You may notice that it's Tuesday today and I normally post Ezines on a Monday. For any of you not in England at the moment, let me explain that we've been in a heatwave here - temperatures up to 95 degrees - and when it's hot like this, I can hear the world saying very clearly: Stop. Put away your car keys, turn off your laptop, and just BE. I struggle quite a bit with this - I like to be DOING - but yesterday, after doing 1,001 errands in the unforgiving heat, I gave in. And waited.
Today, I've woken with a spring in my step, enjoying the warmth mingled with the cool morning breeze. My perfect kind of weather - and ideal for writing this. Waiting was worth it.
Waiting. It gets a bad press. "Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today." And it gets a good press. "All good things come to those who wait". What's the deciding factor? When do we wait and when do we act NOW? And what is this 'waiting' thing anyway? It's one of those abstract verbs, like 'trying', which everyone visualises differently, if at all. What image comes to your mind when you think of yourself 'waiting'? What do you feel physically? When I think of the word, I get this sense of being paused inside, my breath held, yet I know that by waiting until today to write this, I actually moved out of a stuck, paused place.
Inquiry: What am I waiting for?
Action: Play with both versions of 'waiting'. Think of something you've been waiting for and make it happen. The person whose call you're waiting for - call them. The inspiration you're waiting for to write that novel - start now. And then the other way - take the time to get it how you want it. The wedding outfit, the new bathroom suite, the birthday card - don't settle for the first thing you find, but wait until you get it just so.
NB You're going to have to wait (!) two weeks for the next Doing Things Differently Ezine as I'm on holiday. So - I have a challenge for you - write your own Ezine this week. Let your intuition guide you to that little something you want to share with the world. Luxuriate in hearing your own voice of wisdom - I bet there's a whole lot of people who'd love to hear from you.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Monday, July 17, 2006
#11 - Magic
Magic happened for me on Saturday. This month I've been looking into a new phone system and had developed an extensive 'wish list' of features I wanted. My intention was to shop alone for this along Tottenham Court Road but thanks to a bizarre sequence of events, I ended up doing so with a coaching colleague. She happened to have the phone number of another coach who led us to a wonderful store that we would never otherwise have found where we found the ideal system. The process was overflowing with synchronicities - it just so happened that I mentioned something which triggered something which resulted in something else. In the shop, the entire transaction was completed in a breezy 30 minutes instead of the anticipated hours of trudging around London, we were offered a hefty discount without even asking, and I noticed that where I would normally have asked tens of questions in order to feel secure, I had an overwhelming sense of trust.
Reflecting on the experience later on the train, the word that kept coming to me was 'partnership'. I was truly in partnership with the Universe. I had done my bit (the research; committing to shopping on that day) and then when events started to go differently from how I'd planned, I allowed myself to surrender and go with the flow. I let myself be led to the right people and the right places. It was as if I were tuned in to a different channel of operating - a serene place of knowing. I smiled the whole way through, I called the shop assistants 'angels', the Universe was a safe and delightful place to be. I call it magic - how about you?
I'd love to know your responses to this week's Inquiry and I invite you to post your comments at www.doingthingsdifferently.blogspot.com. And if you'd like to sample coaching on my new magical phone, just let me know!
Inquiry: What does 'magic' mean to me?
Action: This week, look for the magic. Keep a list of synchronicities, 'coincidences' and other possible 'magical' occurrences. Aim for 20 a day. Notice what your interpretation of these events would normally be and how it now feels to call them 'magic'.
Reflecting on the experience later on the train, the word that kept coming to me was 'partnership'. I was truly in partnership with the Universe. I had done my bit (the research; committing to shopping on that day) and then when events started to go differently from how I'd planned, I allowed myself to surrender and go with the flow. I let myself be led to the right people and the right places. It was as if I were tuned in to a different channel of operating - a serene place of knowing. I smiled the whole way through, I called the shop assistants 'angels', the Universe was a safe and delightful place to be. I call it magic - how about you?
I'd love to know your responses to this week's Inquiry and I invite you to post your comments at www.doingthingsdifferently.blogspot.com. And if you'd like to sample coaching on my new magical phone, just let me know!
Inquiry: What does 'magic' mean to me?
Action: This week, look for the magic. Keep a list of synchronicities, 'coincidences' and other possible 'magical' occurrences. Aim for 20 a day. Notice what your interpretation of these events would normally be and how it now feels to call them 'magic'.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
#10 - Achievement
I completed my website this weekend. For some people, this would be a very common-place thing, yet for me it represented a huge achievement - the culmination of several months of writing, rewriting and getting to grips with technology. The process inspired me to define who I want to work with and why, and this is a crucial step in building my business. Doing the final checks on it, I felt my heart beating faster, with thoughts like "I can't believe it!", "I've done it!", and "Oh my God!". It was a real peak moment, full of adrenalin and delight.
Achievement is subjective; each of us has our area which requires a stretch. I remember the moment I received my degree results. Yes, it was exciting and I felt a real buzz, but academia had always come easily to me. I notice that I feel a wholesome stretch in any area involving technology or physical skills. Since being in our own home, I've been overcoming the belief that I'm DIY-illiterate and have now decorated several of our rooms. The achievement of something that was previously out of reach feels bigger than that which we already expect of ourselves.
Sometimes achievements can feel empty. Maybe we're pursuing someone else's ideals or merely ticking off a to-do list. What we realise is that it's not what we're visibly achieving that's really the clincher - it's what lies beneath. So, with my website, it's allowing me to communicate with the world, I'm autonomous, I'm being authentic, I've created it in a way which is 'outside the box'. These values are what I'm actually honouring. So, as well as achievement being a value in itself, an achievement is a vehicle for our values.
Do check out my website - http://www.youinspireme.co.uk/ and let me know what you think!
Inquiry: What achievements make me soar?
Action: List your top ten achievements to date. Then list what values each achievement was a vehicle for. Notice which values get repeated and consider how you could bring these more fully into your life TODAY.
NB There will be no e-zine next week as I'm working in Paris, accompanying 200+ 12 year olds on their school trip!
Achievement is subjective; each of us has our area which requires a stretch. I remember the moment I received my degree results. Yes, it was exciting and I felt a real buzz, but academia had always come easily to me. I notice that I feel a wholesome stretch in any area involving technology or physical skills. Since being in our own home, I've been overcoming the belief that I'm DIY-illiterate and have now decorated several of our rooms. The achievement of something that was previously out of reach feels bigger than that which we already expect of ourselves.
Sometimes achievements can feel empty. Maybe we're pursuing someone else's ideals or merely ticking off a to-do list. What we realise is that it's not what we're visibly achieving that's really the clincher - it's what lies beneath. So, with my website, it's allowing me to communicate with the world, I'm autonomous, I'm being authentic, I've created it in a way which is 'outside the box'. These values are what I'm actually honouring. So, as well as achievement being a value in itself, an achievement is a vehicle for our values.
Do check out my website - http://www.youinspireme.co.uk/ and let me know what you think!
Inquiry: What achievements make me soar?
Action: List your top ten achievements to date. Then list what values each achievement was a vehicle for. Notice which values get repeated and consider how you could bring these more fully into your life TODAY.
NB There will be no e-zine next week as I'm working in Paris, accompanying 200+ 12 year olds on their school trip!
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