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 Over the past month, I've been talking about clearing out your mental clutter to gain more mental clarity for greater success. To wrap things up, here are seven daily practices that will help you gain control of any thoughts continuously swirling around in your head. Add these tips to your toolbox for when you find yourself ruminating or overwhelmed by unhelpful thoughts. 

Easy Strategies to Clear Your Mental Clutter 

Whether you can’t focus because of the to-do list running in your head, or you can’t sleep because you’re stuck worrying about work, we all get stuck in a “thought loop” sometimes. Your brain won’t turn off or let you focus, and it zaps your energy and productivity. Try one (or a few) of the tips below the next time you find your mind overflowing; or, better yet, choose one and make it a habit to keep those thoughts from turning up in the first place. 

1. Mindful Breathing. If you feel overwhelmed or are experiencing a lack of focus, practicing a mindful breathing tec...

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It’s not easy to find focus in our world of smartphones and constant distractions, and I bet most people would like to improve their ability to stay on-task. There are lots of external ways to improve your focus, but today I want to talk about internal factors that could be affecting your mental clarity. More specifically, how your diet could be sabotaging your ability to focus. 

Focus for the Win

When you have improved focus, you’ll see benefits in every area of your life, including in the actions you take toward your goals and dreams. You’ll find it easier to: 

• Set goals based on your own preferences and desires
• Make choices with certainty
• Find the path that will lead you to the things you want
• Find motivation to do the things required to achieve your larger goals

In contrast, mental clutter can keep the brain from accomplishing straightforward tasks that you want to do. Setting your brain up to better focus will lead to drive, con...

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Whether it’s how you were raised, part of your genetics, or a conscious decision, it’s obvious that some people think more positively than others. Have you noticed that life seems to go more smoothly for positive people? There is great power in positive thinking, and it’s not just about feeling happier or being more optimistic. While these are great side effects of positive thinking, the benefits of it go much further and will help you achieve greater success in your life. 

The Benefits of Becoming More Positive

If being happier isn't a good enough reason to work on increasing your positive thinking, I’m sure that some of the following benefits will sway you to want to see the glass as half-full. 

The Snowball Effect

Recent studies have shown that positive thinking is directly linked to your brain's reward system and pleasure stimulus. This means that once your mind feels the pleasure that positive thinking or happiness brings, it's going t...

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We’ve all done things or had things happen to us in the past that we’d regret or would rather forget. Life isn’t always easy and can leave us with emotional scars or baggage. It’s up to us to heal the best we can, and thankfully there are many tools to do that. When you hold on to the past, it brings overwhelm and mental clutter into the present as you deal with people and situations around us. Letting go of what hurt you then will help you move forward clearly and openly now. 

Whether the past is holding you back consciously or subconsciously, it’s worth the effort to uncover what it is so you can let it go. Recognizing it is the first step, and there are so many benefits to doing the work to let go of that negativity. Letting go of the past is a positive, kind act for yourself, and the following are just some of the benefits that you’ll experience from doing so. 

Release the Heaviness & Find Compassion

Carrying around the weight of som...

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Back when the pandemic really hit and the kids were stuck in their rooms every day doing schoolwork, my daughter’s mental health took a hit. Her room got very little natural light, so we switched my brighter office with her bedroom and it helped a lot. Now that she is gone to college, though, it’s time for me to switch back. The back and forth has involved a fair bit of physical decluttering, and I feel so much lighter with less “stuff” to manage. The same principle works in your brain, too. When you clean up your mental clutter, your mind has more space to work and play in. 

Some signs that your mental clutter is bogging you down are feelings of overwhelm or being over-stimulated, confused, and even disoriented when it comes to everyday life and decisions. Our modern world moves quickly, and with quick access to the internet and social media, it’s easy to become over-stimulated. Just as we need to take care of our bodies and the space we p...

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For the past several months, I’ve been prepping you to take the leap, get out of your comfort zone, and finally take action on your goals and dreams. I’ve shared the psychology of comfort zones, tips to motivate yourself to expand yours, and examples of the amazing things that can happen when you are brave enough to get uncomfortable. But the time for talking is over. No more planning. No more thinking about it. It’s time to take action. 

Getting from your comfort zone to your dreams will require you to take a giant leap of faith in yourself. There is no certainty in life. You can never know for sure if you’ll succeed or fail. Even if you’ve meticulously planned every step, there are too many external factors that can (and will) pop up on your journey. This isn’t said to scare you, but rather to give you that final push you need; you’ve done all you can! 

The only thing left to do is to take the leap. Here are the three ingredients you need t...

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As much as I enjoy the holidays, I'm always happy to get back to routine. With the buildup to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year, it’s like six weeks of preparation and “unusual” days of visiting and celebrations. I love the time I get to spend with my daughter who has gone back to college now, and with my son who is nearing the end of his high school days. I know it won’t be long until he has left to follow his dreams, too. 

With a fresh year ahead, it’s the perfect time to take action on your own dreams. To do that, you need to step outside of your comfort zone; this is something you’ll have to do again and again. 

What Your Comfort Zone Is

I think most people imagine their comfort zone as a safe circle around them, where everything is predictable and cozy that doesn’t change. Surprise! Your comfort zone isn’t set in stone. It’s an artificial mental boundary that allows you to function in your daily life without anxiety or fear. It’...

 As I look back over the past twelve months, one of the things I’m most proud of in my business is how consistent I was with my podcast and blog. Despite vacations, my son’s bike racing, and everyday life “interruptions”, I made the time to create new content to help you stay consistent and create your own version of an Extraordinary Life. Below are the top five podcasts and blogs that people enjoyed the most; surprisingly, my very first podcast ever captured the #2 spot! I hope you’ll enjoy revisiting some of my favorites, to help set yourself up for a great year ahead. 

#1: Episode 30: Always Growing - An Interview with Artist Tina Short

In today’s episode, I interview Tina Short, an artist living her version of an extraordinary life. Through parenting twin boys, divorce, and finding her path as an artist, she’s come up against many obstacles. Yet through it all, she’s stayed committed to growing and staying true to herself. 

In this inspiring interview, we chat about following ...

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The end of the year is on the horizon, and with it comes the new one. Whether you make resolutions or not, it is still a time when most people think about being motivated and actively working on their goals. It’s always easy to motivate yourself in the beginning when something is new and exciting, but when you're in a slump? Not so much. If you’re ready to break free of the doldrums, keep reading for ways to motivate yourself out of a slump.

What Motivates You?

The first thing to consider when you find yourself with the blahs, is what usually motivates you? Part of your answer will be your “why”. If your “why” is strong enough and you can reconnect to it, it might just be enough to jumpstart you again. If not, it’s time to go deeper. Let’s talk about the types of motivation you can use to propel you forward again. 

Types of Motivation

There are two types of motivation: extrinsic (external) and intrinsic (internal). This can be helpful not o...

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I’ve been talking a lot about breaking out of your comfort zone to achieve your goals and dreams. Today, I’m tackling another way to get up and get going: self-discipline. Without self-discipline, it’s easy to get distracted from your goals and just coast through life. That may be fine for a little while, but coasting won’t take you where you want to go. Success takes commitment, and to stay committed, you need self-discipline. 

Self-discipline is something I’ve been working on again lately. You may remember back in May, I tried the 75 Hard Challenge and only made it about halfway. I had all kinds of excuses to stop because the road to success is full of temptations and distractions. I was keeping up with things like my podcast and blog, but not doing some of the other things I knew I should have been doing to move my business forward so I can help more people. So, back to what I know works to be disciplined about my goals. 

4 Ways to Be More...