Navigate Your Life: Susan Hyatt

Aug 27, 2014

Who do you learn from? What circles do you sit in, listening to how others live their truest lives?
I’ve convened one this month, asking women I admire how they create their lives. Today is the sparkly Susan Hyatt, whom I met a few years ago at a weekend event Danielle LaPorte invited us to. I fell in love with Susan’s spunk & smarts.
Susan’s a master certified life coach who stands for a very simple message: “Life is precious. Go make it delicious.”
She has been featured in Cosmo, Woman’s World, and O Magazine, which makes her feel pretty darn fancy. She lives in the Midwest with her husband, the Silver Fox, her punk-rock-feminist daughter and Muay Thai-obsessed son. She offers incredible programs and a wonderful TV show at SHyatt.com.

***

“Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!” —Anne Frank

I’m a life coach. And like most coaches, I am obsessed with human potential.

Within minutes of meeting someone for the first time — a barista, a grocery store clerk, the parent of one of my kids’ friends, or a client — my body goes into overdrive.

I can practically smell the “unrealized potential” trapped inside of that person.

All of the great things they could do… the impact they could make… the delicious life they could create… above and beyond their wildest dreams.

If only they could see their gifts clearly, break through the resistance and take action.

Of course, none of this is mind-blowing information.

Most of us understand that we’re walking around with an incomprehensible amount of unrealized potential, locked inside. You do. I do. We all do. (I’m willing to bet that even high-performers like Oprah, Obama and Beyoncé do, too.)

So, here’s what I do when I’m feeling adrift… like I’m falling short (waaay short) of my highest potential.

I ask myself this question:

“What would the ULTIMATE version of me choose?”

And then, immediately, I know exactly what to do.

Because the ULTIMATE (as in: best, strongest, most aligned, most on-purpose) version of me will always choose…

  • To wake up at 5am and put in an hour at the Crossfit gym to strengthen my body and mind, before the sun even rises.
  • To savor a kale smoothie or a protein-packed egg ‘n veggie burrito instead of skipping breakfast and then mindlessly binging on cookies, later.
  • To spend less time online and more time laughing and connecting with people, in real time.
  • To create valuable content for my clients and readers, instead of frittering away the entire day on Facebook (as much as I looove me some Facebook!)
  • To speak bravely and tell uncomfortable stories — like the story of how I got raped, but refused to let it derail me or define my life.

Yeah. Things like that.

When I clarify what the ULTIMATE version of me would do, my path is crystal-clear. Shockingly clear, in fact. There’s literally zero confusion about how I ought to be spending my time… what I ought to be prioritizing… what I should say “yes” to… and what gets big, loving “no.”

Do I hit the mark, one hundred percent of the time? Nope. I do not.

But by asking that question — “What would the ULTIMATE version of me choose?” — at least I know where I’m supposed to be aiming.

That’s how I choose — and create — the life that I want.

By choosing — as often as I possibly can — to behave like the ULTIMATE version of me.

PS. What does the ULTIMATE version of YOU want to say “YES!” to, today?

I’m on vacation with my family as you read this and that’s challenging given my mom’s Alhemzier’s. I’ll be asking myself this question as I strive for patience and love. Thanks Susan.

Love,

Jen

P.S. This is the second in 10 guest posts to inspire you to create your truer life. On September 17th, I’m offering a Life Navigation Primer to build on these posts, along with a collection of useful tools. It’s all totally freeeee. Please sign up here.

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