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Are you a hero?

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -1000

The idea of living like a hero has been bouncing around in my world for a little while. First I wrote a blog on Mums on the Go questioning if I was 'Wonder Woman' and then I published this great article by professional coach, Scott Epp, which explores how to become a hero in the life choices you make.

I have been thinking about what the idea of living like a hero means to me and why I would want to ... here are some of my thoughts:

being a hero is about inspiring others
being a hero is about believing that anything I put my heart and mind to I can achieve
being a hero is about not staying down when I get knocked over
being a hero is NOT about being "superhuman" or proving myself to anyone else
being a hero is about leading by example
being a hero is about courage to try things I have never done before
being a hero is about believing in myself and believing in others

What would living life as a hero look like to you?

Is this how you currently live life? If not, would you like to?

I would like to take a moment to shine the light on someone who has been living life as a hero within her local community in recent months ... my wonderful Associate Coach, Margit Cruice. At Christmas time a tragic house fire claimed the life of 4 people (including 3 children) and left the only survivour fighting for life in hospital. Margit has become the hero to a group of children in the community who wanted to do something to make sense of this tragedy and provide support to the only surviving member of this family. With Margit's guidance, support and passion this group of kids and their local community have raised over $40,000 so far.

You can see more on their facebook page.

Margit embodies what it means to me to live life as a hero

Linda xx

Top 10 Tips for Health and Wellbeing

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -1000

Overall I would consider myself a healthy person who takes care of her body. This past week I have been really sick, as have my family, which has caused me to stop and consider how well have I been caring for my body recently.

I find these Top 10 Tips for Health and Wellbeing a useful check-in for me at times like this. How much of this have I actually been practicing recently?

Water: hmmm ... probably need to be drinking more

Exercise: I am going to Yoga once a week but this is still a far cry from doing something 3 times a week

Breakfast: this I never miss! Breakfast helps me get going for the day

Greens: always plenty of these on my dinner plate

Moderation: Other than indulging in extra chocolate this weekend I think all things are in moderation the rest of the time

Health Checkups: I generally don't go to the Dr unless I am REALLY sick. I went to the dentist recently for an overdue checkup. I am always very diligent though about things like Pap Smears.

Sleep: I don't score well here. As the mother of 2 small children sleep can often be broken ... anything from nightmares, itchy bites, illness or a desire to wake up and start playing at 4am can interfere with a good nights sleep for me. Recently I have also been staying up late to work at night in an attempt to keep on top of things. Perhaps this is the main culprit for my current illness ..

Laughter: I get a good chuckle out of something every day :)

Fresh Air: does hanging out the washing count? I probably need to step away from the computer more often Monday-Friday to increase my fresh air time

Listen to my body: I listen well, but then sometimes I choose to ignore what I hear ... hmmm ...

How about you? How do you measure up against the 10 Tips for Health and Wellbeing?

What did you do today that made you happy?

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -1000

Happiness is a funny thing ... it is something most people strive to attain but very rarely appreciate when they experience it.

I often observe people "waiting" for Happiness as if it is something that will just arrive one day ... if they wait long enough.

I have 2 strong beliefs around Happiness:

1. Your state of mind is significant in your ability to experience Happiness ... people experiencing great difficulty in life can still experience Happiness at the same time

2. Being active in engaging with things or people that make you feel happy will help you experience Happiness NOW ... don't sit around waiting!

Do you currently do something EVERY DAY, just for yourself, that makes you feel really happy?

How would it feel if you did?

What difference might it make both to you and your family if you got to do more things that made you feel happy?

What if you did something every day THIS WEEK that made you feel happy? I wonder what would change ....

7 Days of Gratitude

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -1000

Following this post last week I was inspired to try out the practice of gratitude for 30 seconds each day. I decided to write them down to ensure I remained mindful of the practice and of course so I could share the experience with you.

As a Life Coach I have discussed gratitude with many clients and created gratitude practices with them as part of their self development … but I have never created a dedicated practice for my self.

So what was the experience like for me?

