"Cadence" In Tandem Coaching's Newsletter Web:
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Note from Joanne
Hello!
Those of you who have been reading this newsletter
and/or following me on twitter have been reading about
my fitness quest in order to complete a personal
challenge for me: a tandem cycle ride around Lake
Tahoe on June 7, 2009. It’s an organized group ride
held every year, called America’s Most Beautiful Bike
Ride. I’m so happy to report that Alexander and I
completed the ride, all 72 miles (AND at high
altitude), injury-free. We were elated to cross that
finish line, extremely tired but with smiles on our
faces.
Stay tuned for a more detailed trip report on my blog.
Here is a photo of us at the end of the ride, back at
the hotel (just before we hopped off Deep Purple for
the final time that day).
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Feature Article
Due to time constraints (my Tahoe ride among other
things) I decided to make this issue an abbreviated
one. The feature article will return on the next issue
of Cadence. I am working on an article about
perfectionism, something many of us (including me)
struggle with.
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Inspiration/Motivation Corner
"If human beings don't keep exercising their
lips, he thought, their mouths probably seize
up. After a few months' consideration and
observation he abandoned this theory in favor
of a new one. If they don't keep on exercising
their lips, he thought, their brains start
working."
~ Douglas Adams
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Ask the Coach
Q. I am a legal secretary, an introvert for the most
part. I am ‘burning up’ inside to Do so much.
However, with so many ideas I am unable to do
anything. Hence I am literally stuck. Joanne I would
therefore love some guidance.
A. You are definitely not alone. People write entire
books about this dilemma (see my recommendations
below), so I won’t pretend that I can solve yours with
just a few paragraphs. However, I can point you in the
right direction and perhaps get you moving, even if
it’s just a tiny step.
First, get some clarity about exactly how you are
stuck. For example, is it that you have difficulty
choosing an idea (which means not choosing the others)
or do you have difficulty deciding which one to do
first? Do you realize you don’t have enough time to
pursue all of them? Or perhaps not enough money for
all of them? Are you trying to do all of them at once
and hence get overwhelmed? Is it plain old indecision?
In other words, what is stopping you from doing?
Are you aware of your needs and values? This is a
first step I put all my clients through. In terms of
choosing actions, I recommend first doing the things
that satisfy your needs. Then, after your needs have
been met, choose the actions that are most closely
aligned to your values.
Get your ideas out of your head! One of my former
clients (and myself) have benefited from creating a
Brilliant Ideas notebook. It’s just a notebook
(preferably with a jazzy cover that inspires you)
where you jot down all the ideas of things you want to
do “someday.” This way, no idea gets forgotten. You
can act on each idea as time permits. Or you can
decide, as my client discovered, that some of these
ideas have been replaced by better ideas or that
there’s just not enough time to do them all in one
lifetime – so some things in your Brilliant Ideas
notebook will never get acted on. And that is OK –
remember it’s your choice. Once you have your ideas
out of your head and stored somewhere safe (in your
notebook) you can stop fretting about what you have
not done. This, believe it or not, frees you up to act
when you are good and ready.
Make it OK to experiment and change your mind. Perhaps
you have a lot of things you want to do because you
are curious. You want to try something out – and if
you don’t like it, move on to the next thing. You may
be afraid that if you do that, people will call you
flaky. Well, that describes me (curious, not flaky).
Here’s where I start to sound like a broken record –
give yourself permission to change your mind. It
could be you are stuck because you are telling
yourself that whatever you choose to do, you are stuck
with doing forever.
Introverts like to mull things over, so go ahead and
enjoy the thinking process. As one of my blog
commenters reminded me, for some introverts (e.g.
INFP) generating possibilities is fun, and making a
decision ends the fun. Consider the possibility that
you have so many ideas because you like generating
ideas, and maybe they weren’t all meant to be acted
on.
I would love to hear back from you whether this helped
you get unstuck or not.
Click here to Ask the Coach
mailto:JoanneH@intandemcoaching.com
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Joanne's Hype-Free Recommendation Zone
Two books come to mind regarding the Ask the Coach
question:
The Renaissance Soul: Life Design for People with Too
Many Passions to Pick Just One by Margaret Lobenstine.
http://tinyurl.com/lhhe2r
This book is on my to-read list. It comes highly
recommended by one of my favorite coach colleagues,
Michelle Ward. http://whenigrowupcoach.com/blog/
Refuse to Choose!: Use All of Your Interests,
Passions, and Hobbies to Create the Life and Career of
Your Dreams by Barbara Sher. I own this book; it shows
you many possible ways to fit in multiple interests.
http://tinyurl.com/ltrl5r
I like that there is not a single, rigid solution
provided – instead the author gives you many methods
and you can choose the method that works best for you.
What I like most, though is the title, because it
reminds you that: You know what, you DON’T have to
choose just one!
Cadence grows by "word of email" so please feel free
to forward this newsletter onto anyone who you think
might enjoy it.
http://www.yourtellafriend.com/page/1457/tellafriend
Thanks so much!