by Carol deLaski | Feb 1, 2012 | Business, Linda Norris
Talk about a wakeup call!
I was getting ready to write this blog about a positive experience I’d had during the course of my workday today about the value of working in teams, and decided to surf the web about the challenges of teamwork, when I came across this really weird website that seemed like something out of Dilbert.
It’s called Despair.com, and its premise is this: “It began with a dream. A dream of the perfectly-realized American company. A company that would create dissatisfied customers in the process of exploiting demoralized employees while selling overpriced and ineffective products to remediate the problems caused by the very process itself. And now the dream has come true. As nightmares often do.”
Really, its intent appears to be making fun of all positive, employee engagement and teamwork coaching sites that are out there. Compare the traditional Teamwork poster we’ve all seen with one they offer on their site:
While I was there, though, I looked at this video, which is about dealing with employee complaints, by using the theory of “It could be much worse.”
http://spin.despair.com/videos/addressing-employee-complaints/
I watched it, and actually laughed at first—but then I remembered some of the things that were said by managers in my last job, as the economy began its downward spiral, (“Don’t complain, you’re lucky to have a job!”) and realized that there really are discouraging people out in our workplaces. Boy, was I depressed.
My takeaway, when it comes to living a wholistic life?
Negativity is something to avoid like the plague. Tolerate as long as you are in the mood to laugh at it, but…
My personal lesson: optimism is hard work, and while pessimism is real, cynicism is inescapable, optimism is the balance that keeps the world moving forward. Keep at it, keep the faith, and remember that there are people just waiting everywhere you go to drag you down. Laugh at their foolishness, shake your head sadly, and move on.
Linda Norris, NW Communications
eMail: [email protected]
www.facebook.com/nwcomms
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by Carol deLaski | Jan 25, 2012 | Fitness, Health, Nutrition, Sandie Lynch
Well, we are in the 4th week of January 2012 and by next week the majority of individuals who have set New Year’s Resolutions will have gone back to old familiar habits. Now if you have set a new resolution I am not trying to be the voice in your head to say, “Oh, you might as well give up now because by next week you will have anyway.” Believe me, I want you to succeed more than anyone because I was on the same track year after year when it came to trying to lose weight and getting fit. I was very successful at losing weight and especially successful and speedy about putting the weight back on. Yes, I was a very successful yo-yo dieter. This up and down journey led me to whom I am today, a Registered Dietitian and Personal Fitness Trainer. I was so tired of the pain of failure year after year and finally dedicated my life to a pursuit for answers…answers that I now love to share with others to help them find success.
Because I am what I am, many friends and acquaintances feel compelled to share with me their wellness goals even though they are not my clients. I often laugh when I walk into a room and others make excuses about what they are eating, like I am the food police, ugh! Not a role I like or want. Being a Registered Dietitian can be a blessing and sometimes a curse as I see individuals feel the need to hide from their food or activity choices when they see me. So eat up and enjoy, I am not here to judge, just help when asked.
As you know, every year tons of new inventions, fitness programs, diets, and/or household appliances promise weight loss or fitness success. So why so many and why don’t they seem to work? Which one really has the answers? “Will this one work for me?” The simple truth…they all work! Beware, not all are created equal and some can even be harmful so I encourage you to be careful and always seek the advice of a Registered Dietitian and/or Licensed Nutritionist for sound nutritional and wellness advice. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics will often provide book reviews of the newest diet plans, so check them out at Eatright.org.
So, back to our topic of “Weight Loss Resolution Success Tips.” To be successful, the better question is how can you have the “right” one work for you? First select one that has good reviews and apply these simple tips:
1. Know specifically what you want. Many times resolutions are vague statements like, “I want to lose weight or get healthy.” Set a specific goal like “I want to lose 10# in 3 months.” This is realistic and measureable. Many times individuals set the bar way too high and starve to reach it. Any time we are in “starvation mode” we set ourselves up for failure.
2. Why is the reason you want it? I encourage you to search your heart on this one because this will be your new mantra as you talk yourself through resisting the temptation of old unhealthy habits that have led you to where you are today. If this reason is not tied to your deep emotions and desire, that chocolate delicacy will win out every time!
