JUST START

It’s so good to get started.

To simply commit and take that first step.

To take action on something, that, by doing it opens up a world of possibility.

For me, this began with my first ever riding lesson this week. The nudge I needed was seeing a post by leadership coach Karen Davis who teaches leadership with horses. It’s some 35 years since pony trekking in Dartmoor on a school trip and it was always one of those ‘one day’ things to try.

And will I continue with this new hobby?

Definitely.

Because in a year or two I intend to fulfil a bucket list dream of riding in Argentina and I want to make the most of that opportunity, to not go as a complete beginner.

I am also fascinated by the relationship between horses and humans. My early understanding is that they respond strongly to our emotions – they know when you are fearful or apprehensive and invite us into a state of calmness and gentle authority.

In the saddle I felt quite serene, in control but with utmost respect for the horse called Shannon. I was also surprised just how physically demanding it was even at a trot (hello pulse squats and glute work in the gym). So, a new skill, connecting with nature and I’ll learn something about myself along the way.

Just start, give it a go, that’s my motto.

SEEING THE FUNNY SIDE

Sometimes I read an author and I wish that I could spend time with them, receiving their wisdom, being coached by them or simply hanging out and shooting the breeze.

One such man is Anthony de Mello, teacher, priest and therapist.

He likely had that glint in the eye, seeing through all the seriousness we impart on life, marvelling at the cosmic comedy we are a minuscule player in.

I love this book, well-thumbed and one that I sometimes share with clients. The theme? Waking up…

Simultaneously enlightening, hilarious, provocative, soothing and confrontational. You CAN handle the truth…One choice quote for your reflections:

“We always want someone else to change so that we will feel good. But has it ever struck you that even if your wife changes or your husband changes, what do you do? You’re just as vulnerable as before; you’re just as idiotic as before; you’re just as asleep as before. You are the one who needs to change, who needs to take medicine. You keep insisting, “I feel good because the world is right.” Wrong! The world is right because I feel good. That’s what all the mystics are saying.”

How much of life do we spend on autopilot, playing out our programming, reacting from the past, experiencing what we expect, not what is, resisting rather than embracing reality.

As ‘Tony’ would have shouted at me over a glass of wine:

“DON’T WAKE UP! WHY? YOU DON’T REALLY WANT TO, DO YOU?”

SERVICE AS A WAY OF BEING

‘I Am Service’.

This short statement is a statement of Being.

For me, this is part of the way of life I choose, not only as a professional coach but as an ordinary, kinda average human being. And it is through my commitment to being of service (an instrument) that I get the privilege of a lifetime to become who I really am.

What I create, manifest and impact in the world is not really my business – they are just the results of my embodiment of service.

Of course, much current sharing on this platform is in admiration for what it is to truly to dedicate one’s life to service. Whether as a monarch, in a professional vocation or as part of a cause to help other people, we are all here to be of service in some way.

And this personal feeling of being of service to something bigger than myself that is even more alive within me having started an already incredible journey as part of the Ankush Jain Coaching Career School.

The picture below is of an incredible extra ordinary group of human beings that I am honoured to be part of over the next 7 months. Yes, we are all on a journey to become even more impactful coaches but what is blowing me away is:

The unique gifts each person brings to the room
The inspiration I feel when I acknowledge what each person lights up within myself
The generosity of spirit in helping, supporting, encouraging and coaching each other

SENDING RIPPLES INTO THE WORLD THROUGH YOUR WORK

When I serve one person or one business powerfully, my good work actually touches many, many lives. It’s a ripple effect. For me, one happier, more fulfilled and productive coaching client positively impacts on everyone around them – their family, colleagues, friends, customers, etc.

And this applies in all areas of my life – by living in alignment to my values and doing my bit to make the world a kinder, more connected and more understanding place, I touch many lives.

And so do you…

Reflecting on this got me thinking about how I got to be doing what I am doing today and how I am doing it.

