Meet Dr. Madeleine Heuer | Mindset & Empowerment Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Madeleine Heuer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Madeleine, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?

Deciding whether to keep going or give up is a challenging crossroads in life, and it requires careful consideration. Here are two key things I learned from my own journey that can help anyone going through this decision-making process.

1. Listen to Your Emotions
While the rational mind can generate reasons and justifications for almost anything, including staying in a situation that keeps you miserable, emotions provide essential insights. Your emotions serve as messengers in your life, offering valuable information about your needs and desires. For example, anger signals when your boundaries or values are being violated. Loneliness indicates a need for self-compassion and connection. Jealousy highlights your true aspirations and the person you want to become. Happiness points you towards your passions and purpose. These emotions are not to be dismissed, but rather embraced and understood.
Listening to your emotions helps you cut through the noise of rationalizations and justifications. When faced with the decision to continue or give up, pay attention to how the situation makes you feel instead of overthinking it. If it consistently brings about negative emotions and detracts from your well-being, it’s a clear sign that reevaluation is necessary.

By understanding the messages your emotions convey, you can make decisions aligned with your authentic self. Trusting your emotions in this way allows for a more genuine connection with your desires, aspirations, and overall well-being. Let your emotions guide you through the decision-making process, ensuring that your choices resonate with the life you truly want to lead.

So, when you are about to make a big decision, reflect on whether what you’re focused on brings you overall energy, joy, excitement, and fulfillment, or if it drags you down, causes stress, anxiety, and depletes your energy and joy. If it’s the former – if your pursuit aligns with your passions and desires – then it’s a signal to keep going. However, if it’s the latter and the endeavor doesn’t serve you, don’t see giving up as failure. Instead, recognize it as an act of courage, an opportunity to free yourself from something that no longer serves you and to create meaningful change. Whether it’s a toxic relationship or a draining workplace, when the inner resistance becomes unbearable, it’s time for transformation and a new phase in your life.

So, whenever you need to make a big decision, take a moment to connect with your emotions. Deep inside, you feel the answer. You may even have a strong gut feeling/intuition about whether to persist or let go. Listen to it instead of trying to overthink it.

2. Check Whether Your Decision is Aligned with Your Values, Goals, and Truth

When faced with a significant decision, such as whether to continue or give up, check in with yourself. Ask yourself whether the decision aligns with your values, goals, dreams, and truth. Making choices that resonate with your authentic self leads to a life you truly love.

In contrast, if the decision is based on your limiting beliefs, like self-doubt and self judgment, and your fears, you are avoiding what you genuinely desire and playing small. Limiting beliefs are false beliefs that prevent you from pursuing our goals and desires, and being who you want to be. Recognize these limiting beliefs for what they are: mental blocks/beliefs that you internalized at some point in your life which are not objectively true. Strive to overcome them, allowing your true aspirations to guide your decisions. By aligning your actions with your values, goals, and truth, you pave the way for a more authentic, fulfilling and purpose-driven life.

Ultimately, the decision to keep going or give up is a deeply personal one. By tuning into your emotions and ensuring alignment with your values, goals and truth, you can navigate this crossroads with clarity and courage, moving towards a life that brings you more fulfillment and joy.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

Before I started my soul-led Mindset & Empowerment Coaching business, I was never really fulfilled with my diverse career trajectory, from doing a Ph.D. in political science, working as a translator/interpreter to working in Financial Tech. Especially in the years before getting into coaching, I worked in a highly stressful work environment where I couldn’t be my authentic self and experienced things that went strongly against my values. I found myself living life on autopilot and survival mode, stuck in a job that crushed me, and being sent from one doctor to another and diagnosed with various health issues for the first time in my life. I ended up completely depleted, stressed, and burned out.

One day my best friend asked me: “Why are you working so hard to make someone else’s dream come true instead of your own?” This hit me hard. I knew I was deeply unhappy with my job and had even sacrificed my health and wellbeing. I finally had the courage to quit my job. That was my turning point.

I really focused on healing and prioritizing my health and wellbeing. I started yoga during my PhD and did a yoga teacher training in 2018 on the side searching for deeper answers in life. I knew it was going to play a vital role in my healing journey. So I traveled and further developed my expertise in holistic health and wellbeing, obtaining certifications in yoga, meditation, and mindfulness as soon as I quit my job. I really wanted to find out how I, an overly optimistic and joyful person, could end up being stuck in a miserable situation for such a long time.

This quest led me to do a lot of inner work as I explored my inner blocks. I clearly began to understood that the only thing that was getting in my way of actually creating a life I love was my own mind: my limiting beliefs and fears. Some of the beliefs I had internalized were ‘I need to prioritize financial stability’, ‘I need to make big sacrifices for my job’, ‘My coworkers and team need me’, ‘and ‘I don’t have enough knowledge and skills to be an entrepreneur’. Moreover, fears of uncertainty, failure, and judgment of others also led me to play small.

This also made me realize that I have the power to overcome these self-constructed limitations by changing my beliefs and aligning them with my goals and dreams. That’s exactly what I did. I knew exactly what I wanted: more freedom, joy, become an entrepreneur and coach, work with amazing people – basically live and work on my own terms. So as I was doing all the inner work, I also started taking action. I got a coaching certification, became a mindset & empowerment coach, developed my very first coaching program, and successfully worked with amazing clients. All of this happened within a year of quitting my previous job. I am still mind blown thinking of how much I was able to heal and achieve by intentionally shifting my mindset and aligning with my values, goals, passion and dream.

Now I am living my dream life: I absolutely love what I do and I have the freedom to choose when, how, and with whom I work. I travel abroad twice a year and work from stunning, sunny places. My work gives me energy, fulfillment and joy. And I am super excited about all the things I will create in the future: develop and offer a group coaching program, organize a retreat, and collaborate on more projects with other coaches.

The biggest lessons I learned throughout my journey are:

– The most painful experiences are here to teach you the most valuable lessons.
– The only thing that is preventing you from achieving everything you want is your own mind. As Buddha said ‘The mind that perceives the limitation is the limitation’. You have the power to break free from these self-imposed limitations.
– Listen to your heart and believe in yourself.

If you are currently stuck, unfulfilled and going through challenging times, know that this is not your destination. I invite you to have the courage to do the inner work and explore what is holding you back. You developed most of your beliefs and many mental, emotional and behavioral patterns you continue to perpetuate during your childhood. Gaining clarity on these is a vital step in overcoming them. Instead of being the subconscious perpetrator of your past, become the conscious creator of a life you truly love. Never play small and settle for less than you desire and deserve just because you want to play it safe. Trust and follow your heart. Once you believe in yourself, what you can achieve is limitless!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to one of my best friends Mieke Frank, a compassionate lovely mother and entrepreneur, who was there to support me when I was going through challenging times and has inspired and encouraged me to follow my passion and purpose.

I also want to extend my sincere appreciation to my yoga teachers, who have played a pivotal role in shaping my understanding of this transformative practice. Their knowledge and wisdom have guided me on a path of self-discovery. As I delved deeper into the world of yoga, I underwent a profound shift in my perspective and worldview. While I once regarded spirituality as some ‘woohoo stuff’, I now find myself captivated by the beauty, depth, and richness of yogic philosophy and wisdom. It is much more than a physical practice; it’s a journey of transcending the limitations of the mind, aligning body, mind, and soul, and connecting with your true self. Through yoga, I got to appreciate and explore holistic approaches to health and well-being.

Website: www.createwithmaddy.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/dr.madeleine.heuer

Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092662813574

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJT5W9UYou0&t=713s