Author: Process

Gratitude - The Missing Ingredient

When we think of living healthy balanced lives we often focus on the key areas of physical exercise, healthy eating, and getting a good nights sleep. Thankfully, in recent times more emphasis has been placed upon the other important aspects of mental health, wellbeing, managing stress (resilience is a word often used here to put a positive spin on it..another story for another day) and finding that elusive work life balance. Is the practice of gratitude the missing ingredient and the glue perhaps that can bring this altogether?

We place a lot of emphasis on what goes in to our bodies - whether that is food, vitamins, or information. But what about what we project outwards from our bodies and beings? There are plenty of examples of people in our lives who on the surface do all the right things to maintain health - yet somehow they continue to experience health and lifestyle issues.

The intention of this article is not to discuss the merits of a great diet or to promote physical exercise (although they are obviously important) - I will leave that to others far more qualified than myself to talk about those things.

What I am suggesting though, is that health and wellbeing is much bigger and wider and multi dimensional than diet and exercise. I often speak about making what I call those necessary connections in our own lives.  That is, becoming cognisant of those connections that help us become more aware of who we are, and how what we do and think, impacts us, and those around us.

Get My Book 'Gratitude Amplified' Right Here

So how does gratitude fit in to ensure, and perhaps fortify, a healthy approach and outlook to life? As a contrast lets look at the opposite of gratitude here (for example words and feelings like: pessimism, negativity, selfishness, anxiety, worry, scarcity, poverty consciousness, doom, gloom, etc) and see if this can shed some light on the importance, and indeed the necessity, of acknowledging and practicing gratitude in our lives.

It is those feelings and experiences mentioned above that can create a downward spiral that erodes or dents a persons confidence, self worth, and their health and wellbeing. Is there a common denominator here? Generally speaking there is. In simple terms it is an experience that focuses on what is not happening, what is not there, and what is not mine. In other words the focus is on what is not working or evident perhaps.

Hardly healthy thoughts or practices wouldn't you agree? Where is the evidence or demonstration of gratitude above for example? It is hard to see or experience life as this wonderful, and at times challenging journey, if we continue to focus on what is not happening to or for us. Gratitude is a way of staying on course and a reminder that our lives, despite our ups and downs, are actually pretty good for the most part....if we choose to focus our attention and awareness onto what is working for us.

Before I continue any further let me make it perfectly clear that I do not see gratitude in the same light as I see positive thinking. They are two completely different approaches.  I state this because it is all too easy to pretend things are not happening and to put a big layer of positive thoughts over everything in an attempt to improve or change situations. I am not a big fan of that kind of positive thinking...

The gratitude I speak about is not about creating positive thoughts where there are none, nor is it about developing mantras or affirmations (although they can be effective) to overcome or transcend certain situations.

Gratitude is about acknowledging what is already evident in your life. It is about being thankful and aware of all of those things that make your life good. These things are real. They exist. This practice of gratitude confirms your awareness of those conditions.

So how might you begin to show gratitude, and be grateful in your life, and where might you start? You start at the beginning. Sometimes (and this is particularly valuable if your life is focused on what is not happening or not evident) you start with things that might seem small or insignificant. You need building blocks and foundations to build upon - small instances and experiences of gratitude are powerful.

One way you can prepare yourself is to take a look at some of the video/audio programs around that can help you develop your appreciation and gratitude further. That aside, all it takes is an open mind and an intent to see good things and valuable experiences in your life.

Here are some examples to get you into the habit of practicing and acknowledging gratitude:[green_tick_1_list width="100%"]

• I give gratitude and thanks for my health.
• I give thanks for my family.
• I am thankful for a great job.
• I am thankful for a good partner.
• I am grateful for living in a beautiful place.
• I am grateful that I have great eyesight/hearing/movement.
• I give thanks and gratitude for my creativity.
• I give thanks for my ability to adapt to life changes.
• I am thankful for the food I eat.
• I give gratitude and thanks for the experiences I have had that have made me the person I am.
• I am thankful for having the ability and freedom to choose.
• I am grateful for those things I may not be aware of that are working for me right now in my life.....now we are getting somewhere with practicing gratitude!

