Using action to achieve stillness

As the title ‘Using action to achieve stillness’ seems a contradiction, the idea behind it deserves a brief explanation.

Using action to achieve stillness refers, at least in this instance, to the notion of taking conscious actions for the sake of creating a moment of calm in our daily schedule. Once available, this space could become the time for us to meditate, reflect, enjoy nature or indeed any other form of ‘being’ as opposed to ‘doing’.

That we need to go about using action to achieve stillness is itself a statement regarding life today. Nevertheless, rather than attempt to deny the frenzy around us, we can choose to navigate our way through it, after a period of stillness, to arrive at our desired goals.

Using action to achieve stillness might also be a method to keep ourselves balanced in the face of the constant pressure to ‘get more done’, ‘by yesterday’, if possible!

So, that’s what I meant by using action to achieve stillness. To share your input on this concept, please leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading this ‘Using action to achieve stillness’ post and please do like and share it.

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 Università Cattolica, Milan, Italy, Brian teaches the International graduate courses Leadership coaching: bringing potential to the stage of work and Personal marketing: performance skills at work.

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

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

 

Reasons to schedule anything

Specific reasons to schedule anything will reflect personal situations and choices.

Nevertheless, some general reasons to schedule anything might include:

1) Having a schedule allows us to prioritize time and resources.

2) A clear and detailed agenda helps us focus our preparatory efforts.

3) We free our mind from attempting to hold any number of appointments, task and the like in our head.

To join the conversation regarding reasons to schedule anything, feel free to leave a comment below.

In the meantime, thanks for being here today, and please don’t hesitate to like and share this ‘Reasons to schedule anything’ 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 Università Cattolica, Milan, Italy, Brian teaches the International graduate courses Leadership coaching: bringing potential to the stage of work and Personal marketing: performance skills at work.

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

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

 

Guarding our mind against daily attacks

We lock the door, take care of passwords and the like, but to what extent are we guarding our mind against daily attacks?

In precise words, these attacks could include:

a) Toxic opinions spouted out by people around us;

b) Negative news stories reported endlessly on television and across social media;

c) Belittling thoughts inside our head, possibly telling us we are not good enough.

In terms of managing our time, guarding our mind against daily attacks coming from distractions, non-strategic activities and unfair requests on our schedule is a crucial task for us to undertake.

And once we have the habit of guarding our mind against daily attacks, our days, at least, take on a shape more aligned to our objectives. Although there will still be moments in which we have no choice but to do this or that for others, in these instances we know they are the exceptions, not the rule.

In all probabilities, you have winning strategies for dealing with these attacks. Accordingly, if you would like to share them, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below.

Thanks for connecting here today and please feel free to like and share this ‘Guarding our mind against daily attacks’ 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 Università Cattolica, Milan, Italy, Brian teaches the International graduate courses Leadership coaching: bringing potential to the stage of work and Personal marketing: performance skills at work.

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

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

 

Knowing what we do not know

Focusing on our strengths, operating to the best of our abilities, is one thing, yet knowing what we do not know is also part of our personal development.

From the perspective of being able to evaluate our position to ensure subsequent actions are aligned to values and goals, knowing what we do not know is a crucial factor.

Awareness of our knowledge gaps allows us to ponder their impact on our performance and, if necessary, plan strategies to overcome the issues.

Aspects of our skill set in which we are scarce, yet have no relevance to our present or expected future activities, can probably be ignored in the short term. Knowing what we do not know gives us this insight. In such a way, our efforts are directed on only strategic matters.

Exploring the situation for the sake of optimizing one’s potential could be part of a coaching conversation. If you would like to discuss this option, get in contact.

In any case, thanks for reading this ‘Knowing what we do not know’ reflection and please feel free to like and share this 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 Università Cattolica, Milan, Italy, Brian teaches the International graduate courses Leadership coaching: bringing potential to the stage of work and Personal marketing: performance skills at work.

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

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

 

Looking for the light of tomorrow

With the days so short here in the northern hemisphere in these days, it is quite likely we are, in a certain sense, looking for the light of tomorrow. This longing for days to come, however, risks us to miss out on the present.

Yes, we might not like the current cold weather and darkness but how quickly will we be fed up with the sweltering days of June, July and August when they arrive? Right now, the idea seems crazy, yet let’s not forget the usual moans associated with the summer: “too hot”, “too many cicadas”, “difficult to sleep”, and so forth.

Looking for the light of tomorrow, in any case, should not be considered a bad thing if it means we are preparing ourselves for a brighter future. Perhaps we are in the process of getting ourselves organised to be able to step out into the spotlight as ready as possible to let our potential shine.

Regardless of how you are living this moment – embracing today or looking for the light of tomorrow – I appreciate you taking the time to read this post.

In closing, thank you for your support over this year and let me wish you a healthy, happy and prosperous 2020.

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 Università Cattolica, Milan, Italy, Brian teaches the International graduate courses Leadership coaching: bringing potential to the stage of work and Personal marketing: performance skills at work.

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

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

Focusing on here as we keep an eye on there

Throughout the day it is easy to get caught up with any number of issues and situations. Even if we are strict with our scheduling, focusing here as we keep an eye on there is not always possible.

The pressure to accommodate the requests of various stakeholders often pushes our endeavours to the back of the ‘time queue’. As much as we’d like to be focusing on here as we keep an eye on there we might be forced to deal with unrelated and non-strategic matters.

From another perspective, focusing on here as we keep an eye on there could be a way of spreading ourselves too thinly across tasks deserving our full attention. This may be so in certain instances. Yet awareness of what is going on around us (there) as we concentrate on a single task (here) is not a bad thing.

As ever, how we handle our priorities is a responsibility that sits squarely on our shoulders. Allowing interruptions and distractions to stop us from focusing on here as we keep an eye on there, limits our effectiveness. Or not. To put forward your input on these ideas, please leave a comment below.

Thanks for connecting here to read this ‘Focusing on here as we keep an eye on there’ post. Please don’t hesitate to like and share it.

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 Università Cattolica, Milan, Italy, Brian teaches the International graduate courses Leadership coaching: bringing potential to the stage of work and Personal marketing: performance skills at work.

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

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

 

Gaining from unexpected opportunities

Gaining from unexpected opportunities is possible when we are flexible enough to embrace each situation as it is.

There will always be changes to deal with and projects invariably produce a surprise or two before their completion. Gaining from unexpected opportunities reflects a) our open approach to life and b) our desire to move towards goals despite the presence of extraordinary issues arising.

On the other hand, if we are so fixated on how we attempt to fulfil certain assignments, we might find it difficult to accept changes to our plans. In such instances, we would be unable to engage in gaining from unexpected opportunities even if they were advantageous to us.

As ever, how we view the moment, coupled with our ability to find a balance between how we perform this or that and the achievement of objectives, will impact on our eventual success.

To explore the question of gaining from unexpected opportunities as part of a coaching conversation, don’t hesitate to get in contact.

In the meantime, thanks for reading this ‘Gaining from unexpected opportunities’ post and please feel free to like and share it.

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 Università Cattolica, Milan, Italy, Brian teaches the International graduate courses Leadership coaching: bringing potential to the stage of work and Personal marketing: performance skills at work.

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

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