Uncertainty and Opportunities – 3/28/2020

In this time of uncertainty around the world, people are creating new and unique opportunities and resources for bringing communities together and supporting one another. Here are a few for your consideration.

Uncertainty

The following is a blog post titled Uncertainty published by my coach training alma mater, McLaren Coaching. It is shared here in its entirety with the permission of owner/author Cami McLaren. Although directed to lawyers, what do you see that you can apply to your life?

Register for Free Zoom Event

Please note the invitation at the end to register for a free ZOOM training next Thursday, 4/2/2020  from noon to 1:30 pm dealing with working at home. Again, directed at lawyers, this event will contain information applicable to us all. Join me by clicking on Cami’s email address below.

McLaren Coaching Blog Post UNCERTAINTY

Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security.”
― John Allen Paulos

This might not be super reassuring during this time of “uncertainty,” but allow me to reframe. Certainty is an illusion. I am going to say some things I know you know already, but knowing and really knowing may be two different things. This is what I have relearned over the last week or so. We strive to create a sense of certainty. But it’s not real. Anything can happen. At any time.

You may want to argue about it. You may say, yeah but I can create a circumstance of relative safety. But go with me for a minute.

Some of us are feeling profoundly insecure right now. And why? Many things have changed. For some of us though, what is frightening is the story in our heads. I have worked with most of my clients this week on the changes occurring. One thing we have been talking about is how to run a reality check on the voice inside your head. What is that voice saying?

• I am going to lose my business
• I am going to lose my job
• My clients can’t afford to pay me

How much of this is true? Some, perhaps. And how much if it is not true? Now, more than ever, is a good time to check your story. Not, “Could it be true at some point?” But, “Is it true?” Byron Katie created a great test for these kinds of thoughts:

Q1. Is it true?
Q2. Can you absolutely know that it’s true?
Q3. How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?
Q4. Who would you be without that thought?

We make up (believe) a lot of things that are not fully true. And the fully part is the important part. The unexamined belief will run your life. Some questions for you:

• What are you making up about this time period?
• How much of it do you know is true?
• How much of it is scaring you?
• Do you know that part is true?
• What is another possibility?
• What else could be true?
• What is the opportunity here?

Sometimes, when you are in the middle of a frightening situation, it is hard to answer these questions. So maybe have someone else ask you these questions. And maybe you will do this for that person.

Take a stand for things to be different.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

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A Guide for Attorneys Working From Home
(With or without children)
(With or without crisis and uncertainty)

What? A live (Zoom) event for lawyers, to express, hear and overcome challenges specific to working from home in the current climate.

Why?
• A lot of lawyers are finding themselves in a “new normal” – working from home, often with a spouse and children, in a place that may or may not be conducive to productivity
• Many lawyers with children are feeling guilty for working at home and stretched between parenting and working
• Many lawyers are feeling unproductive
• Many lawyers are distracted by a level of anxiety and uncertainty about the future

Join Cami McLaren from McLaren Coaching in finding a way to feel in control, stay on track and be productive in uncertain times; maintaining your mental and emotional health; and improving your current outlook.

This live Zoom training will include a workbook on the materials covered.

When? Thursday, April 2, 2020, 12noon-1:30pm

Where? Zoom – you will receive the link when you register.

Email: mailto:cami@mclarencoaching.com to register.

Cost? Free

About Cami McLaren

Cami McLaren, is the owner of McLaren Coaching. She has been coaching attorneys and management since early 2008. She wrote a book, published by the American Bar Association, “Coaching for Attorneys: Improving Productivity and Achieving Balance.” She coaches attorneys and managers one-on-one, and provides in-house training designed to improve productivity and bring accountability to the organization.

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Coaching with Joan in Times of Uncertainty

Coaching is about self-care and self-compassion. It is about taking time for yourself. It is choosing to do something for you so you can be more effective in BEing there for others. What situations are going on right now in your life that you want to figure out? What is something you need to gain insight on? What do you want to develop a plan for? What is not working and you want to change? What is going on for you in these extraordinary times that you are grappling with or facing right now? Bring that to an introductory coaching call and experience the magic of  being supported in getting what you want in an open, inquisitive and challenging way, so you are empowered to say, do and be whomever you want so you can achieve the results you desire.  And walk away with an action step or steps you have created for yourself.

Invitation to Complimentary Introductory Coaching Call

My invitation to you is to email me and schedule an introductory coaching call to see what it is like? Would that be a s-t-r-e-t-c-h for you? What is getting in the way of you taking that risk, sending that email? Could this be just what you need to take a break from uncertainty? To learn more about yourself and how you show up? Could it be a first step in stepping out of your comfort zone and into a world of possibilities? You’ll never know unless you do it!

Movement in Times of Uncertainty

My “best boss ever” Breena Maggio at the Alignment Beach is streaming live classes with both she and Tim Harris teaching. To get the links to register for weekly live classes online, subscribe here: www.alignmentbeach.com.  If a “pop up” doesn’t pop up, scroll to the bottom of the homepage to “Newsletter Signup”.

My good friend, fellow RES and coaching partner, Nancy Burns, in Point Richmond, California has closed her Body Wisdom studio. She is providing streaming classes and opens them 30 minutes early so every one can say hello and chat via ZOOM. Here is the link for preregistration: www.bodywisdomstudio.net.

Leave it to Katy Bowman to come up with all sorts of movement ideas along with a screamin’ deal to join her Virtual Studio Membership – only $9/month.