Comfort Zone!

I’m now back from making memories about dog sleding in the Arctic. It was an incredible experience covering a whole range of emotions. Not being used to very cold weather (-25) I waddled about in numerous layers which when you are initially anxious just added to overheating!

After a brief introduction to the sledge and dogs we were off, well the dogs were off and I was just hanging on.  Not sure how I manged not to fall off the first day.  We would travel for 3 hours before stopping for lunch over an open fire and then on for another 90 minutes before reaching our wilderness cabin.  The dogs were always seen to first, giving them “soup” then their meal and sometimes some straw to sleep upon.

The cabins were basic but comfortable but each one had a sauna!  Water was collected from a nearby lake whilst the cooking was done either on a wood stove or occassioanlly a gas ring.

Morning was the most anxiety provoking time as the dogs were keyed up to get going and the noise of 37 dogs was deafening.  Once you bring up the snow anchor and take your foot of the break there was no stopping them.  And then it’s silence – just the panting of the dogs and the swish of the sledge on the snow.  Absolutely magical.

Over 203 kms I fell off four times (more than anyone else) but by the final day I had mastered the art of going round corners without hitting trees!

The whole trip was challenging, scary, exciting and beautiful and certainly out of my comfort zone.  I now have these memories tucked away in my mind and am so pleased that I made the effort to do something which stretched me mentally and physically.

I would love to hear from anyone else who made a conscious effort to step out of their comfort zone.

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Getting Ready

Last October I wrote about making the most out of life and to start making the memories you want.

Well I’m nearly on my way to doing something I have wanted to do for a long time – dog sledding!  For the past 5 months I have been on a fitness and healthy eating programme and although I do not have an “adonis” like body I’m certainly in better shape than when I started!

As the departure day draws nearer I am both excited and nervous.  Will I get lost getting to the airport?  Will I remember everything?  Have I got enough thermals?  Although the lead up can be quite stressful it also reminds me that I am alive and kicking.  My normal routine of work, play and household tasks will not matter once I am away in the Arctic and other more important things will take precedent.

Sometimes it’s good to take time out from the everyday routines and patterns and “Do Something Different”.   Doing this leads to different emotions, sights, sounds, contacts and perspective.  So why not this week just do something different and check that you are very much alive and in control of your life.

January Opportunites

Looking out on the dismal, dreary weather it’s not hard to feel that January is the time to hibernate.  Are you someone that suffers from January blues because of the post Christmas festivities, the cold weather or the dread of the bills arriving?  If so, why not change it this year?  All of us can choose how we think about situations and events.  We can choose to follow automatic negative thoughts or we can think differently.

The start of the year can be a great opportunty to make plans on how you want 2012 to be out for you.  How can you make it different or even better than last year?  What needs to change?  Is it under your control to do so?  Take the time to take  stock of how things are in your life and make decisions of how it can be different.  First step is having the awareness that you are in control and that you have the ability to make changes.  Secondly, write down what you want to happen in 2012 and share it with others.  Put it somewhere where you can read it everyday and then take action(s) that will take you nearer towards your goals.

So don’t let January get on top of you, grap the time to put into place the year you want it to be!

New Memories

As a coach it is so important to put into practice for myself what I encourage others to do.  It would be so easy to follow the mantra “do what I say not what I do” but that just leads to decreased credibilty and less authenticity and genuineness.

One of the exercises I sometimes suggest to my clients is to imagine that they are 95 and sitting in their rocking chair looking back over their lives.  What would you be reminiscing about?  Often we regret the things that we DON’T do rather than the things we do.

So with this in mind I have always wanted to drive a dog sled team in the Arctic.  What was I waiting for?  To be fitter? To save a bit more money? To go with someone else?  I could keep on waiting for the right time which may never come!

Now I’ve booked it! Next year driving a team of Siberian Huskies in Finland.  Not sure if I’ll be fit enough or cope.  What I do know is that I will be making memories for me to look back upon when I’m 95!

So what memories do you want to start making today!

Intuition

My working practise of late has started to go in a slightly different direction.  I have always thought that I am fairly intuitive but I have decided to consciously develop this even more in my work.  Through speaking to practitioners who use intuition/energy/spirituality as an integral part of their work  I have been encouraged to really hone in on my “inner voice”. This sometimes means leaving all the past experiences and text books behind when working with someone and to just “go with the flow” and work organically.

I feel we are all capable of this but often due to negative thoughts, beliefs and pressure from others we can ignore our inner instincts, only to regret things in hindsight.  Certainly going with our instincts can be scary but can also be incredibly fulfilling.  So lets start using out sixth sense and trust in ourselves and capabilities so that whatever we do or say will always be with a positive intent.

Recently I have put some time aside to work on my business rather than just working in it.  Although I am busy with clients I have made time to attend workshops and talks that have benefited my business and given me time to reflect on my vision for the future.

One of the workshops I attended was with Lisa Farr on marketing.  Not only was the day informative and very useful but it was great to meet up with fellow coaches and therapists.  I noticed, through talking to others, that I was playing catch up with my work as I had been so busy and not allowing myself to step back and take an overview.

I think this is true for most of us in our lives – sometimes we can’t see the wood for the trees.  We have our blinkers on and we keep doing the same things over and over again.  By taking a little time out to stop, think, reflect and plan ahead we can feel enthused and re-engerised in what we are doing.  So with the emergence of Spring put a little time aside to work on your business and reap the rewards.

Groups

It’s been an incredibly busy time over the past few months.  I have started a new part time job as a mental health mentor at Exeter university and continue to grow my coaching business.  The next 7 days I am doing 4 talks/presentations/workshops to different organisations.  This is something I really enjoy, I love working with groups and imparting possible new skills and knowledge that people can then use in their lives.

Group work has it’s own energy and dynamics which makes every group unique.  I learn something all the time from the groups I run and people often learn amongst themselves.  I  always ask for feedback so I can make the next group even better.

Being part of a group, whether it’s a social, family or work group, is a human need and by being with others we  can grow, learn and develop in ways which we cannot do as a solitary individual.

So what group(s) are you part of?  What group would you like to belong to? Why not join a new group and see what it can do for you.