Life's lessons - swimming

Hello - first of all an apology for being a bit quiet on the blogging front - have been really buy working on some coaching programmes as well as a great weekend where lots of social events collided!
I am trailing out my first teleclass on helping parents develop good sleep habits for their children and am really enjoying it, so a big thanks to those parents (and children) who are my guinea pigs. I am also writing the copy for my website and will be able to launch that soon, very exciting!

Due to all of the above, today's post is going to be short and sweet.

I saw a wonderful thing at the gym today.
One of the regular attendees is a lovely woman, who is in her mid 50's, who always says hello and we've had a few chats in the steam room. Well today she had her first swimming lesson! Isn't that amazing? She was learning how to float. I take my hat off to her, she is an amazing example of how it is never to late to learn something new. I wish her all the best and really hope she quickly enjoys the world of swimming and feels a massive sense of accomplishment.

So if you think it's too late to try something new, take heart - it's not. Don't let age be an excuse and get out there and explore the potential that you have inside of you.

Fell the fear and do it anyway!

You're hired!

In the UK the latest series of The Apprentice has just finished and Sir Alan Sugar has found his new business partner from a group of ambitious young 20 somethings. Watching the series has been, as always, interesting. It is fun to see the people complete the tasks and how they go about it, as well as getting to know the individuals and how they act and react. So well done to Ricky.

What is interesting is that Sir Alan, the chairman of a huge company, actually does very little of the process himself. He delegates. This was one of the best bits of advice I was given when I became a manager. Delegate. (Thanks uncle!)
Sir Alan has two people who follow the teams doing the tasks and who report back to him. Even in the last episode where the final 4 candidates are being interviewed about their proposed businesses, Sir Alan wasn't among the interviewers, he had delegated again.

We too, can delegate more in our lives.

One process I use a lot is the 'turn it over to the manager' process. The basic premise is that instead of trying to control every area of our life and doing everything ourselves, we imagine that we are the the head of a big company and have employed a manager to do the work for us. Just like Sir Alan, we too can hand over things we want to happen to our manager - the universe, then relax and let the law of allowing to do its work.

I have a manager, for some reason I imagine him behind a desk, with lots of telephones on it and one of those green shaded banker's lamps, and when I send a request through, he picks up one of the phones and  re-delegates to the right department in the universe, to sort it out.

Last Friday I needed to renew my gym membership (a year has flown by!) and on the way there I sent a mental request to my manager that Greg was on duty at the gym reception, as I always get apprehensive about dealing with complicated things in French and he had been they guy I dealt with when setting up my original membership.
In the end, not only was Greg on duty, he knew it was time for me to renew my membership and offered me a slightly reduced payment for a 14 month contract. Fantastic!

You have to be quite specific for your requests. I often send out a quick request when I'm running late and ask for good transport connections so that I get to work a few minutes early to have time for a cup of tea! Then I find that when changing trains, I get to the platform just as a train is about to leave. Perfect, no hanging around.

This week I urge you all to hire a manager and have fun seeing what they can do for you!

If you want to know more about how some of these processes can work for you, then contact me and we can arrange a complimentary coaching session.

Here comes the sun!!!

This song has been going round in my head for the last few days, because after a long, cold, wet Spring the sun has finally arrived!! Yee hah!! I encourage you all to listen to the song as you read the post and feel your spirits rise. 

I remember Summers that seemed to last forever when I was child. Our 6 week holidays seemed to have no end in sight, even a 2 week holiday in the sun seemed to go on forever. Now the weeks seem to zip by and before you know it Autumn has arrived and the shorts and t-shirts are replaced by jumpers and jeans.

So how can we focus on and enjoy the Summer now that we are grown ups and get a limited time off work?

Here are a few of my suggestions that bring back childhood memories and good feelings...

Be more childlike, remember all those things you did as a kid but no longer do? 

Go roller skating, get a push along scooter, try cycling again - and this time it's not because your Mum wants to tire you out before bedtime but because you enjoy it AND you can feel yourself getting a workout at the same time!

If you're not lucky enough to have a swimming pool in your back garden find an outdoor pool. Swimming your lengths with the sun on your back gives you an instant holiday feel! 

