Welcome back,
I thought deeply about what I was going to share with you that would make an impact in your life and I decided to help you find your own baseline. In case you didn’t know this about me, I have had my coaching practice since 2010. When I work with my clients I do a Life 360 check-in and then we do intermittent check-ins thereafter. The categories are Fun and Recreation, Physical Environment, Business/Career, Finances, Physical health, Family, Friends, and Personal Growth. We rate these on a scale of 1-10. This shows where things are solid and other items are challenging. It is easy to ignore quadrants that are not optimal when we have so many good things going on in our lives. In fact, you may not even know something is out of balance without writing it down. The repercussions of not paying attention to challenges is that the problems will likely compound and then you could have a much bigger problem. Doing a life audit will give you a clear view of where your blind spots are.
Another powerful way to “check-in” with yourself is to be present in the moment. This is easier for a smaller population of people who have been in the practice of meditation (a separate writing on meditation is coming). Years ago, I hired a coach who gave me an assignment to practice. She gave me the specific steps that I will share with you:
Place yourself in nature, by the water, in the woods, or in a secluded place in a park and be able to sit still.
Dedicate a minimum of 30 minutes, where you put your phone in airplane mode and set an alarm.
Close your eyes. Breathe deeply; 4 seconds in through the nose, 4 seconds hold and 4 seconds out through the mouth. Do this for a 4 rounds.
Open your eyes and take in your surroundings; notice the fragrance in the air, notice the temperature, note the sounds, note the branches in the trees, the leaves, the waves, the splash, the wind.
Ask yourself, “What do I see that I have not noticed before?”
When I first did this years ago, I noticed leaves swirling in the air go higher and higher until they dispersed. I reported back to her that I saw wind for the first time.
I also noticed a teeny tiny spider web on a wet branch. I noticed a very small tree sapling that was growing in a place where no other trees of the same kind were growing.
I am passing this assignment on to you now.
One of the biggest things I have learned in life is that the small things turn out to be the biggest things in the end.
I invite you to respond to this email and let me know what you discovered. I hope that with practice, what you also discover is that you are indeed able to be present and that realization can be the start of real change in your life.
If you have questions and want to chat with me, feel free to message me and you can join me in one of my slots in office hours where I am available for complimentary and private conversation.
With encouragement,
Leilani