Hello again , I hope you are keeping well and not having too much trouble with UK winter weather. I'm happy to report that I am not, as I have the privilege of visiting one of my daughters for a few weeks in the paradise that calls itself New Zealand.
I have gone from one extreme to the other, winter to summer, freezing to sweltering, in what eventually felt like an instant, once I'd managed to forget about the very punishing
journey to get here. Change can be like that; very sudden and dramatic. Or it can be more gentle and measured. What happens in coaching can feel like both, depending on the individuality of your personal journey. It comes with obstacles too - and I've certainly had one of those lately! After nearly four years of avoiding Covid, it got me as soon as I arrived. Not just me, but my daughter and her kind friend who picked me up from the airport. So we have to isolate for a while, but
that's okay as I expected to be flattened with jet lag for about a week anyway. And it's good to have a rest. It made me wonder; since we all have obstacles and setbacks of one sort or another, what might be one thing you can do to mitigate one of yours right now?
Why neural synapses are so cool
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This year's theme is Neuroscience (NS), which is all about the human brain and nervous system and how this interacts with other aspects of our bodies and
minds to produce our experiences. I'll be sharing ways in which the understanding we gain from NS can really make a difference to our lives. It is awesome to consider that every one of us has, between our ears, our very own virtual reality simulator, including some 86 billion neurons
that all interlink to produce our rich experience of life. I can hardly imagine how many connections this implies - it's huge, and no two brains can ever be identical.
I wanted to show you an image of these microscopic wonders so you can marvel at it too. The synapse - the tiny gap between communicating neurons - really is where the change happens - which is what we're doing in coaching! It physically
changes your brain, as all experience does. So let's go for good change!
A more detailed book review
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You'll perhaps recall my enthusiasm for the work of Dr Iain McGilchrist in my previous updates. I recently began to reflect on how his work could help in coaching generally and in personal change in particular. So I've
produced a more detailed blog on the subject which you can find here on my website. I'm always keen to have robust sources for my comments and advice, and Dr Iain's work is full of the most extensive references. I think his work is one of the most important contributions in recent years and can give us hope in so many of the dilemmas we face in our modern world, from climate catastrophe to
loneliness and alienation. If this interests you too, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
What's going on at This Coaching Business
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- I'm available for new clients and my coaching packages are open again. See here for full details. Many combinations are possible, depending on what you need now. I usually work remotely these days, on Zoom or Google Meet, although if you are local it's often good to meet in person at least once. Please note I am in New
Zealand from January to April, and there is overlap in the early mornings and evening for the UK. (I don't work in the US or Canada.)
- Harrison Assessments is a comprehensive system which can investigate the whole of the employment life cycle, revealing 'deeply rooted insights that determine essential high performance traits and those that will accelerate or hinder performance related to specific positions. It reveals a person’s work preferences and behavioural competencies that pinpoint developmental opportunities and career planning to achieve personal satisfaction and measurable job performance'. I now have a
dedicated website and a new package in my Coaching Shop based on Harrison Asessments.
- From time to time I write for a couple of websites, such as the Life Coach Directory. You can access all the back issues of my updates, with different themes over the last few years, on my website. There are two archives; one up to May 2018 (don't sign up for this one as it is archived, just view it) and one since then - when the world changed with GDPR!
- You can access the rest of
my website here, with various free goodies, especially the Personal Life Analysis, which gets you started with the best places to make changes in your life. You can use it as often as you want, perhaps to track your
changes over time. I'm aware that there was an issue with the graphic displaying. This has now been fixed, so do have another go if this affected you.
I always do a free 15-30 minute intro online call to make sure coaching is right for you before starting work with you. You can check my availability on the button below. (If it isn't right for you I'll try to signpost you to something that is.) And if you can't see a suitable time, contact me anyway and I'll
find one for you. Important - please don't phone me on your ordinary mobile line between now and April while I am in NZ as it will probably cost you a fortune!! Email or What's App instead! I won't have voicemail on, for the same reason.
That's it for now, - have a great weekend. I'll be in touch again in a couple of weeks or so, All best wishes, Barbara
P.S. if you like this update and you got it elsewhere, you can get your
own personal regular copy by subscribing safely here. Please feel free to share it with anyone you think may like it; just keep the attribution to me. You also get a free email course on sign up that will help you increase your well being, effectiveness and resilience.
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