Momentum provides motivation

I was listening to Brendon Burchard on a podcast and he said "momentum provides motivation".

Read that again.

"Momentum provides motivation"

He didn't say motivation provides the momentum, he said momentum provides the motivation.

A great reminder that taking action towards our goals every day can also inspire further action. Rather than just the other way around.

We don't have to wait for the motivation to take that action. 

One morning a few months ago, whilst mid vision setting and thinking I had to have the vision perfect before I took action, I woke with the following words in my mind.

"Put your running shoes on."

It didn't mean literally, it meant put them on metaphorically and do something every day towards the vision.

As I often do, when I may find great insight or advice hard to accept, I made a collage. I think it's as much about the act of making it, that changes the internal beliefs and mindset, as having the resulting collage card and leaving it somewhere where I will see it regularly.

This is the collage I made.

Another collage I made at the same time was made to act as a reminder for me to do my hip mobilisation exercises daily. Exercises I know help my knees (and one reason I knew the running shoes weren't for actual running!). Exercises that I don't however do every day - other than when I did the 28 day challenge.   

The smiling face in the collage was made by the 5 year old from next door and is of me - complete with purple fringe (bangs?). Apparently he "didn't need to draw the white hair because the paper was white" :-). 

The great news is that since making the collage I have done my hip mobilisation every day.  

For me taking the time to find the appropriate pictures, cut them out, position them, glue them, talk to next door's son and help him with his drawing, and make the card was the momentum that has since provided the motivation to keep me taking action.

What can you do today to start the momentum to get where you want to go?  

I also make collage cards to use as coaching and facilitation tools with clients - more here. They were certainly very popular in a recent session with the Scottish Institute for Business Leaders with one senior manager saying:

"I found the approach valuable, and an excellent framework to help develop solutions from a new perspective. It was interesting how apparently random pictures prompted highly relevant thoughts. Definitely recommended, and approach with an open mind" left in comments in a recent post.

Alison Smith
The Purchasing Coach
Unlocking personal potential using unconventional tools

The Purchasing Coach: Services for 2017

Last week in my blog I explored the topics that make me tick - those topics that inspire my action (including the odd rant), and that are subjects that I share often in the procurement consultancy, speaking, training, facilitation and coaching (1:1 or 1:3) work that I do. They're also subjects that I have expertise in, enjoy, and that also make a difference when applied well.

Posts have covered the following topics (follow the hypertext link in the heading to the post I wrote on the subject):

• Procurement in large corporate organisations - because it's the environment I've worked in for over 30 years. (Did I really type that? Although more can be found about the journey of working for myself in my happy 10th anniversary blog written in March 2016.)

• Inspiring change - because effective change comes from motivated people. 

• Creativity and Innovation - because there's a law of diminishing returns, and if we keep doing what we've always done we get what we're always got! 

(The plate was made using Marianne Williamson's wonderful words - our deepest fear...)

• Soft skills - because if achieving your goals relies on working with other people soft skills are the fastest way of unlocking misunderstandings and achieving results.

• Language - because words have power, and we often unconsciously use words that promote failure and hinder success.  

• Use of unconventional tools - because the tools I use are particularly good at bypassing barriers or resistance to change. 

• Don't leave your humanity at the door - because I get frustrated when I hear people tell me that we have to leave our authentic selves/humanity at the office door, and instead apply rules that cause other people and the planet great distress. I believe taking our humanity to work with us is what being a B Corp is all about, and is something I'm going to be talking to B Corporations about during the year. (Post script links to two posts that explain more about this. My response to the excuse for the lack of humanity in business "that's just the way business is", and "the sky is not the limit" a reminder that nothing is impossible.) 

I trust that has given you a sense of who I am, why I do what I do, how I do it, and started to perhaps give you a sense of the impact it can have on the individuals and teams I work with.

Another means of finding out more about who I am, what I do and the results achieved can be found be reading 2016: My year in blogs which was written at the end of 2016.

Wishing you all a wonderfully creative and inspiring 2017, I do hope you'll get in touch to see how we may work together this year - directly or for your team or clients.

