More Than Hot Baths and Champaign: the Truth About Self-Love (video)

May 14, 2021

#Self-love: it’s everywhere on the social media. Including pictures of hot baths and nail appointments. It’s absolutely magnificent that more and more men and women are paying attention to their own well-being and happiness. They are looking for ways to nurture themselves and to end exhaustion. Wonderful! It’s not the whole story though.

Showing up for yourself

True self-love is bringing to life what is inside of me. Creating what I want to create. And yes, that includes work, mainly inner work. Self-love is showing up for myself and dealing with my self-doubt so that I have the courage to write another 500 words of my second book. Self-love is dedicating myself to my morning routine, as I know that it will help me to be a powerful creator during the rest of the day.

The English Translation Of My Book Will Be Out Very Soon (video)

April 28, 2021

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| Doing What You Love

I am very happy to announce that the English translation of my book is ready to go to print. Yes! It has been quite a project. Without the help of Jeroen (design), Mietze (illustrations), Marc (printing), Emma (translation), Joanne (edits) and Mireille (photography), this would have never happened. I am super grateful for all of their support.

The literal translation of the Dutch title would have been: When a Hot Air Balloon Hits a Ferris Wheel. Guide to a Meandingful Life. As I wasn’t sure how that would go, I opted for an entirely different one – and changed it several times in the process, but that’s another story.

And the title is – drum roll:

Doing What You Love. Discover Your Unique Contribution and Change the World.

The Four Elements Of A Powerful Morning Routine (video)

March 27, 2021

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| Carolien TV

‘I know I am in there somewhere, but I don’t seem to be able to get in touch with myself. I work on many projects, but I wonder whether they are the right ones for me.’

I hear it all the time from my clients – smart, hardworking professionals who know how to get results. But they have lost touch with their bodies and therewith with their inner knowing. They cannot find that inner connection anymore that makes it oh so easy and fun and beautiful to navigate life.

I get it. I have been there myself. It wasn’t until I started to do all sorts of transformation work, that I created the breakthroughs that enabled me to inhabit my inner world. And I want you to experience that too.

Happy Women’s Day (video)

March 8, 2021

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| Carolien TV

Let’s celebrate International Women’s Day together today. My suggestion? Reach out to one other woman whom you know will benefit from your attention today. Sharing your presence with her is all that is needed.

I have two inspired actions on my list today:

1. I will call my eleven-year old niece Marieke. I haven’t celebrated International Women’s Day with here before, but now that she has turned eleven, I feel it is a good moment to start.

2. I am sending a copy of my book ‘Als een luchtballon op een reuzenrad botst’* to Ellen. I haven’t been in touch with Ellen for quite some time, but I feel she might feel inspired by the content of the book. It’s an intuitive call; I’ll just go for it.

The Courage To Lead

February 22, 2021

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| From Judgement To Joy

Who is the first person that comes to mind when you think about leadership? Nelson Mandela immediately pops up in my head. Richard Branson. Brene Brown. Beyonce. And Obama, of course.

Nothing wrong with having these rolemodels. I let myself gladly be inspired by the power, independency and freedom of Beyonce. What might easily get overlooked however, is the importance of self-leadership.

Leaders of our own lives

There’s a few things that I have learned from this pandemic.

Dealing With Resistance

January 29, 2021

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| From Judgement To Joy

Let’s talk about resistance. More relevant than ever, as we are all experiencing it these days with a lockdown that takes longer than we could ever imagine. Possibly you are also trying to combine your work with home-schooling your children. Not an easy job.

Feeling resistant in itself is not a problem. It is part of life: where there is change, resistance will show up. As long as you are willing to let the feeling flow through you, you are perfectly fine.

Time To Adjust

November 19, 2020

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| From Judgement To Joy

I’m taking it slow these days. I do my yoga practice, I go for short walks and answer an email here and there and that is about it. I had to cancel yesterday’s sessions. What I see and experience is that transition work – yes, we are currently going through a transition both individually and as a collective, whether you like it or not – is something that requires my dedication. It does cost energy. And that is perfectly fine. Shedding layers of long-carried trauma – we all carry trauma in our bodies, I do too – and allowing it to move through me takes time.

Self-trust Will Take You To The Moon And Back (video)

November 2, 2020

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| Carolien TV

Sometimes, I write an article or record a video with content that almost feels as if I am first and for all speaking to myself. Watching back this week’s video on self-trust, I felt it again: this is exactly what I need to hear right now.

Self-trust has been a top of mind issue for me for over the last couple of weeks. It started with my decision to start to show up more boldly and to honour my love for speaking by creating short videos. Whenever I stretch myself like this, old fears are triggered almost immediately. I know it is a normal part of the process. Stepping out of my comfort zone by becoming fully visible online requires that I expand into a new version of me. Clearing the fear and doubt that automatically come up, is a necessary step. This is how we grow.

Let It Move Through You (video)

October 9, 2020

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| Carolien TV

Why is it that one health worker feels overwhelmed when speaking about that one Corona patient she cared for during the first weeks of the pandemic, while a colleague who has worked under the same extremely difficult circumstances feels steady and back on his feet again?

Reading through the beautiful and personal interviews this morning, I noticed that the health worker who had taken the time after every intense night shift, to go to the beach and scream to the sea and cry about all the horrifying things he had gone through during the night, felt relatively well.

This doesn’t surprise me. His willingness to make space for his emotions and to allow them to move through him, must have helped him a great deal.

It’s a Two-way Street (video)

September 16, 2020

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| Carolien TV

‘I feel completely stuck and if I am really honest with myself, I know that I have felt this way for at least three years now – if not longer. Something needs to change here.’ I always applaud people who come to me with great honesty and openness. They have taken the important first step of acknowledging that they are not in their happy place. It takes courage to do so.
Kudos, designer dresses and university degrees

Listening to their stories, I realize that many of them have been looking in the wrong place. Feelings of happiness and fulfilment can’t be obtained through the next shiny gadget, designer dress or educational degree. Neither do they come from collecting kudos from a partner or friends.