3. Make a realistic plan and stick to it. Your plan should be focused on changing the environments and schedules that have created your current situation. Evaluate your pantry and the foods you have around you. Create easy access to healthy foods and difficult for indulging on your weakness foods. We all have them. What are yours? Just for a while go “cold turkey” on these, eventually you will have the control to eat them again, but initially it is too easy to fall into old habits. Create a schedule that will set you up for success, include at least 16 minutes of exercise and grow this to 32 minutes daily. ATP Fitness™, shows you how to include exercise in your day no matter your schedule or location and how to maximize your results, more on this later.
4. Have Fun and look for the positives in your changes. Our brain will easily adapt to changes, this is called neuroplasticity, but our brain will resist making these changes permanent if we associate them with negative emotions or thoughts such as “I hate to exercise” or “I am depriving myself of my favorite foods.” Instead, associate the changes you are trying to make to something positive. A client of mine decided she would change her thoughts from “I hate to exercise” to “I love the way I feel after I exercise” which is helping her stay on course and make moving her body joyfully a part of her life. Find the words that will link positive emotions to the changes you are making. What we enjoy, we always want to do more!
5. Seek support, encouragement, and an accountability partner. Working primarily with women has made me realize we are creatures that are more likely to do things for others than ourselves. Our health and self care are often neglected because of this. Embrace the idea it is not selfish to take care of yourself but actually a requirement to be a better caregiver, friend, spouse, and to be more productive. Remember on the airplane they state to put the oxygen on yourself first before helping those around you. Same goes for everything in life. Find the friends and acquaintances that will support your goals and be an active part in helping you succeed.
6. Believe in your success! Anytime you change your behaviors, thoughts, perspectives, and activities your body and brain respond. It cannot help it, it is the way it was designed. Trust that as you make small but consistent changes that embrace a healthy lifestyle, the result WILL BE a healthier, leaner, more energized body. Don’t give up when you don’t SEE the results, you are changing from the inside out.
Today’s author: Sandie Lynch. ATP Consultants, LLC provides services that help educate, coach, support, and encourage you on your journey to Attain Top Performance (ATP) in living the life you want. Join Sandie in her ATP Fitness sessions on Monday evenings as she teaches 5 key principles to honor the body and how to create permanent change and maximize your results. Find out more at http://home/wholisu6/dev.wholisticwomanretreats.com.atphealthandfitness.com and contact Sandie today on how to start your journey to wellness and life of success!
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by Carol deLaski | Jan 18, 2012 | Laura Hall
“The way of the miracle-worker is to see all human behavior as one of two things: either love, or a call for love.”
― Marianne Williamson
Several months ago I joined a local group that is studying the book A Course in Miracles. It’s been a book I’ve had an interest in learning more about, and I subscribe to the belief that it’s always more fun to be part of a group! Over the last few months, the leader of this group has been encouraging us to look at every interaction we have with others as either an expression of love or a call for love. Seems easy enough, doesn’t it? Once we recognize that someone’s behavior is a call for love, it changes what we see. It opens us up to having empathy rather than thinking they are a jerk, or high maintenance, or whatever other reactionary thought might pop into our minds. To illustrate my point, I’d like to share with you a personal example.
Here is the scene: It’s Sunday night. My husband is planning an early to bed night in preparation for a busy week at work. Monday is a school holiday. My youngest daughter asks me if we can have a girls game night with her friend and her friend’s mom. I say, “Yes!”. Around 9:30 PM, our games are in full swing, and my husband heads up to bed. Shortly there after, I get a text from him saying, “Sorry to be a pain, but can you turn things down a notch?”. OK, I think, this is what a call for love looks like. You see, unlike my husband, I have no problems sleeping – anywhere, anytime. So my reactionary thought was, “We really aren’t being that loud.”, but instead of acting on this thought, I choose to see this as a call for love, reply “Yes.”, and then asked everyone to be a little quieter. Several minutes later I received a second text. This one reads, Music too. Bass carries. Again I get the chance to practice recognizing that as a call for love and I turn down the music. Without this framework, I easily could have rolled my eyes, given my husband a hard time and generally just not have been very loving. I’m glad I chose to love in response to his call for love. This is what everyday miracles look like in action.
Where are you being called to be a miracle-worker? Who in your life is calling out for love? What will it take for you to be able to respond to them with the love they are asking for? I challenge you to recognize that it is a choice. What will you choose? I hope you’ll look for opportunities to practice love because when you do, you become a miracle-worker.
