Happy Easter Sunday! This holy Easter Sunday, we use the theme of resurrection to revive a project or goal, and to instill hope for a better future, grateful for those who had to sacrifice something before, for us to live as well as we do here and now.

What is a resurrection? We know that Jesus died on the cross and rose on the third day, taking on our sins and became the son of God. It tells us that death isn’t always final, whether to live on spiritually or how we continue to make an impact after our passing on earth. In Jesus case, this means to walk in his footsteps by showing tolerance and compassion. Then we must ask ourselves: Which kind of legacy would you like to leave behind or to lead the next generation with? I think most people think of what they leave behind, after coming of age or seeing a loved one pass away. 

The collective evolution is the sum of all those who have lived before us and what they have created. Life is sustained by our developments that the next generation continue to use and develop more. Take a moment and acknowledge your gratitude for those who have invented something you use every day, like those who have built in electricity into our homes and offices, as well as manufactured phones and laptops that we nowadays almost take for granted to have. I’m so old that I remember using a typewriter first. My dad, who is an author, had first a regular mechanical and then an electric. I got my own first typewriter at the age of ten, when I published my first little paid letter to the editor for a youth page in a daily Swedish newspaper. First time I used a computer, was at a job where I digitalized an entire inventory for a car part firm in my early 20’s. While we might sit in front of our screens too much sometimes, it certainly isn’t something I would like to live without. Would you? Is there something else that is an invention you use daily or often, that you really appreciate? Who made it?

To resurrect something can also mean to reset something or to revive it, which is in line with reusing that is an important aspect of living sustainably. My example is, that I have just recently begun to redo an old exam paper for my Master’s degree in Worklife Science in Sweden. It’s one of those annoying things I’ve been carrying around as a totally un-necessary failure that could have been corrected already more than 20 years ago when I first wrote it, would I have just gotten clear direction about what it needed to improve. I never did then and had been working on it for almost six months, including travelling to do interviews with coaches in New York City, that then was a new profession in Sweden. Perhaps too new and therefore somewhat controversial and suspicious looked upon. The whole institution at my old university got cancelled and there was a lot of humdrums. My focus then, and now, is the dialogue and how this is used differently as a tool for various professions and how the Socratic dialogue is the one to strive for, to enable true personal learning and growth. Now, I’ve received feedback on my old thesis to know what to improve at another university, where I’ve registered and will be focusing on perfecting for the next couple of months. And… *drumroll*! This, I’ve just recently found out, also enables me to become more eligible for one of the categories to apply for a green card to live in the United States, which is something I’ve wanted for a long time! How is that for a goal becoming a reward! So, back to the drawing board, back to reading course literature and writing in an academic manner. I’ve also realized how much I have learned since then, which makes it both easier and more motivating to get my thesis done. Do you have any old projects, plans or ideas that you’d like to revive and resurrect? What is needed to make these happen? What can you restore and develop?

It is when we put in our effort sincerely and like what we’re doing, that we naturally increase our hope for a better tomorrow. We enable it ourselves when we blow more life into our creations and even more so, when we work in community. Together, we find a new purpose or renew an old. What do you need to learn to move forward with your plans and dreams? Who can you learn with? And how can this become your purpose?

And speaking of manifesting. I’ve been missing having a hair clip with a Plumeria flower on it for some time and last week, a cute set of various colors appeared in my local suburban grocery store in Sweden!

To listen to this blogpost as a podcast, find The Source Podcast on Spotify, Apple and Youtube.

Happy Planting Day!  Living in Sweden, means to not only wait for the surface to thaw and become soft, but also the core of the ground 5 feet underneath, where it still can be frozen for a month more. This must be thawed too, for the seeds to be able to grow roots and to hold, if there’s a night or two more of frost. By this we can understand that for us to grow as people, our core must also soften and be open to change. Making superficial changes might not get to the issue, which often is based on our mindset. This is where lifecoaching and inner work comes in. Learning to understand your views on the world and how you’ve formed them, can help you on a deeper level to let go of what no longer serves you and to broaden your perspective.

