Meet Marisha Dixon The RelationSHIFT™ Coach in Downtown Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marisha Dixon.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Images of success, family, beauty, happiness, love, femininity and masculinity are projected and reinforced for us all, in various mediums, every single day. Gradually, our habits are formed from repeated exposure to these images. Habits (in our thoughts, words and behaviors) are simply choices we deliberately make and eventually stop thinking about but continue to engage in often each day. The patterns we adopt in our thoughts, emotional responses, words we choose to use and behavior, sometimes subconsciously, other times knowingly, then create an impulse of need to strive to achieve these socially defined values. Unfortunately, these external standards, pollute our own perceptions and feelings related to these values. They often don’t reflect our true desires or make room for us to define and prioritize what really matters most to us as individuals.

Let me share something with you… when we live this way, we abandon our true self, the people, opportunities and experiences that will lead us to the true fulfillment we’re seeking in life. When we live half full, half fulfilled… when we live life in the shadows of everyone else’s expectations (or our own outdated expectations), of who and what we think we should be, we inevitably neglect our true self as well as our needs and desires. We forfeit personal integrity and we diminish our birthright to happiness, sanity, and health.

I know this because if anyone can truthfully share about living with outdated patterns that turned to living with daily burdens of burnout, miserably unfulfilled, stuck with no ideas or energy to move forward and shamefully possess a belief that they don’t even have what it takes to pursue life’s next best step – it would certainly be me! THIS WAS ME. All by the age of 25! Yep, my “mid-20s life crisis.”

And what I found to be ridiculous about it all was that I did everything “right.” I checked off all the boxes.

I excelled in school. I played sports, even at the collegiate level – UC Davis, go Ags! Internships turned new job opportunities where I advanced my roles, responsibilities, skills, experience, and networks – check! I was recruited to join the Teach For America organization, moved from California to Atlanta with no family or friends to teach elementary school kiddos – check! Bought my condo – check! Entered my Master’s program in Educational Leadership – check! Life. Was. AMAZING – check!

It was all good until it wasn’t. The “checks” stopped – literally and figuratively. I hit rock bottom with the rest of the world when the economy crashed.

I was on a rapid downward spiral that only grew more and more out of control the more I feared, forced and frustrated I became with my life. It was a silent struggle. I was too embarrassed to admit what my existence was becoming. Me… ask for help?! I didn’t know how. I was the friend – and sometimes the stranger – that was approached for guidance when others were stranded in their moments of disappointment, despair or derailment. It didn’t help that as the first born, I was naturally inclined to attempt figuring things out on my own.

Slowly and sometimes begrudgingly, I did begin to “figure it out.”

My only solace, in the beginning, was writing. I asked myself life’s big, hard questions. How can I discover and live my purpose? Is there a way for me to fulfill my potential without killing myself each day? Should relationships with friends, romantic partners, even family last a lifetime? Can I be inspired by work AND make a living that allows me to live life the way I envision? In writing, I was able to express, without judgment, my true emotions and encouragingly reveal my deepest desires.

From this new inquisitive and hopeful energy space, I was led to the Georgia Center for Meditation where I studied mindfulness every Wednesday for an hour. At first, I didn’t quite know how to take that calm with me consistently into my other, daily environments especially considering my life hadn’t drastically changed, but the more I wrote and followed my meditation practice, the more I felt better.

Feeling better was the first step to changing the trajectory of my circumstances.

Feeling better allowed me to simply accept my life just as it was at that time. Accepting my life just as it was, liberated me from the attachment to erroneous ideas such as I NEEDED to be in a different stage because of my age, what I had or had not yet accomplished, what others expected of me or what I thought my life was going to be by this point.

Liberation from those false premises gave me permission to choose what I wanted in work, life, and love – no matter how unconventional a life or the desires may have been. With baby steps, I moved forward with MY choices and my self-confidence gradually restored.

I commonly hear of these similar, unfortunate themes of stress, lack of purpose, and fear of advocating for one’s needs among those that I’ve worked with over the years – colleagues, students and clients. I believe we live in a society obsessed with success and we expect to get from ideation to manifestation while hoping to avoid life’s inevitable messiness. This behavior and mentality don’t adequately equip us to handle “the unexpected detours” on the road to success – in any area of life. These stories – mine and others – prompted my personal and professional shift. My work as an educator and coach aims to teach others how to rethink, discuss and manage the inevitable stress we feel when life presents us with what we call “obstacles” and “failure.”

Over the last ten years in my work with busy executives, young professionals and students nationwide, I have used much of what I went through in my own journey to create resources and experiences that guide others to sweep away old paradigms that no longer serve them, manage stressful life situations that are often inevitable, establish their pillars of purpose and uncover the path they’ll take to pursue life on their terms.

To be clear, what I do is not about helping students or clients steer clear of life’s inevitable detours, but instead, I ensure they walk away empowered with the foundational tools to manage what happens when stress creeps in and life begins to veers off track. My mission is to empower future leaders and families to confidently pursue their own version of happily ever after by teaching them methods to avoid burnout, boost clarity on life’s next, best steps through mindfulness and expressive writing and maximize the benefits of living with compassion.

As a former Division I student-athlete, I have nurtured my coachability and leadership skills, use my knack for interpersonal relations to authentically connect with others from diverse backgrounds, and have an unmatched work ethic that has improved my ability to adapt quickly to unforeseen changes or challenges.

My Masters in Educational Leadership was in the form of a blended, online and onsite model and was obtained during the devastating 2009 economic crisis. I understand first-hand the challenges and opportunities post-secondary education presents for students today. I can also relate to students who may have social, emotional, economic or other hardships impacting their academic performance.

