The Future of Coaching

At the beginning of December I attended the annual international conference of the International Coach Federation (ICF). It was a marvelous event with inspirational keynotes and workshops. Peter Block was right on target with what he had to say about leadership while Getrude Matshe, a native of Zimbabwe who now lives in New Zealand, lived up to her billing as "a vibrant bundle of African energy whose zest and passion for life inspires everyone she meets." You can learn more about her work and life story by going to http://www.bornonthecontinent.com/.

While at the ICF Conference I had the opportunity to meet many people and speak about the future of coaching from the vantage point of the coaching association that I will serve as President of starting in January: the International Association of Coaching (IAC). In some respects, the IAC is similar to the ICF in that we are both concerned about the integrity and viability of the coaching profession. We want people who call themselves "coaches" to abide by high ethical standards and to practice coaching at the highest levels of coaching mastery. That is why both organizations seek to recognize, celebrate, and certify coaching excellence.

In other respects, however, the two organizations are different. The IAC has a more open understanding and architecture when it comes to coach training and life experience. We recognize that people come to coaching mastery through many paths, so we do not require a particular path of development for those seeking IAC certification. Instead, we simply require an agreement as to ethical standards, an online evaluation of knowledge and awareness as to coaching proficiencies and standards, and a demonstration of coaching mastery through the submission of recorded coaching sessions. We find the process works well, encouraging diversity, innovation, and professionalism in coaching.

For the first time, in my experience, the ICF Conference was being covered by a dedicated reporter, Mark Joyella, who published "breaking news" style reports on http://www.coachingcommons.org/ (a clearing house for all things having to do with coaching and coaching research). Although the tone of Mark's report regarding the IAC and our presence at the Conference was a bit surprising -- who knew that cooperation could be so scandalous -- I appreciated the opportunity to get the word out as to what the IAC stands for and is working on in the year ahead.

To read the story and to watch a short, 3-minute video featuring yours truly, visit the http://coachingcommons.org/featured/the-iac-at-the-icf-conference-more-collaboration-is-key-for-coaching. To learn more about the IAC, to subscribe to our monthly newsletter, the IAC VOICE, and / or to join the Association, visit the IAC online at http://www.certifiedcoach.org./

Coaching Inquiries: What does coaching mean to you? How do you see coaching contributing to your own personal growth and development? What contribution does coaching make in our world today? What's keeping you from finding a coach right now?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Charter of Compassion TED Talk

This past summer I had the opportunity to hear and visit with Karen Armstrong at the Chautauqua Institution. Karen, for those who don't know, was once a Roman Catholic nun. It was a hard and difficult road, but she eventually left that calling to join the secular world and follow a different path in 1969. Since that time, however, she has distinguished herself as one of the world's foremost authorities on world religions. Her many books include:

• The Case for God
• The Great Transformation: The Beginning of our Religious Traditions
• A History of God: The 4000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
• Buddha

One of Karen's recent passions has been the Charter for Compassion, and that was what she was talking about at Chautauqua. The Charter asserts that: "The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect."

So it "calls upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings -- even those regarded as enemies."

In other words, the Charter calls upon to live by the Golden Rule. Her talk at Chautauqua was similar to a TED Talk she gave in Oxford, England in July 2009 titled "Let's Revive the Golden Rule." It's only 19 minutes long and I encourage you to give it a listen.

Coaching Inquiries: What does your religion, tradition, or culture have to say about the Golden Rule? How do you incorporate that into your own life? Who do you associate with that could support you on the journey? How could the Golden Rule -- the Empathy Rule -- become more a part of our world today?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

The Dangers of Positive Thinking

In a recent discussion about the dangers of positive thinking in an Appreciative Inquiry listserve, I enjoyed the following comment from Jerry Kaiser of http://www.caringmatters.com/. It's a nice complement to last week's Provision on The Help of Hope. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Sure positive thinking is dangerous...if you think you can fly off a building. But that's delusional.

Hope is positive thinking, and there would be no success without hope: no invention, no motivational energy to meet a challenge. Hope is what helped Viktor Frankl live through the concentration camps; why dying grandparents miraculously hang on to see their grandchild married; and, according to Suzanne Kobasa's research, why some managers thrive in difficult circumstances, while those who don't have it wither.

The absence of hope is despair, which is why, post WW II, the Soviet bloc countries had the highest suicide rates...and Hope is what made my grandparents leave their homeland with nothing to journey thousands of miles in a cramped ship to a place they'd never seen that spoke a different language...and where they knew that "their kind" were still discriminated against.

If that's the "danger" of positive thinking, let me have more!

Coaching Inquiries: What has been your experience with positive thinking? How intentional are you about practicing it? How has it helped or hurt your quality of life? How can you enhance your experience of positive thinking so that it serves you even more fully?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

The Fun Theory

I love the theory: make it fun to be good. That's what TheFunTheory.com is all about. here's their blurb:

"This site is dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behavior for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better."

Want to see how it works? Watch this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw

Now, think for yourself as to how you can make it fun to do better. That is another aspect of the help of hope.

Coaching Inquiries: How do you experience life and work? How can you make them more fun? How can that fun contribute to making the planet a better place to be? How can you become part of the movement? Who would you like to have fun with in this way?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Evocative Coaching Unveiled

Now that we have gotten the final draft of our book off to our publisher, we've started to focus on supporting materials and training opportunities. The book, Evocative Coaching: Transforming Schools Once Conversation At A Time, will be in bookstores next June. The focus of the book is how teachers, coaches, and school leaders can have enjoyable conversations that evoke motivation and performance-enhancing movement.


