Sarah, how are you so positive all the time?

Sometimes my coaching clients try to give up on their impossible goals (notice I said try - do you think I let them?). They originally come to me brimming with excitement and anticipation about their impossible goal. Of course, in the beginning it’s easy to feel that way. But over time (and usually, as their deadline begins to loom), they become discouraged because it doesn’t seem like they’re going to achieve it.

I totally get it. Of course I’ve wanted to give up before too. It can be hard to keep your spirits up when you set a massive goal that just seems like it’s BEYOND impossible now that the deadline looms.

But that’s not true. We’ve all heard cases of people who’ve made millions in just a few days, or lost a ridiculous amount of weight in a month, or a fantastic opportunity came out of nowhere right before all seemed lost.

I mean, come on guys. You’ve seen the movies - the hero doesn’t ever achieve the goal easily with loads of time to spare (if that’s the case, your goal was too easy). That wouldn’t make a good story. They have to rush to Mordor with only JUST enough time to throw the ring in Mount Doom. They have to have a classic “follow that taxi!” car chase and sprint through airport security with only JUST enough time to get a kiss from the cute American girl.

But they NEVER EVER EVER give up on their goal.
EVEN if it doesn’t happen on the exact timeframe they desire.

No one wants to hear the story of the person who set a goal and achieved it with no struggles or problems. They want to hear about the epic journey, when all hope seemed lost but the hero pushed on through!

I was just listening to the fabulous Brooke Castillo on her podcast, and she shared something I thought was pure genius.

She said that you have to look at your goal the way you’d look at children walking. When a child is learning to walk and they’re stumbling and falling all over the place and they’re taking longer to learn than the other kids, we don’t ever doubt that they will walk. Not even for a second.

We’re not thinking, “I don’t know, buddy. You might not be a walker.”

No way!

It doesn’t even occur to us that we could give up on a child learning to walk. Of course they will walk! Even if they’re 4 years old and they STILL haven’t learned. We might try some different tactics. But we’re not giving up.

I’m paraphrasing, but Brooke’s point was this:

So, what if you believed in your goal the way that you believe in children learning to walk? What if you had no doubt , not even for a second, that you will achieve it? How would that change the way you show up for your goal?

I don’t give up on my impossible goals. I just don’t.

And I often get asked, how are you positive all the time? I’m not positive ALL the time. But I don’t give up on my goals because I KNOW I can achieve them.

Right now, 100 push ups seems a world away, when I can only do 10. But 3 weeks ago, I could do zero. So I’m not giving up. 100k Youtube Subscribers seems CRAZY when I’m currently at 264. But I set goals that feel impossible because how damn good is it going to feel when I finally get 100 push ups, and 100k Subscribers? It’s not a matter of if, only a matter of how much I believe in it. Because our thoughts become actions and actions become results. If I stop believing in my goal, (thought) I won’t take action and I won’t get the results.

It’s fully in your hands. Henry Ford was right: whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.

September goals

I’m sharing my September Goals because if you’ve been following me you know that I’m ALL about public accountability. There’s nothing quite like telling the world that you’ll do something to light a fire under you!

My September Goals:
(All of these goals are directly focused on progressing me towards my bigger, impossible goals which you can read about here)

• I will easily do 15 push ups in a row by September 30, 2019.

• I will easily photograph 5 high resolution shoots for my blog posts that I am proud to share by September 30, 2019.

• I will easily put out one video a week on YouTube (4 videos) by September 30, 2019.

• I will easily create a consistent weekly newsletter by September 30, 2019.

• I will easily read 2 personal development books by September 30, 2019.

• I will easily complete my quiz for my website by September 30, 2019.

Looking forward to giving you an update at the end of the month!

What are your September goals?

August review

I had loads of interest about my one year in business review, so I thought it would be fun do a general life monthly review too.

(This is the first month that I’ve blogged every single day of the month, and it’s so awesome to be able to look back at my month and easily remember everything that happened).

Everything that happened in August:

1. After months and months of creating, I finally launched Impossible Incubator, my membership site for people who are pursuing impossible goals! I have 13 amazing members, which is a wonderful size to start with because it’s a tight-knit group and everyone is connecting and keeping each other accountable, and making awesome progress too. I’m super excited for it to grow in September and beyond!

2. Started working on my impossible goal to do 100 push ups. When I started, I was at zero. Now, only a few weeks later, I can already do 8 in a row, on my feet! I thought I would still be doing the push ups on my knees at this point, so I’m stoked with the progress.

