Are your stories working for you?

The only thing preventing us from

• being who we want to be;
• doing what we want to do;
• and having what we want to have

is the stories we tell ourselves about why we can't.

For example, if you didn't go to university and you use that as a reason for not going for a particular job or promotion, that's your story.  You could choose a different story, such as the additional life experience you've gained in the years you might have been at university, which will give you an edge over your competition.

The question is, is your story working for you or against you?

What stories have you been telling yourself (and others) about why you can't be, do or have whatever you want?

Isn't it time to change the story to one which supports you to move positively towards the goals you want to achieve?

Why would you let go of these stories right now?  Give yourself as many compelling reasons as you can for why you would get rid of these stories, and re-create yourself in a new light.

What determines the quality of our lives is not what happens to us.  What determines the quality of our lives is the meaning we give to events that happen, and the choices we make as a result of that meaning.

Six keys to developing ideas in your business

Would you like more creativity and innovation in your business?  These six keys will help you to create this easily and effortlessly - and generate a level of excitement and contribution in your team that will boost your results!

1. Develop an acceptance of change
Individuals and teams must buy-in to the change process. They must perceive the benefits to be worthwhile pursuing - so be sure to highlight the benefits, and ask them too - they may see benefits you hadn't yet considered.

2. Welcome new ideas
The message that ideas and suggestions are welcome must be instilled from the top down and from the bottom up.  Managers must be willing to listen to new ideas and to encourage them.

3. Encourage interaction
Establish methods of creating interaction such as forming 'tiger' teams specifically brought together to brainstorm, to solve a problem or to champion a specific area of the business.

4. Tolerate failure
Move the culture away from 'getting it right' and encourage experimentation.

5. Provide clear objectives and the freedom to achieve them
Allow people room to exercise their imaginations and their responsibilities.

6. Give recognition & acknowledgement
Acknowledge creativity and innovation - ensure recognition of individuals and teams who contribute to new progress.

To learn more about this, please see our website or contact us.

Seven principles of implementing change

Is change happening too fast in your world? Depending on your perspective, change can be scary or exciting - and whichever way you look at it, it is much easier to manage when you follow the simple process outlined below.


1. Generate new - don't repair old
Too much time can be spent repairing systems that don't work well or are outdated.  If something is no longer effective, generate new - ideas, thinking, systems - to meet the current situation.  This is limited only by your imagination (see previous blog post!).

2. It's feedback, not failure
The notion of failure is obselete.  Change means taking risks - and possibly not getting the results we thought we wanted.  Is this failure?  Or is it learning how to do things right the next time?  Think of it as feedback that will help you to move towards better results.

3. Influence and control are gained through flexibility
To influence, behavioural flexibility is the key.  Staying with a method because 'it's always been done that way' will ultimately create poor results, as other aspects change over time.
Consider what you can change about your thinking or behaviour that will result in a different and improved outcome.

4. Resistance in communication is ineffective communication by the leader
When someone is resistant to our ideas, it's tempting to think they either are not listening or they are reluctant to change.  What if instead, we choose to believe that we haven't communicated in an effective way.  How about asking 'what would you like to see happen' - this helps to build common ground, and to engage people in contributing ideas that perhaps you hadn't thought of.

5. People have all the resources they need within them to create change.
If you believe this of yourself and your team, then everything is available to you!  The inner resources that drive successful people are primarily desire, self belief, confidence and courage to take risks.  Develop these resources within yourself, and you can then encourage your team to do the same.

6. There is only perception of reality
Reality can only ever exist in the mind of the person observing.  Your reality cannot and will never be mine.  So therefore we only have perception to work with.
Learn to appreciate this, and you will open up the boundaries of possibility by appreciating that your reality can be extended by learning about other people's ways of looking at the world - and so can theirs.  Accept that your perception of reality is just that - perception - and the world will open up for you.

7. We are in charge of our mind, and therefore our results.
Imagine for a moment that you took 100% responsibility for your emotions.  No more saying 'he made me feel angry' or 'she stresses me out so much'.  How about instead saying 'I get angry when he does that' - and taking responsibility for your own emotion.  Are you going to choose to be angry, or to laugh it off?  What if every emotion you have is a choice?
Take 100% responsibility for your emotions, actions, choices and behaviours.  Anything less than that is giving away your opportunity to influence the results you want.

To learn more about this, please see our Active Life Matters website or contact us.

Imagination - an underrated quality!

How often do you allow your imagination to run free?

More importantly, how much of what your imagination produces do you then incorporate into your world?  Nothing great was ever achieved without it first being imagined.

Luckily Walt Disney had an incredible imagination from which we have the wonders of Disneyworld, and all the Disney films and characters that children of all ages love.

Einstein also allowed his imagination to run free, and then transformed it into practical application, with the result that we understand relativity.  Einstein said:

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

 

Nothing can exist without it first being imagined.  People used to imagine that we could fly - and so planes were created.   Then they imagined that we could go to the moon - and in a relatively short period of time, the first man arrived on the moon.   

