Busting the Pottery Barn Myth

Of all my programs, the one I have the hardest time talking about from the heart is my upcoming Cleanse Your Life program.

Whenever the time comes to open it up for the group live run I feel like I have a pebble in my shoe… or maybe it is more like a ‘walking on eggshells’ feeling.

There is so much false hope and misleading expectations that get ignited when health and nutrition information gets marketed. I see it all over – online, tv, magazines.

This noise encouraging us to flame a desire for the perfect body, a glowing complexion, the perfectly-ordered home; a flawless, smooth and pain-free life.

It feeds this belief that if I could just make my living room look like a pottery barn magazine, I’d finally feel good about myself.

If I could just slide through my days smoothly with a highly coordinated and stress-free schedule, I could enjoy life more. 

If I could just have a thin, toned, tan and glowing body, I’d exude the joy I desperately yearn for.

While it sounds a little over the top, isn’t that what most cleanses market us? The quick fix, the magic bullet, the sense that if we could just do a big long clean sweep and remove all the junk, weight and difficulty out of our lives in one fell swoop we would step into a magical smooth light, happy existence.

Its a beautiful promise, but underneath that marketing message there is a very specific story about your life.  And that story is that you are not enough– and even more so, you are a failure…that your body is not good enough, your home is not good enough, your life is not good enough.

Here is what I know – there is no way around the mess but through it.

We do not live in a bubble- and doing a short term cleanse that asks you to enter a bubble and then re-emerge into your life “magically” transformed because you spent a week in that bubble is a flat out lie.

There is something I bank on even more than the flashy sales tactics – I bank on knowing who I actually serve.

My programs serve smart, active, engaged and insightful women.

Ones that aren’t afraid to go below the surface and see things for what they are. Who are interested in the journey of living an authentic life from the inside out.

Women who can hold both the thrill of self growth and the wisdom of finding bliss smack dab in the middle of their imperfectly blessed life.

So where exactly does a cleanse program fit in here?

Of all my programs that I promote I sometimes feel cleanse your life is the hardest for me to express what makes my program different.

Yes it is a high-octane injection to fuel you in clear, compelling and confident ways toward more verve, energy and lightness in your life.

But it also sets you up to take what you learn and integrate it into your daily life.

You know, the one where you wake up more exhausted than when you fell asleep, the one where you caught yourself barking irritably at your kids 10 times before 8 am, the one where you can’t seem to break that 3pm visit to the candy isle and, honestly, some days it’s what you look forward to all day long.

I designed my cleanse program to support you in those kinds of days too.

This is a different program than my others. It’s shorter. It is concentrated and meant to be experienced as a jolt, a spark, a extra push when your ready to take off down the chute.

But it does provide a phenomenal guide to allow you to design a whole life cleanse that is perfectly suited for you and your needs.  And it does it in a way that builds a host of tools, skills and strategies that you can directly take into your everyday life to keep the momentum going and building.

Here’s the takeaway. 

I never would have had this insight if I didn’t sit with tension or discomfort and get curious and ask what is the story underneath the messages I hear that make me bristle.

I want you to start using this filter when you find yourself resisting a message, a claim, an offer, a suggestion…

Ask, what is the underlying story that this message is standing on?

In my example above, the underlying story I heard in the “cleanse as a magic bullet claim” is that I was a failure at life and instead of working on healthy growth by embracing my beautiful mess, I should try and run away from it and somehow “fix” it and try to attain some kind of “perfect”.

So in that case, the message sucked.  And I needed to remind myself of my true story and then I better understood why I felt so irritated.

But it works both ways. Sometimes it is our story that needs readjusting.

There are many times when I feel irritated or skeptical about messages but when I look deeper I find the problem is in the story I am holding onto.

Now it is your time to apply it.

Your lifework this week is to pay attention to the inner posture you take when you hear or see messages coming at you – in any form.

This could be something a friend is telling you, a newscaster, a Facebook post or a looong email message.

When you notice that sense of hesitation, that underlying retraction or irritation; pay attention.  Get curious and learn more clearly who you are, what you believe and the story you tell yourself in response.

As always, I would love to hear your feedback and insight.  If you are reading this via email, hop over to the blog to leave a comment.

And if you gained value from this, please share it with your community- there may be a woman or mother who could benefit as well!

Much love,

Lisa

p.s.  And I should probably remind you that the Cleanse Your Life program is beginning this Saturday (4/28).

What I want you to take away from this cleanse program is actual tools to use in your daily life.

When you learn about crafting your ideal whole body cleanse- you’ll also be learning about how you can use foods as a tool in any situation when you feel sluggish, overwhelmed with cravings, and cobwebby.

When you learn about self care, skin care and personal care products that refresh, cleanse and nourish your core detox, nervous and stress response systems– you will be able to make sustainable choices that carry through into your life every day.

When you learn about how to streamline your kitchen and pantry to best support your healthy cleanse week- you are going to learn principles that make healthy meal planning that much easier– week after week.

When you learn about the importance of your home flow and function and how your outer world impacts your inner world– you are going to start to see your surroundings in a completely new way. You’ll learn how to prioritize places in your home that need the most attention and you’ll begin to see how you and your family can get equipped with simple and effective ways to unclog places that feel stuck and cluttered.

It is going to be an incredible class with an already amazing group of women…if it is a right fit for you, I hope you’ll join me


Comments

7 responses to “Busting the Pottery Barn Myth”

  1. Lisa,
    I’m so pleased to be taking your cleanse boost class. This will be my second time around and LORD willing it won’t be my last time around. Last time I had a big picture take a way and a detail take a way. The big picture, how the interconnectedness of my physical body , my house, my spirit and my mind. The detail I learned was how important watching what I put on my skin was as the largest organ that God has given to me.
    I would encourage young women as they take the class to see it at a seasonal or yearly or… what ever they are called to boost. I’m going to start praying that I’m open to the things that God would like me to learn from you this time around!

    1. Erin! I’m thrilled you will be taking the course again- it is such a joy to see so many grads in my courses each time, they really ADD so much to the group dynamic as well 🙂 And love that you shared such powerful takeaways from last class! Hoping for equally insightful ones this time around 🙂

  2. Thanks for sharing this, Lisa.

  3. Your welcome, Sarah 😉 ~hugs 🙂

  4. I agree many health and nutrition marketing campaigns offer false hope. Over the past year, I have sought the truth and found a couple of real ones that are making a major difference in my life. I think I just stumbled on another authentic opportunity to help me move forward.

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