Alison Smith
The Purchasing Coach
Using unconventional tool to unlock the potential of procurement teams

To find out more about how I might be able help you or your team to inspire change in 2017 do call me on +44(0)7770 538159 or email alison@alisonsmith.eu. I look forward to hearing from you.

The Purchasing Coach: Inspiring Change

I expressed much of what I'd like to say about inspiring change in a blog last year - so I will let you read it there rather than get in trouble with the SEO police and duplicate it again.

I'll just leave you with some images from other blogs I've written to give a sense of what my passion for inspiring change is all about.

If we're resisting change through down right strength of character

or thinking the grass is greener (click image to find more of Leigh Rubin's work)

perhaps because we have our head in the sand

or we're even stuck in a rut

we may keep doing the same thing and expecting different results 

(please note: please turn down the volume before listening to this)

 or we might be feeling a little deflated 

or off colour

We need to be inspired to be the change we wish to see in the world

That inspiration can come from many different sources, and posts earlier in the week on language, soft skills, and unconventional tools, and tomorrow's on creativity and innovation can point to potential solutions. Solutions that result in

Stepping out of the rut,

turning a corner,

breaking out of the mould,

understanding other's points of view,

simply taking personal responsibility for our own actions,

knowing what we need to stop doing

or knowing where we're headed and where we are in relation to that

Where in your life do you need to be inspired to change, and what will you to today to achieve the motivation to take that action?

Alison Smith
The Purchasing Coach
Inspiring Change Inside and Out

This first week of 2017 I'm exploring the topics that make me tick - those topics that inspire my action (including the odd rant), and that are subjects that I share often in the procurement consultancy, speaking and coaching work that I do. They're also subjects that I have expertise in, enjoy, and that also make a difference when applied well.

Posts so far this week have covered:

• Don't leave your humanity at the door - because I get frustrated when I hear people tell me that we have to leave our authentic selves/humanity at the office door, and instead apply rules that cause other people and the planet great distress. I believe taking our humanity to work with us is what being a B Corp is all about, and is something I'm going to be talking to B Corporations about during the year. 
• Language - because words have power, and we often unconsciously use words that hinder us achieving our goals.  
• Soft skills - because if your goals rely on working with other people soft skills are the fastest way to achieving your goals
• Use of unconventional tools - because they're particularly good at bypassing barriers to change. 
• Inspiring change - as above

Topics to be covered over the weekend include:

• Procurement in large corporate organisations - because it's the environment I've worked in for over 30 years. 
• Creativity and Innovation - because there's a law of diminishing returns, and if we keep doing what we've always done we get what we're always got!  

Another means of finding out more about who I am, what I do and the results achieved can be found be reading 2016: My year in blogs which was written at the end of 2016.

Don't leave your humanity at the door

Welcome 2017 - my wish for 2017 is that it facilitates and inspires positive change in health, politics, business and procurement.

There's many ways we can feed the inspiration, and one way I'm going to fuel the fire is by undertaking the creative 10 minute tasks set daily by 64 Million Artists. 

"64 Million Artists is a national campaign to unlock the potential of everyone in the UK through creativity. We use a simple, fun and free process: Do, Think and Share to support people who’d like to use creativity to express themselves, get a bit more of a spring in their step, or connect better with others"

Yesterday's task involved writing a media headline we wanted to see in 2017. Here's my headline:  

"We didn't leave our humanity at the door"

Leaving our humanity at the office door was a topic that first arose in February last year, when we delivered a procurement workshop to a group of leaders within a supplier organisation. The post I wrote at the time 'Procurement:Mr Wolf or enlightened' explains more about the conversation that took place. 

Leaving our humanity at the office door (ie before we walk into the room) also arose many times in the latter months of 2016. When facilitating procurement clinics I often heard the words: 

• "I didn't know we could do that in business"
• "I thought I had to act this way not that way"
• "You might be able to do that but I couldn't possibly"

These were all responses to being invited to respond to a situation with humanity - or perhaps more accurately to act from their humanity, that is, from their authentic self.

I wasn't asking them, as procurement professionals, to roll over and let a supplier walk all over them. I was simply asking them to consider an authentic response, one from their mind, head or soul that felt right to them. A response that didn't rely on following a set of rules they thought they should, ought, or must use when they turn up for work everyday, but rules that apply to every day living the rest of the time. 

