabotaging stories

4. I Feel Stuck in My Attempts to Offer My Best Work to the World—I keep spinning my wheels in blocked creativity & ongoing frustration

5. I Need More Self-Care and Support—in order to remedy stress, overwhelm, unclear boundaries, and drained energy

If you are a professional woman with big dreams and visions and you are facing any of these top challenges above I want to invite you to claim one of the 2 openings in SPARK’s private program:

I would love to be part of your team, ensuring that your dreams do come true AND you stay healthy and happy in the process!

***Click here to schedule your “Love, Create, Shine” Creative Wellness Consultation which is the first step in claiming one of the 2 openings in this private program. http://www.sparkcreativewellness.com/schedule-your-consultation

***Click here to learn more about the powerful outcomes you can experience through our Thriving Professional Women Program if you choose to claim your spot right now. http://www.sparkcreativewellness.com/professional-women

If you liked this post, I invite you to find out how you can benefit from cultivating your Creative Wellness. Discover your artful path to loving yourself and life by scheduling a complimentary “Love-Create-Shine” Creative Wellness Consultation with Jessica Chilton. http://www.sparkcreativewellness.com/schedule-your-consultation/

SPARK women have been sharing their challenges around money—specifically those of you who have dreams of making a great living doing what you love. You want to create satisfying success while offering your gifts to the world (without sacrificing your health) but [...]]]> By Jessica Chilton, Expressive Arts Therapist, Educator, Consultant National Certified Counselor

SPARK women have been sharing their challenges around money—specifically those of you who have dreams of making a great living doing what you love. You want to create satisfying success while offering your gifts to the world (without sacrificing your health) but you keep running into blocks along the way. In response to the blocks you are experiencing around money, I offer you this audio recording of my guest appearance on “Money Matters” Radio Show hosted by Executive Director of OnTrack Financial Education and Counseling, Celeste Collins.

The interview starts at the 2 minute mark and runs for 26 minutes. I had tons of fun with Celeste on the show—because she is wonderful AND it’s a thrill talking into a microphone and knowing in that very moment my message is being heard by all who care to listen. Most importantly, for your sake, I shared a lot of valuable content that I believe you’ll enjoy hearing.

In this radio interview, you will discover:

1. The vital key to create satisfying financial success as a woman who is offering your gifts to the world. (I share my personal turning-point as an entrepreneur that made it possible for me to create a viable business doing what I love.)

2. The Good News for those who are feeling disconnected from your purpose and passion, deficient in self-care, dissatisfied with your professional life, constricted in insecurities, or exhausted from not valuing your own time, energy, and expertise…Yes, there really is good news!

3. Exactly how Creative Wellness helps you move into an empowered relationship with money

4. How you can end up making significantly more money after a 90-minute session at SPARK J (You’re going to love hearing this play-by-play of a Creative Wellness Session with one of the awesome clients in my “Thriving Professional Women” Program)!

5. A morning mantra to help you open up to expansive abundance … starting now.

6. How the SPARK System can help you move beyond limiting money beliefs – while also improving your relationships and ability to offer your gifts in the world.

 7. A 10-minute practice that can move you in the direction of more financial abundance as you intentionally use your time, energy, and expertise to create your most satisfying life.

 8. How you too can live from the belief, “I am born to shine and so are you.”

Click here to listen to Jessica Chilton’s Interview on “Money Matters” Radio Show: http://www.sparkcreativewellness.com/audio/MoneyMattersRadioShow.mp3

If this interview sparks your interest in becoming a Thriving Professional Woman who Shines with Self-Confidence, Self-Care, and Satisfying Success, click here to find out more!

