Devilish Dairy

Laser Provision: "Ice cream," they say, "is to die for." Unfortunately, that expression is more true than people know. Dairy products may taste great, but they cause more problems than they solve. Don't believe the propaganda as to how milk "does a body good." That may help the National Dairy Council sell milk, but it will not help you become healthy and well. It goes against the grain of what we know about evolutionary and orthomolecular nutrition. Not even children need to drink milk. Read on to find out why, and what to eat instead.

Coaching Inquiries: How much milk and dairy products do you consume on a regular basis? Are they no-fat, low-fat, or full-fat? Are they conventional or organic? Are they combined with alkaline-producing foods, or consumed on their own? How could you reduce or eliminate your consumption of milk and other dairy products? What changes would you have to make? Who could assist you to become a dairy-free zone on the road to wellness?

Gordian Grains

Laser Provision: After a few notes and acknowledgements, this Provision tackles one of the biggest health conundrums of them all: what to do with grains. On the one hand, there's no way to feed the more than 7 billion people on this planet without the abundant calories produced by grains. On the other hand, grains, like legumes, pose their own set of health problems. What's good for the many may not be good for the one, and vice-versa. So what's a person to do? Read on for a few words to the wise.

Coaching Inquiries: What part do grains play in your diet? Have you noticed any signs of gluten sensitivity? Are there times when you have trouble controlling your appetite? What would it take to reduce or eliminate your consumption of grains? Is there one grain, in particular, that you would like to start with? Who could join you in going against the grain?

Libelous Legumes

Laser Provision: Most people probably think of beans, peas, soy products, peanuts, and other legumes as perfectly safe to eat and perhaps even as healthy alternatives to meat. That may be true when it comes to commercial meat, the quality of which is so often compromised by the animal's treatment while alive and trauma while dying. But legumes pose their own set of health hazards. They often cause more problems than they solve, particularly for infants, children, and genetically susceptible individuals. All of us have to cope with their allergens, anti-nutrients, and hormones; which is why I view them more as something to be enjoyed on occasion rather than eaten regularly as a dietary staple. Read on to get the scoop on libelous legumes.

Coaching Inquiries: How many and want kinds of legumes do you include in your diet? How often do you eat them? When you eat soybeans, are they fermented or non-fermented? Do they come from genetically modified sources? What are your thoughts now as to any changes you might like to make? What other information do you want? Who would you want to talk with in the quest for wellness?

Trojan Foods

Laser Provision: It's one thing to eat a food and to get sick soon thereafter. We learn very quickly to not do that again. It's another thing to eat foods that slowly but surely chip away at our health and wellness. We hardly notice their debilitating effects and then, once noticed, we often fail to connect the dots back to the foods we have been eating. If you suspect that your foods may be causing health problems, beyond the most obvious of hazards, then this Provision will assist you to dig a little deeper and to clean up your diet even more.

Coaching Inquiries: Do you or does anyone in your family have any of the problems mentioned in today's Provision? Are there times when the problems are better and times when the problems are worse? What patterns do you notice? Do they follow your consumption of toxic lectins? How could you reduce your intake of grains, legumes, dairy products, and nightshade vegetables? Who could join you in the quest for health?

Resilient Roots

Laser Provision: Strong roots make for great resilience; that's as true for plants as it is for people. Without strong roots, trees blow over in the wind while people without strong roots get exhausted in the face of challenge. That connection accounts, in part, for why I love to eat root vegetables whenever I am about to face a demanding athletic challenge. The energy stored in those starchy tubers gives me the energy to go the distance in my race. Such vegetables should not be a daily indulgence, but they do have their place in a healthy diet. Read on to find out how they fit in.

Coaching Inquiries: How often do you eat starchy, root vegetables? How often do you eat other starchy vegetables, such as winter squash? Do you eat them fried in oil, mashed with dairy products, or otherwise loaded with fatty condiments? How could you reduce or eliminate such preparations? How could you make splendid, tossed salads a part of your daily routine? Who could join you for a healthy lunch in the days ahead?

Naturally Nuts

Laser Provision: In addition to fruits, vegetables, wild game including birds and fish, our distant ancestors had relatively easy access to three other foods: nuts, seeds, and eggs. These foods rounded out the protein and fat requirements of their healthy diets. Fortunately, we can replicate their food choices in today's world. We can eat more seeds, nuts, and eggs – not to mention wild, fatty fish – that are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids. These heart-healthy fats help to offset the heart-risky fats in the quest for optimum wellness. Curious about the foods to choose? Read on for a variety of tips, pointers, and suggestions.

