Emily Downward

Category: Uncategorized

  • Trusting Through Change

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    I was recently watching an educational video that included time-lapse video of a flower blooming. I love watching nature unfold in time-lapse. It’s fascinating to me to see the progress, which normally occurs so slowly over time that you hardly notice it. The narrator said, “You can’t make a flower bloom more quickly.” It reminded…

  • Putting It All Together

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    I bought a new desk for my office, and it came in approximately 10,000 pieces. As I laid them all out on the floor and began to try to understand the directions and decipher which part resembled the diagram, I was reminded of a do-it-yourself mini robot kit I got one Christmas from an uncle.…

  • Change in Scenery

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    I’ve recently experienced a big transition: I’ve moved across country to be with my boyfriend. I’m an experienced mover: I moved seven times growing up, and this is my fifteenth move as an adult. I have learned a lot about moving, including how to pack well and the value of detachment from material items that…

  • Strength in Resting

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    “The strength comes in the resting.” It was such a simple statement by my personal trainer (aka my boyfriend) but also very profound. He was remarking on my progress and complimenting me on sticking to my exercises to strengthen my hip, but he surprised me by telling me to take a day off – to…

  • One Small Step at a Time

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    I’m currently rehabilitating my right hip. Due to scoliosis and some other factors, it’s significantly weaker and has been causing me a lot of pain and making it difficult to walk. I’ve been doing a combination of therapies to relieve the pain and make it stronger, and after a couple of good days, I thought…

  • “I’ll Be Happy When…”

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    I have spent so much time looking ahead, looking forward to my next achievement. “I’ll be happy when I have ________” is what runs through my head. There are two problems with this way of thinking. One, I’m not in the present moment, grateful for and happy with what I have now (and all we…

  • What Are You Waiting For?

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    I was a senior in high school when the movie Dead Poets Society came out. In it, an unconventional English teacher, played by Robin Williams, inspires his students to seize the day. “Carpe Diem!” The Latin phrase became their rallying cry. I was moved by the movie and its message. What it meant to me…

  • More Love

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    It’s February, and Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. It’s a fun holiday if you’re in a couple; it can be tortuous if you’re not. Whether you’re single or not, I think we all can use more self-love. And while you may think as a career coach I seem to have gone soft on…

  • Managing Your Energy

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    One of the biggest shifts I’ve made in the last couple years since my training to become a Martha Beck certified life coach has been my awareness of the energy I am bringing to any given situation. I always knew and believed the only thing we can really control is how we react, but I…

  • Are You Ready to Let It Go?

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    Budgeting is a skill most of us learn through trial and error. We learn how to budget our time to get necessary tasks completed. We learn how to budget our energy, recognizing that some activities and people replenish us while others drain us. And we learn how to budget our resources, which can include time…