“…It is when we act freely, for the sake of the action itself rather than for ulterior motives, that we learn to become more than what we were.”   – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to cook.  Not only do I love to cook, I love to experiment when it comes to cooking.  There is no pressure for a dish to be perfect.  If the result is not great, no big deal – I’ll try again.  Interestingly, though, the outcome is usually scrumptious – you will have to trust me on that!;)

I am in flow when I am cooking.  The kitchen might be a mess and the sink might be full, but I am totally zoned in.  Time passes and I feel present and alive.  One of my friends even told me that my eyes light up and I become even more energetic just talking about cooking.

As I become more aware of my ‘negative’ patterns and tendencies – perfectionism, people pleasing, self-criticizing – and in transforming my relationship with them, I often think of how my lessons in the kitchen can be transferred to the rest of my life.

What if I mindfully notice what it is like to be in my head instead of being carried away by my thoughts? What if I relaxed in the flow of work?  What if I allowed myself to release the need to say the right thing in conversations and simply listen deeply and speak from my heart?   What if I let go of the expectation to be at the top of my profession and just show up fully for those I serve?

If cooking is a testament of what is possible, this is an experiment I am happy to run.

What about you?  What area of your life can you learn from?  How can you extend that to the rest of your life?  Are you willing to play with the possibilities?

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Interested in consciously designing a happy life and doing work that makes your heart sing?  Message me at [email protected], and let’s schedule a chat.