Upspiraling Ebook by Jasmine Ibrahim

THE 33-DAY ACTION PLAN TO

UPSPIRAL

YOUR LIFE

Get from where you are today… To where you really want to be

Your relationships, finances, career, goals, personal development, inner growth, and spiritual journey all unfold on the spiral.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS PART ONE: PERSPECTIVE The Spiral of Life........06 Your Extraordinary Side & The Journey Up the Spiral........10 How Your Life Is Unfolding on the Spiral........14 The Frontside of the Spiral........16 The Backside of the Spiral........18

Three Different Phases We Experience as we Upspiral........20 Challenges that Can Arise as we Move Up the Spiral........24 Summing it all up: A Quick Review........29

PART TWO: THE “HOW” - YOUR 33-DAY ACTION PLAN Mapping Your Spiral........31 Daily Action Plan........36 Getting Your 3s (One of the Best Parts About Upspiraling)........38

PART THREE: REFERENCE SHEETS Quick Reference Sheets........42

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HI, AND WELCOME For those of you who have been a part of the community at Possibility of Today for a while, you know when I find something that really works, I love to pass it along. There’s nothing better than finding good tips that help each day flow better. And, I’ve got something for you today. It’s called the 33-Day Action Plan to Upspiral Your Life. What does it mean to upspiral? Today, like many of us, you’re moving up something called your Spiral of Life. The Spiral of Life is a visual representation of our life journey and a helpful tool if you want to improve, grow, or find more success, meaning or fulfillment in any area of your life. Here, take a look at this picture on the next page… We’re going to take a closer look at this spiral and how to successfully navigate through the different phases, but first let’s talk about why it’s so helpful to understand what this path looks like.

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MANY OF US THINK THE JOURNEY WE’RE ON LOOKS LIKE THIS. SUCCESS

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SUCCESS

BUT, IT’S ACTUALLY AN UPWARD SPIRAL. IT LOOKS LIKE THIS.

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Chapter 1

THE SPIRAL OF LIFE WHY DOES UNDERSTANDING THE SPIRAL OF LIFE MATTER? Similar to many of us, you probably have a pretty good idea of what you want for your life. A happy and healthy relationship? Financial success and a healthy amount of money in savings? A great career? Or a successful business (if you’re an entrepreneur)? Meaning and purpose? However, have all the things you feel deep down are right for you already fallen into place? If not, then you’re like a lot of us. It’s not that we’re not grateful for all that we already have, but we know there are more experiences and accomplishments we’re meant to have. We also want to do all we can to make sure that our lives have meaning and a sense of purpose.

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My guess is that today you’re probably doing your best to move forward and live a really good, meaningful, and successful life. But, along the way you probably have encountered some challenges or setbacks? We all have these seeming setbacks at some point. There are so many things that happen to us as we make our way through the journey of life. However, what we call setbacks aren’t actually setbacks. Instead, they’re important pieces of the puzzle that happen as we make our way up the Spiral of Life. That’s where understanding the Spiral of Life comes into play. It’s so helpful to understand and look at your life and everything that’s happening through this new lens. Why? Because once we understand that our life is unfolding as we make our way up the Spiral of Life, it’s like turning on the light in a dark room. You see everything so much clearer. The events in your life and what you’ve gone through makes much more sense. You’re able to see the bigger picture and how the ups and downs are stretching you for a reason. You also understand how to take advantage of certain experiences and create important shifts in your life. Most importantly, it becomes clear what you’re meant to do each day to move forward and align with what’s most important to you and the good things that are meant to unfold in your life. There’s no need to spin our wheels or feel like we’re stuck on the “hamster wheel of life.” There’s no need to stress or have worries that things aren’t falling into place the way we need them to. There’s no need to question ourselves or give up on anything we know deep down is right for us. Why? Because we can upspiral! That’s what this 33-Day Action Plan is all about. You’ll find everything you need to align your days, your mindset, and your daily steps forward to move up your Spiral of Life.

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ARE YOU MOVING UP THE SPIRAL OF LIFE TODAY? Today, you’re at some point on this spiral path. Think about what’s specifically going on in your life today. Is there something really important to you today that you’re working on? Or maybe you’re working through a challenge today? Depending on what’s going on in your life right now, you’re moving through one of the 3 big phases: Building, Strengthening or the Momentum phase. You might be at a time in life where you’re on the frontside of the Spiral of Life. If that’s the case, then that means right now life is going fairly smoothly for the most part. Maybe certain areas of your life that are important to you are flowing or falling into place as you want them to. However, on the other hand, you might be going through one of those times where you’ve hit the backside of the spiral. If that’s the case, then that means you’re currently at a point in time in life where you have hit some challenges, or some problems surfaced that you’re working through. Maybe something really important to you didn’t go as planned? Whatever the case may be, it’s helpful to look at your life through this lens, know that today you’re somewhere on the Spiral of your Life, and understand the different dynamics of the spiral that will help you navigate successfully the journey of life. Because here’s one important realization: Even when you’re on the backside of the spiral and working through challenges or something has gone wrong, you’re moving forward.

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Look at the Spiral. Each loop is moving forward and upward. You’re always moving up, no matter how it feels.

SUCCESS

All those times in your life when you’ve been worried, or confused or had doubts because something was going wrong, or not falling into place, you were most likely just on the backside of the Spiral. As long as you take the right steps during the day (which will be a combination of your inner work and outer work), you’ll keep moving forward up the spiral. You’ll reach a frontside again of the Spiral. And, here’s the magic of understanding and knowing how to use your days to upspiral. We can see the bigger picture, get a handle of where we are on the spiral and in life, and really focus on using the day in front of us to integrate the right practices and do the work that will keep us moving forward and up the spiral. That’s the art of upspiraling we’ll be talking about in this action plan. It’s like having a personal roadmap of your life that gives you a lot of the directions and answers you’re looking for. You’re able to align with what’s happening, what’s coming next and make the necessary adjustments so that you’re moving forward and in the right direction. There’s no more making a wrong turn, or driving around in circles, or getting lost.

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I’ll use my life as an example because oftentimes it’s easier to see how to use the Spiral of Life as a tool when you see how the spiral is at work and being used in other people’s lives. So, I’ll be your guinea pig. Toward the middle of last year, there were several weeks where I had a long stretch on the backside of the spiral. We ran into this huge speed bump at work that threw things out of whack financially. At the same time I was working through all of that, my teenage daughter was going through that summer slump that some kids slipped into last year after a year of virtual learning and all that’s been going on in the world. As many of you know, when you’re a mom, your kids’ pain becomes your pain and so I really felt the weight of that. And, I was also trying to refinance my home, which if you’ve ever done that and are self-employed, it’s exhausting and WILD and can push you to your limits. All of this was going on in my life at the exact same time. It was A LOT. One afternoon, while I was processing everything and figuring out what to do, I got a call from Tami, the CEO of Sounds True, the company I work with. She started talking to me about all the work challenges we were working through. She said, “We’re really getting pushed hard right now. Or, as you say, we’re on the backside of the spiral for sure!”