The collage below, made in 2015, demonstrates my interpretation of what I was hearing. The image might be an over reaction in terms of the conversations we were having, however, it certainly expresses a fear I have - that we've forgotten what being human is all about.   

I'll talk more in future posts about what I mean, and what it might look like in business and procurement. (Post script links to posts that support this. My response to the excuse for the lack of humanity in business "that's just the way business is", and "the sky is not the limit" a reminder that nothing is impossible, written after hearing colonel Chris Hadfield speak about going to the moon and space exploration more generally.) 

I will leave you with my 2017 New Year's plea - please Don't leave your humanity at the door.   

I'm going to be interviewing those who are already making this possible. I'm hoping that includes Patagonia, Ben & Jerry's, Leon's, Unilever, and other B Corporations. Any further suggestions of who to approach, or introductions to the above organisations, please do get in touch - in comments below or direct to alison@alisonsmith.eu  +44(0)7770 538159.

Alison Smith

The Purchasing Coach

Inspiring change inside and out, and encouraging us all to take our humanity with us into business not leave it at the gate, turnstile, and revolving or office doors.

#DontLeaveItAtTheDoor

For more on the year that built up to these conversations please see '2016: My Year in blogs' post, and more on what I'm going to be doing in 2017 here.

My year in Blogs

I've loved 2016 - I'd even go so far as to say it's exceeded expectations.

It's hard to say definitively why, but if I was to guess I'd say it's got a lot to do with doing the things I'm passionate about, I'm good at, and that also make a difference. A fabulous triad to be bringing into work every day. Well - not every 1 of the 366 days in 2016 obviously. Like everyone I have days when it's just work, and I'm looking forward to the end of the day, especially the day after a 3 day workshop or I've travelled back from somewhere! That said, I've have thoroughly enjoyed the largest percentage of 2016, and share here my highlights as told by the blogs I've written.

The Purchasing Coach's 10th Anniversary 

Little did I realise when I left full time employment in February 2006 that I'd still be here ten years later! Yep February was my 10th anniversary of working of myself, and the highlights shared at the time can be found here.

Soft Skills Development (or should that be: (Not so) Soft Skills Development) 

Soft skills development has always featured on workshops, and always gets a mention in the answer to 'what will you do differently as a result of attending the workshop' question.

This year, however, I've had much more opportunity to explore soft skills with clients via numerous half day 1:1 coaching sessions, and 1:3 clinics.

The clinics offer the opportunity to apply soft skills or procurement tools and techniques to current working challenges, allowing attendees to leave with a new strategy for dealing with their work then, and in the future.

Clinics in 2016 have covered stakeholder engagement, creativity, negotiation, planning & time management, and business requirements. Clinics on facilitation skills, and conflict resolution are being considered for 2017.

Feedback from these coaching and clinic sessions have included:

• "I’m more: resilient to the challenges, positive, confident and motivated" 
• "My stakeholder is now listening, and more respectful of me"
• "I no longer take problems to people but also take potential solutions"
• "Coaching has challenged me to think differently"
• "It’s been great to try out different scenarios in a safe environment"
• "I am taking more responsibility for my own reactions and judgement of others"

It's perhaps the reason I've loved this year so much, soft skills and personal development is an area I'm very very passionate about, and it can have such a transformational impact on the individual, those around them, and their results. What's not to enjoy :-)

Blogs on the (not so) soft skills have included:

• What's inspiring change all about ie why I do what I do
• A plea not to pay lip service to soft skills development  
• Being open to discovering what we don't know about ourselves 
• My response to being asked "Why do I have to adapt my style" 
• A reminder of the repercussions of not wanting to do the hard work needed to change
• A great tool to use for not getting stuck on auto pilot and being able to have choice about how we respond to situations
• A reminder that what we see isn't the whole picture
• Proof that what gets measured gets done
• The different aspects of improving communication 
• The outcome of a 28 day challenge to embed new habits to support my own well being
• Are you consciously incompetent - a model I've used time and time and time again this year to remind us that learning new things can be like wading through treacle (or for those not familiar with treacle wading through Molasses or very thick mud). Learning is also about putting aside what we think we know and being open to different perspectives.