If you liked this post, I invite you to find out how you can benefit from cultivating your Creative Wellness. Discover your artful path to loving yourself and life by scheduling a complimentary “Love-Create-Shine” Creative Wellness Consultation with Jessica Chilton. http://www.sparkcreativewellness.com/schedule-your-consultation/

Do you know how some people go through life passively reacting to whatever life brings their way and others seem to be in the driver’s seat choosing where they want to go? Which one sounds more like you? At SPARK, I support [...]]]> By Jessica Chilton, Expressive Arts Therapist, Educator, Consultant National Certified Counselor

Do you know how some people go through life passively reacting to whatever life brings their way and others seem to be in the driver’s seat choosing where they want to go? Which one sounds more like you? At SPARK, I support women to move from being a passive victim of life to being an empowered creator of your most satisfying experience of life. This shift from victim to creator is a powerful transformation.

A Passive Drifter Ends Up a Caged Hamster!

Many women in the SPARK Community realize they are being passive reactors and they don’t like it one bit. One woman shares, “I have lived life in the most passive way possible, floating along and letting things happen to me. I don’t want to continue to float aimlessly and wake up in 10 years and say, ‘uh, I wanted to do so much, but I never got around to it’.” Another past client said, “Before my Creative Wellness Program, I was just drifting wherever life was taking me. I signed up with you because of this feeling that there was a lot more that I wanted to get out of life.”

When we keep drifting without making this important shift from passive victim to empowered creator, we end up STUCK. I call it the STUCK Syndrome. As one woman explains, “I’ve been stuck for a whole year. I don’t want to be where I am in life anymore.  But I’ve felt stuck for so long that moving past it feels hard and overwhelming.”

Another past client began our work together with a lot of self-judgment around this issue: “I’m judging myself for living a less than significant life. There is so much possibility in life but I come up short. I feel like a caged hamster in a wheel, frustrated that here I am again and I don’t know what to do.”

Have you ever had that feeling? That you’re moving so fast—rushing through each day—but not getting anywhere satisfying or new? Or that somehow your life has begun to feel like a cage?

Setting Yourself Free to Create Your Most Satisfying Life

If you are nodding your head in agreement with what others have said, you’re probably wondering, “So what do I do now?”

The deeper transformation from passive victim of life’s circumstances to empowered creator of your most satisfying life can be experienced when following the 5-Step SPARK System of Creative Wellness, which is the foundation of all the programs at SPARK.

In this moment, though, I want to share with you 4 simple tips that you can use right away to begin to live on-purpose as you step into your creative capacity to shape your daily life:

1.      Clarify what you want to experience in life.

In order to move in a satisfying direction rather than floating aimlessly you need to know a little bit about what you are wanting in life. Now, before you throw in the towel and say, “That’s the problem, I don’t know what I want,” remember that this vision of your satisfying life can unfold gradually. All I’m asking is that you become a bit clearer about this vision each day. Check out this Blog Post for step-by-step instructions on how to create a Vision Board. My suggestion to you is to tack a white poster board on the wall and add one image each morning to remind yourself that your clarity can unfold gradually.

2.      Connect with your satisfying vision of life each morning.

As you begin each day, spend 5 minutes connecting with your vision of a satisfying life (perhaps by looking at your vision board as it evolves or maybe just by closing your eyes and picturing it). Imagine yourself living this ideal life right now. Then write about it and read it back to yourself aloud. Make sure you write in the present tense as if you are living this satisfying life right now. (“I am….I feel…I love…) Focus your attention on how it feels to be living this ideal life. Let these positive emotions flow through your whole being.

3.      Choose 1 Action Step aligned with your vision to complete today.

Again, this can be a baby step rather than a huge leap. You do not need to suddenly be crystal clear about your deepest purpose in life and live it fully all TODAY!! Rather, you just need to know the very next step that would feel a bit better than where you are standing right now.

This could be as simple as going on a slow walk and feeling a timeless relaxation as you meander from one beautiful tree to another. Or it could be, invite Jane Doe out for tea because she is inspiring and you want to be around positive people who are living satisfying lives. Or, perhaps you will choose to write the first sentence of that book you have always been saying you want to write.

Or maybe your action step is around letting go of something that doesn’t lead you to your most satisfying life—something small like that old saggy-butt pair of worn-out yoga pants or even something big like a ‘supposed friend’ who acts as a wet blanket for all your dreams.  (Check out this Blog Post for more on ‘Letting Go.’) I don’t know what your action step will be….but YOU do!