With my background in social services, psychology, and education, I have been able to bring to the table my years of experience with cognitive re-framing and personal transformation to develop practical and unique mindfulness tools and approaches for those in my care to finally make sense of the chaos, the fear, or feelings of being stuck in work, love or life. I recently wrote a book, “Crumbling Walls: 33 Moments That Derailed My Happily Ever After” which is a series of short stories highlighting memories that resurfaced during my silent struggle through my mid-20s life crisis as well as the detours that ensued. The book strongly encourages readers to explore life beyond my stories and capture the emotions of their own journey using my thoughtful journal prompts to guide them to a path of healing and happiness.

Additionally, I have recently been selected as an ASU Integrative Health Initiative Faculty Associate, I confidently use much of my personal experience, education, professional background, and aspirations to compliment the success of the School of Social Work by exposing students to the theory and research behind stress. The course will introduce students to the core elements of maintaining a healthy lifestyle through stress management by incorporating evidence-based research on nutrition, mindfulness, communication, positive thinking, exercise, environmental factors contributing to wellness and disease, immune system support, activity management and developing practice that facilitates maintaining living in balance.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
If you took the time to listen to my story in the audio (bit.ly/BloodyMari), it will be very clear why I am so passionate about helping others uncover their outdated thought patterns to help them manage stressful life events and achieve overall wellness. As a former educator, I know that teachers are some of the most empathetic individuals who are devoted to making a positive impact in the lives of students, their families, and communities. Too often though, many educators are ill-equipped for the social and emotional demands of the classroom which can lead to feelings of discouragement, burnt-out, stress and an “I’m ready to give up” attitude. I lived that story.

This is, however, not simply my story nor is this the sole experience of those in education. Over the last three years, I have worked with over one hundred busy executives, CEOs and professionals across industries who provided first-hand accounts of how often they commit significantly more than eight hours each day to being “on the clock.” As a result, they feel there is less time to connect with or tend to the needs of loved ones, they find it challenging to maintain a self-care or wellness routine due to inconsistent or lengthy work days, social activities or hobbies take a back seat, their energy level is often depleted, stress is simply the norm, wedges are created in their romantic relationships or dating becomes impossible due to demanding career obligations.

In short, the workforce – and our Western world as a whole – is unwell, and this burden is too huge to ignore. The 21st-century life is indeed a busy one with bustling agendas, domestic chores and “to do lists” that never end. The ‘I am so busy’ complex is the common woe and we can’t seem to remember the last time we experienced simply being – as a self-care effort to pause and reboot, mindfully connect with others, or to spark creative ideas, focus on solutions to challenges within and outside the workplace, our homes and social life.

The RelationSHIFT™ Coach – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I believe because I was a teacher in my former life most people know me as Ms. Marisha, The RelationSHIFT™ Coach. Today, I have my own coaching practice and I teach busy professionals and young adults to see the bravery in admitting they’re uncertain how to make life better when they don’t feel ok – in work, life, or love. I have quickly become the go-to guide for my thought-provoking questions that allow those I work with to uncover, define and live their own version of happily ever after – I don’t tell them what to do or what to want. I guide through motivational interviewing and provide various resources where they learn to listen to and trust their intuitive voice. I call that an Internal GPS (Internal Guidance Protection System). My ‘writing-to-heal’ approach resonates with those ready to find harmony in life’s stressors they find challenging to discuss.

Major life transitions are inevitable and pretending all is good when it is everything but, was an all-too-familiar experience I personally lived. I use this common existence to help others in their navigation of these spaces. Using expressive writing as a tool to mend my own relationship with the hardships I encountered in work, life, and love, I give people a safe space to confidently voice concerns about their unpredictable life path. One of the newer developments and methods I’ve come up with the replicate myself and my work to impact more people, is writing and publishing my first, soon-to-be-released book, Crumbling Walls: 33 Moments That Derailed My Happily Ever After. Using expressive writing, the book of short stories explores hardships I encountered in my 33 years here in this realm, the lessons learned on my path to healing and happiness, and also features thoughtful journal prompts for readers ready to heal from things they don’t discuss. It’s the first book in the self-help genre to be double-sided and interactive. I can’t wait to share this project with the world and allow the darkest moments of my life to give light to someone else’s life. People can use the link above to join my book list to stay in the loop of official release date scoop! 😊

I am also re-launching an online wellness lifestyle brand, BEE MNDFL (as in be mindful), which will feature my own brand of healthy snack bites with 6 flavors and special notes inside for snackers. There will also be live events in various destinations worldwide among other products and community-based experiences to ensure busy people have SOULutions to rise above the mayhem of modern life. My BE MNDFL snacks and live self-care experience made its debut at a 3-day retreat I hosted in collaboration with Glen Ivy Hot Springs.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I would say my proudest moment isn’t any of those tangible awards, accolades or any of that. To date, I am proud to say for the first time, I am audaciously following my own advice. Specifically, taking the time to pause, reflect and redefine what happiness, success, love, etc. look like for me so that I wake up each day committed to the practices and processes I know support my health, happiness, and productivity in those various life areas – regardless if I see the results I want right away or not. I’m proud to be living and working with more integrity and transparency. I am candid about my highs and lows with my social connections, in my speaking or other work, so that people know it’s truly ok to not be ok as long as they’re seeking support and moving forward in the midst of whatever’s going on. It’s about the mindset… and that’s why I’m known as The RelationSHIFT™ Coach – because I help people (and sometimes even myself) with re-framing the narratives that influence limiting behaviors which lead to unfulfilling life experiences. I’m proud to have awareness of that key because with new perspectives come new possibilities.

Contact Info:

• Website: msmarisha.com
• Email: marisha@msmarisha.com
• Instagram: @its_msmarisha
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/HeyItsMsMarisha

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