This week we are halfway through the year. The six-month mark is a good moment to review our vision and goals for the year. You may have started out on your journey of transformation with high hopes but things may have got a bit stuck.
We’re all processing so much after two years of lockdown. In the last two months I’ve heard many stories of people still trying to catch up with friends, family and colleagues after a period of feeling very isolated. I’ve also taken a break to write my book so I’ve had the chance to reflect on where I am with my goals. I have to say things shift a lot when I take time out for myself and give myself the chance to tell my own story in whatever way feels best to me.
It’s small stories that make the difference. Simple daily routines done in a structured way help us get out of flight or fight mode. Using reflective tools help us make sense of our day-to-day experiences; such practices challenge us and our habitual ways of doing and thinking – they finally help us to tell a different story. Here are some tools I’ve developed through life coaching:
* Develop more self-awareness. Are you able to pause and pay attention to thoughts and feelings about certain situations? Seeing feelings as thoughts will help you to become aware of your habitual ways of thinking and behaving in any given situation and to see things more neutrally.
* Can you reframe your story from ‘This happened to me’ to ‘What did I feel was happening to me?’ What other perhaps hidden factors played a role? In Narrative Life Coaching we use stories as reflective tools to help us to understand the context for any given situation in a rounded way.
* What did that situation teach me? What could I do differently next time and why? What have I learnt about myself in that situation and how could I put my skills and experience to better use here?
* Could you tell the story of what happened aloud? Having a conversation with yourself in the form of questions
and answers can help us get out of fight or flight mode to hear different aspects of the story and develop more perspective.
* Can you write in a journal for 10-15 minutes every day?
* Can you tell the story of what happened to another person – someone who would be prepared to listen for 10 minutes? They need to listen attentively and reflect back to you what they heard without judgement. You can swap if you want.
*Taking a walk in nature can help move our emotions and thoughts forward more quickly. Many philosophers have developed their thinking through walking. Jean Jacques Rousseau famously wrote his Reveries while walking in France and Switzerland.
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