As I was breathing in all those good feelings I became aware of some not so nice thoughts that began nudging me for attention. Thoughts like, you’ll never make it as a coach, you’re not good enough, don’t let down your guard, you’ll wind up alone. The thoughts began to get louder, and pester me like a child wanting candy in grocery store check out line. My good feeling was quickly being drowned out. Where did these thoughts come from to threaten my great day?

Our lives and experiences are always being shaped by something. When we are growing up we are influenced by our surroundings, our family, culture etc. and we absorb and make part of us what we hear and experience both positive and negative. We go on and live our lives with these subtle, and sometimes not so subtle messages running in background.

Many of us live our whole lives listening to messages with loudest and most persistent voices, and often these voices can be ones that represent fear and limitation.

I’d like to share a story from my own life to show how we live with thoughts and pain from outside ourselves.

Early on my path of self-discovery I was curious about Native American ceremonies. I was seeking experiences to deepen my spirituality and connection to earth. I was also looking for ways to reclaim my wholeness and resolve some of fear that I had learned to live with. I became interested in sweat lodge ceremony because it offers opportunity for purification and a chance to face some core fears and issues. It also symbolizes safety and nurturing womb of mother earth.

I accepted an invitation to participate in my first sweat lodge ceremony with a Cherokee elder. I shared that auspicious day with 8 other women. We spent day preparing for what was to be a rather intense experience.

Within seconds, I heard his wife Meg cheerfully greeting me on other end of phone. She began by explaining that she was in middle of "cleaning gunk from drain," but she wanted to know what life coaching was all about. I took a deep breath, preparing to give her my quickest rap, and out of my mouth popped "life coaching is like cleaning gunk out your drain."

After power of that image sunk in, and I wondered if he thought I was crazy, I realized life coaching is exactly like cleaning gunk from our drains. Life coaching is about clearing gunk from our lives!

Our lives can be full of debris and gunk that interrupt effortless flow of a purposeful, passionate and fulfilling life. The gunk accumulates and gradually zaps our energy and creative passion, usually without us even noticing it. Many people learn to tolerate it, and some eventually experience a crisis, an illness, or simply find themselves wondering "is this all there is?" These are reasons most of my clients come to me.

Here are top 6 sources of gunk that could be blocking your flow. I invite you to take a minute and consider following possibilities:

1. Limiting beliefs Have you ever stopped and listened to what’s going on inside your head? We are so full of shoulds and woulds that we don’t even know what we truly think or feel. No wonder we have difficulty imagining life we want. The first step in changing our lives is changing our thinking.