What school couldn't use that! This seems like a book whose time has come, especially given the way it brings together my background in coaching with my wife's background in educational leadership. It's a perfect marriage, in more ways than one.

Although the book will be a while in coming, we have unveiled our companion website, http://www.evocativecoaching.com/, in advance of our trip to and presentation at the upcoming School Administrators' Conference in the Philippines. We encourage you to visit the site, since it will give you a sense of our orientation and approach. You will also read, in the training section, about a unique opportunity to participate in a pilot training program, starting next April, based upon the book.

If you are a teacher, coach, school leader, or otherwise tasked with the responsibility to improve the performance of schools, then this training program may be just what you've been looking for. The opportunity to take the training program at a cost of US $100 reflects that we are field testing the program and will not come again. Since it is all conducted by telephone and over the Internet, just about anyone will be able to participate. I encourage you to take a look and to sign up if you are both interested and involved with school improvement.

Coaching Inquiries: What has been your relationship to school improvement? How could you strengthen your capacities? What interest might you have in learning the Evocative Coaching process? Who could you tell about the program and how could you share the training together?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Vitamin D3

Dr. Andrew Weil recently updated his recommendation as to how much supplementary Vitamin D₃ an adult should be taking on a daily basis to 2,000 International Units. Dr. Mercola (not a medical doctor) thinks that should be even higher. Probably 5,000 IUs. He notes that a day of summer sun can generate about 20,000 units of Vitamin D, and that that is probably what our bodies are evolutionarily suited for.

The current U.S. RDA of 400 IUs is grossly inadequate for anything other than preventing rickets. Yet Vitamin D has a documented role in preventing many chronic diseases, such as cancer and heart disease, as well as infections. To be protected from those maladies, we need more Vitamin D coursing through our veins.

The only way to know for sure how much supplementary Vitamin D₃ one should take is to have a blood test. That combines what you are taking as a supplement with what your body is able to produce naturally from the sun. The farther away from the equator you live, the more Vitamin D₃ you will need.

My wife and I have been taking 2,000 IUs of Vitamin D3 for many years. She recently had her blood levels checked and the doctor was pleasantly surprised to find her in the acceptable range (32-56 ng/ml). "No one ever tests out in the acceptable range!" he exclaimed. Guess it helps to read health literature and to act upon science-based recommendations. I encourage you to do the same.

Coaching Inquiries: How much supplementary Vitamin D₃ do you take on a daily basis? Where could you go to get your blood checked? What would stop you from taking at least 2,000 IUs of Vitamin D₃ right now, with or without the blood test? I encourage you to make the change.

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Autonomy and Life

A friend and reader of Provisions alerted me this past week to the website and blog of Arnold Siegel: http://autonomyandlife.com/. It sure goes along with today's Provision on deepening your focus. Listen to how Siegel describes the Autonomy and Life process:

Autonomy and Life is a new discipline that imaginatively captures history’s evolving design of the self to enable each student to create and work toward goals tailored to individual temperament, talent, sensibilities and circumstances. Autonomy and Life offers a new technology for change -- rooted in pragmatic reasoning, insight and practical wisdom.

Autonomy and Life offers a new 21st century perspective on the best understandings of nature, history, language and culture that serve as a means for sovereign authority over our lives, and for a fuller and more fulfilling experience of our humanity.

Autonomy and Life provides an artful new vocabulary that distinguishes that which was undifferentiated and rediscovers that which has lost meaning — to re-enchant the world, to re-establish our affinity with others, and to re-awaken our hopes for tomorrow.

Autonomy and Life provides the new freedom to distance ourselves from the confines of our own unquestioned assumptions and to interrogate the typically unexamined and unevaluated cultural constraints to which we are born.

Sound interesting? You might want to check out the site for yourself. Here's the link to his blog: http://autonomyandlife.com/#/blog.

Coaching Inquiries: What are your unquestioned assumptions? How could you enhance your experience of autonomy and life? What would your life look like if your were crafting it according to your own vision: your destiny, cause, and calling? Who could share the journey with you to a "fuller and more fulfilling experience of our humanity"?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Lucid Dreaming

I read an interesting story in the New York Times concerning the upcoming publication of a heretofore unpublished work of Carl Jung, founder of analytical psychology. The Red Book, as it is called, represents his dream journal and dream experiments, kept on and off for about 16 years. He never published it because he thought it would subject him to ridicule. Yet, "All my works, all my creative activity," he would recall later, "has come from those initial fantasies and dreams."

Dream are like that. They can embarrass us even as they lead us to greatness. To encourage your own dream work, I thought I would pass along these "7 Steps to Start Lucid Dreaming". Lucid dreaming is consciously being aware within your dream. When you are dreaming and you become conscious that you are dreaming you can start to influence your dreams and the direction they go in. Enjoy these tips and use them well!

1. Remember your ordinary dreams.
A lot of people say ‘I don’t dream’, everybody dreams, whilst you may not remember them you still dream. To start remembering your dreams try this simple technique. Each night before drifting off to sleep repeat the phrase ‘I will remember my dreams as soon as I wake up’. Say this phrase over and over until you fall asleep, after a few days you will start to remember your ordinary dreams.

2. Keep a dream journal
This can be tedious but it’s well worth the effort. Even writing a few short sentences about your dream is enough. This will get you into the habit of remembering your ordinary dreams and to start looking for dream signs within your dreams. It can also be a tool to analyze your thought processes.

3. Pick out dream signs
A lot of your ordinary dreams will have objects or people in them that could act as a cue to you waking up in your dreams. For example if you regularly talk to ‘Elvis’ in your ordinary dreams this is an obvious dream sign and can be used to ask yourself if you are dreaming because you know Elvis is dead.

