Today I went out on my bike (as you know I usually walk) for the first time in a long time.

I went further, I ended up in a field. All joking apart it did provoke the theme for the day. Let me explain.

This morning, for a reason that is not relevant here, I had to dig my bike out. So decided to go out for a ride, rather than my usual walk. As the bike has not been used for a long time I did not know if I would just do my normal walking route (to test the bike) possibly having to walk it back with a flat tyre (as the had needed pumping up) or would I end up going further along the river?

I cycled across the green open space you have seen in previous pictures, across a little bridge and kept going. Not a route I would normally take when walking, and not one recognised doing before on my bike.

When I say not one I recognised, the grass was long with a clear track (the width of a car) through it ending up at some water, I wasn’t 100% sure where I was. I did not recognise it as the riverbank and assumed I was on the edge of a pond/lake so stopped to take my photo.

I even checked maps on my phone to see where I was, it said the riverbank, but I didn’t believe it. But it is not like I was ‘lost’ so continued and guessed I’d work it out and cut back to the river at some point. I didn’t cut back, I didn’t work it out, I didn’t need to. I was on the river all the time. So simply kept going. All the way down to the next lock, where it’s sensible point to turn around.

My first point is, there are times when using a different method (in this case of transport) allows us to go further. But it applies in many areas of life, if we are stuck, if we find a limit we don’t have to just push through. We can find new ways of doing things that will get us where we want to go.

My second point is, just because we don’t know where we are does not mean we are lost.

Questions:

Where are you stuck?
What can you do differently?
Do you know where you are (metaphorically)?

#businesscoaching #businesscoach #Breakinglimits #GoFurther #neverlost

ps. not my boat

There are plenty of times in life when dealing with other people, either personally or professionally, that the two options on the table do not feel satisfactory to either party. And trying to do a bit of both (what most people end up doing when they talk about compromise) doesn’t really work either.

This is when we need to find the 3^rd option, the something else that meets both the goals and does not devalue the original options.

Today was something like this. The weather didn’t know what it was doing, one minute pouring rain, the next bright sunshine. But both occurred while I was in the house working. By the time I was out and about it was just a bit dreary.  So, the photo was looking a bit nothingy.

At which point I made the choice to go for a 3^rd option. A simple photo in the car. It fulfilled the need of taking a photo and gave me a topic all at the same time.

Questions for today.

Looking back, can you think of a time where you settled for a bad compromise? (ie where neither got what they wanted)
Can you now think of a 3^rd option that would have satisfied both parties?

#businesscoach #businesscoaching #dontcomprimise #betteroptions #3rdoption

(as always one of the random pics that happened while taking the photo included)

#50DaysOfShades Day 31 of 50 – Appreciation.

Back on day 6 I wrote about recognising the resource around us, then yesterdays I wrote about looking at things differently.

Today for me was about appreciation (of these things).

Taking it a step further than simply recognising something, or looking at it differently, today I went fully into appreciating what those things give me.

Something as simple as the plants and flowers that people grow in their gardens along my road. A fruity pint of beer and the opportunity to just sit in the sun with nothing particular to do.

Different to Gratitude (giving thanks for), that has its place too. But to appreciate – recognise the full worth of.

Question for today:

You may already show gratitude for things, but do you really appreciate them?

#businesscoach #businesscoaching #gratitude #appreciation

Changing how we look at things is key to changing the outcomes we achieve.

Last night I was having a conversation with a friend about how when I’m out on my walks I try to do as much of the route as possible in bare feet. There is definitely something about walking in bare feet that makes me more aware of where I am walking (changes in texture, temperature underfoot etc). This simple practice is great for challenging the assumptions I make about what is / is not happening around me.

So today when I didn’t really want to go out for a long walk but wanted to get my daily photo I headed out with the thought of looking for a different place to take the photo.

Somewhere I’d normally walk straight past without even thinking and I picked this pretty grotty bridge which is fairly close to home.
I thought it could give an interesting frame for the picture, the green foliage contrasting curve of the mottled bricks that make the arch.

What outcome did all of this ‘looking differently change?’ you may ask.

Well as you can see from the third photo the dark clouds (that looked even darker with shades on) were closing in. Being able to achieve my goal sooner meant I was able to make it back home before they broke. Enabling me to remain dry.

Questions for today:

How do you challenge your own thinking?
Do you ever ask others to help you do it?
What outcomes are you looking to change in the next few weeks?

#businesscoach #businesscoaching #thinkdifferent #changetheoutcome

#changetheoutcome