Today’s author: Laura Hall is an iPEC certified life coach who believes every woman deserves a coach. She offers both one on one as well as group coaching services. She can be reached at [email protected] or check out her website at www.hallcoaching.com.
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by Carol deLaski | Jan 12, 2012 | Carol deLaski
In January many of us turn attention towards what we resolve to start doing to be healthier, happier, and more balanced in our life and work. This year, as you consider the new beginnings that 2012 offers I’d like to ask what will you end. Many of us cringe at the idea of endings. We resist the changes that endings bring, often fearing the disappointment and sense of loss that can be associated with them. Yet endings are necessary if we want to start new activities or even new behaviors. We have a limited amount of time each day so choosing a new activity often means we have to let go of another. Saying “yes” to something new often means saying “no” to something else. There are two sides to the coin of change. One side is what we will start and the other side is what we will stop.
So as you consider where you want to be in six months or a year, and how you will get there, consider what you need to let go. We know that we’ll be different one year from now. None of us gets to stay the same. We get a choice in how we will have changed, though, whether it’s for the better or not.
Instead of resisting endings, what would it be like to normalize and embrace them? What would it feel like to be proactive and intentional about ending certain activities, thoughts, or behaviors that aren’t producing what we want in our lives?
Nature provides many examples of endings. We witness the life cycle of trees and plants as seasons change and realize our life cycle has seasons as well. Pruning is an activity that creates proactive endings. In the book, Necessary Endings, Dr. Henry Cloud shares three examples of pruning that can also be applied to business and life changes.
One is the pruning of healthy buds and branches. A healthy plant will often produce more buds than it can bring to full bloom. In order for the bush to thrive, and produce outstanding blossoms, some of the healthy buds must be cut. Choices have to be made between what is good and what is best. When the good buds are let go, it frees those resources to go to the best buds allowing them to achieve magnificence.
A second way that gardeners prune is to remove sick branches. When all efforts to heal and revive a sick part of the plant don’t restore it to health, there comes a time to accept that recovery is not occurring. When we remove the sick branches we allow more fuel to pour into the healthy buds.
The third way gardeners prune is to remove branches that are dead and taking up space. Removing them allows healthy branches unobstructed room to grow to their full potential.
Pruning a rose bush is certainly less painful than pruning your business or life! Too often we avoid pruning activities, behaviors, thought patterns, or relationships in our lives because it evokes fear, pain and conflict. Yet in order to succeed, we must prune. So as you consider what you will begin this year to bring your life to full blossom, also consider what you will prune. Trust that you will know what, and when, to prune certain thoughts and behavior patterns from your life to make room for those that will bring your life where you want it to be one year from today.
Consider joining Carol’s winter coaching group on the book Necessary Endings to receive support and create the change that you want in your life. Carol’s winter program will discuss the insights presented by Dr. Henry Cloud and actively apply them to situations in our own lives that require “letting go”. Groups will meet each month for a 90-minute coaching session followed a week later by a 60-minute conference call. For those who desire the added advantage of one-on-one coaching, you and I will schedule a separate 50-minute session. You should plan on a three-month commitment to CCG+ but are welcome to continue as long as you feel the benefits in your life. Call Carol directly for more information.
Today’s author: Carol Hayes, [email protected] or 301-371-7460. Through her company, Clear Choices Coaching, Carol shares her expertise and skill fostering growth in people of all ages. She is especially energized when her coaching helps people experience “breakthrough” moments where they push through their personal edge and grow more fully into the people they want to be. Carol’s certification as a Life and Energy Leadership coach comes from The Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC), which is accredited by the International Coaching Federation. She is also a dynamic speaker and workshop leader who facilitates energizing connections with groups of all sizes.
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by Carol deLaski | Dec 23, 2011 | Family, Health, Sandie Lynch
We often sing about the joy this time of year brings. Sometimes the words can be empty and the emotion of joy a distant memory or even a highly desirable one that seems unattainable. The Holidays can be very demanding with the high expectations of beautiful decorations, buying the perfect gift for everyone on your list, and attending all the additional events and functions that come in celebration of the various Holidays, this on top of our regular schedule. Then for others it can be a lonely, high stress time as money may be tight and the memory of a loved one now passed leaves a bitter sting during this time.
