A Place for Pause

We all chose to be here.We cherish this experience...well, most of the times.Indeed, earth is a fine place and my interpretation of “fighting" is just about putting in that little bit of effort in the way we live and create, to show our appreciation of this life we chose.

‘There had been some speculation for decades, but Paul McCartney finally admitted during a 2018 60 Minutes interview that neither he nor any of his Beatles bandmates were able to read or write music, and they never understood music theory. McCartney said that the music just came to him and his bandmates John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison, and it was never written down. Clearly, knowledge needn't beget success’ – excerpt from music facts on bestlife online.    The good news : Theoretical knowledge  or rather the lack of  it can’t hold back success. The bad news: Solely bank on this statement as a shortcut (neglecting to fill this space with other cementing attributes) watch success slip through your fingers, again and again.

Lean into narratives that make sense to you. Lean into all that is useful to keep you going. Stay curious. There is a high probability you’ll be told off for being naïve, annoying, foolish Very foolish. But your tribe, your authentic tribe – they’ve got you. Don’t be quilted into feeling like crap when everything around you seems to be falling apart, in order to align with majoritarian habits. Stay focused and revel in the process of creation that is unique to you. Its very likely the world needs you to be truly you right now.

If this quote resonates with you, know you’re in a good place.Yeah, John Wooden  you may have missed the attention and accolades crazy but a small share of the pie, compared to stepping away  from creating new coaching  memories, for the rest of your professional life every single day, for the game you loved so much.John Wooden nicknamed the ‘wizard of westwood’ died at the age of 99 years.

Knowledge or Nerves: Gravity shifts, as the stakes get higher.And this is really one of those spaces, a great coach helps the player, change the outcome of the game.

The single most under-estimated productivity hack.

Have you or a colleague ever under-delivered on a second chance? That's tough right? It drives the best of us crazy.When we get/give a 'a second chance' the first thing we feel is euphoria or relief. This feeling of relief sometimes compromises our focus and our attention in our attempt to right a wrong.Maximising second chances is fine mix of accurate diagnostics + key areas of change (mental + physical). 

We go into a room playing to impress - its natural and nourishing. What we don’t realise is that this need actually has us playing small. Knowledge is pretty much like the baton that wins marathons. For knowledge to touch even a fraction of its potential, it needs to move constantly, smoothly and with trust, across all members of a team.

The lucky breaks, the little or big breaks that come along your way will be based on productive effort and action on your part. Take a step. Even if it’s a small step. Or an imperfect step - the important thing is to take that step. Work from within, one step at a time.

You got this! Simplify it. And take one step at a time. That’s all it takes.

A coach seldom shares the same domain expertise as their clients : are x leads generated / company achieved 3x revenue / made it to partner or not ... these statements cut through domain expertise and are universally understood across the professional scape. Numbers and measurements are crucial to a coaching process, facilitating objectivity and accountability - The process is fascinating as it is measurable.

Curiosity attracts new skills and growth. It charges an environment with productivity. 

Cause and effect will always have the power to overwrite ‘hand me down rules’ that were never our own. ‘Consequence’ on the other hand has a unique fragrance – birthed from within, it is liberating, empowering and creative.

This makes me smile.Making people laugh may or may not be on JD’s or role profiles of leaders...But I do remember the bosses I loved most were the ones I laughed with a lot.  And even now that we’ve all moved on our separate ways, they're the ones  still shaping me in so many innumerable ways.And come to think of it .. The team mates most fond of me and vice versa were the ones I was often able to share many a laughs with.There’s definitely a co-relation  that plays out here.

When you tap into this level of presence, there is no stopping your unique talents from spilling into the world.