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The above is a small list of things that barely even touch the surface of what you might be grateful for in your life. The key is to start focusing and looking at what is happening in your life, what you do have, what you are managing to achieve - and what you have achieved. It is an appreciation that life and its challenges brings possibilities and opportunities into your life. It is about the wonderful things and people that are in your life. More than that though, it is whatever you choose it to be based on your imagination and experience of yourself and your world.

Gratitude is about making those necessary connections in your life where your awareness starts growing and you start appreciating your life and the experiences and conditions you are creating in it. It is real. It is experienced. It is powerful. It is life transforming. And all importantly, it is something you can do in your own life right now. Coaching is a great way to become aware of, and to further develop your appreciation for life and your gratitude.

To book a coaching session with me, or to find out more about how coaching with me can help you, simply go to the contact me page on the home page menu.

*Craig Hedge is an accredited life coach based in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. He is also the author of the Instinctive Living self development book series available on Amazon.

 

 

A common question often posed to life coaches is; "What is the best time to start life coaching?" The general response, albeit a patronising one, is that 'NOW' is the best time to start your coaching journey.

I am going to answer that question in much more detail and tell you why I think the best time to start being coached is when you are on holidays and in holiday mode.

Why is that? Have a think about your life and your work. How do you feel when your holidays finally come around? I'm guessing that for most people the answers would be centred around a feeling of relief and finally having the time to do the things they really want to do.

Often there is a build up and an anticipation and a sense of breaking free from the expectations and demands that go with living busy working lives. For many people their holidays are their reward for living the other 90+% of their lives doing something....or something's they would rather not do.

So why do I as a coach see this holiday period as the golden opportunity and the best time to start coaching?

Its because you are away from your working life and responsibilities. You have an ability and a much better opportunity to open to new ways of thinking, living and being. You are potentially more open, more relaxed, and of course you are totally removed from your daily routine.

It is this distance that enables you to better observe your life. You don't have to rush to get to work, or stay later to reach that deadline...let alone deal with your employer, fellow employees and your customers. You now have time (or at least more time than you had at work...) to focus on YOUR needs and what you would like to improve or change in your life.

However, what often happens is that many people simply recover and recharge their batteries during their holidays to go back to the same job/working situations and conditions to then repeat the cycle - year after year after year....

"See what my clients say about how coaching changed their life right here"

Is it any surprise then why more and more people are getting depressed and losing their hope as they fall into the habit of existing in their lives rather than actively living and engaging in them?

Instead of being excited and/or engaged in their lives they merely hang in there hoping something might change. Without conscious action it rarely does change - if you truly want change or a better life, you need to step up and start actively doing something about it. In other words you need to flip the switch and break the cycle.

Your holidays are a great way for you to explore new opportunities, new ways of thinking, and new ways of being.

What I would ask you to consider is to see your holidays not just as the opportunity to get away from work and the pressures that come with everyday life, but to see them as the wonderful opportunity they are to get closer to you and to reconnect to what makes you feel alive.

It is amazing how so many people will gladly spend thousands of dollars on their holidays, but wouldn't consider a mere fraction of that to engage a life coach to help them move towards a more fulfilling life and to experience better quality relationships.

I specialise in helping people reconnect to who it is they really are and to who it is they choose to become. What is your life and the quality of your family and relationships really worth to you?

I am currently available for personal one on one coaching sessions. A powerful alternative is coaching with me via Skype. To arrange a coaching session, or to find out more information about my coaching packages, please go to the contact form (or contact me right here) at the top of this page.

*Craig Hedge is a Professional Coach and Lifestyle Mentor based in Hobart (nipaluna), Tasmania, Australia.
He is author of the Instinctive Living self help ebook and audiobook series available on Amazon.
Author.to/craigwhedge

 

One thing I continue to learn and experience as a person and as a coach, is that there is no getting away from, or escaping from, the level of consciousness that flows through you. No matter how hard you might try, your level of success (however you define success) is primarily dependent on your ability to calibrate your intentions with your behaviours. To complete that picture, the driving energy behind this process is your level of consciousness/awareness. Lets take a closer look at what I see as the dichotomy experienced in the pursuit of attaining security and living a lifestyle.

Society tells us that security is important. A simple explanation of this is that we are encouraged to work long and hard to work towards a time when we have enough security to then live a comfortable lifestyle. Sounds simple enough. And really, for so many of us, it is sound advice...isn't it?