 

What are you imagining that will transform your world?  And having imagined it, what are you changing to make it become reality?  

 

Even if you don't know all the steps in the process to make something a reality yet, all you have to do is start - talk to people about what you're trying to achieve - and be open for opportunities that will help your imaginings become reality!  And imagine what might happen as a result - to transform your results!

See our website for more information on how we can help you to transform your results!

Looking for the catch

• Are you always looking for the catch?
• Do you look at other people whose results you'd like to have, but there's always a reason why you can't do what they do?
• Or do you see other people whose results you'd like to have and decide to figure how they did it, and get the same results for yourself?

Some people are masters at finding the reasons why 'that doesn't apply to me'.  It's so easy to look for the catch - for example: my parents weren't as wealthy as theirs; I wasn't as good at school as they were; they're so much fitter than I am, they have the energy to do that stuff........I'm not like that.......

If you want to get better results, find someone who's achieving the results you want and model them.  This doesn't mean becoming a clone - it means identifying the qualities in them that you know will enable you to be more effective.  For example - determination and drive.  Often when people become famous it looks as if they just arrived with no effort.  What we don't see is the years of hard work they've already put in to get where they are - determination and drive.

Are these qualities you could incorporate in your life?  The key is to working out what your strengths are that will enable you to get the results you want, and identify qualities that you can develop. 

When modeling someone with the aim of replicating their results, it isn't an 'all or nothing' approach.  Take the aspects that suit you best, that are sustainable within your lifestyle, and that will help you to add more value to your life, to grow and move forward.

Look for the catch - and then turn it to your advantage!

For more information on how you can change your thinking to change your results, see our website.

Turning procrastination into motivation

• Are you a procrastinator?  
• Do you drive yourself crazy, knowing you have tasks to do and yet not getting down to them, perhaps until you're under real pressure?
• Are you one of those people who only seems to work well with the deadline breathing down your neck - you get the job done, but always just in time and with a heap of stress involved?

To transform procrastination into motivation, focus on more than the task in hand.  In terms of the task, you almost certainly know what needs to be done - and yet for some reason you're not getting down to it in a timely manner.  So it's not just the task itself - it's your mindset!

You need to ramp up the motivation to get the job done.  Easy to say - but how - if procrastination is your middle name? 

1. Create a vivid picture in your mind of you completing the job with plenty of time to spare.  See the people around you, delighted that it's completed so early.  See the smiles on your clients' faces.  See the satisfaction in your own face, relaxed and confident.  Create this picture clearly and brightly in your mind - make it real.

2. Add sounds to this vivid picture.  Hear the congratulations from those around you.  Listen to the words of appreciation from your clients.  Hear yourself laughing with your partner or family when you get home, relaxed and knowing that the job is complete.  Listen to what you're saying to yourself - wow, that wasn't so hard after all and it's a great feeling to have it done - on to the next project with time in hand!  Turn up the volume!


3. Focus on what you'll feel when you've completed the job with time to spare - relaxed, confident, satisfied.  Really experience these feelings so that they make the picture complete.

By creating this mental picture and stepping fully into it so that you're experiencing the vibrancy of bright colours, great sounds and sensations, you're building new neural pathways that will make motivation to achieve your goal absolutely assured.  You can use this technique with any task, large or small - enjoying the completed goal in advance will give you the motivation and inspiration you need to get it done ahead of time.

Try it and see for yourself - right now - make the decision right now to adopt this technique whenever you have a task that would previously have stressed you - the new 'you' will move swiftly, calmly and confidently into action - right now!

Active Life Matters provides active coaching for outstanding success in business, life, health & fitness.  See our website for more information.

Stress = lack of perspective!

How are your stress levels?
Have you lost perspective, buried in the fog of worries, unable to see the stars for the clouds?

What if you stood up tall, took a deep breath and looked down at the big picture?

So often we get lost in the day to day details of life, busy being busy and we forget certain fundamentals - who we are, and why we're here.
Who do we want to be, and are we being that person?
Why are we working at all? - if the answer is to get money, why? - to pay the bills, yes, and to feed the family, yes - for what ultimate purpose?

What if the meaning of life is to make life meaningful....what will make your life more meaningful?  What is the legacy that you'd like to leave? 

Once we have clarity on these questions, you'll be surprised at how much falls into place and the way forward becomes clearer.  If you're unhappy at work, start looking for alternative employment, now, before it becomes critical!  If your business isn't doing well, ask for help - many people will be happy to give their opinion, and whilst they won't all gell with you if you listen openly, there may be gems of wisdom that you can use and adapt.

If the questions themselves create more stress, perhaps it's because you haven't found the answers yet.  The first step to finding answers is to ask the right questions.  That's where coaching can help you. 

Coaching is a conversation like no other.  It will identify new possibilities, overcome old paradigms, rediscover strengths that you didn’t realise you had, and find renewed motivation and pathways to success.

Every successful sportsperson uses a coach to magnify their potential - if you're serious about finding ways to overcome stress and gain new perspectives, consider investing in yourself by finding a good coach.  For more information, visit our website!