When it comes to indoor plants, this is also a good time to repot those who have outgrown their pots or seem in need for a bigger space. All of them can at least benefit from a little extra soil on top. Also here there are sustainable alternatives, where you can choose organic soil, with no added chemicals to the mix. And a metaphor often used for pots, is how we live. We too can be seen as little plants living in pots, which we sometimes outgrow or need new energy from others to thrive in. In fact, looking at yourself like a plant can help you understand how to increase your self-care and tend to your needs regularly. How your plants are doing show how you are doing. Are they dry and bristle? Are you dehydrated?

When it comes to our creative projects, it’s therefor easy to use plants as a metaphor too. In fact, when I started my coaching firm Balansfokus in Sweden late 2001, I got help from a student incubator program at Malmö University, called the Greenhouse! 

The idea is the seed. The idea is everything. We can perfect our craft, polish our skills, use the best of resources, but if we don’t have a clear idea, a clear message, that we would like to improve the world with, it’s not really creativity. So, before planting a seed, define which need it will satisfy. What is a problem you’d like to shed some light on, a solution you’d like to see or something you simply like to share?

Then investigate the pot. This is where you’re going to work on this idea and where you’d like it to be shown or sold. The pot can be a studio, or at home on your computer, or in a co-working space with others to collaborate with.

The soil is what you infuse your idea with, such as your knowledge and skills, developed from education and training. What do you need to learn to develop this idea?

Next comes the watering. This can be compared to the hours of work we must invest into our project. How often and how much do you need? How will you sustain yourself meanwhile?

Add a little sunlight. Often some good advice and opinions of others can help you to see what you can improve. The right feedback will enable you to put in the extra effort and make your idea grow into blooming. Who can you ask to take a look?

And then when you think you’re done, it’s time to prune it. Do you really need everything you attached to it? Often, we’re afraid of letting things just be as they are, when in fact it’s rather the opposite. The better the idea, the less need of embellishments and additions. 

Hopefully, you can now get a harvest. After you’ve gone through all the details, such as edited your book, or removed any extras not congruent with your core idea, it’s ready to harvest! When you get paid, or followers, or an audience sees your project on stage, you have harvested recognition.

Whether art or an invention, it’s your true uniqueness that the world needs. Your touch on it, makes the difference.

To learn more about the creative process and get tips on how to get inspired, you can order A book about Creativity on Amazon and Kindle for only 8 dollars or check out the presentation on my YouTube channel for free! In this guidebook, I have compiled a couple of coaching questions to each chapter, so you can apply it directly. 

Everything in life is the result of creativity, including our relationships and our interactions with others, so: Which seeds are your planting this season?

If you’d like to listen to this blogpost as a podcast, you can find The Source Podcast on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.

Photo shows my homegrown avocado.

Happy Spring-Cleaning Day! And St Patrick’s Day, if you celebrate that. Today we’re focusing on making room for spring through some thorough cleaning. Next week is the Spring Equinox, so why not gather your cleaning tools and make your home and your life ready?

There is something very sincere and revealing about the increased sunlight exposing everything in our homes now. Our dark corners, beckoning for our attention to be cleared out, alongside other things. Besides a regular dusting, vacuuming and mopping of your home, there are three areas that I like to include in my spring cleaning at least once a year. I defrost my refrigerator and freezer. I go through my closet. And I clean the windows. These things can be added with a perspective of Feng Shui to them, using their principles to improve our lives with it. 

I defrost my refrigerator and freezer. I take it all out and let all the ice thaw. This feels like a symbolic measure in harmony with how our winter now is thawing away (hopefully!). It makes it possible to make an inventory of what we have and what we would like to have. Maybe make a list joined to your usually grocery shopping, where you write down things you’d like to store in your freezer. Some extra ice-cream, bags of your favorite ready-made meals or even some of your own baked bread?

I go through my closet. I put away my winter jacket and boots and take out my coat for spring. I also like to clean and polish my shoes and make sure I clean all my winter cardigans. This too makes it a good time to go through what you have, what you’d like to keep and what you’d like to renew or add. As a lifecoach, I advocate becoming a personal leader for your life. This includes your wardrobe! To feel put together and prepared can make you feel more confident and ready to go out and socialize more, as well as to seek new job opportunities. No more shopping on a whim or having nothing to wear. Decide beforehand what you’d like to have, look for it online and order your preferred items directly or save the pages for later in an online folder. You might even want to make a Pinterest collection or a mood board with colors and fabrics you yearn for. Fashion is an excellent way to both be practical and creative at the same time. It can also inspire you to try doing new things, if you get the gear necessary and use them!

