Meet Amy Schloerb | Life Coach & Mindfulness Practitioner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amy Schloerb and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amy, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
My favorite affirmation is “ABC: Always Be Celebrating.” It has become a life motto for me and I try to instill it in my clients as much as possible. I especially love celebrating any time I take an action that aligns with my values or goals. It makes the action instantly rewarding, which helps me build positive habits, and it activates my positive self-talk, which ups my overall self-esteem.

Likely, your inner critic is the one running your mental show most of the time. “Ugh, you’re such a loser! You’re never gonna achieve your goals! Work harder!” That voice usually ends up making us feel so bad about ourselves that it takes us out of action. Who wants to do anything when all you’re met with is criticism? It’s like having a boss who is never happy with your work. Maybe you even have a boss like that in real life, so why do that to yourself in your own mind, too? Why not replace that inner jerk with someone who actually acknowledges your progress and encourages you to keep going?

I’m always celebrating my clients’ progress and I encourage them to do the same. It’s fun to watch them take in that celebratory praise and shift to seeing themselves in a whole new way. They usually sit up a little straighter and their overall energy becomes more confident. Then, over time, they develop their own celebration muscle. They focus on their progress as a source of motivation, become even more productive in the areas of life that matter to them, and continue to make great strides toward their goals. It’s awesome!

Even a tiny act of celebration gives us an instant reward, a little hit of dopamine, which makes it more likely that we will take that action again in the future. That’s why “bad habits” form so easily, there’s an immediate reward, some kind of pleasure. We can work the system in our favor by celebrating any action we want to become a habit. It’s a fun reward we can give ourselves.

Additionally, celebration allows us to practice our positive self-talk by acknowledging our progress, which is a more encouraging way to motivate ourselves. I think we get so focused on “the end result” and “perfection” that we don’t stop and give ourselves credit for the small steps along the way to a goal. “I’ll celebrate when I complete the marathon.” Well, what if, instead, you celebrated every time you trained? What if you celebrated every mile? How much better would that feel? How much more motivated and inspired would you feel to continue taking action toward that goal?

And it doesn’t have to be some big, huge, pop-the-champagne type of celebration. It can just be a little happy dance, or a literal pat on the back while saying “Good job!” to yourself. We do this all the time with little kids because we know this type of celebratory encouragement works – “You peed in the potty! Woo hoo!” – but at some point we stop celebrating our actions and I think that’s a shame. Why not keep celebrating and encouraging ourselves?

So celebrate yourself, every chance you get! ABC: Always Be Celebrating. It will help you build positive habits and shift the environment of your mind to be more supportive and self-nurturing, instead of critical and demanding. I bet you get a lot more done, too.

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?
I call myself and my business “The Aligned Actor” because to be ‘aligned’ means to intentionally focus on something and an ‘actor’ is a person who takes action. Therefore ‘an aligned actor’ is a person who intentionally focuses on what they want and takes action to get it, which is what I help my clients do. Additionally, I am a professional actress, so there’s an extra layer to the name, which is fun and meaningful to me.

I think my background as an actress is what sets me apart from a lot of other life coaches. It makes me an intuitive, open-hearted, and present coach. Acting and coaching are both about immersing yourself fully in the present moment – listening, responding, exploring, sharing, and creating with total empathy and vulnerability. The moment I realized they were essentially one-in-the-same was really magical for me and made me lean into blending both skillsets even more.

As a coach, instead of creating a character to help tell a fictional story, I work with my clients to craft the real life story they want to live every day. And sometimes we do character work, too! For example, I’ll guide clients to embody the version of themselves that has achieved their goals. They practice leaning back with confidence, owning their space, and speaking with authority about their business or artistic accomplishments and goals. Embodiment can help them find new, inspired actions to take in service of their continued personal development. It helps them become more and more who they want to be in life. This kind of identity shifting is an important process in the world of coaching and who better to guide that process than an actress!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I adore Descanso Gardens in La Cañada! I love strolling beneath the peaceful trees, getting a coffee or a bite to eat at the cafe, and poking around the gift shop. It’s magical place.

I also love the LA Zoo because it’s so fun to watch the animals and there are enough hills to get in a bit of exercise without feeling like you’ve done a major work out. My favorites are the siamang because of their loud calls and how they swing gracefully around their enclosure.

Tujunga Village is another favorite area of mine. I love to browse the local shops and restaurants. I want to buy everything in those shops! Plus there’s great coffee and wine at Giorla’s, amazing sushi hand rolls at The Bar, the servers at Vitello’s are the best, and you cannot beat the ambiance of The Aroma Cafe.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I definitely need to shout out my coaching mentor, Lisa M. Hayes. She is the Founder and Dean of Academics at The Coaching Guild, which is where I received my life coaching certification. I would not be where I am today without Lisa and the training I received from her. Her wisdom has profoundly impacted my life for the better. I didn’t just learn how to coach, I learned how to do the inner work for myself and turned personal development into a way of life for me now. Lisa truly changed my life and I am eternally grateful.

I also want to shout out my current coach, Janette Dalgliesh. She has been helping me expand my business (and my life overall) in wonderfully glorious ways.

Website: https://www.thealignedactor.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amyschloerb/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thealignedactor

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@amyschloerb

Image Credits
The professional headshot is by Tandem Photo. All other images are my own.