Is there an outdoor gym near by - it's the slightly more grown up version to climbing trees, though there's nothing to stop you climbing a tree if you want too!

This was one of my favourites when I lived in London - I used to go to the coast for the day, or even just for the evening. Again and instant holiday feeling and about an hour or so travelling. And while you're there, why not have a sandcastle competition with your friends.

Here in France I am more landlocked, however there are lakes and rivers nearby with safe swimming areas.

Be a rebel and have a BBQ on a school night. Why wait for the weekend, invite a few friends round now.  Maybe have it earlier in the evening, and go easy on the drinks, but it will definitely extend the weekend feeling. 

Invest in a hammock (another holiday staple) and enjoy reading a book in garden.

Spend hours searching for a 4 leafed clover.

Make ice lollies from fresh fruit juice, a lovely way to cool down after a hot day at work.

How about following Mary Poppins' advice and go fly a kite?

Have a picnic in your local park, and don't forget to lie back and see what shapes you can see in the clouds as they drift past. 

Camp out in the back garden! (You can't complain about the state of the shower blocks!)

As the sun goes down toast marshmallows and bananas over a fire! 

It is so easy to let the Summer slip past, when it is such a fantastic opportunity to enjoy nature at it's best and when we're enjoying ourselves, our vibrations rise and we are naturally in a place of feeling good. 

Please feel free to add any suggestions in the comments section of your summer highlights and what activities make you feel childlike again. 

Unexpected results!

When playing with the universal laws I have learnt to expect the unexpected!

I have recently started a course about marketing for my coaching business and this is pushing me in areas that I am not comfortable in. I am not (and have never been) a natural sales person. The thought of promoting myself makes my toes curl with embarrassment but I have to be able to do this to build a business doing what I enjoy - coaching!
I know my way round a computer and aspects of the Internet but really haven't a clue about a lot of technology, but these days to market a business it helps to be a 'techie'. Four weeks ago I had no idea what SEO's, EPC's and a host of other acronyms meant, but I'm learning fast and hope to be a bit more savy in marketing my caching on-line from now on!

When things get too much and I feel overwhelmed, then I do 'The Placemat Process'. It is an Abraham Hicks process that I learnt when becoming a certified life coach and was helpful then during my studies as it is today, when pushing my marketing boundaries...

It is a very simple process and I seem to be doing it on an almost daily basis at the moment! Take a sheet of A4 size paper, turn it sideways and draw a line down the middle. On the left write 'Things for me to do' and on the right write 'Things for the universe to do' (or the name of your higher source - God, Buddha etc) then think about all the things you have to do.

For things that you feel you have to do write it under the 'me' column. For things that seem too big, too overwhelming or that you don't really want to do, write them on the 'universe' side. Be brutal. Only put down things on the 'me' side that you feel you can achieve today. Think long and hard about each thing and if you can let it go and ask for someone else to it.
At the moment I have a lot of research to do in several differnt areas and I have been putting things such as 'find out more about x' on the universe side and more practical things like 'write session of insomnia programme' on my side (as I enjoy writing).
One of things I have asked the universe to do is to research sleep coaching/insomnia products etc and what has been amazing is the number of my friends who are sending me links telling me I might find the content useful and interesting (so thank you to all of you - you know who you are!). Talk about no effort research, I am getting exactly the information that I want. I also asked for more information on pinterest and with clicks of the mouse came over the most helpful blog post on the subject. Perfect.

The idea of this process is to let go and start letting things come to you and it opens you up to the possibility of things coming from unexpected sources. It also stops you feeling over whelmed and calms your negative emotions and helps you get into a good feeling space. Being in that good feeling space allows more to come to you.

One client that I did this process with would quite easily admit that she was always the person who did things and out of habit had become a control freak. She wanted to clear time to write but was constantly filling her days with running around after other people, her family and neighbours and even strangers.
We went through her to do list for the weekend - and she was putting a lot of things on her side, justifying herself by saying "I'm the only person who can do that". So, as her coach, we went through the list again and I challenged her on each point asking of she really was the only person who could do that task. She agreed that perhaps mowing the lawn could go on the universe side, as well as preparing dinner, sorting the washing and other domestic tasks. She felt better after this process and was looking forward to the weekend and visualising having time to sit and write.

