Most Monday mornings my week begins with a kickstart, I have a virtual session with my coach.  My sessions can last anything between an hour or an hour and a half.  I look forward to these sessions, they fire up my engine.  I hire a coach to help me focus on my priorities and move me towards my goals.   Having a coach can be an extremely constructive and rewarding process and it certainly helps me move in the direction of my goals.  In the last 6 months so much has happened that I only just conceived of a short while ago and it is thanks to my weekly coaching as well as my monthly mastermind team meetings that I have moved on so quickly.

I pick up all sorts of gems in my coaching sessions.   This week my coach shared with me a story that he picked up from Bob Etherington about a group of people who were asked to sit in a circle and concentrate their thoughts on trying to extinguish the flame of the candle that burned brightly in the middle of this group.   They did this for some time, to no effect.   The facilitator then walked up to the circle, he licked his fingers and promptly thus extinguished the flame.    He turned to the circle and said  “it is all very well thinking about something but it is the action you take that is what will achieve the result you want”.  Nice story Mr Etherington!

Are you familiar with the Reticular Activating System (RAS)?   The RAS is your brain’s filtering device.  We are bombarded with millions of bits of information on a daily basis and this tiny little bundle of nerve cells in the central core of the brainstem, no bigger than the tip of your finger,  is what acts as a security device allowing only certain pieces of information to filter in.  So, for example, you might have a new red car.  It is your RAS that is now noticing all the other red cars on the road.   You simply do not notice the other coloured cars on the road, for they are screened out.

Having a clear goal is so important.   The RAS is attentive to the goal and supports you in your pursuit of it whilst other less important stuff is filtered right out.

Tip of the day:   Write down on a piece of paper 10 things you wish to accomplish in the next year, fold this piece of paper and place it in your handbag/wallet.   Take this list out twice a day and read it (you may wish to alter it as you go which is fine).   They say it takes 21 days to embed a new habit.   You will surprise yourself at the speed at which these goals are achieved.