FRESH VIEWS
FREE MINI EZINE

FRESH VIEWS MINI E-ZINE

Published monthly by Sharon Eakes, Hope Unlimited, LLC
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FOCUS: Manage Transitions
Disciplines: Mental Models, Personal mastery

"There is more to life than merely increasing its speed."
Gandhi

THOUGHTS:
Most people I know, including children, have too much to do. Still, the internal and external expectations keep increasing. Joe, a salesman friend of mine received an e-mail from his boss saying, "There are 9-10 sales hours in each day." "When are you supposed to think or plan or eat?" I asked. "While driving or walking to an appointment," he replied, looking tired.

Recent research has shown that multi-tasking is not as efficient as we thought and that fast track living comes with high costs to health, relationships and long-term satisfaction. Interestingly, the Chinese pictogram for "busy" is composed of two characters: "heart" and "killing."

COACHING TIP:
To interrupt this speed cycle in a small but potentially significant way, notice and manage transitions in your day.
1) Stop as you move from one activity to another and breathe deeply. Exhale slowly, which forces you to relax.
2) Do the "3 breath, centering transition". It only takes a minute.
a. Breathe deeply through your nose; exhale through your mouth, consciously letting go of everything that's happened before this moment.
b. Become aware of your body in the present moment. Align your posture; notice the temperature; feel the air around your skin.
c. Invite yourself to have an open and receptive attitude to what's next.
3) Take a 5 minute walk twice/day, outside if possible.

If we notice and manage small transitions every day, maybe we'll be better prepared to manage big ones when they come: a child leaving home, a relationship moving to a new phase, a major career promotion, our own aging, the dying of a loved one.

TWO GREAT BOOKS THAT DEAL WITH MANAGING TRANSITIONS ARE:

1) The Power of Full Engagement, Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal, by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz

2) It's Hard to Make a Difference When You Can't Find Your Keys, the seven-step path to becoming truly organized, by Marilyn Paul, Ph.D.

INVITATION
Please join me for a 45-minute telegathering to talk in more depth about managing transitions. Call Friday, Oct. 24 at 12 noon EDT (11:00 a.m. CDT, 10:00 a.m. MT, 9:00 a.m. PDT) 1-858-300-3030, Access code: 720720 No need to register....just call at that time!
Reach me: 1-888-907-HOPE (463) or e-mail sharon@hopellc.com I am a personal and professional coach and would be happy to offer you a complimentary phone session.

Each month FRESH VIEWS focuses on a single topic, relates it to one of the five disciplines of a learning community, and offers a coaching tip and a follow-up telegathering. Please forward it to friends and colleagues. My purpose in writing FRESH VIEWS is to nurture, prod and encourage readers to think and talk about these topics with their families, friends and colleagues. Mine is only one view. Multiple conversations may deliver us to insights only hinted at here. Such a process sustains the vitality of learning relationships, learning families, learning organizations and learning communities.


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