Month: September 2020

General, Healthy Habits, Mindfulness

Define Your Values

Corie Muldoon


Define what your pushing and pulling motivators are: what is pulling you, and what is pushing you to achieve a specific goal?

These motivators, aka values, are what we base our daily decisions off of.

Sometimes our pushing and pulling motivators conflict, like…

‘I don’t want to be uncomfortable’ (push)…

And ‘I want to be successful’ (pull).

However without being uncomfortable… it’s difficult to achieve success.

See the conflict in values here?

Going with the example above, if we are faced with the decision to call someone who could help us…

If we choose not to call because we don’t want to be uncomfortable…

We are valuing the comfort more than the success.

Changing Values

When we want to change a value because it’s no longer serving us…

We use the reframing technique.

Reframing is like rescripting the dialog that your mind creates and repeats over and over again.

Sooo, let’s write a new dialog!

Instead of ‘I don’t want to be uncomfortable’…

Let’s say ‘every time I am uncomfortable, I am that much closer to success.’

Anytime we hear that old mental dialog, replace it with the new.

Think of it as often you as need to.

Repeat this reframing process with all the values you want to change.

Remember that your values need a ton of attention…

But when you put in the hard work to change them…

They will help you make better life decisions. Totally worth it.

So sit down. Think. What are my values? What am I basing my decisions on?

Reframe your values and stick them on your wall as a constant reminder of the standards you set for yourself.

If you’re curious…

Here are some of my values and what they mean to me…

  • ETHICS: always do what’s right & just
  • HONESTY: be truthful & transparent
  • INTEGRITY: do what I said I’ll do
  • KINDNESS: create positive ripples
  • RESPECT: treat all things with love
  • SIMPLICITY: make the complex simple


Hope this brought some insight!

Remember that we have the power to choose our values.

It’s equally important that we voluntarily choose values for ourselves…

Because they [values] are what we base our daily decisions off of.

And as you know, you’re either running on auto-pilot or making conscious decisions…

Choosing our own values paves the way for our reactions and behaviors.

Happy choosing!
x Corie

General, Mindfulness

Lifestyle by Design

Corie Muldoon

Living a lifestyle by design: consciously planning your life around specific goals you set out for. These goals give you the opportunity to control your time, energy, relationships, and experiences.

One thing I’ve picked up over the years is the truth that us humans have the ability to create our own lives- whatever we desire we can make happen…

We decide on how to think.

We decide on how to respond.

We imagine, plan, and execute on goals.

To sum it up: we control our circle of influence.

Below are some tips & action items (in question form) on how to control your circle of influence to create a lifestyle by design:

Create, review, and update your plan frequently.

Choose a few life categories and write them down in separate columns…

  • What’s your immediate next goal for each life category?
  • Write in why you want to achieve that goal and what success look like in each.
  • Lastly, write out the next couple of steps to make these goals a reality.

Review these goals weekly, updating your plan of attack as you go. You’ll also benefit from reviewing your goals anytime you have a big decision to make.

Learn how to use your time wisely.

After you define which activities are going to get you to your goal, of those…

  • What do you enjoy doing?
  • What must you and only you do?
  • What do you loathe doing?
  • What can you delegate out?
  • What can you automate?
  • How can you make things more efficient?
  • What can you eliminate completely and all together?

Ask more questions before making big decisions.

Before making a big decision that may shift your focus completely off of your current goals:

  • Is this going to get you to your goals?
  • Does this make sense?
  • Do you agree? Why?
  • If not, why don’t you agree?
  • What’s the outcome for each option?
  • Pros and cons?

Think it through before committing your time and energy.

You have the choice whether you commit to something or not- it’s your time and energy someone is asking for.

  • Can you take on more right now?
  • Are you the person to do this or can someone else do it?
  • Does this make you happy?

Say no to people and places that don’t align with your goals.

It’s perfectly okay to say no to an invitation, in fact we all could benefit from saying it more often!

  • Will going out set you back in any areas?
  • Should you go knowing you’ll feel emotionally exhausted for days after?
  • Will this fulfill you and bring you joy?

Place personal development at the top of your priority list.

  • How much do you currently devote to getting better?
  • Are you reading something that will positively impact one of your goals in life?
  • Are you taking action on what you’re learning?
  • Are you eating what’s good for you, exercising regularly, and meditating daily?
  • Are you voluntarily placing positive thoughts into your mind?
  • Are you peeling back the onion to change your old patterns and behaviors to create new ones?

Meet and maintain relationships with people who are on your level, and those who are 10x of where you are.

  • Who should you connect to more often?
  • Who are the people that will help you achieve your goals?
  • Who do you vibe with the most?
  • Who brings you the most happiness?
  • What type of people are you looking to attract into your life?
  • How are you going to build last relationships?