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I agreed and said, “Yes, we’re deep on the back of the spiral, but it’s all good because we’ve been here before many times and we can find our way to that frontside again”. We both laughed a little and that helped us let off a little stress that had been building up. Of course, we weren’t laughing because there was anything about the situation that was funny. There was a lot we had to figure out and we had some serious challenges to work through. Also, for me personally, it had been one of “those challenging times” for what felt like a really long time. In addition to trying to find the way through all the challenges at work, I also needed to figure out how to manage all the other stuff I was working through personally at that time. But, we found a moment of comedic relief in the situation because we both knew it was just a time when we were on the backside of the spiral. There was nothing to get worked up about or stay stressed out about. We just needed to zero in on the moment, find our lessons, insights, do the work and make our way back to the frontside of the spiral. For me, it was time to do my standard Backside of the Spiral Routine. I took several minutes and settled into my Extraordinary Side, reflected on the Spiral of Life to get a grasp of the bigger picture. I also thought about the specific lessons that had surfaced so I could do the inner work and outer work that work together to help resolve situations and shift things forward. We’ll be going through exactly how to do the Backside of the Spiral Routine because when you can tune into the exact lesson you’re supposed to be learning and do your inner work while also taking the right steps forward, it allows you to continually make significant progress and successfully navigate up your Spiral of Life. We’ll be getting into all of that though in detail later on and customizing your Backside of the Spiral Routine in the action plan section. But, first let’s talk a little more about the Spiral of Life and where it comes from.

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WHERE DID THE SPIRAL OF LIFE AND UPSPIRALING COME FROM? It was a little over ten years ago when I discovered this spiral and a recurring pattern unfolding in my life. I spent thousands of hours studying it, reading books about spirals, sacred geometry, mapping out the spiral, analyzing the patterns, and examining how it worked in my life. It was fascinating to me! I could see how my own path to Harvard law school, reaching personal development goals, my career goals, my financial goals, my inner development journey, and even the growth of my relationship with my husband all grew and followed this same spiral cycle–from building, to strengthening, to momentum and then the cycle would repeat again. There also were consistently times in each phase when I was on the frontside of the spiral and times when I was on the backside. I then started examining how the spiral was unfolding in other people’s lives. It was the same exact cycle and the spiral pattern mapped perfectly again. That was even more fascinating to me because I could see that once we figure out the natural rhythm of how our lives grow and evolve, it’s so much easier to align with the path you’re meant to walk. It’s not just my life that’s unfolding on this spiral path. It’s all of ours. My life, your life (everyone’s life) is unfolding along a spiral path, the Spiral of Life.

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THE MOST IMPORTANT AREAS OF OUR LIVES ARE INFORMED BY THIS SPIRAL PATH The Spiral of Life informs the most important aspects of our lives–your relationships, your finances, your career, your goals, your personal development, your inner growth and even your spiritual journey (if that’s something you’re into). Each area of your life develops, grows, and evolves as you make your way up The Spiral of Life. And, each area of your life also grows in this same spiral pattern. The consistent theme and the way growth happens is in an upward spiral process. Once we understand how the spiral pattern unfolds, the 3 cycles, and how to align with the dynamics that arise, we can master the art of upspiraling and use it to grow the different areas of our lives, like our relationships, careers, work, finances, etc. We can figure out what’s most important to us at any point in time, really zero in on that area of our life, take the right steps forward, and move up our spiral of life to reach it. In other words, all those times you’ve heard people say that there’s a path to what’s most important to us…they’re right. Most importantly, when we upspiral, we really get in tune with who we are deep down, our true self. Why? Because not only are we successfully making progress in our outer life as we move up the Spiral of Life, we’re also aligning with our higher self, or as I like to describe it, learning how to let our Extraordinary Side lead the way.

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Chapter 2

WHAT IS OUR EXTRAORDINARY SIDE?

There’s something in each of us deep down that is totally intelligent, knows our true potential, understands why we’re here, what we really need, and how we can best reach it. That’s Your Extraordinary Side. Your Extraordinary Side is the part of you that has been urging you toward everything that’s truly right for you. It’s on a mission to guide you there.. It’s why you’re reading this action plan right now. We just have to be willing to tune in, listen and take steps forward to move up the spiral. But, one of the best things about the spiral and upspiraling is that you don’t have to take my word for it. As you move through this 33-Day Action Plan, you’ll get to see it in action. In fact, let’s walk through an example right now from your life.

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MAPPING OUT YOUR SPIRAL OF LIFE Today, where do you think you are on your Spiral of Life? Think about your life and whatever is going on for you right now? What do you want to focus on dialing in this year in your life? Maybe it’s your work, or your business, or your relationship, finances? Or, your personal development and growth journey? It could be any area of your life that feels really important to focus on. I’ll use myself as an example again in case it’s helpful. For me, what’s most alive right now when I step back and look at my life is that I’m at a point of new beginnings or a next chapter. I’m surrounded by new beginnings both personally and professionally after a period of doing a lot of inner and outer work. Today, it feels like I’ve reached the point where all that inner work has really settled in and I have an entire new operating system and perspective that’s impacting everything, including my relationships with my husband and kids. In an interesting way, although those relationships are not new ones in my life (I’ve been married for 18 years and my kids are 10 and 15), I have a new way of “Being” in those relationships and so that’s why it feels like each of them is at a point of the next chapter. There’s even more to learn and experience, but now from a new perspective. Professionally, I’m also at the next chapter both with Possibility of Today and Sounds True, the company I work with. You may know that a little over 10 years ago, I quit my job as an attorney in Corporate America because I wanted to find my way to the work that I felt deep down I was meant to do. It was the work my Extraordinary Side had been guiding me toward my entire life. But, in order to make this transition successfully, I needed to still pay the bills, support my kids, and get over the fears, doubts, worries, etc. Needless to say, there was a lot of work to do. Not only was I going to need to take a lot of steps forward in terms of creating my new career, I had to do A TON of inner work to move up this part of my Spiral of Life. But, at the end of last year, I finally hit the momentum phase and there were a lot of shifts forward. It’s now time for the next chapter. This year will be about deepening into my Extraordinary Side, upspiraling, aligning with the next phase of personal growth in relationships and completing a couple of big work projects.

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That’s an example from my life in case it’s helpful. You may be at a similar place where it feels like you’ve entered a new chapter in your life. Or, you may be somewhere totally different. I’ve got a friend who just lost her son and when we were talking the other day she shared how she’s really at a point of healing and getting stronger. She is making her way through Phase 2. But, she’s very aware of what’s happening and aligning with everything she needs to do to work through her inner work. She’s joining a support group with other parents that have been through the same thing. She also is doing her own inner work and working through her fears, worries and all of her other emotions that have surfaced from losing a child. Another one of my friends just started a new business, and she’s in Phase 1, learning a lot about her limiting beliefs and building new skills. Another friend is farther along in growing his business and working through Phase 2, getting stronger and preparing to enter into the momentum phase and expansion of his company. And now, back to you. Let’s start your UpSpiral Reflection Process, which is the first part of the 33-Day Action Plan. But, one quick thing before we do that together.

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IS UPSPIRALING FOR YOU? I want to be totally transparent. Upspiraling is not a “quick fix”. If you’re not feeling ready and open to dive into your outer work and inner work, break any patterns, bad habits, or work through any of the other “stuff of life” that’s been getting in the way then this isn’t the plan for you. In order to upspiral, we’ve got to do the work. There are days I’ve personally had on this journey I wished were easier. And, after watching and answering questions from friends and other people who also embarked on this journey, there have been days when I wished it was easier for them too. In fact, I used to wish there was a magic wand we all could wave and voila, just like that, we could take some steps forward, and everything would shift and fall into place. But there’s no magic wand. I’ve also come to realize that we actually wouldn’t want that anyway because the real gift happens every single time we dig deep, align with our Extraordinary Side, and move up another phase of The Spiral of Life. If you commit to upspiraling and stick with it, you’ll never look back. You’ll also wonder how you ever went through life any differently. You can count on experiencing so many benefits– a peaceful mind, success, meaning, purpose, and lots of gratitude and joy. You’ll accomplish what’s most important to you and also what you’re meant to bring into the world. But, I’ve learned that it’s really important to share the depth of this journey with everyone upfront so anyone that’s not ready or willing can stop reading right now.