3. Started up my Youtube channel again. I’m committing to one video a week starting from September. I’ve let go of my need to make it perfect, and I’m just creating videos in a “livestream style” (but not actually live) that don’t require much editing so I can get them out more quickly. I realised that was one of the blocks I was having around doing Youtube videos - that it would take ages to edit. My “how I overcame my fear of flying” video only took 3 hours from start to finish, which is awesome because my other videos took me probably more than 10 hours each.

4. I went to Budapest and had a phenomenal time there! It was for a personal/business development day, and I feel like I up-leveled my mindset 10x. My biggest takeaway was that in order to create the success you want, you have to step into being that person NOW. You can do that by asking yourself the question: “Now that I am someone who {insert your goal or desire} what do I do? What do I believe? How do I act?” And then take action on that!

5. Went running 21 times. I can’t believe it’s that many. In the past, I’d be proud if I managed to exercise once per week. You can read all about how I changed my habit here.

6. Meditated every single day (or night!). I’m on day 160 of 365. I’m really enjoying just meditating with no ‘outcome’. Just enjoying it, whether it’s a 30 minute guided meditation or a 5 minute breathing exercise. For a while felt like I was doing it “wrong”. Now I’m just going with the flow.

7. Started my 21 day complaint-free challenge. As of today, I’ve completed 3 days of no complaining in a row (if I complain, I have to start back at day 1).

What would I change?
If I were to repeat August, I’d spend less time worrying and more time just trusting I’ll be able to work things out.

What did I learn?
That having too many things on my to do list burns me out! I need to take time out to relaaaax.

What am I grateful for?
Overcoming my fear of flying! I’ve been afraid of flying for more than 10 years, and now I feel totally free. You can watch my video on how I overcame it here.

What was the best thing?
I had my wonderful friends come all the way from New Zealand, and that was absolutely fantastic. They both spoiled me, and really helped me out during the launch of Impossible Incubator. I even got surprised with personalised vegan cupcakes!

Day to day, it can feel like not much progress is being made, but when I look back over the month, it’s easy to see that I’m actively moving in the direction I want to go. I highly recommend doing a review of your month, even if just for yourself!

Let me know what you think about my review, and if you’d like me to keep doing them! If you create a review, I’d love to read it! Tag me on Instagram @saraharnoldhall or email me at hello@saraharnoldhall.com.

My vision board

Ah! Sharing my vision board kind of makes me nervous. All of those “What will people think of my dreams? What if they think I’m silly?” thoughts come up.

But I get so inspired and motivated when other people share their vision and their dreams, so I want to do the same. Hopefully you get value from me sharing my dreams!

Why did I create a vision board? (Or what even is a vision board?!)

By being able to see and visualise my goals and dreams, I am inspired and excited to action more often. That’s really the whole idea - to create a visual representation of your goals so you’ll feel inspired to take action.

I created my board using Pinterest photos and putting them together in a collage on Canva (not sponsored, haha!).

Here’s what the photos on my vision board represent:

• Creating a podcast

• Doing loving-kindness meditation

• Having deep connection with friends (while having a cup of tea!)

• Sharing my message on stage

• Filming videos for Youtube

• Doing 100 push ups

• Relaxing (I’m working on taking time out from work!)

• Reaching 100k subscribers on Youtube (subscribe here!)

• Working from an inspiring home office

• Creating & selling a personalised life planner (has been a dream for years!)

• Running a retreat in Fiji

• Having a deep connection with my partner

• Writing in my gratitude journal

• Attending a Tony Robbins Unleash the Power Within event

• Rescuing animals from slaughter

• Going to my coaching recertification training in California in 2020

Of course, this vision board doesn’t represent my entire life’s vision, nor does it portray every aspect of the best human I want to be (for example, it doesn’t show core values, beliefs or purpose).

Even as I’m writing this, I feel like I need to give an explanation for what I want, as if desiring to live my best life is wrong in some way (hello there, people-pleasing brain).

But no. I’m unapologetic about wanting to live my best life, and to help others live their best lives too.

Do you have a vision board? Let me know in the comments (you can comment by clicking the title of this post!).

Are you choosing to feel excellent?

Before!

After!

I went to the salon today and it was wonderful, 4 hours of getting pampered (I’m not usually someone who does anything like that, but I got invited to go, so it was such a treat).

But during those 4 hours, I had a lot of time to think, and I realised something kind of phenomenal about the interactions around me. People were sabotaging their own happiness the moment they stepped in the door.

Receptionist: ”Hi, how are you?”
Customer: ”Not bad”

And then another one. And another one. Same thing. “Not bad.”

And I just thought, woah.

What even is “not bad”?

It doesn’t actually give much information at all. Are you good? Sad? Ecstatic? Upset? Excited? Lonely? Warm?

