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Julie Leonard Life Coach

Helping you live to your full potential.

Spread a Little Kindness

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I love this time of the year! The sparkle of Christmas lights on the tree, the Glühwein, the Christmas Markets, holiday movies and Christmas songs. I love the traditions that I have grown up with, as well as the ones that I have created: putting up my Christmas tree on the 1st, stockings hung up on the fireplace, a carrot and a mince pie left out for Santa and his reindeer, presents on Christmas morning, and watching It’s A Wonderful Life with my girlfriends.

And as much as I enjoy all of this, another tradition I started a few years back is to host an annual Random Acts of Kindness Advent Calendar. It is a fun and easy way to embrace the spirit of giving and to spread some love and kindness during the holiday season.

As you know, my big passion is happiness, and we all take it for granted that being kind is a good thing and makes those we help feel nice. However, there is so much research on why kindness is a powerful tool in our quest for happiness.

[Read more…] about Spread a Little Kindness

How Technology Can Be Good For Our Health

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We try to limit screen time for our 3-year-old, yet he is already navigating my mobile phone with ease, and in less than a minute can change the screen from the Google Docs file I’m working on in my laptop to his favourite show on Netflix. And so I have to accept that technology is playing and will play a large role in his life, whilst still ensuring he uses it in an effective and positive way.

I think I am perhaps just a little bit envious of how easily it comes to him. As a mom who grew up in the ’70s and ’80s, I didn’t see or use a computer until I went to University. And even then, it was only a small room of eight computers and a shared printer (the kind with the stack of paper that had a strip on either side with holes in it that you had to tear off when finished). And it wasn’t until I started working in the mid-’90s that I got my first mobile phone that had only call and SMS functions.

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As a result, I’m not very confident with technology. It takes me a long time to grasp new apps and platforms. And, to be honest, when it comes to my business, I am much more a face-to-face people person than a social media expert, and I’m quite happy to delegate that aspect of my business to others.

However, knowing a little bit about social media and other internet platforms and using them in the right way can have huge benefits for our health. There are some fantastic apps out there that can help support our emotional well-being and happiness.

How To Make Technology Work For You

  1. Be in control of the technology. Platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp are a fantastic way to keep in touch with family and friends, especially as an expat. By limiting your mobile and laptop usage, selecting the applications that bring you benefits and decluttering your technology to include only those that are useful and positive, you become the master of technology, not its servant.
  2. There is a wealth of fantastic apps that can help motivate, encourage and support a healthy lifestyle on a daily basis. Play around and find the ones that you connect with and that support the lifestyle you wish to lead.

Our technological devices need to be our SERVANTS not our MASTERSM Russell Ballard

Here are some of my favourite ones:

Headspace
A subscription based app that provides daily guided meditation designed to help you live more mindfully.

Calm
This app offers meditation, breathing exercises and sleep stories.

Breathe Magazine
I love this magazine. You can subscribe online or visit their website for free access to a wide range of articles.

Pause
A simple and effective interactive app designed to reduce stress and help you to calm down.

Free Relaxing Nature Sounds
A free app offering a range of relaxing sounds of nature.

Breethe
Relax, destress and sleep better in ten minutes with this mindfulness coach app.

Happify
Happify translates the science of happiness into online games and activities you can access from your phone or laptop.

Just One Minute
Incorporating the neuroscience of happiness, this app offers 52 one minute practices that can change your life.

Greater Good In Action
Activities drawn from positive psychology to enhance your life, allowing you to practice things like gratitude, empathy and resilience.

Superbetter
A game to help you build resilience.

With only a few minutes use a day, these apps can really improve your health and well-being. So take control of your technology and use it to your advantage.

This article was originally posted by me at Über Moms.

Decluttering Tips for Busy Moms

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Do you feel overwhelmed by the amount of stuff you have in your house?

You are not alone. The average family home has 27,000 items, so it’s no surprise that many of us feel that we have a clutter problem. Many of us have grown up being told that owning things will make us happy: the latest phone, gadgets, clothes, bags, etc. The result is often the opposite. Clutter has an effect on you physically (how things physically take up space in your home) and emotionally (it can leave you drained and lacking in energy and motivation, with low levels of concentration and feeling more emotional and overwhelmed).

Decluttering Tips for Busy Moms

And clutter often reflects our state of mind. It reminds us of all the things we aren’t dealing with.

