What would you point to as the achievements that have mattered most to you?
And why?
Whar are some of the challenges you have faced?
And how have you handled them?
Who do you admire?
Who inspires you?
And why?
What have you learnt from your life experiences that you would like to pass on to others?
It is a well-documented fact that we are far more likely to fulfill our potential by focusing on our strengths rather than on our weaknesses. In the words of Peter Drucker, renowned management consultant: “It’s the abilities, not the disabilities, that count”!
Awareness of our character strengths can be a really helpful tool for building capacity – going from first-rate to excellent. Understanding character strengths is also essential for developing new paths for engagement, satisfaction and fulfillment on the job. Last but not least, this approach can also be used for problem-solving. Experience this for yourself and for your team by trying these 3 simple steps:
1) Identify your top character strengths using the free VIA online test (www.viasurvey.org)
2) Identify a problem that you need to deal with
3) Ask yourself how you can apply your specific character strengths to solving this problem
“The real tragedy in life is not that each of us doesn’t have enough strengths, it’s that we fail to use the ones we have.” (M. Buckingham and D. Clifton in Now, “Discover Your Strengths”)
In his address to the graduating class at Stanford, the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs wrote:
“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”
The Coach Approach specializes in training and coaching with a focus on values. Once your tribe is connected to goals with personal meaning, transformation and success are on their way!
Thank you to Valerie for sharing that amazing short video on Well Being in the previous post. Just love the structure, satisfying the conscious mind:
That got me thinking, time for the unconscious mind to play…
how can we develop these key areas to make life even more fulfilling?
In other words, how can we build on the best things in life?
How about posing one of these profound questions before you go to sleep and let the unconscious mind work on it, just watch out for the messages as it delivers the results!
Your insights please!
In his stimulating book How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Everyday, Michael Gelb writes:
“Great minds ask great questions. The questions that ‘engage our thought’ on a daily basis reflect our life purpose and influence the quality of our lives. By cultivating a Da Vinci-like open, questing frame of mind, we broaden our universe and improve our ability to travel through it.”
He suggests taking one hour to jot down 100 questions that interest you, and then to refine that list to your personal Top Ten. Try it for a powerful way to tap into your “unconscious database” and get a really good sense of what’s important to you in your life – dare to engage in curiosity!!
In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the late Stephen Covey begins with Habit #1: Be Proactive.
“Look at the word responsibility—’response-ability’—the ability to choose your response. Highly proactive people recognize that responsibility. They do not blame circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior. Their behavior is a product of their own conscious choice, based on values, rather than a product of their conditions, based on feeling.”
He goes on to say: “The commitments we make to ourselves and to others, and our integrity to those commitments, is the essence and clearest manifestation of our proactivity.”
Think of the goal you would most like to focus upon in the weeks and months to come. What commitment will you make today to manifest your proactivity? How can coaching be a part of ensuring your success?
Let’s take a brief glance at values: what are values exactly?
Can you aquire them? Should you select them according to perceived correctness?
No: everyone’s set of values are unique to them and, when honoured, serve as a valuable guide.
Kind of similar to you own personal navigation system, showing you the best way to go.
Not sure what yours are?
Then take a few minutes and try the following 2 mini exercises to get some insight.
Peak moments in time
Identify peak moments when life was at its most rewarding.
Focus specifically on ‘the moment’, not the details.
What was important about this moment?
What were the values being honoured in the moment?
What values were you living in this moment?
Suppressed values
Think of a time you were willing to get into trouble.
Look at the feeling then flip it over to the opposite of the feeling to find the value.
Think of a time you were angry, frustrated or upset.
Look at the feeling then flip it to get the opposite of the feeling to find the value.
Have you ever how wondered why some people manage to create tangible results and consistently reach their goals, while others just turn in circles and miss the mark completely? One simple way to understand the difference is to compare the mindset of STATES (or values) to GOALS (or outcomes).
When focusing on STATES:
Clear values are essential to inform us of our driving forces, of what provides meaning in our lives. We would invite you use them as fuel for your desired outcomes, and to fully enjoy the fruits of your success!
Last month at this point in time many of us were putting the finishing touches on our lists for the New Year, focusing upon goal-setting and trying to implement one step at a time. Now by the middle of February, many people are feeling overwhelmed and fatigued, unable to move ahead on their game plans.
So how about shifting perspective and start making “to be” lists before making “to do” lists? Each morning before beginning your daily activities, you can create your to be list and write down what you wish to express throughout the day. You could choose to be organized and efficient, spontaneous, compassionate, daring, reflective … the sky is the limit, and you hold the power to choose whatever is most appropriate for you in your own context.
After you have committed this to paper, next write down on another list what you wish to do as this person. Not only will this practice help you reconnect with your deeper values, but it will also produce positive emotions and renewed energy.
Going towards our highest ideals is key to maintaining motivation and enjoyment along the path in the journey of self-improvement!
…it’s our 1st debut together on Amazon, check out the link to our latest book, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006EO9S2C priced at only $8.03, it’s a real wealth of information, collected over many years of coaching. An amazing offer you simply have to see to understand and experience it’s value!
THE ULTIMATE SELF-MASTERY BOOK: How To Figure Out WHAT You Want, GET It, and KEEP It!
An introduction to self-coaching based on the insights
from science, psychology and NLP (neuro-linguistic programming). It
demystifies elements of both the art and the science of professional
coaching in an accessible manner.
Using a four-quadrant model, the book
provides hands-on tools for creating Inspiration, Implementation,
Integration and Celebration. Topics such as goal-setting, working with
objections, using values as a compass, asking powerful questions, utilizing
the power of language to motivate and keeping alive the sense of new
possibilities are all covered in the book.
The book is intended as a user-friendly manual which can be used
both as an introduction to coaching concepts and practices AND as a handbook
for those wishing to explore these issues more deeply. It includes practical
exercises applicable to many contexts, pictures, diagrams, charts, quotes
and web links for a comprehensive overview of the subject.
The Coach Approach 
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