4. Notice your waking world
To be conscious in your dream world means you have to be conscious in your waking world. That might sound crazy, as you are conscious when you are awake. But we must be "consciously focused" when we are awake. For example, we are consciously focused when learning a new task, we are thinking about every action we are taking to get the right steps. When we have learned the new task we no longer have to focus as intently as we did when learning it. Being consciously focused means looking around and saying what we see, feel, hear, smell and touch and voicing it. This has the added benefit of being in the moment and can guide us to inner calmness, it’s almost Zen like. If we start to consciously focus on the world around us, we will carry this over into the dream world.

5. Ask yourself; "Am I dreaming?"
Ask yourself just now "Am I dreaming?". Your obvious answer is to say no, of course you are not dreaming. How do you know? Don’t just say; "Because I know". Try and think about why you know that you are not dreaming. For example you could say, "If I was dreaming I would be able to fly". When you are dreaming you cannot read text for longer than a few seconds, so try reading text to prove to yourself you are not dreaming. This again will carry over into your dreaming world and you will start asking the same questions in your dreams which can turn into a lucid dream.

6. Your first lucid dream
Many people have their first lucid dream simply by reading about it. You might find that you become over-excited and lose the lucid dream. Often, however, your first lucid dream will be remembered for years to come.

7. Staying lucid
To stay within a dream, calm yourself down with self talk and dream spinning. If you find that you are losing your lucidity you can talk to yourself to calm yourself down and just start noticing the things around you in your dream. Dream spinning is when you feel you are losing control of your dream and you mentally spin like a tornado to stay within your dream. This is focusing the mind on staying lucid.

Coaching Inquiries: How would you describe your dream life? Do you write them down? Do you seek to enhance their influence through lucid dreaming? How could your dreams become more interesting and available as a resource for happiness? Who could you talk with about your dreams? Why not start tonight?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or email us at Coach@LifeTrekCoaching.com.

Broaden Your Focus

Sometimes it's hard, in the thick of the fray, to maintain a positive focus. On those occasions, it may be time to step back and look the situation over from a distance. Viewed from the right vantage point, opportunities become visible in ways that might otherwise be unimaginable. So do yourself a favor and unplug from the daily grind. Step back to the 10,000 foot level. Appreciate your strategic advantages. Then, once your mood has improved, reengage with the zest that comes from a positive outlook. Today's Provision shows you how.

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, Email Us or use our Contact Form to arrange a complimentary conversation. To learn more about LifeTrek Coaching programs, Click Here.

Fueling Positivity & Creativity

I was very moved this past week by a story in the Washington Post titled "Running For My Life" by Daniele Seiss. It details her lifelong struggles with depression as well as her experience with running as the most effective and health-promoting anti-depressant of all. Although I have never struggled with depression, her story spoke to my own experience regarding the many benefits of running. I especially appreciated these paragraphs:

"I had once been warned that the type and severity of my depression made it very likely I'd relapse after going off medication, that it was just a matter of time. So I had somewhat expected the crash. But going back on medication didn't help. And finally I recognized what I should have seen all along, that running had saved me, and so I hit the streets again. At first it was three to five miles at a time, three days a week. My mood improved quickly. But it wasn't until I started running long distances -- 30, then up to 50 miles a week, regularly -- that I began to really experience its full benefits for health and happiness.

Now, if I am feeling down, I go for a run. I usually start feeling better almost as I head out the door -- in part, I believe, because I am taking charge and doing something. But by mile four, I can actually feel my thinking beginning to change, from negative to positive, as if four miles, or about 30 minutes, is some kind of threshold. On longer runs, by about mile 13 or 14, I start to feel a mild euphoria. If I run faster, I'll notice it earlier. If I'm doing an easier, slower run, it takes a bit longer.

On really long runs, of 18 to 20 miles or more, the nature of my thoughts go beyond just positive to creative. I start having brainstorms, one after the other, and I begin to feel "one with things," for lack of a better way to describe it. It's like deep meditation in which your personal boundaries open up and you no longer notice where you end and everything else begins.

I have figured out that if I run at least four miles, I feel relaxed, positive and clearheaded, feelings that can last from hours to days. And if I do so consistently, I won't fall into a really dark state."

Now you know the answer to that frequently asked question, "Where do all those Provisions come from?" Running! I often go from positive to creative, with incredible bursts of brainstorming on a wide variety of topics, on my longer runs. And it's not just running. Any extended endurance activity will do much the same. So if you want to benefit your brain, it's time to go for a run.

Coaching Inquiries: What stimulates positivity and creativity in your life? How could you get more of those things? What place does endurance activities play in your life? How might you incorporate some? Who might be interested in doing them with you?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Careful With NSAIDs

Today I was on a relay team, running the half-marathon leg of the Patriots Half Triathlon. One person swam 1.2 miles in the brackish water of the James River. Then, a second person rode his bike for 56 miles through woods, farmlands, and lakes on mostly flat terrain. Finally, I ran a half marathon -- 13.1 miles -- on a course that was delightfully shaded. Given that I was running at noon, on a hot and sunny day, I was very appreciative of the shade.

My time was an acceptable one hour, fifty minutes. I went in thinking it might be possible to average 8:45 a mile or better. I ended up averaging 8:27 a mile. That's better! It's time for me to think seriously about qualifying for the Boston marathon again (I've done that twice in the past 10 years, each time as I entered a new age bracket). 2010 would be the next time for me to do that. We'll see.