At the next session I asked how things had gone and she started laughing. It turned out that she had been taking the dogs for a walk and one of them had pulled on the lead and she had fallen, twisting her ankle. Due to this, her family and neighbours had all rallied round and completed most of the things that she had put on the universe side of the paper, leaving her plenty of time to write several chapters of her book.
"Be careful what you ask for!"

However, despite the twisted ankle, I love this example of how the universe works. The only way to stop her trying to do everything herself was to physically stop her. This is probably a lesson we could all learn but hopefully without the physical pain!

I urge you to give this process a go, it is quick and simple to do and then sit back and see what happens. If you want help with it or with other areas then do contact me and we can arrange a complementary coaching session to see if you enjoy coaching.

Have a great week and expect the unexpected!

The salad dressing lesson

When living abroad you miss the strangest of things from home. No matter how wonderful your new country is and how many new things there are to experience, you always seem to miss something.
Take France - French cuisine is respected around the world and I have tried (and liked) many new dishes, flavours and ingredients. What do I bring back with me (and beg people to bring with them when they come to visit) every time I go back to the UK? Sausages and bacon. One of my favourite meals is good old Bangers and Mash, even when living in the country of boeuf bourguignon and cock au vin.
France also has over 620 different types of cheese, but I know people who fill suitcases with packets of English cheddar.
Marmite is, of course, another staple suitcase filler, along with Branston pickle, Coleman's mustard, packets of jelly, biscuits, sweets and even chocolate (Cadbury's of course!)

One of the things that occasionally pops up in my mind in the 'I miss that' section is Caesar salad dressing. Again, France has plenty of salad dressing - vinaigrette, vinaigrette with herbs, mayonnaise, vinaigrette with mustard, mayonnaise with mustard etc, but no Caesar dressings.

As summer is approaching and I'm eating more salads, I was thinking about this and made a mental note to buy some next time I was back in the UK, or ask someone to bring some back if they were going there before me. I also thought about looking up a recipe for it, but didn't get round to doing that.

Two days later I was strolling round Marché U and went past the condiment shelves (while muttering 'washing up liquid' to myself) and something made me stop and walk backwards a couple of paces. I looked at the shelves and there, nestled amongst the salad dressings were bottles of Heinz Caesar salad dressing. I had to buy some.

To me this a perfect example of being able to manifest something quickly and easily. Although I hadn't expressly asked the universe for a bottle of salad dressing, I had put the intention out that I would like some, had briefly thought of a couple of ways I could get some, and then let it go and, in fact, had completely forgotten about it. I was not hung up on the result, obsessed with when it would come or dictating the outcome in any major way.

OK, so it was only salad dressing and that is probably the reason why it appeared so quickly as, let's face it,  thinking about a bottle of salad dressing is pretty low on the emotional scale.

When I want something big, such as money, I have a lot of emotions stored up in the feeling of lack and the way I want the outcome to be, that I have difficulty letting it go. I limit myself in thinking about how it is going to come to me, 'Must by lottery tickets, get another client etc' and when it will come and continue putting negative energy into the situation.

In reality we need to let go of how and let the Law of Allowing do its work. This is not always easy and is a lesson in trust. For me this has been a useful reminder and it is something I need to refer back to when I start putting too much disruptive energy into a manifestation.

The things I do to myself!

Years ago I used to be quite fit, I went to the gym regularly, cycled to work, ate relatively well. This was all brought about by a diagnosis of diabetes. It came as quite a shock. I'd been feeling run down and and lethargic all the time and constantly had colds etc (which I blamed on work). I eventually went to the doctors and had some blood tests and was informed about the diabetes.

The diabetic doctor told me to see what lifestyle changes I could make first and see what affect these would have on my blood sugar levels before she would put me on medication and made an appointment for 3 months later. I meet with a dietitian and realized that though my diet wasn't bad, it wasn't brilliant. 

Once I had got over the shock, I realised it was the kick I needed to get me into action. My mind went straight into worse case scenario and I did not want a limb amputated, thank you very much!

Bit by bit I changed things. I joined a gym and tried the yoga and Pilates classes (aerobics was a bit too energetic) changed the foods I was eating and looked up a lot of information!
Those small changes made a difference and at the next medical the doctor was pleased with the results and told me to carry on without medication and sent me on my way.