My ears perk, when the kind, conscientious and super intelligent, believe ‘money is the root cause of all-evil'.It’s a narrative that comes up often, especially with the clients I work with in the space of climate action, environmental sustainability etc. And as their coach I explore the theme up to the point, where they believe it works for them.However, I am not in a session this moment and here I am expressing my opinion.I‘m elated, when amongst all the important things they wish to achieve, they befriend money-energy. When such human beings befriend wealth and are equipped to do all, that makes their heart soar, great things are very likely to come - for us all, as a collective global society.Money just is. It's the intent that gives it form, shape and power. The little that I've seen of their intent and goals, this is me, inspired to help them arrive, smoothly and efficiently at their envisioned definitions of success.

Couldn’t quite put my finger on why I enjoy working with entrepreneurs and founders so much.The positive that stands out for me particularly when working with them is the **permission to show up as authentically, as you possibly dare**This space reflects life. It is alive and dynamic. The norm, when you don’t have an answer to a challenge: Try, Pause, Acknowledge gap, Leap into new knowledge and experiences -Experiment till you’ve reached your desired outcomes.Only saving face is a waste of time. And zero fun.This belief powers me to show up authentically as well. Does a coach need permission to show up authentically too? *Yes, sometimes I think we all do.Eager to hear, celebrate or empathize with your experiences working with startup’s.

Amazing right! It really is as simple as this.

An esoteric approach to productivity: You are sitting in a chair feeling pretty regular and ordinary. Then you turn on your kind of music and almost instantly feel motivated, powerful and whole.And really nothing else changed in your external world. You didn’t solve that world problem that keeps you up at night. You didn’t score that goal you’ve practiced for, for so long now,And yet when you pressed play, something happened, it stirred hope.Perhaps it goes something like this …Music has this vibration that allows you to experience briefly but palpably, future destinations that are totally yours to find. It gives you a real-time, palpable experience of how it’s going to feel, when you keep playing out your purpose into the world. Music is able to jump the system and give you a sneak peek - especially in those moments when you can’t see your outcomes just yet. Or touch it in the here and now. It enables you to taste success, as you've defined it.And so maybe this is why, when the song ends, you dive into work with more discipline and more focus.

Take some time and write your wins... especially during times of chaos. Feel good about your wins because when you feel good important things happen. Your RAS (reticular activating system, the part of your brain that activates and fight or flight responses) get a clear and crucial message “it is safe to stay put and continue addressing the challenges that lay ahead.” When you train your mind and your emotions to feel safe and in command, your thoughts and actions follow through. Writing your wins, will also jog your memory. It will bring to the forefront your strengths and courage. These wins are a huge part of what your made up off. A healthy and productive energy shot I highly recommend.

It’s not over, till it’s over. And even then... we start over, once again.

The game changer - btw, not burning out is a huge part of this ‘whatever’

This is true. Coaches create pockets of spaces where time stops, assisting their clients to make decisions from a place of clarity sans pressure and scarcity. These spaces birth productivity, creativity and solutions.

When we scale, our challenges scale as well – multi disciplinary stakeholders vying for your attention, the domino effect of interconnected inefficiencies causing productivity paralysis, heady cocktails of immiscible personalities...the list goes on. Throw all of these and more together, and we find ourselves trying to scale Mt.Complexity. That’s life. ‘Without complexity, there's no intensity. -- Alexandra Adornetto.But on the other hand - 'Complexity is the enemy of clarity' -- Andy Stanley.'Enemy' is putting this quite harshly, so I would say, complexity does compromise one's clarity, a fair amount.We go up about trying to find solutions to specific gaps. And here’s what could trip us. We look to end complexity by finding solutions to individual problems. We don’t look to understand how we break complexity to 'simpler understandable parts of a whole.' What if our only aim is to 'decipher areas that are unusually complex’ What if we had to only understand and spotlight areas of high complexities with a clear head. Solutions to add simplicity there.Therefore instead of fixing a particular problem, the aim is to simplify the system and its interconnections. Knowledge and experience will be stretched. Expertise and patience will be tested. This process needs both, ability and willingness. Once we've broken down complexity to digestible bits, arriving at specific solutions to specific functions would facilitate higher chances of successful implementation and results.What are your experiences?Would be insightful to understand your slice of life experience with complexity.