With the occasional rants

• Game playing at work - with a reminder that we have a choice whether we play the game or not!
• Following attendance at a HeadTorch conference I wrote a blog on Toxic Leadership, I also wrote some notes about the content of the conference which was on mental health at work.
• Who, if not you, is the organisation you talk of - a response to reading blogs/tweets of people very quick to blame "they/them" elsewhere in the organisation, rather than take personal responsibility for solving the problem.

Unconventional Coaching and Facilitation Tools 

I'm certainly motivated by difference. Whilst the syllabus for workshops might often contain similar content, the way of conveying the learning is in constant change. I'm always looking for a different and more effective means of embedding new insight, as much to keep me fresh and excited about the training as anything.  

When solving problems the more conventional tools and techniques have often already been tried by the coaching client before the session, and found to be unsuccessful. Sometimes resistance to change may also be making itself know. In these instances more unconventional tools, that keep barriers down, can be a huge advantage. It's certainly why I have them in my coaching toolkit. They don't come out for every session, but they're there to use if needed AND if I believe it will support the client in moving from where they are - to where they want to be. 

The more unconventional tools I used this year have included:

• Use of metaphor - I LOVE it
• Changing our language - because words have power
• Exploring the metaphors contained within our language - for example going around in circles, getting out of our comfort zone/universe with links in those blogs to other blogs written in previous years on not seeing the wood for the trees, being stuck in a rut and so on.
• Using our submodalities to change our perspective on a situation - in one post I explored becoming more confident using this process
• Use of nature as a metaphor for our lives - such an insightful tool
• Taking a walking meeting as we did on recent workshops in Warsaw (at the request of the client after the success of it happening at an earlier workshop) 
• Using pipe cleaners to solve problems - one solution to a communication issue was shown in the picture above
• Doing something different every day - it's such a powerful tool for shifting mindsets 
• Frameworks for change coaching process - because sometimes we don't know what the solution is, and don't want to be told by someone else either, and might just consider what the cards have to ask us. 
• Collage - yes you read that right - collage 

Procurement Transformation and Change Management 

There's also been time in the office developing category management and supplier management toolkit's for clients, and the accompanying training workshops (via other consultancies and direct). The above links don't take you to blogs written this year but blogs written last year that have been updated to include content covered during this years workshops.

Other popular blogs written on procurement this year include:

• Procurement - Mr Wolf or enlightened - arising from a comment made at a workshop delivered to senior managers in a supplier's organisation (this was also my most read blog in 2016)
• A plea to sales to help us change the buyer/supplier archetype
• Are your KPI's inspiring positive change
• How Procurement can get a seat at the table
• Insights to be gleaned from the US presidential selection and applied to supplier selection :-)
• Are you getting the business requirements right? 

With over 80 posts written this year on this Purchasing Coach blog, and over 30 written on my Landscaping Your Life blog the above index only provides a snapshot of the blogs I've written this year.

and so finally...

Travels, and walking the talk

I left a voicemail message for my mum saying "I'll ring you when I get to Schiphol - no wait I'm not going via Schiphol this time - I'll call you from Brussels". I've also missed 2 connecting flights, had my luggage turn up a day later than me, and now need a new suitcase because mine has split!

In other words travelling has certainly featured a lot in 2016 - from Glasgow, Manchester, Derby, and London in the UK, to Atlanta, Shanghai, Amsterdam and Warsaw further afield. Many multiple visits, webex's, conference calls, meeting rooms, meals in restaurants and airports, and many nights in a hotel!

On my return from Shanghai in August I took a well needed social media break, and as you read this I will already have started another. I'll be back full of the joys and raring to go in early January (see Services for 2017 blog to give you a sense of what might include, and my new year's resolution "we didn't leave our humanity at the door" post).

Wishing you festive greetings, and a great start to 2017.

EnJOY

Alison Smith
The Purchasing Coach
Using unconventional tools to unlock the potential of procurement teams.

Follow hypertext links above to other posts written on the subject highlighted.

How to get back on track

These pictures might not look much but they represent the difference between being stuck and getting back on track for one client.

I often share on my blog some of the coaching tools I use - whether that's metaphors, language, collage, Frameworks for change, standing in their shoes and so on.

