When you’re trying to figure something out, what helps you find your answer?
An open-ended question or some options to choose from?
A blank sheet of paper or a framework to fill in?
To create from scratch or have a menu of choices?
Do you need an extra pair of eyes?
I have a new pair of jeans. They caught my eye in my local shop and I picked them up on a whim. When I tried them, on I loved them instantly - so comfortable, so soft, such a nice fit!
Then second guessed myself. Were they OK? Did they look OK on me? They were a very different shape, and I didn’t look like I normally did.
I really needed a second opinion, another pair of eyes, a sense check. So, I asked the person in the shop those questions. I know, like and trust her perspective - she always let me know (very directly!) if something suits me or not.
It really helped.
Are you being too flexible?
I’ve done more yoga this year than ever before, and I love both the movement and the insights I get on the mat.
So often something a yoga teacher says will strike a chord.
My most recent a-ha moment was about conscious flexibility - actively choosing when to stretch and when not to.
It linked so clearly for me into our personal boundaries.
Lots of us can stretch, accommodate, adjust.
We can hang out in our flexibility. It can become part of who we are.
We can extend ourselves but hurt ourselves in the process.
We can push ourselves beyond our limits trying to keep up with others.
Sometimes its good to stretch - we don’t want to turn into statues.
Sometimes it’s not - we don’t want to snap.
Have you met your Future Self?
Have you met your future self?
The older, wiser version of you?
The you that’s waiting to emerge over time?
The calm, clear, quiet voice of wisdom we all have within us?
In a powerful yoga session, the brilliant Roisin spoke about making choices that day that our future selves would be grateful for.
They were words that snagged in my brain - and those of other people in the class too. Lots of us gathered round her at the end to ask her to repeat the words.
They were wise words.
And useful ones too.
It’s why visualising our future self - who we will become in 20 years or more - can be a powerful thing to do.
How do you feel about changing your mind?
How do you feel about changing your mind?
About unravelling a decision.
About saying no to something that felt like a wholehearted yes when you started? Or vice versa?
It can be hard to reverse a decision that once felt good.
And yet it’s really important to pay attention to where you are now, rather than where you were when you started.
Because circumstances can change. And so can you.
How does the penny drop for you?
There’s a magical moment when we go from knowing something rationally to really *knowing* it.
When the mists clear and the penny drops.
When we know exactly what’s right and what to do next.
It’s especially magical when we’ve been sitting with something for a while. A big decision. A life choice. A crossroads. When something that has been stuck unlocks.
So how do you get to that point?
No more perfect pupil!
One of my new favourite ways to spend Sunday morning is in a warm yoga class at my local studio.
It’s the perfect balance of relaxing and intense (even though I’m always lulled into a false sense of security by the gentleness of the first 15 minutes!).
And this week it came with the added bonus of a huge a-ha moment.
As we settled into our mats the yoga teacher (the brilliant Kayleigh) set up the session.
She reminded us that it was our practice. At any time we could take a break or make a change.
I’ve heard this before and know it makes sense. I’m even getting better at actually doing it :-)
But her next sentence really landed it for me:
“Just because I tell you to do something, doesn’t mean you have to”.
Game changer.
The power of thinking out loud
Do you ever ask a question out loud to someone, and then immediately answer it yourself without need them to speak? This happens to me all the time.
I know I’m not alone, and last week I learned a new term for it.
‘Rubberducking’ is a hack in software development, and is the act of describing a coding problem to an inanimate object that won’t judge you, that often leads to finding the solution just a few moments later.