I clean the windows. Not only is it nice to get some new fresh air into my home after keeping them closed the whole winter season but for a couple of minutes once a week, I literally also wash away any marks of snow and rain which makes the sunlight flooding even greater and my view even prettier. Cleaning the windows can be done with a simple solution of regular dishwashing detergent by hand and warm water that you scrape off in big sweeping motions from corner to corner. You can also use some white vinegar to polish with and a cloth to dry off the windowsills. 

And not surprisingly, our windows not only show us the world outside, but can be seen as symbols for our outlook on life. If you live with a huge wall right outside your window, you might feel obstructed, while a view free of any intrusion and a beautiful horizon like I have from my balcony and my living room, makes my choices feel open and endless, while safe away from the eyes of others. I think this is especially important after having been detained under surveillance cameras during my immigration detention in the United States for almost a year, and of course the regular use of surveillance in society can sometimes make me feel watched in an unwanted way, besides having to deal with a stalker. Looking out the window every morning, makes me feel more present both with the weather and nature and her seasons. When I grew up, I learned an old ritual. Every time we move into a new place, we’re supposed to count the windows before going to sleep. Then it’s said that we’ll dream a true foreboding of what is coming. Whether you believe in that or not, is up to you, but having clean windows for sure make us feel accomplished and shows our home some extra care. 

Then what we place in our windows is said to be the eyes of our home. Do you have some nice potted plants and a set of curtains that frame them as cozy? In Hawaii, the culture teaches that we’re not supposed to have any green plants indoors, to not compete with the beauty outdoors. There, the seasons are different and almost non-existent, so it’s always green all year around. Here in Sweden however, it’s different. Here, having green plants indoors both makes the air fresher to breathe, and provides us with something alive during the dark winter months. We simply become less depressed and feel better with potted plants by the windows and a bouquet of fresh flowers now and then!

So, to conclude: What would you like to store at home? What would you like to wear this spring? How do you perceive the world and your place in it from the perspective of what you see from your windows? And what does this say about your outlook on life?

To listen to this blogpost as a podcast, find The Source Podcast on Apple, Spotify and YouTube.

Happy International Women’s Day! Women have been treated lesser than men for centuries, even though we’re the gender capable of carrying a life in our wombs and giving birth. And even though, all men have needed their mother to love them. While I don’t mind that men take the fight for security instead of me, that we should be treated as equally worthy, shouldn’t even have to be an issue nowadays! But, instead of going on and on about how awful it has been and how much women have had to sacrifice in their pursuit of a career, in addition to keeping up their womanhood and beauty, I’m going to focus on the importance of sisterhood. After all, if we can’t show one another support and compassion, how could we ever teach men to?

Sisterhood to me, is to have in mind that the women around us, especially those we might be in a conflict with or don’t know so well, have too been discriminated against and treated poorly just like ourselves, or even worse. There is something sacred about recognizing our inherent worth as women together, without the competition, envy and gossip. It can feel so much more offensive, when a woman goes against another woman. A man might not know better or understand better or simply even be a lost cause (although I don’t really want to believe that), or just insecure about how to deal with his and our sexual desire. But that a fellow woman can’t respect another’s right to get her needs met, and be treated with dignity and respect, can only be because of two reasons. Either, she is more oppressed than you are, more institutionalized in the manner of taking on men’s bad ways of treating women and internalizing these ways into her own, becoming taught to, without awareness and discernment. Or, she is being evil. 