Coaching Inquiries: What seeds, nuts, eggs, and fish do you eat? How do you get your Omega-3 fatty acids? How could you improve the ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 fatty acids? Are there ways to make healthy fats a more regular part of your diet? Where could you go to find the seeds, nuts, eggs, and fish that would make it so?

Perfect Protein

Laser Provision: Quantity, when it comes to protein, is generally not a problem. Most people in the developed world actually eat too much protein. But do we eat the right proteins for health and wellness? Do we even know what the right proteins are? From the standpoint of evolutionary nutrition, the answer is clear: people evolved eating non-starchy fruits and vegetables along with nuts, seeds, eggs, wild game, and wild fish. Those are the proteins our bodies digest most easily, and those are the proteins that many people are rediscovering today. If you want to make them a part of your diet, then this Provision is for you. It will point you to sources and formulas for success.

Coaching Inquiries: What proteins do you eat on a regular basis? Do you consciously look for free-range eggs, grass-fed meat, and wild fish? Do you know what local food sources are available to you? How could you befriend these sources and share them with others? What foods are you allergic to or intolerant of? How could your protein consumption contribute to both your well-being and the well-being of the planet?

Vital Veggies

Laser Provision: Too often vegetables are an afterthought, as in, "Eat your fruits and vegetables." But vegetables deserve far more attention than that. They are at least as important, if not more important, to health and wellness than their fruitier cousins. We're not talking here about French Fries and peanuts; those may be vegetables but they are not healthy vegetables. We are talking about fresh, colorful vegetables, ideally from local, organic sources, that can be eaten raw or lightly steamed. Salads, greens, and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli can make a body whole, so why not eat some today? Click here to read on.

Coaching Inquiries: How colorful is your plate? Is more than half the plate filled with fruits and vegetables? How can you find more local sources for these nutritional powerhouses? What changes would you want to make in order to have a healthier diet? How could you make it so?

Water Rights

Laser Provision: Good nutrition starts with good hydration. The human body is more water than anything else, so it behooves us to stay adequately hydrated with clean, fresh water. In most environments, that's easier said than done. Either clean, fresh water is not available or it is eclipsed by other liquids. For anyone who wants to reach and maintain both optimal weight and wellness, other liquids are best kept to a minimum. Surround yourself with dependable sources of clean, fresh water and drink at least two quarts (1.9 liters) per day – that's a primary input for health. Read on...

Coaching Inquiries: What are your beverages of choice? How could you decrease the consumption of other liquids and increase the consumption of clean, fresh water? Do you filter or distill your drinking water? What systems could you put in place that would making drinking water an easier choice?

Better Nutritional Guidelines

Laser Provision: In today's Provision we look at the details of why the official 2010 Dietary Recommendations for Americans read the way they do. They've come a long way since their last revision in 2005, but they are still limited by the mass audience for which they are written and the vested interests behind the food industry. If you want to stand out from the crowd, if you want to do better with your own health and wellness than most of the other people on the planet, then you may want to read through this Provision. Different results require different practices, and that's exactly what this Provision has in store. Click HERE to read on. Enjoy!

Coaching Inquiries: How would you describe your pattern of eating? What changes, if any, would you like to make? Where could you turn for healthy, local food sources? Do you know anyone who is a great representative of optimal wellness? How could you interview them to learn more about how and why they do what they do?

Fabulous Fruits

Laser Provision: Today we dig into the one food that really loves to be eaten: fruit. There's no way to eat too much fruit that is fresh, colorful, and organic (ideally from in-season, local sources). That's because such fruit is so good for you. It is nutrient-rich with many health benefits, not to mention the sense of satiation that it brings. If you want to control your weight without getting rid of the carbohydrates, then fruit is your friend. Read on to find out the details.

Coaching Inquiries: How many pieces of fresh, colorful, and organic fruit do you eat on a daily basis? How could you eat more? What are some sources in your area for local fruit? Have you checked out the farmer's markets or Community Supported Agriculture farmers?

Powerful Plants

Laser Provision: When it comes to optimal wellness, the nutritional powerhouses are fresh, raw fruits and vegetables. These foods are the star performers with a delightful quality: there's almost no way to eat too much of them. That's why the LifeTrek Optimal Wellness Prototype sets a minimum daily level of consumption for fruits and vegetables with no maximum. They are the go-to foods when you are feeling hungry. Want to know how these foods fit in with the other plants you may be eating? This Provision covers them all.

Coaching Inquiries: Are raw fruits and vegetables among the staples of your diet? How could you increase your consumption of these nutritional powerhouses? Do you eat a lot of beans, potatoes, and grains? How could you decrease your consumption of these agricultural products? How could you map out a healthy menu for the next week? Who could work on that menu with you?

