Change Is Inevitable

 

May 28, 2024 Regenerate Your World  Build the future you want to live in. I know these times aren't the easiest for all of us, but I am an optimist - I see the glass as refillable instead of half-full or half-empty. To brighten up your days, I publish the Regenerate Your World newsletter coming to your inbox on a bi-weekly basis. Let's Get Empowered! Change is Inevitable Dear Empowered Reader, Change is inevitable, How we navigate through it defines our journey.  I mentioned in my last newsletter I have a big change coming up. Now it the time to make the announcement public. I am moving to a new city!  My husband accepted a new job in Northfield, MN and in June we are going to move.  We have lived in Duluth for 13 years, it has been a good home. We have met lifelong friends, I have had two jobs and many volunteer roles, and my husband has flourished in his role at the University of MN Duluth. However, with the recent changes in the health of a family member it is time to move to be closer to them. We are also ready for a new adventure! What transitions do you have in your life?  Are you changing jobs, leaving a job, starting a new relationship, sending a child off to college, moving to a new city, or something else?  I dive into the topic, on the GingerBiz Podcast,  Listen to the full episode here, https://lnkd.in/gvigadgA The conversation reminded me of Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, who is quoted as saying “Change is the only constant in life.”  We all have, will, or currently are experiencing change.  As we begin to reflect on whatever change or transformation is or has happened/ is happening for us, let's draw inspiration from the courage within ourselves.  As Mary Anne Radmacher states, "Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'" I love this quote, if you are trying you are showing courage. Hard Earned Personal Reflections: Embracing the Unknown:  When I decided to pursue a career change last year (and as I prepare to move to a new city!), I was filled with uncertainty and apprehension. However, instead of letting fear paralyze me, I embraced the unknown with an open heart. I discovered that stepping out of my comfort zone not only broadened my horizons but also allowed me to tap into my strengths and talents. Finding Harmony Amidst Change: Transitioning to a new job brought about a whirlwind of emotions—excitement, nervousness, and everything in between. My morning and evening routines became even more important than usual. I enjoy taking walks outside, practicing yoga, chatting with friends, and brewing a cup of tea throughout the day. Finding a few moments of calm is crucial in maintaining harmony during times of change. The Power of Community: Throughout my journey of change, I've been fortunate to have a supportive network of friends, mentors, family, and colleagues by my side. Their encouragement and guidance have been invaluable, reminding me that I'm never alone in navigating life's transitions. Building and nurturing meaningful connections not only enriches our personal and professional lives but also provides a source of strength during challenging times. Well-being Tips: Practice Self-Compassion: Be kind to yourself during periods of change. Acknowledge any fears or uncertainties you may be experiencing, and remind yourself that it's okay to feel vulnerable. Treat yourself with the same compassion and understanding you would offer to a close friend (thank you to Dr. Neff for this advice.) Stay Grounded with Mindfulness: Incorporate mindfulness practices into your daily routine to stay grounded amidst change. Whether it's through meditation, deep breathing exercises, or simply taking moments to pause and reflect, mindfulness can help you cultivate inner peace and resilience. Reach Out for Support: Don't hesitate to lean on your support system during times of transition. Whether you need a listening ear, practical advice, or a shoulder to lean on, reaching out to friends, family, or professional mentors can provide valuable support and perspective. Don't worry about being "a burden", most people feel honored to be asked for support. In the spirit of embracing change, I would like to take a moment to reflect as reflection is a key aspect of navigating any journey as it gives you time to pause and respond. Here are three reflection questions to guide you on your journey: How have moments of quiet courage shaped your professional journey? What fears or doubts are holding you back from embracing change in your career or personal life? In what way can you cultivate resilience and determination to navigate through transitions more effectively? Remember, change is not a barrier; it's an opportunity for growth and self-discovery. Let's embrace it together, supporting and empowering each other along the way. Remember, you are not alone on this journey, it's a shared experience that we navigate together,  check out the free Navigating Change Workbook for helpful tips and share with a friend!  Take Care, Dear Reader, Julie The house in Duluth, MN, that I am saying goodbye to next month. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Click here to get your own subscription. Quote from  Mary Anne Radmacher Speak quietly to yourself and promise there will be better days.  Whisper gently to yourself and provide assurance that you really are extending your best effort.  Console your bruised and tender spirit with reminders of many other successes. Offer comfort in practical and tangible ways - as if you were encouraging your dearest friend.  Recognize that on certain days the greatest grace is that the day is over and you get to close your eyes. Tomorrow comes more brightly. In the Media Where can you find EMPOWER Possible? Thank you to Katy Murray from the GingerBiz podcast for the insightful conversation! Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the thought of redefining your career goals? Take a listen to the podcast as we dive deep into strategies for setting clear objectives, staying focused, and pivoting effectively during times of transition.During the conversation, Katy and I discover strategies for navigating transitions with confidence, resilience, and a positive mindset. From redefining goals to honing skills and networking effectively, this episode offers a direction for transforming challenges into triumphs when navigating career changes. Listen to the full episode, https://lnkd.in/gvigadgA Interested in catching up on our previous podcast episodes? We invite you to explore our library of past recordings, where we delve into a diverse range of topics related to happiness and well-being. https://empowerpossible.com/podcasts/  Connect with me on social media! Copyright © EMPOWERPossible Duluth, MN EMPOWER Possible is dedicated to empowering individuals, organizations, and communities to organize and act together to regenerate our world through Self, Social, and Systems transformation.  info@empowerpossible.com \ Website \ Mission You are receiving this email because you expressed an interest in my work—thank you! You can change your email preferences or unsubscribe at any time.  Edit preferences or Unsubscribe