Whatever it is that brings the added stress, it can definitely be hard to grab onto some “joy.” So what does the word “joy” mean to you and how does it differ from “happy” emotions you experience? Just so we are all on the same page, I am not speaking of happy times, such as an evening with friends when the laughter is abundant, or when you laugh a good “belly laugh” watching a funny YouTube® clip someone just shared. I’m talking about joy that comes from within no matter what the circumstance you find your life in. Experiencing true joy and having a joyful spirit is very different than having happy times that can be fleeting. It is a feeling or maybe even something bigger than a feeling that surrounds you in radiance, lets describe it as a “glowing.” This joy swells from the inside, like when someone who cares wraps a warm blanket around you on a cold chilly night, it warms you to the core. And, just like that blanket, when you share it, others feel the warmth as well. A joyful spirit is contagious and can affect anyone around you who is open to experience it.
So, where does a joyful spirit come from, and how can we allow it to grow and then to “glow?” A great place to start is counting our blessings. I know, sometimes it may be hard to bring anything good to mind, but when we actually start, it is usually surprising how many things may show up; such as health, family, friends, a warm dry house, plenty of good food, the list can be endless when we get started. By embracing the mindset of a grateful heart, this action alone can start a spark that grows that “glowing joyful spirit,” especially when we acknowledge the source of the blessings. Some call it the universe, others call it a higher power, I call Him, God. This acknowledgement causes our world to grow bigger than “self” and allows us to see the miracle of life around and within us. Yes, you are a miracle, and much thought went into the specific gifts, talents, and experiences you would have to be “you.”
Unconditional love, was first given to you by God, and as you accept this gift for yourself in everything; the good, the bad and the ugly, you begin to see all your qualities as good as they move you toward your divine path. If you don’t already, I encourage you to believe you were created for a purpose, and that purpose is to touch the lives of others in “your” unique way. Only you can be you! Therefore, begin each day by counting your blessings of being you! What qualities do you recognize that creates joy within you as you share them with others. Embrace these qualities and allow them to shine without fear! By embracing the real you and letting it shine, you begin to step into unconditional love for yourself and this alone can be freeing; to give up trying to be anything you’re not and not to step into expectations or demands of others that don’t fit you. Just show up and be you! This begins the “glow” and then there comes a time to “pay it forward” and allow your joyful “free” spirit to pour out as love for others with the same grace and gratefulness you have found for yourself. Let your light shine and joyful spirit glow, as you embrace everything that makes you, you!
Today’s author: Coach Sandie Lynch is a Registered and LicensedDietitian/Nutritionist. She obtained her Masters in Public Health Education with a certification in Healthcare Administration in 1999 and is a certified Fitness Consultant and Personal Trainer. Sandie also has fitness certifications in Aerobic Instruction and Pilates. Her services include; nutrition education/consultation, fitness training using the ATP™ approach, wellness lifestyle coaching, public speaking, workshops and wellness retreats. Contact her today at [email protected] to start your journey to Attain Top Performance! Or visit www.ATPhealthandfitness.com.
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by Carol deLaski | Dec 11, 2011 | Carol deLaski, Family, Health, Holidays, Self-Care
Do you find that the month of December brings not only joy but also additional stress as you add more activities to an already full plate? It’s easy to get caught in the dreaded “shoulds” of this time of year in an effort to create memorable holiday experiences.
Throughout the year we women often overload our lives with work, family, community activities, household needs, and more. We juggle actual responsibilities and schedules (our own and other’s) to the point that there’s no time left for self care. And to most women, this feels like what they’re supposed to be doing, even when it’s clear there’s just too much going on at once.
We know that if we don’t take care of ourselves by limiting and prioritizing the balls we have in the air, sooner or later we’re going to drop them. What would it be like to experience this December with a plan for self care? Here are a few tips on how to avoid overload during the holidays and create a calm and enjoyable holiday for yourself and your loved ones.
- Decide what’s most important and make sure you do it
When we accept that we “can’t do it all” and begin to choose just the activities that are most important to us we free ourselves to enjoy them more. Trying to do too much fills our heads with endless thoughts about details for upcoming activities, robbing us of the pleasure the current moment offers. Make sure you take time to enjoy the things that bring you peace and joy at this time of year and say no to the things that drain you.