One thing is clear, however: I will not be using ibuprofen or other Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory painkillers (or NSAIDs) prophylactically. In other words, I will not be taking ibuprofen before, during, or after races to ward off pain or to prevent pain from developing. I never have taken many NSAIDs period, and now I have new reason to avoid them: a report in the New York Times makes clear the health hazards of such practices. To quote the article:

"Those runners who'd popped over-the-counter ibuprofen pills before and during the race displayed significantly more inflammation and other markers of high immune system response afterward than the runners who hadn’t taken anti-inflammatories. The ibuprofen users also showed signs of mild kidney impairment and, both before and after the race, of low-level endotoxemia, a condition in which bacteria leak from the colon into the bloodstream."

Yikes! The article concludes that NSAIDs are appropriate only when a person suffers inflammation and pain from acute injury. Some would even dispute that, at least as a first resort, preferring instead the age old recommendation of RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Whereas NSAIDs reduce pain, natural practices such as RICE give a body the relief it needs to heal.

Right now I am running injury free -- always a cause for celebration, appreciation, and gratitude. But if and when discomforts begin, I will not be trying to mask or run through the pain with ibuprofen in my system. The risks are just too great. I hope you will do the same.

Coaching Inquiries: What's your pattern when it comes to NSAIDs? What natural approaches do you try first? How can you be more attentive to and respectful of your body? How you can you push your body to the limit without going over the top? How can you find a rhythm of work and rest that will keep you going for life?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Write a Gratitude Letter

Last week I encouraged you to speak out loud or to write down the things you are grateful. Big things. Little things. Lots of things. A few things. Daily. Weekly. Whenever. The more we can acknowledge and celebrate the good stuff, the better off we are.

Positive psychologists have been researching the effect of all this, and it's demonstrable. If you want to improve your life, starting by framing the positive. Another way to do that is to write a gratitude letter. We don't have to wait until someone dies to think of how they have contributed to our well being. We can do it right now, and we can write a letter of thanks.

Assuming the person that comes to mind is still alive, we can write that letter and deliver it to them either personally or by mail. The more personal the better when it comes to the letter's impact. A gratitude visit, with no intention other than to frame the positive, is a powerful experience.

A hand-written letter can also be very touching. In this day and age, when everything is becoming electronic, a hand-written gets more rather than less attention. I've been on both the receiving and the giving side of these letters, and I know what a difference they make. When one comes in the mail, they brighten up my entire day. When I send one, I also feel good.

Framing the positive is like that. It benefits both the giver the receiver. There really is no better way to live.

Coaching Inquiries: Who has made a positive difference in your life? How could you frame that difference in appreciative ways? How could you share that difference with them, through memory and action? What steps would you like to take right now?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Keep a Gratitude Journal

We don't do it every night, in fact, we go through spurts where we don't do it at all, but we do it often enough to qualify as one of our habits: my wife and I keep a gratitude journal. At the end of day, as we lie in bed, before we go to sleep, we each say out loud three things we appreciate about our day. As we say them, we record them in a dated journal. From time to time, we review and read past entries out loud in order to celebrate our life journey.

That was easy to do this past week, since we just celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary. We saw a romantic movie, "The Time Traveler's Wife," after which I broke with the Optimum Wellness Prototype to enjoy my favorite dairy product: a banana malt. What fun! Even in ordinary times, however -- when I'm staying on my diet -- as well as in hard times -- when I'm facing life's challenges -- the practice of speaking and writing down our appreciations makes a difference.

That's because the practice focuses the mind and enhances the experience. We are not just going mindlessly through life. We are, rather, appreciating life as a gift. That is, indeed, why it's called the present. The more appreciation we cultivate the more reality shifts in that direction. It seems to be how life works. Some even call it a "spiritual law." What we appreciate, appreciates. So find things to celebrate that you would like to develop further in your life. The more you notice and appreciate them, the more they will grow.

Coaching Inquiries: What three things can you celebrate right now in your life and work? What's stopping you from writing them down? How might you develop appreciation routines on a day-to-day basis? Who could you do those with?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Organic Dry Egg Whites

Many of you know that I like to start my day with a fruit smoothie that includes protein, healthy fat, and enough fiber to have my recipe gain the nickname of a Fruit Chewy.

You can access that recipe, including all my suppliers, as well as six other recipes by going to the recipe section of our website: www.LifeTrekCoaching.com/recipes. Recently it was time for me to reorder my egg white protein, and the shipment came with an information sheet that I would like to pass along. First, a word about the nutritional value of egg white protein powder. As a whole food, there is no more nutritionally complete protein powder on the market. Egg white protein powder has no fat, virtually no carbohydrates, and a full spectrum of amino acids, including L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine, L-Lysine, L-Methionine, L-Phenylalanine, L-Threonine, L-Alanine, L-Arginine, L-Aspartic Acid, L-Glutamic Acid, L-Glycine, L-Histidine, L-Proline, and L-Serine. 1/4 cup (20 gm, 60 CC) contains about 75 calories, 16 grams of protein, no cholesterol, and more than 25% of the recommended daily value of Riboflavin (B2).

Dry egg whites are a perfect way for vegetarians (but not vegans) to meet their nutritional requirements. Indeed, egg whites contain over 40 different proteins, making it one of the highest-quality proteins on the market. Better than whey, soy, rice, and other vegetable powders. The trick, then, is to find the best quality product on the market with no additives from happy, organic, free-range chickens. It took me many years to find such a supplier, but I eventually located Farmer's Organic Foods International (FOF) in Blair, Wisconsin.

