You can see my new website at NicoleWolf.com. As I transition to the new site you’ll not only find the old post from here updated but also new material and resources are being add daily. So get on over there and sign up for weekly updates and your free copy of The FLOW Way of Life.

Thank you for supporting me and for your patience as I took the much needed time to create something new and beautiful and even more in line with what I want to offer to the world.

Much Love + Gratitude

Nicole

P.S. I will keep this site up a bit longer but it will eventually forward to the new site.

So if you’ve found me either a while ago or just recently you may be wondering why there hasn’t been any new content posted for months.

The quick and simple answer is that I am in the full blown process of learning, getting clarity, writing, creating, and launching a brand new website and business designed to give YOU the best of what I have to offer and what I feel compelled to share with those who are looking for the inspiration and strategies to navigate life with greater ease.

I am so excited about the new design, the new content, and the new programs and offerings I am creating just for you. So please, please bear with me and know that some really great stuff is brewing and coming your way. These things can’t be rushed but I pray to deliver by mid-June.

It’s going to be awesome and I can’t wait to share it with you.

Much XOXO,

Nicole

I am no stranger to fear. We know each other well. I’m sure you can relate. We often speak and act or not act out of fear. Fear that they won’t like us. Fear that they won’t love us. Fear that we aren’t good enough. Fear that we will lose whatever it is that we are clinging to. Fear that we will fail. Fear that we will succeed. Fear that…

The list of fears is endless and they dominate our lives and dictate how we show up everyday in every way. Everything that you see that is wrong with the world is happening because of and out of fear.

But what we don’t realize is that there is nothing wrong at all. There is nothing wrong with the world or us. Everything is in Divine Order.

The truth is that every act of fear leads us down a path that eventually forces us to change or takes us deeper into the darkness. You either grow or you die.

It doesn’t matter which because you are fulfilling the cycle of life either way. Everything grows and eventually dies. Period. But we all have a choice to grow and be the change and hope we want to see in the world by choosing the path that leads to the light and by showing up with love, grace and truth in what we do and say or we can choose the path of darkness and of pain and struggle by showing up with fear. It’s your choice – growth and ease or pain and struggle.

My hope is that you choose to grow for as long as you have a choice in the matter.  It just makes for a more beautiful world when we are all thriving and growing into the full bloom of ourselves, wouldn’t you say!?

A friend of mine sent me this quote today and I thought I’d share it with you. It certainly applies to all of us at any given moment. If you’re like me you’re always literally or figuratively slapping your forehead and wondering what the heck you were thinking in regards to something you said, did, didn’t say or do.

We can find a thousand things a day to chastise ourselves over and feel guilty about but what if you changed your perspective completely and embraced all your countless mistakes and mishaps, bad decisions, and less than stellar moments and thought of them as a multitude of blessings and opportunities to learn and grow.

I personally think Ms. Salmansohn is onto something here with her twist on hindsight. Yes, Kindsight is the new hindsight. Judge yourself less for past missteps and instead congratulate yourself for another lesson learned in the classroom of Life. Because at the ripe age of 40 I have certainly come to see life as a class with many lessons to learn and opportunities to grow. It’s really why we are here. So no need to beat yourself up for getting the answer wrong instead be kind to yourself and a good student by seeking the lesson in all the choices you make. No matter what the outcome, good or bad, you’ll do better next time.

Just remember, you’re not failing…you’re growing!

I realize that all of my adult life I have been searching for something. Seeking some magic answer to what my purpose is and trying to find that one thing that will make me rich and famous. I don’t really feel a need to be famous but the rich part has always been a dream of mine since I can remember. In fact, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous was one of my favorite shows as a kid. My mother even suggested I major in Finance in college since money was my favorite thing. And I truly believed I would be wealthy by now. Yet here I am, 40, in debt and seriously lacking the cash flow I had envisioned for myself by now.

