February 9th, 2012
Read below about "boot camp" accountability coaching.
If left to our own devices, we humans would likely take the lazy route. Accountability is therefore quite useful in many areas of life.
Being accountable means you are answerable to another person for your declared responsibilities or commitments. Employees are accountable to their managers at performance reviews. Students are accountable to their teachers; kids to parents; spouses to each other.
Accountability is especially essential at the beginning of a habit change, such as reducing sugar intake, or for a specific project you just can’t seem to maintain on your own, such as de-cluttering your home. Your accountability partner serves to motivate, advise, and keep you persevering, so he/she is a brilliant support in helping you build your character and integrity.
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Tags: accountability, coaching, commitments, habit change, weight loss
Posted in Building Support, The Transformational Lifestyle | No Comments »
January 25th, 2012
Even more fun: Lunch Book Club!
There’s a reason why Jane Austen book clubs, Ya-Ya Sisterhoods, and every kind of Meetup you can imagine exist. We yearn for community.
And although in-person conversations are best, I wouldn’t give up my virtual Monday Morning Book Club for the world. We are four women and two men who have made it through not quite three books in a year–and 50 life-changing conversations in the same time.
Granted, my book club is comprised of fellow coaches, and we all have given permission to speak into each other’s lives with curiosity and fierce compassion. So rather than simply discuss a chapter, we usually get right to the heart of a matter and relate it to life. We may be reading chapters, but what we’re really doing is supporting each other in writing new chapters for each of our lives.
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Tags: action, book club, coaching, commitment, community, perspective, weight, wellness
Posted in Building Support, The Transformational Lifestyle | No Comments »
December 9th, 2011
Reframe your thinking to maximize enjoyment
In my previous post, I wrote about how negative thinking is often at the root of our unhealthy behaviors. Next, let’s explore how to shift to more powerful, action-generating neutral or positive thinking.
Examples:
Negative Thinking
“I had the cake, so I might as well eat the chips and cookies, too.” (all-or-nothing thinking)
“The house is a mess! He never thinks about anyone but himself.” (blame)
“My job pays well, so it doesn’t matter if I don’t like it.” (denial) Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: action, behavior change, career, healthy eating, positive thinking, relationships, transformation coaching
Posted in Behavior Change, The Transformational Mindset | 2 Comments »
December 7th, 2011
Quick! What are you thinking about this photo right now?
Most self-help books and programs—whether they’re to help you slim down, better your relationship, or discover a fulfilling career—drive you to find the solution, the 3 key steps to bliss that you’ve apparently been missing all along. After all, your problem is obvious, right?
Probably not.
What if the problem you are trying to eradicate or correct is just the outer result of a more subtle and incredibly pervasive inner issue?
Negative thinking.
It may seem too simple, but think about it. Where does your overeating start? And your last quibble with your significant other? In your head. Some glitch in your thinking that suddenly decides you may never get access to a pan of brownies again. Or if you don’t hammer this point in the argument now, your fiancé will never get it.
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Tags: behavior change, mindset, negative thinking, self-care, transformation coaching
Posted in Behavior Change, The Transformational Mindset | No Comments »
October 12th, 2011
Learn to love your reflection.
In my previous post, I talked about how Truce coaching both transforms how you think about your body as well as your body itself. Emily was an inspiring example.
Now it’s your turn to start calling a truce with your body. We’ll start with bringing awareness to how you’re currently viewing it.
Coaching Discovery:
Take a piece of paper and split it down the middle. On the left-hand side, list all the things you are frustrated by and dislike about your body. Right-hand: All the things you love about your life. List at least 10 for each. Be specific; if you say you love your job, what is it specifically that gets you up in the morning? (Pause, and do this before reading ahead. Also notice what feelings or energy is stirred up when writing each list.)
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Tags: acceptance, appreciation, body image, transformation, Truce coaching, weight
Posted in Body Image, Transformation Coaching | No Comments »
October 4th, 2011
Yes, you can feel this good about your body
I have coached clients and been in enough conversations with my own female friends to know that if we women actually spoke to passerby on the street in the same constantly disparaging ways we talk internally to ourselves (particularly about our bodies), we’d end up in some serious hand-smacking, hair-pulling, tear-inducing fights.
Those kinds of thoughts and mis-beliefs are simply not in line with the gift you are in this world. But, since you’ve likely carried this subconscious attitude for a good long time now, what do you do about it, and how can coaching help?
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Tags: action, beliefs, body image, coaching, commitment, perspective, transformation, vision, weight
Posted in Healthy Weight, Making Commitments, Transformation Coaching | No Comments »
August 30th, 2011
Turn your life on its head
Last blog, I mentioned that transformational living may mean subtracting habits or attitudes that are varnishing over your authenticity and no longer serving who you want to be.
Well, the more I coach and live my own life, the more I am convinced that transformation also calls for a 180 degree turn from what you are currently doing. You see, our egos and the assessments we make of how things “should” be get in the way so much that whatever you think is the best course of action often merits considering the complete opposite.
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Tags: 180 degrees, action, change, choice, transformation
Posted in The Transformational Lifestyle | 1 Comment »
August 17th, 2011
Taste the freedom
In my book club, we just started reading a book about being naked. Well, it’s not about being physically naked, but about stripping your life down to just this moment.
My friend and colleague, John, says he’s started to believe that transformation is a “subtractive process,” a journey of shedding the weighty illusions that get in the way of our living from our cores. Transformation requires incredible vulnerability and acceptance–and, frankly, a powerful faith in God. (The more we reveal of ourselves, the more we come to know Him.)
All of this got me thinking about real nakedness, the physical nakedness I said the book did not address. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: acceptance, being present, freedom, healthy living, healthy weight, perspective, transformation
Posted in Healthy Weight, The Transformational Lifestyle | No Comments »
June 7th, 2011
When was the last time you ____ -- just because?
In my last blog about money, I invited you to consider surprising ways you could find and spread your wealth.
Perhaps, like me, you also think that time is a scarce commodity. Time is money slipping through your fingers, only the currency is shrinking minutes in the day.
It’s all a farce, ya know. If you assessed all the tasks you accomplish for which ones add breath to your life or a kind touch to someone else’s, could you really find the time for those? And… even though you say you don’t have the time… how often do you squander your time on the Internet or with other trivial excuses? It seems time is quite relative, and it all depends on how you look at it.
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Tags: choice, perspective, priorities, self-care, time management
Posted in Healthy Relationships, Setting Priorities, The Transformational Lifestyle | 1 Comment »
May 19th, 2011
How are money worries keeping you small?
When was the last time you lost money? Perhaps it was an investment gone bad, or something as trivial as wasted produce that soured in the fridge.
I lost a client today. Circumstances changed at her job and I was looking like an expense she (I’ll call her Olivia) couldn’t afford.
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Tags: abundance, coaching, commitment, communication, finances, money
Posted in Healthy Finances, The Transformational Lifestyle | No Comments »
