Have you ever heard of the term "buffering?" This term was first introduced to me from the creator of The Life Coach School, Brooke Castillo. It's a term I use with my clients often because it is something every single human experiences.

Buffering is when you lessen or moderate the impact of something. So when humans buffer, we are trying to distract ourselves or to feel good about a not so good situation. Some ways we buffer can be social media scrolling, overeating, overdrinking, or overworking. Basically anything you can overdo is usually a form of buffering.

Buffering can also look like good things on the outside but if the motive is to avoid reality or lessen the pain, it is still considered buffering. Activities like volunteering or exercising may seem good at the time, but if you're overdoing it and keeping yourself busy as a means to avoid suffering, that too is buffering. Buffering makes us feel better for a short time or it makes us feel nothing at all....

Have you ever experienced the power of participating in a visualization?

As a life coach, I am all about providing tools to anyone who is looking for personal development help. Visualizations are one of many tools I use when a client needs assistance formulating a new perspective, so I wanted to give you all a taste.

Last week, I hosted a local vision board workshop out of my home, and I wrote a visualization exercise to help participants let go of the previous year so they can fully step into the present year. However, this exercise can be used no matter what time of year because it's all about letting go of the past and planning a better future.

 One of the definitions for "visualization" is that it’s the formation of a mental image of something. Visualizations are effective because they involve almost all of your senses: vision, auditory, and tactile. It also involves emotions and the mood of someone. That’s what I want to help you create...a mental image of your...

Growing up, my life was fairly carefree and easy up until about high school. Then so many difficult things seemed to happen back to back. I assumed that because my life prior to this brought me happiness that when chaos and the hard times started, my natural emotional response had to be sadness or heartache. Opposite circumstances required opposite feelings, right?

Wrong.

It wasn't until later that I discovered everything I feel is actually a choice and that my feelings are not based on my circumstances. I discovered I have power over my emotions. As a certified life coach I've been trained to understand the impact of thoughts on my feelings. Fellow life coach, Brooke Castillo, created an easy model that is all about managing thoughts.

Below is a visual to help you better understand the method:

 

 

Let's walk through it.

Circumstances:

The first part in the model is circumstances––things that happen in the world that we can't...