How often do you step outside your routine just to reflect on your life? Here are a few reflection-related posts you may have missed. Click the links to read the full message.
“It’s on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way.”
Throughout my professional life, I have learned from personal growth and development thought leaders that, “Thoughts Become Things.”
As Wayne Dyer conveyed in his book Manifest Your Destiny, we all have the ability to influence and create our world through our thoughts, words, and actions.
Where and how can and will you harmonize your thoughts, words, and actions to manifest greater happiness in your world?
Another one of my favorite Wayne Dyer books on this subject is The Power of Intention.
Image from Unsplash by Matthew Henry
How many more years do you expect to live, given your current health status and general life expectancy statistics?
How delighted, satisfied, disappointed or regretful are you regarding your current levels of professional and personal accomplishments?
I’ve found that virtually everyone I coach has a heightened sense of urgency, wanting to squeeze even more out of the time they have remaining.
For whatever the reason, they often seek out the support of a coaching relationship to achieve more, at a faster rate, than they have experienced up to the current moment.
The time we all have on this earth is limited. How will you maximize the use of what remains in order to achieve the success and significance you desire?
Image from Unsplash by Ray Hennessy
If you were a bird, what would cause you to visit a particular tree? Perhaps it was a good place to find food, protection from predators, or maybe a mate and a place to nest.
Your own song would be an announcement of sorts, letting the world know that you are here, looking to attract that special someone or something.
What are your heart-centered qualities that represent the growth and aliveness of a green tree?
What do you have to offer the world? Which of these qualities are most worth singing about?
Image from Zimbio
When it comes to the subjects of leadership and management, one of my biggest pet peeves is the word “Boss.”
I find myself squirming, often downright repulsed by the idea of one person managing an individual or team through the “top-down / command-and-control” manner conveyed by this word.
My 35+ years of experience working for public and private companies have shown me that people are far more fulfilled, empowered, satisfied and successful when they work with one another rather than for others.
Because of the feeling of contributing to a community, people experience a heightened sense of impact and purpose, knowing they are truly valued.
How can you become a more masterful leader, manager, and coach in your professional and personal communities so people gravitate and look forward to working with you?
How often do you question the things you hear or read? Here are a few posts about questions you may have missed. Click the links to read the full message.
“There is more than one right answer.”
“When I look back in five years, which of these options will make the best story?”
“A wise man’s questions contain half the answer.”
Image from Unsplash by Renata Fraga
Have you ever experienced insomnia?
How often do you literally carry your burdens and troubles to bed, through incessant thinking and rumination about an issue?
Besides being physically tired and mentally fatigued to begin with, you can’t really accomplish anything by letting issues churn in your head through the night. You only add to the stress by loss of the restful sleep you require to take on tomorrow with a full tank and a positive attitude.
What bedtime behaviors and rituals could you consider to “leave your troubles in your clothes”?
Consider asking friends and colleagues what works for them, or try searching “sleep strategies” on the web. You’ll be amazed by the volume of content, and the magnitude and impact of this common issue.
Image from FlightJobs
How would you like to be a more masterful leader and have far greater influence in your professional and personal relationships?
For this to occur, it requires less of you and more from others.
Have you noticed that virtually everyone is far more interested in what they are thinking than in what you may be saying? Being interested rather than interesting can be just the strategy to discover their opinions and leanings on any topic. Their perspective and beliefs can point you to the areas where they can be more easily led and influenced.
Where and with whom can you tap into the opinions and beliefs held by others, to significantly increase your current levels of leadership and influence?
Are you a Lark or an Owl?
Said another way: Are you a morning person or a night person?
Larks are at their best in the morning and usually hit their low energy walls at mid-afternoon.
Owls start their days a bit more slowly, hit their peak at mid-morning, and work productively much later into the day.
In his book, WHEN, Daniel Pink points out that both Larks and Owls need to insert breaks and even an occasional nap into their days. We need this to break up the marathon lives we live and cure our sluggish minds.
Where in your day would you most benefit from a change or break, in order to renew or recharge?
Consider blocking out 15-30 minutes each day over the next week, and see what you notice about your effectiveness and productivity.
Image from Ellen’s Little Visits
With our never-ending race to get it all done today, we have all run into a problem. Despite our brain’s magnificent power to process vast amounts of information, we are beginning to hit a barrier to open and novel thinking.
We have learned a trick in which our established mental models create shortcuts to our processing power. We skip the often useful objective and reflective capacities needed in many situations.
Where have you recently jumped to an incorrect conclusion? Where and with whom might a slower, more thoughtful and open-minded approach prove most useful, in your professional or personal life?