Become financially literate on how to make money and make it grow.

  • Are you handling your money properly?
  • Is there a better way to track what your spending and earning?
  • How are you going to learn more about finances and the options you have to grow wealth?
  • What do the wealthy do with their money that you’re not currently doing?

Experience new things as often as possible.

  • Are you taking time to reset?
  • Are you switching your routines up to keep your mind growing?
  • Do you challenge yourself to do the inner work in uncomfortable or unideal situations?
  • Do you set aside time to explore new places, see new things, meet new people?
  • What have you always wanted to do but haven’t done yet?


After going through these questions, I hope that you have gained some personal insight and feel confident to take control over your circle of influence!

What has been your biggest take-away?
Comment below!

x Corie

Healthy Habits

Speaking Up

Corie Muldoon

Finding the power to speak up.

Ever find yourself in a situation where you were torn between saying something to someone or not?

It’s like instant tension between I should and nah I shouldn’t…

Why is it that we hold ourselves back from speaking up?

Whether it’s speaking up on an idea, complimenting someone, cracking a joke or smile- why is there a part of us that doesn’t want us to branch out the way we would like to?

Is it because we’re self conscious? Is it because we’ve gotten shut down before? Are we replaying a negative story in our head that is holding us back?

Anytime I feel the urge to stay quiet and comfortable when I have the opportunity to stand out, I push myself to shift the focus on what I truly want:

  • To spread kindness
  • To learn from others
  • To share with others

So to avoid the hesitation, I shift the focus onto other people…

  • How are they?
  • What do they do?
  • What’s a lesson they could share?
  • How are they processing the situation?
  • What are their thoughts?
  • Why do they think that way?

Simply asking questions and being genuinely interested in them.

And as with any habit, the more often we speak up when we want to the easier it will become.

It’ll become routine.

It’s a great way to build confidence and enhance the relationships around you.

Growing up, I wasn’t someone who was outspoken.

I wouldn’t just strike up a conversation with anyone.

I barely made eye contact when I was out and rarely said anything other than please and thank you to strangers.

As I started speaking up more and taking action on the urges to branch out, I found that I feel much more connected with the world around me.

My career is people oriented and this technique has brought me into some meaningful conversations while I’m out.

I smile. I make the eye contact. I stay engaged and fully, genuinely interested.

It’s super simple stuff: connecting with the people around you is how you spread kindness and joy, which in turn brings you your own joy and happiness!

x Corie

Mindset

How your thoughts are affecting your life…

Corie Muldoon

Glass half full or half empty?

Frame of mind. How you view the situation.

A challenge comes up…

Do you see it as a burden and something that is messing up your schedule and day?

Or do you see it as an opportunity to take a breather and be in the moment to learn something new that will benefit you long term?

Someone has a different view point than you…

Do you find them incompetent and not worth the time to hear?

Or do you find value in their experience and see the conversation as an opportunity to grow and work on your skills?

When you think about success…

Do you feel angry for you were not blessed with a “better/ easier” life?

Or do you feel grateful that we all are capable of personal development, growth and change?

How we view the situation at hand can really impact the experiences we have during our lifetime. It’s no secret that our choices are the sole reason for both our happiness and unhappiness.

How we decide to act and respond goes hand in hand with what we receive back from the world.

It’s really no wonder why negative is met with more negative, and positive with more positive.

We attract what we send out.

Lessons via the Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday

Be the casual, relaxed person in every situation who tells everyone else to take a breath and not to worry. Don’t be the agitator, the paranoid, the worrier, or the irrational. Be the calm, not the liability. And it will catch on.

Sticking with the same unsuccessful pattern is easy. It doesn’t take any thought or any additional effort, which is probably why most people do it.

If you want to change, choose to learn from your failures and consciously opt to do things differently: to tweak and change until we actually get the results we’re after.

At the very core, people want freedom, happiness, and respect from their peers. These are simple and straightforward to acquire: through our choices.

The Power of Positive Thinking

The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale is a powerful resource I use in my self healing practice.

Peale addresses real life issues that we all face day in and day out, and the negative thought patterns we all know so well.

He provides practical tools to solving them in our daily lives today.

Overall, his tools and practices have guided my initial thought pattern to focus more on the positive.

I have been able to develop a regular thought pattern of positivity, meaning that I generally expand on the good in the situations that I’m facing.

This benefit alone helps me cope better with stressors since I have found tremendous strength through these positive thinking practices.

There’s no destination, only the journey.

Although it’s constant practice, and I still have so many low moments of doubts and fear, I am always able to bounce back by using the practices taught in Peale’s book. Highly recommended!

x Corie