Step into the snow & Step into your power.

7 January 2022

Happy Friday! How has the week been going so far?for you??

In New York, I woke up to the first snow of the season blanketing all of the pine trees around my house and the roofs of my neighbors. Pristine?white. Thick. And beautiful. Like in a wonderland.?After breakfast, my kids changed into their snow suits and had a snow party in the backyard (thanks goodness so mama could work).

As much as I wanted to step into the snow, which I actually did, after a home-cooked lunch (it's Friday and it's also snow day so I spent time cooking a fish noodle soup dish we all love), I also want to talk about "step into your power". This is something that has been helping me so much in work / entrepreneurship and life.

In my early twenties' version, it's worded as?Every Challenge is an Opportunity (to grow and to expand),?and now as I get older, am a mother of two and a Career Happiness Coach, I am a bit wiser with an unleveled version, I think :)

These words have now been well registered in my brain thanks to my little daughter. Here's why.

A few months ago, I experienced a situation at work where I found myself "rejected". And before I knew it, my brain kept digging into it, pulling me down and making me feel helpless and my self-worth doubted. For anyone who knows me, they often think I am really confident. They would be even so surprised to see this side of me.?

Yet, just like you, I have a powerful but also fragile human brain that loves scanning the environment for dangers and can't differentiate between life-threatening risks and daily stressors, which are always a part of life anyway.

So I journaled, using brain-based questions to guide my brain to think towards a solution and?towards a better version of me, one who has more inner strengths and builds wisdom from any setback. At the end of that entry, I was back to myself by really leaning into my very own power. This sounds like a big word but in essence, it's my Happiness Infinity Zone that includes my unique mission, talent set, passion and values. It also means?the exact?people who seek for my support, the wealth of hard-earned?experience, the richness of my investment in my own personal growth, and the strong belief in what I stand for in my work.?

Then I embraced this power.?

I let the opportunities that were not meant for me due to misalignment... go. I know we often hear "Just let it go" from inspirational sites or people who love to give unsolicited advice,?but it takes a process, often a deep well-guided internal process - which I often call brain training, to be there.

I let my real life totally be free of clinging onto that imagined life with those opportunities.?

The moment I did, my brain felt light, my body was relaxed and my soul got reset with creativity.?

Although I didn't expect it, clarity about my next steps came: Step in my power and?simply?be clear about who I am and how I work.?

To my amazement, I gained amazing results that felt even more magical than the first snow of the season out there. I was once again reminded that a brain in responsive mode often brings novel solutions.

And here's the happier ending that was not expected at all, either.

I actually wrote "Clear. Step in my power," on a small piece of paper and stuck it onto the pile of books on my desk as a reminder of the fruit of my mental process. Then my family went on a vacation in Orlando, making friends with Harry Porter and his wizarding world.?

When we were back from the trip, I saw on my table another clone of that piece of paper, stuck to the same place, the only difference being the childlike handwriting. "It's me, mom," my daughter shared with me later, with a radiant smile that felt like she was in her own power and as a child, she was clear about who she was too. Then I realized when I do step into my power, I am also modeling it for the people around me, starting from my family and my little people.

For a Happier YOU:

I'd like to invite you to train your brain as well. Remember each thought has the power to restructure your precious brain, so journal, talk out loud, find someone who could provide fresh perspectives, get a therapist or a coach if need be.?

You can still read inspirational quotes. Yet they're too shallow to reshape your thought patterns and hence your neural pathways.?

When you feel like you encounter a setback, use the following questions to train your brain:

1. What does this situation want to teach me?

2. A year from now when I have become a better version of me who is wiser, what would I advise myself now? / Imagine I have dealt?with this situation with an outcome that makes me feel empowered, how would I advise someone who encounters a similar situation?

3. What is the action that helps me align with this teaching / advice?

And register for the?Happier YOU in 2022 Mini Retreat?next Saturday. This is also how you step into your power by valuing and honoring yourself and choosing reasons instead of excuses. You deserve this! And I can't wait to see you again in person so together we train the brain?in the most powerful way, making it fully charged and readier than every for an amazing 2022.

With lots of New York snow and wind,

Onwards to Happiness Infinity,

Amy Nguyen

P. S. If you love this newsletter and think your friends may benefit from it, I'd like to invite you to spread happiness and share?this subscription link?with them.

Photo: Here're the pieces of paper with the fruit of my mental process, mirrored by my six-year-old daughter. And well, the image of a little red bird on a pine branch this morning that made my day too.