I don't use them just because they're different - I use them because they're effective.

One common reason for their effectiveness is the way in which they bypass the barriers or resistance we have to making the changes we need to make. After all, very simplistically, if we weren't resisting (in one some form or other) we'd already have what we say we want (obviously sometimes coaching is about defining what we want in the first place).

Yesterday I used a very frequent friend of mine - and I'm not sure I even have a name for it - lots of theory behind why it works - but over time it's morphed into the following process.

1. Identify how satisfied you are with your life on a scale of 0-10.
2. Identify key areas of your life and write them on post-its (using size of writing, colour of writing, size, shape, colour and position on the flip chart  to differentiate between them). Areas may include: work, health, fitness, finance, home, hobbies, friends, family, relationship, contribution, spirituality and so on.  
3. You may also, or instead, wish to include post-its for feelings - eg joy, laughter, freedom, openness, safety etc (see this post for a different way of using this process to explore your values, and the impact they may be having on your life at the moment).  
4. Review the pattern you see in the post-its. How might the current pattern explain why things are, and aren't, happening the way they are? That is - is something blocking you seeing another post it, is one bigger or smaller than others, do colours make any difference - and so on?
5. What changes might you want to make to the original representation? Don't just do this logically - let you heart get involved, and see if there's changes it would suggest you make. Taking care that you don't discount something that's very meaningful to you (which is easier to type than do in practice, especially if you're trying to do this on you own). 
6. Make the changes, and notice what you notice. Might further changes be needed? Just keep going till it either looks, feels or sounds just right when you review it. 
7. How satisfied do you now feel with your life? 
8. What actions have arisen as you've developed this new representation? When will you take them? (NB the answer may be "none", because the changes have happened unconsciously. In which case I'd invite you to set a date with yourself to review progress in a few days or weeks time once everything has settled. (I recently had a very intensive sports massage session, and it wasn't until 2 weeks later that I realised the tension has finally gone completely. It had slowly done it's magic over the 2 weeks once the massage guy had started the release. )

What action can you take today to bypass the barriers or resistance you have to having the life you want?

Alison Smith

The Purchasing Coach

Inspiring change inside and out, and using nature to do that via Landscaping your life too.

Inspiring change - what's that all about?

For the last year I've added the tag line 'inspiring change - inside and out' whether here on my Purchasing Coach site, on my LinkedIn profile, or when using nature to inspire change over on Landscaping Your Life.

"Why inspiring change?" is a frequent question.

It originated from my answer to questions asked in many PSA meetings "what's your niche Alison" "what's your USP? "why you, and not Sarah over there?"

The answer has always been that I help people get unstuck and back on track: whether that's through the coaching I do, Supplier Management training I deliver, stakeholder influencing and communication, or the category management strategies I develop.

That is there's a gap between where someone, a team or project is, and where they want to be - along the lines of this graphic.

Yes I can, and do, get a project from A to B by my own actions but that's not my niche.

My niche is supporting and leading others on the journey from A to B.

To do that requires others to be motivated to let go of how they do what they do currently, and to do it differently. As motivation comes from being inspired that's where 'inspiring change' comes in.

The 'inside and out' is important because it's not just about 'doing' things differently on the outside, but also how you think on the inside - the emotional intelligence if you will behind the actions. Sustained changed can only take place if the beliefs and motivations are there to support that change.

My niche therefore is inspiring change inside and out - that in turn allows others to get to B, and learn from the experience so they can replicate that again.

Where I inspire change has predominately been in

• Procurement and 
• Personal development (in business and life more widely)

Blogs I've written that explore more about my thinking, and how I do what I do are listed below - just follow the hyper text link to find out more.

• Coaching - asking the right questions
• Coaching - why I use metaphors so much - gardening for supplier management, nature for life
• Enablers for effective team working
• Enablers for effective supplier management
• Enablers for effective category management
• Values and beliefs - because without tapping into these change won't take place 
• What's in a word - because language conveys so much meaning
• The case for soft skills, and my response to "I don't do soft skills"
• "Why do I have to change?"  - you don't if you're happy with the outcome you're getting at the moment 
• Enlightened procurement - time for a new archetype
• Service provision for 2016

If you're wanting someone or a team to move from A to B, and want them to be inspired to make changes, then do get in touch.