Here are some things I experienced:

Little things brought as much “lightness” as the deep and meaningful things
Some days it flowed easily other days it felt like “effort”
Often I didn’t spend 30 consecutive seconds focussed on gratitude. Does this matter? I am not sure. I would think of something in the morning I felt grateful for, then later in the day something else would pop into my mind.
I felt more aware of when others in my life were focussed on negativity. I wanted to ask them to focus on what they could feel gratitude for … but I didn’t

Here is what I have been grateful for in the last 7 days:

Day 1:Today I am grateful for …

My health and my families health – this week there are many people in our world with serious health issues. I am so grateful that I have a healthy family

Day 2:Today I am grateful for …

The stash of homemade pesto in the freezer … too busy working today to think about cooking for the family
The stash of chocolate honeycomb in the back of fridge

Day 3:Today I am grateful for …

Pregnancy nausea … it tells me I have a thriving baby
Good coffee
Special friends flying in from Melbourne for the weekend

Day 4:Today I am grateful for …

Special friendship
Laughter

Day 5:Today I am grateful for …

Sunshine
My Dad’s generosity in time & love
My husband

Day 6:Today I am grateful for …

Yoga
A baby who loves her sleep

Day 7:Today I am grateful for …

A husband who cares so deeply about who he is as a parent
My ‘baby’ who is finally walking
Financial security

What are you grateful for today?

Linda x

Could you find gratitude in your darkest hour?

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -1000

Last week I attended an event where the theme was 'Inspiring Happiness". I was honoured to be a recipient of Happiness Inspires Happiness program ... I will be setting up a 7 Day Happiness Challenge via Mums on the Go but I will be sure to share it here at a2a coaching too!

There were some terrific guest speakers but the person who most impacted my was Lori, mother of 2, from Random Ramblings of a Stay at Home Mum. She has a pretty gut wrenching story to tell ... On the 6th of January, 2011, one day after his birthday, her husband suffered a violent psychosis which resulted in him taking his own life. He hung himself in their backyard, in front of Lori and their 1 year old daughter. If you want to know more about Lori you can read her blog ... but I warn you, it is very powerful stuff ... Lori says it the way it is in her world. Have tissues on hand ...

There were many things that inspired me about Lori ... firstly her willingness to stand in front of a room of people and share her very personal and difficult story. Lori suffers from depression and anxiety and she spoke of the role Forgiveness, Gratitude & Mindfulness has played in her ability to get through the last 15 months.

I wanted to share a little of what she said about Gratitude, a daily practice she has held for around 10 years. Inspired by Oprah, Lori began a 30 second daily practice of reflecting on what she was grateful for each day. Big things, little things, trivial things ... it didn't really matter. She noticed over time she no longer had to "think" about the practice ... it would justhappen ... every day. She found this practice helped her to feel happier no matter what other challenges were happening in her life. She joked that some days she felt a little "Pollyanna".

Then on the night her husband hung himself she found herself lying on a mattress on the floor of a friends house. As she lay there she heard herself think ... I am so grateful to not have to go home tonight, to have a friend who is here for me. I am grateful my children are with their grandparents tonight and safe. As she realised she was expressing gratitude in her darkest hour she felt like kicking herself ... it was ridiculous she thought in that moment.

Lori now talks about that moment and says she realised that if she could find Gratitude in that moment then she was going to be able to find gratitude in any moment and she moved forward from that terrible day. If she could find gratitude every day she knew that somehow she was going to be OK.

I have tried to put myself in Lori's shoes, I have wondered if I would be able to feel gratitude in that moment. I have also thought about how important it was that Lori already had her Gratitude practice so well ingrained in her life that it was simply there, in support, when she most needed it.

So, I have decided to try it out for the next 7 days ... take 30 seconds to reflect on what I feel grateful for. I think I will write it down.

Would you like to join me?

What drains you?

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -1000

Are you full of energy right now or do you feel drained? Are you aware of what drains you? How can change those things to allow you to live with more energy.

Common energy drains include:

broken things around the house - light globes that need replacing, the cord on the blinds that isn't working
jobs that need doing - piles of folded washing to be put away, last years tax return, getting your car services
relationships - friendships, family, colleagues or partners who are taking more energy than they give back
Money - bills you haven't paid, money that someone owes you

Many of these things seem trivial in themselves but once you have a few in place they really start to consume energy as you go through your day to day activities. Mentally you keep thinking "I must do something about that" but when you don't actually take action those thoughts just become a drain.

How do you turn this around?

Firstly, identify everything in your life that is draining ... write it down.
Then pick 3 things on this list that would actually be very easy to tick off and do those first. Getting a few things off the list will really give you a boost.
Then select something that will make a really significant difference to your energy and tackle this next. The energy boost gained from the first 3 things will help you jump into something bigger.
Keep going! Pick a timeline that works for you to keep ticking things off and enjoy the new energy it brings.

What do you want 2012 to be?

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -1000

So here we are on the last day of 2011, I suppose I should be writing about how to set amazing goals for the year to come or how to make resolutions that will last more than the coming week ... but I won't.