- Create and use a “pause practice”
Racing from one activity to the next we can miss the magic moments that are abundant at this time of year. Consider creating a habit of pausing throughout the day to receive the moment. Reading something inspirational in the morning to ground yourself before the day’s busyness sets in or pausing before you eat to give silent thanks may feel right to you. Even just taking three intentional breaths before you dive into the next thing on your to-do list will center you in the moment. Meditative moments and intentional breathing slow you down and help you receive the gift this moment offers.
- Schedule self care
Calendars are our friend and help keep us organized as we go about the work and activities of full lives. They can also be our enemy if we allow them the upper hand. You are in charge of how you schedule your days. Be sure to carefully consider each commitment you make and make a conscious decision whenever possible to allow buffer time between appointments. Buffer time provides you with much needed breathing room to move calmly from one activity to the next and helps us arrive calm, cool, and collected. As you fill your December calendar be sure to add activities that nurture you. Perhaps a visit to the salon or spa to pamper yourself, or time for a fun evening out with a friend to laugh and simply be together is in order. Schedule the things that fill your heart, comfort you, and leave you feeling deeply happy. If you plan for it, it will happen. Likewise, be open to taking advantage of spontaneous opportunities for fun as they appear.
We are all familiar with the stress that this busy time of year creates in our minds and bodies. Our heart and spirit are also affected as we are reminded of someone or something that’s missing. We realize that the “picture perfect” holidays presented in the movies or on TV are not reality. Be tender-hearted and compassionate with yourself as you come upon the edges of loss and grief this holiday season. Whether it’s the loss of a special person, finances, or a dream recognize the loss and allow time to feel the feelings in order to let them pass. Admit that things aren’t the way you had hoped they would be and treat yourself with the loving kindness that you would offer a dear friend or child who is hurting.
December is a time of preparation. When we prioritize and prepare we claim peace and calm for ourselves. Prepare to celebrate this season in whatever way is meaningful to you and your loved ones. And remember to prepare to take care of yourself so that you can fully enjoy the blessings of this special season.
Today’s author: Carol Hayes, [email protected] or 301-371-7460. Through her company, Clear Choices Coaching, Carol shares her expertise and skill fostering growth in people of all ages. She is especially energized when her coaching helps people experience “breakthrough” moments where they push through their personal edge and grow more fully into the people they want to be. Carol’s certification as a Life and Energy Leadership coach comes from The Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC), which is accredited by the International Coaching Federation. She is also a dynamic speaker and workshop leader who facilitates energizing connections with groups of all sizes.
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by Carol deLaski | Nov 25, 2011 | Family, Health, Holidays, Laura Hall
I am writing this the week of Thanksgiving and as I sit here in the midst of preparing for the 20+ people that will be dining with us here on Thursday, I am gently reminding myself to stay focused on the intentions behind the festivities and not get bogged down with the details. As a “recovering perfectionist”, I have a tendency to stress over needing everything to be just right, and in this stressing I oftentimes lose sight of what’s really important. What a great question that can be…What’s really important?
For me, when I really think about it, the answer is simple… it’s spending time with those I love and having the opportunity to express what I am truly grateful for. It’s not important that my house is perfectly clean, or that I’ve decorated like Martha Stewart, or that my menu is ideal. I’m willing to let go of perfectionism and in doing that I’ve found the secret to my “perfect” Thanksgiving. Perfect for me comes from seeing the smiles on the faces of my children, my nieces and my nephew as they spend time playing together. Perfect is having 3 generations gathered around the dinner table. Perfect is having my 13 year old daughter tell me that Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday. Perfect is when we all gather in a circle before our meal to count our blessings. Perfect is knowing that we are creating memories to last a lifetime. That’s what’s really important to me.
Now, it’s your turn…What are the ingredients to your “perfect” Thanksgiving? Are there things you are stressing about that really aren’t that important? How can you let them go? I look forward to reading your answers and Happy “Perfect” Thanksgiving!
Today’s author: Laura Hall is an iPEC certified life coach who believes every woman deserves a coach. She offers both one on one as well as group coaching services. She can be reached at [email protected] or check out her website at www.hallcoaching.com
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by Carol deLaski | Nov 2, 2011 | Carol deLaski, Family, Finances, Success
Using Goals and Intentions effectively to get what you want.