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LET’S GO! Throughout history, the Extraordinary Side and the ordinary side have gone by many If you’re here, then that means you’ve made the really good choice to continue and commit to the journey and upspiral. Congratulations! You’ve done the hardest part and taken a really important first step. I’ll help you with the next steps and also pass along all the different tools, practices, and information that will help you learn how to master the art of upspiraling your life. If you haven’t already downloaded your free 33-Day Action Plan, you’ll want to do that now. There’s a blank spiral and a quick self-audit with 7 Important questions for you to answer to help you fill out your own Spiral of Life. You’ll be able to find it in the last section of the book where you’ll also create your Customized 33-Day Action Plan. Download it now. Complete the questions, map out your Spiral of Life, and then when you return to the next section we’ll focus on unpacking the spiral and how the different cycles, the phases and the frontside and backside of the spiral work to create benefits in our lives. We’ll also focus in on how you can use the Spiral of Life moving forward and apply it to your job, your goals, your career, your business, your relationship, your inner growth journey, or any other area of your life where you’re looking for any improvement, development, accelerated growth, or success.

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I used to wish there was a magic wand we all could wave and voila, just like that, we could take some steps forward, and everything would shift and fall into place. There’s no magic, but there is the Spiral of Life.

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Chapter 3

NTS

SID ES

FRO

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IDES

HOW YOUR LIFE IS UNFOLDING ON THE SPIRAL

The Possibility of Today by Sibyl Chavis

NTS

When you’re on the frontside of the Spiral, these are the times in your life when it feels like you’re truly making progress. Think back to a really good time in your life. Maybe you had a big win?Or accomplished something you really wanted? Or maybe your relationship with your significant other was going really well. Or, all of the above.

FRO

In the picture, you’ll notice there are both frontsides and backsides on the spiral. As we make our way up the spiral of life, we have those times in life when we’re on the frontside of the spiral and also times when we’re on the backside of the spiral. Some people describe it as the good times and bad times, or the ups and downs of life. But, there’s a bit more going on which is why it’s helpful to see the spiral path and unpack what’s really happening.

IDES

WHEN LIFE IS GOING SMOOTHLY

You were most likely feeling good, inspired and were happy with the way things were happening in your life and falling into place. Life was going smoothly. These times feel great, don’t they?

YOU’RE STILL MOVING FORWARD (EVEN WHEN SOMETHING GOES “WRONG”) However, when your life journey turned and pushed around the backside of the spiral, maybe something went wrong? Or an unexpected challenge came up? Or, maybe you failed at something?

CK SID ES

Look at the rings of the Spiral--whether you’re at a point in life where you’re moving around a frontside of the spiral or making your way around the backside, the overall motion is up. The spiral never returns to exactly the same place and it’s constantly moving up and leading you to new experiences, insights, and progress.

Those times often don’t feel as good. In fact, many of us interpret those times in life as problematic. We may even get discouraged, feel defeated, worried, or question ourselves. Has that ever happened to you? If so, you’re not alone. But, let’s take a closer look at what was really happening all those times we thought things were going “wrong.”

As long as you keep learning your lessons and taking steps forward, you’re moving toward the top of the spiral (even during those times when you’re running into problems after problems or challenges on the backside of the spiral).

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WHAT’S REALLY BEEN GOING ON IN LIFE? Think back to a time in your life when you ran into a major challenge or maybe something didn’t work out the way you wanted. You were making your way around the spiral and hit one of those times in life when you were on the backside. Although it may have been hard to see at the time, when you look back now, you may be able to see that the challenges or issues that came up were actually there to help you discover more about who you really are deep down. You know those times in life that push you to dig deep? Maybe something goes wrong with your relationship? Or, you run into a big financial challenge and don’t have enough money to fix it. Or, maybe something goes wrong with your work? Your health? Your business? Even though these times can be really hard, have you noticed that once you push through them, something inside of you grows? You feel stronger and wiser and more confident because you pushed through. That’s your Extraordinary Side growing and expanding. Even though you might have felt distraught, or frustrated and worn down, your Extraordinary Side lifted you back up. The inner voice of your Extraordinary Side was pointing you toward your inner strength and guiding you through the challenge. It’s always been there trying to guide you throughout your life and point you in the right direction. But, a lot of us ignore it’s voice without even realizing. It’s easy to fall into the trap where we don’t believe we can or should follow this voice deep inside of us. Instead we tell ourselves all the reasons why we can’t or why we let our inner critic convince us of limiting beliefs that keep us stuck. Those thoughts are our ordinary side at work. It’s helpful to know the difference between our Extraordinary Side and our ordinary side.

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OUR EXTRAORDINARY SIDE VS. OUR ORDINARY SIDE Throughout history, the Extraordinary Side and the ordinary side have gone by many names. In Buddhism, common terms are the ‘small self’ and the ‘large self. Others have described it as our higher self, which is loving, wise, and the voice that whispers and guides us toward our best decisions; versus our lower self, which acts before it thinks, and houses our fears, doubts, anger, jealousy, judgment, etc. Our lives are full of both Extraordinary side and ordinary side instincts. The question becomes which are we going to listen to? Which side are you going to allow to be the dominant force in your life? To use my own life as an example, in the past, my problem was that I wasn’t listening to my Extraordinary Side nearly enough or letting it lead the way. The longer I continued to ignore it, the wider the gap between the life I had settled into living and the life that was calling to me grew. As a result, I was often going through the motions or even sometimes spinning in circles. I wasn’t aware of the Spiral of Life and definitely wasn’t focused on upspiraling. Instead, my ordinary side worked very hard to keep me running on the hamster wheel of life. Does any of this sound familiar to you? If so, then know you’re not the only one. But, the good news is that there’s a different and much better way forward. That’s where knowing how to upspiral and align with our Spiral of Life comes to the rescue. Let’s take a closer look at the Spiral of Life and those times when you’re on the frontside vs. the backside of the spiral.

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THE FRONTSIDE MOVING AROUND THE FRONTSIDE OF THE SPIRAL There’s a list of so many different experiences and feelings you encounter each time you move around another frontside loop of the spiral. We’ve all had these times in our lives (whether or not we realized at the time that we were moving up the Spiral of Life). Here’s a list below of some of the experiences. Later on, we’ll be getting into how to really take advantage of these times in life when you’re on the frontside of the spiral. These are the times in life when we can make tons of progress. But, first it’s good to become really familiar with the patterns and experiences that arise so you can really take advantage of these times every time you hit one of these frontside periods in life.

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THE PATTERNS AND EXPERIENCES WHEN YOU’RE ON THE FRONTSIDE OF THE SPIRAL OF LIFE Good results appear: Certain things you’ve been working to make happen start falling into place. Positive Emotions: Energized, inspired and feeling good about how things are going. Life is flowing. Insights appear: Great ideas and new discoveries surface in your mind. You’ll get more answers and your best next steps become clear. Signs show up: As long as you’re open to seeing them and paying attention, you’ll get signs and confirmation that you’re moving in the right direction. People will say certain things that reassure you or you’ll notice other signs around you. New possibilities arise: More opportunities arise. New allies show up that can help you make more progress and steps forward.

