The other day my son came home from babysitting and collapsed on the couch. He said, “I’m sooooooo tired.” He could barely keep his eyes opened as he mumbled. “I like playing with Luke but today I had to help him with 2 hours of homework and it was brutal.” I kind of chuckled empathetically as I watched my 15 year old reflect on his first “job”.

I replied “ Yes and that’s why it’s so important to do work that you love. Some people feel this way every day" I added “But sometimes you also have to find ways to love what you do”

Probably not coincidentally (I always believe there is a reason) that has come up quite a bit with my clients lately. Many of them have started doing what they love, yet are coming to weekly sessions drained and overwhelmed or as someone said “I feel like I’m on a roller coaster and I can’t get off. And I love roller coasters but gees I just need it to stop for a second.”

Yes sometimes we do need it to just stop for a moment. Sometimes we need to stop to reflect...

Back in California, I had a friend and mentor named Sheva Carr. Sheva taught heart-math, which is the practice of syncing your physiology and emotions through your heart rhythms; It’s a fascinating science. Sheva and I spent a lot of time talking about my love of acting, as well as my ultimate desire to help people.

Naturally, I had concocted a whole strategy on how I would do this.

“First, I’ll redo my resume. Then I need to get a new agent, and maybe a new manager, who’ll help me get a role in a series. From there, I could get cast in a movie, and then I’ll finally be famous enough to help people,” I said, rather proud of my plan.

“Can’t you just do the last step?” said Sheva.

“No,” I said. “That’s what I have to do to get famous.”

“I’ve noticed something about you, Sonia,” she said gently. “You think you have to go ten extra steps before you get anywhere. It can never be just one step for you, can it?”

She hit the nail on the head. That was my M.O. I made mountains out of even...

It’s that time of year, when many of us start to wonder “Where did all the time go, I didn’t accomplish everything I said I was going to do? 

Trust me, that thought has certainly crossed my mind. And maybe you haven't earned a million dollars, finished that book, met your soulmate, or won an Oscar.... yet, but I still guarantee that you did a lot of noteworthy things.

Yet it's so easy to dismiss all the good things you did and focus on all of the ones you didn't do.

In fact, that is so prevalent that many people don’t even write New Year’s goals or resolutions anymore because they feel like they “always fail, so why bother”. And yet research proves that when you have a clear vision, set specific intentions and add concerted action, amazing things can happen. In fact, according to the well know study by the University of Scranton, people who set New Year’s Resolutions are 10 times more likely to achieve them than those who don’t.

So before you go down the defeated I didn’t do anythi...

This is my absolute favorite time of year. I love holiday decorations, the music, parties and even the hustle and bustle of crowded stores and busy shoppers.

Yet it can also be very stressful. Studies have shown that 88% of adults feel the holidays are too stressful and according to the American Psychological Association 41% turn to food and 28% turn to alcohol to manage their angst.

I remember years ago someone asked me, “How were your holidays?” and after a long pause I responded, “I have no idea.”

I felt like I had been on a super high-speed train from Thanksgiving to Christmas and everything in between was just a blur.

And while it was still fuzzy, I did know Christmas was over, I was sick, exhausted, and suddenly sad. I had been so frantically “busy” that I missed out on the joy and fun of my favorite holiday season.

That day I decided I was never going to do that again. So, I sat down and wrote my own holiday manifesto with the intention to create future holidays that were l...

Have you ever felt like achieving success is a hidden mystery and that only certain people have the key?

Or perhaps you are wanting more relationship, health or business success and it feels so far out of reach?

The fact is success leaves clues and if you are ready to put on your best trench coat, dark glasses and detective hat, you can crack the code.

This happened recently as I was catching up with my long-time friend Pam. Our conversation touched on everything from travel to family and relationships to business.

When we landed on work she sighed and said “It’s been so long since I was successful, I’m not even sure it’s possible anymore.

“What?” I protested, as the “life-coaching” hair on the back of my neck stood up, “You are one of the smartest and most creative people I know. Of course, you can be successful.”

Just for the record, she was a highly regarded creative director at a prestigious advertising firm when she decided to step away to care for her two beautiful kids....