I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind Regards

Alison Smith
Inspiring change inside and out
alison@alisonsmith.eu +44 (0)7770 538159

Landscaping Your Life

Landscaping Your life is a tool I use in my coaching and facilitation with clients. Since its conception in 2000 there's been many different ways that landscapes and nature have been used to obtain insight on situations whether for teams, boards, managers, leaders or personally.

I've shared a number of the different ways previously on this blog - going for a walk, envisoning changes to a landscape, short story, observational video blogs, coaching sessions in nature, and using sayings such as can't see the wood for the trees to find the antidote.

Here I'd like to go back in time and return to the first ever time I used it - which involves choosing a picture that best describes the current situation and then making changes to it until it's just right. (you can do this in your mind but using real pictures and cutting them up adds something to the process).

I can't tell you how you'll know 'it's just right' but you will know. It's as if as you make the changes your mind makes sense of the original situation, and the changes you make to enable it to become clearer as a result.  

Here's an example 

I then decide what to add or take away from the picture

and then realise I need to cut even more away 

That's better - and then add something

and again

and again

You may end up with very little of the original picture left - there is no right or wrong - it's as if you've gone on a journey from where you are to where you want to be and your mind will now make sense of what that means in reality. Of course you may never know what it means - you may just feel differently and the situation may just change.

Have a go yourself and notice what you notice - and let me know how you get on. Just a word of warning I've found for 99.99% of people it's useful for the landscapes to be on earth rather than out of this world. That is the normal rules of gravity apply.

I know a number of those early guinea pigs who still have their end landscape, even 15 years later, and it's on view in their office as a reminder of the insight they gained. A sign I always think of a truly profound process - even if I say so myself :-).

Individual coaching and group facilitation sessions using Landscaping Your Life or a number of other tools are available so do please get in touch if you've been grappling with a challenge for some time and would like a different perspective. alison@alisonsmith.eu +44 (0)7770 538159.

More can also be found on Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.

Postscript: a Landscaping Your Life website was launched in November 2015 - so for more on this effective process do please go and visit.

Can't see the wood for the trees

I've used landscapes as metaphors for change with clients for over 15 years. Yet I'm still surprised at the effectiveness, creativity and speed that solutions can be found.

We use landscapes all the time in the language we use - stuck in a rut, out on the limb or can't see the wood for the trees and so on. This week on Facebook I've been exploring solutions when we can't see the wood for the trees. 

The premise is if we're using the saying then at some level in our mind it represents the current situation. If we're currently stuck, therefore, one way to get unstuck is to change the image representing it.

It's much better to get a sense of how the process works if you try it for yourself. So why not think of a situation you could describe as not being able to see the wood for the trees about.

How satisfied do you feel about the situation - on a scale of 0/10 - and what benefit would it provide if you felt more satisfied? 

Now put that situation to the back of your mind, and bring to the front of your mind an image of the trees you can't see the wood for. I know it may feel a little strange but trust me you will have an answer - either because you can construct an image or intuitively can just give an answer. Trust it will, and does, make sense to your mind. 

As you reflect on your Internal image or landscape look at the following pictures - what changes may they be suggesting you make to your current image? 

No need to rush - take your time and allow landscapes, perspectives and ideas to come to mind. There's no right or wrong - we're just exploring the situation as a metaphor, as trees in a wood, rather than in reality.

I'm curious .... How satisfied are you as you now think of the original situation? Curious because you may not need to follow the rest of the process outlined below - ie your unconscious may already have done the job and shifted something - which means you already can see the wood for the trees - or may be starting to anyway.

Otherwise bring to mind your original image of the trees - you may notice some subtle or not so subtle changes have already taken place - what other changes may you want to make to that image? 

Perhaps more or less colour or movement, louder or softer sounds, bigger or smaller image. Or perhaps viewed from a different perspective or a different time of day or year or cooler or warmer. One client for example changed the type of trees to beech, and that made all the difference and inspired immediate action. In other words play around with the image. I know that sounds weird but we're simply making changes to an image we've constructed, and since the original image depicts a stuck state then making changes will enable you to get unstuck.

Just curious ... How satisfied do you feel about the situation now?