4.      At the end of the day, celebrate each step forward.

You got it—permission to Celebrate! If you want to build momentum toward creating our most satisfying life, you have to acknowledge and celebrate your progress—every little step of the way. If you always focus on the gap in front of you—between where you are and where you want to be–you’ll end up frustrated, overwhelmed, and STUCK. But if you give plenty of attention to your progress and the widening gap behind you between where you used to be and where you are now, you will feel hopeful, energized, and confident. You will give yourself daily proof that helps you believe that indeed you are creating your most satisfying life—one day at a time!

I invite you to celebrate with me at the end of each day by visiting our SPARK Facebook Page. I’d like you to use our page as a place to be acknowledged and celebrated. For instance, you could post, “Today I stepped toward my dream of traveling around the world by hanging a world map on my wall.” “Today I stepped toward my most satisfying and healthy life by buying myself organic juicy bright red strawberries.” Anything goes—no step is too small to celebrateJ!

STUCK Syndrome, BE GONE!

If you have been feeling a little bit stuck, these 4 tips may be all you need right now to move you forward. I look forward to be celebrating each small step with you on our Facebook page!

However, if you have a BIG case of the Stucks, or if you know that you’re going to need support, accountability, and guidance to truly move beyond the Stuck Syndrome and create your most satisfying life, let’s talk further. http://www.sparkcreativewellness.com/professional-women/

Today’s Creative Wellness Practice comes from the 4th step in the SPARK System: Release of constricting beliefs, stories, fears, habits, and energy drains; making space for expansive freedom to shape your most satisfying life.

In order to make space in our lives [...]]]> By Jessica Chilton, Expressive Arts Therapist, Educator, Consultant National Certified Counselor 

Today’s Creative Wellness Practice comes from the 4th step in the SPARK System: Release of constricting beliefs, stories, fears, habits, and energy drains; making space for expansive freedom to shape your most satisfying life.

In order to make space in our lives for our Creative Wellness to flourish, we need to let go of other things that no longer serve us. We need to become aware of how precious our energy and time are and learn how we want to use these treasured resources.

My request to you is to set a timer for 10 minutes and brainstorm all the ways that you use your time and energy–including activities, relationships, obligations, fears, stressors, joys etc. Then, look back through and put a plus + next to the items that enrich your life and nourish your potential and a minus – next to the things that deplete your life force and veer you further away from your most satisfying path.

Choose 3 of the items with a minus – and create a plan of how you will let go of doing these things as soon as possible. Whether this draining thing is a time-wasting habit like trashy TV, a boundary-less toxic relationship that does not support your well-being, or a limiting belief like mine of ‘not wanting to outshine others’, releasing yourself from this frees up your energy and time for activities, relationships, and beliefs that nourish your expansion into love, health, success, and abundance.

Collect a pile of magazines that you are free to tear apart. Gather scissors, a glue stick, and cardboard, poster board or any surface that you’d like to collage. Choose one magazine and begin flipping through it quickly—noticing which images and words [...]]]> By Jessica Chilton, Expressive Arts Therapist, Educator, Consultant National Certified Counselor  

Collect a pile of magazines that you are free to tear apart. Gather scissors, a glue stick, and cardboard, poster board or any surface that you’d like to collage. Choose one magazine and begin flipping through it quickly—noticing which images and words you are drawn to as representative of elements of your dream of Creative Wellness, without even thinking about exactly what each symbolizes. Trust your instinct. As you tear or cut out the images, begin to build a pile. Continue flipping and tearing through more magazines until you are satisfied that the array of images in your pile as a whole are a reflection of your Creative Wellness vision. Spread out the images so that you can see each one. Begin moving the images around —noticing which ones want to be next to which other ones. One at a time, glue each image onto your collage board until you feel satisfied with the overall look—feeling that it inspires you with its enticing call to Creative Wellness!

