5 inspiration activators for you

I don’t know about you, but at the moment – I am happily accepting ‘inspiration’ from wherever it comes. It is mid-April (we’re in the second quarter of 2013 already!) and for those of us in the UK and Europe and even much of the US – it has been a long winter with sun and warmth being but a distant dream. The season of spring – the season that represents new beginnings is only now beginning to grace us with its presence. Not sure whether this is the case for you, but sunshine has always been a source of energy and inspiration for me and with so many conversations focused around meteorological matters at the moment, I thought you may appreciate a quick run-down of 5 things which may inspire you, rain or shine.

Inspiration for the purpose of this blog post is anything which makes you smile, energise you, motivate you, generate new ideas or confidence in yourself and more. Have a read, let me know what you think of these inspiration activators and please share some of your own.

#1: Connect with loved ones

Stepping away from social media for a while to have a face to face or even a phone connection with a loved one can be really energising. Don’t get me wrong – I am a HUGE fan of social media for forming and maintaining connections but it is the face to face time, phone conversations, Skype calls etc. that are at the heart of true connection. This week, take 10 minutes to make a phone call to someone you’ve been meaning to catch up with. You may find it leaves you with a spring in your step. 

#2: Take a break

Our daily and weekly routines can become overwhelming when working in the way we do, so pay attention to what your body and mind are telling you and have a break. R recently celebrated a birthday and we had an amazing break in Abu Dhabi (SUCH fun) – but it doesn’t need to be an overseas excursion to be inspirational. A day or two away from the daily grind can work wonders and you are likely to return inspired and ready to work towards your most pressing goals

#3 Listen to music you love

Music is so powerful! Whatever music moves you is what you should listen to (and if applicable, dance to) as often as you can. My personal taste ranges from Bon Jovi (mainly the stuff from the 90s) to soca music from the Caribbean – and when I hear music that I want to sing along to or jump and wave to – it’s a real inspiration. What track / type of music rejuvenates you? (Below is a track from Trinidad Carnival 2013 that puts a smile on my face and motivates me)...

 #4 Start your day doing something for you

In my experience, when you start your  day doing something for you (as opposed to your employer or anyone else) – you set yourself up for a more positive day, having had a flash of early morning inspiration. This ‘something for you’ can be doing some exercise, writing a blog, texting some friends and / or anything else that you will be proud to have done at the end of the day. Ticking something off your list at the beginning of the day, that you have been keen to get done can be energising. 

#5 Seek inspiration in others

Whether it’s your pre-school aged child who made yet another hilarious comment or your favourite author doing a TED talk (see an example below) – real people in their own moments can sometimes inspire you to keep on pushing those boundaries which enable you to do your very best, whatever the circumstances. 

The above are some of my inspiration activators. Now it's your turn. I'd love to hear whether these work for you and to know about some of yours. Don't be shy... use the comment box below.


Want to use this article on your blog or ezine? No problem... you just need to include the below:

Gina Visram is a career coach, speaker, mentor and author who works with ambitious, multi-tasking women (and men!) who are ready to work hard at being successful in their careers and personal lives - on their own terms. She has recently published Happily Ever After for Grown Ups: A Post-Wedding, Blues-Busting Guide for Newlyweds" and is committed to  helping people get over overwhelm and achieve the career success/life balance they seek. For more information and to sign up to her free newsletter visit www.limitlesscoaching.com.  

 

Happy dances and holidays

On the Saturday of the Easter weekend, I raced to the door when I heard the mail drop through the letter box. Ignoring the other 3 items, I picked up a padded envelope and when I saw the identification stamp on the back, I felt my shoulders drop immediately. I exhaled, it was here… Just in time. I could relax as its arrival meant that I’d stay on track with my deadline.

As those of you who are part of the “Happily Ever After forGrown-Ups” community on Facebook will know – it was my final proof copy of my book that I received in the post. I ripped open the envelope and a wide smile immediately took residence on my face.

This moment inspired today’s post (and hopefully reading to the end will make you think and allow you to reward yourself with a fun video). 

Before I continue, I just want to emphasise that when patting yourself on the back isn’t a regular occurrence, it can feel strange to stop and – date I say – congratulate yourself, but that’s exactly what I did on Saturday morning. As I ran my fingers over the lettering of the title and looked at the book from every angle again and again – I could not quite believe that I had reached that point. After over a year of blood, sweat, tears and one helluva balancing act – I was nearing the finish line in the writing/publishing process. 

