pixpired

In The Shower …

September 27, 2016 By pixpired

In our creativity workshops, we talk about managing your energy which means paying attention to how and when you get your best ideas. While we talk about the importance of taking walks, we don’t mention as often that both Dave and I find that some of our best ideas come when we are in the shower! It feels like too much information to say this in a workshop, but alas it turns out that there is research to back this up!

Gregoire and Kaufman in their 2015 book Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind highlight their 2014 research that 72% of respondents around the world reported having some kind of new insight in the shower! So the next time you are struggling for insight at work, just head to the locker room Hmmm … now that might just be TMI!

Filed Under: Creativity

What Are You Hiding?

February 2, 2016 By pixpired

One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light but by making the darkness conscious. Carl Jung

“What most concerns you about the upcoming team session?” I asked one of my clients. I had been hired by the manager to help the team rebuild trust after a rather messy and complicated situation left many deeply hurt.

“That things will get really emotional and end up being worse.”

“That’s a pretty normal response,” I replied, “but surfacing those emotions in a healthy way will lead to healing and transformation for the team.”

My client looked skeptical but knew that not doing anything was no longer an option as people were avoiding each other and the morale was in the tank.

Dealing with those dark emotions we go to great lengths to hide is indeed uncomfortable. But hiding them leaves us depressed, anxious and stuck (and perhaps broke, overweight and alcoholic, depending upon what you do to keep them hidden!)

The next time you find yourself hiding from a dark emotion, take a moment, breathe, and:

Surface the emotion.
Name it.
Experience it fully – where do you feel it in your body?
Accept it as a part of being human.
Ask yourself “What’s possible from here?”
Consider developing a mantra, like the one I developed in the image above to help you move into those dark emotions.

A big thanks to Lisa Sonora whose 30 day journal challenge led to me developing this mantra and blog.

Transforming dark emotions is at the heart of my book, How to Forgive Your Boss. Visit the website and you can download the first chapter free.

Filed Under: Change, Emotional Intelligence, Forgiveness, spirituality Tagged With: coaching, Happiness, learning, risk taking, teamwork

There’s Always Downward Dog

January 24, 2016 By pixpired

I’ve done several 30 day challenges related to blogging and drawing over the past few years and on January 1, I decided to go in a different direction with yoga.

I chose yoga for 2 reasons, to increase my flexibility and become more mindful, as my past forays into meditation weren’t all that successful! Today, day 24, I came to the following insights:

Yoga slows me down for at least a few minutes every day.
I’m getting out of my head (a big relief trust me!) and into my body.
I do feel more calm, more centered and more optimistic after I’ve done it.
I feel I’ve made progress on something every day which might not be what true yoga practitioners would say is the point of yoga. I have so many big abstract projects, however, that accomplishing this one little thing a day is comforting.

It seems to me these are all great leadership practices as well. Yoga doesn’t have to be your thing but what do you do to slow down, get out of your head, become more centered and make progress everyday?

Filed Under: Emotional Intelligence, engagement, Leadership Tagged With: Happiness, learning

Happy New Year!

December 31, 2015 By pixpired

As we approach the end of another year, here are three questions to guide your reflection:

What worked well that you want to keep?
What didn’t work well that you want to let go of?
What are you dreaming for yourself for next year?

Have a most excellent New Year’s and here’s to a great 2016!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Season’s Greetings

December 17, 2015 By pixpired

I wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season and happy, healthy 2016. Thanks for your support and interest in my blogging! All the best for the season – Tammy

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Antidote to Cynicism

December 10, 2015 By pixpired

We had just spent two days with a very diverse group of participants facilitating a Future Search process and had asked for closing comments. I was struck by two of them:

“I am excited by what we have created and feel hope for our future.”

“If you all follow through on the projects we identified, things might change.”