If you liked this post, I invite you to find out how you can benefit from cultivating your Creative Wellness. Discover your artful path to loving yourself and life by scheduling a complimentary “Love-Create-Shine” Creative Wellness Consultation with Jessica Chilton. http://www.sparkcreativewellness.com/schedule-your-consultation/

It’s so easy to keep on truckin’ through the busyness of daily life and ignore what truly needs your attention. It’s so easy to move full-speed ahead, guided by shoulds, and forget to give yourself daily nourishment. It’s so easy to push down that feeling inside whispering that your life [...]]]>  By Jessica Chilton

It’s so easy to keep on truckin’ through the busyness of daily life and ignore what truly needs your attention. It’s so easy to move full-speed ahead, guided by shoulds, and forget to give yourself daily nourishment. It’s so easy to push down that feeling inside whispering that your life isn’t as fulfilling as it could be. It’s so easy to hide the non-pretty picture and smile your way through the next “How are you?”

Often though, if we don’t pause and address what needs our attention on the inside, life has a way of stopping us in our tracks. And then things don’t feel so easy.

Yes, life can present us with some hard knocks to wake us up to something we need to face. My wake-up call was illness. For others, it is divorce, job loss, death of a loved one, or any other stop-you-in-your-tracks life challenge. When we are unexpectedly stopped in our tracks, it can feel really terrible. Yet, if we choose to take the slow-down train to transformation station, it can become a catalyst for positive growth.

It turns out that my wake-up call with illness was exactly what I needed to finally learn to love myself. 10 years ago, I identified with all 10 items on the list below. I was in desperate need of a ‘year of loving me’. Today, I create my life from a foundation of self-love and inspire other women to do the same.

I’d prefer if other women could wake-up to loving all of who they are without the harshness of illness or other hard knocks. So, I wrote this article to offer a gentler Self-Awareness boost. Perhaps, you will still squirm in discomfort as you read the list. Perhaps you will wish I wrote about something more cheery. Just remember, everything in life can deliver a message that we need to hear. This is your opportunity to hear this message without the extra thud of a ‘big life challenge wrecking ball’ swinging through to teach you the hard way.

 Top 10 Signs that You Could Benefit from “The Year of Loving You”

 Which of these signs are showing up in your life right now?

1. You are exhausted.

Life without Self-Love is exhausting. When you don’t love yourself enough to prioritize your self-care, you wind up depleted. When you feel you have to take care of everyone and everything else before caring for yourself, you end up stressed out and frazzled.

2. You want everyone else to like you.

When you don’t love yourself you tend to constantly have an unquenched need to be liked and loved by others. This leads to an endless pursuit of people-pleasing, approval-seeking, and trying to be likeable to everyone you meet.

3. You want the 110% award every time.

When you don’t have an inner sense of being ‘good enough’ as you are, you’re on overdrive trying to prove your worth to others (and yourself). Your inner-perfectionist leads you in constant over-achieving. You want everyone to see you in your best light. You want to ‘get it right’. Mistakes are not allowed in the plan.

4. Your inner-critic rules the roost.

When the loudest voice inside of you likes to judge what you say and do, compare your achievements to everyone else’s, and criticize your imperfections, you have a bully on board. Much like a school yard bully, your inner-critic is actually in need of love.

5. Shame and guilt are familiar visitors.

When you do make a mistake, have an embarrassing moment, stick your foot in your mouth, or under-deliver on one of your many over-commitments, you do not soothe yourself with compassion and forgiveness. Rather, you are flooded with shame and guilt, adding insult to injury.

6. You don’t like the mirror.

When you look in the mirror, you tend not to see the sparkle in your eyes or the beauty of a woman growing wiser with each passing moment. Rather, you see the imperfections, you criticize the wrinkles, you feel repulsed by the cellulite, and you sigh with defeat at gravity’s impact. The mirror does not reflect self-love for you; rather it fuels your conflicted relationship with your imperfect body.

7. You’re in endless pursuit of happiness

When you don’t love who you are, true happiness becomes an uphill battle. It’s like trying to put air in a tire that has a big hole in it. You find temporary quick fixes but nothing seems to really work to bring you deep joy.

