Tag

energy Archives - Kate Emmerson

Thunder Rain … by Kate

By Insights to help you #quickshift, Transformational Journeys, Transformational thoughts

A poem inspired by an unexpected storm on my Greek island in the midst of summer. Being dragged out of bed by thundering noise suddenly brought these words tumbling out of me – and I have not written any form of “poetry” since 26 – almost half my life ago!

Thunder Rain

Rain cleansing broken hearts as dawn light appears
Water healing pain, buried not forgotten
Flowing through the lives
Of everyone deep in sorrow
Tumbling words in a gasping gush of water

Fumbling “I’m sorry” in a muddy pool
Wind curling ferociously around feathered leaves
Thunder beings crashing through the panes
Beckoning get up get up GET UP

As swallows take flight in bursts of energetic black
The tall sky keeps throwing off its cleansing cloak
Begging us
To wash away the stains, just for today

by Kate Emmerson

Poem inspired by gorgeous rain on a Greek island in the middle of summer. See my pic taken from my apartment

Kate Emmerson

Purposeful Power Through Gratitude

By Coaching Tips 'n Tools, Transformational thoughts No Comments

 

“Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.”

William Faulkner
1897-1962, Writer and Nobel Prize Laureate

Kate Emmerson - IMG_7252I wish to remind you of this amazing concept called gratitude – I know you will be familiar with it, so this is merely a nudge in the right direction so that you use its positive and purposeful power! For me this is a highly spiritual concept and using it pro-actively will truly transform your life, as I know it does mine.

In my Second book “DITCH YOUR GLITCH”, Due out on the 1st September 2015, I talk about the power of gratitude

Here is a short extract ….

I suggest you aim for 12 small things to be grateful for every day; they can be anything you choose. Do not simply repeat the same list every day, but rather wander back through the last 24 hours and find the things that you are truly grateful for. AIM for 12, as it forces you to dig deep.  Why am I asking you to do this?

One of the principles that you can start working with is that like attracts like. I am not planning to get too airy-fairy on you but this is one of the principles offered up by the universe. If you are spending all day bemoaning and bitching about how bad stuff is, well then, hey presto, there you have it. Have you ever noticed the people who speak badly about their lives are the ones who have a “badly designed” life? And the ones who speak highly of their life, with mindfulness and consciousness, have better, happier and more fulfilled lives?

How would you currently identify yourself? Do you live with gratitude or show up with a bad-itude?

Gratitude                                                    Bad-itude

More conscious                                           Unconscious robot

Trusting                                                        Disbelieving

Accepting                                                     Resisting

Flowing                                                         Constricted

Energized                                                     Stagnant

Calm                                                              Stressed

Pro-active                                                     Reactive

Engaged                                                       Disinterested

Creative                                                         Blocked

Willing                                                           Closed off

Victor                                                             Victim

I find that when I am feeling down in the dumps or mad at the world, the quickest way to shift stuff externally, and correspondingly shift myself internally, is to focus on different things, no matter how hard it might be. I might also simply want to kick and scream, and sometimes I will give my inner-brat permission to do just that, but with a cut-off period. Then I come back to gratitude.

When you are feeling as if your fire is out and you have no energy, that your glitches are running or ruining your life, it can seem impossible to find any magic, have fun, be creative and do anything other than simply dragging your heels through your day. But what happens is that your entire being, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and even physically, starts resonating to that specific feeling: the feeling of being down. It’s like you

… have no life

… are in crisis mode

… always have to rush

… are out of control

… can’t make anything work

… are always stressed

… and on and on it goes.

It creates a downward spiral, with you at the bottom of that horrid hole. If there is something that you want more of in your life, the place to start is by acknowledging what is already working in an awesome and positive way, no matter how miniscule it is to begin with.

