Tag: life coach

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Recurrence & Getting ‘Unstuck’ – Rhoads Life Coaching

Recurrence is the repeating of events, thoughts, and emotions in our lives. We tend to think of life as a long linear string, but in reality we live our lives in loops of varying lengths and degree. These loops lull us to sleep. The only way to get out of these patterns is to change how we live.

Punxsutawney, PA just celebrated their 132nd Groundhog Day. They have a lot of practice at this recurring tradition! This mile marker on the calendar has become one of my favorite ‘holy-days’ not because of the tradition and predicting (and celebrating) the end of winter, but because of the 1993 movie ‘Groundhog Day’. Harold Ramus and Bill Murray give us a comical example of how recurrence works. It is possible to to get stuck in the loop of doing the same things day after day, week after week, year after year. How often do you say to yourself, ‘Where did the weekend go?’ or ‘I’m just trying to get to Friday’? If we don’t pay attention, nothing ever really changes and we become mechanical in how we live. This mechanicalness drains the meaning and fulfillment out of our lives.

So how does Bill Murray get out of his loop? First he takes ownership of his situation. Something has to be done! He keeps trying things until things start to click. There are setbacks! It is hard to break out of the recurring patterns. He has to change. It is critical to note that the world doesn’t change around him. The change comes from within himself.

Here are four rules to follow for getting ‘unstuck’!

  1. Do SOMETHING!
  2. Don’t STOP!
  3. Lose CONTROL (in a good way)!
  4. Ask for HELP!

Where are their recurrences in your life? These could be daily, weekly, monthly, annually. Where are you being mechanical and just going through the motions? What is ONE THING to do different this week to start to break the loop and to create more intention and meaning in how you live? – www.rhoadscoaching.com

 

Rhoads Life Coaching - Recurrence

 

finding purpose and meaning in daily life

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What Do You Value? – Rhoads Life Coaching

What are your values? Have you ever thought about it? How do you know what you value?

We acquire our values based on our experiences. Even if we didn’t know it while it was happening, we learned what was most important to us as life happened to us.  Our personal values are as unique as our fingerprints.

Values end up being large concepts that are difficult to define. Freedom, independence, integrity, growth, family, love, and honesty are all examples of these large concepts. Check out Jame Clear’s list of 50 core values to find examples. We have trouble seeing them in our lives because they saturate every aspect of how we live.

When we encounter a situation that conflicts with our values, we feel frustrated and out of sync and we often have conflict with other people who have different values from our own. We filter all of our beliefs, thoughts and actions through our values. Take some time to try and define what your values are because there is a benefit to knowing what you value most! – www.rhoadscoaching.com

 

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finding meaning and purpose in daily life

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Internal Blocks – Rhoads Life Coaching

Nearly all of our thoughts and behaviors (good or bad) served a purpose at one point. Some of them prevented bad things from happening to us. Some of those preventative internal blocks got left in place and no longer help, and now hinder growth and change.

Say for example, I had multiple events growing up where I was laughed at or teased for being willing to try something new that I had never attempted before. It would make sense if I put a block in place to prevent myself from trying new experiences in order to not be exposed to more teasing and vulnerability. That internal block protected me through the rest of growing up and served a useful purpose. Now as adult, I have forgotten that preventative measure is in place and I am unwilling to ask someone out on a date or look for a new job. What once helped, now hinders my ability to change and grow.

What internal blocks do you carry around with you that no longer help (we ALL have them!)? How do you go about removing them? The first step is self-observation and becoming aware the block is there. From there understanding the purpose of original behavior and what is different now allows for a new choice to be made and the block to be removed. This might take awhile! Change and growth and something better become much more difficult without going through this process. Which internal blocks can you remove? – www.rhoadscoaching.com

 

Internal Blocks - Rhoads Life Coaching

 

finding meaning and purpose in daily life

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Attracting the Life We Live – Rhoads Life Coaching

We are attracting the life we live. Whether we intend to (or even want to), we are in a relationship with the world around us. That relationship goes both ways. I have posted previously about how reducing negativity impacts our daily living and how the lenses we wear impact our perception, but because the relationship goes both ways, the world also responds to our actions, thoughts, beliefs, and even energy.  This paradox may be difficult to discern.  Which comes first, my positive outlook and hope, or the opportunity to be positive and hopeful? The reality is that the world responds in kind. If we are negative we receive negativity. If we are hopeful we receive hope. This creates an opportunity to change the world around us. If my attitude and energy impact the world’s response, then choosing how I relate to the world changes my own reality. This does not mean we will receive all of our wishes. It does not mean we won’t encounter obstacles. But  we have the ability to attract the life we want to live. We can do so by working to live the life we want. What life are you living now? Are you fearful? Negative? What changes do you need make on a daily basis to live the life want? – www.rhoadscoaching.com

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finding meaning and purpose in daily life

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Urgent vs. Important – The Eisenhower Method

I wanted to share a tool that has been around a long time and that I have used for several years with great success with my coaching clients. I have always called it the Urgent vs. Important Grid. Today I learned it is called the Eisenhower Method as it was coined by President Eisenhower as his method for prioritization. Frequently, in our hurried lifestyle, we convince ourselves that everything has to be done right away. This is rarely the case. Eisenhower developed his matrix separating tasks into urgent and important in order to help him prioritize.