I traced my approach to coaching all the way back to the living legend that is Steve Hardison, known as The Ultimate Coach. One of his first coaching clients was Steve Chandler, who is affectionately known as the Godfather of Coaching. One of the many powerful and impactful coaches that Steve Chandler worked with was Michael Neill, to whom he recommended the fantastic book ‘The Relationship Handbook’ by Dr George Pransky, a book that is transformational in its message, not just in the realms of the intimate relationships of those who read it. Michael Neill was already a very successful coach who, as result of reading the book, pivoted and wrote one of my favourite books, The Inside Out Revolution, inspired by the work of the Scottish welder turned mystic Sydney Banks; this book then changed my life.

So, just one coaching relationship resulted in an enormous ripple effect, and through my work and that of countless others, continues to ripple.

I am currently embarking on a new learning journey with 20 exceptional coaches and human beings (believe me, I’ve read everyone’s warts n all auto-bio written just for this school) with the master of enrolment and creativity Ankush Jain as part of his new Coaching Career School. If we were to fast forward a generation, I wonder how many positive, healthy and transformational ripples we collectively we will have created in the world.

We can all do our by being of service, being kind, helping each other, giving unconditionally, going above and beyond, which I hope sends healthy ripples into the world, which of course is needed now more than ever.

WHY CHANGE DOES NOT HAVE TO TAKE LONG

This new way of being feels really natural, it’s the real me.

I am always surprised but not at all surprised when I see rapid transformation in the people I work with. In the case of the above client’s observation, I instantly knew what they meant. Why? Because I have been on that journey myself, and indeed am continuing on that journey of:

Becoming who we really are.

Change really can happen very quickly, albeit I have noticed that there are certain conditions that will accelerate the process, specifically:

  • Commitment.
  • Willingness to be open and vulnerable.
  • Honesty.
  • The courage to experiment.
  • Choosing into (and accepting full responsibility for) our power as creator of our lives.
  • Knowing that this is a journey without destination.

And my ongoing enquiry as their coach is to ask:

  • What was the difference that made the difference?
  • What was the master key that unlocked the door of possibility?
  • How is the change beginning to manifest?

Well, the common themes that emerge in answering these questions are:

  • A shift from Doing to Being, showing up as greater self-awareness, a subtle shift in perceptual position to observer as well as agent, living with more intention whilst becoming more present to what is.
  • Embodied realisation that we ARE only ever experiencing the movie theatre of our own minds – it’s not ‘out there’ (other people and our circumstances) that is causing our felt experience. This is liberating and empowering.
  • More effortless living – showing up as greater productivity, presence, leadership of self and others, more effective communication, boldness, deeper listening, and for this client, their partner finding them more attractive (!). All these shifts in behaviour and the results that ensure arise by implication of the first two themes.

The second observation this client made was of being more comfortable in their own skin, likened to ‘coming home’ which in turn is giving them huge confidence, optimism, inner peace and outward energy. From this place of being and feel more ‘grounded’, their unique gifts and talents can be more fully expressed and what they’ve been perceiving as ‘weaknesses to be worked on’ rapidly turned around into strengths.

And so, within a few conversations, taking action and some self-enquiry (including reading and generally just ‘noticing’) this client has established the foundations for achieving their aspirational goals of:

  • Achieving their potential.
  • Being the best version of themselves.

From here, my job is to provide the supportive container for integrating the change at a deep level, further experimentation, exploration and enquiry and of course, to support their committed action. Yes, there may be wobbles, doubts, setbacks and new challenges to overcome, but that is all part and parcel of the journey.

What is interesting is that whilst we are only three weeks into our six month partnership, the fact that they have wholehearted committed to themselves is what is probably catalysing the change – and they’re only just getting started in the discovery of what is possible.

DISARMING A NARCISSIST THROUGH YOUR BEING

Both the challenge and joy of working as a coach is in the ongoing journey of deepening my learning of models and theories for understanding human behaviour and navigating life as thinking, feeling creatures.

A current client is concerned that a significant person in their life has traits of narcissism.

In my client’s world, the best course of action would be for this person to concede they are indeed narcissistic and to seek professional help from a clinical psychologist or psychotherapist. This may or may not happen and my focus is on supporting my client, in the first instance, to:

  • Identity the dominant triggering behaviours and circumstances.
  • Navigate and explore their own inner world to identify what is activated within them as a result of their relationship.
  • Support them to access their secure and mature adult state in communicating and engaging with this person.

