Taking inspiration from our surroundings

No matter where we find ourselves, taking inspiration from our surroundings is an option always available to us and one worth taking up.

With so much pressure on us to conform to a standard set by society through advertising and the like, taking inspiration from our surroundings is an approach offering a personalized, unique perspective on life.

It says much about how we are feeling towards ourselves and our environment when we are able to go about taking inspiration from our surroundings. The input the moment gives us could be that missing ingredient we need to ensure the day is experienced to the full. Letting things merely drift by, on the other hand, might mean we miss out on that something special.

With travel such a key daily feature for many people nowadays, the concept of taking inspiration from our surroundings is virtually only limited by our imagination. Each location offers something new, exciting, unique, characteristic or whatever word we wish to use as a description.

Connecting with this resource is a task made easier through practice. And as we get into the habit of taking inspiration from our surroundings, it might become a source of regular input for us, whether we are here, there or any point in between.

Thanks for reading this ‘Taking inspiration from our surroundings’ post.

Kindest regards.

Brian.

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, Coach, Trainer and Author, supplies professional and personal development to a portfolio of corporate and individual clients.

As an Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian taught a postgraduate course, using four characters taken from dramatic texts as coaching clients, to examine various work-related performance matters.

Brian’s goal is to support through coaching, training and writing all who wish to live their potential, in education, work or life in general.

You can contact Brian via e-mail (brian@bgdtcoaching.com), by clicking on the icons or leaving a comment below.

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Shining bright even on a rainy day

As many of the posts here have attested, our outlook is very much a personal one and there are few reasons not to go about shining bright even on a rainy day.

Very few instances are ever made better by giving in to the temptation of blaming external factors on our outlook on life. That some people prefer to act as if the whole world is against them is another matter.

Anyway, returning to the issue of shining bright even on a rainy day, we can list three basic considerations to support the idea.

1) Given life is testing for us all, why not attempt to lighten it a little by shining bright even on a rainy day?

2) Our ‘light’, that passion we have for life and the way we demonstrate this to the world need not be conditioned by dynamics beyond our control, especially the weather.

3) We risk to never shine brightly if we decide to wait for perfect outside conditions. Life is lived in the present, not at some unspecified time in the future.

Or not. To join the conversation here and share your thoughts on the topic of shining bright even on a rainy day, please leave a comment below.

Brian.

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, Coach, Trainer and Author, supplies professional and personal development to a portfolio of corporate and individual clients.

As an Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian taught a postgraduate course, using four characters taken from dramatic texts as coaching clients, to examine various work-related performance matters.

Brian’s goal is to support through coaching, training and writing all who wish to live their potential, in education, work or life in general.

You can contact Brian via e-mail (brian@bgdtcoaching.com), by clicking on the icons or leaving a comment below.

Setbacks need not make us cry

Although it is fair to accept they happen, setbacks need not make us cry. Whether we mean this literally or figuratively is of little relevance.

Once an event, situation or other unwanted issue arrives in the form of a setback, it is up to us to manage our reaction to it and the impact it has or could have on our plans.

Finding a positive side to a supposedly negative occurrence is not always possible. Nevertheless, once again setbacks need not make us cry. We might be able to at least find learning within the moment and use this to help further our progress.

With so many projects probably on the go at any one time, it is only right to almost expect the occasional challenge. Perhaps we should actually be concerned if all proceeds as hoped for.

But accepting passively a disappointment or interruption to our schedule is not what this ‘Setbacks need not make us cry’ post is about. Choosing a proactive approach, to make the best of whatever turns up, is.

However, thinking about the idea that setbacks need not make us cry, I’m curious to learn how you handle difficulties along the way to your desired objectives. To share your ideas here, please leave a comment below.

In the meantime, thanks for reading this ‘Setbacks need not make us cry’ offering today.

Brian.

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, Coach, Trainer and Author, supplies professional and personal development to a portfolio of corporate and individual clients.

As an Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian taught a postgraduate course, using four characters taken from dramatic texts as coaching clients, to examine various work-related performance matters.

Brian’s goal is to support through coaching, training and writing all who wish to live their potential, in education, work or life in general.

You can contact Brian via e-mail (brian@bgdtcoaching.com), by clicking on the icons or leaving a comment below.

How nature provides us with ongoing encouragement

We only need to look around us – wherever we are – to appreciate how nature provides us with ongoing encouragement. The sky, clear and blue or grey and overcast, reminds us of both the changing character of nature and the inspiration it offers us.

In a similar fashion, trees, plants and animals have their seasons of initial growth, development and transformation. Overall, we are surrounded by examples of how nature provides us with ongoing encouragement and it is our responsibility to be aware of it, tap into it and embrace our day accordingly.

With the colour red dominating this month’s posts, we should not ignore the inbuilt energy of not only this colour but how nature provides us with ongoing encouragement also through this and other ‘living’ colours. Without such shades, life would be a dull affair, devoid of any stimulation.

What we look for determines to a great extent what we find and giving myself the task of seeking out red items has been an exercise in confirming how nature provides us with ongoing encouragement by way of this colour. That red happens to be a favourite colour, along with black and white, is by the by.

Right now, in what manner are you noticing how nature provides us with ongoing encouragement?

Brian.

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, Coach, Trainer and Author, supplies professional and personal development to a portfolio of corporate and individual clients.

