Thankful for Inspirational Learning

What are you thankful for this year?

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. and learning being my favorite activity in life, I wondered about my most important learning harvest this year.

This year I was faced with a problem that I had to resolve with precision which also inspired me to give a talk about curiosity.? In short, I am thankful for learning how to deepen my curiosity to achieve a desired outcome or make significant progress towards it.

The problem emerged from a health issue/breakdown that involved the muscular system due to various factors, worried me significantly because of my responsibilities and time commitments, and was unexpected to me as I love and am very disciplined with physical activity. I decided that this event had to be something I should learn from, and I could not manage with fear but through a thorough understanding of personal wisdom/power, energy management, risk and rationale. I was able to navigate out of the problem with success (based on my personal parameters) and call it now an embodied disruption to guide my future application of this learning.

Why is it important to share my learning with you?? Our lives are more disruptive than ever and all trends hint towards more diverse types of disruption than fewer. Also, during my coaching certification this year I learned and then later observed with many coachees that uncomfortable disruptions could happen in physical or emotional ways.? There is much research about this of course and Brene Brown, an emotion researcher famously said, “The same centers that light up in my brain when I feel physical pain are the centers that light up when I feel social pain or emotional pain.” We notice the discomfort of our emotions when we ask ourselves where in our body we sense the emotion.? Once we notice the physical discomfort we can decide how to manage the discomfort or at least become intentional about managing it. Fear for instance can cause tremendous discomfort and panic rather than fulfilling behavior. It’s quite magical how the physical discomfort associated with this kind of an emotion can dissolve in a coaching session and help connect us with a conscious and resonant action.

Here is my learning about a disruption that has wide impact on your life:

1. In addition to a possible physical disruption, notice your emotions that set in with the disruption or simply, notice your emotions.? Be compassionate and kind to yourself.
2. Talk to your network about the impact of the disruption. Share what you are feeling, thinking, and sensing.
3. Appreciate the support that strengthens your belief for improvement and that acknowledges your wisdom about what is best for you.?
4. Connect with this wisdom and the place in your body where you can believe in progress and success, also acknowledging that this is a center of personal power where you alone rule.
5. Become very curious. Connect with experts (people who “know”), experiment with ideas and resources (some may be crazier than others and important in different phases of progress), acknowledging new ways of strengthening your belief for success, and decide how you want to measure progress.?“Remember that progress may not always be linear.”
6. Remain impartial about perspectives before making decisions towards progress.
7. Stay kind to yourself and others (loving kindness is my new discovery), and engage in building and maintaining sweet trust with all in your ecosystem. Humor and fun have a place in this process, too.
8. Be curious about all feedback and impact while staying in touch with your power and intuition.? This part requires commitment, action, asking for feedback, and lots of self observation.
9. Regularly imagine success in vivid ways.? What do you see, sense, hear, taste, smell?? Make a picture of it if this helps.? In my case, mastery of artistry was not as important as the energy.? The way I measured the adequate energy is by my ability to trust, believe, hope, stay positive.
10. Reward yourself on the way towards progress because you are putting in your best effort.
11. Notice all who accompany and care about you on this journey. Some may not appear supportive perhaps because of their communication style or the uniqueness of their idea but they still deepen your curiosity and energy if they care and demonstrate positive intent.
12. Lastly, I would say “share your learning” because others may benefit from your experience.? This can result in even more learning for yourself too in my experience.

I am incredibly thankful to my family, friends, all healthcare providers who worked with me this year, the coach community, my clients, all incredible collaborators, and the nature, fun, and creativity I get so much energy from.

Not all disruptions may need profound fixing. Little fixes, maybe a whole bunch of them, can have profound impact. Physical therapy consists of a bunch of little fixes. Often in coaching, one moves towards something grand through little personal fixes. I also think that little fixes can help co-create with others and emerge with something greater than before. I hope my learning touches you in one way or the other and your reading is worthwhile.?Please reach out if you would like me to accompany your journey with greater intent, effort, and feedback.? Support and co-creation can be underway when you ask. Life is full of possibilities and unexpected fun.

And as I finish writing this post, I notice that it’s a story. In a world where remote work has become one of the standards, stories may be the only way we can connect with others at a level that helps co-creation.? With that, I’ll end by throwing out a question to celebrate the importance of curiosity for me: “What is or has been your curiosity story this year?”