I’ve been further my understanding through the book ‘Disarming the Narcissist’ by Wendy T. Behary. The book’s foundation is schema therapy and utilises the 18 early maladaptive schemas identified by Jeffrey Young (e.g., abandonment, emotional deprivation, self-sacrifice, approval seeking). These schemas shape how we think, feel and behave, and in this context how our own schemas interact with those of the narcissist, much of which is either happening outside of our conscious awareness or feels beyond our control.

Taking a step back, what I notice is that no matter what the psychological theory is, a fundamental challenge that we all face as human beings is to live from a healthy and whole state of being moment to moment. Schema, like other theories, offer a vocabulary for understanding how early childhood experiences can fundamentally shape how we show up as adults.

The goal? To be un-triggerable (a subset of which is to be un-f$£k with able).

Laudable, but not realistic?

I recently read that 80% of our moment-to-moment reactions to life are automatic and habitual. In times of stress that notional figure probably increases for most people (notice what happens when we are emotionally hijacked).

But when we are fully present and embodying a fully felt sense of autonomy and agency, perhaps that figure reduces significantly – responding to what is as resourcefully as we possibly can, free of expectation and self-damaging reactivity.

For me, that is the ongoing goal, to live mindfully, present to what is, aware of how our past can act as a distorting filter, whilst being conscious of how our state of mind in the moment is shaping our experience and capacity to respond in a healthy way that honours and protects our needs, rights and in extreme situations, our physical and emotional safety.

From this self-aware place, perhaps we give ourselves the best chance for navigating and disarming narcissistic or other controlling, manipulative or maladaptive behaviours from those around us, whether it’s a partner, family member, boss, colleague or friend. Not easy, and sometimes traumatising, but as ever, an opportunity for growth.

CULTIVATING ‘SPACIOUSNESS’

This came up in coaching supervision for me last week and in one word captured:

1. What I seek to create for my coaching clients, where both an embodied and psychological sense of ‘spaciousness’ helps them access insights, solutions to difficult problems and clarity on what is and what is not important for them to focus on. From Spaciousness is where the magic happens.

2. That sense within myself which tells me I am engaged in life, trusting the process of life itself and accessing my personal powers.

3. An awareness of its polar opposite, whether taking form as a sense of tension, contraction, constriction, feeling small, powerlessness, overwhelm and self-consciousness and getting lost in (and at the mercy of) one’s emotions and thoughts.

One word, a surface structure to a deeper world of awareness and self-knowledge.

What is your word of the day / week?

ALONE, TOGETHER

Fresh from an invigorating and inspiring weekend away walking the glorious Anglesey coastline, I am pondering the balance that best serves myself, my friends and my clients when it comes to:

Alone time (reflection, journaling, meditating, walking in nature, exercise, simply being)

Versus

Connected time (Intimate sharing, deep or general conversation, pure pleasure, play, downright silliness)

I need both in my life to thrive. Most of us do. But it also needs to be intentional. We need to be present to our experience. Otherwise, we are living on autopilot: numb, absent, avoidant.

It was my audit of my own life that was a spur to deploy my facilitation skills in setting up Chorlton Men’s Group which meets tonight at 7pm locally. Running my supper clubs are part of my personality and what brings me great joy.

And whilst on my weekend away, amid the epic walking, merriment, and group activities there was time for reflection. Communing and connecting with nature melted my day-to-day concerns away; everything looks different whilst admiring an epic coastline. Standing on a cliff reminds you of the fragility of life. I loved those short built intimate chats with my mates / co-walkers where we share what’s going on in our lives.

We are all in different boats, sailing on the sea of life. Sometimes along, sometimes together. What a journey.

Which reminds me of that most inspiring of poems:

The Summer Day

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

Mary Oliver

LEARNING TO BE MORE COACHABLE

Note: this blog is one section of my eBook, ‘How to be a brilliant coaching client’, available upon request.