Water Clarity

Laser Provision: When I first wrote about Water Rights almost six years ago, I received so many replies and requests that I wrote a follow-up Provision on the same subject. This time around was no different! There's obviously a lot of interest here, so I've written this Provision in Q&A format, grabbing questions and comments from both editions. The bottom line is that water benefits us on many levels, including the physical, mental, and spiritual. From the waters of the womb to the decomposition of the grave, water makes life possible. The better we connect with and treat water, the better life will be – so I hope you will join me for a few more reflections on the subject. Click here to read this full Provision.

Coaching Inquiries: What place do love and gratitude have in your life? How could consuming more and better water benefit you both physically and spiritually? Where are there bodies of water, or streams of moving water, that you could look at, get into, and / or otherwise connect with? Who could become your water body for life?

Nutrition 501

Laser Provision: What are the basics of healthy nutrition? That question is harder to answer than it might, at first, appear. Food isn't what it used to be and the effects are taking their toll. Overweight and obesity are the rule rather than the exception in many parts of the world while, at the same time, people elsewhere are starving in abject poverty. What's a person to do? The key is to get educated and interested in sustainable, healthy nutrition. It's not beyond our ability to turn things around. Read on to learn more!

Coaching Inquiries: Which of the 2010 Dietary Recommendations do you follow on a regular basis? Which ones could you start to follow more regularly? What changes would you like to make in your nutritional routine? Who could you recruit to share the journey with you?

Our Distributed Brain - What Have We Learned?

Laser Provision: When I started this Provisions series on Our Distributed Brains, little did I know what an educational and eventful four months it would be. I invited you then to help me co-construct this Provisions series by referring me to some of your favorite books and articles on learning and the brain. You did not disappoint. I am still making my way through the digital pile! In addition, as most of you know, my 87-year-old mother died rather suddenly and mercifully during this same period of time. Talk about learning from experience! My Limbic system, the seat of emotion, took over with deep feelings of sadness and grief. It's time now to summarize what we have learned before we move on to other topics. People tell me they love these summaries; I hope this one is no exception. Click here to read on.

Coaching Inquiries: What stimulates your brain for life? What would you like more of? What would you like less of? What goals might you be interested in taking up? Who would be a good conversation partner to talk with? What would you like to learn? How could notice more of the good stuff that makes life worth living?

Your Brain On Wonder

Laser Provision: There is, of course, a play on words in Candace Pert's 2006 book title, Everything you Need to Feel Go(o)d. Feeling good and feeling the presence of God are inextricably connected. The physiology, psychology, and spirituality of goodness and God are one and the same. There is a simple reason for that as everyone learned as a child: God is good. If you want to see how that works then join me for a Provision on wonder. It really is good to feel good.

Coaching Inquiries: What kind of emotions do you inspire in life and work? What kind of emotions are you filled with right now? How could you become more aware of them? How could you become more emotionally intelligent? What practices might assist you to listen more deeply and align yourself more fully with positive emotions? What is one thing you could do right now?

Your Brain On Learning

Laser Provision: My wife, Megan, and I recently spent a week in Las Vegas. It's not what you think. No gambling and glitzy shows for us. We spent the week laboring on the new home of our daughter and son-in-law. They purchased a foreclosure property which meant two things: they got a great deal and a great opportunity to learn about the joys of home ownership. No more calling the landlord when something doesn't work! Instead, you learn how to take care of things yourself. Where does learning come from and how does it work? With a nod to mirror neurons, I invite you to learn about learning in today's Provision.

Coaching Inquiries: What are some of your learning goals? What has been your approach to those goals? How have you been stimulating your mirror neurons? What successful examples have you been able to watch and what mental rehearsals have you been able to muster? How could you become even more engaged in learning what you want to learn?

Your Brain On Sleep

Laser Provision: Right before my mother went into the hospital for the medical crisis that led to her death, I wrote a Provision titled Your Brain on Exercise. Then began the 3-week odyssey of waiting, grief, and support that I have written about and shared with you through Provisions. During that 3-week period, many of my normal patterns had been greatly disrupted. Not only productivity, but exercise and sleep had suffered as well. Does that make a difference in brain functioning? You bet! Read on to find out more.

Coaching Inquiries: What is your pattern when it comes to sleep? Are you getting at least 6 hours of sleep a night? What could help you to push that up to 7.5 hours or more? What practices help you to get a good night's sleep? How might your life be better if your brain was getting more sleep? What's keeping you from making it so?

Your Brain On Exercise

Laser Provision: I have often written about the connection between my running routines and these weekly Provisions. Schedule permitting, I often sit down and write them soon after I clean up from a long run. I'm doing that right now. If you thought that running for 2+ hours just gives me a lot of time to think, you have only a small part of the picture. Exercise doesn't just give me time to think, it fuels the brain with ideas, happiness, vitality, alertness, and creativity. That's because, as we have seen my current Provision series, the brain is not just in our heads. It is distributed throughout the body and is nourished through a physiology of extracellular chemicals and fluids. If you want to make your brain smarter, then exercise may be just what the doctor ordered. Intrigued? Read on.