Decluttering is more than just having a tidy house. People are now coming around to the idea that less is more: more space, more time, more energy and more happiness. Letting go of the clutter allows us to get on with more important things.

There are many reasons why things often start to pile up and begin to feel out of control.

The good news is that you can regain control. And remain decluttered and organized.

As a busy working mum, I completely understand that finding time to declutter feels impossible. And any free time you might have, you don’t fancy spending cleaning! But once you have completed a major decluttering of your home, you will notice big changes in how you feel and keeping it organized will get a whole lot easier.

Decluttering Tips for Busy Moms

So here are my Top 10 Tips to help you Declutter:

1. Go room to room and write a detailed list of all that needs to be decluttered. This is the list that you can start ticking off as you work through it, motivating you to keep going.
2. Now write a goal plan for what you wish to achieve. Break it down into small tasks such a ‘go through my fridge and remove out of date food and thoroughly clean fridge,’ or ‘sort through all my t-shirts, only keeping the ones I wear and love.’
3. Start with the easiest categories such as food, clothes, and books. These hold less emotional attachment and are easier to sort through. Leave the more sentimental items until the end.
4. Avoid being overwhelmed and use your limited time effectively by planning to declutter in small doses. It is amazing what you can achieve in 15 minutes a day. For example, clean and organize one kitchen shelf per day.

Decluttering Tips for Busy Moms

5. Enlist your children. If they are old enough, encourage your children to participate and give away clothes, books and toys they not longer use to other children who would enjoy them.
6. If this doesn’t work, get the support of your partner to take the kids out or entertain them so that you can sort through things.
7. Even better, have the support of your partner to tackle the decluttering together.
8. Get yourself an accountability partner. Telling someone your goals means that they can keep checking in with you and will keep you motivated.
9. Have fun! Join the Über Moms 30 Day Decluttering Challenge and see if you can remove 465 items in one month. It’s never too late to start!
10. Find a flohmarkt, or post on Facebook or on eBay Kleinanzeigen and sell, sell, sell. Make some money and use it for something you need or a treat.

Decluttering Tips for Busy Moms

Decluttering is an ongoing business, especially if you have kids. Stuff comes into our homes daily. But it does become much easier once you follow my tips and get organized. Then it just becomes regular maintenance. And I promise you: you will find that you have more energy, more freedom, and feel lighter and happier. You may even find that you have more interest in new projects and more headspace to focus on the important things in life.

Happy Decluttering!

This article was originally posted in Über Moms by me.

Why Being a Mompreneur Means You Can Have it All

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Getting back in to the job market after having children and/or moving country can be a daunting prospect. I know this feeling only too well. When you have been out of the job market for a while, you can quickly become deskilled and lose confidence. On a daily basis, I support women who no longer feel confident in anything anymore, don’t feel they have any relevant skills or anything to offer, and don’t have any idea of what they could do for a living. Whilst I completely understand how you can reach this point, it also surprises me when I meet so many of you incredible women with so many skills, talents, experience and potential! Many of you have already had successful careers, have relocated to a new country (often more than once); you are raising families, learning a new language, adapting to a new culture and a new way of life. You are AMAZING! All of this takes skill and courage and confidence. And so many of these skills are transferable.

create your dream job

I was recently watching an interview with Brendon Burchard (author of High Performance Habits), and a question he asked really jumped out to me. When you find yourself saying, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I would be any good at that,’ or ‘I don’t know enough about XYZ,’ you should instead be thinking about something you are already good at. Ask yourself: have you always been good at that? How many things in your life are you now good at that you had to learn how to be good at? When you had your first baby, did you know everything? What about a hobby? Or exercise? Did you suddenly one day get off the couch and run 10K? Of course you didn’t. You studied and trained and practiced until you became good at it. In life we are constantly learning and mastering things and we should think about work the same way.

create your dream job

Reframe Your Negative Thinking

So you are thinking of getting back in to the job market after a career break. First of all, let’s reframe any negative thoughts you may have. Yes, it’s scary, but it is also a wonderful opportunity. So often in life we stay in a job, in the rat race, because we have a mortgage, bills, responsibilities. But right now you have the time to stop and to really think about what you want to do. That’s an exciting position to be in. Embrace this period in your life and the chance to choose something you would love to do. (If your negative thinking is holding you back, you can download my free worksheet on how to end your negative thinking at http://julieleonardcoaching.com/ )