But what I have failed to realize is how rich I truly am despite what my bank account suggest. I have my health. My children have their health, something I am truly grateful for in light of the recent discovery that my best friends five old daughter has Leukemia. My husband supports our family allowing me to be a stay-at-home mom. We have a nice home, clothes, food and resources to put our son in private school. We recently moved to California, a lifelong dream of mine. We have friends and family whom love us. I laugh about something every day. My husband survived a hit and run bike accident a couple of months ago and is well on his way to a full recovery. And at this very moment I am sitting on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean on a cloudless day and writing this post. WOW! I am truly blessed.

I am also grateful for this moment and space which has allowed me to be still and gain some clarity on not only how truly blessed I am but I also see that I need to stop searching and seeking something out there. What I need is to one, recognize and acknowledge how much I already have and secondly, to be still and let what’s mine flow to me with ease.

You and I are already exactly where we need to be and all we need to do to have all that is ours flow to us with ease is to be still and to only act when what we do is in complete alignment with who we are. Stop desperately grasping and searching and trust that all you need and desire will flow to you in its own perfect time.

As mentioned in the last post, life has been crazy the last few months for me and I have to say sometimes I don’t know how I keep it all together. But what I try to remind myself of is that the storm will end and life will again return to smooth sailing and I will be able to bask in the sunshine.

On the flip side, I have often found that I feel guilty when I’m doing nothing but lounging in front of the TV or getting a pedi in the middle of the day or playing words with friends when I could be cleaning the house, running errands, or writing which I don’t do nearly enough of. But I have to remind myself that life will indeed get crazy again and feel overwhelming and all I will be doing is managing a crisis or trying to keep my head above water with the countless tasks on my ever-growing To Do list.

I have to remind myself that it’s okay to savor the peace and quiet now and to do absolutely nothing because the day will come when I will just be trying to survive crazy and the only way to do that is if I am fully recharged and rested and aware that this too will past and I will once again find myself with a cycle of downtime and in the calm that comes before and after the storm. That’s how life works. It’s cyclical and the storms never last forever and the calm always comes back again.

So if you find yourself in a slow period that is manageable and at ease, enjoy and embrace every moment of it. If on the other hand you are feeling crazed and overwhelmed by life just know that you will get on the other side of crazy in due time and doing nothing will be a guilty pleasure you can live with.

You know the saying, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” well I say “make an Arnold Palmer with a shot of vodka.” But that’s not the point. The point is you have to make the best of what life is offering you in any moment. You have to find the silver lining.

My husband was involved in a pretty bad hit and run bike accident last week and I am counting my blessings that he is okay and wasn’t more seriously hurt or killed for that matter. I could dwell on how much this is affecting our family in a negative way, be angry at the woman who left the scene and sway to the “woe is me” soundtrack now that

I’m emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted from all I’ve been through in the past four months. But I realize now is not the time to fall apart and give up. Now is the time to see that, that which doesn’t kill me makes me stronger and that though the value of my recent challenging experiences has yet to fully reveal itself, I am none the less blessed and miracles seen and unseen are happening.

I am growing as a woman, a wife, a mother and a writer. I am being prepared for future opportunities. I also have an opportunity to spend more quality time with my husband now that he’s forced to be still for a while and my children get to spend more time with their father. I can spend more time at home writing while caring for my husband instead of running around like a crazy person. I can use my experiences to help others overcome their challenges, which allows me to serve my higher purpose.

So see there are hidden blessings in every hardship and I intend to make the best of what life throws my way because at the end of the day I can not only handle it, I will be able to make the best damn Arnold Palmer this side of the Pacific.

Cheers!

Wow! It’s been a crazy few months. I turned 40 in May. We packed up and rented our house out in June. We found a new place to live and moved to the Bay Area in California in July. And now we’re spending our days getting settled and learning a new city, which is why you haven’t heard from me in almost three months. I have to admit that I have been more than overwhelmed with two young kids in tow (2 and 7) who are full of energy and need constant attention.

