Calm

I took a course last year from the IFS-Institute which is an organization that is focused on what their founder, Dr. Richard Swartz, says is powerful Self-leadership. While there is way too much to go into in some simple emails, and I have only started to scratch the surface of all their learning and teaching, one of the ideas I was reminded of last week is what they call "The 8 C's of Self Leadership: Calm, Curiosity, Confidence, Compassion, Creativity, Courage, Clarity, and Connectedness." 

I've also been thinking a lot about how to engage 2025 with a sense of purpose and intention and it seems like using these 8 C's as a launching point for helping us start on the right footing for 2025, and continuing to move forward with Priming the Pump, would be some time well spent. So, I'll start with Calm this week, and we'll just keep going forward until we've covered them all.

Calm

One of the approaches they take toward all of the 8 C's is to think about them in terms of noticing and movement. As we start with Calm this week, what that means is we begin by noticing where and when we feel a sense of Calm - the types of situations or circumstances that help to produce it or reinforce it. But part of noticing is when we can pay attention to what might also diminish it or create the opposite effect in our lives (like agitation or unrest). Then, as we notice where Calm may be arising or diminishing, we look for active ways to move toward more Calm, or away from it's opposite.

For example, I know that even one or two minutes of the deep breathing technique I learned from the Center for Mind & Body Medicine a few years ago help to produce a sense of Calm within me. So, if I am starting to feel unrest or turmoil arising, I will take time to pause and engage in those deep, focused breaths which helps me move away from the agitation and toward being more Calm. Additionally, if I am in a location where I can take those deep breaths outside, that seems to increase the rate at which I move toward being Calm.

How about you? What helps you to feel Calm? Are there certain activities that help you move away from unrest and toward Calm?  Perhaps there are some locations that enhance your ability to feel Calm and less agitated? How could you pay attention and notice more clearly what impacts your Calm and then make decisions that help you enhance that reality?

Here's to experiencing more Calm in our lives this week!

Be Well,

Stephen

Center was created to support individuals and teams so they can live from their Purposeful Center.  We specialize in professional coaching and leadership development and we’d love to support you!  Click on our Services page to book a free consultation. 

Priming The Pump

I'm currently out of town for some R&R, but thanks to the magic of technology I still get to share with you!  Thankfully, what I want to say fits right in with my being away.

Some of you know I have a small part-time job (my side-hustle!) at our local airport here in town. One of the tasks I do everyone once in a while is refill the tank on our Deice machine (here in Redding it's more like Defrosting the planes!). This task requires the use of a small portable pump with hoses connected to it that goes into the holding tank for the extra deice fluid, which then gets pumped into the larger deicing machine (I know, way too much airport nerd stuff, but hang with me). In order for this small portable pump to actually work, you have to unscrew a small cap and pour some water in there to "prime the pump." By filling the small pump with some water, if fills up the empty space and allows the pump to actually do it's job.

I think you see where I am going with this. We are still in the early days of 2025 and so much of our work and lives are about pouring out into other people. But here's the thing, if we are empty, we actually don't have anything we can give to others! We need to remember that taking time to Prime the Pump of our own souls and hearts is absolutely critical to our ability to have anything to give to others. We've got to be intentional about Priming Our Own Pumps in order to function in a sustainable way this year.

When you think about this idea, what are the kinds of activities, patterns, and/or practices that help to fill you up? How could you approach those with intentionality in 2025? What adjustments need to be made in your weekly or daily schedules to help create a sustainable pathway of being able to help others? Are there certain perspectives or narratives that are running in your head that are negative that need to shift so you can see these practices as healthy and necessary? Is there someone you need to have a conversation with to help you think through and prioritize these practices for yourself, and what would it look like to reach out and have that chat?

Here's to all of us Priming The Pump this week (and this year)!

Be Well,

Stephen

Center was created to support individuals and teams so they can live from their Purposeful Center.  We specialize in professional coaching and leadership development and we’d love to support you!  Click on our Services page to book a free consultation

The First Monday

I recently heard someone say that The First Monday of the new year after the holiday season is a "Monday to end all Mondays!"  I thought that was pretty funny, until this morning when I felt it!

It also reminded me of an idea I have been thinking about for this first post of the new year: Do you remember why you got into this in the first place?  Kind of appropriate for "The First Monday to end all Mondays!"

Of course, I have had several conversations in the past few weeks that have all touched on this question in one way or another. In one chat, we were trying to rediscover the root of purpose behind the work someone was doing.  In another conversation, we were discussing how critical it is as a leader to remind your team Why we do what we do. In both situations, reconnecting with their Why was very helpful in finding focus and direction for their next steps.  It brought clarity to their actions.

It would be so easy on The First Monday to ask, Why am I doing this?! What I am suggesting is, that is exactly what we should be asking as we start the new year - Why am I doing this?! Reconnecting with our purpose and motivations is always a good exercise because it brings clarity for our actions and choices moving forward. It helps us tap back into those core realities that give us a sense of intention and drive. And it can often reveal the next steps we need to take in order to stay true to those purposeful pathways.

So, on The First Monday of 2025, Why are you doing what you are doing? How can you reconnect with the places deep in your heart that first drew you to this work? As you explore those original motivations, are there adjustments you need to make, or next steps you need to take in order to find better alignment with them and yourself? By asking yourself the deeper Why, can you cut through some of the grey of The First Monday and move forward with greater purpose and motivation?

Here's to using Why as a powerful tool to help us tackle The First Monday!

Be Well,

Stephen

Center was created to support individuals and teams so they can live from their Purposeful Center.  We specialize in professional coaching and leadership development and we’d love to support you!  Click on our Services page to book a free consultation.