This morning I ran a slightly modified version of a route I've run before. It is pretty much all hills and comes in at 1.1 miles.
It was beautiful running down across the golf course, with mist in pockets across the greens and the sun coming up, on what looks like it's going to be another glorious hot day.
Is this really the day before October starts?
As I often do on my morning runs, I felt a huge sense of gratitude for being alive, for being able to run like this.
And this morning I told myself to be thankful for whatever wonderful happens to me today, and to make sure that I realise that it happened, rather than miss it because I'm too wrapped up in my thoughts.
I'm looking forward to today.
Friday 30 September 2011
Thursday 29 September 2011
The best I can be today
I was really struggling with what I could write about on my run this morning, but that happens doesn't it.
Everything goes through cycles: the seasons; day & night; our ups and downs.
It made me realise that you can never achieve being the best you can be.
It's like achieving balance. The moment you gain it, you can't stay there. Something will affect it, whether it's an external factor or a doubt that creeps into your head.
Even if you were the best you've ever been yesterday, you have to make a conscious effort to be the best you can be again today.
It's a bit like running a mile each day. I have to make the choice to do it every single morning.
Today, I'm going to be the best I can be today.
Everything goes through cycles: the seasons; day & night; our ups and downs.
It made me realise that you can never achieve being the best you can be.
It's like achieving balance. The moment you gain it, you can't stay there. Something will affect it, whether it's an external factor or a doubt that creeps into your head.
Even if you were the best you've ever been yesterday, you have to make a conscious effort to be the best you can be again today.
It's a bit like running a mile each day. I have to make the choice to do it every single morning.
Today, I'm going to be the best I can be today.
Wednesday 28 September 2011
Your 90-year-old self
I've just come back from my run. A head torch morning due to the early hour, although quite warm already.
On my run I was thinking about what I'm going to say in my 40-second slot at my networking breakfast I'm off to shortly.
Then it came to me. The story that my friend Rob told me yesterday.
He was with a client in a coffee shop who had just taken on a big scary challenge and was stuck, not sure of what to do.
Rob pointed to a man in his 90's at a table across the room and said,
"That's your 90-year-old self there in the last moments of his life. What does he want to say to you?"
Apparently that one question has changed that client. He is a different person, fired up, inspired and achieving extraordinary things.
I now know what I'm going to say at my networking breakfast.
Thanks Rob. :-)
On my run I was thinking about what I'm going to say in my 40-second slot at my networking breakfast I'm off to shortly.
Then it came to me. The story that my friend Rob told me yesterday.
He was with a client in a coffee shop who had just taken on a big scary challenge and was stuck, not sure of what to do.
Rob pointed to a man in his 90's at a table across the room and said,
"That's your 90-year-old self there in the last moments of his life. What does he want to say to you?"
Apparently that one question has changed that client. He is a different person, fired up, inspired and achieving extraordinary things.
I now know what I'm going to say at my networking breakfast.
Thanks Rob. :-)
Tuesday 27 September 2011
Christmas webs
It was like Christmas on my run this morning. It was foggy, and the damp in the fog coated hundreds of spiders' webs with glistening drops on trees, hedges and fences. It really was spectacular!
I can still see a load of glistening webs on the holly tree in my back garden as I sit here writing this.
It's funny how spiders seem to be so feared by so many people.
I have always found them quite fascinating, and the most fascinating thing about them is how they go about spinning their remarkable webs.
They are a lesson to us in strength of purpose, determination and persistence.
If you have ever watched one spinning a web, it is fascinating and, I think, quite beautiful.
And if you have ever pulled a web down one morning, don't be surprised if it's back again tomorrow.
I can still see a load of glistening webs on the holly tree in my back garden as I sit here writing this.
It's funny how spiders seem to be so feared by so many people.
I have always found them quite fascinating, and the most fascinating thing about them is how they go about spinning their remarkable webs.
They are a lesson to us in strength of purpose, determination and persistence.
If you have ever watched one spinning a web, it is fascinating and, I think, quite beautiful.
And if you have ever pulled a web down one morning, don't be surprised if it's back again tomorrow.
Monday 26 September 2011
Namaste
I was thinking on my run about how important it is to me to really feel a connection with other people, and I was reminded of the Hindu and Buddhist (I think) greeting of "Namaste".
Namaste literally means "I bow to you", but also has a deeper meaning of something like "the higher self in me bows to the higher self in you".
It also reminded me of the old Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song line, "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with."
I used to assume that was something to do with the free love philosophy of the 60's, but now I see it much more as really connecting with someone else and seeing them for the best that they can be, rather than from the perspective of what annoys you about them.
So, my intention is to hold a Namaste for everyone I come into contact with today.
Let's see how it goes.
Namaste literally means "I bow to you", but also has a deeper meaning of something like "the higher self in me bows to the higher self in you".
It also reminded me of the old Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song line, "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with."
I used to assume that was something to do with the free love philosophy of the 60's, but now I see it much more as really connecting with someone else and seeing them for the best that they can be, rather than from the perspective of what annoys you about them.
So, my intention is to hold a Namaste for everyone I come into contact with today.
Let's see how it goes.
Sunday 25 September 2011
Being heard
This morning on my run, I was thinking about what differentiates great work from good work for me.
I realised that with my vision of being the best I can be at waking people up to their potential, all my peak experiences of great work have involved creating a connection between me and other people.
What I also found interesting was that in every example of a peak experience I could think of, the connection I created went beyond the mental level, past a barrier and through to an emotional level.
My great work all seems to involve connecting with others' emotions, and helping them to feel heard, and safe, with their feelings.