How to Embrace Change

May 12, 2024 Regenerate Your World  Build the future you want to live in. I know these times aren't the easiest for all of us, but I am an optimist - I see the glass as refillable instead of half-full or half-empty. To brighten up your days, I publish the Regenerate Your World newsletter coming to your inbox on a bi-weekly basis. Let's Get Empowered!

Embrace Change and Creativity, One Brushstroke at a Time Dear Empowered Reader, As we navigate our lives, we often find unexpected sources of inspiration and growth.  Today, I want to share a personal story about my recent experience with painting my bathroom and the reflections it sparked on my journey to well-being.  Personal Story: Like many of you, with the warmer weather, I embarked on a few home improvement projects during the past few months. I am preparing for a big move, (more on that to come!). With a paintbrush, a bucket of paint, and a goal in mind, I set out to transform my very green bathroom into a blank slate for potential new homeowners.  As I began to paint with my new white paint color I couldn’t help but imagine what was to come for myself and the new homeowners. What started as a simple painting project, evolved into a time to reflect.  While I was painting, I found myself with a lot of time to think. Each layer of paint became a metaphor for layers of self-awareness. Below are some of my reflections: Color and Emotions:  The process of selecting colors for my bathroom painting project prompted me to explore the connection between color and emotion. As I surrounded myself with white I noticed a shift in my mood and energy levels. The color of white ended up seeming very harsh so I needed to transition to a new color.  I settled on beige. With the new beige color, I realized this will set up the future homeowners for having a warm and bright space.  Through this experience, I gained a deeper appreciation for the impact of color on my well-being and the importance of creating spaces that evoke positive emotions. It made me think about the colors I will choose in my new home and the mood I want to invoke. Daily Routine and Creativity:  Painting my bathroom offered a chance to express my creativity, allowing me to channel my thoughts and emotions into tangible forms of art. I am someone who doesn’t paint daily even though I wasn’t painting a landscape or portrait it still felt like an act of creativity to me.  Despite the temporary disruptions to my schedule, I found joy in the process of recreating the space and noticed the impact on my well-being. Alignment with Vision: As I stepped back to review the final result of my bathroom painting project, I couldn't help but notice the change that occurred. While the result may not have perfectly matched my initial vision, it exceeded my expectations. Through this experience, I learned to embrace the beauty of imperfection and appreciate the effort I put into the project. Acceptance of Imperfection:  Despite careful planning and attention to detail, my bathroom painting project didn't turn out exactly as expected. The paint color appeared brighter than anticipated, and the application was uneven, leading to peeling in some areas. Initially, I felt disappointed by these imperfections, but I soon realized I did my best and appreciated the lessons I learned.  Through this experience, I learned the importance of embracing imperfection as a natural part of the creative process and finding beauty in unexpected outcomes. In sharing my story and reflections with you, I hope to inspire moments of introspection and connection within our community via the newsletter, social media, coaching, and coursework. Whether you're embarking on a home improvement project or navigating life's twists and turns, remember that every experience holds the potential for growth and self-discovery. Reflection Questions: Exploring Color and Emotions:  Reflect on a time when you surrounded yourself with a particular color, how did the color impact your mood and energy levels? How might you intentionally use color to create environments that evoke positive emotions in your daily life? Finding Creativity in Routine: Consider an activity or task in your daily routine that you perceive as mundane or repetitive. How could you infuse creativity into this activity to make it more enjoyable or meaningful? What small changes could you implement to transform routine tasks into opportunities for creative expression? Embracing Imperfection:  Think about a recent project when the outcome didn't align perfectly with your initial vision. How did you initially react to any imperfections or unexpected outcomes? How can you cultivate a mindset of acceptance and appreciation for the beauty of imperfection in your creative pursuits and life experiences? Lastly, have you undergone a similar journey of transformation recently? I invite you to share your stories and reflections with our online community. LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/julie-zaruba-fountaine Facebook: www.facebook.com/people/Empower-Possible-LLC Instagram: www.instagram.com/empowerpossible/ Let's continue to learn from each other's experiences and inspire positive change in our lives. If you are going through a transition check out my course: Career Crossroads https://empowerpossible.com/elementor-2431/  Through this online course, you will learn how to leverage your past employment experiences as a foundation for growth, uncover and celebrate your unique gifts and talents, allow yourself the necessary time and space to grieve and let go, and ultimately, chart a new and exciting future for yourself. Wishing you moments of inspiration and growth. Take care, dear reader, Julie P.S. Happy Mother's Day to all mothers and maternal figures who enrich our lives in countless ways. Whether you're a biological mother, a mentor, a guardian, or someone who nurtures and supports others, your impact is immeasurable.  Your love, guidance, and care shape the world in a profound way. Thank you for all that you do. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Click here to get your own subscription. Storyteller  by Liz Lochhead she sat down at the scoured table in the swept kitchen beside the dresser with its cracked delft. And every last crumb of daylight was salted away. No one could say the stories were useless for as the tongue lacked five or forty fingers stitched corn was grated from the husk patchwork was pieced or the darning was done. Never the one to slander her shiftless. Daily sloven or spotless no matter whether Dishwater or tasty was her soup. To tell the stories was her work. It was like spinning, gathering thin air to the singlest strongest thread.  Night in she’d have us waiting,  held breath, for the ending we knew by heart. And at first light  as the women stirred themselves to build the fire  as the peasant’s feet felt for clogs  as thin grey washed over flat fields the stories dissolved in the whorl of the ear but they hung themselves upside down in the sleeping heads of the children till they flew again in the storytellers night

