Here Comes Santa Claus

Life fully loved
18 December 2022

Audio Listen Now
Video Watch the Video

I was walking my middle child to school one December day when it happened. Santa passed us. He was in his car, fully geared up in his read suit and hat with his white beard, on his way … somewhere.

My four-year-old daughter started speculating immediately. What was Santa doing on our street? Where was Santa going? Why didn’t he stop to say hi? And, again, where was he headed?

She came to a firm conclusion: Santa was on his way to Home Depot to buy wood so he could build more toys. “Crunch time” because it was the Christmas season and Santa needed wood pronto.

Santa’s Job

Desire + Belief = Expectation¹

Desire + Belief = Expectation

My daughter believed in Santa, she desired him to do something related to Christmas, so her expectation was that he’d build more toys for children. It was Santa’s job after all!

Desire

Apply this model to your own life. What do you desire? Or, in simpler terms, what do you want? While it’s a straightforward question, when I ask this question in a coaching session, I often hear silence. What’s that about?

Desires (“what I want”) run counter to the accepted negative narrative of focusing on what you don’t want or like.

If you find yourself spending time in resistance, feeling like you need to turn the tide yourself instead of letting it turn in your favour, you’re not alone. In fact, sometimes I see people looking for new resistance when current roadblocks are removed simply because resistance feels familiar.

So ask yourself, What do I want? It’s the Christmas season, a time to reflect on what’s important to you. For me, I want to give and receive love from family and friends. I want belonging and connection as I talked about last week. Spreading kindness to make the world a better place is valuable to me.

Belief

Belief is just a thought you keep having. It’s the most useful definition of belief I’ve found. What thoughts do you keep having? There’s a reason why coaches call saboteurs “limiting beliefs.” Often your beliefs do not support your desires. They’re in direct opposition to them, which leads to feeling of dissonance.

In truth, your desires come from your Leader Within, the part of you that aligns with Spirit or something greater than yourself. Your beliefs often revolve around what your saboteurs tell you, those inner voices that judge and want to control your behaviour. Aligning desire and belief becomes challenging because of the resistance inherent in the process.

One way to get there: make your desires bigger than your beliefs. Magnify them, knowing that your Leader Within always guides you to your best self. Listen to what it tells you because that’s where meaning and purpose lie.

Expectation

Expectation comes from desire and belief. When you align the two, that’s when you can expect change to happen. When they’re mis-matched, you feel frustrated and without hope.

¹ For more on this topic, check out the work of Abraham-Hicks.

Header Photo by Thomas Park on Unsplash, Santa clasping hands photo by Jesson Mata on Unsplash, Photo by E M

You have to be open minded in order to grow. The coaching that Laura gave me opened my eyes to what and how I was doing things and allowed me to see the bigger picture. I am not done yet but I already see the changes in my everyday life.
MM

I think coaching is a great way to help you clear your mind when you get stuck with overwhelming situations or when stepping into changes in your life.
MO

Coaching is life changing. It pushes you outside your comfort zone and challenges your perspectives. It is highly motivating and the exercises and techniques used are both fun and informative. I think the main benefits of coaching are to see yourself, others and the world more clearly. I think coaching is valuable to anyone regardless of where you are in your life or career.
LE

I honestly never thought I’d need a coach. I thought coaching was for CEOs and industry VIPs. I didn’t think it was for the “little guys” (i.e. me). Now, I’m of the belief that everyone – yes, EVERYONE – needs a coach. Coaching has really benefitted me and I’m so grateful to have had that time with Laura. It’s changed my life!
VB

Laura is very patient. She took the time to understand what was causing me to be stuck where I am today and help me build a better vision so I can continue to grow.
MM

I think Laura’s coaching was what I had been waiting for. Laura was so approachable, kind, and open. Her willingness to help and support made a difference for me. I found in her coaching new strategies, ideas, and perspectives that I could incorporate into my goals and objectives that I didn’t see before.
MO

Laura is an incredibly intuitive, positive and caring coach. Her techniques helped me recognize both my strengths and areas I might want to explore as I embark on the next chapter of my career. The exercises she employed were instrumental in providing self perspective and challenging my frames of reference.
LE

Laura is a natural coach. Her probing and compassionate questions helped me learn about myself: my value system, interests, goals and strengths.
LM

Coaching sessions with Laura gave me new perspectives on how to process specific feelings and situations in life. She showed me how to sit with my emotions, acknowledge them, and then use visualization strategies to move through them. I now feel more confident and in control of how I choose to walk through life.
CP

From the beginning, Laura put me at ease, creating a safe, open space for me to talk and share freely without fear of judgement. I loved the variety of approaches she used depending on the topic we were working on and it was fun being able to try out things I wouldn’t have considered before! With Laura’s coaching, I substantially grew my confidence in the workplace, overcame fears, dealt with issues I’d been carrying around for many years and, most importantly, learned to value myself and define a path forward into the future.
AG

Laura’s coaching was a breath of fresh air and EXACTLY what I needed at that point of my life. I didn’t realize how impactful coaching was going to be, but by the end of the sessions together, I left feeling refreshed, inspired and genuinely curious about what my future held for me. Because of Laura and her coaching, I believe I became a better person – someone who is more open-minded, someone with a clearer focus, and someone who is willing to explore opportunities and possibilities far more than I ever did before.
VB

I engaged Laura for coaching as I took on an expanded role leading an asset management company in Canada. As a female, I knew I would be a role model and had high expectations of myself. I was feeling overwhelmed and anxious.

In our first few coaching sessions we worked through exercises that allowed me to reflect on my purpose, leadership style and what mattered most to me. I continue to be grounded by the clarity I achieve in my coaching sessions – allowing me to be resilient and confident when challenges came my way.
OS