#48

Welcome to Week #48

What whispers did you hear from #47

Which day are you on?

What question did you ask that made someone more interesting?

Did you really live last week? Did you really squeeze the most out of it?

What’s struck me this week?


1. Active v. passive recovery

It would be easy after such a tough year to finish for the holidays and slump. Crash onto the couch exhausted from the year gone by. I’d encourage it… for a moment. Yes please stop and rest. Yes, stop the busy-ness. Yes, stop the frenetic task-driven, always-on, people-pleasing and status-affirming behaviour and just rest. Climb into bed and sleep without an alarm for a day or so. But after a few days try some aspects of active recovery. Go for a walk in nature or get your feet wet at the beach. Take some conscious time to slow down and reflect. Go for a massage. Take the dogs on a long walk. If we recover actively – renewing our mind, body and spirit – we’re more likely to enjoy and relish the special moments the holiday season presents for us.

2. You are so busy you can’t leave your growth to chance

It’s so easy to get stuck in the thick of thin things. It’s an easy habit to reinforce that we’re busy people and responsible for so many things that we put our own growth at the bottom of the list. Being there for others' growth is an obvious responsibility many of you take seriously. So be there for yourself on occasions too. We all know the oxygen metaphor – put your own mask on first. Because of our busy-ness we forget to put our own growth first and weeks become years, become a lifetime. So, give yourself the gift of space and time. Give your growth a chance to thrive. If you’d like a template to help click here.

3. Question of the week - What have you learnt about yourself?

You might be familiar with the expression ‘fish don’t see water’. I’ve interpreted the expression as ‘I’m so busy doing, that I might not be aware of how I’m being or how I’m growing’.

So, as you cast your mind back over the year to consider how, where, when and even if you’ve grown consider this question, ‘What are you pretending not to know about what you’ve learnt about yourself?’.

4. Quote of the week - "Don’t wish for an easy life. Wish for the energy and passion to thrive in a difficult one" Bruce Lee

It’s been a tough, overwhelming, exhausting year for many. Take time to rest and recover. Take time to reflect on the year gone by. Despite some difficulty what has your energy and passion turned it in to? What circumstances and conditions can you create so you can practice getting better?

5. Freedom Fridays Podcast

My weekly conversation with ordinary people doing extraordinary things. We explore some of the big changes people have gone through and what’s helped the journey. The intention is to share as openly as possible some of the ingredients – the good, the bad, the ugly – that shape our shift from ‘I have to’ into ‘I choose to’. The lessons are hiding in open sight within the conversation – it’s up to you how you apply them.

This week I speak to Dave Sollars, a fellow facilitator and personal growth geek like myself.

We discuss the impact of recognising when we have given our own power, authority and choice away and how to reclaim it. We dive into the idea that our past – from which we live forward - is a story. Dave offers some ideas and questions that might help someone discover other stories that could support a different future.

There are many whispers in this episode and I’d encourage you to think of an area of your life that you are keen for change in and listen to the podcast with that in mind.

Click to listen to Episode #46

That's all for this week and I hope you enjoyed Weekly Whisper #48.