Life and Career Coaching for Authentic,
Empowered, and Inspired Living
Life and Career Coaching for Authentic,
Empowered, and Inspired Living
January 16, 2014
by Kim Childs, CPPC Each spring and fall, I lead support groups designed to help people recover and express their passions and creativity via The Artist's Way. The process involves a fair amount of personal disclosure, as students identify their desires and explore what’s in the way of living them. In the first session, I distribute a handout called “Could You Just Listen?” to set the tone for our interactions. It begins, “When I ask you to listen to me…
January 7, 2014
by Kim Childs, CPPC It’s embarrassing to admit this, but I’m a yoga teacher who dislikes exercise. To be more precise, it’s the thought of exercise that turns me off, because I usually do feel better afterward. I’ve long considered exercise a chore that takes time away from other things that I need or want to be doing. What I’m starting to know in my bones, however, is that moving my body is essential to uplifting my mind. Dr. John…
December 27, 2013
by Kim Childs, CPPC In recent years, I’ve become a bit of a Scrooge when it comes to holiday gifts. It’s not that I don’t want to give to the people I love, I just dislike the shopping frenzy and the enforced buying of things that they may not even like. Lately, I’ve been trying something else: If I don’t find a truly meaningful or spot on present for someone, I give them my presence. I offer brunch, lunch, movie,…
November 27, 2013
by Kim Childs, CPPC Heard the one about the MIT rats who got smarter by chilling out? In 2006, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) placed rats in a difficult maze to see how quickly they’d find their way through. The first group of rodents, once they reached the cheese at the end of the tunnel, were forced to keep re-running the route until they knew it well and completed it quickly. The second group of rats was…
October 23, 2013
by Kim Childs, CPPC As a student of Positive Psychology, I learned about something called self-perception theory. Developed by social psychologist Daryl Bem, the theory states that we form beliefs about ourselves by watching our behaviors, just as we form beliefs about others by watching theirs. We may therefore think of ourselves as confident after we act with confidence. I like to think about this theory in terms of courage and risk-taking. When I build courage by doing things that…
September 16, 2013
by Kim Childs, CPPC This summer, researchers at UCLA and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that, when it comes to our genes, there’s a difference between happiness derived from feeling good and that which comes from doing good. According to the study, people whose happiness stemmed from having a sense of purpose and meaning in life had healthier gene expression patterns than those whose happiness was primarily linked to pleasure. In fact, the latter group of…
August 14, 2013
by Kim Childs, CPPC In the field of Positive Psychology, there’s a famous happiness-boosting exercise called the gratitude letter. Designed by Dr. Martin Seligman, it involves writing, delivering, and reading a letter of gratitude to someone whose life enriched yours. When I heard about this exercise from Tal Ben-Shahar, my teacher in the Kripalu Center’s Certificate in Positive Psychology (CIPP) program, I immediately thought of an ideal recipient: my high-school English teacher. I met Alice when I was a 15-year-old…
July 12, 2013
by Kim Childs, CPPC In the past year, I’ve heard from two friends who were disappointed in me because I didn’t meet their expectations or show up in the ways that they wanted me to. In one case, the friendship was already fading and I took the opportunity to own up and disengage. The other friend’s accusations were harder to hear and laced with anger, but I mustered compassion for the fact that she was going through an incredibly difficult…
July 12, 2013
by Kim Childs, CPPC When my husband and I moved into this apartment, our backyard was a strip of dirt that lay between our stairs and the garage. Construction debris was scattered throughout, and a rusty stove sat at one end. Once the junk was cleared away, I saw that this dirt was also home to a beleaguered rose bush. A month later, the arrival of spring triggered a new desire in me, the perpetual tenant with homeowner envy: I…
April 2, 2013
by Kim Childs, CPPC Last fall, after years of saying, “I really need to start a meditation practice,” I finally did it. At first it was all sweetness and soothing music, as I joined a 21-day online challenge led by none other than Mr. Mind/Body himself, Deepak Chopra. His calming voice, pearls of wisdom and suggested mantras made it easy to sit on the meditation cushion for 15 minutes each morning and feel pretty good about myself. On day 22…