Coaching Inquiries: What is your pattern when it comes to exercise? Are you getting at least 90 minutes of vigorous exercise a week? What could help you to push that up to 150 minutes or more? Who could help you? What are some of your favorite exercises and activities? How might your life be better if your brain was sharper and your mood was happier? What's keeping you from taking the first step?

Your Brain On Dialogue

Laser Provision: I last wrote about the impact of goals on the human brain and by now I hope you know that when I write "brain" I mean the entire body-brain complex. Our brains are connected and distributed throughout every part of our body and goals have a demonstrable, beneficial effect on both their form and function. Simply put, it's good to put your brain on goals. But goals are not the only brain food. Omnivores that we are, our brains also thrive on dialogue. Indeed, if you want to wake up your brain there's no more surefire way to do that than to get into an engaging conversation with someone, if not an argument. Maybe that's why you're reading this Provision right now. Read on to start the conversation.

Coaching Inquiries: When was the last time that you had a good dialogue with yourself? With someone else? How could you deepen those practices? What kind of effect do you think that would have on your life and work? What's keeping you from starting that dialogue right now?

Your Brain On Goals

Laser Provision: When people work with coaches they usually want help with setting and achieving goals. The motivation is often very practical: they want to be more successful in life and work. What they don't always realize, however, is that the act of setting and striving to achieve goals changes the brain in demonstrable and positive ways. If you want to not only accomplish more but also to feel better, one of the best prescriptions is to get involved with intrinsic, goal-directed behavior. When was the last time you put your brain on goals? If it's been awhile, then this Provision might give you a nudge.

Coaching Inquiries: What are your goals right now? Are you sure? How could your goals better serve your life energy? What designs would help your goals to be expressed more fully? How could you stay focused on your goals even when distractions arise? What systems do you use, like a project manager, for progress monitoring? Who could help you to improve those systems in life and work?

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 (Coach@LifeTrekCoaching.com) or use our Contact Form to arrange a complimentary conversation. To learn more about LifeTrek Coaching programs, Click Here.

The Subtle Energies of Intelligence

Laser Provision: As people have sought to understand the workings of the brain, our imagination has often been limited and shaped by our technology. As the industrial revolution got underway, the brain and nervous system were understood in mechanical terms. With the advent of electricity and computers, they were understood in binary terms. Things were either on or off, 1 or 0, with different combinations generating different functions and outputs. Now, however, with ever-more sophisticated models of chemical neuroanatomy, researchers are rearranging the pieces of the puzzle all over again. The brain is not a digital computer. It is a biochemical soup continuously wafting subtle energies of intelligence. If you'd like to learn how to play with the recipe, read on.

Coaching Inquiries: What practices do you engage in most frequently that help you to feel good? What practices would you like to try? How would you know if they were starting to have an effect? What would change about your mood and emotion? What kinds of intelligence might be evoked?

Stop Mental Musterbating

Laser Provision: You read that Provision title right. The best thing we can do for our brains, in particular, and our happiness overall is to stop musterbating. You know what I mean: all those mental lists we keep of the things we "must" and "must not" do. Checklists are one thing, and many people find them to be helpful. "Must" and "must not" do lists are quite another thing. They cause us to "should" on ourselves with all kind of negative self talk about how sick, dumb, crazy, or stupid we are to not be doing what we are supposed to be doing. Sound familiar? Do you play the "should-a, would-a, could-a" game with yourself? If so, then this Provision may give you both relief and direction. How do you spell relief? Read on!

Coaching Inquiries: How often do you blame, belittle, or berate yourself? How often do you think such thoughts about others? What would your life be like if you were to let go of all mental musterbating? What if the "should-a, would-a, could-a" voices were dial down the volume or even disappear? How good would that be? How could you make it so?

Our Organizing Minds

Laser Provision: Today's Provision is an appreciative review of a new book co-authored by my friend and colleague, Margaret Moore, the CEO of Wellcoaches Corporation and co-director of the Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. The premise of the book is simple: to organize our lives we must first organize our minds. What that means and how to get it done is what the book and this Provision is all about. If you've been looking for a fresh approach to long-standing problems of disorganization and distraction, then I invite you to fasten your seat belt and read on. In one Provision we will cover all six Rules of Order. Click here to read on.

Coaching Inquiries: How would you describe the state of your organizing mind? Is it on autopilot or have you taken control? What would help you to be more aware and active? How could you get more sleep? How would you describe your priorities in life and work? How could you pay more attention to them both now and in the future? Who could coach you through the conversation?