It’s so sad and annoying when women keep comparing themselves to others’ looks. I used to be a very skinny woman. My entire life, I’ve had to struggle to gain weight and could eat whatever I wanted and when, without ever, any of it showing. Meanwhile, many of my friends, and a fellow dancer in my early 20’s especially, would go through my cupboard and fridge in the kitchen to check what I was eating, while she struggled with bulimia thinking she could gain fellowship in gulping down package after package of ice-cream before forcing it up again. I would never. Outwardly, she was beautiful as a doll, with curly long hair and the perfect shape of her breasts and waist. She danced with both a charisma and a groove of her own added to the choreographies that she learned in a heartbeat. She always smiled and was friendly. Yet, she told me how much she hated herself and wanted to learn my secret… We watched the movie Thelma and Louise together, smiling towards one another when she drove me home afterwards. While I wish nothing but the best for her, our friendship ended, because in a way I was also envious of her, even though I knew it was partly a fake persona. I too wanted to be able to dance as well as she did, and not to mention to look like her. But was it then friendship, if we both were just envious of each other?

Fast forward some years, and I found myself in a much better position with girlfriends from various circles, rather than just hanging in one. This way, I had some from my teenage years, some friends from my time in advertising, and some from my university education later on. While there were certainly an element of competition among us sometimes, both in regard to men and to jobs, at least we were more colleagues than foes. I began to enjoy spending time more with those complimenting me with their knowledge and personalities, rather than just being with women who are more like me. I think we need both.

But, it wasn’t until I was living in Hawai’i, I really experienced sisterhood. Being detained for almost a year in a federal detention center among mostly regular Americans, that is, regular Hawaiians, in Honolulu, gave me respite and the position to both be helped and help others on their healing and personal growth journeys. By sharing our vulnerabilities in how we got to this place and why, we could develop a sincere compassion and respect. That doesn’t mean that we always agreed, or that there weren’t conflicts and fights, but no wonder in such closed quarters. We all were able to ask one another for forgiveness and to move on, as our masks peeled away. There is nothing stronger than when a woman stands up for another woman, against men. Here through, our bonds can solidify.

Perhaps, this is why I can’t stand the superficialities of Sweden any longer, where popularity and fame seem to drive everyone to be fearful of the ones who have more, rather than developing their own confidence and heart. Nobody daring to get to know someone for real. Then they miss out on the very core of the matter: The deeper the secrets we share, the deeper we can love. So, share!

Luckily, these dramas were also something Isadora Duncan understood and lived through, so now I can instead dance them. And we can of course look to find a woman that can be a good role model instead. When I grew up, I found that my step grandmother Hanna, was how I’d like to be. That is why I named myself Hannah, after her, who couldn’t conceive. My grandmother, who was my grandfather’s second wife, could turn any dish into a gourmet meal, saw and knit clothes that lasted for generations and made the best of raspberry jam! She also really cared for my grandfather, cared about me, and cared to look her best for us. What are some women qualities that you’d like to develop or already feel that you have and can be proud of? Who has been a female role model for you? Who is a woman you can honor?

Happy Last day of February! Today, I’m going to offer you a theme of respecting time. And life! Here are two questions to work with for your personal growth and seeking of purpose.

We all know that February is the shortest month of the year with its only 28 days according to the Gregorian calendar. This was created in order to ensure an even count of sunlight days and moon risings, that aren’t exactly 24 hours every day, which therefor becomes a 29^th day every four years. The next time we have such a day extra, will be in 2028, but I thought we could use this as a life coaching theme anyway today too. So, the first question is: What would you do if you had a day extra? A day extra, where you don’t have anything planned that you must tend to. Most of us, either must follow our schedules of work or school, or simply go about our days pretty much the same way anyway. In one way, this is good, because at the end of the day, the calendar is something man-made, that we need to function together in society and to sync ourselves with each other, to manage our trade and living. On the other hand, if we must live according to this calendar in the Western world, we might as well take advantage of it! So, what do you long for to do? Start by dreaming without limits. If you had all the resources available to you, what would you like to do? What is the feeling in this that you’re seeking to experience? What other things can bring about this feeling? What can you do with lesser resources? Dreaming like this, can help us expand our minds and open us up for receiving more or at least feel more inspired. Is there something you haven’t done for a long time, such as visited a museum in your own town, or snuck into a movie theatre in the middle of the afternoon? When can you do it?

