Blog - Page 26 of 36 - Rhoads Life Coaching, LLC

December 9, 2018

Same Amount of Time As Everyone Else – Rhoads Life Coaching

Who do you look up to? What about this person is inspiring? Better yet, how does this person accomplish whatever you find inspiring? Whether you look up to a professional athlete, a business person, a family member, or a historical figure, this person has accomplished something significant with their life. How did they achieve this given that they have the same amount of time as everyone else?

Think about that for a minute. Bill Gates, Mother Teresa, Warren Buffett, Lebron James, and Dwayne Johnson all have the same 24 hours each day that you do. How are they able to get so much done day-in and day-out compared to the rest of us? While talent and resources play a role, at the end of the day it boils down to motivation and drive. How much do these people WANT to create their future compared to the rest of us? Based on their success, a LOT more!

The point becomes –

What are you doing with the 24 hours each day that you are given?

We need to be healthy by eating and sleeping, but how much time do you spend on tasks and distractions that do not reflect your values and priorities?

Have you ever quantified how you spend your time each day? Make a log! How much time do you spend in the car? On social media? Texting? Watching television or movies? Once you have quantified your ‘average’ day (make sure it adds up to 24 hours!), are there areas you can reduce to add more meaningful activities? What would your life be like if you were able to spend more time doing the meaningful things that are important to you? – www.rhoadscoaching.com

finding meaning and purpose in daily life

December 2, 2018

Your Future Self – Rhoads Life Coaching

Because you are able to imagine a version of your future self, you are able to develop a relationship with that future you. It is reasonable to expect that you will exist at some point in the future. Whether it is 1 year, or 5 years, or 10 years, some version of you is out there in the future. If that future self pauses to look back at the current you (you do this every day looking back into the past), then for a moment you and your future self are headed toward each other in time. Eventually you will meet! Someday you will reach that future date and become the future you.

For now though, the two versions of your being can catch a glimpse of each other through time. What do they think of each other? If they were to meet, what would they say to each other? Would they be happy to satisfied with who you are and who you are becoming? What advice would they have for each other?

This is a powerful perspective! Who is that future self? Being able to imagine that vision of the future helps to guide and inspire every single decision you make each day. Are you on the right path? Creating a relationship with your future self allows you to create a vision of the future to direct your current choices! – www.rhoadscoaching.com

finding meaning and purpose in daily life

November 25, 2018

Focus and Distractions – Rhoads Life Coaching

We walk a daily path between focus and distractions. The practice of focus keeps our attention on what is most valuable to us. Distractions shift that focus away. We are inundated with distractions that prevent us from focusing.

I recently led an exercise where we quantified the impact of distractions on very simple tasks. Taking two children’s puzzles, two teams completed as much of two puzzles as they could in a short time. Then the two teams switched every 20 seconds between the same two puzzles, for the same amount of time, resulting in a 50% drop in pieces completed. Finally we combined the two puzzles together and work on both puzzles at once, resulting in ANOTHER 50% drop in pieces completed. The more distractions, the less focus! Even on a simple task, the distractions had significant impact.

If it takes on average 15 and 20 minutes to reach peak focus on a task, and most people experience some form of distraction every 11 minutes, we are constantly re-focusing before we are interrupted again. Is your job like this? How about your family conversations? We lose valuable time, energy, and effectiveness in all aspects of our lives from distractions.

In order to focus it helps to identify the few things that are the most valuable to complete in any given event. What are the five most valuable things that must be done today? Naming them each day creates focus.

Where are your greatest sources of distraction for a particular topic? Does the phone need to be put away? Do you need to close the door to your office for a few minutes? Being intentional about creating time and space for task reduces the number of distractions.

How are you going to focus and reduce distractions during your busy week? – www.rhoadscoaching.com

finding meaning and purpose in daily life

November 18, 2018

Celebrating Each Win – Rhoads Life Coaching

We teach our athletes to celebrate every touchdown, foul shot, or at bat. Think about that for a minute. Even if the game can’t be won, our athletic teams practice a philosophy of celebrating each win. Why don’t we translate that same philosophy to our relationships and careers?

Why is there a gap between athletics and other careers in how we approach daily work? Sometimes businesses fail to honor good work as it is expected and “part of the job”. But when our teams score touchdowns or hit home runs we cheer even though it is that team and athlete’s “job” to play the game.

What if we coached our employees and co-workers to celebrate the same way a team runs to the end zone after a touchdown? How would our careers be different?

To be clear, I’m not talking about end zone dances or high-fives or head-butts in your office. There can be a personalized version of that same intent though. There is an advantage to any team to cheering each other on. What is your version of that in your daily life and career? What would it take to celebrate each win? – www.rhoadscoaching.com

finding meaning and purpose in daily life

November 11, 2018November 12, 2018

Greater Than the Sum of the Parts – Rhoads Life Coaching

Aristotle is credited with stating the Greek philosophy that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. As human beings we see and assign value and meaning to the wholeness of something.

We have evidence that this philosophy is true.

If we take all of my parts and spread them out on a table, each part is valuable, but something is lost in trying to reassemble my parts. The spark that creates my life is lost and is greater than each of the individual pieces of me.

From a different angle, you can my car apart and spread it out on a table and then put it back together. If I know what I am doing (or have help), it will still work! The tires and engine of my car have value. But the running, functioning vehicle is much more valuable to me. We assign value and meaning in the mobility and image we present driving down the road in a healthy car.

