Jan. 2, 2025

177 Create a Life That Aligns with You: Small Steps Toward Big Joy with Carol Clegg

Join me, Carol Clegg, as I step into a new season of life and business—coaching from the road while traveling through the Caribbean and Europe in 2025. This episode is an invitation to pause and ask: What if your goals were aligned with your authentic self, not shaped by outside expectations?

We’ll explore the Kaizen principle—how small, sustainable improvements can lead to profound change. Whether you're a coach, solopreneur, or midlife woman redefining success, this episode offers inspiration for embracing mindset shifts, uncovering your saboteurs, and building a life of joy and gratitude—one small step at a time.

Let this be your nudge to align with the life and business you truly envision. I’ll return with stories, reflections, and tools from the road to support you in designing your own unique path.

Accountability & Mental Fitness for You
Coaching Mental Fitness & Accountability

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Hello from your host, Carol Clegg – your mindset and accountability coach for women coaches, entrepreneurs and small teams!

As a coach or heart led entrepreneur, you know all the right tools and strategies to support your clients—but when it comes to applying them to yourself, it’s easy to get stuck. You might find it hard to prioritize self-care, stay motivated, or maintain a positive mindset, especially when juggling the demands of your business. That’s where I come in.

I love helping women reconnect with their own practices. Together, we’ll explore what’s getting in the way, reignite your motivation, and put the right tools in place to support your well-being.

If you're ready to start prioritizing your own mindset and motivation, take my complimentary “Insights into You” (aka Saboteur discovery assessment” and follow up with a free coaching session to explore your results. Take your assessment here, or visit carolclegg.com for more details.

BOOK your ✅ 30-minute complimentary exploration call HERE

Let’s connect on LinkedIn and Instagram, or join my LinkedIn Group Flourish: A Community for Women Business Owners

...

I am your host Carol Clegg. As a small business coach, I partner with women solopreneurs in midlife, to confidently step out of overwhelm and create a fresh path to success through tailored accountability and mindset coaching, integrated with the powerful Positive Intelligence program. Struggling with procrastination, finding balance in your business and personal life, and cultivating a positive mindset?

Let’s chat!

BOOK your ✅ 30 minute complimentary discovery call

carolclegg.com or book your call here https://bit.ly/discoverycallwithcarol

Connect on LinkedIn and Instagram

Thanks for listening!

Chapters

00:00 - Thriving Through Mindset and Growth

06:44 - Building a Journey of Progress

Transcript

WEBVTT

00:00:00.381 --> 00:00:04.692
Well, hello and welcome to Connect Inspire Create.

00:00:04.692 --> 00:00:15.032
I'm your host, carol Clegg, a progress and mindset business coach, here to help you thrive and flourish and turn those challenges into opportunities for growth.

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This podcast is all about giving you your weekly dose of practical strategies, motivation and insightful conversations designed to boost your business skills, personal growth and happiness.

00:00:29.504 --> 00:00:42.500
So, whether you're looking to find balance, say goodbye to procrastination or just in need of a friendly nudge towards your goals, remember we're all on this journey together.

00:00:42.500 --> 00:00:55.292
Well, hello and welcome.

00:00:55.292 --> 00:01:09.623
Here we are at the start of 2025 and I am coming to you with a really short, quick episode and a little update to share with you and all my listeners.

00:01:09.623 --> 00:01:10.504
First of all, I just want to thank you.

00:01:10.525 --> 00:01:23.947
2024 was a wonderful year and here I am taking a small break for a few months, so I just wanted to come in and tell you a little bit about what's going to be happening with Connect Inspire Create.

00:01:23.947 --> 00:01:30.688
I am going to be heading out on an exciting adventure when this episode launches.

00:01:30.688 --> 00:01:40.921
I'll be packing those final bags, trying to travel light, but we will be traveling through the Caribbean and Europe for the next couple of months.

00:01:40.921 --> 00:02:15.813
I will be coaching from the road, which, of course, is always going to be interesting, as one relies on finding reliable, steady internet, but I'm going to believe that that is going to be possible and this is a journey that is all part of living a life that just reflects some of my values of joy, flow and freedom, and I want you, as you start off this year, to just encourage you to pause and reflect on some of your goals and what truly excites you.

00:02:15.813 --> 00:02:28.871
A lot of pressure as we start off the year, always to set goals and New Year resolutions and everything like that, but how about just moving a little into ease and flow for yourself?

00:02:28.871 --> 00:03:01.614
And as you look ahead to the next season, be that your business or your life, I encourage you to just stop for a moment and think about goals that align with who you are and what lights you up, not ones that are rooted in external pressure or comparison, because those might motivate us for a short time when we're trying to live up to somebody else's expectations, but rather to look at goals that feel in flow, that come from within.