Create Your Dream Job

For some of you, being employed by a company with regular hours and a steady income may be what you want. But for many moms, being self employed can be a very attractive option. Today it is totally possible to create your dream job. Most people, myself included, have a career based on something we are passionate about. It is entirely feasible to design a job for yourself based on what you love and what you are passionate about. Technology has altered how careers should look. We are no longer bound by traditional vocations such as law, medicine, teaching, etc; instead, we can now be bloggers and vloggers and web designers and digital nomads. The possibilities are endless. When I came to Munich I wanted to become self employed and I took my passions and experience (Psychology, 25 years of experience, supporting women to transform their lives, aromatherapy, and decluttering) to create my dream job. And now I support women doing the same, taking all their ideas and passions (or helping them to discover them if they don’t know what they are) and enabling women to become entrepreneurs.

Get Some Work Life Balance

Being a Mompreneur means that you can address some of the fears you have about returning to work. Many women stress about climbing the career ladder after having kids (and often struggle to do so); some worry about spending time away from their kids or feel guilty for being away from them, or stress about getting time off when their kids are sick. In my experience, being self employed has certain stresses, but these stresses are far outweighed by a great work-life balance. I have flexible working hours, can choose the hours that suit me and my family; I have lots of quality time with my son; I do something that I love; and I make a difference to others, too. I can be with my son if he is sick. I can take holidays when he has them. And I can get the laundry done whilst I’m answering emails!

Let Go of the Guilt

As women and mothers we hold on to so much guilt. Guilt for wanting a career as well as kids. Guilt for leaving our children to go to work. Guilt that we might not always be there for them when they need us. Guilt that we are not superwoman 365 days of the year. Going to work or running your own business isn’t just a way to earn money. It isn’t selfish. You are, in fact, being an incredible role model for your kids. What better way to teach your children about responsibility, confidence, passion, work ethic, success and achieving your dreams and happiness than to show them. It isn’t enough to just tell them. And in the meantime you are following your dreams, too.

I Wasn’t Always Confident

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You may have noticed some changes in the newsletter over the past few weeks. New photos and logo. That’s because I have been busy working on my brand new website. And I love it! And  I am so excited to share it with you now. I formally launched it a couple of weeks ago with my Seminar evening and now I want to share it with you here.  http://julieleonardcoaching.com/

i wasnt always confindent

It’s a dream come true to have this new beautiful site and to have my brand photos there too. You see it was quite a healing process for me to have a professional photoshoot done. That is because I wasn’t always a confident person. For years I was plagued with negative thinking and self-doubt. And especially about how I looked. I used to think I was the ugliest woman in the world and I have worked really hard on myself in order to love and accept myself. And so going for a professional photo shoot was the final piece of the healing process.

I am so grateful to my A Team of support. Noleen Sliney www.noleensliney.com an amazing makeup artist and my go-to person for all things beauty related. Ginny Krauss http://ginnykrauss.com/ who had the vision to create my beautiful new brand and Carolin of Carito photography http://carito-photography.de/ who understood exactly what I wanted and made me feel like a supermodel for the day.

There are two things from this I want to share. First of all. Reach out and find the support you need to change your life and be who you want to be. Find those that can make it happen for you.

Secondly, don’t wait any longer to change your life. It really is very short and you will want to make every second count.  I transformed my self and my life and I’m passionate about supporting other women to do the same. Find out more about my journey here  http://julieleonardcoaching.com/about/

Finally, I’d love to work with you. And that is why I am offering you a FREE 20 minute Discovery Chat with me where you can check me out and we can decide how we can work together.

How Practicing Gratitude Can Increase Your Happiness

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This simple act of practicing gratitude can radically affect my mood and mindset. First of several years now I have had a small wooden tray with a jar and a pen and a little pile of colored paper sitting on my desk. And at the end of each day, I write down something I am thankful for. Some days it is something big, like today and my new comfortable bed arriving. Other days it is simply I watched a squirrel on my balcony or the sun was shining.

Why the practice of gratitude shifts negative thinking

Our human brains have a tendency to focus on the negatives. Did you know that it takes FIVE positive comments to counteract ONE negative comment? It seems that people find it much easier to tune in to negative things than into positive ones. One of the areas I often start with when I am coaching a client is to listen to the language that they use. So many times the women I work with talk in absolutes. Everything. Nothing. Nobody. Everything went wrong today, Nobody loves me, Nothing ever goes right for me…..But often they are not aware that they are doing it. In over 25 years of supporting clients, I have never found these statements to be true. It is often how the person feels but when we take a closer look, it’s not completely true.

