The miraculous body

This morning on my run, and after in the shower, I was thinking about how much I take for granted.

For example, my running glove won't fit over my heavily bandaged right ring finger so this morning I had to have it loosely pulled over the end of my hand and flapping about.

In the shower I had to tie a plastic bag over my right hand, so as not to get the bandage wet, and wash with my left hand. Something that feels very foreign to me.

And all this because I'm trying to protect the end of one finger so that it can repair as quickly as possible.

I'm sure that once it's better, this will all be forgotten and I'll be taking the use of all ten fingers and thumbs for granted once again.

But while I'm having to do things, and think about them, slightly differently, it's an opportunity to marvel at what incredible miracles our bodies are.

The thought that under my bandage, my finger is (hopefully) regenerating itself after I made a bit of a mess of it, and I'm not even having to think about that or plan how I'm going to heal it.

My body heals itself and my conscious mind is completely unaware of it happening.

It's a thought for those people who say things like "I hate my body".

Whatever shape, size or colour your body is, it is truly awesome and miraculous.

The nurse who made my day

I spent a couple of hours in the A&E section of our new local hospital yesterday, having almost grated the end off one of my fingers (hence no post yesterday).

The nurse, who had been very business-like and serious, and was trying to re-attach the skin flap at the end of my finger asked me what I did for a living.

When I told her that I was a business and life coach, her face lit up and she said, "Oh, how wonderful. That must be so nice being able to help people like that."

I confirmed that indeed it is.

A few minutes later when she was thinking about me leaving and getting home, she asked me whether I drove there or was I driven.

When I said that I was driven, she perked up, "that's perfect as a coach to be able to say "I was driven"."

Her enthusiasm and humour turned the whole experience from a bit of a tiresome and painful ordeal to an uplifting experience for me

I walked out of there smiling at the end.

I didn't get her name but I thank her anyway for making my day.

Making space for clarity

I completed my 680th consecutive day of running a mile this morning.

I was thinking on my run of how I was struggling with lack of clarity yesterday. The first thing I had to do to allow more clarity was to create more space.

Space in terms of removal of physical clutter.

Space in terms of dealing with emails.

Space in terms of dealing with tasks.

The most important part of all those things wasn't completing them. It was removing the clutter from my presence.

In the case of physical clutter, it was putting the most obvious things back in their places, and piling the rest out of sight but with a task on my to do list to spend time sorting the rest of the pile.

In the case of emails, it was moving the most important ones to an Actions folder and either adding them to my to do list or putting them in my diary with a definite date & time. Then it was putting the rest in a Temporary folder, once again with an action to spend time clearing the temporary folder.

In the case of tasks, it involved either adding them to my to do list or putting them in my diary again.

Now the most important thing is to make sure all physical clutter, emails and tasks get dealt with or allocated as they arrive.

My head is much clearer now.

Why fun is important

Fun is one of my core values, as it also happens to be for many of my clients.

In other words it's something that is always present when our work and our lives are really satisfying and fulfilling.

Fun means something slightly different for each of us.

For some it's carrying out practical jokes on others.

For others, it's sharing funny stories of things that have happened to them, or even others.

It can also mean having a good belly laugh at a comedian, or even playing sport with a friend or group of friends.

One of the most important things for me is that fun brings an air of lightness, lifting some of the heaviness or intensity that I can get drawn into when I'm concentrating on doing a good job.

There's a quote I like from Margot Fonteyn -

"The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disastrous."

I thoroughly agree, and I think that it's important to not take yourself seriously even when you're undertaking serious work.

It's something I have to be reminded of on a regular basis.

Tips for increasing clarity

On my run this morning, I was thinking that one of the main things that is missing in people's lives at the moment is clarity.

Many people are feeling confused.

They're confused about where they're going.

They're confused as to whether they're on the right track.

They're confused about how they can get on the right track.

They're confused about what they should do next?

The first thing that anyone who is feeling confused needs to do is to name what it is they're confused about.

Next, they need to ask themselves what it is that is making them ask the question (i.e. "Where am I going?"; "Am I on the right track?"; "How can I get on the right track?"; or "What should I do next?")

Another great question to ask at this point is "What's wrong with doing nothing?"

Whatever comes up from these simple questions is a great starting point for digging deeper and increasing clarity.