00:03:01.614 --> 00:03:33.557
And I'll say that again as you contemplate the goals, if you want, sit perhaps for a moment in meditation or mindfulness, in quiet, in feeling grounded, and allow those goals to come from deep within, stopping to just say is this inspired by what I'm passionate about, where my strengths are and what I want to design for this year that's coming ahead?

00:03:33.557 --> 00:03:48.341
Because keeping you motivated, the journey of goal setting and accomplishing those goals certainly is far more energizing when they come from within and inspired by your passion.

00:03:49.189 --> 00:03:58.682
And a new concept that I am exploring for myself that I recently discovered is, when it comes to goal setting, looking at the Kaizen principle.

00:03:58.682 --> 00:04:10.865
So the Japanese word Kaizen and I might not be pronouncing it correctly, kaizen maybe, but the Kai stands for good and the Zen stands for change.

00:04:10.865 --> 00:04:26.654
And here we want to look at the three principles of Kaizen, which is process, enjoying the process and results, the big picture, looking at that.

00:04:26.654 --> 00:04:31.151
And then the non-judgmental for yourself of your steps.

00:04:31.151 --> 00:04:39.916
So, thinking about that principle, it is, it's all about continuous incremental improvement, taking small steps.

00:04:39.916 --> 00:04:41.740
We hear that all the time.

00:04:41.740 --> 00:04:44.072
It's those small steps that give us momentum.

00:04:44.072 --> 00:04:57.901
But these steps, you want to be non-judgmental over, the steps that we take for ourselves, and they need to be steps that we can sustain, but at the same time, yes, they do need to be part of a larger process.

00:04:57.901 --> 00:05:06.959
And so Kaizen reminds us to focus not just on the results, but on the growth and the learning that happens along the way.

00:05:06.959 --> 00:05:17.089
Yes, you want to think about your big picture vision, but then ask yourself, what's one small step that I can take today that feels achievable?

00:05:17.089 --> 00:05:25.161
And, of course, these steps compound over time and, before you know it, you have built momentum without the overwhelm.

00:05:26.250 --> 00:05:30.519
This is something that I recently heard that was inspiring to me.

00:05:30.519 --> 00:05:31.663
You're starting your week.

00:05:31.663 --> 00:05:33.216
I have always loved Mondays.

00:05:33.216 --> 00:05:34.857
Mondays I find so motivating.

00:05:35.690 --> 00:05:46.062
And here's a thought to reflect on on your next Monday, or whichever day of the week it might be, is what are you going to do differently today?

00:05:46.062 --> 00:06:09.283
So challenge yourself to move out of routines and habits that you're not even thinking about and ask yourself, as you work towards overall happiness in your business, what is something that you could do differently today that will play into that happiness level, that gratitude, that joy?

00:06:09.283 --> 00:06:18.752
So, as I step into my next adventure, I just invite you to reflect on your goals through this lens.

00:06:18.752 --> 00:06:21.317
Are they inspiring and joyful?

00:06:21.317 --> 00:06:29.040
Are you celebrating the small steps in the rewiring of the neural pathways of your brain?

00:06:29.040 --> 00:06:40.540
Remember to celebrate just these small steps, and that could be something as simple as just smiling, but it could be a body movement, it could be dancing on the spot, shaking your hands in the air.

00:06:40.540 --> 00:06:44.040
But just remember that these are yours.

00:06:44.690 --> 00:07:01.420
Be true to the life and business that you want to create, and I'll be back in a few months to share some stories and insights from coaching, from the road, and I hope you'll be building your own beautiful journey at the start of this year.

00:07:01.420 --> 00:07:10.269
But thank you, thank you so much for listening, Thank you for supporting my show, and I cannot wait to connect with you again when I return.

00:07:10.269 --> 00:07:20.300
So, wishing you all ease, flow and joyful progress on your own path, and remember I would love to connect and support you.

00:07:20.300 --> 00:07:34.744
So if we are not connected on LinkedIn, I invite you to come on over there, carol Clegg, really easy or stop by my website, and I will still be taking coaching calls while I'm traveling.

00:07:34.744 --> 00:07:51.454
I will still be working with my positive intelligence model and, if you are curious to find out which saboteurs might be getting in your way to start the new year, I do offer a complimentary unpacking of your results.

00:07:51.454 --> 00:08:01.920
So look forward to being back and having some exciting new guests on the show and until then, enjoy with ease and flow.

177 Create a Life That Aligns with You: Small Steps Toward Big Joy with Carol Clegg

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