While traveling recently to visit my son at college I took a wrong turn. Since I’ve done this trip numerous times over the years I had boldly set off without written directions or even a GPS. I was sure I knew the way and scoffed at any suggestion that I should prepare for the trip by printing MapQuest directions or borrowing a friend’s GPS. After all, there weren’t that many turns and I was sure I’d recognize the signs and landmarks as they appeared. I didn’t. It’s been many months since I last did the trip so when the exit sign for 220A appeared, I couldn’t remember if I needed to take it, or if there would be another exit for 220. Making a snap decision I decided to take it and immediately began to wonder if I had done the right thing. Was this going to get me where I wanted to go?
Isn’t that how life is sometimes? We know where we want to go but we don’t do what’s necessary to prepare and thus ensure our success in getting there. Whether we’re overconfident (as I was) or simply naïve in knowing what’s necessary, we sometimes set off without considering how we’re going to get where we want to go.
Goals and intentions are two useful tools to ensure our success. We can think of our intentions like the destination on a trip. We know we want to go to San Francisco, for example. There are lots of ways to get there, though, and goal setting is how we choose our specific route. Many considerations need to be taken into account when choosing the steps, or route, that will best get you to your destination. The steps that are right for you may not be right for someone else. Consulting outside sources, as well as your own inner wisdom, will help you decide which steps will get you where you want to go.
Intentions describe the passion or purpose behind an act or change. They are based on your values and priorities and act as a guiding light to help you navigate your way toward the reality you want to create. They are the what and why that guide and limit your actions or behavior. For example, a fitness intention may be to improve your health so that you feel better and can keep up with your partner or kids.
Goals, on the other hand, define a series of steps required to complete the intention. Goals are the how, when and where of the change you wish to create. In our fitness example, it might be “My goal is to lose 10 lbs, start doing yoga, and clean up my diet.”
Goals are to intentions as driving directions are to a destination. What goals do you need to set today to move toward the destination you want in your health, finances, relationships, or career?
On 220A I decided to contact someone who had access to a map, as well as my son who has driven this route many times. Both confirmed I had taken a wrong turn, however, with the help of road signs I eventually found my way to 220. Detours and wrong turns aren’t the end of the world, but they create uncertainty and angst. With the help of others I got back on track and I learned a lesson that I hopefully won’t forget . The next time I hit the road I will prepare better by consulting a tour book or travel guide to explore the many ways to get to my destination.
When preparing for a life change it’s wise to work with a guide as well. Whether you’re going to San Francisco, a healthier lifestyle, or a new career, carefully choose the steps that will get you there.
Today’s author: Carol Hayes, [email protected] or 301-371-7460. Through her company, Clear Choices Coaching, Carol shares her expertise and skill fostering growth in people of all ages. She is especially energized when her coaching helps people experience “breakthrough” moments where they push through their personal edge and grow more fully into the people they want to be. Carol’s certification as a Life and Energy Leadership coach comes from The Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC), which is accredited by the International Coaching Federation. She is also a dynamic speaker and workshop leader who facilitates energizing connections with groups of all sizes.
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by Carol deLaski | Oct 6, 2011 | Carol deLaski, Family, Health
Have you ever taken an exercise class or worked with a personal trainer to improve your physical health? One benefit is that the trainer helps you focus on how you’re doing specific movements. With that focus we begin to see what needs to be changed to get different results.
Many of us take our bodies and the way they move, for granted. We are often unaware of the habitual ways we move. Past injuries and repetitive motions ingrain an unconscious pattern to our physical movements that can be limiting and even harmful to our long term health. A skilled physical trainer can help us become aware of these habitual patterns of movement. With that awareness we can modify the movement to bring about more desirable results. Focused attention on our breath (which we often hold), or reaching fully into a stretch, or isolating a specific muscle as we exercise, contributes to developing an overall more mindful presence in our bodies. We ‘show up’ in our own skin and lose the sense of disconnectedness we once felt.
Athletes, and those of us who simply wish to be physically healthier, look to trained professionals to help us understand our current movement patterns and help us find, and implement, healthier options. The same holds true for understanding our mind and heart patterns. We develop habitual behaviors that don’t always bring about the results we desire. Procrastination, perfectionism, and busy-ness are just some of the areas we can struggle with repeatedly.