I know that it might seem easy to say, “Yes Kate, but when things get better I will feel better and then I will start writing positive things.” I am here to share with you that it is of benefit to start paying attention to the good right now, even amidst the chaos. This is what will help you see your glitches and ignite your fire. It is fine if you don’t believe me right now, but I am challenging you to do it anyway, and the proof will be in the experience.

Because like attracts like, I promise that very soon you will start noticing more of what is right, and less of what is wrong. Perception is everything. When you are in crisis, ruled by your glitches and your inner fire feels non-existent, that is all you are allowing yourself to see. When you start acknowledging the presence of something else, it is like the matches have been found, and the flame can be re-lit. So write 12 things that you are grateful for in your life every day.

Tip: I am part of a group that we call the DDs – Daily Dozen. I used to do gratitude journaling on my own, but have found this more powerful because someone else gets to witness my musings and I also get to witness other people being grateful in their lives, which nudges me to do the same. The power of group energy is tenfold, so use it to your benefit whenever you can. Nowadays, I do a combination of writing my DDs for myself, mailing my group, along with saying aloud what I am grateful for when I’m driving. 

“What you think about, talk about and get off your ass and do something about, comes about.” Larry Winget

 

With Lightness,
Kate

 

The 5 saboteurs to Vibrancy in the Workplace

By Coaching Tips 'n Tools One Comment

Are you grappling to make sense of your world, your energy, time and productivity and juggle just one too many balls in the air? In my experience as a life coach, speaker and author for the past 12 years these are the top 5 areas that companies, employers, executives and YOU  tend to neglect and overlook that will potentially lead to a lack of vibrancy, burnout and low morale in the workplace and your life.

1. Lack of vitality  

Kate Emmerson - IMG_7271Too often workplaces and even when running our own businesses we are focussed on extremely long hours and demanding projects — without taking cognisance of our energy, health, vitality and desperate need for downtime.

Yet ultimately that is YOUR responsibility as your vitality is your biggest gift to yourself!

The corporate culture dictates whether employees value their energy and bodies and treat them with respect, or abuse them through various means. This could be through being too busy, excessive use of alcohol, drugs (yip, even over the counter ones), coffee, junk food, lack of water , poor exercise habits and unrealistic hours all year round.

Doing an exercise that addresses 8 areas of life will help you understand work- life harmony with an emphasis on health as one of the cornerstones of productivity. See the footnote that will help you get started.  Remind yourself of the value of “energy management” which subsequently enhances time management is one key to boosting morale. It is also vital to take regular time off to reflect and retreat. It is also important to ensure you have had all your medical check ups annually to ensure early detection of any disease or unease in your body.

Kate’s personal trick: at the beginning of the year slot in regular downtime / weekends away for rejuvenation and creative reflection, otherwise life WILL take over and before you know it you will be dead beat at the end of another harrowing year.

Have you booked some quality time off to regenerate in the next 3 months? Put in some leave, chat to the family and make it happen so that your vitality levels increase.

2. Multitasking 

Kate Emmerson - 20131102 - IMG_1477

The myth of multitasking is finally being uncovered and making us re-think the issue of what we do when we do it, and how many things we attempt  to do at once. As a result of living in this age where multitasking has typically been revered and widely accepted means that now studies have emerged that are showing in effect we “toggle’ between tasks rather than actually multitask, which means we land up doing everything at a lower level of attention and focus. The way this multitasking shows up includes the following –  Interrupting colleagues when they are performing a task; texting / speaking whilst driving; being at work thinking about home stress and vice versa; sending messages whilst trying to write that report; letting dratted email pull you off task every time it pings another message into your inbox;  and jumping endlessly from one task to another never feeling the kick of completing something with focus and energy.  Any moment you are not wholeheartedly focussed on one task means your energy and productivity drops in that moment.  You land up morphing your time rather then simply being present.