Perhaps for some of us it is. As a life coach, and as someone who is interested in understanding consciousness and the machinations of life, I am interested in what is behind the need to chase this security. For example what drives this? What is the energy behind it? Is it fear driven? If it is, is that a good or bad thing...or neither?

I am of course looking at it within the confines of a blog article. My intention here is to merely get you thinking about what security and lifestyle mean to you. Do you have a balance between the two as you live your life and endeavour to create a lifestyle....or do you focus entirely on the end game of attaining the necessary amount of security by putting lifestyle in the I will live that later once I have the security basket?

There is a danger in chasing security on a number of levels. For example how much is enough? Is your enough impacted by the other factors that complicate this equation or dilemma? For example are you obsessed or consumed (pun intended) to spend and acquire stuff and things as you move through your life? Do you make the connection that these things can take you further away from the security you are perhaps aspiring towards?

Has a consumer driven society based around a capitalist model of growth and consumption at all costs created a major hurdle towards getting enough security? If you are spending lots of money on stuff then aren't you moving further away from the security you need by spending the very dollars that will give you this security when you retire?

The other danger, as I see it in chasing security, is that it can create a consciousness of lack. In other words it becomes a deficiency motivation exercise based around the fear of not having enough. The trouble with that approach on an energy/consciousness level is that is what you end up getting and experiencing - you get locked in a never enough mindset.

For example a person who operated from this position may never have enough because that is what they believe and that is how they live and act out their life. Their experience before and after attaining security is one of never having enough.

So how might you navigate your way through this? One approach might involve getting clear about what is important to you and ensuring you find meaning and security in your life by living it right now. How might you do that? It is about being mindful about what you do have - in other words acknowledging the security you already have.

What does that do or prove some might say? In simple terms it flips the switch on the consciousness of fear, of lack, and never having enough, to one of a trust and appreciation that life is secure as it is in the now.

If you look at the first sentence of this article you may get an appreciation of what I am alluding to here. Metaphorically speaking, your consciousness is the fuel/driving force/the energy behind all you do. Get that right and your vehicle (you/your being, and your experience of the world) runs smoother and more efficiently.

Yes we live in a complex world with so many mixed messages and so many ways to live life. Just make sure you are living your life and that you are not just existing and reacting to life around you within a series of constructs and ideas that are projected upon you by others. Live with awareness. Start making those necessary connections I often refer to and speak about in your life.

Life transformation comes from experiencing new levels of understanding and awareness. Start looking for and understanding what might be really driving you in your life in your pursuit towards your own ideas and definitions around security.

Life coaching with me can help you become clearer on what is really important to you. To contact me, simply go to the contact me form on the home page.

*Craig Hedge is an Accredited life coach based in Hobart Tasmania.

 

 

 

 

 

I often remind my clients to align to their values.  These are not empty words, cliches or merely a throwaway line. It is a common phrase and a foundational principle of life transformation coaching. In simple terms this is defined as lining up what you believe and value, and then behaving and living in a way that reflects those values. This process can be challenging and confronting as your world, as you know and believe it, starts changing as you start living with the awareness and intention to change and transform your life.

For a lot of people this can be incredibly challenging - the changes after all can be monumental. Changing things up brings risk into the equation. That risk is about letting go of things, people, beliefs and behaviours that have defined you and your life. These changes often challenge your security, your status and your ego. Many people do not entertain doing these things as it is far too daunting - and quite ironically life changing.

Many choose not to take up the challenge - the well worn path of what is believed and known, is far safer than the unknown and the unchartered regions of possibility and potential. I call it the uncomfortable comfort zone. That is, the decision (and it is always a decision..) to stay and exist in a situation or a state of mind where it appears easier to keep things the way they are to avoid the pain of change and moving into the unknown.

It can take incredible energy, willpower, discipline, motivation and inspiration to make the decision to consciously change your life - and to follow it through. It is near on impossible to make these changes if you are not clear on the way/s to do this. Often the best intentions are just nowhere near enough. Need proof on that? Failed New Year Resolutions are a good example of the best intentions just fading away. Add fad diets, failed fitness plans, and relationship and career intentions to that as well.

The biggest risk of failure (to reach a goal for example) is to blindly set out and declare you want change where there is no foundation, no aligned personal values, and no real commitment to the process towards achieving the outcome.