The second comment struck me as somewhat cynical and it got me thinking about what distinguishes hope from cynicism. As I reflected on how these two people had participated in the two days and thought about other situations, four themes emerged:

Own your part – Hopeful people own their role in situations, both the good and the bad, and don’t look to others to “fix things.” Cynical people only own the good, are oblivious to the bad, and expect others to “fix things” for them.

Assume good intent – Hopeful people trust that others are doing the best they can, while cynical people assume others are out to make their lives miserable.

Accept reality – Hopeful people don’t sugarcoat or assume doom and gloom, they accept current circumstances and don’t wish they were different. Cynical people are always searching for some perfect condition that is different from the current one.

Give - Hopeful people give their time, energy and resources to others without condition. Cynical people wait for others to give to them.

As we approach the holiday season, are you hopeful or cynical? Which of these four areas might hold insight for you?

Filed Under: Emotional Intelligence, engagement, Forgiveness, Leadership Tagged With: Happiness, learning

Take a Break from the Backpack

December 4, 2015 By pixpired

Today’s blog is inspired by a recent book, The Best Advice in Six Words, an inspiring and provocative book full of advice from famous and not so famous authors.

The holiday season can be full of unpleasant memories, high expectations and emotional stress. Take a break from that backpack.

Embrace what is possible from there. (Second 6 word advice

Filed Under: decision making, Emotional Intelligence, Forgiveness Tagged With: Happiness, perfectionism

Waiting for I’m Sorry

November 19, 2015 By pixpired

In today’s VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) work environment, the potential for pain can be high despite the best intentions of good leaders and the actions of misguided or unprepared leaders. Stuff happens, it’s not addressed and people start to carry around a heavy load of pain and frustration.

For me the way through that is an inner journey of forgiveness which sets us free and is completely in our control. Forgiveness is a choice to recognize that those who have hurt us are human, they make mistakes, and that hanging onto our anger and sense of “what’s fair” just keeps us stuck.

Reconciliation, while powerful, is a nice to have but because it involves communication between people is messy and complicated. Often it’s simply not possible because one party isn’t willing to do so. And if you reconcile without forgiveness you live in anticipation of the next “hurt”, an uneasy and fragile space to occupy.

Waiting for an I’m sorry or for someone to hold the offender accountable, or to reconcile with someone who’s not willing or able sucks the life out of us. Forgiveness, while indeed challenging, breathes life into us.

And it is a choice we can make at any time.

Filed Under: communication, Forgiveness, negotiation

Letting go of fear

November 10, 2015 By pixpired

Earlier this year I wrote about what it took to say yes to writing a book. Well the day has arrived when that book is actually published! I have let go of many fears – that I have nothing to say, that I can’t write, that I will expose myself too much, that no one is interested in this topic and, in particular, that people might think bosses already have too much power … why should we forgive them?

Much like letting go of fear, forgiveness helps you let go of pain, suffering and angst.

Forgiveness sets you free and points towards renewed possibility for your life.
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It doesn’t mean you agree with or condone someone’s behavior. It just lets you get your life back.

If there is someone occupying space in your head and you’re tired of carrying that negative energy around, you may find my book, How to Forgive Your Boss (or anyone who has done you wrong), a useful read. And for those in Victoria on December 1, please join me at the book launch.

And watch this space for more as I will be sharing tidbits from the book in future blogs.

Filed Under: Creativity Tagged With: Happiness, learning, risk taking

But I Have No Time …

November 5, 2015 By pixpired

“But I have no time,” is something I hear myself and my clients often say in relation to expressed desires about what we’d rather be doing. What I have learned from my 30-day blogging challenge is that by not prioritizing our creativity and making time for it, we just drift through our weeks, and one day jumbles into the next.

When we make time, however, things come together, they fall into place, we complete puzzles. And, according to Amabile and Kramer of The Progress Principle, engagement relates to our ability to see progress everyday.

For people who work on complex, long term projects with lots of moving pieces, doing something tangible every day that nurtures you and your creativity is not a nice to have, it’s a need to have.

Filed Under: Creativity, Emotional Intelligence, Strategy Tagged With: Happiness, risk taking