Create Your Juicy... What is a juicy life anyway?
It’s one that is full of energy and emotion, ideas and challenge, and it’s one in which we have decided to live with... Readmore
What Do You Want I've been having some great conversations lately exploring this question with people.
What do you want?
When was the last time someone... Readmore
Create A Culture... I was facilitating a workshop this morning for supervisors - front line, department directors and the like - on using innovation tools. One of the... Readmore
Icebreaker or Exercise?... It's one word that can doom any successful training effort. I was reading through some blogs today and came across an entry on Icebreakers. It sent... Readmore
Why OrangeSlice? Picture a fresh cut Orange Slice. Mmm... It's Fresh. It's Juicy. It's full of Energy and Life. That's what we create through our events and coaching.... Readmore
Do you ever find yourself needing that break in the day? Or wanting to take that long weekend away and for a number of reasons don’t find a chance to do that. Here’s a 5 minute getaway that will give you the peace of mind of being on vacation – even if it’s just for five minutes.
The benefits of regular mediation are endless. It can come in these short burst, too. You don’t need to set aside 30-minutes everyday to practice – but, what if you could? Here are three other ways to get that relaxation and benefit from meditation in your day:
Close your eyes for 30 seconds. This allows you brain to release the stimulus overload we take in visually. Better yet, close your eyes and cup your hands over them. Then release after a short break.
Use a Mindfulness Bell. It can be a Tibetan Singing bowl, meditation chimes, or a website. The Washington Mindfulness Community has this page where you can activate a bell when you need the pull to presence.
Office Yoga. Get a brief stretch with these simple Yoga techniques you can do at your desk. Opening up your chest and shoulders at work will take away some of the stress you carry at work.
Do what you can to bring a little vacation to each day.
I’ve been having some great conversations lately exploring this question with people.
What do you want?
When was the last time someone asked you this? More importantly, when was the last time you answered with what you DO want and not what you DON’T want. For example a typical conversation might go this way:
So, what do you want?
Well, I really want my boss to stop piling on the work. I can’t get everything done in a day and still stay on top of my other projects. Doesn’t she get it . The plate is already full.
Why is it that we have been conditioned to respond to a question of abundance with answers of fear?
We have been programmed to be great problem solvers, that’s why. Think about it. You want to figure things out. Except the flaw about problem solving usually leads us to believe something might have to go away. And we slip into answering the questions based in fear. When the brain is asked a question, it has to generate a response. (Try not to answer the next question.) What would make you smile today?
Now whether you said anything out loud or not isn’t the issue. Your brain started to connect pathways to answer the question. And your mouth may have started to turn upward into…a smile. Or, you started to think of the things that get you down or get in your way of making you grin from ear to ear.
Can you train your brain to start making connections that make you smile? Or lean into what you really do want? Yes. And it’s going to take practice just like any new habit would. Here are three simple steps on getting what you want and focusing your energy towards that:
Set your Intention. What do you want today? Simply state what you want to occur today.
Seek to Notice. Your quest for today is to notice how this might be showing up for you. It might be thoughts, it might be images it might be people, and it might be something completely unique to you. You job is to notice on how this IS showing up for you.
Secure your Habits. This is where it starts to get really juicy. As you continue to notice you are starting to create habits around your thoughts. These habits aren’t just going to stay with the one intention you have set. They have this crazy multiplier effect. When you start creating your habits around noticing what you want, you can’t help but get more of what you want in life.
Use the following What Do You Want Worksheet and start developing your habits to get what you really want today.
Another great way to get what you want is to work with a coach, check out our Coaching page for more information.
During a board of directors retreat I was facilitating on using Social Media technology we got into some great conversation. You and your organization might be debating this same question,
“What if something better than (insert whatever tool you might be thinking of using) comes along?”
The question needs to be more about strategy than tools.
Decide whether or not to play in the Social Media sandbox.
Determine your purpose for answering Yes or No.
Then let’s look at tools to use.
Too often times the conversation shifts to using Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn without any clear purpose. And then it’s tainted by our personal filters for how we engage – or not – using these tools.
The exercise I did with the board two-fold. The first part was to have them take a flip chart paper and divide it into 2 columns. On the left hand side: How are we communicating to our clients today? The second column: How do they want to be hearing from us? These simple questions led to a productive conversational shift in how to best get the message to your audience.
The second part of the exercise is here. Download the
to use with your group.
During a board of directors retreat I was facilitating on using Social Media technology we got into some great conversation. This group was embarking on how to best incorporate social media into their current marketing efforts. You and your organization might be debating this same question,
“What if something better than (insert whatever tool you might be thinking of using) comes along?”
The questions need to be more about strategy than tools.
Decide whether or not to play in the Social Media sandbox.
Determine your purpose for answering Yes or No.
Then let’s look at tools to use.
Too often times the conversation shifts to using Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn without any clear purpose. And then it’s tainted by our personal filters for how we engage – or not – using these tools.
The exercise I did with the board two-fold. The first part was to have them take a flip chart paper and divide it into 2 columns. On the left hand side: How are we communicating to our clients today? The second column: How do they want to be hearing from us? These simple questions led to a productive conversational shift in how to best get the message to your audience.
The second part of the exercise is here. Download the Social Media PDF Exercise
to use with your group.