Lets look at some of the things you can do to align to your lifestyle vision:[green_tick_1_list width="100%"]

• Firstly you need to create one!
• It needs to reflect what is really important to you - NOT what is important to others, or what you think might be important to others, or even what others might say is important for you. This is all about YOU. You live your life - not anyone else.
• Introspection and time to think...and not think. Call this mindfulness, awareness, meditation, quiet contemplation or whatever. Start the journey to understanding you more and what really makes you happy, joyful and contented in life.
• Once you are clear/er on what is important to you and what you value, start behaving your way towards that vision. Behaviour in alignment to values calibrates effective and lasting change. You are not sending mixed messages to yourself and the world around you because you are living authentically.
• Trust is incredibly important. Trust yourself. Trust that you are moving forward in life in ways that are congruent to your values and what is important to you.
• Be patient. Lasting transformational change can take time.
• Look for signs of improvement and success in your life towards your vision. A simple way to do this is to start using a gratitude journal to document what you are grateful for and what you are doing, and who you are being in pursuit of your vision.
• Whilst I would not advocate not listening to others, I would encourage you to listen to what they really might be saying. Advice is easy. Its readily available. It is also from someone elses perspective and experience. That does not necessarily mean it is not useful or indeed valid of course. A good rule of thumb is to listen with a strong sense of who you are and are becoming - others' fears and attachment to what they deem to be security and reality is really about them. Remember that well meaning people are not necessarily well understanding people.

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There is much, much more to this. I will be exploring this in further blogs and programs. The key is to connect to who it is you are and to live your life on your terms - if that is what you choose to do of course. There are challenges and compromises along the journey to you, but with each day and each aligned action and intention, you move closer towards the life and the lifestyle that you truly want to live.

If you would like to learn more about how you can align to your values and move closer to living the life you want to live, a certified and credentialed life transformation coach can guide and support you through that process. If you would like further information, or would like to make an appointment for a coaching session please contact me.

*Craig Hedge is a Professional Coach and Lifestyle Mentor based in Hobart (nipaluna), Tasmania, Australia.
He is author of the Instinctive Living transformational self help ebook and audiobook series available on Amazon.

 

 

The value and the strength of transformational coaching is the intention to help people come to their own understandings in their own time. This runs counter to many other helping professions and services where advice, information and telling/guiding people what to do is the norm.

As a coach I am looking for a client to make their own connection/s and come to their own understandings because I know its a powerful way to initiate real change in a persons life. Giving advice and direction has a high failure rate when applied to people who simply don't buy in to that change or direction. For example how many times have we all heard and offered advice to others only to see them (and ourselves) totally ignore or avoid that advice?

People need to buy in to their own transformational change...in their own time when they are ready to do so. They need to feel aligned, passionate, and purposeful about any change they are hoping to initiate in their lives. They need to see the value, they need to feel and take ownership of the path they choose to take. Telling people what to do and throwing information at them is often a fruitless exercise because it is coming from someone else and is outside of their own experience and understanding.

Make no mistake though, there are times when advice and information is warranted and can be of immense value to the client. However as a coach, I need to know and identify the difference between those core/important times in a session when giving or providing advice would be counterproductive and unhelpful in a transformative or transformational sense. In other words I need to know when it adds value and when it impedes that powerful process that helps people to get clear on what they want and why they want it.

For example, I will let a client know when the coaching session is over and may offer and/or ask permission for some coaching hat off time. This is my way of introducing advice or other ideas that I sense, believe or feel will add value to the client without impacting or impeding the integrity of the session. This honours what coaching is, and also honours the value add and the acknowledgement and understanding that advice absolutely has its place in helping people and adding value to their lives.

It is important to know what you are doing and to let your client know that. It lets them know that you have different gears and approaches, and it acknowledges their journey and the importance of/for them in coming to their own understandings. It demonstrates respect for what coaching is and it respects the client - and as fellow cocreators I like that working (I call it playing) approach.

As a Life Transformation Coach I sense when those times for transformation and genuine energy/consciousness shifts are or may be happening for the client. Advice at these times can be counter productive and can or may undo or impede the transformational change or learning process for the client. There are times when information can be shared. It is incredibly important to know the difference between sharing and giving information and enabling and allowing transformational change to naturally find its own level.