The other way of looking at a short month like February, is to remember the fragility of life. We don’t know how many days we have left to live. Or how many days our loved ones have. On occasion, especially when I feel stuck, I like asking myself the question: What would I do if I only had three months left to live? What would you do if you only had three months left to live? This of course, is not exactly reasonable if you’re severely ill and can’t do much but rest, hope and pray. But the point isn’t to stress people dealing with life-threatening illnesses, but for us who don’t struggle with it at the moment, to always remember to respect and cherish both our own time on earth, and others’. 

So, after you’ve spent some time asking yourself what you would do if you only had three months left to live and therethrough realizing what is most important to you or what you really long for, that you should try doing as soon as possible, you can also think of how you relate to others. Are you respectful of other’s time on earth? Are you delaying, stalling, obstructing, hindering or even refusing closure with someone who needs it? And therethrough stopping that person from living a fulfilling life his or her last days? Who are you to do that? 

Here of course, it’s important to practice forgiveness, to see where you hold any grudges that you don’t want to carry anymore. To let go of them, forgive yourself and others, and ask to be forgiven as well.

It was when I asked myself the question what I would do if I only had three months left to live in 2008, that I felt my heart clearly say to go back to Hawai’i and see the people there again that I had gotten to know in 2004 and 2005. And what do you know, life offered me an unexpected opportunity to return a year later, which I did! Often, we’re walking on a path governed by “best practices” of the intellectual and logical kind, to be obeying citizens or obeying children still to our parents even if we have grown up and they might not have had our interests prioritized anyway. When the path where magic happens, is the path of the heart! Dare to tune into yours. Write it down in a journal or say a prayer to God or Universe. Then see what happens! You might get suddenly inspired to do something that will lead you toward your heart’s deepest longing. Have you tried?

Happy Global Change Management Day! It’s said that the only constant is change. And the sooner we learn to roll with it, the sooner we can learn to accept and embrace our own evolution through the changes we are undergoing. It might not always be so easy, but if we start by acknowledging that change always happen, just like the seasons always change, we can be more prepared and welcoming. This is the key to letting go of some of the resistance and make the change go smoother.

We can divide changes into either changing something we do into something else, or changing how we do things. We can also divide changes into those imposed by others and those we take initiative to do ourselves. When others, whether our bosses at work, our teachers or parents or any other authority figure, demand us to change, the most natural and common way to react is by resistance. The way to deal with both your own resistance and others’, is to understand why the change is needed and what you can get from it. If you’d like to be more in control, see the change initiative as something necessary and turn it into your own project by offering ideas on how you can do it.

A simple example is this: You want your child to keep his or her room cleaner and tidier, at least once a week. Instead of refusing and getting upset at being told to, offer him or her the reins and ask what they can do differently that can help themselves. Can you offer more places for storage? Can you allow them to re-arrange their furniture? Can they make it a habit to hang in their clothes every evening and only take out those they’re going to wear the next day and get to decide that themselves? How will this make them feel? If you know that you’re going to nag on your child every Saturday, encourage him or her to take control and do it on Friday afternoon instead, perhaps with a little reward after. When we take control of a change, we feel more powerful and confident, and lessen resistance. Enable others to feel more empowered thus, help us get the change underway too.

Now, take this example into the workplace. Let’s say that your boss wants you to implement a new IT-system where your documents and cases will be filed every Tuesday after a mandatory meeting on Monday morning. Instead of procrastinating and becoming stressed out at the end of your workday Monday, take a pro-active approach by asking what the benefits are for the company with this new system. How is it better for the environment? Then it will be easier for you to understand your own part in it and how you can contribute to more efficiency, something that will make you into a more valuable asset, if you too become more efficient. If this for example enables you to handle more clients or gain better oversight over them you already have, you can enable the company to increase their quality and make more money. By keeping track of this on your own, you will have a good case for negotiating your salary 6 months or a year from now. And the thing you can do to alleviate your own stress, is to file those documents already Friday afternoon instead. That will free up your time and even allow you to help others too.

