On driving and using the horn

An absolutely beautiful morning again this morning. If this is October give me more!

I was thinking what I would blog about on this morning's run and I remembered something I witnessed whilst walking into town last night to meet some good friends for dinner.

It was quite a common occurrence. A car pulled out of a junction, turning right across the path of approaching traffic, and a driver in another car that was driving reasonably fast took exception to the timing of the other driver's manoeuvre.

His reaction was to sound his horn, not as a quick warning, but a long extended expression of his anger at the other driver.

I wondered what the driver sounding his horn was trying to achieve. If he was trying to educate the other driver to ensure that he was more careful next time, I don't think he probably achieved his intended outcome.

If he just wanted to vent his frustration and make himself feel better, I also doubt that he achieved that.

What if, at moments of anger, annoyance or upset, we all managed to do a timeout, and think to ourselves, "what am I feeling and what would I like to achieve?"

If I would like to dissipate this feeling and return to calm, the first thing I need to do is notice that.

So, next time if you cut me up and I jam on my horn, apologies, but I must have temporarily forgotten my own wisdom.

Lucky man

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.

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.

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. :-)

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.

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.

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.