<span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A fews years ago, I was struggling in my relation with my partner. At the time I had a baby and a toddler to take care of and year of sleepless night under my belt. I was completely drained and exhausted. All I wanted was for my partner to tell me how much he appreciated everything I did. It seemed like the more I was asking him the more tension was created in our relationship. I tried to ask in so many different ways and even if he would sometime tell me how much he appreciated everything I did, it never seemed enough. I finally reached out for help. I found a life coach that I could talk to over the phone while the kids were sleeping that could help me. She actually gave me a simple exercise that transformed the relationship I had with my partner and more importantly with myself. Together we created a sentence/affirmation that did put together everything I needed to ear and that I was craving so badly. I had to repeat my sentence everyday while looking at myself in the eyes in the mirror. I would also take a power stance while doing that; I had watched a Ted Talk about the power of taking a power stance to create confidence. So I would actually repeat my affirmation twice, once with my hands on my hips and once with my arms reach above my head. I had to do this simple exercise for 30 days in a row. If I had forgotten a day, I had to start the 30 days all over again. To also help me remember my affirmation I wrote it on a piece of paper and posted it in a place where I would see it many times a day, I posted it in the bathroom. Some of you might start being curious and of course I will share my affirmation with you it was and I am still using it:
Veronique, I appreciate everything you do, you are awesome and beautiful. I love you. Thanks for being here!

I actually often tell people in my group classes to do this exercise. So often we want to lose weight, look better, feel better, want to receive from others but we forget the basic to give what we need to ourselves first.  If you are unsure of what your affirmation should be try the 5 whys exercises. The 5 whys exercise is a great way to get deeper into the root causes of your unhappiness. So we could look at statements like "I aspire to have a body like you!"  and try to get to a deeper level of why. Perhaps the roots are in self-esteem, or the vision of what a successful person is.

"I aspire to have a body like you!”
Why do you want to have a body like mine?
"Well, you look great and have so much energy!”
Why would it matter to you to look great and have lots of energy?
"Well, my husband would love it, and I could keep up with my kids!”
Why does it matter how your husband feels, or that you can keep up with your kids?
"I think I'd have a happier family life.”
Why do you want a happier family life?
"We have a good life, but I think we could all be enjoying it more... and I never want to end up bored like my parents. I don't think they enjoyed life much.”
With this example I would create an affirmation that would focus on having a happy life. Maybe something life: “I am enjoying a happy life surrounded by people that I love.” Even though the goal was to have body like somebody else, the deeper root is happiness.

an other example:
“I want to lose 10 pounds for summer”
Why do you want to lose 10 pounds?
“Because I will feel more confident in bathing suit
Why do you want to be more confident in a bathing suit?
“I want to be able to go out and swim with my friends and not worry how I look.”
Why do you worry about how you look?
“I feel insecure about my appearance and what other people think”
Why are you insecure about your appearance?
“I believe that people will love me more if I am attractive.”
With this example I would create an affirmation that is around self love and confidence. Maybe something like; "I am confident about myself and I love myself fully just as I am.” Even though the goal was to lose 10 pounds, the deeper root was self love.

Coaching is very a powerful tool to create positive change into your life. I believe in a strong body and a strong mind in order to bring balance in every aspect of our being, radiating from the inside out. </span></span></span>

<a name="_GoBack"></a> <span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I am looking forward to hearing what you think about this topic.</span></span></span>