What Does Balance Mean to You?

Annie Dietz • August 7, 2024

Balance. What does that word mean to you? We often talk about balancing work, family, and personal time. But is perfect balance even possible?

I've been pondering this lately, both personally and with my clients. This is an area we all struggle with. For me, I tend to go to extremes. Either work consumes me, or I focus entirely on my family.

Recognizing this about myself has made me question the quality of my efforts. Am I truly pushing my business forward? Am I present with my family? Maybe my extreme focus on each is just keeping me busy without real growth in either area.

Life is unpredictable and in my opinion the only known predictability is that surely something unexpected will arise when I least expect it.

What if, instead of fighting this, we flow with it? Perhaps achieving balance means initially working in extremes? When I stop being so critical of myself, I wonder if my intense focus on business stems from my drive to succeed and possibly, feeling guilty, I shift my focus to my family.

The one thing more important to me than finding balance between work and family is being healthy enough to to stay around and enjoy both. A few months ago, I decided my health was a priority above all else. I needed to start there and make health my first change in working towards balance.

I have tried different diet and exercise routines on and off most of my adult life. Talk about not having balance, or maybe the better word is consistency? self control? what's your reason?

I have a dear friend, Karen Lindsey, who is a Faster Way coach. As fellow coaches it is easy for us to support each other. Her focus of health & fitness align so well with my passion to help people realize the benefits of a healthy mindset.

I have seen the transformation she has been able to achieve over the past four years in her life by making her health routine a non-negotiable. Without her even pushing me, I did what any wise coach does when they need to be challenged in an area outside of their expertise. I hired her as my coach!

It has been eight weeks since I started working with Karen. Even with the plans' provided structure and my extensive knowledge of food and nutrition, my learning curve was steep for the first few weeks of doing Faster Way.

Building this habit took up more time than I wanted it to. That’s okay. I committed to learning all that I needed. I wanted to make this new routine more than just the next thing I would try. I wanted to create this non-negotiable as part of my lifestyle. I knew that this was the foundation I needed to gain the balance I craved in other areas of my life.

Having an accountability partner helped me stick with it. Slowly, I began to wake up excited to get my workout done, not wanting to miss it. I liked how my muscles felt and I was seeing the benefits of my work. With Karen’s help I figured out ways to cut my prep time down and still stick with eating the healthy foods I was now craving.

Have I gotten out of balance with this new habit since I started? Heck yes, I have! I took a brief summer vacation with my kids and allowed myself to focus on them and not worry so much about counting macros or fitting in every workout.

One thing I have learned is making time for my health is very doable without disrupting my daily routine. Have I had to let other things go to make this possible?

Yes, I am consistently getting up 30 minutes earlier, which is getting me to go to sleep a bit sooner. That is a sacrifice I am willing to make and actually a healthy adjustment.

All of this; forming new habits, falling off of them and getting back on track is part of my journey towards achieving more balance. I have learned what I am capable of with the right desire, commitment and most importantly the right accountability partner.

I am ready to apply what I have learned about myself and this experience to the next area of my life. I see how this slow and steady foundation is leading me towards eventually experiencing extremes that aren’t so extreme and finding the right balance for me.

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Embracing Abundance: Unexpected Lessons from a Tomato Plant

By Annie Dietz • December 8, 2024

Sometimes, life has a funny way of showing us what we need most. This summer, I had an interesting experience that shifted my perspective on abundance or should I say, profoundly impacted my view of lack. It all started with a small patch outside of my studio where I planted zinnea seeds for a second year. They had been so impressive the first year and I was excited to watch them thrive again over the summer. Despite my best efforts, nothing took root. I felt a bit defeated staring at the bare soiI. I really let it bum me out. It wasn’t a very impressive view for my clients to look out onto during our sessions. I knew that my reaction to the seeds not taking wasn’t rational, yet I couldn’t shake it. I realized that I was taking on the failed flowers as a metaphor for my state of mind at that time, I was relating my inability to grow the flowers to a feeling anxiety that had been growing in my mind because I had gotten hyper focused on a feeling lack. Then something unexpected happened. A volunteer cherry tomato plant sprouted in the very same spot where my flower seeds had failed. Some little bird, or squirrel ‘deposited’ a seed right where I couldn’t get the flowers to bloom. My mom swears it was from the compost that she gave me from her yard, I like the idea of an animal leaving it. However it got there, it was growing stronger by the day. As the weeks went by, that little plant flourished beyond what anyone could imagine. It grew to over eight feet wide and six feet tall, yielding hundreds of little tomatoes. It seemed like every day, there were more bright red tomatoes waiting to be picked. I made meal after meal with the fruit. One harvest inspired me to make the best balsamic, mozzarella tomato side dish for a dinner party of 12 and we even had leftovers! Anytime a friend stopped by I begged them to take some it was impossible to keep up with the production before they burst and spoiled. As my girlfriend Lisa was busy picking away at the gargantuan bush, all the sudden hit me, why in the world was I allowing myself to feel stuck in lack? Sure, this plant wasn’t printing money to pay my electric bill, but I didn’t buy one tomato all summer and I shared the abundance with friends. Life was showing me how abundance can show up in the most unexpected, yet beautiful ways. When I was able to slow down and appreciate this gift, I recognized the value of letting go of control. Abundance often shows up where we least expect it. When we hold on too tight to what we think should be, we can miss a gift that is right in front of us. Shifting my mindset to one of gratitude for what did show up gave me permission to nurture and share the abundance with those around me.

