“More from less” – a familiar paradox that very few truly trust and rarely practice. Oh, we might say we value it, but our personal behaviors and routines belie us: stressed, exhausted, lethargic and maybe resentful. As one reads the summary article from The Week’s A Better Way To Work, you probably won’t be surprised by the data that history has shown to be true in creative fields from music to math, hard sciences to psychology…Yet in our American culture from education to government to the marketplace, our job descriptions call for a 40 hour plus work week, requiring being in an office at continuously prescribed time frames. Sure, we have days we work from home and flex-hours, but the fact remains we predominantly believe, even demand from ourselves and our organizations “more from more.” So how can we step out of this paradox of productivity? [Read more…]
What is Transformational Coaching?
Our motto at LifeSource Coaches is ‘transformation from the inside out’. As life and leadership coaches, transformation is what Dave and I are all about. Many people ask me, ‘so what is transformational coaching…really?’ Our friends at GAP Community have put together an entertaining and informative short video explaining transformational coaching. [Read more…]
Forgiveness and Your Health
The more I learn about forgiveness, the more I realize what a powerful tool it is to help people move forward in all aspects of their lives. I know in my own life, I spent my early years thinking about the reasons I did not need to forgive the people who had hurt me. I believed that withholding forgiveness somehow protected me from being hurt again. What I didn’t realize was that unforgiveness actually kept me glued to that person.
Costs of Unforgiveness
Sometimes…I wasn’t actually sure what true forgiveness looked like or how to begin the process. I didn’t realize what it was costing me. [Read more…]
The Secret to Clarity
I like clarity.
There is something about sitting outside on a clear day that untangles the chatter in my head and my heart.
I breathe deeply. My thoughts begin to clear. My heart feels less muddled. Peace begins to set in. Clarity comes.
Clarity comes from the Latin word ‘claritas’ and it’s original meaning was ‘glory or divine splendor.’ No wonder I like the word.
Everyone Wants It
Often clients come to me searching for clarity—Clarity in calling, in relationships, in direction for the future. [Read more…]
Why it Takes 7 Positives to Reverse 1 Negative
In our rapid-change culture, whether your in a entrepreneurial venture or established niche, it can be very challenging as leaders to separate our organization’s fragile net worth and the cultural stress from our own self-worth and significance. As leaders, our fear or frustrations can often produce stress and negative emotions that in turn stimulate negative conversations within ourselves and with those we lead or serve. The result is communication, conflict resolution, collaboration and creativity are often stifled, just the opposite of what’s needed for growth and success. So what chemically happens within leaders and followers when leadership conversations turn negative? [Read more…]
Emotional Splinters: An Invitation to Breakthrough
I got a splinter in my finger a few months back. No big deal. It was painful… but it had to be removed and so I put on my big girl panties and I did what had to be done. I performed a small surgery with a tweezer and a needle. I’m no surgeon, but I did the best I could. I put a little antibiotic ointment on the wound and called it good. My finger started to heal. Before long I noticed a painful red circle around the spot and a speck I’d thought was a scab, but realized there was still part of the sliver in my finger. Dang. [Read more…]
Fresh Perspective for a First Quarter Reflection
As we closed out 2016 and looked forward to 2017, many evaluated the year with questions such as: “was the glass half empty or half full this year?” The answer to that question depended on your perspective! And your perspective determined what goals and resolutions you did or didn’t set for the New Year. As we near the end of the first quarter of 2017, it’s time to reflect and evaluate our progress, and more importantly reevaluate our perspective again. [Read more…]
When We Question the Creator
A few years ago I picked up a ceramic cup I had made in college. It is one of the few pieces I have left from my days as a potter. The cup held fond memories as I felt the weight of it in my hand. I remember forming it with my own hands. And when it was just the right dryness, I’d turned it upside down and trimmed the base so that it was the perfect thickness. I’d created the handle and attached it to its form. It took time and a piece of me went into its creation. When it was finished, I signed my name to the bottom. I placed it in a kiln and waited.
The Creator Loves the Creation
When it came out of the furnace, I covered it with a special glaze. I wasn’t the best at calligraphy, but wanted my mom to know I’d made the cup for her alone, and I wanted it to be personal…so I gently inscripted a letter “R” on the front for “Rose”. I wasn’t sure I liked the letter, but remembered thinking…“it will do.” I put the cup back into the kiln for the final step to make it ready. I loved my creation… and even though it wasn’t perfect, I was proud. I’d made it with my hands and with my heart for someone I loved.
Real Change: How Does it Happen?
So many times, my head knows what is true… but my heart doesn’t quite get the message. It’s been said, “The longest journey that a man must take is the 18 inches from his head to his heart.” I see it most around 3 am, when I wake up and can’t seem to turn off my brain. I start to worry… a low level anxiety begins to seep into my night.
It has only been in the last few years that this began to change.
How did that happen? [Read more…]
Learning to Back Float
I talked with a client once who’d been dealing with some depression. Though she was a mature believer, she found herself struggling in her relationship with God. She felt like she’d been placed in a pool, a rather large pool, in the deep end. Maybe, just maybe, she’d even asked God to put her there.
She’d been a pretty good swimmer in the toddler pool. She was actually one of the more accomplished swimmers there. But now, in this season, in the ‘big’ pool of life, she was flailing. Her times with God were forced and strained. Rather than coming away refreshed, she found herself exhausted every time. She was fighting depression and condemnation. She ‘should’ know how to do this swimming thing, but it had been a struggle to just keep her head up and not drown. [Read more…]