8. You don’t feel like yourself.

There is a sense of constriction that stops you from feeling free to be yourself. Without self-love, it’s hard to feel at home in your own skin. Rather than freely expressing your thoughts and feelings with ease you are wondering what others think and trying to say the right thing.

9. You feel lost.

It can be easy to feel lost when you don’t love who you are. You wake up one day and realize that you don’t like who you have become and you’re not satisfied with a life that feels busy yet empty. You’re not sure how to find your way back home.

10. You don’t believe in your dreams.

Often, when you’re always trying to please others instead of honoring yourself, you end up living someone else’s dream instead of your own. And, when you do still remember your own dreams of what you want in life, you don’t believe in your ability to make these dreams come true. So you blow them off, trivializing them as silly little dreams. As a result, these wonderful dreams (that could be part of creating your most satisfying life) do not come true.

So, what do you think? Are any of these signs showing up in your life right now? Is it time for you to commit to “The Year of Loving You?”

I will always be on a path of spreading self-love. I’m committed to this as my cause. I want women to feel free to love all of who they are. From this loving foundation, they can expand into their greatest potential, create their most satisfying lives and let their Spark fully shine to brighten our world. Each time one of us decides to wake-up to loving who we are, the whole world benefits.

If this is your moment of committing to the “Year of Loving You,” I’m ready to support you. Schedule your complimentary “Love Create Shine” Creative Wellness Consultation here: http://www.sparkcreativewellness.com/schedule-your-consultation.

If you liked this post, I invite you to find out how you can benefit from cultivating your Creative Wellness. Discover your artful path to loving yourself and life by scheduling a complimentary “Love-Create-Shine” Creative Wellness Consultation with Jessica Chilton. http://www.sparkcreativewellness.com/schedule-your-consultation/

Today’s Creative Wellness Practice comes from the 3rd step in the SPARK System:

Activation of your internal capacities-emotional healing, mental clarity, spiritual connection, expressive creativity, self love-transforming suffering into self-trust, confidently navigating the challenges of life.

Each morning upon waking, lie in bed for a few extra [...]]]> By Jessica Chilton

Today’s Creative Wellness Practice comes from the 3rd step in the SPARK System:

Activation of your internal capacities-emotional healing, mental clarity, spiritual connection, expressive creativity, self love-transforming suffering into self-trust, confidently navigating the challenges of life.

Each morning upon waking, lie in bed for a few extra moments. Dedicate these first waking moments to cultivating your Self-Love.

What would be the most delightful, loving thing someone could say to you? Say this to yourself. 

Give yourself the same TLC you would so eagerly give to your best friend or lover. You deserve it.

Tell yourself that you are MORE than good enough, exactly as you are in this moment, just by being you. Anything that you do in this day is a cherry on top!

After you experience starting your day this way, it will feel so good that you will always want to give yourself these precious moments of Self-Love.

Feel like inspiring other women? Let others know how you awaken Self-Love in the first moments of the day by posting on our SPARK Facebook Page.

If you liked this post, I invite you to find out how you can benefit from cultivating your Creative Wellness. Discover your artful path to loving yourself and life by scheduling a complimentary “Love-Create-Shine” Creative Wellness Consultation with Jessica Chilton. http://www.sparkcreativewellness.com/schedule-your-consultation/

When I wake up in the morning, I intentionally lie in bed and start the day with a Self-Love practice. This week, I have been focused on the powerful truth that I am more than good enough exactly as I am. I imagine myself as a tree with roots that reach [...]]]> By Jessica Chilton

When I wake up in the morning, I intentionally lie in bed and start the day with a Self-Love practice. This week, I have been focused on the powerful truth that I am more than good enough exactly as I am. I imagine myself as a tree with roots that reach far into the earth. The tree itself represents me in a state of being full of Self-Love. The roots of my Self-Love tree represent my Self-Worth. The sustenance that I draw up through my roots and into my body is the essence of knowing that just by being me, I am worthy.

Why do I start my day like this?

This notion of ‘not being good enough’ is so pervasive in our society. It is so common for women to have thoughts like:

“I’m not skinny enough.”