It is important to learn to be laser focussed, even for short bursts of time, in order to be productive and to get rid of distractions where possible. Create better boundaries to be able to say “I need an hour to finish this project, so please do not interrupt me”. Coaching and personal transformation helps individuals and teams learn tools to understand the power of being present, mindful, focussed and thus being more productive. Learning how to stay in the zone, even if for five minutes, is a modern skill we need to learn. Batching your time, energy and tasks is the concept of putting like tasks with like tasks. It is better to sit and do all your emails for a focussed 2o minutes, than to bounce around from phone calls to texts to mails.

Kate’s personal trick is to use a timer — either an old fashioned hourglass one pictured here or even a techie one on your phone like “Pomodoro” or “Downtime” to set 20 – 25 minutes for task completion. Then make sure you get up and move your body, grab some water to increase hydration and brain function, then get on to your next most NB task.

3. Corporate / office clutter and disorganisation 

Our physical environment is so often overlooked — I want to inspire you to think about how a disrespected “physical” space usually equals disrespect in other areas of your life and work and is thus a reflection of underlying habits in our lives. Messy desks, poor space flow, bad filing systems, lack of workspace discipline all tell a story — and the actual physical space surrounding you can tangibly  heighten or depress your energy.  Couple this with the idea that all staff and clients bring their personal clutter to work in the form of emotional clutter or baggage – can you see it can exacerbate the issue even more. It can also impact the effect on others’ opinions  — e.g. clients walking into your dishevelled office may automatically assume lack of order in other areas of the business and thus negatively impact you and your company’s reputation. Think about living with a sense of order, discipline and respect for your space — one that it is condusive to productivity.

Kate’s personal trick —  “Zap Your Desk”   DO THIS ONE SIMPLE THING today! Clear out old projects, obsolete paper, excessive stuff that has landed on your desk. Then schedule a massive clear out at the end of each quarter.  This is a great team building exercise to incorporate one afternoon –  Kate will energise your staff and get your offices clear, energised and boost productivity.

4. Motivating values   

Kate-Emmerson-About-me

Whilst a company has corporate values and a mission statement that underpins the inner workings and purpose of the company, so too each employee has their own set of personal values, their ultimate motivators and drivers. Employers can boost morale by knowing what drives each person e.g. if one is motivated by family time, giving them an afternoon off to spend time with family might be better received than overtime payment. Knowing what makes one person buzz compared to the next is a key to boosting morale as staff will feel understood. This means having a more personalised, bespoke approach rather than a “one size fits all” – people are not machines and thus do not feel appreciated or valued in the same way. You KNOW this, so do your best to LIVE it.

Kate’s personal trick: ensure you KNOW what your highest priority values actually are so that you build your life and work around those values. For e.g. My higest ranking personal  value is courage, which ensures that even when I feel like backing down in the face of challenges, I remind myself that that is my highest driver, and it instantly gives me a little boost to go for it, regardless of the fear and negative thoughts. If you haven’t done an exercise to elicit what your personal values are, you can contact Kate for a session.

5. Playing to your strengths 

Treating every employee the same way often leads to to dire personal outcomes for everyone involved– a breakdown of confidence and general lack of morale – if you don’t feel properly understood in the workplace by employers, yourself, colleagues or clients, it can lead to feeling dis-engaged, invisible and un-important. YUCK! We each have inherent strengths and talents and we need to figure that out and help carve out a career based on strengths and less around the balanced scorecard of always focussing on the weaknesses. Helping people discover their talents through the work of the GALLUP organisation “Now Discover Your Strengths”   is one way of understanding the self and others better.  It also ensures you can manage yourself for better results according to your natural disposition. This is about going WITH one’s natural energy as opposed to AGAINST it.

Kate’s personal trick – carving a life that truly works for ME around my natural abilities rather than forcing myself to do work or commit to things that decrease my energy. It requires courage to actively engage with your strengths – if you haven’t done some form of profiling that helps you understand yourself better, perhaps now is the time?

If you would like to know how to get started then you can simply sign up for my free video series titled “How to Quick SHift 1 Thing”  to get some energy flowing and some shifts happening today.

Please find my website on www.kate-emmerson.com