We have been to rock concerts or athletic events where the energy of the crowd transforms the event into something bigger than individual part of the event. Those are the concerts and competitive events we remember the most.

Just like any other skill or trait, this value of the whole can be developed (a new car is much more valuable to us than an old car).

So, if we are greater than the sum of our parts and this wholeness can be developed, where in your life is there value in developing this wholeness? What parts can be grown and increased? How will you notice that wholeness? – www.rhoadscoaching.com

finding meaning and purpose in daily life

November 5, 2018

Internal Considering (or Getting Stuck in Your Head) – Rhoads Life Coaching

Internal Considering is the concept of spending time and energy in an internal conversation with yourself at the expense of being present in the external world.

We ALL fight internal considering and it appears in MANY shapes and forms.

Should I look for a new job?

Do I look ok in these clothes?

Are the kids safe at school?

If I have this tough conversation, will it backfire?

Should I ask her out?

The reality is that Internal Considering wastes a tremendous amount of time and energy as there is typically no resolution to the internal conversation. We stay stuck in that loop.

What topics do you spend time and energy obsessing about? What keeps you stuck in that loop? What is preventing you from moving forward toward a decision or resolution?

The solution to Internal Considering is External Considering. Who, what, and where are the people and things that can help you decide? Looking outward for a solution breaks the loop and helps move out of that internal block. – www.rhoadscoaching.com

finding meaning and purpose in daily life

October 28, 2018

Know Thyself – Rhoads Life Coaching

If you remember back to your high school literature class (or maybe a world history class) the Greek Oracle of Delphi’s mantra was to ‘Know Thyself’. In the same era , Socrates admonished his critics with the idea that “an unexamined life is a life not lived”.

So why do you care? – For some of us high school literature was a long time ago and something we only wanted to survive.

The only person you will encounter in EVERY SINGLE thought, conversation, conflict, celebration, failure, etc. is yourself. There is an inherent advantage in knowing yourself well as you engage the rest of the world. So have you taken the time to get to know yourself better?

What are your values?

Your priorities?

Do you know what are you most afraid?

How are you most conflicted?

When are you most joyful? What prevents that?

What is your most proud of?

Your biggest regret?

What is your purpose?

In taking time to ‘know thyself’ better you are able to see the assets and liabilities you bring to each conversation and task you face. You have been given a task to develop yourself. Knowing what you have and where you need to grow creates meaning and purpose in your daily life.

If you are struggling to figure out who you are and what you are about (or you know someone who is in this situation), have them give me a call or send an email. I would be happy to help them discover what makes them unique and how they fit into the world. – www.rhoadscoaching.com

finding meaning and purpose in daily life

October 22, 2018

What is Your Purpose? – Rhoads Life Coaching

What is your purpose? It is an interesting question and one that is sometimes difficult to answer. In looking back at the last year of posts, almost all of the topics I have posted point in some way toward defining purpose. It is a foundational piece of who we are as individuals, what I believe about how the world works, and the bedrock of my coaching practice.

We all have a purpose!

A reason to be here.

Have you explored what your purpose is? Do you know your natural strengths and talents? Have you looked at how these fit together with your learned skills and experiences? With how these fit together with your values, priorities, and vision? All of these are markers that point toward your purpose!

You have a roll to fill in the world around you and the world needs you to fill it! How will you know if you are living your purpose? – www.rhoadscoaching.com

finding meaning and purpose in daily life

October 14, 2018

The Question of Why – Rhoads Life Coaching

As a small child you were given a super power. At some point early on you starting asking WHY. The question of why allowed you to develop a sense of meaning in the world. Your young brain craved the value of finding meaning!

These questions of WHY help us to understand (everything). Greater understanding adds value. The more value, the more meaning. The more meaning, the more fulfilling. So have you pointed the question of WHY at yourself lately? Why do you do the things you do? By asking this question again and again (the same way that little kid would not stop asking without a meaningful answer), we are able to remind ourselves of the purpose and meaning of the tasks of each day. There is a completely legitimate answer of why you get up before dawn to sit in traffic to earn a living for you and your family (you just need to remember)!

Drilling down into the layers of WHY we do the things we do adds meaning and purpose to the tasks of our lives. Take some time to peel back the layers and remind yourself WHY. – www.rhoadscoaching.com

finding meaning and purpose in daily life

October 7, 2018

Being Creative – Rhoads Life Coaching

Being creative is a vital part of being human. We need it. It is an important for us to make something – to create.

In her writing and research, Brene Brown talks about how painful it was for her to reconnect to her creativity. She gives the example of taking a gourd painting class and the shame and perfectionism that paralyzed her to the point of not even being able to put the brush onto the surface of the gourd. She also recounts the significant benefit to her daily life of being able to overcome that paralysis. By being creative she was adding meaning and purpose to her daily life.

There are nearly an infinite number of ways to be creative. Think of the number stores we have that sell crafting material, instruments, gardening supplies, dance lessons, drawing and painting supplies – on and on and on… There are as many ways to be creative as there are people to think of them.

What makes a task creative? There has to be an element of WANTING to do something instead of NEEDING or being required to. Also an element of getting lost in the task and ENJOYING what is being done. It might be hard work, but it is FUN too!

Where in your life are you making time for a creative outlet? – www.rhoadscoaching.com

finding meaning and purpose in daily life

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