Living Deliberately with Shira Gura

What is one thing that irritates you in your life? Maybe it's a person or maybe it's a bad trait or habit that you're trying to kick, but can't. We all have one thing or another. And we all have been in a place where we wished that thing would just go away. If you ever stopped to wonder why your problems never go away, there's a reason. In fact, there's a good reason - and one you should know abou...

The foundation for being Emotionally Equipped is the "pause." My tools, getting unSTUCK, getting CLEAR, and Living Deliberately work best when you know how to incorporate taking pauses throughout the day, moment by moment. In addition to this, I am a big proponent of implementing additional pauses in your life: weekly, monthly, and even yearly. This is a great time to take a pause, reflect on the...

Would you consider yourself a judgmental person? I know I don't. And yet, I know I am. And the truth is, I know you are, too. We all are. We can't help being judgmental - that's just how the mind works. In fact, the job of the mind is to have an opinion on things - that's how it keeps us safe. And yet, being judgmental often doesn't serve us, nor does it serve others in our lives, which is why it'...

Don't you hate it when bad things happen to you? It's so hard and frustrating and irritating! You just want to blame everyone for it, right? The problem is, when you do this, you end up playing the victim. You throw all your power away and you get stuck. Have you considered ditching the "victim" mentality and picking up a "hero" one instead? Tune into this week's Emotionally Equipped podcast to he...

When someone is angry, consider it's not about you. Even if you are part of their story, their anger has nothing to do with you. Their anger has to do with them. Their emotions are generated from within their own minds and they are responsible for them. You can help deflate their anger, not by changing who you are, but by accepting this truth. Tune in to this week's episode to hear exactly how I d...

Sometimes we make mistakes. And when we do, we need to own up to them. And hopefully, the person we wronged will forgive us. But life can be funny sometimes. Because sometimes the mistake you thought you made, wasn't perceived as a mistake. It was just perceived as an action you did - that had no bad intentions tied to it. But, getting to that place of knowing can be tricky. Tune in to this week's...

Every time we get stuck we have a choice. Get unstuck or stay stuck. It's really as simple as that. But, as humans, we complicate things. And so, rather than getting unstuck, we choose to stay stuck for any number of reasons. But the choice to get unstuck always exists. Always. Tune in to this week's Emotionally Equipped podcast where I share how I nipped a stuck moment in the bud, and how you can...

Do celebrate success in your life? And by that, I don't mean big successes, like running a marathon, losing a ton of weight, or finishing a Ph. D. Rather, I mean the small successes that you had to overcome in order to reach the big ones. Like your early morning runs, or pausing before you eat so you can make a mindful choice, or focusing for a certain amount of time. Those actions are no less wor...

On today's episode, I had the privilege to interview Nancy Ellen, a graduate of the Emotionally Equipped for Life course. In this episode, Nancy shares why she chose to enroll in the course (despite being a licensed psychotherapist and having a lot of professional knowledge and experience), offers an inspiring unstuck story, and talks a bit about her experiences inside of the Emotionally Equipped...

This is my husband. A couple of days ago he participated in the Jerusalem Marathon. My husband came in 8th place. And he's 50 years old. Boaz (my husband) didn't run a marathon for nearly 5 years. His injuries kept him from achieving his goals. But, his injuries didn't keep him from showing up. Through pain, disappointment, horrendous weather (both extreme hot and cold), early mornings, and lots o...

My husband is planning to participate in the Jerusalem Marathon this week - and I'm so excited for him. It's been a long time coming and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get to this point. The thing is, my husband and I don't live in Jerusalem. We live about two hours north of Jerusalem which means if he wanted to create the easiest morning for himself, it would be best if my husband stayed in...

The only reason we get stuck in the first place is due to unmet expectations.  The truth is, we don't even realize we're walking around with expectations half the time, but of course, we are. And it's those expectations that end up hurting us. But, when you practice releasing them ahead of time, you can avoid getting stuck. Tune into this week's episode where I share a story about helping my child...

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I went on a retreat. He surprised me with a totally unexpected gift. And for that I acknowledged him. Tune in to hear the story and why acknowledging the people in your life is a practice you may want to begin to start cultivating in your life. Take the quiz! www.shiragura.com/quiz 

A few days ago, I participated in one of the biggest open-water swimming events in the world: The crossing of the Sea of Galilee. It was an exciting and exhilarating event. But the best part was that I shared the experience with a friend. Tune in to this week's episode to hear more about our experiences and how we got mentally prepared for it.    

Sometimes we go into future moments believing we know what will happen. In fact, we often do this. We do this because the mind likes things to be predictable. And in that fashion, the mind will predict what will happen based on what it already knows from past experiences. The problem is, when we go into a future event closed-minded, we aren't open to other possibilities occurring. Tune in to hear...

It's so easy (and so very common!) to get insulted. And yet, you actually don't have to. There is another way to live which is so much more freeing rather than getting stuck on insult. Tune in to this week's episode to hear my story of how I got myself unstuck from insult, and how you can, too! www.shiragura.com  

Helping someone get unstuck can be nothing short of magical! Tune in to this week's episode to hear how I coached my son to get unstuck from a sticky situation he got in with his brother. www.shiragura.com

There's a lot of power in doing this work with the people you love. There is nothing like speaking a common language with them, and by that, I don't mean your mother tongue. I mean the language of getting unstuck . This week, my husband surprised me by modeling getting unstuck and he also inspired me to do the work I knew I needed to do. Want to get Emotionally Equipped? Enroll in my course today...

There's nothing worse than living with regret. All of us have done things, said things, or acted in ways in the past that we wish we hadn't. But, living in regret doesn't help one bit. I got stuck on regret this week and in this week's podcast episode, I share that story with you and how I got unstuck from it in hopes that it will inspire you in your life to do the same. Subscribe to my newsletter...

When you go on vacation, you most likely anticipate having a great time. But, what if things don't go as planned? Before heading to the New Jersey shore with my family, my husband and I got CLEAR so that we could avoid getting disappointed on something we got stuck on in the past. Tune in to this week's episode to hear that story and to learn how you can get CLEAR in your life, too. www.shiragura....

If you are feeling stuck, there's a good chance you are standing in judgment: whether that's judging yourself, judging someone else, or judging something. When you can learn to practice radical acceptance, you can learn how to move from a sticky and uncomfortable situation to a better and more beneficial place. Tune in to this week's episode to hear my story and how I got unstuck from judging my m...

Have you ever felt like you totally messed up? I'm sure you have. It happens to all of us. When this happens, most people feel awful about themselves and don't know what to do to just feel better. In today's podcast episode, I share how this recently happened to me and I walk you through how I got unstuck from it. Tune in to hear more. www.shiragura.com

It's quite easy to get stuck when you're on vacation. And it's even easier to get stuck when you're visiting family. I got stuck this week with an interaction I had with my mother (who graciously gave me permission to share the story on this week's episode). Tune in to hear the story and how I got unstuck by giving her the benefit of the doubt. www.shiragura.com

I had the privilege to interview Krista Luzio on this week's podcast. Krista Luzio lives in Chicago and has been practicing law as a medical malpractice defense lawyer for the past 13 years. She is a mother of two younger children, is a writer, artist, and musician. Krista found me via this podcast and contacted me soon after she learned about her husband's infidelity. Learn more about Krista's st...

A few days ago I visited two young men who were brutally attacked during a senseless and heinous hate crime. There were family, friends, and community members at this gathering to show support for these young men. At one point, there was a request for everyone present to introduce themselves, share where they were from and anything else they would like to add. This is where I started to get stuck....