Are you headed for the ocean?

The final chapter of the book Can't see the wood for the trees is Going with the flow.

Going with the flow is the antidote to all the other sayings covered in the book, sayings that we use when we're stuck - such as those shown below:

The main premise of the book is that nature is our coach, and nature's landscapes are metaphors for our lives. Which means the problems are described as landscapes - so too the antidotes. Which means we go from being up creeks, getting stuck in ruts or going around in circles to metaphorically going with the flow.

Not a passive or reactive sort of flow - one of pro-action and making decisions, and certainly not going against the flow. After all, you wouldn't need to go against the flow for too long for all your energy to be drained, and for that inevitable flow back to where you started. 

The problem arises when we are going with the flow and get to a fork in the river, how do we determine which of these options is the flow that takes us towards our goal, and which has the potential to get us stuck again? A frustration anyone who frequently finds themselves stuck will resonate with.

If we follow nature's metaphor the answer is simple - we need to understand which option takes us to the ocean - metaphorically at least.

Having used this 'test' with many coaching clients it's interesting how often people are able to sense which options will take them to the ocean and which won't. You'll have to try it to know to be sure for yourself.

I promise answering the question doesn't need you to replicate what I did on my book launch recently - see video below. I just felt it had to be done ;-) and am very pleased the wind from earlier in the day hadn't yet got to the final landscape we visited for the launch!

When thinking of a decision you're facing between options you may therefore want to ask "which will take me to the ocean?" and notice what you notice.

Alison Smith
The Purchasing Coach
Unlocking patterns that are keep you stuck - whether of mind, body or soul

You'll find details of stockists of the book here, and more about the Landscaping Your Life process using nature as your coach here.

If you can't see the wood for the trees

Can't see the wood for the trees is finally out, and explores a variety of ways of using nature as our coach when we're using her name in vain such as: stuck in a rut; up a creek without a paddle; or any of the sayings shown:

It's origins go back to the late 90's, and using gardening as a metaphor for supplier management, when encouraging managers within the organisation they needed to do more than just leave suppliers to it and hope for the best. Shortly thereafter the gardening expanded to cover nature more broadly, and supplier management expanded to include life, and Landscaping Your Life was born. Using #LandscapingYourLife on most social media platforms will find me.

There's over 10 different coaching tools shared in the book to help you get on track if any of these sayings are curtailing or dampening progress you're making in your life. There's an overview of the book I published when the US edition was published last month. For the more logically minded readers I also wrote a post at that time exploring the molehills we're actually making a mountain of.  

Today on my Landscaping Your Life blog I explore one of these tools as it relates to the title of the book Can't see the wood for the trees.  

14 or 44 sleeps to go

Beyond excited that on 7th Aug in the US (aka 14 sleeps) and 6th Sept in the UK (a little longer with 44 sleeps) that my first book:

Can't see the wood for the trees 

is due to be published.

Available to pre-order from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, WHS, Waterstones, Deep Books, Inner Traditions, IndieBound, & Findhorn Press.

Trade orders please see Simon & Schuster.