Inspirations

Setting Intentions

Heaste — Thu, 26 Mar 2015 01:36:01 +0000

Once we clearly know what we want we can then state it as an intention…

I intend that e.g

I am …..

I have ….

When we set an intention we don’t set a time limit as we would normally do for setting a goal. As we set an intention we are also letting go of the need to know how it will happen by identifying every action step to take.

We acknowledge that it is not all up to us to create what we desire – we are working in collaboration with Life, the Universe, God or whatever you believe in and we follow this guidance by listening to and following our gut instincts, our intuition, our inner knowing, about what actions to take at any given moment.

We need only to be willing to take one step at a time, trusting that the next step will become clear after we have completed the first one.

We must be willing to trust in the unknown … to let go and trust the process of life to lead us in the perfect direction to achieve our desires in the most efficient time frame for us, and all concerned, without putting undue stress on our minds and bodies.

Use your journal to keep a record of any new Intentions you decide to focus on, along with any related thoughts, synchronicities, actions, opportunities or accomplishments that occur each day. Notice how this gentler approach to “goal setting” can still produce amazing results in your life.

What do I really want?

Heaste — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 01:06:58 +0000

When you are ready to make changes in your life it is really useful to take the time to notice and increase your awareness around what you no longer like or want in your life. This clarity around what you don’t want allows you to be able to identify clearly what you do want in your life, which makes the whole process of creating it that much easier.

Give it a go with some things you know you don’t want right now….

What I don’t want/ like/ love

What I do want or would love instead?

Take Note: The second list is for capturing what you “Love” – not what you like, and not what you will make do with! The purpose of this exercise is all about focusing your attention on creating a life that you love to live, so allow yourself to re-connect with what excites you, what brings you joy and pleasure each day. We often lose touch with these things when we operate from survival mode.

And if you need some support to reconnect with what you “love” when you are ready to make some changes just call/text Heather on 0212 406 535 or email heather@inspirationscoach.co.nz to arrange a time for a chat.

Tasks: becoming more mindful

Heaste — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 22:40:48 +0000

Our days are made of a series of tasks or activities that each take a certain amount of time. We have 24 hours in a day – no more, no less.

It is how we choose fill these 24 hours that will determine how happy, satisfied or contented we feel about our life. (You can choose the word that is most meaningful for you)

As a result it is really important to become more mindful of what we choose to include on our to-do or task lists each day.

If you are not consistently experiencing the feelings you desire then it could be time to pay attention … really pay attention … to everything you think you need to do each day. It could be time to make some changes.

This quote “not having enough hours in the day – stop doing things that don’t matter” on the Be More with Less Blog really summed it up for me.

If you’re ready to stop doing the things that don’t matter and need some support to make it happen call/ text Heather on 0212 436 535 or email heather@inspirationscoach.co.nz to arrange a time to chat.

One thing at a time

Heaste — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 23:25:55 +0000

There will be times when our capacity to accomplish anything will be low – we may be recovering from illness, or the death of a loved one. We may have overextended ourselves and feel exhausted, with our body and minds shutting down and refusing to be pushed any further.

At these times it can be really useful to ease up on ourselves, to take a more gentle approach and choose one, or possibly two, key tasks that will allow us to feel satisfied when they are complete.

The focus could be on self care – as simple as getting outside in the fresh air and sunshine for 20 min, or making sure we have one healthy meal for the day which will nourish and support us physically and emotionally.

It could mean breaking bigger tasks down into smaller, more manageable parts just for today. So for example, instead of doing a full grocery shop, we can just buy what is needed to provide for the family tea tonight, or to make the lunches tomorrow and leave the full shop for another day when we have more energy.

Many tasks can be broken down in this way. The key is to Make each step small enough to be easily accomplished in one day and still give us a feeling of satisfaction with what has been accomplished.

So give a go and let me know how you get on or Call/ text Heather on 0212 406 535 or email heather@inspirationscoach.co.nz for extra support on how to make life a little easier for yourself right now.

Small changes

Heaste — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 04:07:31 +0000

As we make new choices around what we do with our time or how to handle a task, it pays to become aware of our thinking patterns… “do you feel you “should be” doing more? That you’re being lazy? That you’re wasting time and money doing small tasks and taking small steps?”

Sometimes we need to make an adjustment in how we think about what we decide to accomplish each day or week. It is easy to discount the impact small actions, taken on a regular basis, can have on our lives. So start to appreciate the potential of small changes…

It is the very act of making a decision and the commitment to one small thing that builds muscle and confidence to tackle bigger changes.
It is the commitment to regular small actions which leads to changes that are sustainable.
It is easier to create new routines and habits with a series of small changes than it is to try and instigate one big change.
As we focus on one small thing at a time, until we can do it really well, our motivation to move on to the next step will increase.

So what small actions can you start to implement into your daily or weekly routines? An exercise class once a week? A daily green smoothie? A clear boundary? A current initiative? Make the decision to commit and see how good it can make you feel.

And as always if you need some support with identifying small changes to create the momentum for change call/text Heather on 0212 406 535 or email heather@inspirationscoach.co.nz

Creating clear business and personal boundaries

Heaste — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 20:50:09 +0000

When working with routines, especially if you are self employed or work from home, it is really important to have clear boundaries between work and personal activities.

It is very easy to just nip out to do a personal errand which disrupts the discipline necessary for work flow. Become aware of the things you find yourself doing that you use as a distraction – notice why you want to be distracted.

