Maria Connolly, LPC
Learn how to focus on the soft skills, the people skills like good communication, effective leadership, positive motivation, and managing your emotions.
This may startle you, but many of the excellent behaviors that help women rise in their field will eventually become the behaviors that keep them from further advancement. How can that be? When can excellent behaviors hold you back? Have your strengths become your weaknesses — how can you determine that? And then what can you do about it?
Usually, we face January with the resolve to “do better this year”. Yet, that’s starting from a very judgmental and negative space, isn’t it? What if, instead of setting lofty goals this year, we work on cultivating a more robust base on which we can build healthy systems for life? Imagine setting the intention of “nurturing yourself” as your only goal knowing that doing this will bring real improvement to all areas of life.
Making a commitment to deeply care for yourself and to engage in daily practices that come from a place of compassion, love, tenderness, and gratitude is a very unselfish thing to do. A committed practice to uplifting and honoring your own needs makes you better able to honor others. When you embrace the power of nurturing your heart, your world can be transformed at every level.
“Why did I do that? Sometimes I don’t understand myself.” During a coaching session, has your client ever said that to you? Or perhaps you’ve felt that way yourself. If so, you’re not alone. Even though we live with ourselves 24/7, we don’t automatically possess total self-understanding. Just as it takes work to understand someone else, it takes time and effort to understand ourselves.
Oftentimes, we’re so busy and our lives and thoughts become so cluttered we get into a reactive mode rather than staying in a calm place of choice. This mindlessness makes us forgetful and causes us to feel separation from self, which creates a sense of merely existing rather than living a full and purposeful life. So how can harmony be restored? The answer lies in developing the skill of mindfulness. Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. explains that
Every craftsman has a favorite, go-to tool that they always reach for because it reliably gets the job done. Have you thought about what tools you often reach for when you’re in a stressful or difficult situation? For some people, it’s anger. Other people use pouting. Are those the best tools to use? They’re more like using a screwdriver handle to pound a nail. It may do something, but you’re not going to be happy with the results. Plus, you’re more likely to get hurt. So what’s the power tool that you can use to easily shift your mood and choose a more resourceful state of mind, even under trying circumstances?
Breathless, clammy, fuzzy, hot, heavy, dizzy, queasy, or shaky are a few body sensations you may experience when you’re frazzled. What if you could replace those sensations and feel energized, full, expansive, smooth, and radiating? It would definitely not only enhance your productivity, but it would also make you more joyful and confident. But how can you increase productivity through body awareness? Why is body awareness the key?
You’ll often hear people speak of the mind-body-spirit connection. Yet doesn’t it seem like the mind and spirit get most of the attention? What about your body? By increasing your body awareness you’ll be amazed how it enhances your productivity.
