Christi Davis Coaching

Do you ever wish you had more control over your emotions?  Do you sometimes over react, almost without thinking? If you're human and normal, then your answer is probably yes!  If you would like to be more intentional in the way you think, feel, and act, here is a great place to start: Practice being an observer of your mind. We know that we have a body and a spirit that are separate, right?  That means that our physical brains are not the only part of us doing the thinking. We all have a "natural man" brain, sometimes called the "lower brain," that is given to us as a tool to help us in this life.  It is concerned with our basic survival, so it is always on the lookout for trouble.  It sees problems and threats everywhere it looks! It is not interested in changing. It just wants us to do the things that are the easiest and most pleasurable.  This is the part of us that reacts without thinking. But we also have a "higher brai...

I have some confident kids. Recently my Eli (7 years old) went to his first archery "lesson," taught by 11 year old Jack, who is quite an expert for his age. The first words out of Eli's mouth when he came home were "Mom!  I'm pretty much MADE for archery!"  He was feeling great about his first lesson, and sees even better things in his future! His confidence is not based on any actual success.  He pretty much just decided he is going to be great at it.  And honestly... with that attitude he probably will be!  His confidence is the thing that drives him to keep at it and makes practicing fun.  He wants to talk about archery all the time, watch videos about it, and schedule lots of time to practice.   Here is the lesson that is so simply illustrated here: Confidence drives success! So many of us have it backward.  We think we will feel confidence after we have mastered the skill. But what if Eli was waiting until he...

Having my kids home for the summer is turning out to be wonderful and challenging. I am loving that my two youngest boys still like to hang out with me.  They love it when I plan activities, and are easy to please.  I love having my teenagers around in the mornings, and am so impressed with their levels of self motivation this summer!  My oldest daughter and her husband just moved into our back yard, and it is so fun having them around!  They are delightful and helpful, and add a lot to the party around here. The problem is my own brain.  My brain keeps telling me that it's hard to get things done with everyone underfoot all the time. The house doesn't stay clean.  I feel guilty when I'm trying to work, which leaves the kids alone playing video games.  I can't go to bed when I want because everyone is still up having fun. I've been telling myself that it feels like I am trying to run through thick mud.  I try to make progress, but my f...

I wrote this a few years ago, but I've been having these same thoughts lately, so I thought I'd share: I was so surprised during church to look down and see, folded neatly in my lap, my mother’s hands! I remember sitting next to her in church, looking at her hands and thinking how old they looked. Now those "old" hands are mine… complete with a club thumb! I feel some pressure from society to feel horrified by the fact that I don’t look as young as I used to, but today I don’t. As I sat looking at my hands, I thought of all that they accomplish. Just like my mother, and her mother, and her mother before that…these hands have done a lot of work. They have washed dishes, scrubbed floors, changed MANY diapers, wiped away tears, applied band-aids, and the list goes on and on. It’s only right that they are looking older and well worn. They have earned that! I thought about the rest of me, too. The slowly deepening creases on my face have the...

We are in the process right now of building a guest house. (And when I say we , I really mean my husband and two oldest boys. They are doing all the work themselves.) This guesthouse has been a dream of mine for a long time.  We spent A LOT of time thinking and re-thinking and thinking again about exactly what we wanted. The official plans now contain all of the little details that will be included in the house.   The hope is that all of the time spent in the planning stage will pay off, and we will be happy with the finished project. We know that Heavenly Father used a similar process when He created the earth. He created all things spiritually before He created them physically. (Moses 3:5) Genesis 2:4-6 even tells us that He made every plant before it was in the earth.  That was a pretty detailed plan! What if we apply this same principle to the "creation" of our thoughts and feelings?  Bear with me as I get a little abstract here.  What if, ins...

A few years ago for Mother's Day, the 16-18 year old boys were invited in to Relief Society (the women's meeting at church) to talk about their moms.  They each told us something that they loved about their moms.  Many of their responses, predictably, centered around food.  Some were grateful for all the rides to sports practices, some for a listening ear.  But one young man, Jesse, gave a response that really struck me.  So much so that it has stayed with me all of these years. Jesse said, and I paraphrase, "I love that my mom always seemed so happy to be our mom.  I never felt like there was anything in the world that she would rather be doing than staying home with us." Wow!  What a beautiful gift that mom gave to her children!  I chose to be a stay-at-home mom too.  I intentionally decided that was the most meaningful and important work I could do.  But I wonder if my kids feel how much I love it?  Can they tell by my atti...

This post is kind of a follow up to last week.  Using the example of a sprout growing in my bathroom sink, I was trying to illustrate a principle:  We can take any circumstance in our lives, and choose what we want to make it mean. The circumstances in our lives are all neutral.  They don't feel neutral sometimes, but they are.  The weather, the things that happen around us, other peoples' words or actions, all of those things are neutral.  They just are.  They don't have any effect on us, positive or negative, until we assign some sort of meaning to them. This is the best news!!  That means that no matter what happens "to" us, or around us, we are always in control of how it affects us.  We are the ones who get to create all the meaning in our lives! This is the ultimate mastery of our God-given agency! Here are a few lighthearted examples (taken from my journal several years ago) of taking a common circumstance, and choosing to make ...