For me the new year is a wonderful time to reflect and re-energise but personally I prefer to create a vision or intention for the year to come that will in turn inspire the goals I set as my year unfolds. My vision becomes my measuring stick during the year and I love how unexpected some of the ways I fulfill my vision are.

What do I want my 2012 to be about?

Laughter: joy, free spirited, lightness
Adventure: travel, camping, new places, adrenalin
Friendships: old, new, rewarding, connection
Boldness: dream big, act big, be big
Tranquility: calm, centered, meditate, yoga
Family: love, support, connect, laughter

What about you ... what would you like your 2012 to be about?

Linda x

Focus on what you can control

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -1000

It is easy in life to feel pushed and pulled by events and circumstances around you.

It is easy to worry about the outcomes, to wonder how it will all turn out. It is easy to invest a lot of emotional energy into things which you have no control over whatsoever and the end result of that is you feel tired and drained and absolutely nothing changes.

When you feel yourself being swept along and focusing too much energy on things that are beyond your control it is important to stop and consider ... what things DO you still have control of.

Pick 2 or 3 things and commit to diverting your energy there instead of where you have no control. Commit to making a difference to the things in life that you can change.

Everything else will take care of itself ... even without you worrying about it.

Try it this week ... let me know what happens ...

Linda x

Is it a challenge to live in the moment?

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -1000

You have probably heard the phrase "live in the moment". Essentially it is about creating awareness about what you are experiencing RIGHT NOW and being connected fully to that experience ... not thinking about something that happened yesterday, last week or even something that needs doing tonight.

Why would you want to live more in the moment? If you spend a large amount of time thinking about things that happened in the past or things that might be happening in the future you are not enjoying or appreciating what is happening right now. This leads to a less fulfilling experience of your life. I always say 'life is for living' so surely it is better to live in this moment?

This past week, however, I have really struggled to live in the moment. My thoughts have been far too consumed with future events and it has really impacted how I have felt this week. You see I am now halfway though a 2 year stint living interstate and I am already having to think about the logistics of moving home next year ... mostly prompted by the need to place my children on the waitlist of childcare centres.

This should be nothing more than a logistical step to tick off and then forget about but instead I find my mind busy with thoughts like:

what date should I tell them I need care from? I am not 100% sure when we will be back
what if I can't get care? How will I work?
what if I can only get care for my baby?
how many waitlists should I pay to be on?
blah blah blah

I ask these questions multiple times a day without actually having answers which simply results in a very distracted mind and ensures that I am really not connected to what is happening RIGHT NOW.

So how will I address this?

Step 1 - remind myself to breathe deeply

Step 2 - remind myself that going around in this mental circle will not solve anything and in fact there may be nothing to solve. Perhaps it will all fall into place just as it needs to, when the time comes.

Step 3 - pick a small part of my current day to draw my focus to and if my mind wanders simply remind myself to come back to the moment ... whatever it might be.

Do you find it challenging to live in the moment?

Do you act with integrity?

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -1000

Last week I was an observer on a very interesting conversation in an online chat room. It was run by a professional organisation announcing award finalists in their annual national award program.

There were about 130 people attending the chatroom (which made facilitating conference calls seem like a piece of cake!) who were all very excited to hear the finalist being revealed. The announcement of "major" award finalists went as expected with lots of virtual clapping but it was when the "minor" award lists were announced that the event became ... hmmm ... well ... interesting ...

The "finalists" of these categories received automatic status simply by submitting a nomination form and would now be voted on by the public to select a winner. Immediately the chat room went into an unanticipated typing frenzy with the range of comments being things like:

I would feel like a fraud saying I am a finalist when I wasn't actually "chosen"
Why did we bother to fill in a lengthy application form if we were all going to be 'finalists'?
Who cares? it is great to have this opportunity anyway!
I feel like a someone in a fun run who gets a completion sticker ... not a finalist

and this went on ... and on ... and on ... with little space for the facilitator to interject and regain control of the conversation or explain the decision.

I happen to know this company is one of great integrity so what went wrong? Why did so many people feel upset and mislead?

It came to down to communication, expectations and lack of transparency.

Apparently last year a lot of people were disappointed not to be a finalist in the minor categories after working so hard on submissions so the organisers decided to change the approach this year and accept everyone. Sounds like a great gesture except that they did not, at any point prior to formal announcements, communicate this change. So then this backfired as people worked hard on their submissions and then felt unappreciated and let down when their hard work meant nothing to the outcome.

Integrity is more than having your heart in the right place. Integrity is also about being open, transparent and mindful that other people may not view the world the same way you do.

Have you ever been in a situation like this? How did you resolve the situation with integrity?

Linda x