Emily Downward

Author: emilydownward

  • Spiritual Growth

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    I’ve been quiet lately. Usually when I’m quiet – not posting frequently on the blog or on my Facebook page – it’s because I’m doing more internal work. At the end of May, I got an insightful and helpful reading from a colleague of mine. She shared at the end of the reading that I…

  • Finding Your Way Back to Knowing

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    When I began my life coach training program in January 2011, I had no idea that the journey I was beginning would completely change my life. To be honest, I hoped it would change my profession. (And it did.) But I didn’t realize the profound effects it would have on everything else. And I also…

  • Choose Differently

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    I took this picture at one of my niece’s science fairs. It made me chuckle at the time, both for the honesty and for the truth that resonated with me. Sometimes, I have this feeling about life. Problems come up (or pile up) with no discernable solutions in sight. My first approach is generally try…

  • An Interview

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    I was recently interviewed by Jen Lewellen, a graduate student who had the assignment of interviewing a coach for her Executive Coaching class. The experience was delightful and enlightening for me. Having someone ask me questions and just answering spontaneously made me realize how pieces of my experience have shaped me and what I’m doing now, and it…

  • Mistakes & Magic

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    Have you ever made a really big mistake? The kind that makes you sick to your stomach…you are totally responsible for it, and although you can see how it happened, it’s going to take a LOT to fix it. Yeah, me, too. I recently realized I made a doozy of a mistake, and while I…

  • What’s Wrong with Your Job?

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    I talk to a lot of people who are unhappy or frustrated with their work. I hear them say things like, “I hate my job. I can’t stand how my boss treats me/my employees are lazy/my colleagues take credit for my ideas…I’m bored with this work and dread going into the office…” We are so…

  • Tips for Dealing with Overwhelm in Feeling

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    When you’re overwhelmed by feeling, such as grief, anger, sadness or frustration, it may seem like it will never end. We have a natural tendency to resist these feelings, to stuff them or avoid them, and we may turn to things like food or alcohol to avoid feeling them. As Carl Jung wisely pointed out,…

  • Tips for Dealing with Overwhelm in Your Thinking

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    I work with a lot of people who are dealing with overwhelm, whether that’s at work — trying to manage incredible pressures and responsibilities, not to mention that never-ending Inbox — or in their personal life — when everything falls apart and you don’t know where to begin to put the pieces back together again.…

  • Choosing Your Focus

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    When I told people I was moving to Seattle, several of them said, “You’ll hate it there! It rains all the time, and it’s so GRAY.” I would just smile and reply, “It’s not for everyone.” And while it does rain quite a bit in Seattle (especially this time of year), and the sky can…

  • An Intentional New Year

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    Rather than New Year’s resolutions, I now prefer to set intentions. To be honest, resolutions only kept me toeing the line for a few weeks, or possibly a month or two at best. Intentions feel much kinder to me. I like the concept of intentions so much, I set intentions at the start of any…