How Practicing Gratitude Can Increase Your Happiness

The practice of gratitude is an effective way to begin to shift your negative thinking and to remove those absolutes. When you feel that everything went wrong today or that the day was awful, taking a few minutes to think about something positive in the day that you are thankful for can shift your mindset into a more positive one. It also helps you sleep better and wake up the next day in a more positive mood.

The science of gratitude

And don’t just take my word for it. The world’s leading expert on gratitude is Dr. Robert Emmons, a professor of psychology at the University of California who has carried out research that links the practice of gratitude to living a happier life.

The Impact of daily Gratitude practice

What we know from research is that daily gratitude can have a deep and far-reaching effect on our lives. People who practice gratitude regularly:

How Practicing Gratitude Can Increase Your Happiness

An attitude of gratitude

  • Report higher level of happiness than those who do not.
  • Have closer and more meaningful relationships
  • Live more in the present moment and are more mindful
  • Are kinder and more compassionate
  • Are more resilient in stressful situations
  • Are more focused on the positives in their lives
  • Have a strong and positive mindset
  • Have a more balanced perspective and dwell less on first world problems
  • Are physically and mentally healthier.

Wow! All of this from writing down a few words each day!

So why not kick off this year with an Attitude of Gratitude, buy a nice notebook and pen or get creative and make a Gratitude jar and embrace one of the simplest ways to increase your happiness.

Interested in increasing your happiness? Why not join my Happiness Club on Facebook.

You can also email me at hello@julieleonardcoaching.com to book a free discovery call with me.

I originally published this article in Uber Moms Blog.

Happiness is Handmade – Making Natural Aromatherapy Products

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One of the reasons I love making my handmade aromatherapy products is that I can be creative and I really enjoy coming up with new ideas, recipes and designs.  There is a lot of research that shows that being creative is closely related to happiness.

Making Natural Aromatherapy Products

We all have a creative side. We just all express it in different ways. Some of us paint, draw, sculpt, sing, play music whilst others bake stunning cakes, make delicious meals or can knit and sew. Some people have an eye for interior design and others know how to look stylish and put together. How do you express your creativity? Are you making regular time to be creative?

Importance of Making Natural Aromatherapy Products Yourself

I like to express my creativity through devising and making natural aromatherapy products. Not only do I use them every day on myself but they also make lovely gifts for people who like natural, organic and chemical free products.

And I’d love to share with you how to make your own products that you can make for yourself as well as for Christmas Presents this year. I believe that handmade gifts are more thoughtful that shop bought ones. So express your inner creativity, have some fun and learn something new at my next workshop: Happiness is Handmade.

We will also talk about Essential oils, great blends for each product, ideal oils for men’s gifts and essential oils for Christmas.

All materials, recipes and instructions are included. And of course no Munich Christmas event would be complete without some Glühwein and nibbles. So join me for a fun and creative morning.

Is Your Subconscious Holding You Back? – Change Negative Thinking

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Do you ever find yourself in the situation where you really want to achieve something but somehow it doesn’t happen? Do you find yourself procrastinating, putting it off or even talking yourself out of it?

Then now is the time for you to make changes.

Change Negative Thinking

You may think that you and your conscious mind are in charge of your future self but actually quite often it is our subconscious mind that rules our thoughts and actions.

The good news is I can help you change that.

Our subconscious is where our beliefs and values are – both positive and negative. These beliefs drive our thinking and our actions so if you have beliefs such as ‘I’m not good enough’, ‘It won’t happen for me’, ‘I don’t want to fail’, or ‘I don’t want to get hurt’, etc then you are not going to achieve your goals of getting that promotion, making money or finding love. Instead, you will stay stuck and frustrated.

So What Can You Do to Change Negative Thinking?

Identifying your beliefs and where they come from is the best starting point. Understanding and changing these beliefs will get you unstuck and moving forward.

As a Certified Life Coach I support women every day to understand who they are and what they think, feel and believe. The good news is that you can CHANGE negative beliefs and negative thinking and create a more positive mindset.

Want to start being in charge of your subconscious mind? Want to make long-lasting and positive changes in your life?

​Lets work in partnership to transform your self and to transform your life Book Your FREE Discovery Call today!

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