How's Your Diet?

It's the first week of February. Have you stuck to your New Year's Resolution about shedding those last ten pounds? If you are still in the game, but faltering, do this now: Go to your kitchen and dump (that's right) all soft drinks down the drain. Trash the chips and get rid of the ice cream. Get in a good supply of bottled water and fresh fruit and vegetables. You are eating to live, not living to eat! If you are not happy to hear these words, then think about why. If you are someone who can eat two chips at a sitting, you can have them in the house -- if not, they have to go. The number on the scale will be a bigger reward than the junk you are putting into your body. And stop eating after 6 p.m. If you do that, you are guaranteed to cut a lot of calories. Make the goal the reward and find some friends to support you! As always, if you need motivation, get Coached!

How to Start Your Week

If you are having the Monday, post-Super Bowl blahs, here is a quick fix. Throw on some sweats (if you're not at work) and get out of the house. Go to the market and buy some fruit. The fragrance alone will help. If you are at work, try drinking some orange juice or eating fresh fruit. If it's not on your eating plan, try some fresh vegetables, combined with a short walk in the fresh air. This is a good way to de-pizza and beer yourself and change your head-space. Have a great week! And if you need help with your goals, Life Coaching may be for you!

Authentic Voice

I am sitting in the cafe of a chain bookstore, part of a community of people -- some readers, others using their computers, and even a few people having conversations. One woman is on the phone. Is it eavesdropping when her words land on my ears? Now she's gone back to talking to a young man --not her son -- giving him advice about a girl. And in the background, the coffee grinder is intermittently whirring away. This is a snapshot of contemporary American life. The advice lady is at it again. Is she a therapist? His therapist? She's asking him questions, but not like a coach. She's trying to get him to see the "reality" of the situation by asking him questions -- but in kind of a repetitive way. Why would you have such a personal conversation in such a public place? I'm listening -- because I'm hearing it -- for the technique, the vocabulary, the questions, the answers. And thinking about coaching, done over the phone, in complete privacy, completely confidential. I hear judgment in the voice of the woman, and the young man keeps answering. Now they are going to walk -- realizing perhaps that they are being heard. Having an authentic voice has a paradoxical duality. To hear, you must listen -- even to, or especially to -- yourself. Your voice, your soul, your animus, are revealed in your listening as they are in your speech, your words, your voice. Coaching can help you cross the divide between what you hear, what you say, and finally, what you do. (To be continued).