27 Oct 2008 10:40 Lightbulb moment - Why doesn't anybody ever listen?
Posted by: nina
I went to a workshop a few months ago where we were just listened to. I had something that was worrying me and after just five minutes of being able to talk out loud to someone about my worry I'd solved it. The lady I was talking to said almost nothing, she listened and, of course, I did the same for her. Both listening and talking so intently were great experiences.
If only we were so respectful in our day-to-day lives.
I came across a wonderful 1950's article yesterday called 'The Good Wife's Guide'. In it was a list of how a good wife should behave. Most of the points were interesting, if a little sexist. Among them was this gem as to how the good wife should behave as her husband comes home:
"Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time."
Isn't that good advice, for all of us - not just the good wife, but the good husband, friend, parent, child etc too? You'll find that when you stop and listen you too will enjoy your relationship more and that the person you have listened to will reciprocally be curious as to your day. It's a win/win situation.
Who aren't you listening to now? And who isn't listening to you? What first steps could you take to change the situation?
Take the first steps this week to listening. Come to Life Clubs and find out what's stopping you listen and how to change that. Plus experience really listening and being listened to. A great workshop.
If only we were so respectful in our day-to-day lives.
I came across a wonderful 1950's article yesterday called 'The Good Wife's Guide'. In it was a list of how a good wife should behave. Most of the points were interesting, if a little sexist. Among them was this gem as to how the good wife should behave as her husband comes home:
"Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time."
Isn't that good advice, for all of us - not just the good wife, but the good husband, friend, parent, child etc too? You'll find that when you stop and listen you too will enjoy your relationship more and that the person you have listened to will reciprocally be curious as to your day. It's a win/win situation.
Who aren't you listening to now? And who isn't listening to you? What first steps could you take to change the situation?
Take the first steps this week to listening. Come to Life Clubs and find out what's stopping you listen and how to change that. Plus experience really listening and being listened to. A great workshop.
20 Oct 2008 11:15 Lightbulb moment - Solving your problems
Posted by: nina
A headline this week said 'Worries spread to all corners of the world'. Sadly we've just got Life Clubs in the UK at the moment, but for those of you who are here, worries are our topic of the week. Or, to be more specific, problem solving.
I love Wikipedia. I've spent the whole week thinking about what intelligent thing I can say about problem solving - and they've done it:
"Problem solving forms part of thinking. Considered the most complex of all intellectual functions, problem solving has been defined as higher-order cognitive process that requires the modulation and control of more routine or fundamental skills." (Goldstein & Levin, 1987)
Thank you Wikipedia for solving that problem for me.
This week you're going to learn a simple formula that will enable you to solve your problems. It's straight-forward and effective and you'll be able to use it forever.
If you knew which problem you wanted to solve, what would it be? And how will you know when you've reached the solution?
Come and get a clearer way of thinking about your problems once and for all.
I love Wikipedia. I've spent the whole week thinking about what intelligent thing I can say about problem solving - and they've done it:
"Problem solving forms part of thinking. Considered the most complex of all intellectual functions, problem solving has been defined as higher-order cognitive process that requires the modulation and control of more routine or fundamental skills." (Goldstein & Levin, 1987)
Thank you Wikipedia for solving that problem for me.
This week you're going to learn a simple formula that will enable you to solve your problems. It's straight-forward and effective and you'll be able to use it forever.
If you knew which problem you wanted to solve, what would it be? And how will you know when you've reached the solution?
Come and get a clearer way of thinking about your problems once and for all.
13 Oct 2008 13:10 Lightbulb moment - How to design your future
Posted by: nina
Like many of us at the moment feeling worried about the future, I turned to this week's Life Circles workshop in order to think about what I wanted my life to be like in the next two years. I wanted to be in control. I'm fed up with everyone I talk to putting things on hold because they don't know what's going on. It's your life and you can design it, no matter what's in store for you.
All you need for this workshop is a pencil and a few pieces of paper. It's so easy and such fun. You just draw a circle for anything and everything in your life and then hand it over to someone else for a bit of intuition. Two circles later and your future has been created - just the way you want it.
When has doing a drawing helped you in the past?
Come and get a clearer way of thinking about your future without even being able to draw.
Whether or not you love drawing, you can't fail to go wrong. Check out the Life Clubs blog - for a few thoughts on drawing plus another 'lightbulb moment' for you.
All you need for this workshop is a pencil and a few pieces of paper. It's so easy and such fun. You just draw a circle for anything and everything in your life and then hand it over to someone else for a bit of intuition. Two circles later and your future has been created - just the way you want it.
When has doing a drawing helped you in the past?
Come and get a clearer way of thinking about your future without even being able to draw.
Whether or not you love drawing, you can't fail to go wrong. Check out the Life Clubs blog - for a few thoughts on drawing plus another 'lightbulb moment' for you.
06 Oct 2008 17:11 Lightbulb moment - Family stories
Posted by: nina
This week we're thinking about what we get from our families, so my blog is filled with my photos. My mum was a professional photographer and I like to think I was inspired by her always taking photos of me, my brother and Richmond Park.
Family Stories is a great workshop. It's so easy to say 'I got my headaches from my mother' and 'my temper from my father', but what else could you be getting from whom. I remember running this workshop a few years ago and someone who wasn't entirely happy in his career as a teacher was taking part. Looking at his family tree, he thought about his three cousins. All of them were incredibly successful, highly motivated men and he realised that he, too, could access whatever it was that was making them so successful. He went on and did it.
I know nothing about my blood father, but even so, the workshop works for me. I got so much from my 'dad'. My love of people, my obsession with communication, my relentless phone calling. I thought of him as I was giving my workshop in Sheffield (which was great fun). I definitely took my performance skills from him.
Come along this week and see what you can take from whom.
What would you have to have got from your family?
After this week's Life Club you'll know the answer to that question and lots more. Come and get a clearer way of thinking about your past and how it can help your future.
Family Stories is a great workshop. It's so easy to say 'I got my headaches from my mother' and 'my temper from my father', but what else could you be getting from whom. I remember running this workshop a few years ago and someone who wasn't entirely happy in his career as a teacher was taking part. Looking at his family tree, he thought about his three cousins. All of them were incredibly successful, highly motivated men and he realised that he, too, could access whatever it was that was making them so successful. He went on and did it.
I know nothing about my blood father, but even so, the workshop works for me. I got so much from my 'dad'. My love of people, my obsession with communication, my relentless phone calling. I thought of him as I was giving my workshop in Sheffield (which was great fun). I definitely took my performance skills from him.
Come along this week and see what you can take from whom.
What would you have to have got from your family?
After this week's Life Club you'll know the answer to that question and lots more. Come and get a clearer way of thinking about your past and how it can help your future.