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THE BACKSIDE MOVING AROUND THE BACKSIDE OF THE SPIRAL The back side of the spiral is a very different experience from the frontside. When life turns and we’re asked to push around the backside of the spiral, this is when challenges tend to arise that can trigger all our doubts, fears and worries. It can feel like you just got punched in the gut or that life has just thrown you a curveball. However, when we’re aware of the bigger picture and know how to upspiral, we’re able to stay grounded and remind ourselves that these times on the backside of the spiral are leading us exactly where we need to be. Although the backsides of the spiral can really push us and feel heavy, they are the times when you learn the most about yourself and discover important insights about your best path forward. These are also the times when your Extraordinary Side is pointing you to your inner strength, wisdom and doing it’s best to remind you to trust and have faith that everything will unfold just as you need it to. We’ll be going through one of my favorite tools to use when it’s time to navigate around those backside times in life and really feel the strength of your Extraordinary Side, but first here’s a quick snapshot of what you might experience.

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THE PATTERNS AND EXPERIENCES WHEN YOU’RE ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE SPIRAL OF LIFE Challenges arise: Obstacles and challenges appear in your life. It might feel like too many things are going “wrong” or life throws you a curveball. Strengthening and preparation opportunity: This is a time for significant inner growth and alignment with your Extraordinary Side. Although it can be hard to see at the time, life is working us for a reason and strengthening our inner resolve. You’re being prepared for the next upward shift in your life and your Extraordinary Side is expanding its presence in your life. Slower “outer world” progress: The progress you make in the outer world tends to slow down a little because what you need most at these backside times is inner growth. As a result, life may feel a little more “bumpy” and things aren’t falling into place like they do when you’re on the frontside of the spiral. Lessons and insights appear: Your Extraordinary Side is pointing you in the right direction and to lessons and new ways of living that you’ll want to integrate into your next steps. As long as you’re willing to tune into the voice of your Extraordinary Side, it will remind and keep you grounded in the bigger picture and what’s really going on in your life.

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Chapter 4

THE 3 DIFFERENT PHASES WE EXPERIENCE AS WE UPSPIRAL As we’ve been talking about, life is unfolding as we make our way up and around the spiral and through 3 phases: building, strengthening and the momentum phase. Each phase comes with its own unique experiences and benefits and after we move through all 3, we’ve completed one complete cycle of the Spiral of Life. As we finish one cycle, another begins. It’s like that timeless wisdom you’ve probably heard before reminds us…with every ending comes a new beginning. You’ll go through these 3 different phases over and over again as you make your way through the journey of life. You’ll also experience growth in your inner world and your outer world as you make your way up the Spiral of Life. Life shifts, rearranges and improves in the best way when we upspiral because we’re learning, growing and accomplishing those things that are most important to us. The Spiral is at work in just about every area of your life. As we’ve been talking about, today, you’re moving up your Spiral of Life. There are also most likely mini spirals you’re moving up too. As an example, your work, your relationship, your finances, your goals, your personal development and even your spiritual journey (if that’s something you’re into), unfold on the spiral. We’ll get into this more later, but it’s good to know that once you understand the different cycles and patterns of the spiral, it helps you align and grow the most important areas of your life. So, what are the 3 Phases that we’ll continually cycle through?

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SUCCESS SUCCESS

Phase 3: Momentum Positive results, more wins and successes. Life is shifting and rearranging. What you’ve been working on and focusing on finally falls into place and you align even more with your Extraordinary Side.

Phase 2: Strengthening Learning and aligning more deeply with your Extraordinary Side, your wisdom power and inner voice. You’re growing into who you really are deep down. This is a time for significant inner growth and laying the essential foundation for your inner growth.

Phase 1: Building A time of new beginnings. This is a time to sharpen your vision for what’s next in your life. You’re setting forces in motion that will support your journey up the spiral.

START START www.possibilityoftoday.com

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PHASE 3: MOMENTUM - THE TOP OF THE SPIRAL During this final phase up the spiral, you’re aligned deeply with your Extraordinary Side and your wisdom and strength. You’re able to let your Extraordinary Side lead the way and guide you to take all the right steps up the spiral. Life is flowing for the most part and you feel really good about it. There still might be those days when waves of doubts and fears arise, but you’re also experiencing the benefits that stem from all the inner work you’ve done during the strengthening phase. Your mindset is healthier. The mental chatter and Chief negativity officer in your mind have quieted down. You know how to tune in to your Extraordinary Side and manage your emotional waves so your confidence shines through. You’ve also reached the point in the journey where you’ve made it across the abyss. Life is changing, shifting, and rearranging in all the ways you need it to. More of what you’ve wanted for your life is finally showing up and your life is continually shifting, rearranging and more is beginning to fall into place. It’s also at this point where the next upward shift in your life happens. You deepen more into your true self and feel the impulse to further align with your life’s purpose. You have made your way up to the top of this spiral. You’ll have clarity and feel inspired to align even more with Extraordinary Side and tune into what’s most right for you next.

PHASE 2: STRENGTHENING - THE MIDDLE OF THE SPIRAL During this middle phase of the spiral, we’re being asked to commit to deep inner growth and letting our Extraordinary Side lead the way. Although we’re really focused on our inner work, the benefits and growth that results creates the essential foundation for the outer world results we’ve been hoping for. The experiences that surface during this phase will help us strengthen our inner resolve and ability to align with the wise voice of our Extraordinary Side that’s continually guiding us in the right direction. You know how people say, it’s those times in life when we’re pushed that we grow the most? Well, nothing could be truer and this phase gives us the opportunity to get stronger, aligned with our Extraordinary Side and prepared for all the good things that are meant to happen in our lives. Now, you know I like to keep it real, so I’m not going to pretend like this phase is a cakewalk. There may be times during this part of your journey when it feels like you’re confused and lost in the middle of a very big forest and you’ll never find your way out. But, there is always a way through and deep down you know there’s no turning back anyway. The best way out is working through “our stuff” and moving up the spiral (we’ll be getting into exactly how you do that a little later). Although this phase of the journey can get difficult at times, it is also one of the most profound and valuable phases of the journey. It’s when we learn even more how to allow our Extraordinary Side to lead the way. This phase builds and strengthens the foundation for everything important in your life.

PHASE 1: BUILDING - THE BEGINNING OF THE SPIRAL This is a time often referred to as a “new beginning” or your “next chapter”. It’s a time of change and usually arises after something has shifted in your life and it’s time to focus on what’s next. At the beginning of this phase, one of the best things you can do is set a vision for what you want to see in this next chapter of your life. What do you want to shift, improve or grow in your life? What feels right? What direction are you being pointed in? By deciding what’s next, you set forces in motion that will be your metaphorical tail wind so you can take lots of steps and make a lot of progress. This is also the time when we want to start working on breaking any bad habits or learned behaviors that aren’t serving us or getting in the way (i.e. procrastination, resistance, negative thinking, limiting beliefs, etc.). It’s a time to do the work, eliminate any excuses and avoid falling into the trap of complacency, or “good enough.” It’s time to go! www.possibilityoftoday.com

Upspiraling: The 33-Day Action Plan 31

SOME OF THE DIFFERENT SPIRALS WE CAN CHOOSE TO MOVE UP Over the course of our lives, we move up our Spiral of Life and we can also choose to move up many different spirals. The ability to grow every area of our life is an ongoing opportunity. As an example, your relationship, your career, your finances, your mental wellbeing, and your relationships all unfold following this same spiral pattern. With each area of our life that we choose to journey up the spiral and improve, we learn more about ourselves and we experience benefits in both our inner world and outer world. Our inner capacities, our wisdom, intuition and inner strength all grow. We eventually reach the point where we’ve mastered the art of upspiraling. We’re aligned with our purpose in life and will choose to climb higher spirals so we can learn how to allow our Extraordinary Side to be the dominant force in our lives.

