When we are in a good place, take time to reflect and move forward

Maybe it’s time for solitude and a retreat from everyday life. Maybe it’s best to be alone and think.

When in a difficult place, take time out to reflect, recalibrate, make a plan, and then move forward

Last week I had a lovely time reconnecting with friends, and at the end of the week I went on a silent retreat to reflect on that and what I have been learning these past months.

When have you taken some solitude time to reflect – how long ago was it? How did it help you to think? How did it affect you afterwards, in your life?

What are some benefits of being in quiet for an extended time?

I can reconnect with myself and, as a fellow coaching friend says, “find my voice again”.

I can get creative and do what I want and need in this time.

I get R&R- and can come home re-energized and thankful for what I have and do but there’s much more.

I receive direction and clarity- what’s important to me now, and what will it be like in six months, a year, two years, etc.

I can see where things are going well and build on that and see where changes need to be made, and deal with them.

It is almost February and perhaps you and I should take some time for a reflective check-up. It is important to regularly reflect upon our goals and check our progress to make changes and keep on your chosen course.

First you must ask yourself questions:

· What are my goals (yearly and quarterly) and where am I at regarding them right now? What changes need to be made to reach those goals, or do I need to re-work the goals?

· How am I doing with my work and personal relationships? Where do I need to change here?

· How am I doing with boundaries? Do I have enough time and energy to get my work done and have healthy relationships?

· What am I doing daily for me, for my health and well-being?

· How has my attitude been lately? Do I need an adjustment in attitude? How can that be best achieved?

Let’s look at a few of these topics for the next part of this blog, namely boundaries and “me time”.

Leadership is caring

· Care for yourself first

· So you can care for “your people”

· And then care for the purpose of and for the organization/group

· With care-full character

What that means, in specific, is that you first need to care for yourself because if you don’t you might just burn out and not be able to care for anything anymore. Take good care of your body mind and spirit so you can, as a friend once said to me, “help the other person put on their oxygen mask.” Maybe you know the analogy: in an airplane the fight attendant says we should put on our oxygen masks first before helping other. This means we are connected to what we need to continue to care for others.

Time management is key to getting the important things done.

We need to find ways to CARVE out time for the important things and for reflection and Rest for 2022.

Look at your calendar and make that “cut” and CARVE out the time.

Then when you are in your reflection day (or at least half-day per month), decide what is really important and CARVE out time for that one or two items for the next month.

Then reflect again at another pre-planned date. And keep those times holy.

The How of productivity without overwhelm:

How do I keep from feeling overwhelmed, even if the activities are mostly great?

I use a couple of coaching tools on myself. One is the Eisenhower Matrix and one is writing everything down with visualization - on the family calendar, on my electronic calendar, writing it in my to-do journal…

What gives you joy?

Start-up and Entrepreneurial coaching gives me joy. Working with C-level leaders that bring jobs and help the local economy gives me much joy. I love to help the leaders and their companies succeed.

My wish for you is that you have MORE of what really counts in this season!

What’s happened for me and Jehle Coaching:

I have been working on my member care and debriefing skills for the past year as well as keeping up my coaching and supervision skills (including conflict resolution and team and group dynamics) with mostly online but also in-person courses.

As we move towards 2022, I am doing some reflection. It helps to bring about change.

I’m reflecting on my situation and accepting for it is, and then doing what I can about it.

Merry Christmas from Jehle Coaching! With a time of personal reflection for you at the end.

2021 has been full and a profitable year for me and for Jehle Coaching.

I hope your year has also been profitable, as well.

It’s a season where we think we should be grateful but what can we be grateful for?

There’s bad news all around starting with a continuing pandemic (now we have delta and omicron) and ending with wars and rumors of wars, famine, diseases (other than covid) and floods.

STOP, THINK, FEEL, REFLECT – and BE GRATEFUL.

Most people think of stress as the enemy, but it isn’t.

You can even be stressed and have along life, as long as you see stress in certain ways.

Stress can be a friend and stress in itself it is never the real problem.

It’s what we think about the stress and how we deal with the stressors that is the issue. We all have stress every day.

Stress is ubiquitous and every day we need to complete the stress cycle (you have to do something – because “wellness is not a state of being, but a state of action”) to thrive.

Use your strengths to work on your weaknesses

When you know your strengths, go in the opposite direction for growth. That means gently pushing towards your weaknesses, using your strengths as your basis, as your foundation.

For example, if you are big on doing things right all the time, allow yourself some slack but also keep doing (most things) right. OR- if you want to grow in your relationships and you are good at listening, try sharing and being more vulnerable for growth, at the same time, still asking good questions and practicing active listening.

PAST: Remember the past and be grateful, PRESENT: savor what we have in the present and FUTURE: anticipate the good things the future holds with hope.

A slash is someone who has more than one career and usually at the same time, and who perhaps has made a second career out of a hobby or passion.

A slash can transition you from one stage in life to another or it can accompany your other career through most of your life.

I have just had a holiday. It’s been great, but at least for me, returning to the job can sometimes be difficult. Returning to work can be emotionally - and even physically difficult, especially if you have really had a mental break from your every-day schedule, as I have had. It can feel like you are a deep-sea diver coming to the surface again, facing a foreign world from where you have recently been. Resurfacing and getting back in the saddle, to mix some metaphors, are tough.

Start on a Wednesday, or even Thursday- or do a “fun” thing first

I restarted last Thursday.

Make your first work-week lighter by only working a few days, or perhaps schedule something “fun” first, such as a training day, or a team building day where you have no choice but to ignore your email list. This time I only focused on the deadlines

Networking can get you referrals.

Your best referrals will mostly come from people you know and I basically work from referrals. (former clients and present onew, remember to refer me, please)

To find more people who will refer you, will have to grow your network.

A web presence is nice, but, that’s where your referrals go to “check you out” after your name has come up. A website is not usually used by clients and customers to” find” you. They get referred, instead.

Thus, you need these ten tips for good networking practice.

How is happiness attained?

1. In a job well-done (and if at all possible, within the time and financial constraints)

2. In (finally) reaching a goal

But also in:

· Healthy activity for mind, body and soul (and all the underlying goals to be reached)

· Good (safe, fun, reliable) relationships where I can be myself and share myself

· Doing good to others, especially “strangers” (no kidding!)

· Being grateful for the past, savoring the present and looking to the future with hope

· Being happy about your job and what that job contributes to “the greater good”

Ury’s 6-Step Model:

1. Put yourself in your own shoes

2. Develop your inner BATNA

3. Reframe your picture of the situation

4. Stay in the Zone

5. Respect them, even if…

6. Give and Receive

How are you getting ready for the fall?

Are your emails paired down and ready for responses? Do you code/color-code them for “triage” and potential clients?

What about your to-do list(s)? Do you keep your old lists to make sure you haven’t out something under the pile of papers for too long?

What is your calendar like?

this gives us all a chance to think of how to make our working environment more positive, in general. Maybe I can be a friend so someone (unfortunately my work “best friend” recently retired, and now I would like to find someone, which isn’t always easy, as it is chemistry, etc.)- so, I wish you a god time reflecting and moving forward at work.

Finally, maybe you are still under lockdown or afraid that it will happen again at any time, if this is the case, what on the list can best help you deal with that uncertainty. Learning to deal with the uncertainty in life is the best we can do at this time.