The designated quadrants are as follows:

  1. Important/Urgent quadrant are done immediately and personally (e.g. crises, deadlines, problems).
  2. Important/Not Urgent quadrant get an end date and are done personally (e.g. relationships, planning, recreation).
  3. Unimportant/Urgent quadrant are delegated (e.g. interruptions, meetings, activities).
  4. Unimportant/Not Urgent quadrant are dropped (e.g. time wasters, pleasant activities, trivia).

The exercise becomes deciding where to place each task. As much as we would like to think  it is possible, not everything can go into the Important/Urgent quadrant. In fact, regardless of the time-frame, a healthy prioritization of tasks would have an equal number in each quadrant. It is possible to create a matrix for a specific project, the weekend, or for the next 6-months.

The matrix is fluid. Once a task is complete a task from a different quadrant can be move up. If urgency increases quickly a task may leap over other tasks. A burst pipe in the kitchen or a sick child jump into the Important/Urgent grid unexpectedly.

There is a benefit of taking pressure off by designating some tasks as Important/Not Urgent and Urgent/Not Important instead of everything being Important/Urgent.

I use this matrix as a spreadsheet on my desktop that gets updated daily. I have seen it used on sheet paper or flip-charts or dry-erase boards. For some reason, being able to move post-it notes from one quadrant to the next, or off the matrix completely, is very satisfying.

So how to decide? How do you determine which task goes where? The process is a reflection of your priorities and values. It is critical that some tasks require help. It is also critical that important tasks not be neglected. If a task sits in the Not Important/Not Urgent quadrant for too long, maybe it needs to be dropped entirely from the list. If the Urgent/Important quadrant has tasks there needs to be a very good reason to work on something else.

So make your own matrix. Test it out and see how it works. Pay attention to what variables you use to decide. Hopefully this tool allows for more effective, efficient, lower-stress decision making and prioritization. I have found it to be a very useful tool. Be sure to post questions and comments. I am curious to hear how it goes! – www.rhoadscoaching.com

 

*There are dozens of different styles of this matrix on the web. This example was created by Kelly Ohaver in 2015

 

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finding meaning and purpose in daily life

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Practical Application – Rhoads Life Coaching

It doesn’t matter what theory, dream, vision, goal, desire, or belief system you have until you create some practical application of that idea. Reading about shooting foul shots may be a helpful tool, but expecting to shoot foul shots without practicing is unrealistic. That also applies to our values, priorities, goals, and vision. It may be comforting to dream of a better job, or a wonderful vacation, but until you make make practical steps to apply that vision, you are only daydreaming. The same can be said for the belief systems, self-development, and growth we say we prescribe to.  All of the self-help books in the world will not change anything until you apply the steps outlined. Without taking a positive attitude, or loving your neighbor and enemy into the world, our spirituality and religion do not serve their purpose. These ideas were not meant to stay as theories.

What practical application are you missing from your daily life? What goals have you set that you are not working towards? What do you believe about how we should treat each other that you are not implementing? What do you need to start practicing? What is your motivation to start and keep going? Who will hold you accountable? – www.rhoadscoaching.com

Practical Application - Rhoads Life Coaching

 

finding meaning and purpose in daily life

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Being Hopeful – Rhoads Life Coaching

What does being hopeful mean for you? Have you ever paused long enough to focus your attention on what hope is and where it comes from? Whether we know it or not, our hopes are reflections of our values, priorities, vision, dreams, and fears. Being hopeful for something shows who we really are. What are you hopeful for?

Implicit in hope is an expectation that things will change for the better. Think about that for a second. Once we give up hope and our lives and the world becomes hopeless, we do not expect things to change. Hopelessness surrenders to the world staying the same. Somehow, being hopeful is implicit in being human. Our resilience to holding on to hope will get us through just about anything. Embedded in our survival is a vision of the future being better. What are you hopeful for?

