the barometer I use to make key decisions (plus insights from my Brazil trip)

I just returned from an amazing 3 week trip to Brazil that oxymoronically was both relaxing and a whirlwind.

It was lovely having time away from my business and from my daily routine.

It was also incredibly illuminating to see how both my mother and I reacted to life in our home country. The truth is that it feels like a foreign country these days since we haven’t lived here in decades.

Communication styles are radically different. The bureaucracy is different and then there are the unexpected occurrences: bank strike, I was really sick with an acute sinus infection, my mother got a bad case of vertigo and other idiosyncracies .

Silly things we can take for granted such as knowing the number to call for information, or the best internet company to sign up with and which bus or subway line to take to get you where you need to go can be amusing.

In some cases, we took things in stride and in others, it felt like pulling teeth.

Whenever you are closing down a life and starting a new one, there are inevitable breakdowns. The truth is that starting over takes time and a good dose of patience.

In the midst of this, we got an enormous amount accomplished in a short period of time.  We have internet at home now, we have started researching things for our apartment redecoration, I recovered from my sinus infection and all of our bank and document stuff is pretty much now up-to-date and in order.

Phew!

Moreover, there were some lovely new people that I met along the way.

One was a colleague that also attended my nutrition school (IIN) and she is now successfully practicing here in Brazil.

Another was a man who is a friend of the family. He was intrigued by my work in the Akashic Records and booked a reading with me in Portuguese. It was awesome (I was a little nervous since my readings are usually in English!).

As I reflect back on these last 3 weeks, I admit a part of me wants to chuckle and another has compassion for the scared little girl in me.

You see – my biggest fear had been my mother’s transition back to Brazil and how I would live alone in the States with her being so far.  It’s almost like I became the worried mother (i.e. role reversal).

And yet, after almost 3 weeks, my initial fears and trepidations have subsided and I can see my mother being ok and safe here.

Interestingly enough, I could see myself living here in the future as well.

You see, my beliefs had been that I couldn’t make it with the work I do here in Brazil. I had some naysayers tell me that my business would NEVER work here.

That people wouldn’t trust me or want what I have to offer.

So, of course those were my fears and that was the personal baggage I was carrying with me to Brazil.

You always get what you believe. So choose your beliefs carefully via @sweetpathgirl {tweet it}

I say this to you so that when you start thinking about your goals and dreams, you have to be EXTRA CAREFUL who you share them with.

Especially in the initial budding phase of a dream, when we feel sensitive and vulnerable (like a young chick) and it can be really easy to be influenced by others (parents, colleagues and people we want to impress or from whom we wish to receive approval).

And yet, when I spoke to my colleague and did my reading here, their energy was wonderful. They were supportive, gave me very insightful and practical suggestions for me to start spreading the word about my work here in Brazil and they were very encouraging.

It was such a breath of fresh air.

They were genuinely interested in supporting me and had similar life experiences where I could trust what they were saying to me.

This brings me to something really important I want to share with you today about why these new budding relationships I created here in Brazil were so successful and positive.

It is something that I share with my private clients.

It is also how I live my life every day.

Here it is:

Every day, you have to make a million decisions, right?  Sometimes we make those from our head, based on a mental cost-benefit analysis, sometimes from fear or some other misaligned place.

Think about how you feel when you read posts on Facebook.

Think about how you feel when you talk to your best friend.

Think about how you feel when you read my blog posts.

Think about how you feel with your parents, husband, boyfriend.

Think about how you feel when you go to your family doctor.

Do they seem attentive, kind, generous or are they often cranky, Debbie Downers and put you down?

If their energy is negative, you have to use extra energy of your own to balance out theirs.

If their energy is positive, you feel more alive, relaxed, expansive and perhaps even creative.

So when you choose where you frequent, the people you share your most intimate desires, business ideas and thoughts, the people you hire to support you, make sure that their energy feels good and that you feel honoured, valued and seen.

It’s common for us to make ourselves wrong and to blame ourselves when we don’t get along with someone.  That could be the case.

However, I have often found that the primary reason is that we haven’t yet allowed ourselves to own that perhaps there is a values mismatch and therefore an energy mismatch in the relationship and it’s time to move on.

In such a case, it is important to speak your truth and to make the most empowered choice for YOU.

So as you move forward, allow yourself to choose energies that support you and also have a daily routine that allows you to create a positive energy space in your internal world and in your life and home.

Energy challenge for this week: Where in your life might there be people, places, things that are out of alignment and sucking energy from your life that you can remove?  Pick 1 thing and do it and then share it with me below.