Overwhelmed or Under Equipped?

Laser Provision: Increasing numbers of articles and books are being published, mostly by those who are 30 and over, with a similar refrain: the stress we are feeling these days reflects the fact that our brains have not yet caught up to our wired, 24-7 world. The overwhelm that we feel is not a personal failing; it is a global phenomenon that is taking a tremendous toll on our health and well-being. Fortunately, antidotes exist and they don't cost much money. A simple walk in the woods, taken regularly, may do the trick. So, too, with turning off the news and taking a few deep breaths. Although future generations may have better-equipped brains for the lives we now lead, the ones we have now require frequent servicing. If you've been looking for a respite, click here - this Provision fits the bill.

Coaching Inquiries: What practices assist you to find an oasis in the overwhelm? What helps you to eat well, exercise regularly, care for yourself, and relax your brain? How often do you do those things? Who could be your partner in the process? What would help you to more fully enjoy the journey?

Repetition Rewires the Brain

Laser Provision: There was a time when I thought coaching was just about learning. Now I realize that it is also about unlearning. Learning and unlearning are two different, albeit related, processes. To unlearn things we have to grieve the loss of old familiar patterns and enjoy the discovery of new ones. To make those new patterns stick, we have to repeat them on a daily basis for at least six months. Such repetition literally rewires the brain. Until that happens, however, there is constant risk of relapse. That's why people benefit greatly from developing rewarding relationships with those who model and support our learning goals. Coaching is one such relationship, but there are many others. Do you want to change for good? This Provision sketches out the route. Click here to read on...

Coaching Inquiries: What habits are you trying to change? What losses do you want to grieve? What pleasures do you want to enjoy? What is one new behavior that you would like to repeat? Who could inspire and stand by you through the process? Who are your role models and coaches? How could you start spending more time with them on a regular basis?

It's Not All In Our Neurons

Laser Provision: Have you ever heard of "The Neuron Doctrine"? Simply put, the Doctrine asserts that neurons hold a primary place in the brain and are responsible for human thinking. Even though neurons represent only about 10-15% of the human brain, that Doctrine has been in place for more than a hundred years and it has greatly influenced our approach to both neuroscience and human intelligence. When people study the brain, they study the neurons. Lately, however, that one-sided approach has begun to shift. Scientists are beginning to grasp and explore a much more active role for the other 85-90% of the human brain. What once was thought of as little more than glue, is now being recognized as the stuff that makes us truly human. If that sounds intriguing, and if you don't mind learning some new words, then this is the Provision for you (click here). Enjoy.

Coaching Inquiries: What kind of thinking describes your most characteristics thoughts? Are you more reactive or proactive? Are you more spontaneous and in-the-moment or are you more reflective and long-term? How could you strengthen your creative capacities? What would assist you to become more attentive, emotive, and imaginative? What's one new skill that you could learn in the next year?

It's Not All In Our Heads

Laser Provision: There's a lot of research and writing these days concerning brain functioning as it relates to human happiness and peak performance. That's because it's gotten a whole lot easier in the past two decades, with the advent of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (or fMRI) scanners and other technologies, to actually study the brain as it experiences different internal events. What is happening in the brain, for example, at the moment of insight? What can we learn about the power of focused attention that may inform our approach to coaching and leadership? How does the brain connect with the rest of the body? One thing is clear: the brain is not all in our heads. It's distributed throughout the body such that we feel things on deep, visceral levels. Sound intriguing? Read on.!

Coaching Inquiries: Which brain are you more aware of right now? Your mind, your heart, or your body? What would help you to integrate those brains into a peaceful and productive whole? How could you develop more cognitive, emotional, and physiological awareness? What would you like to do with that awareness, now that it's upon you?

Your Brain on Support

Laser Provision: February 26, 2012. I have written many times about the notion of a "Limbic hijack," when your emotions take over and your thinking gets pushed to the side. When that happens, we often succumb to "fight, flight, or freeze" responses. Fight relates to anger; flight relates to fear; freeze relates to grief. That was what I was going through last week when I sent out my Provision, Your Brain on Grief. I have received scores of condolences since that time and I have new appreciation for the power of empathy to soothe the Limbic system and to help us get back on track. What follows, then, is a selection of the things you wrote to me following the death of my mother. I can hardly thank you enough. Click here to share this out-pouring of support with me...

Your Brain on Grief

Laser Provision: February 19, 2012. Last week I shared with you that we were waiting with my mother in a hospital in Cleveland. At the time I wrote my short Provision we were only beginning to glimpse the severity of her condition. With blood clots in both lungs, damaging her heart and other internal organs, she was lucky to stay alive for one day, let alone for five. But stay alive she did, so that all of her children and grandchildren could make it to Cleveland in time to say goodbye.

