Each time I hear someone saying “we can t get women speakers” I’d like to know how they asked, or what they actually asked for. Obviously if they started with “it’s really hard to find good woman speakers. Would you like to speak at… ” They’re likely to get a no… Who would want to commit to an event organiser presuming you will give a poor performance? Ah the magical power – not magical at all but deeply rooted in linguistics – of the language we used in our sentence. My new Motto? Pause, question your question 😁, and question irl. 🙏🤗
Tag: self-leadership
Making a difference for the better
Going back to writing from more than 10 years ago – ah the joy of the coach reflecting log 😅 – this sentence sticks out like a pole with no flag. It’s here, the intention, the strong direction, the strong momentum. Yeap this is what I want to do “make a difference for the better” at two levels actually, the protection of the earth, and the joy of people enjoying a better life. Of course the “how” this is happening, is what makes all the difference between wishful thinking and actions. And yes… I am miles away from where I thought I could be, my compass is spot on and still working, the landscape I had to navigate quite different than expected, the travelling slower. And the sticking pole poking me on regular basis 😁 like a nagging reminder “are we there yet, are we there yet?”. Just like in a trail when the end is not coming fast enough, no other solutions than simply… Putting one feet on the ground after the other one, one step at a time 😜🤗.
Ah ce bip… Bip….
Et voilà le téléphone est raccroché avec cette mauvaise impression de n’avoir rien pu faire. Quelques mots. Mais ces mots ça ne fait pas le travail à faire, ça ne remplit pas les jours de rires et de conversations. Ce sont juste des mots éphémères qui s’accrochent à un bout de fil, raccomodent comme ils peuvent cette déchirure de la distance. A chaque point le cœur bat un peu plus lourd. A chaque point l’émotion se fait plus pesante. A chaque point un mal être de ne pas être là bas à porter ces douleurs avec eux. Un mal être inevitable, celui de vivre.
Slow is the word
Yes. Slow. Walk slowly along the path and appreciate each of its steps. Look at it curiously, eyes open to its beauty and its potential. Take the time to try, to experiment and to reflect on what you’re doing. Kind of like looking at the sunset or sunrise at the horizons every day. At your horizons, the ones you want to reach some day. Slow and strong.
On the edge of surprises …
Keeping our heart open to the possibilities, living just there on the edge of surprises? Surprises of what could come next? Surprises of a possible pain and behind it the joy to have learned something new, to have dance one step up? Open is not the world, rather huge, wide, immense, a heart so full of space, the world could collapse here an now, in its center. Oh, keeping our heart taking space, visible just there on the edge of surprises. A heart with a voice. Proud to finally speak, truly speak, even when no one listen, just there on the edge of surprises…
Confidence and ignorance?
This is the best, honoring happily a true confidence in my ignorance, and with my ignorance. The more I know, the more I realize I do not know, and the more I have to learn. This is something completely amazing I got from coaching supervision, this delight in learning more and more. This pleasure in knowing that I will always be able to find people who know more than me, people who can inspire me and keep me on my toes. Ah! Simply enjoying a true confidence in my ignorance!
From trail to brain …
23km running and moving on happily to another 9km aiming for 32. What if the count is wrong, and I do bit more. I guess just a few more km, just a few more muscle movement, one foot after another on the ground. Probably slower. It’s an action, an exercise for my brain. From sports to trail to my brain, discovering another form of minimalism, and an interesting strength, one foot after the other one, as simple as one day after the other one, but always in movement, always stepping up.
The elephant is back… again!
40 something drawing figurative art in kids naive style -yeap happy instagram. And you call that maturity, adulthood, evolution? Is that the luxury to know the kid -and beginner spirit with it- is always here? is that the luxury of resting your brain in just being, no judgements, no objectives, no comments? A luxury…. a luxury of letting go. A pen, a color, a paper, and that’s it. And yes I see the elephant laughing. I see the elephant pushing me into incoherent reactions. Fuck the elephant! All of them! As simple as that!
Motivation ?…
Can coaches motivate their clients? Can you motivate yourself when you do not see the point or the value added? Or… You actually see it. You see the stakes and the possibilities… And still you’re so far down the line you can’t even be bothered? Are they really possibilities then? Or simply another card hand dealt onto you for a game you do not even want to play…? And yes all that from a simple word… Motivation : a.k.a. Mind your Own Time Idea Validation Again To Inspire Others Now. Get cracking then and for things which really matters to you.
The elephant is back…
What to do when the elephant is back? Yes that famous imposter syndrome we turned into an elephant. See its visit as a simple reminder. A reminder to keep your focus. A reminder to keep the pace. A reminder to look for factual information confirming your skills and capabilities. A reminder to keep the drive. And then give it -yes the elephant- something to do, like a mouse to run away from, or a minor element to focus on. Distract it and keep your pace, one day at a time.
A Fish on a Hill 