Committing to a gratitude list brought me to my blog each day. Since my seven day commitment ended, I've missed both the daily moments of reflection and the creative outlet of blogging. So I'm combining my commitment to a daily gratitude list with daily blog posts - just one of the things that keeps me rooted in myself.
Grateful list
1) A loving, supportive relationship with my wife2) My many employment opportunities
3) The green grass in Ulster County
4) My legs
5) Air conditioning
6) Chilled fruit salad
Most of the time I do the comfortable things. I have this "routine" within my ever changing weekly schedule that I, on some level, rely on for sanity. This is basically it:
I wake up at whatever time my schedule requires me to, I feed & walk the dog. I wash & dry any dishes in the sink and then I make my coffee. While drinking it, I read the sports pages - Yankees in the Summer and the Giants & Patriots in the winter. For lunch I usually eat a sandwich with a piece on fruit. At day's end I enjoy watching The Deadliest Catch - something about the camaraderie on that show that is really compelling for me. There are some variations to the routine, but that's pretty much it.These are routines that I relish regardless of time, place or surroundings. They give me a sense of comfort, of familiarity in an otherwise changing world. It is my safe zone. It's mine.
As a coach, solopreneur and home based business owner I must always exercise effective time management skills. Part of that is a daily self-awareness check-in. I prioritize tasks, ask myself qualifying questions like who am I , where am I, where am I going, how will I get there, etc...At times, I think to myself that things in my life seem boring, stagnant or routine and I want to shake them up. I just got finished saying how I relish my routine within an ever changing schedule and now I go off and think that things are too routine. Hmmm...that's peculiar. I know intellectually that my life is not boring, stagnant or routine, but I still "feel" that way from time to time. This is commonplace and I'm sure you can relate to this as it pertains to your own life. There are many cause for this type of thinking. One cause is that inner "critic" or "saboteur" as I call it. It's never satisfied and always says there is something, anything better than what I, we, you are doing at any given moment. The saboteur is easily managed. It's nothing more than "an undigested piece of potato" as Ebeneezer Scrooge put it. A mere distraction that attempts to use worry, fear, hesitation and indecision to keep us from living a fulfilled life. There are a myriad ways to manage the saboteur. For practical, actionable examples sign up here http://ow.ly/2bqtv for a complimentary Visceral Coaching session and we can choose the best one for you.
Another way to look at it is, upon those moments of reflection, to realize that we have new experiences every day. And those new experiences lead us to even newer experiences, and so on. Each new experience then becomes familiar and we begin to expand our safe zone. Take a moment right now and answer this question:
What's one thing new in your life that you didn't think you could or would do 365 days ago? Take into account the journey this new thing in your life has taken, from new to familiar.
This is a perfect example of you expanding your life, incorporating that which you thought you could not do into something you can do, and do well. A year ago I didn't think I could understand or participate in Twitter. Now I tweet with proficiency. Check it out http://twitter.com/VisceralCoach Three years ago I didn't think I could participate in endurance racing, today I have one marathon, and two triathlons under my belt with two half marathons coming up. So the conundrum is to focus my, your, our awareness on what new things have most recently become familiar, allow self-recognition and continue forward.
What did you come up with as the answer to the question above? What the next new thing on the horizon that will further expand your Safe Zone? Post a comment and let me know.
Robert Dioguardi, CPCC
Visceral Coaching
Certified Empowerment Coach
www.visceralcoaching.com
Visceral Coaching
Certified Empowerment Coach
www.visceralcoaching.com
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1 comment:
New on the horizon? I never thought I'd be pulled to meditation/yoga... but I may be headed there. Peace and stillness are what I want.
Now to summon the courage to make that change.
Thanks Robert,
RR
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