How's this for a naturally simple process: after collecting the eggs they separate the yolks from the egg whites and then they spray the egg whites in a fine mist into a heat-controlled room. When the mist hits the warm air it turns to a powder and falls to the floor where it is sifted through a mesh screen to generate a uniformly small particle size. That's it. There's no more processing, unless you include scooping it up and packaging it. I purchase the 1-pound sample packs, although it can also be purchased in 50-pound cartons. The product is stable up to two years when stored at room temperatures below 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius).

In addition to putting this protein in my morning fruit smoothies, I also make up my own sports drink, combining the egg white protein powder with HEED, a high-energy electrolyte carbohydrate powder from Hammer Nutrition, in a 1:4 ratio. That 1:4 ratio is proven to enhance endurance over pure carbohydrate drinks, gels, and chews. In case you want to try this yourself, you mix 1 pound of the egg white powder together with 2 large bottles (4 pounds) of HEED. I prefer the Lemon-Lime flavor, although they also have Strawberry, Melon, and Mandarin Orange.

Want to learn more or want to order the FOF egg white powder for yourself? Go to www.organiceggproducts.com for information, and to the Specialty Product area for ordering. You can also email them or call them in the USA at (608) 989-2500. It's a great way to start your day.

Coaching Inquiries: How do you start your day when it comes to nutrition? What are your sources of protein? What do you do for energy when you are exercising for extended periods of time? How could egg white protein become a regular part of your routine? Who else could you tell about these helpful products?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

The End of Overeating

I enjoyed the book review of Dr. Kessler's recent book, The End of Overeating, in the New York Times titled "How the Food Makers Captured Our Brains" by Tara Parker-Pope. If you don't have time to read the book, I encourage you to read the article. Here's a few snippets for those who don't even have time to do that:

In "The End of Overeating," Dr. Kessler finds some similarities between the tobacco industry and the food industry, which has combined and created foods in a way that taps into our brain circuitry and stimulates our desire for more.

Dr. Kessler isn’t convinced that food makers fully understand the neuroscience of the forces they have unleashed, but food companies certainly understand human behavior, taste preferences and desire. In fact, he offers descriptions of how restaurants and food makers manipulate ingredients to reach the aptly named "bliss point." Foods that contain too little or too much sugar, fat or salt are either bland or overwhelming. But food scientists work hard to reach the precise point at which we derive the greatest pleasure from fat, sugar and salt.

Foods rich in sugar and fat are relatively recent arrivals on the food landscape, Dr. Kessler noted. But today, foods are more than just a combination of ingredients. They are highly complex creations, loaded up with layer upon layer of stimulating tastes that result in a multisensory experience for the brain. Food companies "design food for irresistibility," Dr. Kessler noted. "It’s been part of their business plans."

One of his main messages is that overeating is not due to an absence of willpower, but a biological challenge made more difficult by the overstimulating food environment that surrounds us. "Conditioned hypereating" is a chronic problem that is made worse by dieting and needs to be managed rather than cured, he said. And while lapses are inevitable, Dr. Kessler outlines several strategies that address the behavioral, cognitive and nutritional factors that fuel overeating.

You'll have to read the book to get Kessler's prescription, but it's not a quick fix and not for the faint of heart. It takes a strong desire to be well and then a clear plan for getting the necessary nutrition and exercise our bodies need. The LifeTrek Optimal Wellness Prototype is one way to do that, and I encourage you to give it a try.

Coaching Inquiries: How many processed foods do you eat? How many raw and whole food do you eat? How could you structure your routines and your environments to eat better? Who do you know who might be interest in joining you on the question? Why not give them a call, right now?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Voice Dialogue

Hal and Sidra Stone first developed the voice dialogue process in 1972. It has continued to evolve ever since, and their website includes an abundant set of resources and training opportunities. Building on the line from Walt Whitman's poem, "I am large, I contain multitudes", the Stones include the following paragraph on their website describing their goals and process:

"Each of us 'contains multitudes'. We are made up of many selves, identifying with some and rejecting others. This over-identification with some selves and the loss of wholeness that comes from the rejection of others, can create imbalances and blind spots. This work is about embracing all the selves. This dance of the selves is an amazing process and we see the dynamics of the world around us shift as our internal world changes."

In addition to a live "dream room", their website includes many articles and resources. Some of the titles includes: "The Basic Elements of Voice Dialogue, Relationship and the Psychology of Selves their Origins and Development, The Dance of the Selves in Relationship, The Inner Critic, A Professional Point of View -- the Psychology of Selves, Voice Dialogue -- Discovering Our Selves, Judgment and What to Do with It, and Partnering: A New Kind of Relationship."

I encourage you to check out the website and see what it has to offer.

Coaching Inquiries: What do you have to learn from your many selves? How can you come into a more positive relationship with your many selves? How can the conversation lead to an authentic sense of wholeness? Who can you talk with to get started on the dialogue?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Focusing

What is going on with you? What is your body-mind trying to tell you? How might you get in touch with these messages as a way of healing and relieving stress? One method developed in the 1960s by Eugene Gendlin, at the University of Chicago, is called Focusing. Here is a Focusing process defined by two of Gendlin's students, Peter Campbell and Edwin McMahon. There's no way to get all the nuances or to practice it effectively from this outline, but it will give you a sense of how the process works:

1. Get quiet inside.
2. Ask yourself, "What feels like it most needs listening to inside me right now?" Take time to notice what that is. Notice where you feel it and how it feels in your body.
3. Ask yourself, "Is it OK to be with this right now?" If the answer is YES, continue with 4 and 5. If the answer is NO, ask yourself, "Can I be with my feeling of not wanting to be with this?" If that is still not acceptable, then ask yourself, "What can I be with?"
4. If the issue is one that doesn't feel good, sense whether you can give it some caring-presence. Notice how it feels to be with it this way. Then, ask yourself:
5. "Can I let myself feel the whole thing in an open, gentle way, waiting for something to come -- a word, a feeling, an image, a memory -- that fits the way it feels?" If the answer is YES, go to 6. If the answer is NO, ask yourself, "Is it OK to be with the feeling of not wanting to get near it?"
6. If something comes, notice how this feels in your body (don't just try to figure it out with your head). If it's OK to continue, stay with the body-feel of whatever came, allowing your inner story to unfold until it feels right to stop.
7. If nothing comes, or you have to stop before finishing, always promise this unfinished place that you will come back to listen again. If it helps, ask whatever feels incomplete inside: "How do you need me to be with you until you are ready to tell me your story?"
8. If something has unfolded, take time to notice the difference in how it feels now as contrasted with how it felt when you started. Allow time to savor and especially note the body-feel of that change. Finally, you might want to linger in gratitude with the feel of this gifted movement before stopping.

Would you like to learn more? You can read their book: Bio-Spirituality: Focusing As A Way To Grow, read a description of the process at Focusing.org, or work directly with a Focusing Trainer.

Coaching Inquiries: When has your body spoken to you? What would assist you to get quiet enough to listen? Is there anything pressing that you want to focus on? Is there anything vague or subtle that may be stirring? How could you integrate these sensations into your personality and consciousness? What would assist you to move forward with joy?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Positive Psychology Tips

One of the most popular classes at Harvard University is a course called Positive Psychology, taught by Tal Ben-Shahar, which focuses on topics such as "happiness, self-esteem, empathy, friendship, love, achievement, creativity, music, spirituality, and humor". Last September I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Ben-Shahar at a conference where he summarized some of the current research on how to be happy. I wrote a Provision about that myself a couple of years ago that continues to be quite popular.

So what does current research recommend? Here's a quick summary as reported in the June 2009 issue of Consumer Reports on Health:

1. Count the positive. People who literally counted their blessings had a greater sense of well-being in several studies conducted by researchers at the University of Miami and the University of California, Davis.
   
2. Be thankful. People experience a better mood for up to a month after they gave a letter of gratitude to someone who had been kind to them.
   
3. Make friends. Chronic loneliness is associated with higher rates of high blood pressure, inactivity, smoking, and stress, according to several studies.
   
4. Volunteer. People who donated an average of four hours a week to good causes reported a greater sense of optimism, self-esteem, and sociability, a February 2009 Australian study found.
   
5. Focus on the present. Employees who participated in an eight-week meditation course based on mindfulness, or focusing on the here and now, reported less anxiety -- and brain scans showed greater activity in the region associated with happiness even four months after the course ended.
   
6. Follow your passion. Too often we "give up the things we enjoy and end up with a very thin life," says Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Ph.D., a psychology professor a Claremont on Graduate University in California. So identify what you love doing, or want to try, then do it.
   
7. Move. Exercise helps give you a sense of control and can ease depression as effectively as medication.
   
8. Laugh. That may reduce stress, help maintain a healthy immune system, and improve arterial blood flow.

Coaching Inquiries: How many of these eight are part of your life on a regular basis? Which ones would you like to pay more attention to? How could you develop some daily happiness habits? Who could you talk to clarify your thinking and make some commitments for moving forward?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Sleeping Positions

A recent article on sleeping positions in body + soul magazine identifies the three most common, troublesome sleeping styles:

1. Sleeping on your side with arm under your head. Negatively impacts neck, shoulders, arms, and fingers. Fixes: Do shoulder stretches when you first wake up. Look for a pillow that fills the space between your ear and the outer edge of your shoulder when you're lying on your side. Also, sleep with a small pillow between your knees.
   
2. Sleeping on your stomach. Negatively impacts low back, neck, and lungs. Fixes: Stop sleeping on your stomach; it's the worst position for your spine. Switch to side sleeping with a body pillow if you can't learn to sleep on your back. Do side stretches and bridge poses when you first wake up.
   
3. Sleeping on your back with a big pillow. Negatively impacts neck, throat, and chest. Fixes: Do neck releases and lie flat on a mat on the floor with a rolled up blanket or towel placed horizontally under your shoulder blades when you first wake up. If you must have a pillow, make it as thin as possible.

So what's the recommended sleeping position for restorative rest? Sleeping on your back with no pillow. That keeps your spine in alignment, letting your body heal while you sleep.

Coaching Inquiries: What positions do you tend to sleep in? How could you get in the habit of stretching when you first wake up? What's keeping you from sleeping in the recommended position? Why not try falling asleep in that position tonight?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Self-Compassion

There are many resources on the web regarding self-compassion. I like the website developed by Kristin Neff, Ph.D., an Associate Professor in the Educational Psychology Department at the University of Texas at Austin. Here is what Dr. Neff has to say about the three elements of self-compassion:

1. Self-kindness. Self-compassion entails being warm and understanding toward ourselves when we suffer, fail, or feel inadequate, rather than ignoring our pain or flagellating ourselves with self-criticism. Self-compassionate people recognize that being imperfect, failing, and experiencing life difficulties is inevitable, so they tend to be gentle with themselves when confronted with painful experiences rather than getting angry when life falls short of set ideals. People cannot always be or get exactly what they want. When this reality is denied or fought against suffering increases in the form of stress, frustration and self-criticism. When this reality is accepted with sympathy and kindness, greater emotional equanimity is experienced.
   