I really don’t know how other mothers do it with more than two and/or working full time outside the home. I also have to admit that I often feel like a hypocrite because though the title of this blog is FlowNow and my tagline is “navigate life with ease” I often find myself neither living in my flow nor navigating life with ease. Life is often hard and overwhelming and the moments of flow and ease are few and fleeting. When things are flowing and effortless I wonder how I manifested such a miracle and how I can keep it going consistently in every area of my life. So as I’ve debated whether to keep this blog going I realize there is still much to learn and teach on the matter and we’re going to keep going with the lessons. I just ask that you’re patient with my irregular schedule of posting as I figure out how to get more consistent with my writing and find my rhythm while being a full-time stay-at-home mom.

I am committed to this work of learning and teaching on how us moms can live in the flow of our lives and not lose ourselves in the daily grind of taking care of others, which is a sure way to really end up committed to the crazy hospital if one isn’t mindful of the necessity to take care of oneself first. I for sure am often guilty of not putting my needs first and when I don’t, I feel the stress of life so much more intensely and I take it out on those I love and adore the most. So here’s to being committed to our own self-care so that we don’t end up “committed” to the looney bin.

I’m signing off now to enjoy a few more moments of quiet time before my husband and children return from their little outing. As always thanks for visiting and stay tuned for more great life lessons on life, flow, and surviving crazy!

Lately, I’ve been really frustrated with some of the people I’m close to (relationship withheld to protect the innocent) and have been projecting on them my frustrations and resistance to their behavior. But I had a sort of epiphany that what I have been experiencing in these interactions is actually a reflection of what’s going on with me. In other words if I’m accusing someone of lying and being deceptive it’s really a reflection of me in some way and presents a mirror and opportunity for me to look at myself and to see how I am being deceptive and dishonest in my own life in some way. Such a reality check is like a huge slap in the face, saying wake up and look within because the external is just a reflection of what’s going on internally.

So what are you projecting onto others? What are you frustrated by these days? What are you resisting and not wanting to experience in others behavior? What and who are you judging?

The answers to these questions are all clues as to what you need to look at within yourself and to see how you may be projecting onto others the very thing you need to work on yourself. Just know that this work requires you to look deep within and to be really honest with yourself. You may not like what you see but knowing the truth is half the battle of evolving into your highest spiritual being. You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge and face with open eyes. So the next time you’re pointing fingers realize you’re pointing at yourself too and then be the change you want to see before you.

“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.” – Khalil Gibran

“There is no coming to consciousness without pain.” – Carl Jung

I recently learned a powerful lesson regarding pain. Navigating life with ease doesn’t mean you don’t or won’t ever experience pain. But how we choose to respond to pain determines how quickly we move through it and know that you can still experience joy despite any momentary painful experience. Whether we choose to suffer and let it take our joy away and define us or whether we choose to rise above our pain and let it transform our lives and help us grow determines the ease in which we navigate life and live in our flow.

All pain is an opportunity to grow and evolve. In fact, pain is often one of our greatest teachers. It’s true that all pain has something to teach us and if we choose to learn from the pain and evolve and then let it go, life unfolds in a way that elevates and fulfills us. But if we try to numb our pain and ignore its teaching and message for us or hold onto it we will find life to be a painful struggle again and again.

Take a moment to tap into your inner soul energy and see if you are holding on to a painful experience past or present. Observe how it shows up for you. How have you been processing it and giving it life every time you dwell on it and give it meaning as something bad? How have you or are you letting it define you and give you “poor me” status? How have you let pain take away your joy and darken your magnificent spark and zeal for life? How have you given your power away to painful experiences and to people who have caused you pain?

It’s time to flip the switch and turn on the light of grace, love, forgiveness, and joy and that which has the power to dissolve any and all pain. It’s time to shine your light on any pain you have or are experiencing and rise above it, let it go, and use it as a reminder to be more conscious. Pain is just that, “a get your attention reminder” that you are not living in your light, that you are not conscious. It serves as a wake-up call to regain your awareness of your connection to Source, God, the Universe or whatever you call the higher power that is always at work in your life whether you are conscious of it or not.

It’s unfortunate but some of us have to go through huge tragedies or recurring or long-term painful experiences until we get it. But once you get it watch out world because then you become a shining example of what living in your divine light looks like and you have an opportunity to lead others out of their darkness. This is the purpose of pain – to wake you up to your light so that others can wake up to theirs.