Each of us have a supply of energy. Some have learned how recharge continually, regenerating energy. Some of us are depleted beyond measure and the load of going up one more hill feels like it’s more than we can do.

Connection is not a want, it’s a need.

Understanding connection, what fuels connection and what drives disconnection with others is an important part of our self-care skillset.

There are many people who attach the word coach to their profession; from people who sell supplements to people who are consultants and offer great advise. The term “Coach" is unregulated which leads to confusion for consumers, like you.

I’d like to help you understand some basic and important points of hiring a professional coach.

Without a conversation, problems aren't solved. We try to eat issues and the problems get stickier as they get lodged in our throats. In the end, there is usually more pain and the energy drain leaves hard feelings.

Hurt builds, blame grows and unforgiveness festers.

The best news is that adversity is where we learn how to flex our hopefulness muscles. That’s right! The struggles we are facing right now may, in days to come, help us realize that we can get through another challenge. Hope is a thinking process that we access when we are faced with a challenge. This thinking process can be learned. Once you have trained your brain, it is a superpower that has amazing benefits including resilience, courage, relationship and reduction of perfectionism, anxiety and fear.

We are heading into the darkest part of the year.

Today, December 14, in Central Alberta, the sun rose at 8:38 and set at 4:22. That’s a short day! Depending on your workday, you may not experience any daylight at all! Our bodies do not get a lot of the “feel good” hormones that we need to stay emotionally resilient.

Connection is the ingredient we are all hungry for, especially in the deep, dark, second Covid Christmas of our lives.  

We misunderstood connection before Covid, and many of us are misunderstanding it today.  Connection is the gift of feeling and helping someone else feel SEEN, HEARD and UNDERSTOOD. 

Through this pandemic, we have all been white knuckling our way through one wild ride. When pivoting through the fluid experience of changing procedures, letting go of idealistic expectations is part of how we survive. “Good enough” becomes good enough. What does good enough look like for you or your situation? Can you let go of one thing and still be ok?

Active listening is one way the most effective leaders will be able to capitalize on developing the potential in people and processes as workplaces and families adjust to the new post-Covid realities. Leaders must spend a reasonable amount of time to understand a situation from numerous data points. Listening is how we do that.

Consuming information is not learning. The learning that really makes a difference is achieved only when we do the work to apply what we are learning. This takes reflection, deliberation, design, intention and action.

It is self-compassion that helps me to see the raging storm of my emotions and the trees that obscure my view as wild, rugged natural beauty where I have superpowers that all flow from a reservoir that brims with love. This is a mindset.

Perfectionism is a “self-destructive and addictive belief system”. Healthy striving is a motivation that comes from a very different place and fuels the health of individuals and organizations. Understanding the difference between perfectionism and healthy striving requires careful examination.

These days, many of us are looking for an easy fix…. meanwhile, the experience that we are seeking sits off to the side because we don’t have the patience to choose a path that requires a process.

What happens to us when we don’t rest and play? Creativity suffers. Relationships suffer. Effectiveness suffers. Clarity and purpose suffer. Decision making ability suffers. Our overall capacity for resilience suffers.