Bounce Back Like A Badass! with Cat Coley

Well, this is a whole new world and no, not the Ariel kind in Little Mermaid either. It's a lot scarier than Ursula could ever be. That said, there's also a lot to be hopeful and grateful for. One thing is if you're reading this and/or listening to me then you're alive and hopefully well. So that is a great place to start from...the rest is a little bit more complicated to say the least.

A month ago the entire world looked totally different from what it is now. As you well know life has almost instantaneously stopped for a huge part of the global population. We've all had to press the pause button in our lives and businesses. If there was a time that we wished we could work from home (to avoid that darn commute) or that we would stop saying "yes" to everything that we're invited too and spend time at home - we may be wishing for the opposite right about now.

To a lot of people being ordered to stay at home can be really difficult...and I get it. It's different when you have the choice to stay in and not want to see other people. It's a totally another thing to be ordered to stay home. It's in our nature to want something we can't have - and right now, what we can't have is the freedom to move about this world in the way we want and choose to. But here we are, in the middle of this pandemic and we know that staying home is what we must do to not only protect ourselves and our family, but also other people in our community.

But it does't make staying home any easier. Having had some personal experience in this space, I wanted to offer my tips on how to survive self-isolation. The tips I'm giving will seem like no-brainers, but you would be surprised that many skip doing them because of that exact reason. These are the steps I personally took to get through 18 months of self-isolation and I know they can work for you too - if you apply them on a daily basis. And if by chance you fall off the wagon and binge watch a few days of Netflix - it's okay, just get back on again. We're just trying to figure this out as we go.

Everything that we are experiencing individually and as a human race is new to all of us, no one knows exactly what's going to happen - the experts may have more information to go on than we do, and even they are giving it their best guess. So take comfort that we're all in this together and the only way out is through. We will see each other on the other side of our new normal and we will be more resilient than ever.

In the episode I mentioned that it's important for you to reach out to your community of friends, family and/or colleagues, but if they are not available to you, then call the numbers below to speak to someone that's here to help and lend an ear. We all need each other more than ever before right now.

Disaster Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990 or Text "TalkWithUs" to 66746

Wishing you, your family and loved ones to be safe and healthy now and always...xoxo Cat

It seems that we've barely scratched the surface of 2020 and already so many things around us are changing the way in which we look at life...don't you agree? From the unexpected passing of people I know and those whom I've admired from a far, to the current world situation of the latest virus taking this globe by storm - it seems that change is always upon us. How we react to these situations will set the course of our path.

For me there's one moment in my life that's changed who I am and where I'm going and every year at this time - I'm reminded of that moment. I can look back now and connect the dots, but I can tell you that it's taken a lot of time and self reflecting to get there. But I believe we all go through those defining moments - where one moment changes everything. For some of us, we have several of those moments, for others one is all they need. In this episode I'm sharing the exact moment that life changed for me and how I've looked back at that moment years later - knowing that in that instant my life was never going to be the same.

I can't wait for you to tune in and also if you're curious about the photo I talk about in this episode - you can find it on Instagram, so be sure to follow here! See you inside :) xoxo Cat

...But if you try sometimes, you find, you get what you need ~ The Rolling Stones

There is so much truth to that verse, don't you think? Hindsight is always 20/20 of course. So many things in my life that I thought I wanted but didn't get - and it was all for the better. Even though at the time it was heartbreaking to comprehend, looking back so much of what I thought I wanted would have led me to different outcomes that weren't necessarily what I needed (the enjoyment of having that thing would have probably been short lived) .

The inspiration for this episode is actually a movie that I watched a month or so ago called "A Marriage Story". The story of a couple with a child who have found themselves on the verge of ending their marriage and all the intricacies that's involved with that decision - especially when an innocent child is involved. It spoke to me on so many levels - of course due to my own experience with this exact same situation. Even if the stories are different and these are fictional characters, I can imagine that a lot of people can probably see themselves in these characters.

I'm grateful with the path that my daughter's dad and I ended up choosing for our unique situation. I realize that not everyone is as fortunate as we were - in that we were both on the same page and we're both willing to truly set aside our differences to focus solely on our daughter. This movie shows the ins/outs of such a trying time during the ending of a relationship. Not just the heartbreak of walking away from someone you once loved - which is so difficult. But also, how to find your own footing again, how to regain your independence and how to find your place in the world - without your partner. I can't recommend this film enough and you don't need to be in a marriage or relationship to enjoy it either...but it certainly hits home even more if you are.