So as we end this season and this year, take a few minutes and observe your own hope. What does being hopeful mean for your personally? Where do you sense it in your body? What do you need to do point yourself towards the change that is required to achieve what you are hopeful for? – www.rhoadscoaching.com

 

Being Hopeful - Rhoads Life Coaching

 

finding meaning and purpose in daily life

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Purposeful Change Series Starts Next Thursday!

Class starts next Thursday, January 4th at 7:00! Come join us and create an intentional start to your new year!

Purposeful Change Series –

taking your yoga practice off the mat

Hosted by Grace Tree Yoga & Growth Studio

Rhoads Life Coaching - purposeful change

Gracetree Thursday evenings, January 4 – February 22, 2018• 7:00 – 8:00 pm 8933 Cincinnati-Dayton Road • West Chester, OH 45069 Investment: $140.00 E-mail: info@gracetreestudio.com       www.gracetreestudio.com I am excited to announce that in collaboration with Gracetree Yoga & Growth Studio, I will be hosting the upcoming series! Follow the Gracetree link to their workshop page to join us! Purposeful Change is an 8-week, 1-hour/session series that looks at practical applications for taking the mindfulness and self-exploration of yoga out into daily life. Participants in this course will be introduced to methods of approaching daily tasks, relationships, careers, etc. in an intentional way, allowing for alignment between their internal and external worlds. Rhoads Life Coaching - Purposeful ChangeThe mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual benefits of yoga are well documented. This course will explore connecting those benefits with purposeful choices through guided meditation, writing exercises, and group discussion. This course helps develop an internal awareness of the complex range of thoughts, emotions, and beliefs that we feel about change. By developing a greater understanding of how each person experiences and deals with change, we can make more intentional choices in facing change in our daily lives. This series is related to personal development and not Karma work. Send questions to jrhoads.coach@gmail.com. www.rhoadscoaching.com     finding purpose and meaning in daily life   ]]>

Posted on

Purposeful Change Series Starts Next Thursday!

Class starts next Thursday, January 4th at 7:00! Come join us and create an intentional start to your new year!

Purposeful Change Series –

taking your yoga practice off the mat

Hosted by Grace Tree Yoga & Growth Studio

Rhoads Life Coaching - purposeful change

Gracetree

Thursday evenings, January 4 – February 22, 2018• 7:00 – 8:00 pm
8933 Cincinnati-Dayton Road • West Chester, OH 45069

Investment: $140.00

E-mail: info@gracetreestudio.com       www.gracetreestudio.com

I am excited to announce that in collaboration with Gracetree Yoga & Growth Studio, I will be hosting the upcoming series! Follow the Gracetree link to their workshop page to join us!

Purposeful Change is an 8-week, 1-hour/session series that looks at practical applications for taking the mindfulness and self-exploration of yoga out into daily life. Participants in this course will be introduced to methods of approaching daily tasks, relationships, careers, etc. in an intentional way, allowing for alignment between their internal and external worlds.

Rhoads Life Coaching - Purposeful ChangeThe mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual benefits of yoga are well documented. This course will explore connecting those benefits with purposeful choices through guided meditation, writing exercises, and group discussion.

This course helps develop an internal awareness of the complex range of thoughts, emotions, and beliefs that we feel about change. By developing a greater understanding of how each person experiences and deals with change, we can make more intentional choices in facing change in our daily lives.

This series is related to personal development and not Karma work.

Send questions to jrhoads.coach@gmail.com.

www.rhoadscoaching.com

 

 

finding purpose and meaning in daily life

 

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Bringing Light to the Darkness – Rhoads Life Coaching

Our culture, whether we are aware of it or not, has spent an enormous amount to time and energy celebrating bringing light into the darkness. Something about being human is fulfilled by the hope illumination brings. Each year we experience a collective convergence as we pass through the holiday season and our cultures and religions orient themselves towards the days beginning to increase in length again and light begins to overtake the darkness of winter.

There are many layers to the symbolism of this image. It is possible to process this illumination at a personal, family, community, and planetary level. At its simplest level, we can literally see more light shining into each day as the planet tips back towards the sun. There is also the opportunity for personal growth as we bring light to the dark places of ourselves, illuminating the shadows that we fear. By bringing more light to our own personal darkness, we illuminate those around us and ultimately the world itself.

It isn’t an accident that we light candles and decorate our homes with lights. Even if you aren’t a religious person, it is difficult to not get caught up in the collective celebration of illumination. As you celebrate the end of the year, what parts of you will benefit by being illuminated? How will you continue your growth and development as we pass the winter solstice and more light is brought to the darkness? – www.rhoadscoaching.com

 

Bringing Light to the Darkness - Rhoads Life Coaching

 

finding meaning and purpose in daily life

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