“Be not afraid of going slowly. Be afraid of standing still.” ~Japanese Proverb.

Walt Stack, when questioned in his 80’s about his strategy for running ultramarathons (50-100 miles, or more), said “Start slowly…then taper off.”

If something is worth doing, just keep moving forward. You’ll get there when you get there.

What the rush?

If:

• Self improvement and personal growth are important in your life.
• You need to perform at higher levels in your job or sport.
• There are things in your life that you know you need to do, but aren’t doing.
• There are things in your life that you want to do, but aren’t doing.
• You are dealing with a difficult decision.
• You need someone to hold you accountable for your success.
• You need someone to talk to that can be completely objective about your life or business.
• You are feeling “stuck” and need some movement in some area of your life or you’re feeling off-track with your goals.

If any of these things apply to you, or you just have questions about coaching, contact me for more information.

I heard a great interview with Tony Robbins (who I worked for a long time ago) the other day and he talked about six human needs.

1) The need for Certainty, for things to be predictable. To know that you can count on some things to always be there.

2) The need for Uncertainty, Surprise, Stimulation, Variety. Uncertainty allows us to continue growing.

3) The need for Significance, the feeling of being needed.

4) The need for Connection, love.

5) The need for Growth.

6) The need for Contribution, meaning, making a difference.

What do you think?

Life is a journey, not a destination. Listen to the music, dance the dance.

Here is a short recording by Alan Watts, with animation by the the creators of South park.

A client called me this morning asking for advice dealing with Holiday Stress (I capitalize this because it seems to be a common malady).

As a coach and hypnotist I love to use questions because it engages your subconscious mind, putting it into search mode until it finds answers.

So, here are some questions to ask yourself when you’re feeling stressed:

Why are you stressed? Because… “I need to…” “People are…” “I can’t…”
whatever your answer, ask yourself:

• Is it true? How do you know?
• What if it wasn’t true? How would you feel?
• What is keeping you from feeling that way now?

and finally, a great technique called Afformations (from the book of the same name by Noah St. John). Phrase the problem as a question, but reversed. For example:

• Why am I feeling so relaxed this holiday season?

By the way, these techniques can work with any stress.

As always, I look forward to your comments…

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. in that space is our power to choose our response. In that response is our growth and our freedom.” ~Victor Frankl

Ask yourself: Are you nurturing your reaction or creating your response?

Feeling stuck? Ask yourself:

What do you want?

Why do you want it? (Because…) And why do you want that? (Because…) And why do you want that? (Take this line of questions all the way to the end.)

What will it take to get there?

Why haven’t you done it yet?

What are you afraid of? Why?

Are you starting to understand where I’m going with this? Any questions?

Remember – fear is just a thought.

When martial artists are taught how to break boards (and bricks, concrete blocks, ice, etc) they are taught to put all their  focus several inches beyond the board and to strike through the target, rather than on the target. This keeps the practitioner from slowing down the strike and risking injury.

Do you ever find yourself slowing down, hesitating, even pulling back from a difficult task because you think it might be difficult, even painful?

Simply put your focus on what lies beyond the first step of the task at hand. Focus on the other side of the board.

Having a coach is having someone on your team who only wants one thing from you – your best! Your coach is there to challenge, motivate and support you.

Your coach is your advocate, your sounding board. A fresh set of eyes and ears to help you gain perspective and make decisions. A coach is there to help you stretch – and something that is stretched beyond it’s usual limits never snaps back to where it was.

Your coaching session is a safe environment to explore your personal development goals and make commitments to personal and professional growth…and your coach will hold you accountable for doing the things you commit to do.

A coach’s job is to help you get the things done that you need to get done, and that you want to get done!

Does it sound like you could use a coach? If so, call or email me so we can talk and see if we might be a fit.

“To be nobody but yourself –
in a world which is doing its best,
night and day, to make you like everybody else –
means to fight the hardest battle
which any human being can fight,
and never stop fighting.”

~e.e. cummings