Emotional Contagion: What are you picking up this very moment? What are you passing on to others in the next?Enter conversations, especially the ones that deeply matter, with clarity. What do you need to drop outside the room before you enter?Frustrated you didn't hit the numbers? Or elated that you did?Either way, there is something you'll need to leave outside the door to be truly present for the next.The most recent flavour (especially if strong) will over-bear and stifle the next new moment to come. Understand what is happening as you move through the day or else you'll be tossed and turned at the whim of dis-regulated emotions.You'll miss important information, you'll miss clues. You'll miss golden opportunities that lie on the other side of emotional intelligence. The joy, collaborations, collective creations, innovations ... The list is long and full of the wonderful.What are you picking up on? What do you choose to pass on?

As a leader, recognize when a quick fix is clashing with long term goals.Some quick fixes are no fixes at all. The answer lies in addressing tough questions minus the emotions of panic, anger, or impatience. These emotions shrink perception of time and rush you into a faulty pain management system.Rushed quick-fixes can cause way more damage than you realize.

'Patience' is an art.Patience is also a silent, behind the scenes, energy-guzzler .. when we slip being mindful.It takes discipline and stamina to stay calm, collected and focused. And so, keep reminding yourself that its ok to let off steam - feel a bit like crap - and vent, sometimes.This acknowledgement itself will release some of the pent up emotional and mental tension, built up unconsciously, in the process of being 'patient'Hydrate yourself emotionally and mentally: acknowledge the tension, engage in play, create a release - this will help build stamina to stay calm, focused and action oriented.

A great example of not doing anything because there’s too much to do is a layman’s re-action to Climate Action – overwhelm at its best!What if we applied the principles of our personal productivity here :One: To remind ourselves that it’s absolutely ok to get it wrong. Failed? That’s ok try again. And then again. And again.Two: It’s OK to begin tiny and small. In fact that’s the best way to begin.Three: Define progress flexibly: Don’t begin to solve earths problem right away. Allow yourself a 360 degree walkthrough (the macro longterm stuff) to understand the efficacy of even the small steps: What is the one small action I can introduce within my lifestyle today. Just one. Even if a million of us did that – that would be a million actions.To solve the big problems we need to be reminded of a process we have all tried, tested and achieved huge amounts of success with, and that is to : "Consistently focus on one small, new, experimental action at a time"This is my approach to productivity today - cleaning my office, called earth.

The truth is ‘laziness’ is an outcome not the cause. It's easy to cling to ‘lazy’, it’s the best tool there is, to sweep things under the carpet. The cob webs that collect under this carpet of laziness is messy stuff. Complicated stuff. It’s just easier to push all that cleaning to another day.And this is one of the reasons why ‘tomorrow’ never comes – all this cleaning, it’s a process – one that can be surprisingly relaxing and liberating, sans the inner critiques impulsive judgments.

‘Contradiction' is scary. It touches all the raw nerves – respect, understanding, worth etc. Contradiction spotlights our errors, shrinking our self-imposed super hero status.However ‘contradiction’ is also our big chance at jumping off a stagnant version of life that just might be running on a loop – missing a vital need of the hour.What if we encouraged ourselves to be served a bitter dose of contradiction every once in a while? Would we then be more relevant, more responsible and more impactful?Decisions and directions from an open and neutral mind, power us to scan the landscape accurately and effectively. It's not easy but it keeps you evolving.

Great advice to bullet proof productivity

Quick decisions, for the wrong reasons create frustrating cycles of repeat, not to mention the collateral damage - emotional, mental and financial. Go deep, instead of fast when replacing people and projects.

Accurately plotting where you stand on The Emotional Cycle of Change, developed by Don Kelley and Daryl Conner is a great place to begin, when trying to free yourself from feeling ‘stuck or blocked’.

Keep learning. Uninhibitedly and freely. 

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