Sometimes, I need a little kick in the butt to get me moving in the right direction.
Despite good intentions, I often find myself incredibly busy, running in 100 directions, and putting myself last. While self-care is all the rage, I find myself only having diligence in certain areas of my life (making sure I’m eating well, washing my face before bedtime, and having my morning coffee, for example.) When it comes to planning for the future and really focusing on what I really want most, I can often miss the mark.
When I saw that Jacki Carr was hosting a 2-hour “Let’s Get Our Shit Together for Fall” workshop, I may have waited a whole 30 seconds before signing up. It was scheduled for a Sunday, and conveniently, I use my Sundays as a day “for me”, a sacred day where I prepare for the week ahead. Usually, I listen to Super Soul Sunday to get inspired, but this was a chance to gain live inspiration with a like-minded community. I secured my ticket and added it to my calendar.
I’m not new to motivational workshops. You’ve probably heard me talk about them here on NTTC. When I feel off center, immersing myself in a class is a great way for me to find solid ground. I’ve had the good fortune of meeting many magical folks over the years, including Elizabeth Gilbert (who I ADORE), Deepak Chopra, and don’t even get me started with the tears I’ve shed with Geneen Roth. Wowsers!
I’m pleased to say that I’ve officially attended my first Jacki Carr workshop (which is certain not to be my last!) I’d heard Jacki speak once before at a yoga festival in Boulder and watched from afar via Instagram. {BTW, if you’re not following Jacki Carr, let’s correct that by clicking here.} Jacki lives in Colorado, thrives in nature, and spends her days motivating women all over the world in her distinctly raw, authentic way. I’m honored to have had an opportunity to spend the morning with her (and 40 other new friends.)
In a light-filled room packed with the most gorgeous, fall-fabulous women, Jacki led us in breaking down our goals for the season ahead. Leveraging her clever values deck, we each had an opportunity to physically flip through a beautifully curated deck of values, isolating what mattered most to us.
I’ll be honest with you, I loved this exercise. As a type A/Enneagram 3, I loved how quickly my goals presented themselves and how easy it was to find the “right answer” for me. What’s even more interesting than the words I selected? The words I did not.
RECOGNITION, PLAYFUL, STRUCTURE – – these words didn’t even come close to my top ten and I actually had an adverse reaction to them (much to my surprise). Instead of RECOGNITION which I thought was a word I enjoyed, I felt drawn to LEGACY. For me, my success isn’t about receiving a trophy or even a paycheck, it’s about making sure that what I’m doing is meaningful to others and impacting lives. I’ve always known that to be true, but it was a powerful message to pick up during that few minutes where I was flipping through my cards. In the end, I narrowed this list of ten down to five: JOY, CONNECTION, LEGACY, INSPIRE, and EXCELLENCE
We also spent some time sharing with a partner what each of the words meant to us. My partner was the lovely Stephanie who listened to my dreams as I shared them with her and allowed for a safe space for me to verbalize those goals that I usually save for my journal. Similarly, I got to hear how this blonde powerhouse planned on shaping her days ahead with CONNECTION and ADVENTURE. Jacki also gifted each of us our very own deck of value cards. I look forward to tapping back into them in the years ahead and seeing what new words evoke surprise reactions.
Another exercise that stood out in the session was tied to exploring the Power of Knowing What You Want. Drawing a circle on a page, we each captured inside the circle those things we wanted to use to fill our autumn, and let all those things we did not choose to embrace to fall outside of the circle. It’s powerful when you name the things you really want and put pen to paper. I found that I offered a few boundary words to the outside, but much like The Secret, I focused on what I wanted as opposed to what I didn’t want… and filled out the inside of the circle more robustly. There was something about framing that page that really made me feel ready for the days ahead, similar to a vision board.
Because 2 hours FLY BY when you’re having this much fun, we closed with a quick commitment to one another of one goal that we were going to work on, phrasing it as though it had already happened. My goal: I will keep commitments to myself for fall. As someone who tends to press pause on my own dreams to help others achieve theirs, I realize that I’m breaking my heart over and over again. It’s time to get after those juicy life goals and dreams… and this workshop was the perfect thing to propel me in the right direction.
You can find Jacki Carr and her teachings, upcoming events, and more at JackiCarr.com and RockYourBlissMovement.com.
Thank you a million times over to Jacki Carr for her crisp, authentic candor on that beautiful fall morning. I can’t wait to attend another session with her in the future. For my Colorado friends, let’s go on a goals hike with Jacki in the months ahead!
ALSO – – Hot off the Press: Jacki just launched her public speaking course goalSPEAK today. Check out all the details of this new online class here (and join me taking the class!)
Special thanks to the photography team at Realm Denver for capturing these beautiful pictures from the Jacki Carr Workshop in September and for sharing their exquisite space with a bunch of goal seekers like myself.
To read about other experiences that I’ve tried over the years, click here for a full index of blog posts I’ve categorized as “That Time I…”.