Karen Davis and Alex Mill, authors of the excellent book How To Get The Most Out of Coaching identify several traits and habits that make it more likely you will use coaching as a catalyst for achieving your goals and making the progress you desire. Below is my take on how you can activate and tap into these traits and behaviours in your quest to be your most coachable self.

Question: How would you rate yourself out of 10 on the follow traits, and which could you place some focus on to leverage your coachability?

Tip: If you find yourself rating yourself lowly out of 10, that’s fine, you are being honest, and your coach can help you work on this area if you think this would helpful.

ACTION ORIENTATED – those who gain the most from coaching have an action orientated mindset; they are willing to try something different immediately, to tackle challenges quickly and directly.

OPENNESS TO A FRESH PERSPECTIVE – coaching in its purest form is non-directive and you the client are always in the driving seat. What a great coach will do is offer observations and insights based on what you share and how you are showing up. This reflective process may also include suggestions and laying out of possibilities (whilst not constituting advice). Be aware of any tendency to put your guard up, how quickly you reject new ideas and how open you are to doing something differently than how you’ve done it until now. Indeed, our ego generally does not like change and resistance is the ultimate blocker of change.

OPENNESS TO EXPERIMENTATION AND TESTING – a key role of a coach is to bring a degree of challenge that will shake up your thinking and move you from your default path (your life trajectory without coaching) to towards the ‘created path’ you desire, where you live and act more consciously. For those who are quite fixed in their thinking and do no enjoy ambiguity, coaching can act as a wonderfully supportive container for trying something new, experimenting in a way where judgement is suspended, and the coach is in your corner to offer a space for reflection. Often it is only habitually fearful thinking that holds us back. I often refer to the qualities of fearlessness, curiosity and openness of small children to demonstrate how we accumulate layer upon layer of conditioned thinking and behaving over time – coaching helps peel back these layers. What have you got to lose? (The answer to that question, if it is not ‘nothing’, can help expose your fears and what is driving you.)

SELF-AWARENESS – all powerful coaching supports us to become more self-aware. But what does that mean in practice? I often use the metaphor of sitting at the top of a mountain with my clients as we look down on their lives. From this higher vantage point, we create distance from our habitual patterns of behaving and thinking. From a more neutral perspective, we remove ego from the equation, which means we can be honest with ourselves.

This process of becoming more consciously aware of how you are in the world also creates space for insight into how your behaviours and ways of being impact on the people around you. At the same time, it becomes easier to see the world from other people’s perspectives.

In this way, through committing to better knowing thyself is the route to better understanding other people. Time and again I see how my clients are transformed through the process of simply observing themselves. As a recent client exclaimed ‘the act of observing it changes it!’ Yes, particularly when we see ourselves through a clearer lens. Indeed, it is our unconscious attachment to our habitual ways of seeing the world, which have become so engrained they are invisible to us, that distort our view of both ourselves and reality.

EXPRESSING YOURSELF there is huge diversity in the style, methodology and approach of professional coaches. Some coaches combine mentoring and teaching with their coaching practice. The personality and style of your coach will influence how you show up in your sessions and it is important you are able to fully be yourself. Professional coaching in its purest form is completely non-directive and you the client are always in the driving seat. Indeed, it is against the core competencies of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) for a coach to give advice or offer opinions without the express permission of the client.

If you find yourself disagreeing with what your coach is offering you or you believe that your boundaries are being crossed in some way, have the courage to bring this up with your coach – it is your absolute right. A good coach welcomes feedback and this can only serve the coaching relationship going forward as the coach seeks to better meet your needs.

CURIOSITY – being coachable is being willing to explore new possibilities, to be open to learning. Often clients come to coaching feeling stuck or wrapped up in a bunch of limiting beliefs and thoughts. I help my clients tap into their innate curiosity which may have been dormant for some time.

Cast your mind back to when you were a young child, full of wonder, free to explore, learning as a natural way of being (whether you knew it or not) and curiosity your very nature. Yes, we are built for learning and growth and the coaching process is an invitation to step into a world of possibility.

