“Reading is my inhale and writing is my exhale.”

“Reading is my inhale and writing is my exhale.”

—Glennon Doyle — American author and activist

Image from Unsplash by Brett Jordan

How long can you hold your breath? Give it a try to see when you simply must exhale and take another. We can live numerous days without food and even water, but without our breath it’s lights out in minutes.

For me, the act of breathing has taken on greater significance over the past few years. I’ve developed the habit of daily meditation, in which the breath is my home base for greater mindfulness and self-awareness.

As a coach and person who has always valued personal development, reading the work of others has always been a priority and something I enjoy.

Writing, on the other hand, was a more recent addition around 10 years ago when I hired my own writing coach and began the Quotable Coach blog. Now with about 2500 posts under my belt, I’ve found my inhale of reading and exhale of writing have created a cycle of giving and receiving which feels essential to my life.

EXERCISE:

Where and how would taking some deep breaths in (reading) and full breaths out  (writing) energize you and add more vitality and aliveness to your days?

“The best ideas rarely arise in one isolated mind, but rather develop in networks of curious and creative thinkers.”

“The best ideas rarely arise in one isolated mind, but rather develop in networks of curious and creative thinkers.”

—Esther Perel, Belgian psychotherapist

Image from Unsplash by rupixen.com

Over the past month or so, I’ve noticed the numerous announcements of this year’s crop of Nobel Prize winners. When you examine these exceptional individuals for their big ideas and contributions it is apparent that their work stood on the shoulders of many other curious and creative thinkers, who preceded or currently partner with them.

It’s clear that being a “Lone Ranger” never consistently produces the best ideas, and even if it did, life would be pretty lonely.

EXERCISE:

Where are you currently working alone and experiencing limited success and considerable frustration?  Who are some of the curious and creative thinkers in your communities that can help you come up with more prize-winning ideas?

“Wisdom is a living stream, not an icon preserved in a museum

“Wisdom is a living stream, not an icon preserved in a museum. Only when we find the spring of wisdom in our own life can it flow to future generations.”

—Thich Nhat Hahn, Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk and peace activist

Image from Unsplash by Brett Jordan

For most of my life I’ve been a seeker of wisdom from many sources.

It is one of my daily practices that delights and fills my soul, especially when I can be a conduit for others that also wish to jump into this living stream.

For the past decade, I’ve included thought-provoking and motivational quotes as a significant component of my personal excellence journey.

These nuggets of wisdom really satisfy my appetite and passion for personal growth and development.

EXERCISE:

Where do you look to discover your own sources of wisdom? How are you paying forward some of your lessons learned to future generations?

Please consider sharing The Quotable Coach with others who may benefit.

My book, The Quotable Coach—Daily Nuggets of Practical Wisdom, might also make an appropriate gift for yourself or others this holiday season.

By letting things unfold and relinquishing control we discover freedom

By letting things unfold and relinquishing control we discover freedom.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Susan Wilkinson

Trusting things to unfold naturally without always needing to control others and events is a skill worth practicing.

Notice what happens when you let others in your personal and professional worlds do things in their own way and in their own time.

Offering those around you this freedom and autonomy will likely please them very much and endear you to them.

EXERCISE:

Where in your life can you more fully trust things to unfold naturally?

Friday Review: Happiness

Friday Review: HAPPINESS

Who are the people, what are the things, where are the places that define your level of happiness? Here are a few related posts you may have missed

 

“Happiness held is the seed; happiness shared is the flower.

 

 

 

 

“You carry the passport to your own happiness.”

 

 

 

 

“Today I will be happier than a bird with a french fry.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

You cannot have a beautiful life if you always focus on ugliness in others

“You cannot have a beautiful life if you always focus on ugliness in others.”

—Debasish Mridha, M.D. physician, writer, philosopher, and philanthropist

Image from Unsplash by Sebastian Herrmann

How much beauty do you see and experience on a typical day? How much ugliness are you observing in your personal and professional communities?

A colleague who happens to be a lawyer recently shared considerable frustration and general unhappiness with the dog-eat-dog, fight-fire-with-fire approach to much of their work, stating that work has become increasingly ugly and that waking each morning to do more of it with no end in sight is crushing their soul.

EXERCISE:

Where and how can you seek and find more beauty in the people around you?

What shifts in perspective and behavior can you offer others so that they, too, can have a more beautiful life?

Hope is like a road in the country

“Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence.”

—Lu Xun — Pen name of Zhou Shuren, 20th Century Chinese writer and essayist

Image from Unsplash by Greg Flessing

Life From Above is a new 4-part PBS series where cameras in space tell stories of life on our planet from a brand-new perspective.

Our planet is constantly on the move —from individual animals to powerful weather systems.

In episode one — Moving Planet — I was fascinated to see how rotund hippo communities, in their movement to find the freshest vegetation, actually build networks of waterways to irrigate and transform areas that would have otherwise become barren wastelands on the African continent.

EXERCISE:

Where are you walking with others in your personal and professional communities with hope and optimism?

How can and will your collective efforts reward you with greener pastures where things bloom and blossom.

“If you want light to come into your life, you need to stand where it is shining.”

“If you want light to come into your life, you need to stand where it is shining.”

—Guy Finley, American self-help writer

Image from Unsplash by Elisa Coluccia

In the northern hemisphere we are headed into winter with both colder temperatures and shorter hours of sunlight. During these months many of us hibernate a bit and the reduced sunlight can often influence our emotions and moods.

What strategies have you tried or seen others use to stand where the light is shining? What approaches beyond bringing more natural lighting sources into your home or going south like migratory birds might help you maintain a sunnier disposition?

EXERCISE:

Create a list of your closest relationships and communities. How can you make an extra effort to spend more time with these individuals and groups to boost your levels of vitamin D3 all year round?

Balancing, not balance, is the process of coming back to your center over and over

Balancing, not balance, is the process of coming back to your center over and over.

—Calm app Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Ethan Richardson

On October 1, 2004,  Fast Company Magazine published an article titled:  Balance is Bunk!

It has been a central myth of the modern workplace: With only a few compromises, we can have it all. The Fast Company article says this is all wrong, and it’s making us crazy.

The quest for balance between work and life, as we’ve come to think of it, isn’t just a losing proposition—it can be a hurtful, destructive one.

This is not, of course, what many of us want to believe.

In the last few decades, balance has won huge cultural resonance. No longer mere daily conversation fodder, it has become something like a new inalienable right with self-actualization and quality time for all.

Consider the concept of riding a bike as a fitting metaphor with the process of riding successfully is one of constant adjustment.

Similar situational adjustments and iterative shifts in our focus are the norm and we may need to accept and actually choose our imbalances—particularly the ones that make us happy.

EXERCISE:

How would the act of balancing versus seeking a steady state of balance help you find your center in order to lead a happier and more fulfilling life?

FRIDAY REVIEW: Balance

FRIDAY REVIEW: Balance

What can and will you do to find and maintain balance in your life? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.

 

“Surf what is happening versus suppressing it.”

 

 

 

“Getting even throws everything out of balance.”

 

 

 

 

“Rather than choose ‘all’ or ‘nothing,’ choose ‘a little something.’”