Create awareness of what your habits and patterns are by using a diary to record everything you do and review it at the end of each day. Did you use your time in a productive way? Did your day have the flow that you wanted to experience?

If not, challenge yourself to set clear boundaries around when you are available for business activities and when you will attend to personal or family activities and continue to monitor the result to see how this small change could work for you.

TIP:

I use a printout from my on-line calendar for a typical week to help get the clarity I need to make this work for me. This template includes all my regular, time sensitive appointments and the blocks of time around these that will be dedicated to business, personal time and family. When I first started to use this template I had to reschedule some appointments so they fit better with my intention to have clear boundaries between work and personal time.

It’s all about become really aware of your patterns, holding the intention of what you want to create and making small changes each day to bring it all into alignment.

Let me know if you would like some support to make this work for you – call/text Heather on 0212 406 535 or email mailto:heather@inspirationscoach.co.nz

How to Create a Flexible Routine

Heaste — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 22:39:16 +0000

This blog post on How to Create a Meaningful Morning Routine led me to reflect on a routine I created to act as an anchor, or point of reference for my business day, that I can use at any point of the day, no matter how I feel or how my day changes. I like to keep my routines flexible so I can be available for clients, my children, and for occasional “on call work”. These are the key priorities that I want to have flexibility to fit into my days with short notice if necessary. By creating a list of daily business activities, that I want to attend to every day, I am able to access this flexibility and still attend to the commitments that are necessary for the running of my business. Here is my daily task list for when I sit down at my desk, no matter what time that may be each day – early morning, mid morning, afternoon or evening. It focuses me and makes whatever time I have available productive.

Current initiative: this is an activity I want to focus on first each day, before I log into any programs on my computer, or attend to anything else. It can be an activity I have been procrastinating on, one that I am finding hard to create space for, or something that I want to become a new habit, a regular part of my day. The intention is to spend a minimum of 20 min on this activity first thing each day, before I do anything else. For me this is currently practicing my typing as I want to learn how to touch type properly.
Clear and reply to emails that need attention from yesterday.
Attend to any voice or text messages from yesterday.
Attend to any paper (letters/ receipts) or accounting tasks filed from yesterday
Creativity – I spend up to an hour on writing – my blog, working on tools and workshop programs.
Then I start to work with a closed task list in whatever remaining time I have available – tasks that I have identified from yesterday and previous days that I want to complete that were not urgent.

What activities would you choose to include in your daily task list? If you want to explore how you could implement a meaningful routine in your day, to support you to become more productive call/ text Heather on 0212 406 535 or email heather@inspirationscoach.co.nz.

Happy New Year!

Heaste — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 23:36:41 +0000

A New Year – a new beginning – and everything is up for review…

Including how I reflect on the old year and plan for the new one. How much time did I want to spend on this process? There are many different tools and suggestions available on the best way to do this, and you may have a system that works really well for you. I had a system of questions that worked well for me over the last few years, which I created an end of year retreat around. However this year I found myself asking – do I still want to spend this amount of time on review and retrospection? The past is over so how much time do I really want to spend on it? Is there a different way that I can be with this process this year?

As a result, I found myself pulling out questions from my end of year retreat workshop, which were the ones I felt really needed my attention … What needs to be completed to wrap up last year? Is there any unfinished business that needs attention? What’s calling me forward in the New Year? What possibilities exist that stimulate me, generate a hint of excitement or anticipation, or a potential challenge and growth? I printed out a one page year planner to pencil in any relevant dates. What’s my theme for the year? What’s the one word or short phrase that captures the essence of what I want to focus my attention on this year? And lastly I noted down a few things about what I desire under the headings … Personal Money/ income Artistic

As a result the whole reflection and review process became very simple. It took half an hour and 2 pages in my A5 journal. If you haven’t you haven’t taken time to think about your year ahead yet, why not give it a go with these questions. It’s all about keeping it simple and focusing on what really matters to you! Let me know how you get on by leaving a comment below.

Working with Time for Maximum Fulfillment

Heaste — Thu, 09 May 2013 23:16:09 +0000

This blog post for a previous event I held in November 2011, when I was running my Inspirations Cafes, has just been resent out of the blue to my subscribers. So even though it has been and gone the theme is very relevant to my new program, called 7 Steps to Transform your Life, that starts on Monday 20th May 2013

I am still really curious about different ways of approaching how we live our lives on a day to day basis. There are many different ways which can be adapted depending on what you truly want to achieve from your life. The approach we choose will also change depending on what stage of life we find ourselves in – whether we are single, in a relationship, have a young family, a grown up and independent family, or whether we are retired. There are many variables and many options.

And the bottom line still is that our life is a reflection of what we choose to do with each new day we are given, and the choices we make around what we do with our time.

So to all those amazing people out there who are ready to transform their lives by marching to their own internal drum beat come and join me for some extra support and inspiration on the next 7 Steps to Transform your Life course…

Call me on 0212 4063 535 or email me – heather@inspirationscoach.co.nz to confirm your place now.

Some simple guidelines for living

Heaste — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 01:28:52 +0000

Discover your passion and follow it
Assume you have a purpose in life, even though you may have no idea what it is!
Simplify your life
Create environments that support you
Practice extreme self care
Read inspirational books and listen to inspirational recordings or music
Hang out with people who inspire and uplift you