Alone at home, I found myself doing a little happy dance and as it felt so great, it got me thinking about why and how we should celebrate our successes – big and small – so check out these ‘happy dance’ worthy occasions

1. The obvious: Do a little jig to celebrate something you are proud of. This can be for something as big as completing a major project you’ve been working on to as (seemingly) little as choosing salad over chips for lunch if you’re trying to be healthy.
2. Feeling like you are making progress at work: You may be working towards your next promotion or pay rise… or may be determined to start feeling like you are doing your job at a standard you can be really proud of. Determination to do well is a fantastic quality and when you can help your employer recognise your good work (let’s face it – sometimes it’s necessary to point out what’s in front of their face!) – It’s a great moment. Celebrate it!
3. Getting together with a group of friends and / or family: You don’t have to be Carrie Bradshaw and the SATC (Sex and the City) girls to get together for a long leisurely lunch and drinks with your nearest and dearest. Try it. Book in a Saturday or Sunday lunch with some friends you want to catch up with – enjoy some awesome food and ignore your watches, phones, social media channels and more. Instead, focus on this group of friends and enjoy the quality time together. Certainly happy dance worthy.

I could continue (and include an example about how an upcoming surprise holiday for my husband is likely to be another happy dance moment), but I am much more interested in what your happy dance moments have been recently.  Go on… Share some of these moments via the comments box below. 

Remember, life can sometimes feel like it’s passing by at a speed due to our many responsibilities, commitments and sometimes even due to our incessant focus on our goals – but the journey becomes much more enjoyable when you take a moment to celebrate. Dance baby… dance (like Chandler and our favourite Friends in the video here) and remember to share your moments below)!

Happy Easter. Enjoy the rest of your Easter holiday. 

Want to use this article on your blog or ezine? No problem... you just need to include the below:

Gina Visram is a career coach, speaker, mentor and author who works with ambitious, multi-tasking women (and men!) who are ready to work hard at being successful in their careers and personal lives - on their own terms. She has recently published Happily Ever After for Grown Ups: A Post-Wedding, Blues-Busting Guide for Newlyweds" and is committed to  helping people get over overwhelm and achieve the career success/life balance they seek. For more information and to sign up to her free newsletter visit www.limitlesscoaching.com. 

Let's hear it for the girls!

Being 2013, it would be good to feel like we recognise the achievements of women every day, but this still isn’t necessarily the case. Luckily, in the past few weeks, we’ve had a few built in occasions such as “International Women’s Day” and “Mothers’ Day” which encourage us to think about the amazing contribution women make… and hopefully these dates serve as triggers to remind us why we should celebrate the achievements of women all year round.

Amidst these very worthy celebrations of the achievements of women, there were a couple of moments in the past week that made me pivot between pausing proudly to ponder how far we've come and stopping firmly in my tracks… in realisation of how far we still have to go. These included:

1. An e-mail from a childhood friend
Last week, I received a beautiful email from a childhood friend of mine. She sent this email to a small group of her friendship circle, featuring women currently based in Europe, Africa, Asia, North America and beyond - all of whom she'd gone to school / university with at some point during her journey. In this email, she eloquently shared her news on a city move and an update about her job situation intertwined with mention of her evolving relationship. I had opened this message when on the go between appointments and found myself stopping in the rain to read and re-read this message. I smiled. Not just due to the fact that I'd received what felt like the equivalent of a personal letter in the post (like back in the day before postal content was more or less exclusive to bills, bank statements and takeaway menus!) but also because she seemed to be living the dream. Not in a million dollar mansion "baller" kind of way but in the modern, 21st century way of balancing your personal / relationship life with your career plans. Adventure, uncertainty, goal setting and more… it was all there. This didn't sound like the life of a girl who would be burdened with a series of what ifs. Instead, she was out there, living, loving and ensuring that she was making enough proactive decisions to ensure that life wasn't happening to her... She was actively living it. For that reason, I wanted to share that story today- just as a mini nudge if needed, to make sure you're living yours too!

2. A knee-jerk Facebook status
This encounter was also prompted by correspondence with a childhood acquaintance, but admittedly with the opposite, less heart-warming effect to what I have described above. On International Women's Day, this FB friend made a comment along the lines of "If I ever have a daughter, she won’t be posting quotes from ‘blank slates’ like Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn”. Instead, this Facebook contact of mine insisted that his future daughter wouldn’t cite inspiration as women “whose sole talent was in being pretty” and he instead suggested citing “Pankhurst or Marie Curie?”

What? I thought. WHAAAAT? I baulked at his objection, disagreeing on so many levels and here's the main one...

The idea that someone, be it a dad, brother or other (male) acquaintance may feel that he is in a position to be instructional regarding who inspires his (hypothetical) daughter scares me! The fact that Audrey Hepburn was actually a multi-lingual humanitarian is almost insignificant – it is the dictating of who should and who should be deemed inspirational that doesn’t feel acceptable to me. As current / future parents, we can ensure that we give our girls a wide range of role models, from mothers to politicians and more – but we belittle any progress we are making for women by restricting their thoughts. 