The Stress Reset

By Annie Dietz • November 25, 2024

How do you reset from stress? I was lucky enough to travel to Spain for a coaching conference at the end of October. What an amazing experience I had, both the travel and the conference itself. Unfortunately, I came home with covid which totally threw off my plans of hitting the ground running. With no choice but to give in to my malaise, I rescheduled all of my appointments and began the cycle of sleeping for 15 hour stretches over the next 10 days. We make plans and God laughs That was the thought that popped into my mind as I reluctantly buried my head in my pillows. The original Yiddish expression is ‘Man Plans, God Laughs.’ When the little voice in my head said those words, all I could do was laugh to myself, “Alright”, I said to the empty room, “I get it Universe, you win!” I had such great momentum in my coaching business and a well laid out plan to keep it going when I was back in the States. Having to pivot for covid could have derailed me for the remainder of 2024. Luckily, through my personal journey and coach training I have become well practiced in stress management. I didn’t always have my stress under control. There was a time in the not too recent past that lived in a constant state of survival. My big Ah-Ha was realizing that I was the primary creator of my own stress . By staying busy and frazzled, I was unconsciously avoiding deeper feelings and truths that I wasn’t prepared to face. As Thanksgiving arrives a week later than normal this year, making Christmas less than a month away, it seems a good time to talk about stress. Whether our stress stems from being so excited to host and wanting to have everything just right for the big meal, or we are dreading a family gathering and what Uncle Bob is going to say to embarrass everyone, this is the perfect time for a reminder to slow down and take a moment for yourself. Oh yeah right Annie, how is there time for that, you ask? Not only is there time, it is crucial to take it so that we don’t burn ourselves out. Even if it is just a 20 minute break, going for a walk, doing one less thing on your to do list, it is so important. Filling your bucket first makes us all much more able to give to others from compassion versus from resentment. If it all feels like too much, consider this, when you feel yourself becoming stressed, don’t fast forward past it. Take a moment to consciously look at it. Sit with it and ask yourself, where does this stem from? Are you feeding into your stress? What do you have control over? Now, I am not saying that this week is the week to unpack those deeper feelings, just become aware of them. Since many of us will be with family, there will be opportunities to see old habits and patterns arise. And, just as we created those patterns and habits that aren't serving us any longer, we can replace them with new healthier thoughts and behaviors. That is what I love about coaching. There is science behind changing our behavior for the better so that we can live a calmer and more balanced life. Interested in learning more? Book a Clarity Call with me , I’d love to hear about your holidays and what you’ve discovered about yourself. Who knows, maybe you’ll uncover a pattern that you are ready to break.

Q4 2024 - Let's GO!!!

By Annie Dietz • October 3, 2024

I have no earthly idea what happened, I swear that September 1st was just last week. Here we are already at the start of the 4th quarter of 2024. I doesn’t feel that long ago that I was writing my January article challenging you on your New Year’s Resolutions. Ah, resolutions, something many of us set towards the end of December or as the clock strikes twelve on New Year’s Eve in an attempt to redeem ourselves from six weeks of over indulging with friends and loved ones. I find that resolutions fall off of our todo list more often than they become healthy habits that we weave into our lives. I much prefer to intentions to resolutions. To me, intentions are goals that we strive to keep because they are a more fluid idea that helps us focus on the present moment and guide our actions toward a more fulfilling life. Intentions are easier to adjust along the way. By definition, resolutions are more of an all or nothing, pass/fail situation that can leave you feeling unaccomplished if not completed just so. Such as committing to going to the gym six days a week or doing Whole30 for the month of January. We start strong, committing for the first few weeks, then losing steam before a true habit is formed and our behavior is changed. October is the time of year that I always start thinking ahead and planning what the next year will look like for my personal and professional goals. This past August, I shared with you my manifestation journey and I have to say, everything that I desired to manifest has happened or is in motion! I’m super excited, so where next? Here’s what I want to share with you as you begin thinking about your goals for next year. Whether you are planning for your personal growth or professional development: How do you want to feel? Thats right, as you begin to dream big and explore your intentions for 2025, how do you want to feel? What are your wishes and desires? What fuels you? What will achieving this thing make you feel? I found a workbook I had picked up a few years ago from the author, Danielle LaPorte, called The Desire Map, in it she explains that, “ Desire drives more than our animal instincts. Desire is the power of wanting. It’s an engine of creativity and purposeful force. When we desire something, we’re willing to plot and plan to get it… In all cases, desiring something forces us to get creative in order to work out how were going to get what we want. ” And all desires stem from a feeling. Let’s use a financial goal as an example, instead of plainly stating “I want to be making $xx by Q2 2025,” what if you instead committed to, “I am so excited that I have reached my financial goal of $xx and my kids and I are going on our dream vacation to the mountains in May.” When we can come from feeling we feed our soul, and our goals based in emotion better challenge our growth. What do you think? Can you set aside for a moment all of the facts from financial obligations to family responsibilities that are swimming around in your head with all of your other to do’s and genuinely focus on how you want to feel? As a special treat for those of you who are also planning for your intentions for 2025 and beyond, here is a visualization that I created for the Vision Boarding class I teach each January. It’s a chance to get lost in your future and all the feels it gives you. I hope you find it inspiring in setting your inventions for a kick ass 2025, because it is never too soon to start dreaming about your desired future. If you’re interested in chatting more about your goals for 2025, I welcome you to book a free 15-minute clarity call with me by going to my calendar here. Or by clicking the button at the bottom of this page.