Life is always working out in our favor. I have to remind myself of this fact at times - especially when I want something so badly and it doesn't up the way I thought I wanted it. In the end, I have to remember that I always get what I need out of it . I'll see you inside the episode! xx Cat

This episode is inspired by an unfortunate tragic event here in Los Angeles, CA but undoubtedly was felt around the world. That tragedy is of course the untimely death of the bigger than life Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and the seven other precious lives lost that day. This news hit like a ton of bricks and as the day unfolded I couldn't tear myself away from my phone. Half not wanting to believe and the other half wanting to know how this could have happened.

As the days have passed by I have read and watched so many millions of people share their own Kobe story of how he had touched and inspired them with his greatness, his tenacity, his drive, his focus, his pursuit of being the best he could be, his kindness, his generosity and his genuineness. There's no doubt that he was a legend not just in the sporting world, buy beyond and he will be greatly missed.

As shock and disbelief has turned into sadness and anguish, I know that time will continue ticking - as I've said before, time stops for no one - not even someone who has inspired millions of people around the world. Of those that knew him well the one sentiment that I've heard being repeated over and over is "I wish I had spoken to him just one last time..." But that is how we are designed - we always think that there's going to be tomorrow so we put off the things that we should be doing today.

Kobe's tragic death along with the 8 others reminds us that time is not guaranteed - not even to someone the world sees as unbreakable and unsinkable. We have watched Kobe take the clutch shot time and time again, we've seen him play through injuries that would put nearly anyone in the ER, he has worked 100x harder than those who aren't as talented as he was, he's made mistakes and made bad choices with huge consequences and he's persevered, his accomplishments are massive and awe inspiring, he's played through criticism, judgement and intense pain. He had so much more to give the world - so much more to contribute - but from all that I've read about him was....he didn't waste a day. He didn't put off tomorrow what he could do today.

And although we will never see the silver lining with all the lives lost - I hope that what we can take away is we must go after the life we want with the same tenacity and drive that Kobe did. We must not waste time overthinking the process and JUST DO IT. That we never put off what can be and should be done today for tomorrow...because it's never promised. I'll see you inside the episode! xx Cat

Happy Happy New Years my fellow BADASSES! Thank you for being here. I hope that you had the most amazing holiday spent with your loved ones, doing the things that excite you and bring you joy! And that's what this episode is all about...figuring out what brings you joy and executing on it to really get super clear on what you want! But it's not always that easy, right? First we need to do some inner work (btw just in case you've yet figured it out - it's always about inner work ;).

We spend so much of our time trying to find the solution to our problems and fix what seems to be broken - by searching for it outside of us. Whether that's through burying ourselves in our work, giving to everyone around you other than yourself, scrolling...scrolling...scrolling until your fingers are numb, shopping for anything and everything or trying to fill every second of our lives with things to do - so that we don't actually have to spend alone time with ourselves. Those are some of the sneaky ways we avoid going inward.

But in this episode I'm going to 'force' you to do just that! The only way to figure out what you want is to know where you're at. And the only way to do that is to ask some tough questions and for you to be truly open and honest with yourself. Now, I've done these assessments before and honestly, I've lied to myself about where I was at because it was just too difficult to face my truth. But doing so was a disservice to myself, because the only person that loses out is me. So, I hope that when you go through the 3 things I'm going to ask you to do - that you are open and honest with yourself and not allow your own self judgement get in the way of getting real clarity on what it is that ignites you from the inside.

Wishing you the most amazing start to this brand new year! I hope this episode inspires you to get super clear on what it is you want and take the next steps to create that life! I would so love to hear from you ~ and I would love to spread the word on this podcast that I'm so proud to create for you! If you can screen shot this episode, add me to your Instagram stories & tag me @ (https://www.instagram.com/catcoleycoach/) I will pick one LUCKY person to do a FREE one hour coaching call to talk about whatever you need help and guidance with - just for tagging me! So, listen to the episode, find the spark that ignites you and then go on Instagram and tell me all about it!

Thanks love - See you Inside! xo Cat