Here’s why I don’t think it’s a good response: when you get in the habit of answering “not bad” to "how are you?” you are training yourself to hear the word “bad” all the time. And your brain is like ‘Oh okay, we’re doing bad today’. And because of something called confirmation bias (searching for information to support your beliefs, and ignoring information that doesn’t support your beliefs) you’ll come up with reasons to support that statement. E.g. I don’t want them to overcharge me, I hope I don’t get a bad haircut, I’m too busy for this… You’re literally training yourself to believe you’re feeling bad, all day long.

It’s like a subtle form of complaining, that you don’t even realise you’re doing.

When someone asks you how you are, it’s actually an opportunity for you to DECIDE how you want to be in that interaction. Do you want the interaction to go negatively? Then use keep using a negative word, like “bad” in the sentence you greet someone with.

Imagine if instead, you started saying “I’m excellent!” anytime someone asked you. Your brain will come up with reasons to support that statement. E.g. It’s a beautiful day, I’m here at the salon, about to get pampered, everyone is really friendly… And you’ll start off that interaction the way you’d like it to go.

(This is especially important if you stand to gain something from that interaction or relationship, right? Because if you want something from that person (or might want their help in the future), it pays to bring a positive energy to the conversation.)

Unless I really am feeling totally rubbish, I try to say “I’m excellent!” because it reminds me that you know what? I AM doing excellently! I’m alive, I’m free, I have food, water, shelter, I’m healthy, I’ve got friends and family and opportunities. Oh yes, I remember I’m excellent! Fabulous! Wonderful! Marvellous! Spectacular!

What a beautiful world it would be if we entered every conversation remembering how spectacular our lives really are.

Push Ups: Week 3

Day: 16
Push up ability: 8

You guys, I did EIGHT push ups in a row today! On my feet! With (mostly) correct posture!

I had no idea how fast my body could get strong. I’m starting on week 3 now, and if I’m honest, I haven’t been following the routine because I was finding it arbitrary when I couldn’t even do one push up.

I’m going to give the routine another go (you can check it out here), but I’m just stoked with my progress!

Here’s what I’ve been doing:

Whenever I remember about push ups, or I think about them, I just drop and do as many as I can. Then I get up and carry on with my day. Sometimes, that means I do them 4ish times a day, and other times that means I don’t do them at all. But just using “thinking” about it as a trigger is so easy. I can do a quick round of a few push ups in under 15 seconds, so there’s really no excuse not to drop anything I’m doing for a few reps! Even thinking about some now - I’m going to do it now! (DONE - I managed 7 and a half this time haha!).

It’s so awesome to feel the transformation. The fact that I can now - within two weeks of starting - push my own body weight up and down off the floor might not seem like a big deal. But I’ve gone TWENTY THREE YEARS without being able to even do ONE. And all it took was 2 weeks of practice and I can do EIGHT?!

The various sayings around “you don’t know how strong you are” really ring true for me right now. I wonder what else I’m capable of that I haven’t even tried #positivemindset

They haven’t (so far) been causing me muscle pain or aches (possibly means I could push a bit harder, but I like that I’m able to just drop and do them AND see progress without feeling sore - it’s much more enjoyable that way!).

(Side note: yesterday I said I would “Bring The Fun” today, and that’s what I did with the push ups. It’s fun to just suddenly remember half way through walking down the hallway, and just go for it right there!)

I can’t wait to update you again on my progress. Stay tuned because 100 push ups is coming <3

Bring the fun

Today my friends I had a picnic in the park, and Aysha brought her adorable dog, Louis - who inspired me to change the way I think about my goals.

Louis was racing around the park, yapping away at strangers, having so much fun for absolutely no reason. There wasn’t anything happening - but he just decided it would be a good idea to create some fun. He wasn’t waiting for anyone else to make the day fun. He brought the fun with him.

It made me think about how sometimes when we set goals, we set them so big and so impossible that the excitement turns to dread and anxiety, and we end up feeling like our goals are totally not fun anymore.

However, the answer is NOT to quit, or lower the goal. You set that goal for a reason - you really, really want it. But when you’re under all this pressure to get to the finish line, you forget to enjoy the process. You forget that the fun is in the pursuing of the goal - the fun is now.

But it doesn’t always feel that way. I’m totally guilty of making fun things not fun. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in thinking about what my business “should be” doing, that I forget I started it just for fun! In fact, after we have our basic needs sorted, even life is just for fun! But instead of just ignoring the boring or tough tasks in life, or expecting them to be fun, I believe the answer is to BRING the fun with us.

That’s my new motto, thanks to Louis: BTF, Bring The Fun.

So tomorrow, I’m having a full day of fun. I’m still going to do everything I have to get done, but I’m going to BTF! I’ll keep you updated on how it goes! #ChannelingLouis!