Awareness is the key to starting the change process. First we must know what we do, and how it’s impacting us, before we can create any modifications. This awareness happens at a rapid pace when we work with a trained professional, or coach, who guides and reflects back to us what they see. Beyond physical awareness, we benefit from becoming aware of how our thoughts or feelings are creating patterns of behavior in our lives that may not be serving us well. As we become aware of these thought and feeling patterns we then experience a moment of choice. Will you continue to do it as you always have or will you modify them to create different results? The choice is yours. Just as a physical trainer teaches you how to move your body differently, a life coach guides you to life movements, or choices, that promote your overall well being – mental, emotional, physical and even spiritual.
Awareness creates choice. Choice offers options. Options empower us to move forward one step at a time. That movement creates positive energy and we are encouraged to start the cycle all over again. With consistent action we create new habits, or behaviors, that bring about the results we desire in our lives.
Creating change in a mindful and purposeful way takes effort. Having a support team to help you achieve the changes you want to see in your life is a clear advantage and will ensure your success. Who is on your team? Who can best help you create the change you want in your personal and professional life? Just as you choose an exercise class, or 1-1 time with a physical trainer, to support your physical growth, consider how a workshop, or 1-1 time with a life coach, can support you overall. Intentional growth workshops are available this fall at PIOMA Performance Fitness Studio in Middletown, MD.
Intentional Growth Workshops
Instructor: Carol Hayes
Dates are located on the Clear Choices Coaching Events Calendar
All workshops: 7- 8:30 pm.
PIOMA Performance Fitness – 7 Main St., Middletown, MD.
$20 per workshop or 3/$55 or all 6 for $105
To sign-up for this or any upcoming workshop, please contact Carol Hayes:
Email: [email protected]
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by Carol deLaski | Sep 28, 2011 | Health, Linda Norris, Success
If you visit any Farmers Market or the local produce section of the supermarket, there’s one thing you’ll notice this time of year: a plethora of all types, colors and varieties of fruits and vegetables.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we had that abundance year-round? If you can, or have a big freezer in the dead of winter you can do as our ancestors and taste fresh squash, or savor your salsa from the summer’s heirloom tomatoes.
We all have sparse points in our lives, when this season’s abundance seems thin—a dearth of fresh ideas, of happy thoughts, or of positive people. Instead, frustrations seem to reign and we struggle to make any progress. However, as with harvest vegetables, it takes work, some planning, and conscious effort to make sure you have plenty when it doesn’t seem obvious or available.
Avoid Scarcity Thinking.
Examples:
- “You can’t change it, we’ve always done it that way.” (Can stop a church committee looking for ways to recruit new members dead in its tracks!)
- “Better not help him out, he’ll never be there for you.” (Can keep a loving person from acting with compassion towards another family member when paybacks become part of the equation).
- “If I share that idea she might take it and use it against me.” (Can keep smart people from offering good ideas!)
- “If we tell our employees what’s really going on, we might look foolish.” (Can keep nervous employers from taking advantage of the idea pool that they have in their employee base when their business hits a rocky road.)
Scarcity thinking like this happens because it the thinker is missing one big element: trust. If it’s you doing thinking this way, learn to recognize it from the examples above, stop yourself and breathe. You usually know when you’re in scarcity thinking because your brows crease, you get a headache, your chest tightens and you feel a sense of dread, anger or anxiety. Once you learn to recognize it, let go of your thought and the control you need over the outcome, and relax. Trust that the right answer will come.
If someone else has captured you in scarcity thinking, run!
There are endless ways to skin a cat.
Once you have opened up your mind and let go of scarcity, brainstorm. Sit down with a blank piece of paper; consciously let of the outcome that has you panicked, and let it flow–any idea you can think of. If another person at your work, or in your family, is the one dragging you down, convince them to try it with you. Look for alternatives—you will be amazed at how many are available to you.
In scenarios involving this mode of thought, the promoter usually doesn’t trust:
a) that people would be willing to compromise, given the opportunity;
b) that there is more one way to achieve an answer, a resolution or fulfill a need or
c) that there can be multiple “winners”.
Yet, when you think about some of the situations in your life when you have been able to work successfully, in consensus with others…aren’t these ultimately the “stickiest” (longest-lasting) and most pleasant to recall?
Also, have you ever noticed that when you bang your head against the wall to try to make a situation work the way you think it’s supposed to, and it doesn’t, inevitably……..it works itself in some new—and better—way.
Opportunities always abound for those who have a mind that is open to look for them. Remember to “can” your optimism, when the harvest is looking low, twist the lid open and smell deeply of the abundance of summer tomatoes.
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