Self-renewal is something you do for yourself that rejuvenates, renews, brings you a fresh perspective or more energy or greater insight. Self-renewal yields amazing paybacks – in energy, focus, productivity, insight, learning, and physical and mental well being. Every person is different – and will find different activities that are self-renewing.
For much of my life, I flung myself blindly into each day. I typically asked myself at the beginning of the day, “What do I need to do today?” Then I had two different friends ask me two compelling questions that stopped me dead in my tracks.
Focusing on what I was grateful for forced me to develop a keener eye for all the good things in my life – and once I noticed, I found ways to add more of those things into my daily routine. Today, daily reflection has become a treasured part of my day, enabling me to decompress, process, center, learn, and grow.
Renewal is especially important for leaders today. Work demands are higher. Leaders feel constantly “on the job” due to email, cellphones, texting and instant messaging. Resources are constrained yet the need to get more done is greater.
There are times when I’m facing a tough situation – and a coach is not available. When that happens, I’ve honed a process to “coach myself” through the situation. I’ll share the process and the questions I ask myself in those specific situations.
For those who have lives that are fast paced, coaching can provide the gift of slowing down and reflecting. It is the gift that keeps on giving.
We all have blind spots about ourselves and our performance. There are things we can’t see, things that we are unaware of, and ways others see us that we are totally oblivious to. I believe this is true with even the most self aware individuals.
“If we can learn how to navigate change while capturing the lessons that each teaches us, we’ve mastered one of the most useful skills this life requires.” ~ Guest blogger Rhonda Young, on letting change lead.
I recently had one of the leaders I coach push me right into my zone of discomfort. This person knew of my goal to complete a sprint triathlon and gently pushed me toward signing up for an upcoming one in our local area. And gently pushed again. And asked one more time if I was going to do it.
Fill out the form to receive the Evergreen Leadership newsletter and be notified about new blogs.