Regardless of the kind of change that is needed, understanding why it’s called for, what its purpose is, and what the desired result will be, enable you to better follow along, as well as to see how you can come up with ideas yourself for improvement. Perhaps you see a solution not tried yet, that you can propose for the management? Can you try it out with a co-worker first and then get your whole department on board? When we see change as something that will have a positive outcome, whether that is to learn a new set of skills and perform better, or even to see why you might need to change your job instead or even your profession entirely, becoming a change leader, is the sure way of working with your own best interest at heart first and foremost, and then others second. And the better you feel, the better you will be at relating, working and performing. Take charge of the change!

If the change requires you to change your way, your approach and even your mindset so that you grow in your identity, it’s called a transformation. If the change is about doing what you already are doing but better and faster, it’s called an improvement. When you make an actual exchange, it’s called a change.

To get yourself into balance and to support your journey towards your goals, that always includes making changes, whether your habits, where you live or who you work with, consider working with a professional coach. He or she can help you clarify the steps you need to take and hold you accountable for taking them, with support.

If you’d like to make some changes in your business, don’t hesitate to contact a Change Management consultant or a Business coach to see how they can help you. 

To listen at this post as a podcast, click here.

Happy 5 Rhythms Day! This blogpost is dedicated to Gabrielle Roth who founded the dance style and movement practice, called 5 rhythms.

Gabrielle was born on February the 4^th 1941 in San Francisco. After growing up with anorexia and depression, she took to dancing to trance music and lived in Europe, where she also practiced yoga. After she had hurt her knee both skiing in Germany and in an African dance class, she realized contrary to her doctor’s predictions that her knee healed through dancing. Through experimental theatre in New York City and through developing her own understanding of her healing process within Gestalt therapy and various philosophies, she came up with the five rhythms: Flowing, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical and Stillness that she started teaching. With her own band called “The Mirrors” she made her own music to dance to, while guiding the dancers through these five rhythms. Each rhythm corresponds to a way of relating to the world, a season of our life, and a natural element, like Chinese Medicine, but not exactly the same. Together they become a soul journey into understanding and aligning our innate powers.

The rhythm Flowing is the beginning of our life cycle and considered Birth, Being and focused on our Body. It deals with the feeling of fear and the natural element of Earth.

The rhythm Staccato is our Childhood, dealing with Anger but becoming Loving as a way to perceive ourselves in the world, with a focus on our Heart and the element of Fire.

The rhythm Chaos corresponds to our life season of Puberty where we deal with Sadness and become Knowing. Chaos is connected to our Mind and the element of Water, according to Gabrielle Roth.

The rhythm Lyrical is our Maturity, where we are in a state of Seeing and feeling Joy with our Soul, in the element of Air.

And the rhythm Stillness is the Death where we have found Compassion and Healing, realizing our Spirit in the Ether.

When it comes to aligning the natural elements with our seasons of life, it’s all a matter of perception and understanding. In Chinese Medicine, the elements don’t contain Ether or Air but Metal and Wood instead. One can argue that it’s a matter of process and alchemy, besides definitions of what can be perceived but not seen. To me, the element of Air would correspond to our Spirit, as in becoming inspired, while Chinese Medicine thinks it is present in every natural element and Gabrielle Roth thinks it’s in the Ether. Regardless, it’s a call to remember how we too are part of nature on various levels.

By dancing to the 5 rhythms, we become more conscious of our body’s cues and how we feel by exploring how we can move it differently together with the music and through this experience different sensations. We do this by exploring small and big motions, upward reaching or down on the floor, by focusing on various parts of our bodies and letting it speak through these motions. All makes us more grounded individuals, more whole, and with a unity of body and spirit. We’re putting our body in motion in order to still our mind. To Gabrielle Roth, dancing was always joined with an awareness of our spirit, inspired by Shamanism and a way to find ecstasy or a meditative state resembling trance. A way to sweat our prayers.

To dance through the five rhythms Flowing, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical and Stillness is referred to as a wave and takes about an hour in a practice. She called dancing these rhythms a wave to recognize that everything in nature can be perceived in patterns, waves and rhythms, that she translated into movement. The music enables us to let it move our bodies, to let ourselves be moved. Relaxing, letting go, and finding ourselves again.