As I became more confident in the gym I tried more energetic classes (though I was determined not to be a gym bunny), started Weightwatchers and even learnt salsa and Ceroc. I was the superstar of the Dr's surgery and was in competition with my GP (who did silly things like run marathons) over who had the lowest cholesterol levels.

Then I moved abroad and fell back into old habits, I would occasionally jog, swim or cycle but nothing too much - little by little my health got worse, I was plagued by colds and flu, felt run down and tired. Blood tests showed my blood sugars were fine and so no warning bells went and I bumbled along, gradually putting on weight and feeling tired all the time.

Then I got heel spurs. Boy, do they look cute on the x-ray and boy, were they painful. Every step was agony and I had special insoles which were really uncomfortable. I stopped any pretence of exercise.

Then last Spring - deep into my learning about the Law of Attraction I thought 'What am I doing to myself?'

I did not want to be ill all the time and the more I focused on feeling unwell, the worse I felt. I decided to change my mindset. Fortunately as I had been fit before, I knew how good it felt and knew that's where I wanted to be.

I started doing Zumba and enjoyed it so much that it inspired me to join a gym again. It was interesting doing the classes in French and I gradually built it up to 3 or 4 times a week (though I still don't see myself as a gym bunny!) I was eating quite healthily but have taken a good, long look at my portion sizes and the weight is coming off.
What has been great is how quickly I am returning to my fitness levels. It is like my body has remembered it all and my flexibility and suppleness are nearly back to their former levels. My feet no longer hurt and I  have got used to the insoles. At the beginning going to the gym was a chore but now I look forward to it. I was hardly ill at all this winter, which has been the most noticable difference.

One of the gym instructors gets us to say thank you to our bodies at the end of each class, it is quite a small thing, but I find it quite sweet and I have a lot to be thankful to my body for and I mean to continue to treat it well.
Are you focusing on your health or your ill health? Do you believe you have the power to change it? I hope you do!

Thank you!

I would like to take this opportunity to say a big THANK YOU to all of you who have been reading, commenting on and sharing my blog.

When I started writing back in January, I wasn't really sure what it would be like, whether I would be able to write interesting stuff, what direction it would take, and if anyone would read it.
I have found that I enjoy thinking about what I will write and what to say.
It can be the smallest thing, comment or observation that sets off a lightbulb in my head saying 'That would be a good blog post'. Often I forget what I thought about and find myself going 'Now what was that thing that I thought about again?'
I often think about what to write when I'm swimming, though sometimes when it comes to the sitting down and writing bit, a post may well develop in a completely different way than I had planned, or not work out at all.

Then comes the spell check (it's American English on blogger.com, and being dyslexic doesn't help with that either!!) finding a great photo and hoping the computer will let me upload it. Over the months I have worked out how do do links and other whizzy things so that hopefully I can progress soon from my preschool level of technology.

Everytime I post a post I am amazed that anyone reads it and appreciate any comments that people are generous enough to give. It is lovely to know how people are reading and interpreting my ramblings. I can see my stats page and it shows stuff like what mediums it is being read on, how it is being shared and most interestingly (to me, as I am a visual learner) has a map of the world showing which countries I am reaching. The States, Canada, Europe and, most intriguingly, Russia (I'd love to know who you are!) I get a little thrill each time a new country pops up.

Being a new coach, I was struggling to find where my passion and my niche lay. Despite having plenty of years of experience in childcare, it did not feel right taking up a niche in parenting skills and it also did not feel right leaving it completely - each time I thought about another direction, it felt as if the childcare was still holding onto my heels and not letting go.
I had thought about Sleep Coaching, as I had been an insomniac since childhood and have done a lot to improve my sleep, and though this area felt good and exciting, I found myself stalling and not ready to commit to it. Recently all the pieces have come together and it now feels the right direction to go. The major 'Aha' moment was the realization that I can not only work with adults who have sleep difficulties but also with parents who have young children with sleep problems. I now understand why I couldn't walk away from the childcare aspect completely!

So I will continue to write this blog but am also setting up another one based on sleep and hope you will find time to read that too and pass on the information to those who may need it.

In the meantime, thanks again for reading!