As an Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian taught a postgraduate course, using four characters taken from dramatic texts as coaching clients, to examine various work-related performance matters.

Brian’s goal is to support through coaching, training and writing all who wish to live their potential, in education, work or life in general.

You can contact Brian via e-mail (brian@bgdtcoaching.com), by clicking on the icons or leaving a comment below.

Connecting with our current location

Connecting with our current location is easier when we feel comfortable with wherever we happen to be.

That said, it is the case that occasionally we find ourselves in places in which, on the surface at least, it is extremely difficult to even consider connecting with our current location. Perhaps it is exactly here we need to practice going beyond our initial reaction to embrace life by connecting with our current location.

Waiting for the ‘perfect’ time, situation or set of circumstances in general before attempting anything, including connecting with our current location, is a risky strategy. As we all know, it inevitably slips into worries about later as excuses bubble up to keep us from doing whatever we want or need to be doing.

It should be pointed out, however, that even if we are connecting with our current location or at least advocating such a move, there is no reason to think this implies we passively accept everything life throws at us, including where we are.

Making the most of the moment is a proactive approach and one likely to impact positively on how we go about experiencing now and future moments.

But then again maybe it is better to sit on the proverbial seat in the corner and wait for things to change, knowing everything passes. To share your input on the issue of connecting with our current location, please leave a comment below.

Kindest regards.

Brian.

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, Coach, Trainer and Author, supplies professional and personal development to a portfolio of corporate and individual clients.

As an Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian taught a postgraduate course, using four characters taken from dramatic texts as coaching clients, to examine various work-related performance matters.

Brian’s goal is to support through coaching, training and writing all who wish to live their potential, in education, work or life in general.

You can contact Brian via e-mail (brian@bgdtcoaching.com), by clicking on the icons or leaving a comment below.

Looking up beyond the immediate moment

Looking up beyond the immediate moment requires only a willingness to do it coupled with a few minutes of tranquillity away from the daily grind.

The concept of looking up beyond the immediate moment can be described by way of a real-life example.

The other day a client, let’s call her Mary, told me how pressured she was feeling. Her good work had been noted and her boss had hinted at a promotion in the near future. However, all she could think about was living up to the reputation she felt she had of ‘getting everything done yesterday’.

Mary was giving herself no space to appreciate where her meticulous attention to preparation and hard work had gotten her.

Looking up beyond the immediate moment allowed her to mentally move away from the stress of her desire to leave the current position with nothing outstanding for her successor.

Relaxing into the exercise, Mary understood how nobody was expecting an empty schedule from her. In reality, such a scenario would place untold pressure on her successor to start from scratch whilst attempting to combat the fact of not being ‘Ms Do Everything’.

Using her time to sow seeds for future business, on the contrary, would be a beneficial way to see out the remaining weeks and provide a fantastic field to be harvested by her eventual replacement.

As Mary found out, looking up beyond the immediate moment brings into view previously unseen perspectives and possibilities to ponder and maybe act upon.

To discover for yourself the impact of looking up beyond the immediate moment in the form of a complimentary coaching conversation, via Skype or Google+ hangout, please get in contact.

In the meantime, thanks for reading this ‘Looking up beyond the immediate moment’ post.

Brian.

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, Coach, Trainer and Author, supplies professional and personal development to a portfolio of corporate and individual clients.

As an Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian taught a postgraduate course, using four characters taken from dramatic texts as coaching clients, to examine various work-related performance matters.

Brian’s goal is to support through coaching, training and writing all who wish to live their potential, in education, work or life in general.

You can contact Brian via e-mail (brian@bgdtcoaching.com), by clicking on the icons or leaving a comment below.

Is seeing red our most beneficial response to the moment?

Anger has its place in our toolkit and occasionally is useful as a way to focus our efforts but then again, is seeing red our most beneficial response to the moment?

We might wish to lash out and let our frustration have its time in the spotlight. However, rarely are we rewarded with a positive outcome when this occurs. Just as we heighten the tension in an already stressful situation, others will likewise react to our outburst in a similar way.

Asking ourselves ‘Is seeing red our most beneficial response to the moment?’ and taking a while to ponder our answer goes a long way toward managing our reaction. After an appropriate amount of reflection – each of us knows how much is appropriate – we are in a position to take action, react or let go.

If we are the type of people who like to keep our emotions in check, a laser-like sharp-tongued quip would impact greatly on those around us. Accordingly, the reply to the enquiry ‘Is seeing red our most beneficial response to the moment?’ is a resounding ‘Yes’.

Folk more inclined to puff and blow at the slightest provocation have in a certain sense already given away any advantage by responding angrily as ‘Seeing red’ will be viewed by everyone as ’their natural way of being’.

All in all, finding our ‘best’ approach to life remains a personal quest. To join the conversation here on the issue of the question ‘Is seeing red our most beneficial response to the moment?’ please leave a comment below.

Kindest regards.

Brian.

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, Coach, Trainer and Author, supplies professional and personal development to a portfolio of corporate and individual clients.

As an Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian taught a postgraduate course, using four characters taken from dramatic texts as coaching clients, to examine various work-related performance matters.

Brian’s goal is to support through coaching, training and writing all who wish to live their potential, in education, work or life in general.

You can contact Brian via e-mail (brian@bgdtcoaching.com), by clicking on the icons or leaving a comment below.