2. Common humanity. Frustration at not having things exactly as we want is often accompanied by an irrational but pervasive sense of isolation -- as if "I" were the only person suffering or making mistakes. All humans suffer, however. The very definition of being "human" means that one is mortal, vulnerable and imperfect. Therefore, self-compassion involves recognizing that suffering and personal inadequacy is part of the shared human experience -- something that we all go through rather than being something that happens to "me" alone. It also means recognizing that personal thoughts, feelings and actions are impacted by "external" factors such as parenting history, culture, genetic and environmental conditions, as well as the behavior and expectations of others. Thich Nhat Hahn calls the intricate web of reciprocal cause and effect in which we are all imbedded "interbeing." Recognizing our essential interbeing allows us to be less judgmental about our personal failings.
   
3. Mindfulness. Self-compassion also requires taking a balanced approach to our negative emotions so that feelings are neither suppressed nor exaggerated. This equilibrated stance stems from the process of relating personal experiences to those of others who are also suffering, thus putting our own situation into a larger perspective. It also stems from the willingness to observe our negative thoughts and emotions with openness and clarity, so that they are held in mindful awareness. Mindfulness is a non-judgmental, receptive mind state in which one observes thoughts and feelings as they are, without trying to suppress or deny them. We cannot ignore our pain and feel compassion for it at the same time. At the same time, mindfulness requires that we not be "over-identified" with thoughts and feelings, so that we are caught up and swept away by negative reactivity.

You can read a whole lot more, including 30 journal articles and book chapters, by visiting www.self-compassion.org.

Coaching Inquiries: What would assist you to be more self-compassionate? Who could you rely on as an empathy buddy? How could you more fully embrace the goodness life has to offer? How could you accept life from the posture of mindful awareness?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Stand By Me Video

Want to renew your energy right now? Then turn up the volume on your speakers and go to http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741.

The clip is a wonderful music video based on the classic song, "Stand By Me", originally released in 1955 by The Staple Singers and released again in 1961 by the Drifters.

The video is an amazing composite of different singers and musicians from different places around the world all singing the same song. The finished product is tremendous and, for me, it's made even more fun by the fact that I've seen the first artist, Roger Ridley, performing live on the Third Street Promenade of Santa Monica. How fun!

Coaching Inquiries: What songs renew your energy and zest for life? When was the last time that you sat back and enjoyed them? How could you get more of the music your love into your life?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Being In Flow

How do we know if we are in flow? In the March 24, 2009 edition of HEALTHbeat, a publication of Harvard Medical School, researchers identified the following five characteristics:

1. You lose awareness of time. You aren’t watching the clock, and hours can pass like minutes. As filmmaker George Lucas puts it, talent is “a combination of something you love a great deal and something you can lose yourself in -- something that you can start at 9 o’clock, look up from your work and it’s 10 o’clock at night....”
   
2. You aren’t thinking about yourself. You aren’t focused on your comfort, and you aren’t wondering how you look or how your actions will be perceived by others. Your awareness of yourself is only in relation to the activity itself, such as your fingers on a piano keyboard, or the way you position a knife to cut vegetables, or the balance of your body parts as you ski or surf.
   
3. You aren’t interrupted by extraneous thoughts. You aren’t thinking about such mundane matters as your shopping list or what to wear tomorrow.
   
4. You are active. Flow activities aren’t passive, and you have some control over what you are doing.
   
5. You work effortlessly. Flow activities require effort (usually more effort than involved in typical daily experience). Although you may be working harder than usual, at flow moments everything is “clicking” and feels almost effortless.

Coaching Inquiries: What activities get you into flow? How could you do them more often? How could you modify the activities you do right now to make flow more likely?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Understanding Exercise Benefits

Exertion and recovery figure prominently in my list of ten universal needs. Exercise, broadly understood, is not a strategy. It is a need. It is universal. It is something we require in order to be fully alive. So, too, with recovery. The magic lies in the rhythm of the two.

Last week I shared with you ten suggestions from the Mayo Clinic for overcoming exercise barriers. Today, I share their list of five benefits that accrue from regular exercise:

1. Helps prevent disease -- Regular exercise reduces your risk of developing illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, and cancers of the colon, prostate, uterine lining (endometrium) and breast.
2. Helps maintain your independence -- Regular exercise improves your balance, which can reduce your chance of falling and help you retain your independence longer.
3. Increases life expectancy -- The more active you are, the longer you may live.
4. Boosts your immune system -- Researchers have found a link between regular exercise and improved immune function.
5. Gives you energy -- Lack of energy is largely a result of inactivity. Endurance exercises improve stamina and energy. After just a few weeks in a walking program, for example, most people find they have more energy.

The article notes that regular exercises can also enhance sleep, improve sexual health by increasing energy, help with weight loss, help maintain muscle tone, improve mental function, ease anxiety and depression, reduce stress, and improve mood and self-esteem.

What's not to like! Perhaps it's time to make the exertion-recovery spectrum a more active part of your everyday life.