What is one thing that Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Virginia Wolf and Henry David Thoreau have in common? They all had a regular practice of walking. They understood the incredible value that walking had on the body and the brain.

Henry David Thoreau famously said “Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.”

And while creativity is one of the many benefits of walking, there are several other surprising reasons why you may want to get those legs moving too.

1. Lose weight and belly fat- For those people who cringe at the thought of going to a gym or yoga class, fear not, you can walk instead. Studies show that a regular walking program can help you lose weight and reduce that stubborn belly fat.

The average recommended time for exercise is 150 minutes per week. However, for greater weight loss results, the American College of Sports Medicine suggests 200-300 minutes of moderate intensity walking per week.

Note: it’s important to...

When I ask the question “Do you think you are addicted to your emotions?” I usually get a very stressed and uncertain response. “I’m not sure, is that possible?

The answer is YES, and it is surprising how many of us are addicted to our default emotions and don’t even realize it.

Just to clarify, it’s not actually the emotion itself but the chemical release that comes with the emotion. Each emotion has a chemical reaction, and our brains respond by giving us the feeling of relief or a reward.  So, the more we experience that “chemical hit” the more we need or crave it just to get ourselves back to what feels “normal.”

It’s not that different from an addiction to sugar, alcohol, or drugs only this shows up in the form of anger, anxiety, sadness, victim thinking, blaming, guilt, shame, etc. Don’t’ get me wrong, all these emotions may be valid, and I am a huge believer in feeling your emotions and working through them. However, when they constantly show up and become your go to emotiona...

In 1964, the journalist Norman Cousins took a really stressful trip to Russia. Work was wearing on him, and on top of that, his surroundings were pretty unhealthy, exposing him to dangerous fumes like diesel exhaust. Those factors, doctors believed, came together to cause the grave illness that overtook him soon after: ankylosing spondylitis, a degenerative spinal disease with a grim prognosis. Cousins was told he had a 1/500^th chance of survival. Over time, he would lose all physical mobility.

Stress, combined with a weakened immune system, had caused this horrible condition, doctors said. Well, if that's true, then the opposite of stress should heal it, Cousins reasoned. And so he set about creating positive emotions that would boost his immune system.

Cousins checked himself into a hotel, where he pumped himself with vitamin C and embarked on an experimental form of therapy: laughter. He watched Marx brothers movies, read humorous books, and focused his mind on all things funny.

I had a session with a client last week and she was complaining about having a terrible headaches, including a bad one that day.

I asked a serious of questions, obviously trying to rule out serious issues, then I simply asked, “How much water did you drink today?” She hesitated, and then sheepishly responded, “I think I only had 2 glasses and 2 cups of coffee.”

It was 4pm, so I double checked, “Are you sure you only had 2 glasses of water?”” Yes” she said as she rubbed her temples, “I was so busy I didn’t even think about it”.

Water impacts every system, organ, and cell in your body. Hence health experts, recommend drinking ½ our body weight in water. So, for example, a 140 lb. person would need 70 oz of water per day.

Yet according to the USDA, Americans drink an average of 3.9 glasses of water a day…..that is less than ½ of what is recommended for most individuals.

And coffee is a diuretic, so it doesn’t count, On the contrary, we need extra water to make up for what is lost wit...

“We travel not to escape life but for life not to escape us.”

I just returned from an amazing two-week vacation to Norway where I reconnected with extensive family, toured some Nordic cities, climbed the highest mountain (in Norway and Northern Europe), zip-lined down an Olympic Ski Jump, and took part in the latest Norwegian trend: hot sauna, cold plunge and repeat.

Before I left, I was very stressed about the time away and all the things I wasn’t going to get done. Funny thing happened, the world didn’t fall apart and it was all there waiting when I got back.😉  The difference is now, I feel rested, reenergized, reinspired, and ready to go.

It turns out those feelings aren’t a coincidence. Research proves that vacation is critical to our health and well-being.

In fact, Europe mandates 20 days of paid vacation, (some countries have increased that to 30 days) Unfortunately, the US is known as the “no vacation nation”. Some employers offer an average of 10 paid days off, yet many peo...