The past ten days have been a blur with frequent sighs and tears as I and my family have come to grips with our loss. We were heartened by the outpouring of support we have received from people here at home and around the globe, including many of you with your replies to last week's Provision. I thank you for that. We were also heartened by the emerging recognition that my mother was staying alive to die on Valentine's Day. That day had special meaning for her.

My mother was one of 3 girls, separated in age by 7 years each. My mother was the youngest, her middle sister, Norma, was 7 years older, and her oldest sister, Geraldine, was 14 years older. When Norma turned 21, in 1938, she died of ulcerative colitis on her own birthday. My mother was very close to Norma, and Norma’s death was very formative in my mother’s life; it contributed to a lifetime of anxious concern for all her loved ones. To love someone, for my mother, meant that you worried about them. Indeed, my mother never ended a conversation with any of us without saying, “Be careful.”

Well, as it turns out, Norma’s birthday and dying day was Valentine’s Day, the same day my mother died. And that was no coincidence. At the hospital, all the doctors and at least one of her pastors were telling us that my mother might linger to the end of the week. But they didn’t know my mother. If anyone in her condition could will themselves to die on a particularly significant day, it would be my mother. When she went to the hospital, my mother told my sister, “Today is not my day.” That’s because Valentine’s Day, 5 days later, was her day. And she made it to that day, against all odds, just the way she wanted.

One of my mother's requests, for the at least the past ten years, was that I would officiate at her funeral. Today's Provision, then, is in her honor -- the only person I could count on, along with my father, to read my musings each and every week. Stacks of past issues are still printed out in their home. What follows are the reflections I shared at yesterday's funeral service. I hope you will find them to be a worthy description of what it's like to find your brain on grief. Click here to read the rest of this Provision.

Your Brain on Waiting

Laser Provision: February 12, 2012. Waiting. There's a reason people describe waiting as being in the meantime. Waiting can be mean and otherwise difficult. It's hard to put life on hold, to not know the future, and to make decisions with limited information. That's the space I am living in right now, in a hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, as I wait with my mother through a difficult health scare involving blood clots. The brain reels from the loss of certainty and the proleptic grief of what might be.

Yet waiting, especially this kind of waiting, is also a gift. It gets us to slow down and it reminds us of the things that are important. We live in faith that things are unfolding in mysterious and yet wonderful ways. There is no blame or shame in waiting. So we sit in the connection of this time -- with each other, with loved ones near and far, with the hospital staff, and with the Spirit of life itself. Wait with me for a time, if you are so inclined, to see if you too can feel the gift.

No one knows for sure where this will go, but I return now to waiting rather than to writing a normal Provision. My wish for you and for my mother is the same this week as every week:

May you be filled with goodness, peace, and joy.

Uniqueness_Matters

Laser Provision: Last week I wrote about the importance of uniformity when it comes to leadership. The focus there was on the quality of processes and outcomes when it comes to goods and services. Leaders make sure that quality is consistently high. But there is no uniform way for leaders to get that message across. There are as many different approaches as there are leaders. Personality and individuality are not the enemies of leadership, they are its essence. This Provision finishes our meandering through the alphabet with some reflections on the importance of uniqueness. Click here for the full Provision.

Coaching Inquiries: How would you describe your unique qualities and abilities? How well do you understand them? How well do you leverage them both for your own growth and for the growth of others? How might your uniqueness become more life-giving and performance-enhancing? Who could serve as a role model for you in this regard?

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

Uniformity Matters

Laser Provision: When it comes to leadership, uniformity matters. That's obvious when it comes to manufacturing. There are specifications for every product and it just doesn't work if some products meet those specifications while others do not. Consumers expect a uniform level of quality from item to item, year after year. But uniformity is just as important when it comes to services. From one help desk representative to another, from one third-grade classroom to another, it is important for leaders to make sure that customers experience a consistent level of quality. That's a critical task of leadership as this Provision makes clear. Read on for more!

Coaching Inquiries: How uniform is the quality in the organizations and groups you lead? What would increase that uniformity? How could your conversations about quality become more engaging and productive? Who could you have one such conversation with today?

Understanding Matters

Laser Provision: Two Provisions ago I wrote about the importance of knowledge when it comes to leadership. By knowledge I meant a clear grasp of what's important when it comes to leading organizations and optimizing performance. Best efforts are not enough. Best efforts without proper direction are doomed. To that end, I put forward Deming's theory of knowledge as a great framework for leaders. But knowledge without understanding is also doomed. Understanding enables leaders to translate knowledge into action. Is that one of your goals? Read on!