In the Media Where can you find EMPOWER Possible? Besides posting on my own social media I also collaborate with other entrepreneurs. This week I am going to throw back to the Ry Duong's YouTube Channel as it is relevant to this topic. During our conversation, we talked about the definition of happiness as the feeling you have when you are living up to your full potential. Happiness is not a destination, it is a journey. It is not about being happy all the time but making the best out of life circumstances and keeping your head high while you tackle life’s challenges. Focus on what you have control over and utilize your strengths, talents, and social network to help you through the temporary bumps.  One step you can take to increase your level of happiness is to become more optimistic. How you look at the world matters. You can become more optimistic by practicing gratitude, journaling about positive experiences, spending time in nature, and practicing self-care by setting boundaries and practicing loving-kindness.  This is a feel-good episode and full of golden nuggets, it will leave you feeling more optimistic and inspired so you can and you will overcome whatever challenge that has been put Interested in catching up on our previous podcast episodes? We invite you to explore our library of past recordings, where we delve into a diverse range of topics related to happiness and well-being. https://empowerpossible.com/podcasts/

Connect with me on social media! Copyright © EMPOWERPossible Duluth,MN,USA EMPOWER Possible is dedicated to empowering individuals, organizations, and communities to organize and act together to regenerate our world through Self, Social, and Systems transformation.  info@empowerpossible.com \ Website \ Mission

Ripple Effects

 

April 29, 2024 Regenerate Your World  Build the future you want to live in. I know these times aren't the easiest for all of us, but I am an optimist - I see the glass as refillable instead of half-full or half-empty. To brighten up your days, I publish the Regenerate Your World newsletter coming to your inbox on a bi-weekly basis. Let's Get Empowered!