At this point if we were in a coaching session I'd spend more time on the metaphor with you - but without knowing what direction would be best for you to explore the trees then we could just get more lost in the wood ;-). So let's just return to the original situation - unless of course you have time to go for a walk in a wood and notice what difference that might make (I had a great session the other week doing this with 6 members of the Scottish Institute of Business Leaders, and many years ago with the whole board of management of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply).

What actions in the current situation or different perspectives have come to mind as you've reviewed the images or made the changes. More importantly what will be your first step?

I'm curious - how satisfied do you feel about the situation? 

You might want to remember that if you procrastinate too much longer the wood may just become like these trees ..... Unless of course that's the solution?

Have fun and do let me know how you get on.
Alison

More on Landscaping Your Life can be found on Facebook and Pinterest - see the right hand side of this page for links to these (unless anyone can tell me how to add HTML links using the Blogger app of course). I'll be starting a new Landscaping Your Life blog very soon so watch this space.

One other suggestion is to play around with the saying.....

• Can't see the trees for the wood
• Can't see the wood for the forest 
• Can't see the bark for the trees
• Can't see the fish for the water
• Like a tree out of a wood
• Can't see the rut for the mud
• Stuck in a tree
• Up a creek without a tree
• Can't see the wood for the creek
• And so on - the more absurd the better (the aim being to just change the internal representation you have for the situation - once you've done that then you're on your way from being stuck to getting back on track, or even going with the flow - if that isn't mixing metaphors too much).

Do please contact me if you're interested in individual or group sessions using the process - great for problem solving, strategy or goal setting, and for times when more inspiration or creativity are needed - alison@alisonsmith.eu +44 (0) 7770 538159

Postscript: a Landscaping Your Life website was launched in November 2015 - so for more on this effective process do please go and visit.

Let your unconscious be your guide

The challenge with challenges is if you knew what to do you'd have done it by now. The fact that you haven't done anything, and still sit wondering what to do, means there's something stopping you.

 

What's potentially stopping you from taking action is endless - fear, beliefs, assumptions, promises, lack of resources and so on. This blog can't hope to tackle every one of these reasons. That said it's likely that some part of you does know what to do and the trick is tapping into that part of you (your unconscious) that does know.

There's many ways of listening to your unconscious - meditation, writing, drawing, metaphor and stories etc. Last month I took a challenge I had on a walk and noticed what I noticed in nature. Earlier this month those attending a #streetwisdom session did something similar in the streets of London. I also often use the frameworks for change coaching process - today however I'm using the books in my library. 

The premise is:

• the unconscious knows the answer 

The unconscious just needs to be able to get the conscious awareness to see/hear/understand what that answer is. With millions of bits of information available in every second the unconscious sets the filters so the bits of information we do notice provide the insights to our enquiry. Where we look for the answers might be nature, streets or in this instance books. 

That is open a book at any page and see what it has to say - with c500 words to play with your unconscious will find the words that help start the communication and ignore all those that don't fit!
 

Let me show you what I mean - I picked 6 books from my library and opened each in turn at a page and read it. Please note it's my unconscious picking these insights so they make sense to me - your unconscious would notice different insights that make perfect sense to you.

For illustrative purposes however here's what I discovered:

Stretching Lessons

• We're living in a digital world of 0s and 1s, on or off. In an analogue world we have a choice that could be 0.45 or 0.76 not just 0 or 1. 

The Compass

• "There's danger in a divided heart" - indecision is the culprit but its indecision of the heart not mind. Quieten the mind and you may just hear the heart's whispers. 

Defy Gravity 

• "Renewal of your life, your health or your very being is a mystical undertaking."

The Invitation

• "Have faith in the truth."

The Overview Effect

• The difference between the earth and a globe is the earth doesn't have all those lines on it showing where one country ends and another starts - we are all one.

Crossroads

• "Why are you running so fast" - slow down.

Interestingly not too far away from the insights from the walk the other week - patience, flow, trust and now the additions of quietening my mind and listening to my heart and soul.

These insights may make no sense to you - they don't have to - they do to me. 

 

Why not take a situation you'd like more clarity on into a few books and notice what you notice? 

 

Alison Smith

Inspiring change inside and out