I personally, have found a sense of liberation like what Gabrielle has described, through clubbing a lot when I was younger to house and trance music, besides practicing West African dance and Ecstatic dance. These dance styles enable us to break through the more rigid practices of traditional choreography and let us explore ways of improvising that can become different, different days, taking our emotions into our body and releasing them and any tensions, or simply letting our mood for the day inspire our movement and then transforming it back into bliss. I have too, hurt my knee in my early 20’s and have too, been told back then that I would never be able to dance professionally again. Now I’m 55, and I’m still practicing various dance styles!

If you’d like to experience dancing the 5 rhythms and learn more, they are practiced worldwide and can be found through their website 5rhythms.com.

To listen to this blogpost as a podcast, click here.

Happy International LEGO Day!

Do you remember playing with LEGO when you were a little girl or boy? What did you like building? The plastic building bricks in different colors and sizes, that constitute LEGO, hold an infinite possibility. You can build something high rising or something big horizontally. And just like with life, sometimes we can build something already designed with an instruction how to make it. Or we can choose to make up what we like to build either beforehand, or as we go, making it our own design. You can use the same color or a mix of different; you can begin doing one side in one color and then another side in another or change as you go. And if you’re not satisfied, you can just take them apart and try again in a different way.

Now, take your inner child by the hand and apply building with LEGO to your own life. What are you building? How are you building your home, your career, your relationships and your personal life? How would you like it to look? Can you start in one area first? 

And what is it that you’re building your life with? Which are your resources or building bricks? What do you need more of? Money? Time? Education or special skills? Please note, that often we need lots of pieces to build something. These pieces can either be something we collect ourselves, or pieces coming from many people. What if you look at your followers on social media like pieces of LEGO? What are they all helping you to build? 

Another way of looking at our lives as something we build, is by applying the Hierarchy of Needs as defined by Abraham Maslow. This American psychologist did his research in the 1950’s and came with the conclusion that our needs must be satisfied in a certain order, for us to be able to climb upwards towards self-actualization. In other words, our basic needs constitute the foundation of ourselves, followed by belonging to a group and meeting career goals taking us up another level. If you don’t have the foundation properly set, the rest of your building risk collapsing, just like with your health and bricks of LEGO. If you don’t sleep and eat properly in a safe home, you won’t be able to perform as well on the job, be a good friend and partner and not be as creative and expressive. 

Likewise, our building bricks can be used to improve something. Most regular LEGO-builders, put in time and effort to make replicas of things, tending to each small detail with utmost precision. Which are the details in your life design you need to tend to? 

Start by using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to build your foundation: 

What are you eating and how is it prepared? When are you eating? How much water do you drink daily?

Where are you sleeping and for how long? 

How are you living? Do you feel safe here?

Who do you spend most of your time with? Are these the people you prefer to have around you? Could these relationships become improved? What is missing and what can to be rebuilt?

What do you do for a living? Are there any new skills you’d like to learn? Is your job satisfying? Which traits are your career built on?

When do you make time for art, whether consuming or expressing yourself with? How can you build a sustainable art practice? 

And who are you in all this? Are you a builder, a planner, a designer, a repair man or someone who keeps things organized and stored for others to use? Which pieces need to be kept, and which can be let go of?

Then it’s time to look at the environmental aspect. Are you building your life in a sustainable way? Sustainability is to make sure that we don’t waste, and that our endeavors last over time for the next generations. For a sustainable life design, you might want to ensure that you don’t burn out and that your foundation is strong to not tip over. What does this entail for you specifically? Is there something in your schedule that could become improved and changed into becoming more long lasting and sustainable?

As a bonus, what if the actual LEGO bricks were made of for example wood instead? Wouldn’t that be more sustainable than plastic? Or do you know of any other material that can be used instead, such as seaweed or even orange peels? Nonetheless, there is both ingenuity, concentration and fine motor skills to be practiced if you decide to play with LEGO for real again. Do you have any laying in your basement, or could you do something together with your own children today?

If you’d like to explore what to build in your life and how, together with others, you can do so in a sacred circle or coaching group, or directly one-on-one with a life coach. Find one in your area or book a meeting on Zoom. To book a life coaching session with me, send an email to hannah@telluselleliving.com

To listen to this blogpost as a podcast, you can click here.