Ripple Effects Greetings! Today I am happy to introduce you to one of my friends, Rachel Gilbertson! Rachel and I have had many conversations about well-being, personal and professional growth, the joys and challenges of life, and much more. I invited Rachel to be a guest writer for this edition of the newsletter so she can share a very exciting project she has been working on. Please enjoy! Words from Rachel Hello, dear readers! I’m grateful to be invited as a guest contributor for this month’s newsletter! My name is Rachel Gilbertson and I’m a long-time friend of Julie’s, a fellow wellbeing professional, owner of Art of Presence, and newly published author of “Aligned Enchantment: 100-Day Self-Reflection Journal.”  I’m delighted to share a little story with you about the ripple effects of how Julie literally Empowered Possible. But first, I must take you back to the beginning when Julie and I first met more than 16 years ago. We both worked in higher education, but at different local universities, supporting the wellbeing of faculty and staff on our respective campuses.  We would meet monthly for walk & talks to discuss current well-being initiatives, share resources, and brainstorm new ideas. Our professional lives took unique, but similar paths as we transitioned to different organizations and as we developed our own small businesses. Although we had changed roles, we stayed committed to connecting monthly. Now, to the ripple effects Last February, after one of our regular chats, Julie sent me an email connecting me with a local author and indie publisher, Heather Wilde. Heather was planning her book launch releasing “Tumbled” out into the world. I contacted Heather, and attended her book launch celebration, and we hit it off right from the start. Heather and I agreed to meet up again in a few weeks. When we did, she shared that she was planning to sign up for Sarah Seidelmann’s 100-day Creative Soul Retrieval group as it had been transformative the previous times she’d participated. The premise is simple yet impactful - do something creative for 15 minutes per day for 100 days, post it in the private Facebook group and see what happens. I was curious and decided to sign up. My project was to embark on an adventure of being open to enchantment and following inspiration by creating a mini watercolor painting each day for 100 days. I wanted to learn more about watercolor painting; I love words and their meanings, and I find the practice of reflection to be powerful. Therefore, I braided these elements together and called it “Aligned Enchantment.” Each day, an image would catch my eye, or a word would resonate, and it would become the day’s theme, which I then paired with reflective questions. Some days, my project flowed quickly and easily; other days, inspiration was more elusive, and it felt like a stretch to pull it all together. Sometimes, the word would come first. Other times, the image became crystal clear, or a question would surface for me to ponder. Even though I initially planned to complete my project in the morning, these clues would emerge over the course of the day. As much as I wanted to confine this project into a set time and space, inspiration wanted more freedom, and enchantment refused to be rushed. Along the way, I worried I had taken on more than I could handle as I struggled to fit it in and fell behind posting daily. About every ten days, I noticed the urge to switch gears and change the theme by dropping the word, black box outline, or reflection component. However, each time I sat with these thoughts long enough, a whisper of a word or inkling of an image would encourage me to stick with it. Curiosity invited me to wonder what the collective result would be as I continued to add to this over the summer. So I carried on.  Now the ripple effect comes full circle. Once I reached 100 days, I felt proud of the journey I took and glad I stuck with it. I also had a lingering sense that it wasn’t quite done. On the 100th day I wrote: “I’m not sure what it is yet, but it feels like there’s a few more steps to fully complete this project.” However, I actually didn’t do anything with it for two months until early November when I met with Julie and another friend, Lora. We had a mini retreat day full of connection and creative thinking about our next steps personally and professionally. We had planned some independent work time and I sat with my mini watercolors, reflected on the lessons and wondered how I might gather them all in one place. As I did this, I knew I needed to connect with Heather again to brainstorm ideas for pulling these together. When the two of us met later that month, it became clear that this was meant to be a journal. We got to work and “Aligned Enchantment: 100-day Self-Reflection Journal” was recently published. Now, here we are less than a year from starting the 100 day project, 8 months from day 100, and 4 months after starting the publishing process and it seems this was the plan all along. I’m extremely grateful to Julie for sending that initial email that started this ripple effect of connection and possibilities. I’m also thankful for that quiet voice inside that urged me to slow down, sit with the pieces, and gather them up into a complete collection. Ripples into Waves As for launching “Aligned Enchantment” out into the world, I’m proceeding one step at a time and am trusting the unfolding. This has been a key lesson throughout this project. Aligned Enchantment is an opportunity to journal for 100-days and beyond about the things that matter most to you. The things that light you up and make you feel alive. It provides a space to imagine, wonder, and reflect.  It helps you set intentions for how you want to be today and what you want your impact to be in the future. My greatest hope for this journal is that it allows your inner wisdom to emerge. I hope you notice any inklings of insights arise, you feel any glimpses of soul shimmers, and that you follow the subtle hints of curiosity. I have found that intuition, enchantment, and inspiration hang out in these seemingly insignificant places. The extraordinary is hidden in the ordinary, not just in the grand gestures or the big, bold moves.  I share this story to say: please don’t underestimate the power of one small action as it can set off a ripple effect and empower what is possible. Butterflies continued to emerge as a theme throughout this project.  They are a symbol for  transformation, hope, and empowerment. Reflection Questions: ✨ What helps you feel empowered? ✨ What enables your sense of internal strength, vigor, and might? ✨ Remind yourself that you are magic just as you are  and you are  capable of more than you can imagine. What do you notice? Want to learn more? Learn More about Art of Presence: http://artofpresence.org Begin your own Journey to Aligned Enchantment https://www.amazon.com/Aligned-Enchantment.../dp/B0CZH8SD3N You’re invited to the Aligned Enchantment Book Launch Event on May 4th https://www.facebook.com/share/HR93TBngQjBFWs24/?mibextid=9l3rBW Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Click here to get your own subscription. Excerpt from Aligned Enchantment  by Rachel Gilbertson

In the Media Want to listen to Rachel explain more about the inspiration for her project? Check out her interview with Sarah Bamford Seidelmann  https://fb.watch/rDGIZD0_AY/

Connect with me on social media! Copyright ©EMPOWER Possible Duluth, Minnesota. EMPOWER Possible is dedicated to empowering individuals, organizations, and communities to organize and act together to regenerate our world through Self, Social, and Systems transformation.  info@empowerpossible.com \ Website \ Mission