#59

Welcome to Weekly Whisper #59.

Evolve or repeat – what did you do today?

Every day, every hour, and possibly every moment, we are faced with making choices. Often those choices are made unknowingly based on what we chose yesterday e.g. How we relate to those around us; How we interpret the world around us; How we seek the information to align with our previously held beliefs.

Sometimes we are more conscious and deliberate about our choices e.g. What to eat; What to wear; What to watch on tv.

I’d be exhausted if I had to choose everything from scratch – our brains don’t really have an unlimited source of energy – so we take choice shortcuts. On many occasions it probably doesn’t matter – Would you like still or sparkling water? Should we go left or right? What time do you want to meet? Should we do it now or later?

However, on other occasions, our choices have a significant impact – now and in the future. The challenge is that we often can’t tell at the time. We don’t quite know exactly how it will play out and yet we’ve chosen a path to walk down.

This dilemma reminds me of another simple yet profound Tim Urban visual. The visual speaks for itself.

Every hardship is here to teach us how to dance with life

I know a lot of people are doing it tough right now. Some of you are struggling with the WFH/WFO dilemma. Some of you are dealing with sick families. Some of you are struggling with your mental health or the mental health of a significant other. Some of you are struggling with your own self-care. Some of you are struggling with… [fill in your own blank]. The first few are some of my own struggles 😊

I do believe life usually works out for most and that the other side of hardship is often when the lesson is learnt. When we are going through whatever hardship we are experiencing it’s a challenge sometimes just to cope and ‘get through’ the hardship.

What if the hardship was a gentle (sometimes hard!) reminder that if we see life as a dance then there will be ups, downs, twists and turns. Maybe ‘teaching us’ is too difficult a lens to use whilst we are going through it and maybe ‘reminding us’ is a gentler way to remember the dance. Once you take a rest from one dance will you remember the lesson to apply in the next one?

 
Question of the week: What’s the question that life is asking of you right now?

This is one of my go-to questions. Sometimes because I get stuck in the thick of it and sometimes it gives me space to pause and consider ‘the dance’.

For me, life is asking me about balance, surrender, and attachment.

How about you? What’s life asking of you right now?

Quote of the week: "To understand life better, find a corner and wait there! You will then see that all sorts of things and events will suddenly appear at the corner, as it happens in life!" Mehmet Murat ildan

We can never see what’s around the next corner.

Pause, breathe and wait. You never know.

And the next corner after that will come soon enough.

 
Did you miss the Freedom Fridays Podcast Episode #52?

Catch up now, before next week's new release.

Episode #52 with Gabrielle Dolan

In Episode #52 Pete chats with Gabrielle Dolan, a highly sought-after keynote speaker, educator, and author. Gabrielle understands the power of storytelling in effective business communication and has found her calling as a global thought leader in strategic storytelling and real communication. Gabrielle has worked with thousands of high-profile leaders and their teams from around the world and takes the time for an enlightening and informative chat with Pete.

Gabrielle (Ral) and Pete chat about the Freedom Fridays philosophy, the importance of setting boundaries, and the tangible and intangible effects those boundaries have had on Ral’s personal and business life. They take a look at the helpful and hindering convenient stories that we all tell ourselves. And dive into the importance of bringing humanity and real-life personal stories into the world of business communication.

       

               

That's all for this week. I hope you enjoyed Weekly Whisper #59.

Feedback is my fuel so if you have any comments please send me an email at [email protected] and let me know your thoughts.

Cheers

Pete