Your life dreams and goals

Relationships: Your family and Friends

Relationship/ significant other

Your finances

Your Work/Career

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Your Mental Wellbeing and Spiritual Journey

The Possibility of Today by Sibyl Chavis

Our lives are full of both Extraordinary side and ordinary side instincts. The question becomes: which are we going to listen to?

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Upspiraling: The 33-Day Action Plan 33

Chapter 5

THE CHALLENGES THAT CAN ARISE AS WE MOVE UP THE SPIRAL INFINITE LOOP & DOWNWARD SPIRAL Sometimes our own actions (i.e. procrastination, doubting ourselves, reacting to situations with anger, fear, focusing on the negative, etc.) are one of the main reasons for the challenges we find ourselves facing. When we continually repeat these patterns, we have fallen into a trap where we’re engaged in behaviors that can cause us to spin our wheels, or we repeat the same mistakes that prevent our progress. The challenges are pointing us to make internal mindset shifts because in order to make progress up the spiral we will need to do things differently than we have been. There are two specific patterns to be aware of: Infinite Loops and Downward Spirals. It’s important to understand both of these patterns because believe it or not, just about all of us have fallen into one of these traps or will at some point in our life.

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INFINITE LOOP

Continually missing lessons and repeating bad patterns that keep you stuck

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DOWNWARD SPIRAL

Repeating bad decisions that cause you to move the wrong direction.

Upspiraling: The 33-Day Action Plan 35

BREAKING OUT OF INFINITE LOOPS An Infinite Loop is when you’re “stuck” or you find the same patterns or problems keep coming up in your life. But, for whatever reason, instead of reevaluating your actions and choosing a new path, you end up repeating the same mistakes that keep you spinning in circles. When you’re stuck in an Infinite Loop, you can’t make real progress or move up the spiral. To use my life as an example, in the years when I was unhappy at my job, unfulfilled, and knew I was on the ‘hamster wheel,’ I had fear about changing things up. I accepted my situation as ‘just the way it is,’ complained a lot, and secretly hoped that somehow everything would be different one day. But, I allowed my fears to keep me stuck and stay at a job that I knew wasn’t where I was supposed to be. I was trapped in an Infinite Loop and for years I didn’t do anything about it. Some other common examples that are usually signs we might be caught in an Infinite Loop: • Complaining about a situation but not doing everything you can to change it and instead just staying stuck. You allow your fears and doubts to influence the choices and decisions we make. • Overspending or not budgeting and having the same money problems month after month. • Procrastination and self-sabotage • Staying in an unhealthy relationship that you know deep down has no potential of growing and evolving.

INFINITE LOOP

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DOWNWARD SPIRAL AND SELF-SABOTAGE

A Downward Spiral is when you’re making progress, but then you begin to make multiple poor decisions that work against you. Your progress comes to a halt and you begin to spin back down the spiral the wrong way. If you get caught in a Downward Spiral, it’s impossible to turn things around and start upspiraling again until you make some significant changes to the way you’re going about things. In other words, it is a serious cycle of self-sabotage.

DOWNWARD SPIRAL

TURNING THINGS AROUND WHEN YOU UPSPIRAL Here’s an extreme example. Jason was an entrepreneur I knew who worked diligently, made great decisions, and carefully worked up his spiral step-by-step to build his company. In several years he created an amazingly successful business that was thriving. He then had a yearlong marital affair, became consumed by the intensity of the situation—the constant covering up, the negativity it caused between him and his wife, and guilt. He wasn’t doing any inner work and was distracted from his work and business. He made one terrible decision after another and ended up downward spiraling and lost everything. His company went under and he became depressed and stuck at the bottom of his work and business spiral. However, it’s never too late to change your actions and behavior. In fact, that’s exactly what you want to do as quickly as possible when you realize you have veered off course. There’s a way out of every Infinite Loop and Downward Spiral.

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Upspiraling: The 33-Day Action Plan 37

PUTTING A STOP TO ANY INFINITE LOOPS OR DOWNWARD SPIRALS There are always lessons and a need for us to do our inner work when we find ourselves in either an Infinite Loop or a Downward Spiral. Once you learn your lessons, grow, and integrate more wisdom into your actions, you will have the power to break free from the Infinite Loop or turn around the Downward Spiral. If we are in one of these patterns, we’re the only ones with the power to set ourselves free. We’ve got to be honest with ourselves and figure out what is keeping us stuck. We then can develop an upspiral plan like we would for any other area in our life (which we’ll be discussing later on). Ultimately, it is a change in you that will help you break free from the Infinite Loop.

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DOWNWARD SPIRAL The Possibility of Today by Sibyl Chavis

MOVING UP THE SPIRAL As we’ve been talking about, one thing we want to ensure is that we’re moving up the Spiral of Life. No matter who you are, what you’re doing, or what you’re going through, today, just like the rest of us, you’re somewhere on the Spiral of Life.

SUMMING IT ALL UP: A QUICK REVIEW

Are you on the early part of the journey? Or, maybe you’re working your way through a later phase? Is this a time in life where you’re on the frontside and everything is falling into place? Or, maybe you’re working through a challenge and making your way around one of those times when you’re on the backsides of the spiral? Whatever the case may be, you’re somewhere on the spiral and it helps to be aware of the path, the different phases and the way life cycles. It helps you keep everything in perspective (especially when challenges arise) and also allows you to take continual steps forward. Now, there’s no need to obsess about exactly where you are on the spiral. It’s just about having a general idea, knowing what phase you’re working through, and if you’re on the frontside or the backside. Ultimately, what matters most is how you move through the day. Are you using each day to upspiral? That’s what we’ll be setting you up to do in the next section. But first, let’s quickly review 7 Key Insights about our lives now that we know it’s unfolding on an upward spiral path.

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Upspiraling: The 33-Day Action Plan 39

7 IMPORTANT INSIGHTS ABOUT LIFE AND UPSPIRALING 1

Life is about letting our Extraordinary Side lead the way and moving up the spiral. Our life and everything we experience unfolds as we make our way up our Spiral of Life. One of the main benefits of upspiraling is our growth. Our inner growth and tuning into the wisdom of our Extraordinary Side is the foundation for everything, including the outer success and positive results that show up in our lives.

When you’re on the frontside, it’s time to go and make things happen! When you’re moving through one of those times in life and things are falling into place and flowing well, you’re on the frontside of the spiral. It’s time to go! These are the times to take lots of steps forward and make lots of things happen.

When you’re on the backside, you’re still moving forward in life (even if it doesn’t feel like it). We have times when we reach the backside of the spiral. It’s important to remember that these times are extremely valuable times for inner growth and serve an important purpose in our lives. Similar to day and night, or yin and yang, the frontside and backside times in our lives are complementary forces that work together. Both are essential to our growth and success.

The Beginning Phase: This is a time of new beginnings and a time when you want to set a vision for what’s next in your life. It’s also a time to eliminate any excuses or fall into the trap of complacency, or “good enough.” It’s time to get moving.

The Strengthening Phase: During this middle phase of the spiral, we’re being asked to commit and devote ourselves to deep inner growth. The experiences that surface during this phase help us strengthen our inner resolve and align with our Extraordinary Side..

The Momentum Phase: During this final phase up the spiral, you’re aligned deeply with the wisdom and strength of your Extraordinary Side. You’re able to bring both into your days and whatever it is you’re working to accomplish. Life is flowing and you feel really good about it.