Here in Stockholm, Sweden, where I currently live, most days of January have been gloomy and cloudy, with little to no sun in sight. Add to that, lots of snowing and sometimes blizzards. And while the great storm approaching on the horizon for the United States isn’t heading this way, at least yet, it becomes a good reminder of the powers inherent in nature. It’s easy to feel distraught when others are abusing their power. Then remembering that they too are under the powers of nature, brings a little comfort.

The same goes for ourselves too. To keep ourselves in check and not become neither too boastful, nor too demanding, keeping nature’s power in mind, enable us to be more humble.

It’s these powers that can be perceived so clearly in Hawai’i through the volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and earthquakes, that became the foundation for believing in gods and goddesses, named after the same. They made them into figures, seen upon with both awe and fear, to celebrate and to coerce with offerings of gifts, chants and dances, to create a dialogue with the natural elements themselves. And with God as the ultimate higher power.

Just imagine, the immense force behind every transformation that nature undergoes between seasons, storms and various cycles. And the entire evolution. That certainly is a power to be reckoned with!

To live in balance with nature requires us to always be aware of and flexible to adjust our lives accordingly. It’s the one thing that everybody on the planet needs to. Therefore, it should be much easier to unite all as one, if the authorities kept this in mind. If we all keep this in mind.

Under the powers of nature, we’re all equals.

In the wake of escalating violence by ICE in the United States and the upcoming commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday, what better opportunity than to take a moment and ponder about how you wish society would look like! To visualise how we want our life to be, is to make a vision.

Start by picturing the world, the city you live in or simply your life with an overview. Then describe it in words by writing it down, make a vision board or collage, or even a drawing. We’re used to thinking of how we wish our lives would look like, but not many of us regularly think of in detail how we wish the world would look like. Why don’t you?

Imagine how you would live together with others. Imagine how society would function and how we would relate and interact. Imagine the houses we live in. Imagine how things are handled, how we buy or sell – can we for example go back to trading goods and services locally instead? What do you prefer? What is your contribution if you could choose freely? And how do we create a more sustainable society – for the environment, for our own health and for future generations to come?

Could we come together in groups and let the groups create such a vision? What do we dream of collectively? What does that require from us to make it come true?

Creating a vision is what drives successful leaders towards fulfilling it through their inventions. You can start by making one for your own life.

To get more inspired, have a listen to this week’s podcast, also available on Spotify and Apple:

Whether you’re someone who is driven by excitement and curiosity, and like delving into the unknown, or someone who is more comfortable with playing it safe and seeing a predictable outcome, contemplating what your decision can lead to, is an important aspect to consider. This is especially important to remember when you’re approached with a suggestion from someone else, whether for socialising or for a job-offer. It might not be what you were looking for, but what if this could lead you to something better, eventually?

This is often the case with work. On each job, there are skills to be learned and practiced. Skills that aren’t necessarily tied to a certain occupation or position, but rather something you can use in other situations or places too. Things like holding a presentation, the way we do in class for a group project while we’re studying, can for example be used when we’re asked to give a presentation on the job for a client, or even when giving a professional talk. Having performed plays, singing and dancing on stage, is another example where those skills come in handy too. Take a moment to acknowledge which these skills are and what you need to learn more of, with your own examples from your resumé and life. What led you forward and what became the consequences?

Similarly, this can also be applied to getting to know new people. You never know if someone will develop into becoming a really good friend or partner, or if that person might become an important contact for job seeking or for other valuable references. The same is true for you, maybe you are important to meet for someone else! Maybe you can share a piece of knowledge that is really valuable and needed. We all need each other to solve our problems.

In either case, approaching your choices and decisions with a positive attitude of discovery, will make it more fun to accept and try.

For next year, I’ve outlined a plan for my social media for Telluselle Living, like most marketers do. I’ve chosen fun days we celebrate as a theme, that together with the season’s element according to Chinese Medicine, will be the topic for my life coaching blog here, with one or a couple central questions. Like before, I aim to post something at least once a week, with some extras.

Making a plan for the whole year, provides stability and a sure way to be creating, rather than only reacting to world and life events, or on occasional inspiration. Next year, will show more of what Telluselle Living is, as a concept. And I hope to be able to make a podcast too!