Being Kind is your business super-power.
How do you Be Kind in Business? By applying the MAGIC formula:
Moving
Attuning
Giving
Inspiring
Connecting
It applies to:
Yourself
Your clients
Your team
Your prospects
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I’m Back
Sorry that I haven’t blogged for a couple of weeks. Many thanks to those of you who noticed – it’s nice to be missed 🙂
I’ve been on holiday. This has given me a chance to connect to myself, to think about life a bit.
Connecting to yourself is the subject of today’s blog.
Why Connect?
Why should you connect to yourself?
Think about bank statements. Remember paper statements? Some of you might still get them! We all know that you have to open the envelope and look at the bank statement, even if you don’t want to. There is no benefit in denial. It will only make the situation worse.
In the same way, it is vital to connect to yourself so that you are aware of where you’re at, and why you are doing what you’re doing. If something is not right, there is no point living in denial and carrying on regardless. It would only make things worse.
It is so easy to go through life on autopilot, never stopping to ask ourselves why we are doing things. This is how we get stuck in a rut. This is how we lose energy and become listless.
Once you have given yourself the chance to be self-aware, you need to listen to your mind, you need to listen to your body.
What questions should you ask yourself? What answers should you listen out for? How do you make time to make sure connecting to yourself happens?
The Question of Which Questions?
I have been reminded recently about the importance of connecting with our why. I was talking last week to Amy Rowlinson, who has the fantastic podcast “Focus on Why.” Simon Sinek is also famous for encouraging us to “Start with Why”.
Ask yourself, why you are doing what you are doing? Or, maybe, why you are not doing what you want to be doing?
Once you have worked out your motivation, ask yourself, “Is this working?”
Am I enjoying what I’m doing? Could I do it in a different way to make it more enjoyable? Most of the time, most of the agency for making changes to our working habits lies with ourselves. Work out what needs to change and then make a concrete plan to change it.
Am I working towards my goals or just marking time? It is so easy to fill your day with “busy work” that achieves little and does not move you forward. Could you make any changes to keep you on track?
Body Conscious
Listen to your body.
Am I tired? Am I aching? Feeling sharp? Energetic? Could I make any changes? Revised sleep patterns, change of diet, new office chair….?
Maybe you need to go and see the doctor? Again, there is nothing to be gained by denial.
Life-Saving Routine
Last week, I watched the fantastic David Blaine’s “Ascension.”
I’m a fan of David Blaine as a magician, but he also does these amazing stunts. In this one, he had a bunch of 52 helium balloons. He held on to it as they took him to 23,000 feet, and then he skydived off. The whole thing was live on YouTube. Incredible.
What was very apparent is that he had a strict routine for checking, every step of the way.
At 23,000 feet, held on by a cable to the balloons, he had to put on his parachute. He put it on, and he checked the straps and buckles in strict sequence, at least twice.
It was drilled into him. He had a checking routine. If he hadn’t done it, He would have been risking his life.
Do you have a checking routine for your life?
I would recommend it. If you don’t do it, you are risking a fulfilled life.
What do I mean by this?
Love Your Reflection
I am a huge advocate of building and reflective practices into your life, daily, weekly, and periodically.
Each day, I recommend journaling. A journal can be in various forms. Years ago, I used to do the “artists pages”, recommended by Julia Cameron in the Artists Way (#ad). Two sides of A4 of a stream of consciousness freeform prose, whatever comes into your head. It’s amazing what you write down! You get a real insight into your inner workings.
These days it is more structured and quicker. I do a bullet point journal inspired by Michael Hyatt. It’s a systematic way of reflecting on yesterday and planning for today.
I also walk the dog each day and make a point of not listening to music or podcasts while I’m doing this. My mind is then free to process stuff, to think about life.
Weekly, I do a more involved journal entry every Sunday morning. And I also have a kayaking trip where I take myself off for three hours by myself in nature. Again a chance to process stuff, to think, or even just to zone out for a change. I stop for lunch on the river bank, cook it up on a little stove. It’s a great chance to lie on my back in a field, watch the clouds scud by and ask myself how I’m doing.
And periodically. It’s good to take yourself away on holiday, or maybe even a retreat where you take a deep dive into what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and what you plan to do next.
On reflection, are you reflecting enough?
Be kind to yourself, connect to yourself.
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Download my free eBook “Be Kind to Yourself” and learn how to:
- Adapt to new ways of working
- Harness the power of habits
- Optimise the use of space in your home
- Use clothes to boost productivity
- Focus on what matters
- Plan for the future amidst uncertainty