Watch out for Infinite Loops and Downward Spirals. Two patterns that we fall into, either consciously or unconsciously—that cause us to spin our wheels and make no progress or downspiral.

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We’re going to build the pieces and your 33-Day Action Plan together. After we’re done, you’ll have your 3-page Daily Action Plan where you’ll be able to quickly review and track your progress.

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Upspiraling: The 33-Day Action Plan 41

PART TWO: THE “HOW” Many people have “To do” lists they look at every day and their goal is to try to get through as many things on the list as possible. But, your ideal daily action plan works differently. It includes 3 important sections and helps structure your day so you can align what you’re doing with the most important things that come up each day in realtime (your inner work and outer work). It’s important to have a plan in writing that you can quickly look at each day and use to track your progress. It helps you align your days, and ensures you’re not spinning your wheels or making all the progress you can during the day. Also, when you write down your plan for the day, it helps get rid of any of the stuff that can normally spin around in your mind and get in the way. You know, those little thoughts that just pop up…”I need to remember to make sure that bill gets paid today” or ``Don’t forget to run that errand or “Crap, I forgot to call her back yesterday and I definitely need to call her today.” You might be surprised at how much mental burn and churn that causes in your mind and even more surprised at how much more productive and at peace you are when those thoughts aren’t bouncing around creating noise and static.

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CREATING YOUR 33-DAY ACTION PLAN Can You Actually Accomplish Everything Important to you in 33 days? Most likely not. Over the next 33 days though what you can count on is making significant progress and taking a BIG quantum leap forward. You’ll also be creating the best habits and laying down the essential foundation that allows you to continually accomplish what’s most important to you in your life. Using my life as an example, I can definitively say that upspiraling has improved so many different areas of my life. To name just a few, upspiraling helped me align with my purpose, find meaning and success with my work, build and continually strengthen my relationship with my husband, my kids, and my family, achieve my financial goals, health goals, fitness goals, and make continual progress on my spiritual journey. The goal is that your action plan will create the best structure for your days that will keep you aligned with the upspiral journey. You’ll be able to rely on this plan to help you integrate the best habits, mindset and clarity to successfully move through each of the 3 phases. This plan is based on 33 days to ensure you’ve really sealed in those good habits. It’s been proven by different scientists, doctors and researchers that it takes around 30 days for us to create a good habit. I’ve also always focused on upspiraling in blocks of 33 days and it works well. I then take a little break (usually a week) and dive right back in to my upspiral routine and action plan. Let’s start building your action plan. It will include the following pieces: • A Map of Your Spiral of Life that you’ll continually be able to update • Your Daily Upspiral Routine and Action Plan • Your Daily Scorecard to help you track your progress I’ve also included 3 checklists that I put together for easy and quick reference. When you’re navigating around the spiral, there are times when it helps to get a quick refresher in case you want to refocus or need to quiet down the inner critic, or Chief Negativity Officer in our mind, that can get loud during the times when you’re on the backside of the spiral. Let’s start with mapping your Spiral of Life. This is the fun part where you get to envision what you want to see unfold in your life. To begin the process, you’ll just need to complete a quick self-audit and answer 8 Questions. The answers to these questions will help you fill in and complete the map of your Spiral of Life.

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Upspiraling: The 33-Day Action Plan 43

Chapter 6

MAPPING YOUR SPIRAL: 8 IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

THE FIRST STEP TO COMPLETE IS A SELF-AUDIT. GRAB YOUR JOURNAL OR SOME BLANK SHEETS OF PAPER AND ANSWER THE 8 QUESTIONS BELOW.

The first step is to figure out what’s most important to you right now so you can really zero in on that area of your life and move up your spiral to reach it. What feels most right for you today to focus your attention on? You can choose from the list of spirals below or if you have a different one, that also works. Ideally, you’ll choose just one spiral, but if you’re having trouble deciding and there are a couple of things that feel really important right now, you can choose 2. However, I would recommend only choosing two at most for your first set of 33 days. This will allow you to really maximize your progress and focus on understanding how to upspiral. List of Potential Focus Areas to Upspiral: • One of your big goals in life • Progress with your Financial Goals • Strengthen and grow your • Strengthen and Grow your relationship with your significant other relationship with a family member • Accelerate Your Career Growth • Make Significant progress with an area of personal development or • Accelerate the Growth of Your health and wellness Business or Company • Or, choose any other area of your • Get out of Debt or Make Significant life that’s important to you

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What changes can you make in your life that will help you take steps toward what you want?

Now pretend like you’re putting together a long “to do” list that includes all the specific steps you can do during the next 33 days to move forward? List out all the possible steps. Think baby and tiny little steps forward. The smaller, and the more specific the steps are, the better. As an example, here’s a list of things on my current action plan list for my work spiral: update my website with 4 new articles, record 2 podcasts, complete my social media monthly plan, put together my email communication plan, and write the first 4 emails for the month. Here’s a list of things for my fitness and workout spiral I’m climbing: get to the gym twice a week, work out with Alex on Saturday mornings, play tennis with Ashley on Mondays, Eric on Wednesdays and Mike on Fridays. Intermittent fasting and healthy eating M-F and Sunday. Saturday = cheat day, but try to be as healthy as possible. Yoga on Tuesday and Sunday morning.

Are you in an Infinite Loop today? Or a Downward Spiral? Are you making any of the same mistakes over and over again? Spinning your wheels? Feeling stuck? What can you do today to start breaking out of it?

Do you have any bad habits? Are there any patterns that keep coming up in your life? Are you procrastinating about moving forward with what you want? Is there anything else you know deep down you need to work on our change?

Why do you want to climb the spiral(s) you listed in question 1? What are the benefits going to be for you once you’ve done it? What will change for the better in your life? Think big and small.

What does success look like? What will you have in your life after you’ve accomplished what you listed out in question 1?

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Upspiraling: The 33-Day Action Plan 45

STEP TWO: ON THE NEXT PAGE, YOU’LL FIND A BLANK SPIRAL. READ EACH OF THESE SECTIONS BELOW AND THEN FILL IN THE AREA IT CORRESPONDS TO ON THE BLANK SPIRAL

Success Description: Provide a quick summary and describe what your success looks like. You’ll be able to use the information you wrote down to answer question #7 and #8. Your Outer Work: This is a list of the outer work you’ll be doing. Many of these things will happen and fall into place during a time when you’re on the frontside of the spiral. You’ll want to make note of what to expect so you recognize the times when you’re on the frontside of the spiral. -Insert a bullet point list. You ‘ll be able to pull your list together based on your answers to questions #3, and #4. Your Inner Work: This is a list of the inner work you’ll get to work through (patterns, doubts, bad habits, etc.) as you journey up your spiral. They will most likely come up when you’re on the backside of the spiral. You’ll want to be aware of what might come up because it allows you to recognize those times when your inner critic, or Chief Negativity Officer will most likely be the loudest. It’s also helpful to be aware of where you will need to make important changes and get rid of anything that’s weighing you down or working against you. -Insert a bullet point list. You’ll be able to pull your list together based on your answers to questions #2, #3, #5, and #6.

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SPIRAL OF LIFE MAP What does success mean to me?