Coaching Inquiries: How would you describe your emotional intelligence? What kind of energy do you project? What kind of tone do you set with the people you lead? How would you describe the culture in your organization? What can you do to make it more of a coaching culture? With whom could you have an honest learning conversation today?

Kindness Matters

Laser Provision: Do you like stories? Then this is the Provision for you. It contains four stories, each of which illustrates an important principle when it comes to leadership: kindness matters. When leaders engage in either intentional or random acts of kindness, people notice. Such acts build trust and grease the wheels of change. If leaders want to make a difference in our organizations and in the world, then it behooves us to do kind things to others. When it comes to leadership, that may well be the perfect expression of the Golden Rule. What are those stories? Read on to find out about starfish, a Porsche, marathon runners, and W. Edwards Deming. Yes, even Deming was kind! Enjoy (click here for the full Provision).

Coaching Inquiries: When was the last time that you did a Random Act of Kindness? What about an Expected Act of Kindness? How would you describe your intention when it comes to kindness? When it comes to leadership, would people describe you as kindhearted or tough-as-nails? How is your way of being working for you? What might inspire you to be more kind? Who do you know who has been kind to you and how have you reciprocated in life and work?

Knowledge Matters

Laser Provision: Previously, I wrote about the importance of kaizen to leadership. Kaizen is the Japanese word for "good change," and it has come to be used in reference to continuous improvement and Total Quality Management or TQM. Unlike some quality systems that focus on inspections, quotas, and merit ratings to achieve quality, the system developed by W. Edwards Deming argues for constancy of purpose, pride of workmanship, and a no-fault learning environment where everyone, at all levels, is constantly and forever striving to improve operations. Which of the two sound better to you? Once you have the knowledge, there's no going back. Click here to read more!

Coaching Inquiries: How would you describe your knowledge of systems, variation, learning, and psychology? How do you relate to Deming's assertions as to the nature and importance of each? How might you become more familiar with this profound knowledge? What would be different about your leadership if that were to happen today?

Kaizen Matters

Laser Provision: I don't know of a leader who is not concerned with improving performance. That is, after all, an essential part of a leader's job description. No leader aims to keep things the same, let alone to make things worse. Leaders are change agents with a single-minded focus on making things better. But how do we actually do that? Although, as you will read, I have some objections to traditional problem-based learning, focused, as it is, on determining and fixing the causes of whatever is impairing performance, I nevertheless appreciate the emphasis on continuous improvement and I especially appreciate the orientation of the Japanese TQM process known as "kaizen." Never heard of it? Read on to learn more!

Coaching Inquiries: How would you describe your approach to leadership and life? Is quality job one for you? What would help you to make continuous improvement one of your core values? What would help you to express that value more fully? How could "good change" – "kaizen" – take shape today? What are three things you might do that would make things better for yourself, your family, and your organization?

Exhaustion Matters

Laser Provision: There is a time and a place for exhaustion. I have spent a number of years leading my annual 4:45 pace team at the Baltimore marathon. Afterwards, and at some points during the race, there are moments of exhaustion. Exhaustion can be a sign of having pushed oneself to get something done that is important, difficult, and/or fun. Leaders have to do that at times. Then it's time to renew, relax, and restore. But some leaders get addicted to exhaustion – a dangerous trait to be sure. If that sounds like you, if it seems like you are always exhausted these days, then read the entire Provision here...

Coaching Inquiries: How exhausted do you feel right now? What kind of rhythms are reflected in your daily and weekly patterns? How might you take charge of your calendar in order to better serve yourself and your commitments? Who and what could help you to make it so?

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

Experiments Matter

Laser Provision: One might say there are two ways to learn: theory to practice and practice to theory. The first way, known as deductive learning, starts with a set of accepted premises and applies them to particular situations. The second way, known as inductive learning, starts with a set of experiences and generalizes them into a way of doing things. Both ways of learning are constantly at work in both children and adults, but inductive learning – practice to theory – is clearly the original genius and instinct of us all. Young children are insatiably curious and inveterate researchers. They learn by conducting experiments. Great leaders would do well to rekindle that spirit in our people. Don't be afraid: the benefits far outweigh the risks. Click here to read the full Provision...

Coaching Inquiries: How much are you willing to trust yourself in the action-learning process? What kind of experiments would you be willing to conduct in order to find out? How could you become more venturesome in conducting experiments? What is one thing you would like to explore and try out in the week ahead? How could you plan that out right now?

Design Thinking: Lessons for the Classroom by Betty Ray

There are a variety of ways to put design thinking into practice and Betty Ray's blog provides some great info about how design thinking can be used in the classroom. Betty Ray's blog shares how the concept was covered at the Big Ideas Fest 2011 ...