And She's Only 22

Have you ever heard the saying, “you’re never too old to follow your dreams”?

It’s great advice. But if you’re like me and you’re relatively young, you probably think you should wait until you’re older or have ‘more experience’ before you can really do what you want to do. Wait until you’re 30 because THEN you’ll be good enough.

Major imposter syndrome, right?

My age used to be my biggest hang up in following my dream to be a life coach.
I thought, “who in their right mind would want to hire a 22 year old life coach?”

Well, as it turns out, people - young and old - do want to hire me, because I’m actually great at what I do.

But I still had imposter syndrome.

“I’m only 22” just kept playing in my head over and over and over.

Who would hire me? I’m only 22.
Why would they want to work with me? I’m only 22.
Who will take me seriously? I’m only 22.

Until one day, I was at a life coaching event and I overheard someone say about me:

“…and she’s only 22!”

That little ‘and’ made all the difference.

“She’s doing all this amazing stuff, and she’s only 22! I wish I had started at 22. Imagine where she’ll be at 40!”

Suddenly, it was like the cloud cleared in my head.
Ohhhh! My age could be viewed as an advantage.

A tiny shift in perception can change the way you see your whole world.

You’re never too old or too young to start. Your experience is valid, just for being you on this earth, you have wisdom and gifts to share with the world. And honey, this world could use every little bit of help it can get!

So next time you’re feeling inadequate, remember that it’s your own bullshit talking and you get to CHOOSE how you see yourself. Even if you’re only 22.

Who is the secret jury you are trying to impress?

This photo is unapologetically yet nonetheless entirely staged as I often meditate at 1am in my pyjamas in the dark and that doesn’t make a good photo!

This is the guided mediation I’ve been listening to recently and I love it. It’s so relaxing and uplifting.

Sometimes I feel like I have a jury in my head, a panel of people I know in my real life who have gathered to approve or disapprove my actions. Exhaustinggggg.

It’s not often I feel that way. But sometimes, when I’m making a decision, I can feel the presence of that jury. Kind of like the classic angel/devil on the shoulders in a cartoon. Except it’s my entire extended family and my 500 Facebook friends.

When I first set my challenge to meditate for 365 days in a row (currently on day 154), I imagined myself being some enlightened Buddhist nun on a hill with her head shaved by the end of the year. I imagined that my jury would be pleased with me for attempting to become an enlightened human being.

So I feel like I’m “cheating” because I’ve actually been listening to guided meditations for 10 minutes at 1am, and I’m not sitting cross-legged in silence in a cave for 4 hours everyday.

But I remember that I WAS THE ONE to set the challenge! I’m not doing it to be ‘right’ at meditating, or to impress my jury. I have to remember WHY I am doing it. I began the challenge because I wanted to reduce anxiety and enjoy the many benefits of meditation. I totally believe I’m doing that. Bye-bye jury. Bye, Felicia!

Who is the secret jury you are trying to impress with your actions?

There is nowhere to 'get to'

Sometimes I think “I should be there by now” or compare myself to others who are further ahead. But remembering to celebrate my attempts is the real triumph.

The real secret of impossible goals is that there’s nowhere to ‘get to’. The end goal is only there to give us the opportunity to grow. Trying IS the success, because trying means we are growing. Attempting an impossible goal, putting your whole heart and soul into it - that is the reward. It doesn’t matter if you succeed or fail.

Today I worked on my 100 push ups a lot. I can do 5 now - (well, an average 5, I wasn’t going as low as I need to be). But that’s the point! I don’t want to think it’s not good enough because I can’t do 5 perfect push ups yet. Reframing my thoughts: I’m actually super stoked to be at 5 already!

One of the ego’s favourite stories is “Things aren’t happening quickly enough.”

I heard myself think that (but not say it - that would count as a complaint and I’m not complaining for 21 days!) when I woke up this morning and saw 47 people had seen my YouTube video (last time it was more). But HOLY MOLY 47 people! Imagine if they were all in the room with me right now?! That’s a heck of a lot of people to impact.

I’m happy when I’m growing.

That’s my new mantra. It doesn’t matter when I get there. It could take me 50 years to reach 100 push ups or 100k subscribers. But I’m happy, because I’ll still be growing as a person, still be growing towards something bigger.

It’s so easy to think “I should… blah blah blah”.

I think sometimes people look at me with my goals and they assume I’m working on them 24/7, and crushing it all the time. It’s just so not true. Today I woke up at lunchtime, and did not go for a run! It’s so easy to look from the outside of anyone else’s life and compare yourself to them. I’m totally guilty of this. Some of my biggest inspirations are seemingly SO far ahead of me. BUT THERE IS NOWHERE TO GO, NOWHERE TO GET TO. This is it, right now. This is enough.