________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________

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Chapter 7

YOUR DAILY ACTION PLAN Okay, now that we’ve completed your spiral and one of the most important parts of your 33-Day Action Plan, we’ll move on to the final two parts. The next step is to customize the template for your daily action plan and walk through how the 33-Day Scorecard works. It’s time to grab a journal or notebook. Every day for the next 33 days, you’ll want to write in the same journal or a notebook so you can keep all your thoughts and work organized in one place. Let’s do the very first day of journaling right now and go through the routine together so you’ll know what to do each morning for the remaining days of your action plan. Here’s an example of how each journal entry will look. It includes 4 sections: • Align with your Extraordinary Side • Your Inner Work Focus for the Day • Your Outer Work Focus for the Day • Envision A Great Day filled with 3s (which will be discussed next) At the beginning of the day, you’ll want to spend 5 to 10 minutes journaling. At the top of the page write the date and what day you’re on in the 33-day plan. Go ahead and do your first day of journaling right now.

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DAILY ACTION PLAN Date:

Day: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

ALIGN WITH YOUR EXTRAORDINARY SIDE: Every morning you’ll want to tune into your Extraordinary Side and align with your inner strength and wisdom. Take a couple of minutes and have your “I got this!” moment of the day. Think about all those times in your life when you dug deep and pushed through. Remind yourself of how strong you were then and that you’re even stronger today. Then spend a couple of minutes journaling about what you’re grateful for and all the benefits that will be in your life because you’ve chosen to upspiral. Assume you’ve already made significant progress and write the words “Thank you for__________” and include a summary of what you answered to question #1 and #8 of your self-audit. There’s nothing better than getting a boost of strength and gratitude in the morning that aligns you with your Extraordinary Side.

YOUR INNER WORK FOCUS FOR THE DAY: When we’re journaling in the morning, we usually get really good ideas and insights about the inner work we need to do. That’s what you want to write down in this section.. What can you do today to take another step forward with respect to your inner growth? Pick one thing that you’ll work on today in terms of your inner work. Choose just 1-2 words that encompass your inner work for the day that will be easy to remember today (i.e. “letting go,” “surrender” “staying grounded” “love and kindness”). Write those words down and as you go through the day today, recall these two words to remind you to practice and do your inner work.

OUTER WORK FOCUS FOR THE DAY: Go through the list of items you put together for your self-audit question #4. Pick 1-2 things you’ll work on today in terms of your outer work. What tasks can you complete today that will allow you to take another step forward in terms of the spiral you’re moving up?

ENVISION A GREAT DAY: Write down all the ways you’ll have a great day and what you’re doing today will go smoothly. How will you be good to yourself? How will you be good to other people? How will you interact and engage with them? With the people around you? How will you interact with people? Things will flow. You’ll do your inner work, your outer work and get your 3(s) (which we’re going to talk about next).

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Chapter 8

HOW DO WE BEST MOVE UP THE SPIRAL OF LIFE? BY GETTING OUR 3S EVERYDAY! WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO GET YOUR 3S? The choices we make every day determine if we take steps forward up the spiral, spin in circles, or move the wrong way down the spiral. When we make our highest and best choices and compliment those with good thoughts, actions, responses, etc. during the day, they add up, create positive momentum, and we accelerate our progress up the Spiral of Life. The way we continually get 3s as we move through each day is by listening to and following the guidance of our Extraordinary Side. Let’s break down how it works… Imagine a scorecard from 1 to 3, where 3 is the highest score you can get. As you move through your day, you rank your thoughts, actions, decisions and anything you say or do on this scale. You give yourself a 3 every time you make a really good decision or action during the day. These are our highest and best decisions and they happen when we listen to the wisdom and the guidance of our Extraordinary Side and respond accordingly (i.e. speaking kindly to people, , doing your meditation practice for the day, taking the high road when a co-worker pushes your buttons, giving 100% to writing a work email, practicing gratitude, completing your journal morning routine, etc.). Are your thoughts, actions, and interactions with others the best they can be? Are you rising to your highest and best actions during the day? As you move through each day, you simply ask yourself, “What’s the best way I can respond and get a 3?” And then you follow through. Here’s how the scale looks: ”

Awesome Response (Extraordinary Side)

Decent

Poor

Response

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AIMING FOR YOUR 3S EVERY SINGLE DAY On any given day, we make hundreds of decisions. You get to decide what you’re going to do and when. Will you exercise today? Do some yoga? Meditate? Spend time doing a healthy morning routine? Will you give 100% at work and go the extra mile? Finish that assignment you’ve been supposed to do? Or, will you push it off one more day? In terms of the conversations and interactions you have with other people, you also get to make choices with those. Will you really listen? Or will you interrupt? Will you be curious and engaging? Or will you tune out? What about the thoughts that run through your mind? Will you let your mind continually focus on negativity and complaints? Will you spend time today thinking about what you appreciate and what you’re grateful for? Will you reflect on how much you love the people around you? We could go on and on with examples because today and everyday you’ll make so many decisions and choose to do certain things. The BIG question though is will all of the thoughts, words, and actions we’re taking positively add up, work together, and create positive momentum in our lives. Will we allow our Extraordinary Side to guide us through the day and shine a light on all our words, thoughts and actions? This is what we’re aiming for each day because it’s imperative in order to upspiral. Every single thought we have, action we take and choice we make today will either work for us or against us. When we listen and follow the guidance of our Extraordinary Side though, we can be assured we’re making the choices that work for us.

Hmmmm, what should I do today?

+2 points I think if I just give 50% effort that’s enough to get the job done.

+1 points

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+3 points

Journaling and completing everything on my daily action plan for the day, including exercise

Remember to get my 3s!

+3 points

I doubt all this hard work will pay off so why should I bother doing it?

Upspiraling: The 33-Day Action Plan 51

HOW GETTING YOUR 3S WORKS It’s all about the 3s Now, the good news about getting your 3s, is that it’s TOTALLY doable and within our control. It’s not hard or anything we have to struggle with. We just have to be willing to aim for our highest and best decisions as we move through the day. We also can make course corrections anytime we know we have fallen short. The key isn’t to beat ourselves up or let our inner critic have a field day making us feel bad, but instead to use this scoring system as a simple and effective way to continually make the choices that keep us upspiraling every day. To use my life as an example, yesterday, I had a lot of work to do and I’m currently doing inner work that focuses on self-compassion and not letting the Chief Negativity Officer in my mind convince me that I’m not working hard enough. But, I also was having one of those “blah” days and didn’t immediately feel inspired to jump into either my inner or outer work. However, one good habit I’ve been able to build over the years is really tuning into the wisdom of my Extraordinary Side and rising to my 3s when I can feel myself about to procrastinate. I decided that I was going to get my 3s by taking the morning off, but by doing extra in the afternoon and evening. I did my inner work (a special self-compassion practice) and finished all the tasks I needed to complete by the end of the day. Or, another recent example that happened just a couple of days ago. I was speaking with one of my friends who I love dearly, but she has a habit of criticizing other people. We were out to dinner with another one of our friends and she began unfairly criticizing him for something he didn’t even do. I chose to get my 3 and gently point out to her that he had not done anything wrong and that it was unfair for her to continually poke at him because there are better ways for her to share her opinions. I didn’t raise my voice. I didn’t get worked up. I just shared how I felt very clearly, non-emotionally, got my point across, and also got my 3. That’s how getting your 3s works. I think you’ll really find this to be one of the most helpful tools as you upspiral. It’s a simple way that helps us stay focused on making our best choices and helps us keep doing our inner work and our outer work. It also keeps us aligned with our Extraordinary Side as we move through the day. The key is to move through your day aiming for your 3s and rising to them. At the end of the day, you’ll want to take note of how you did and make any adjustments you feel are necessary to get more 3s moving forward. You’ll be able to use your daily scorecard to track your progress. Let’s do a quick review and run through the different parts of your 33-day action plan. You now have everything you need to get started.

