Karen Elizaga - Find Your Sweet Spot: A Guide to Personal and Professional Excellence

skirt! is an attitude... spirited, independent, outspoken, serious, playful and irreverent, sometimes controversial, always passionate.

Copyright 2014 by Karen Elizaga

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to Globe Pequot Press, Attn: Rights and Permissions Department, P.O. Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437.

skirt! is an imprint of Globe Pequot Press.

skirt! is a registered trademark of Morris Book Publishing, LLC, and is used with express permission.

Text design: Sheryl Kober

Layout: Kirsten Livingston

Project editor: Ellen Urban

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Elizaga, Karen.

Find your sweet spot : a guide to personal and professional excellence / Karen Elizaga.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4930-0404-1 (ePub)

1. WomenVocational guidance. 2. Career development. 3. Success.

I. Title.

HF5382.6.E45 2014

650.1dc23

2013026847

While the stories described in this book contain true accounts of change and transformation, all of them are composites. They have been deliberately scrambled to disguise and protect the privacy of my clients. No subject found in this book corresponds to any actual person, living or dead.

The material in this book is intended to provide authoritative information and advice based on the authors experience and should not be used as a substitute for any individualized health or psychological care needed. The author and publisher urge you to consult with the appropriate individual practitioner in the event you require such assistance. Neither the author nor the publisher shall be liable or responsible for loss or damage of any nature allegedly arising from any information or suggestions in this book.

For Sloane and Finn

Every day, you inspire me to aspire to excellence.

The soul walks not upon a line,
neither does it grow like a reed.
The soul unfolds itself,
like a lotus of countless petals.

Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

Contents

Foreword

Bill Cowher and Queen V here. When our friend Karen Elizaga first described what would ultimately become Find Your Sweet Spot, her ideas and techniques piqued our interest. We couldnt wait to read about them. Now that we have , we are excited to share the good news. Here is a book that can help you achieve your goals, no matter what your passion or profession. Even though weve spent our careers in entirely different industriesas a former head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers and as an independent rock artist and entrepreneur, respectivelyKarens insights and coaching techniques resonated deeply with both of us.

I, Bill, have given hundreds of speeches on leadership to companies, teams, and organizations based on my personal life and professional experiences. And I, Veronica, have always striven to send out a message of self-empowerment, whether on or off stage, leading a band, or running my record label.

Despite our disparate backgrounds, we each found Find Your Sweet Spot to be an excellent resource for ourselves and for anyone in search of mindful living, regardless of gender, age, or station in life. In a time where self-help books line the shelves, this book stands out not only because of Karens unique background and worldview, but also because her recommendations draw from her professional coaching practice with her vast and diverse clientele.

Like Karen, weve worked with men and women of diverse backgrounds and skills and found that Find Your Sweet Spot has real applicability across the board. Find Your Sweet Spot offers a positive approach to dealing with the challenges of daily life, as well as specific techniques for making the necessary changes that can lead to excellent living. Karen addresses mental and emotional states as well as physical well-being, and then ties it all together. We have found Karens holistic view to be universally relevant yet, inexplicably, often overlooked. Her sweet spot strategies work!

Not only that, but they are easy to incorporate. Throughout her book, Karen introduces a variety of thought-provoking exercises that are simple and quick enough to practice every day. After reading Find Your Sweet Spot, a number of the recommended actions, such as Detox Your Vocab and Practice Gratitude, still remain with us; we find them popping up at unexpected times, lifting our quality of life on a daily basis.

We both found the book to be such an enjoyable read. As we turned the pages, it felt like we were sitting with Karen in person. She and her book have made a positive impact on our lives, helping us to appreciate what we have and inspiring us to strive to be better people. Read on and see what she and this book can do for you!

Bill Cowher, former NFL head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers and CBS analyst

Veronica Stigeler, songwriter and recording artist professionally known as Queen V

Introduction

Imagine waking up refreshed from a good nights sleep. You open your eyes to a day that feels bright with possibility, filled with the activities and the people you love. Imagine teeming with gratitude and pride for the life youve created and bounding out of bed to greet it. When was the last time you experienced this? As a child? In your dreams? Cant remember?

Instead, tell me if this sounds familiar. Your alarm goes off, and with your eyes squeezed tight to shut out the creeping daylight, you grope for the snooze button.

Just a few more minutes, please!

You wish you could stay in bed for just a littleor a lotlonger. You have a sinking feeling that the day ahead is packed with tedious tasks. Even as you try to catch some extra slumber, your mind begins to race through your to-do list, which only confirms your lack of inspiration.

Sigh.

You reach down and rest your hands on your belly: its bloated. You feel some guilt and annoyance with yourself about what you ate and drank last night. Exhaling another burdened sigh, you finally rise from bed, your body aching with fatigue.

No matter... you must begin your day. In a rush, you skip breakfast, forgo any form of a workout or meditation, and hurry off to drop the kids at school or to get right to the office. Traffic annoys you. And then someone puts an unpleasant chink in your morning by saying something, intentionally or not, that stings. It sticks with you all day.

I should have just stayed home.

Now, everything really irritates you. The day just plain stinks. As you go along, you make unhealthy food choices, reaching for the quickest fix, probably something processed and lacking nutrition. In fact, you feel even more sluggish after you eat, not to mention the sense of failure you harbor because youve wrecked your healthy plan. Now, you might even need that cigarette.

Ill quit tomorrow.

You find your job unfulfilling; youre disengaged. Youre so tired or bored, or both, that you keep running to the coffee shop for those caffeine boosts that help you get through the long hours. Or, perhaps, you are so driven to achieve that you forget to eat or take any breaks. As the day continues, you wonder why you cant seem to get it right. Your to-do list grows by the hour, and while you may enjoy fleeting moments of happiness, the day leaves you feeling depleted. Frazzled.