So… whether or not you were involved and tweeting about #IWD2013, celebrating Mothers’ day or whether these dates passed you by entirely earlier this month – I have a challenge for you. In the spirit of being true to who and what inspires you, tell three women in your life (these can be colleagues, friends, family etc.) why you admire them.  Do it before the end of March. Up for it? Do come back and share your story of how you got on…

3 reasons to LOVE your job

As much as some of us try to resist succumbing to a commercially driven day of 'love', it can sometimes be hard to resist getting swept up in the hype. A few years before meeting my gorgeous husband, I had one of my most enjoyable Valentines evenings ever. Sounds harsh but this wasn't with another man (not one I was romantically interested in anyway) but was with a group of - at the time - single work colleagues and we had a great rebellious, 'anti-Valentine’s day' dinner. It was much fun - but admittedly, still a nod (in our own way) to what is a commercially driven occasion.

The way I see it though is that taking a moment to think about something you love isn't a bad thing (unless V day is the one and only day that love is recognised... Then that is bad) - so, whether in a loved up relationship or not, why not recognise other things you love. Like your job for example. Tenuous? Maybe... But work with me here: 

3 reasons to love your job this Valentine’s week: 

1. It is aligned with your values and beliefs 
This is a biggie. If the job you are doing/career path you are pursuing doesn't align with your values and beliefs, it is likely that you'll never love what you do. Values represent what is important to you - they reflect your authentic self. Do you value kindness? Helping the community? Fun? Adventure? If you are in a role that resonates with your values, that’s a great reason to love your job. If you’re not…then do something about it!

2. It helps you live your life
Does your salary contribute to the lifestyle you are currently living? Yes… well good – that is yet another reason to love your job this Valentine’s week! Don’t get me wrong – if the only thing you value about your job is your salary and you’d want to change everything else then it may be time to see if you can find a more fulfilling role, but for now, take a brief moment to love what you currently have.

3. You get satisfaction from achieving your tasks
Through the work you do on a daily basis, you have the opportunity to do yourself proud. By working to the best of your abilities, every day you can pat yourself on the back and recognise that you are doing good work. Again, there is a chance that your role doesn’t challenge you as much as you would like – but nothing is stopping you from finding something that will stretch you to use your skills in a way that you can be especially proud of but for today… show yourself some love for what you do… currently do.

Valentine’s Day has been and gone and as a focus on ‘love’ is somewhat forced on us, why not take the opportunity to explore the elements of your career that you love. If in this analysis, you establish that you are truly grateful for the career you have – then congrats! If you have realised that you are some distance from where you want to be, I want to congratulate you too… if you take some deliberate steps to achieve the greater thing you know you are destined to do.

As ever, you are welcome to be in touch if you’d like some help to make it happen. I’d be happy to be part of your journey towards true (career) love! 

Where did January go?

Do you remember having discussions about how hard it was to believe 2012 was already coming to an end. 

"Where did the year go?"

"2012 whizzed by... How did that happen?"

"It seemed like only yesterday that"... etc. 

You remember those conversations? They happened over office Christmas meals, seasonal drinks with your friends and festive meals with your families. Yet, here we are at the end of January already... Suggesting that 2013 may have the same Usain Bolt-esque speed that we experienced last year.

Whether or not you officially set yourself some resolutions / goals within the first month of the year, chances are, you at least paused to think about what you wanted 2013 to bring.

How is that going for you?

Here we are, past the alleged Blue Monday (3rd Monday in January - deemed to be a common day for giving up on new years resolutions), and on the cusp of the second month of the year. Even if you aren't a structured resolution or goal setter, I bet you still don't want the year to pass by without feeling like you've moved (edged, even) closer to your aspirations in some way. Whether its leaps and bounds or the slow but steady approach, don't let 2013 come to an end with only fireworks to make you say ooh and aaah.

My wish for you is that some of that incredulity is saved for your own special achievements this year. Whether that's earning a promotion, finding a new job, getting onto the dating scene, improving your health and fitness, going on a trip you've always dreamed of or starting your own business - achieving this aspiration won't be achieved without some effort.

For me, there are a few personal and professional goals that I would like to achieve, some of which I am happy to share with you.

1. Complete,  publish and promote my first book - Happily Ever After for Grown Ups (a career coaching book for newlyweds that I've been working on, on and off for 15 months and am now finished writing and approaching the production stage. Look out for it in March / April!