OPTIMISM – if we enter the coaching journey anticipating the process to be smooth and linear, we can end of struggling when we hit the odd bump in the road. Similarly, when the inherent challenge of the coaching process reveals something inside of us that causes discomfort it can be easy to lose heart, or to discount the considerable progress that has already been made (what I can ‘back to square one’ mentality).

Maintaining hope and optimism is key to sustaining momentum. As often quoted, one of the secrets of success in life is showing up. Thus, staying in the game, taking action when you don’t feel like it, and deeply knowing that any feelings of discomfort and discouragement are not permanent, can help accelerate your progress towards your goals.

SENSE OF HUMOUR– I sometimes joke that the one thing I am deadly serious about is not taking myself too seriously. Lightness and humour we all know are powerful antidotes to the heaviness and seriousness that life can sometimes feel. Coaching partnerships are like any relationship – as trust, rapport and mutual understanding develop, candidness and humour are a natural part of the dynamic.

Think of a friend of family member that you always find yourself enjoying the company of – What do they bring out in you? How can you tap into that energy as part of the coaching process?

To note, this is not about being jokey, which can be a behavioural device we use to avoid addressing difficult topics or situations. Seeing the humour in life, and not taking yourself too seriously relieve the pressure we often put ourselves under, particularly when we are striving to create change or make meaningful progress.

HONESTY AND INTEGRITY – How you show up in the coaching partnership is a reflection of your character and values. On the basis that you can build a strong foundation and trust, there is an opportunity to be totally honest with yourself and your coach. If you make mistakes in life, or you do not take action on what you had been committed to, use the coaching partnership to develop the virtues of honesty and integrity. If you espouse certain values but do not live fully alignment with them, being honest about this with your coach is a huge area for learning and growth.

WHICH LANE ARE YOU IN?

One aspect coaching which can yield powerful insights is in the creation of ‘in the moment’ metaphors. Depending on the preferred learning style of a client, this can involve good old fashioned flip chart work. In a recent session with a client, we explored a simple but powerful distinction in the midst of an exploration around mindset:

Powerful CREATOR VERSUS the powerless VICTIM

He then elaborated and evolved it into a visual metaphor that resonated deeply. For him, there are two lanes he can be in, in any moment:

a)     The CREATOR lane, which he coined the VICTORY LANE, where he has ‘won before he has already begun’. This is the unstoppable lane where we are in flow, obstacles are dealt with power and grace, productivity is high, communication occurs with ease and creativity and innovation flow. Yes, the lane where we are at our very best, where it is as if we are being lived, the river is flowing, we are cruising, and we can choose to put our foot down when we want to. Oh to live in this lane all the time…

b)    The VICTIM LANE, where progress is slow, life owns us, we often feel stuck, molehills become mountains, overwhelm is never far away and we are at the mercy of our feelings. In this lane we can feel powerless, a victim of circumstances, or we grind our way through, which creates its own pressure, as if it is all truly on us. The consequences are stress, burnout, anxiety, overthinking and everything that goes with this state of being. This can lead us to self-medicate or distract ourselves in an effort to ‘be okay’, to get through. It is a bumpy ride in this lane, when it seems that life is ‘coming at you’.

And what stands between these two lanes?

In this metaphor there are sensory rumble strips between the lanes, which are there to tell us we are straying from our CREATOR lane, an early warning indicator that we are veering off course.  Yes, it is wonderful when everything is flowing and is effortless, but there are times when we take on too much, life deals us a tough hand, or we are simply pushing too hard. We all have our own unique compass that tells us when we are straying off track. For many, it is embodied, our body keeping the score, physical tension and the classic signs of stress including not being able to ‘switch off’. For others it is a very busy mind, the internal critic ever present, evaluating, critiquing, judging and generally giving us a hard time. 

Seeing the early signs is the trick for getting back in the creator lane. Our feelings are a brilliantly designed navigation system once we develop more spacious understanding of how our mind and body works.

Yes, we can build the habits, systems and support networks to help us stay in the creator lane more of the time. And yes, it is being okay with being stuck in the victim lane that can create a gentler relationship with life.

But it is through self-awareness that we can ‘get back on track’ with more ease and far less efforting.