What does coaching have to do with creating space? Well, I have found that creating space both physically and mentally will enable you to be more innovative and productive. I tend to create small paper piles on my desk (sometimes they grow to be big piles). When I look at the pile I get the nagging feeling that I need to go through it and decide what needs action or just filing. This nagging feeling is subtle yet persistent and it […]
The holidays can be a joyous time and a stressful time or a stressful time with no joy. It is so easy to get caught up in all the things we feel we must do: shopping, wrapping, year-end tax decisions. My holiday coaching challenge is to stay present in each moment. Focusing on the current moment sounds easy but it is not something that comes naturally. Our brains automatically start going through all the items we still have on […]
I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. Do you remember yours from last year? Are they the same ones you made the year before? It is better to have annual goals than not have any at all, but I have found more success by focusing on daily habits versus annual goals. If you want to transform your life then change the little things you do every day. They add up and compound. Understanding and transforming daily habits are a […]
I am thankful for so many things; this is a list of a few technology items that are especially apparent to me in this fifth week of my time in China. Skype This is by far the internet technology I am most grateful for today; I can not say enough positive things about the skype application. It has allowed me to have video calls for free around the globe. I have had consistently good connections almost every day. The […]
This is a picture of the Chinese character for water. One of the students made it for me in my journal. He said that this character holds a lot of power in China. Water is a powerful symbol because it is so adaptable. Think about all the forms that water can take and the power it has in each of them: ice, steam, erosion, irrigation, floods. Flowing water will find its way over, around or through obstacles that are in […]
Many products here have odd translations to English. This brand of toilet paper states, “Mind Act Upon Mind”. One dish on a menu was listed as, “Angry Customer Order”. That menu had a lot of very odd and hilarious dishes; there are many more that are difficult to remember because they are so illogical. Think of a time when you communicated one thing and ended up with something completely different. In China, it is good to laugh when this happens […]
Things are so different here in China and yet there are so many things that we have in common. There were some common themes from my coaching sessions with the young Chinese women this week. I think we can all relate to them, so I thought I would share them along with some tips. How do you balance a lot of pressure and feeling tired from too much studying and work? -Focus on staying present. Focusing on the current task and […]
“Should I move to the U.S. or Canada?” After 24 hours of flying and airports I arrived in Beijing at 11pm although it was 8am my time (see last week’s post for the back story on my China trip). I sailed through the “health control” area where they collected my temperature via a machine (like an airport security x-ray machine) and I turned in my “health form” with contact and location information in case they need to chase me […]
Can you picture one of those medieval machines used to stretch and torture? Periodically I picture this terrible device and although I am in no physical pain whatsoever I still feel like I am being stretched on it. The level of suffering in my mind is consistent with the level of torture I imagine. Of course, this is all in my mind but if you have had a “stretching” project or task recently then you can relate to this […]
I read this blog post earlier this week and loved it, “Three Tips for Becoming an Energizer” by Rosabeth Moss Kanter for Harvard Business Review. She emphasizes the importance of this overlooked leadership quality and lists three characteristics of energetic leaders (see the link for more): A relentless focus on the bright side. Redefining negatives as positives. Fast response time. Energizers don’t dawdle. People with these qualities light up a room and other people are naturally attracted to them. […]
