I wanted to take a moment and express how blessed I feel. As some of you know, I have had a really rough few days and in some ways feel as though I may have hit rock bottom. I am learning so much about myself, my strengths, my weaknesses and my values while I am in Bali. I have been struggling with determining my direction in my business and my life and one thing that Bali will do is truly have you face these questions head on. It is the one place where one cannot blame the weather, the stress, pissed off people, high paced life or any other inconvenience for one’s bad mood or sadness. Bali simply is a beautiful place with beautiful, patient people and an amazing array of affordable spa services, raw food and juice bars, yoga studios galore and amazing weather. All of your excuses are stripped away and you are faced with the core of your problem or situation. I have been in Bali for a little over one month and I have experienced a great deal and met some truly inspirational people. What I did not expect was feeling as though I have taken 10 steps backwards in my business.

I became a health coach because I truly believe in the power of whole foods and mindfulness as a vehicle to living a life full of happiness, freedom of choice and vibrancy. I did not fully expect the emotional growth and test that it would put on myself. I have been faced with 100s of opinions on how I should gain more clients, get the word out there and promote myself. It is overwhelming to say the least. I have learned that when I am faced with uncertainty, I become paralyzed. I then start questioning my ability to provide value, I question my passion and worst of all I question my self-worth. My logical side of my brain knows that this thinking is nonsense. I have been passionate about health and wellness for many years. I am a voracious reader and researcher and have read as much as I can get my hands on health, wellness, whole foods, intuitive eating, mindfulness, meditation and financial mindset. For some reason, this all goes out the window when I experience a set back. If I am not careful, I can end up in a negative spiral and get myself in a serious ball of nerves. I reached that point a couple of days ago. I share this with you because I believe that we have all been there in some capacity; however, it is rarely talked about. For those of you who can relate to this, just know that you are not alone. You are not crazy and in many ways, you are feeling your truth and experiencing an amazing breakthrough. I want to share with you what I do to help get myself out of a negative spiral and turn myself back onto the road of forward motion.

1. Look at my list of needs and determine if they have been met. For me, the list is as follows:
   – Water (have I had enough that day)
   – Food (have I eaten in the last few hours)
   – Exercise/yoga (have I done that today)
   – Meditation (have I done at least 10 minutes of meditation)
   – Journaling (have I sat down and just laid all of my complaints/frustrations out on paper)
   – If any of the above has not been completed for the day, I drop everything and make sure that I take care of these core needs. Exercise can be as little as 7 minutes with the 7 minute workout. Meditation can be as little as 10 minutes with 1 Giant Mind app. If you have a bit longer, I love this 30 minute meditation that was first introduced to me by Amanda Daley. These needs can all be met in as little as 30 minutes. There is no reason for me not to get off my butt and do them if I am feeling incredibly low.
2. If I am still feeling anxious, depressed or just plain bad after the above has been done, I check in with myself. What makes me happy? What would make me proud today? This is different for everyone. For me, I realized that I had not knit a stitch since I had set foot in Bali. As many of you know, that is a sure sign of depression right there. I picked up my needles, some yarn and my pattern and set out for a cafe. I found a cafe in the center of Ubud called Mingle. As I got set up, a woman next to me let out a short cry of joy and asked what I was making. I looked over and she had a crochet project with several colors of yarn on the table. We ended up sitting next to one another for several hours and had our own Balinese Stitch ’N Bitch.
   

   Bali Stitch ‘N Bitch

3. Still feeling the blues? Think of something else that just lets your mind wander. Maybe it is a TV show, a good book, a walk in the park. Choose something that will allow your brain to rest. For me at this moment, I knew that some juicy TV drama would do the trick. I decided to go to Hubud (a co-working space) and download a couple of episodes of Humans and brought them back to my villa. I set up myself with my knitting and some tea and watched an episode and let my brain completely wander. I got throughly sucked into the show. **Disclaimer – I am now harping on getting back to Hubud to download more episodes. Choose your show carefully. 😉
4. If all else fails, be grateful for this feeling and just let it be. Give it attention. Focus on how the anxiety feels, looks and where it is in your body. Close your eyes and just focus on it. Caress it. Give it love. Be happy for where you are. Be grateful for what you have. But never settle for where you are. It will pass and you will be a better version of yourself.

I am now sitting in Clear Cafe overlooking an amazing jungle view and smells of incense is gently wafting through the air. After many days of tears, angst, anxiety and frustration I finally am beginning to feel myself move forward. I can truly be grateful of my amazing fortune to be sitting in this cafe and being able to write this blog post. I know that I will hit another roadblock as all of us do, but I am hoping that I will now have this blog post to remind myself what action steps to take so that I can allow my body to process, breathe, heal and continue to move forward.

Clear Cafe View

I hope that this helps someone out there who may be hurting, frustrated, stressed or just sad. You are not alone. Take my hand and lets get you back on the road towards happiness and success. We all deserve it. Much love to you all.

xo, Amber

PS – stay tuned for an update on the direction that I am going as I continue to discover how I can best add value to my clients, fellow entrepreneurs and you, my dear readers. I am super excited about where this beautiful life is taking me and I hope that you will join me on this adventure. <3