“I’m not successful enough.”

“I’m not pretty enough.”

“I’m not brave enough.”

“I’m not strong enough.”

What is your own version of this ‘not good enough’ statement that tugs against your best intentions to be self-loving?

Imagine yourself as a Self-Love Tree and notice your Self-Worth root system. Are your roots grounded peacefully in the soil of knowing you are worthy just as you are or are they reaching toward some external validation or future goal in attempts to drink the sweet nectar of worth?

When I took a close honest look, I realized that some of my roots were popping up above ground and reaching toward certain financial goals. I wanted to make a certain amount of money in my business in order to deem myself a wildly successful entrepreneur. And I believed that when I reached this goal, then I would be good enough, then I would be worthy.

When I took an even closer look, I also noticed a rock in the earth that one of my roots seemed to be clinging. This was the rock of ‘illness.’ I realized that in some way, I had been clinging to the fact that “I have an illness” as part of my self-worth. Somehow, this struggle gave me a sense that my triumphs and joys were even more commendable because I was able to achieve them while having an illness.

Self-awareness is powerful; as soon as I realized these self-limiting approaches to self-worth, I was able to offer myself acceptance and compassion and then gently adjust my root system. I have since released this ‘illness rock’ from the grip of my roots and let it roll away. I have re-oriented my root system to ground deeper and wider into the pure truth that I am worthy exactly as I am. I am retraining my root system to know that there is no need to pop out above ground to reach for validation. Instead, I am worthy in this moment because I am alive. I am worthy because I am a human being. I am worthy because I am the only me. I am worthy because I give and receive love in the world. I am worthy because I am.

From this peaceful, already good enough starting-place, I experience my day with more ease and less push. The energy behind what I create and do comes from the roots of self-worth rather than from a quest to validate my self-worth.  My Self-Love tree is able to grow and flourish, fed by the nourishment of a healthy sense of self-worth.

If you liked this post, I invite you to find out how you can benefit from cultivating your Creative Wellness. Discover your artful path to loving yourself and life by scheduling a complimentary “Love-Create-Shine” Creative Wellness Consultation with Jessica Chilton. http://www.sparkcreativewellness.com/schedule-your-consultation/

I am feeling extra happy because today, February 14th, is all about LOVE.

As I’ve said in the past, it is my intention to build SPARK on a foundation of prioritizing love and relationships. It is you, and all the people in [...]]]> By Jessica Chilton

I am feeling extra happy because today, February 14th, is all about LOVE.

As I’ve said in the past, it is my intention to build SPARK on a foundation of prioritizing love and relationships. It is you, and all the people in this community, that make SPARK what it is–an inspiring place to artfully cultivate love for self and life, no matter what challenges we face.

Today, I want to focus in on love for self. Self-Love. Loving ALL of who you are. Falling in love with yourself more and more each day.

I am still on a Self-Love high after celebrating International Day of Self-Love yesterday. (Did you know about this official holiday?!) I was in my bliss leading two Self-Love Retreats and feeling deeply connected to my purpose of spreading love in the world.

The motto at SPARK is Love. Create. Shine.

1. Love Who You Are
2. Create Your Most Satisfying Life
3. Let Your SPARK Shine

We progress through each of these steps on the Creative Wellness journey. As you can see, Self-Love is the all-important starting place. Without it, we cannot experience the deep satisfaction of truly loving our life.

Because of this, I am stepping out even further into the Self-Love Spotlight and launching a Love Who You Are Campaign on Facebook. Join us on SPARK’s page each day in February and add your unique Spark to this Self-luv-a-thon. I’ll be posting inspiring practices, videos, photos, and quotes to amp up the Self-Love-o-Meter in each of us. I invite you to add your Self-Love wisdom to the mix!

In celebration of ALL that we are,

If you liked this post, I invite you to find out how you can benefit from cultivating your Creative Wellness. Discover your artful path to loving yourself and life by scheduling a complimentary “Love-Create-Shine” Creative Wellness Consultation with Jessica Chilton. http://www.sparkcreativewellness.com/schedule-your-consultation/