52 Upspiraling: The 33-Day Action Plan

The Possibility of Today by Sibyl Chavis

PART THREE: REFERENCE SHEETS (PRINT OUTS) 7 Important Insights about Life and Upspiraling..............54 Frontside and Backside Checklist..............55 Self-audit of Your Life Today..............56 Spiral of Life Map..............57 Daily Action Plan..............58 33 Days of Scorecards..............59

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Upspiraling: The 33-Day Action Plan 53

7 IMPORTANT INSIGHTS ABOUT LIFE AND UPSPIRALING 1

Watch out for Infinite Loops and Downward Spirals. Two patterns that we fall into, either consciously or unconsciously—that cause us to spin our wheels and make no progress or downspiral.

54 Upspiraling: The 33-Day Action Plan

The Possibility of Today by Sibyl Chavis

FRONTSIDE & BACKSIDE CHECKLIST FRONTSIDE CHECKLIST

BACKSIDE CHECKLIST

When you’re on the frontside of the spiral, it’s time to make significant progress.

When you’re on the backside of the spiral, it’s time to maximize your inner growth.

❑

Tap into your inspiration. This is a time to tap into your inspiration and good energy to stay recharged and keep taking lots of steps forward

❑

Hopeful and Confident: Although there are still steps forward to take, it’s good to spend time every day reminding yourself that things are falling into place

❑

Integration opportunity: When you’re on the front side of the spiral and taking lots of steps forward, it’s important to take the right steps. You’re being asked to integrate and apply all the lessons you’ve learned. Tap into new skills, your intuition and your wisdom. Gratitude flowing: This is also a time to reflect on everything that is happening and everyone in your life that you’re grateful for.

www.possibilityoftoday.com

❑

Stay focused on Today and let your Extraordinary Side Lead the Way: Avoid the trap of getting bogged down by worries and doubts about the future. Devote your attention to the day in front of you and ensuring you’re doing your journaling and morning routine so that you’re moving through the day as your Extraordinary Side

❑

Elevate your perspective: Remind yourself frequently of the bigger picture and that you’re just on the backside of the spiral and a frontside is coming.

❑

Elevate your thoughts: Waves of doubts, fears and worries might surface. Look at situations through a different lens; bring your highest and best perspective to situations.

❑

Focus on alignment: Quiet your mind and do your inner work. Make it your #1 priority during the day.

Upspiraling: The 33-Day Action Plan 55

SELF-AUDIT OF YOUR LIFE TODAY: 8 IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO ANSWER MAPPING OUT YOUR SPIRAL OF LIFE Okay, the first step to complete is a self-audit. Grab your journal or some blank sheets of paper and answer the 8 questions below.

Figure out what’s most important to you right now so you can really zero in on that area of your life and move up your spiral to reach it. What feels most right for you today to focus your attention on? You can choose from the list of spirals below or if you have a different one, that also works. Ideally, you’ll choose just one spiral, but if you’re having trouble deciding and there are a couple of things that feel really important right now, you can choose 2. However, I would recommend only choosing two at most for your first set of 33 days. This will allow you to really maximize your progress and focus on understanding how to upspiral. List of Potential Focus Areas to Upspiral: • One of your big goals in life • Strengthen and grow your relationship with your significant other • Accelerate Your Career Growth • Accelerate the Growth of Your Business or Company • Get out of Debt or Make Significant

2 3 4

• Progress with your Financial Goals • Strengthen and Grow your relationship with a family member • Make Significant progress with an area of personal development or health and wellness • Or, choose any other area of your life that’s important to you

Why do you think you haven’t accomplished what you selected above yet? Is there anything in your way? Do you have any doubts at all that you can do it? What about fears? Is there anything that scares you about it? What changes can you make in your life that will help you take steps toward what you want? Now pretend like you’re putting together a long “to do” list that includes all the specific steps you can do during the next 33 days to move forward? List out all the possible steps. Think baby and tiny little steps forward. The smaller, and the more specific the steps are, the better. As an example, here’s a list of things on my current action plan list for my work spiral: update my website with 4 new articles, record 2 podcasts, complete my social media monthly plan, put together my email communication plan, and write the first 4 emails for the month. Here’s a list of things for my fitness and workout spiral I’m climbing: get to the gym twice a week, work out with Alex on Saturday mornings, play tennis with Ashley on Mondays, Eric on Wednesdays and Mike on Fridays. Intermittent fasting and healthy eating M-F and Sunday. Saturday = cheat day, but try to be as healthy as possible. Yoga on Tuesday and Sunday morning.

7 8

Why do you want to climb the spiral(s) you listed in question 1? What are the benefits going to be for you once you’ve done it? What will change for the better in your life? Think big and small. What does success look like? What will you have in your life after you’ve accomplished what you listed out in question 1?

56 Upspiraling: The 33-Day Action Plan

The Possibility of Today by Sibyl Chavis

SPIRAL OF LIFE MAP What does success mean to me?

ari

s& nge e l l Cha rowth G

Reali z

ation

s What will my Outer work look like?

nges & Challe th Grow

•

New S

kills owth

es & Gr Challeng

Small & Big

Wins

• • • • What will my Inner work look like? •

Challenges

& Growth

• •

Insights

• rowth

Challenges & G

•

Making Progress wth

Challenges & Gro

Inspired

www.possibilityoftoday.com

Upspiraling: The 33-Day Action Plan 57

DAILY ACTION PLAN Date:

Day: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

58 Upspiraling: The 33-Day Action Plan

The Possibility of Today by Sibyl Chavis

SCORE CARD JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

INNER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

OUTER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

GETTING MY 3S 1 2 3

JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

INNER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

OUTER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

GETTING MY 3S 1 2 3

JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

INNER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

OUTER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

GETTING MY 3S 1 2 3

JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

INNER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

OUTER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

GETTING MY 3S 1 2 3

JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

INNER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

OUTER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

GETTING MY 3S 1 2 3

JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

INNER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

OUTER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

GETTING MY 3S 1 2 3

www.possibilityoftoday.com

Upspiraling: The 33-Day Action Plan 59

SCORE CARD JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

INNER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

OUTER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

GETTING MY 3S 1 2 3

JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

INNER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

OUTER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

GETTING MY 3S 1 2 3

JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

INNER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

OUTER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

GETTING MY 3S 1 2 3

JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

INNER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

OUTER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

GETTING MY 3S 1 2 3

JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

INNER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

OUTER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

GETTING MY 3S 1 2 3

JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

INNER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

OUTER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

GETTING MY 3S 1 2 3

60 Upspiraling: The 33-Day Action Plan

The Possibility of Today by Sibyl Chavis

SCORE CARD JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

INNER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

OUTER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

GETTING MY 3S 1 2 3

JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

INNER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

OUTER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

GETTING MY 3S 1 2 3

JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

INNER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

OUTER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

GETTING MY 3S 1 2 3

JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

INNER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

OUTER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

GETTING MY 3S 1 2 3

JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

INNER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

OUTER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

GETTING MY 3S 1 2 3

JOURNAL ENTRY 1 2 3

INNER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

OUTER WORK FOCUS 1 2 3

GETTING MY 3S 1 2 3

www.possibilityoftoday.com

Upspiraling: The 33-Day Action Plan 61

AN IMPORTANT QUESTION FOR THE DAY, THE ONE QUESTION TO ASK YOURSELF:

DID YOU GET YOUR 3S TODAY?

Upspiraling Ebook

Articles inside

Mapping Your Spiral

Challenges that Can Arise as we Move Up the Spiral

The Spiral of Life

How Your Life Is Unfolding on the Spiral

Daily Action Plan

Your Extraordinary Side & The Journey Up the Spiral