How often have you got stuck in a situation in life or business where you just cannot seem to work out what needs to happen next? No matter how much attention you are paying to it you just can’t work out what you need to do?
The reason for this is often because we have been looking so closely – at so much detail that we forget that to get a really clear vision we need to step back and get a different perspective.
Constantly looking at the same situation head-on, asking the same detailed questions is not going to give us a new answer.
And this can be so frustrating especially if you are a leader or business owner. You feel you just don’t have time to take time out to reflect. You are either in back to back meetings or your staff need attention and when you get home your kids want you to play with them. And then even if you get a moment to yourself to think, your thoughts go back to the problem you are trying to solve and you feel like you are going round in circles.
A simple way of getting perspective on day to day problems at work is to physically move away from your desk, go for walk around the building and find somewhere quiet where you can just sit for a few minutes. As you sit there just notice around you what you can see, what you can hear and what you can feel. Don’t try to work out the story behind what you see, hear or feel, just notice it and bring your awareness back to your breathing. When you go back to your desk see if there is a different solution that now pops up in your head.
Regular breaks and getting outside are also great ways to build in moments of mindful awareness to boost creative thinking.
It is surprising how many brilliant ideas come up when you are doing something completely different.
I had a client recently who was struggling with their time management and always fire fighting. She said the quality of the relationship with her family and friends was starting to suffer but felt that everyone was depending on her at work and she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know who to talk to and it was a friend who suggested a coach.
Having given the client space to think and see things from a different view the client paused, their eyes lit up and then came out with the answer they have been trying so hard before to reach.
By the end of the coaching session the client said “how blindingly obvious” the solution to her problem was and how could she have not come up with that before. That is the power of coaching. It helps create the conditions where the insight and transformation comes from within the client.
And that’s what makes my job so rewarding as a wellbeing coach. Watching the magic happen when the client sees “the wood” for the first time and the lightness of relief and sometimes tears from the realisation that they have known all the time what they need to do.
If any of this resonates with you feel free to contact me on 07753612427 or email me at Evelyn@wellnessforsuccess.com.
Evelyn Kaluza | Wellbeing Coach