Coaching Inquiries: On the continuum between exertion and recovery, where do you fall? Do you suffer more from overtraining or undertraining? How could achieve a better rhythm between the two? What strategies have worked for you in the past? How can you develop more successful strategies today?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Overcoming Exercise Barriers

I went out this morning for a 15-mile run. When I mentioned to a friend what fun that was, she replied that that sure didn't sound like fun to her. There's that difference between needs and strategies again! (Exercise and a 15-Mile Run) If a 15-mile run doesn't sound like fun to you, then perhaps you will appreciate the following ten suggestions from the Mayo Clinic for overcoming exercise barriers:

1. Lack of time -- Break activity into shorter periods, such as 10-minute walks. Exercise while watching TV.
2. Boredom -- Do a variety of activities and change your routine occasionally.
3. Inconvenience -- Choose activities that require minimal facilities and equipment. Take the stairs at work or park further from your destination.
4. Weather -- Choose indoor activities or mall walking.
5. Lifestyle changes -- When going through major life changes or stressful times, consider a moderate program of physical activity.
6. Travel -- Check out fitness facilities at your destination. Walk around the airport terminal. Work out in your hotel room with exercises that don't require equipment.
7. Injury -- To prevent injury, warm up and cool down properly. Rest when need. If you are injured, ask your doctor what you can still do.
8. Illness -- You may be able to work out at a reduced intensity. Check with your health care provider if you are unsure.
9. Overtraining -- Vary your exercises, including their order and intensity. Increase the length and intensity of your workouts gradually. Include rest days in your schedule.
10. Lack of facilities -- Choose activities you can do with minimal equipment.

These are excellent ideas and excellent topics for a coaching conversation. Let us know if we can assist you to overcome your exercise barriers!

Coaching Inquiries: What does your routine look like when it comes to exercise and physical activity? What value do you see in becoming more active? What barriers seem to get in your way? How can you overcome those barriers? Who do you know who could serve as a role model, mentor, and friend?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Human Hair Fertilizer

For those eco-friendly souls concerned about chemical fertilizers, you may find the following story interesting as reported on the Discovery Channel:

A new study adds human hair to a growing list of waste products that can boost crop growth. The list already includes cow manure, sewage sludge, and sheep wool.

"We concluded that human hair can release a sufficient amount of nutrients to support crops," said agricultural scientist Valtcho Zeliazkov of Mississippi State University in Verona. "This is a waste material with clear benefits for producers and the environment."

The idea is not entirely new. In fact, hair-based fertilizer is already commercially available. A Florida-based company called SmartGrow, for one, sells hair-containing mats that gardeners place beneath or on top of their plants.

How's that for a creative and, for some, a little creepy way to use the hair that piles up on salon floors every day! You never know where green will go.

Coaching Inquiries: What level of consciousness do you bring to eco-friendly concerns? How can you participate more fully in the green revolution? Who can serve as a mentor, example, or coach for you? How can you make it so?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

What Motivates You?

Although it won't be released until January 27, 2009, Tamara Lowe's new book, Get Motivated!: Overcome Any Obstacle, Achieve Any Goal and Accelerate Your Success with Motivational DNA, was featured in the January-February 2009 issue of body + soul magazine. Based on an eight-year study of more than 10,000 participants, Lowe reports that her research team found that a combination of six factors motivates people, each to varying degrees: productivity, connection, stability, variety, and internal and external awards. Here is a brief description of each:

• Productivity: Classic "Type A" personalities. Driven to get things done. Extraordinary will-power and self-disciple. Bold, self-assured, decisive, and wired for leadership. Fast-paced and task-oriented. Mantra: "Get it done yesterday."
  
• Connection: Loyal, empathetic, and supportive. Driven to build relationships. Rather fit in than stand out. Responsive to the needs of others. Find happiness in making others happy. Fueled by quality time with family, friends, social work environments, and open-ended timeframes. Mantra: "Don't go it alone."
  
• Stability: Practical, careful, and consistent. Fulfilled by predictable and safe routines. Great with schedules, systems, and organization. Value accuracy and rely on logic. Mantra: "Slow and steady."
  
• Variety: Dynamic, upbeat, and creative. Fulfilled by novelty and imaginative adventures. Not flustered by rapid transitions or last-minute modifications. Able to shift gears and turn on a dime. Mantra: "It has to be fun."
  
• Internal: Focused on mission and meaning. Inspired by a sense of contribution. Psychological pay is of primary importance. Sets worthwhile goals and seeks private recognition / feedback. Mantra: "If it's for the greater good, then it's worth doing."
  
• External: Focused on hard work and tangible assets. Inspired by feats of strength and record-breaking wins. Compensation, perks, and privileges come with the territory. Mantra: "Work hard, play hard."

In the article, Lowe goes on to identify some of the demotivators for each type, as well as strategies to get their groove back. Coaches do many of these things naturally, in the course of our work with clients. But anyone can become aware of and learn to work more successfully with their motivators.

Coaching Inquiries: What motivates you? What types do you identify with most? What types do you identify with least? What strategies work for you when you are feeling unmotivated? Who assists you to get back on track?

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Quick Wins Paradox

In a recent edition of the Harvard Business Review, Mark E. Van Buren and Todd Safferstone wrote an intriguing article, The Quick Wins Paradox, on the keys to success for leaders transitioning into new roles. They identify five traps that new leaders tend to fall into:

1. Focusing too heavily on details.
2. Reacting negatively to criticism.
3. Intimidating others.
4. Jumping to conclusions.
5. Micromanaging.

To avoid these traps, the authors do not suggest that leaders stop focusing on quick wins. They rather suggest that leaders focus on "collective quick wins" -- accomplishments that make their teams look good. That's the key to great leadership. It's not showing off what you know, it's rather empowering those you know. The people skills of leaders make the difference between success and failure. Van Buren and Safferstone encourage leaders to:

1. Make people believers, not bystanders.
2. Understand uncertainty.
3. Show humility.
4. Learn about their teams.

I encourage you to read the entire article and to think about your own leadership, whatever the setting.

Coaching Inquiries: How much pressure do you feel to score a quick win in 2009? How can you make that win more about the team and less about you? Who could you brainstorm with to identify options and to set a course of action? How can you make sure everyone gets credit and on board?

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