When it happens, it is a gift to both the person hearing and the person being heard.
I realised that with my vision of being the best I can be at waking people up to their potential, all my peak experiences of great work have involved creating a connection between me and other people.
What I also found interesting was that in every example of a peak experience I could think of, the connection I created went beyond the mental level, past a barrier and through to an emotional level.
My great work all seems to involve connecting with others' emotions, and helping them to feel heard, and safe, with their feelings.
When it happens, it is a gift to both the person hearing and the person being heard.
Saturday 24 September 2011
You never know
I ran past a bus stop this morning, and someone had drawn two Snoopy dogs, one big and one small (with their finger I guess) in the condensation on the glass.
It made me smile.
It got me thinking that whoever drew them must have known that the condensation on the glass wouldn't last long, only until it warmed up a bit. They therefore had no idea whether anyone may or may not see their little piece of art.
But I did, and it made me smile, and brightened my morning.
That reminded me of a conversation I had with someone earlier this week. They told me that the last time we spoke (last week), I listened to them and asked a couple of questions about a challenging relationship they were having.
They said that after our chat, they went back and saw the person in question, and on the spur of the moment they decided to do something that I would say was extremely compassionate and a gift to their challenging friend.
Now I don't know how much my questions and my listening helped cause that generous act of compassion, but maybe they did.
My point is that you never know how much your little artistic gesture or your gift of being interested and just listening to someone else, can make a difference to someone else's day, or even life.
It made me smile.
It got me thinking that whoever drew them must have known that the condensation on the glass wouldn't last long, only until it warmed up a bit. They therefore had no idea whether anyone may or may not see their little piece of art.
But I did, and it made me smile, and brightened my morning.
That reminded me of a conversation I had with someone earlier this week. They told me that the last time we spoke (last week), I listened to them and asked a couple of questions about a challenging relationship they were having.
They said that after our chat, they went back and saw the person in question, and on the spur of the moment they decided to do something that I would say was extremely compassionate and a gift to their challenging friend.
Now I don't know how much my questions and my listening helped cause that generous act of compassion, but maybe they did.
My point is that you never know how much your little artistic gesture or your gift of being interested and just listening to someone else, can make a difference to someone else's day, or even life.
Saturday 17 September 2011
Freshen it up
Another blog post on a weekend run.
Wet, but really enjoyable this morning. I was surprised how many people were out on the golf course in less than ideal conditions.
My thoughts on my 2-miler this morning drifted to how I need to freshen things up every once in a while.
Even when something is working really well for me, if I just keep doing it and forget to check in every now and again, it becomes a bit "ho hum", and the same old same old.
So, on my run I came up with the idea of keeping a freshness gauge of between 1 (distinctly stale and past its "use by" date) and 10 (just picked and bursting with flavour).
I realise that this is quite a topical post, as the UK government have just decided to get rid of "sell by" dates, as manufacturers have been using them to get people to throw away perfectly good food and buy more of their products.
But "use by" dates, which stop people consuming produce that could negatively affect their health, will still be very much in evidence.
My freshness gauge can apply to my runs, my relationships (family, friends, clients and colleagues), my writing, in fact almost any aspect of my life.
What about you?
What in your life is slipping down the freshness gauge and nearing its "use by" date?
What could you do to freshen it up?
What will you do to freshen it up?
Wet, but really enjoyable this morning. I was surprised how many people were out on the golf course in less than ideal conditions.
My thoughts on my 2-miler this morning drifted to how I need to freshen things up every once in a while.
Even when something is working really well for me, if I just keep doing it and forget to check in every now and again, it becomes a bit "ho hum", and the same old same old.
So, on my run I came up with the idea of keeping a freshness gauge of between 1 (distinctly stale and past its "use by" date) and 10 (just picked and bursting with flavour).
I realise that this is quite a topical post, as the UK government have just decided to get rid of "sell by" dates, as manufacturers have been using them to get people to throw away perfectly good food and buy more of their products.
But "use by" dates, which stop people consuming produce that could negatively affect their health, will still be very much in evidence.
My freshness gauge can apply to my runs, my relationships (family, friends, clients and colleagues), my writing, in fact almost any aspect of my life.
What about you?
What in your life is slipping down the freshness gauge and nearing its "use by" date?
What could you do to freshen it up?
What will you do to freshen it up?
Sunday 4 September 2011
More than one answer?
It occurred to me on my run this morning that I have more thoughts, ideas and "stuff" that I feel inspired to record in my blog on my weekend runs than on my weekday ones.
Is it because I generally go out a bit later on my weekend runs (this morning it was almost 10 o'clock)?
Is it because I often go a little bit further? (Although today, for example, it was only just over two miles.)
Is it because I tend to vary the route slightly more on a weekend run?
I don't really know the answer, but then I don't think that it's necessarily that important to have the answer.
The most important part, I believe, is to have the initial spark of awareness, and then to feed it by being curious enough to leave the question open.
After all, once you think you have an answer, in my experience it becomes "the answer", and you lose the openness to realise that there might actually be more than one answer.
Is it because I generally go out a bit later on my weekend runs (this morning it was almost 10 o'clock)?
Is it because I often go a little bit further? (Although today, for example, it was only just over two miles.)
Is it because I tend to vary the route slightly more on a weekend run?
I don't really know the answer, but then I don't think that it's necessarily that important to have the answer.
The most important part, I believe, is to have the initial spark of awareness, and then to feed it by being curious enough to leave the question open.
After all, once you think you have an answer, in my experience it becomes "the answer", and you lose the openness to realise that there might actually be more than one answer.
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