After having twins (and now a family of four beautiful boys) and buying a new home, Dawn Gaden’s husband lost his job and that was when she rose to the challenge and found a job that could support her family. Shortly after, she was diagnosed with cancer, which was a wake up call for her to pause and see where her life seemed out of control. This was the moment that she discovered that she could no longer be the rescuer, the fixer of everything any longer. It was destroying her life. This was her wake up call to love her life again.

Dawn chose to leave work and focus on her own health (mentally, spiritually and physically) after being diagnosed with cancer. It was more than curing her illness- it was about creating harmony in her own being. She had to face the guilt, resentment and anger that was fueling the experiences that she was having. But Dawn decided to shed the layers of stories that she picked up on her journey of living- the guilt, the blame, the resentment. She now experiences life from a place of empowerment and loving her life! She has learned to say no and to say yes only when it fits her.

Throughout this journey, Dawn has learned that her life is hers to live, and that is is okay to trust her intuition and follow her gut. She has a right, as we all do, to live a fulfilled, empowered and joyful life. “You are the leading role in your story, step up and embrace it. Let’s celebrate our greatness. And through our challenges is where we evolve and shed layers that we no longer need.” Let’s own our power to choose!

Here are five key takeaways:

• On Letting Go: Through self-ownership, you can begin to heal through and let go of the fear-based patterns that imprison- like attachment, expectations, a need to fix and fixate, guilt and obligation.
• Take A Pause: Taking the time and space to reflect can allow you to begin to see where you have given your power away, how to take it back and move forward with the decisions reflective of who you truly are and where you would like to go.
• Event + Response = Outcome: We have the power to choose our response to each and every life experience. In this, we can shape the outcome in doing so.
• T.E.A.R.: We are in charge of our selves. Thinking can lead to emotion, emotion can lead to action, and action can lead to results and vice versa.
• Follow Your Heart: You come first, and you can give yourself complete permission to own and to love your life and to make decisions from this place within, where your power and authority dwells.

Thank you so much, Dawn, for sharing your story with us. You are truly incredible- let’s continue to celebrate your greatness!

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Do you have a personal growth story that you would like to share? We would love to feature you on our page! To contribute your authentic story about personal growth, please check here. We truly appreciate your time and intentions to help others #letgoandgrow.

Dawn Gaden

Dawn Gaden is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), practicing for over 20 years. She is certified in Complementary Medicine and Wellness, a Registered Yoga Teacher, and Life Coach. She brings clients a solution-focused approach to health and wellness that merges coaching, mindfulness, and holistic health. She has a passion for positive psychology, the power of positive thinking and an active approach to create lasting sustainable changes to help people create the life they love! Check out her Create Conscious Living course right here.

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