One of the core components of Evocative Coaching is design thinking for educators... check out The Center for School Transformation to learn more!

Our Organizing Minds

Laser Provision: Today's Provision is an appreciative review of a new book co-authored by my friend and colleague, Margaret Moore, the CEO of Wellcoaches Corporation and co-director of the Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. The premise of the book is simple: to organize our lives we must first organize our minds. What that means and how to get it done is what the book and this Provision is all about. If you've been looking for a fresh approach to long-standing problems of disorganization and distraction, then I invite you to fasten your seat belt and read on. In one Provision we will cover all six Rules of Order. Click Here to read the entire Provision...

Coaching Inquiries: How would you describe the state of your organizing mind? Is it on autopilot or have you taken control? What would help you to be more aware and active? How could you get more sleep? How would you describe your priorities in life and work? How could you pay more attention to them both now and in the future? Who could coach you through the conversation?

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.

Unbidden Desires

In the Western calendar, today is New Year's Day: a traditional time for looking back on the past year and looking forward to the New Year. Both activities have real value and it's a shame that the start of every quarter does not arrive with the same reflective energy. To ponder how the past year went and to set goals for the future are quintessentially human activities. So don't squander the day!

Many people come to coaching because they want assistance with these two reflective practices. In thinking about the past, we all have blind spots and critical voices. By offering honesty and empathy, coaches assist people to see and to value what is there. It is incredibly liberating to stop, or even just to pause, our avoiding, exaggerating, and berating tendencies. That's what a good coaching conversation can do for us, and I encourage you to contact LifeTrek Coaching for a complimentary session: Click Here.

The real genius of coaching, however, lies not in reflecting on the past but on the future. Coaches assist people to set and achieve goals. That may be the simplest of all definitions when it comes to the work of coaching. We don't set goals for people and we don't tell people what to do. We don't nag people or make people do what they are "supposed" to do. We rather invite people to set goals for themselves and assist them to navigate the journey.

That's where the name "LifeTrek Coaching" came from. It was my goal, all the way back in 1998, to help people with their goals in life and work. That trajectory represents the trek of coaching. It is a moving target and, at least this side of the grave, it never ends. Which is why some people always have a coach. There's always another aspiration to unleash and another possibility to consider.

Which brings me to the subject of today's poem. For many years, I have been in the habit of writing and sharing a poem with the readers of LifeTrek Provisions on the first Sunday of the New Year. Lately, I have been thinking about the relationship between bidden and unbidden things. The dictionary defines that relationship in terms of choice, intention, and will. Unbidden things are uninvited, not asked for, neither commanded, ordered, nor summoned.

"I bid you to come forward," on the other hand, is an obvious invitation and request. We often think of bidden things as desired things and of unbidden things as undesired. Health and family emergencies or natural disasters, for example, are unbidden. So, too, with things that disrupt or interfere with our plans. When a campaign or strategy goes awry, the military refers to that as being "Overtaken By Events. And being OBE is definitely not desired.

Yet coaches, who are in the business of that most bidden of enterprises, setting and reaching goals, have learned to be on the lookout for unbidden desires. All that is bidden is not good and all that is unbidden is not bad. There are things that well up inside us to guide us, and we would do well to acknowledge and appreciate those things as the source of ambition itself.

Where do goals come from? Why do we bother with them at all? It is from the deep reservoir and churning energy of unbidden things that the bidden arises. So before we run too far away, pause with me for a moment to consider the treasurers of the unbidden:

Unbidden
©2012 Bob Tschannen-Moran

Things happen
Overtaken by events
Emotions race
Unbidden

Blocks happen
Stifling creativity
Urgency impairs
Unbidden

Insights happen
Discerning truths
Clarity emerges
Unbidden

Feelings happen
Spilling over
Provoking thoughts
Unbidden

Heartaches happen
Gasping for air
Confusion reigns
Unbidden

Dreams happen
Revealing secrets
Hope arises
Unbidden

Breaches happen
Sudden terminations
Swelling grief
Unbidden

Connections happen
Awakening hearts
Restoring souls
Unbidden

Yearnings happen
Moving mountains
Cleansing spirits
Unbidden

Inklings happen
Subtle noticing
What must be
Unbidden

Shifts happen
So unsettling
The sun rises
Unbidden

Dreams happen
Unleashing aspirations
Possibilities emerge
Unbidden

May you find your own treasures in the unbidden things of 2012.

Coaching Inquiries: What things are unbidden in your life right now? What things are welling up inside you? What things are happening around you? How could you learn from them and collect the treasures these things have to offer? Who is your coach on the trek of life?

If you would like to reply to this Provision, we encourage you to use our Feedback Form. If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Hereor Email Us. Top