2. Quit the gym (yup... You gotta work out what suits you and what doesn't! - paying and not going doesn't!) and get back into dancing (belly dance and bollywood here I come!)

3. See and speak to friends more regularly (more face to face time than Facebook time)

This is just a few of many for me, and I've recently hired a coach to help me achieve a number of my business focused goals, of which there are many. Yup... Even coaches hire coaches! I'm a firm believer in the process which is why I love working with clients who are serious about doing, not just hoping - and I take the same approach when it comes to my own goals.

What about you? What sorts of things are you wanting to do? What will make this a game changing year for you? What can you do if you want to accelerate your progress? Here we are, already rapidly moving through 2013 with January already out of the way and it's up to you to make this thing happen.

Excited?

Behind every President, there's a...

What a day. I write this post after having woken up in the wee hours (UK time) to see CNN International confirm that Romney and and Obama had just spoken on the phone. It took over an hour from the initial projection of an Obama win but this "short polite" conversation eventually took place. So what happens now? As the President (re) elect takes to the stage... we celebrate. We celebrate and we celebrate some more.

Not only is this a celebration of another historic win... but it's another moment to be reflective. Am I talking about the economy? The pros and cons of Obamacare? Whether or not Sandy had an impact on the result? Not today. I'm not a political analyst... but one thing I'm happy to observe (and comment on at least) is the recognition both candidates gave to their supporters - hence the name of this post.

Behind every President there are dedicated supporters, and it was my reflection on this point prompted me to deliver my very own PSA (public service announcement), so here goes:

Take a moment, stop and think about the people who support you. Then take the time to say THANK YOU! They are truly a welcome factor in your success. If you don't generally take the time to show your gratitude (which would not be uncommon due to how busy we all are), take the time now. Pick up the phone... drop them an email... send an effusive tweet... communicate in person (the latter may seem old school but it's often the best!). Do all of the above if you feel so moved, but do definitely take the time to thank your supportive network.

If you'd like to take inspiration from the President's speech this morning, before doing your own thank yous, have a look at these sentiments:

"You lifted me the whole way and I will always be grateful"

"I want to thank every American who participated in this election. Whether you voted for the very first time or waited in line for a very long time – by the way, we have to fix that – whether you pounded the pavement or picked up the phone, whether you held an Obama sign or a Romney sign, you made your voice heard and you made a difference."

"I have the best campaign team and volunteers in the history of politics."

and of course:

"I wouldn't be the man I am today without the woman who agreed to marry me 20 years ago."

The most re-tweeted photo ever as of 07/11/2012 - an image the President shared after being re-elected

So... after a long day for anyone who was following American politics (regardless of candidate preference), I just want to say thank you President Obama. Thank you for your ability to connect not just with your countryfolk but with those of us across oceans... and for reminding us to express gratitude to our supporters in our own lives (and here's to #4moreyears!)

If you missed his acceptance speech, you can view it here (coutesy of CNN):

Reconnect . the . dots

Have you ever felt disconnected from something that you would like to be more connected to? In my experience, today's fast paced world where the months and years fly by (I cannot believe it has been approx 6 months since I have posted here!) - sometimes you need to slow down to reconnect the dots - enabling you to re-engage with something important which has begun to take second (third, fourth or even last) place.

Have you ever felt that way? I know I have on a number of levels...

I write this post on a day when I am so appreciative to have reconnected with a school friend who I had not seen for 15 years. That's right... 15 years, and yet, as it always is with true friends, we caught up on half a lifetime without skipping a beat.

This felt like reconnecting the dots... and it made me wonder how many aspects of our life sometimes feel like they re temporarily disconnected... and wonder whether we take active steps to re connect.

I know how it is... we get busy; we have way too many things to do; the days, weeks and years rush by; we feel exhausted; and other things tend to get in the way. However, as I emerge from the high of having reconnected some friendship dots in my life, I feel compelled to encourage you to:

• Call your mum, dad, sibling, friend living across the Atlantic, university buddy - whoever it is that you have been meaning to catch up with for awhile
• Spend a day with your phone switched off so you can focus entirely on a task which has been escaping you or a person you have been meaning to catch up with
• Put petty arguments you may have had aside and reach out to someone you miss
• Stop merely existing (i.e. living weekend to weekend)... and take specific, determined, no-nonsense steps to reconnect your values with your career aspirations and make moves to make a closer connection with your plans
• Tell someone you love that you love them. Yes they know it, but stating the obvious can further strengthen that connection

As we move into the last third of 2012, take the time to work out what dots you would like to reconnect which will make you look back at your year with appreciation and affection. Do also feel free to share what you decide to do in the comment boxes below... I'd love to hear all about it!