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!