#onpurposeatfifty
Goals & People on Purpose, Comfort Zones, 50 new experiences
This week I am sharing some of my personal goals with you.
BIG goals are achieved with tiny steps, a little bit at a time, all adding up to something greater. As coaches this is what we support clients with; dreaming big then working towards those dreams.
I have already shared my swimming success with you. That was a long-term goal achieved. My small steps were the chapters of the book I read and the exercises I completed as a part of that reading. Each time I tried, and sometimes failed, I was step closer to my goal. Oh, and the satisfaction of getting there! So much greater than just swimming, which for most of you will be an “uh huh, swimming, easy, so what” sort of thing. But for me it was overcoming a lifelong fear that was so much greater than learning the mechanics of swimming!
Water has become a bit of a theme for me. After years of saying no to Mark, I finally decided to give kayaking a go. And, guess what? I absolutely love it! I have my own little kayak, and my own paddle, and I venture far from shore! In fact, I like it so much that canoeing together in Canada is now on my bucket list. Mark is still in shock!
Swimming and kayaking are also about staying healthy. I’m not a big fan of gyms; all that grunting and sweating and still not getting anywhere. Organised sports? Ditto. Golf? Tennis? Been there, done that. I wasn’t half bad actually, I just got bored! But give me an open stretch of water and I’m a dolphin exploring the big blue. Okay, not quite, but you get the drift.
I do not want to have heart disease, I do not want dementia, I do want cancer. All 3 of these my mum has, and all 3 have strong lifestyle connections. Well, actually, Mum doesn’t have cancer anymore. She was diagnosed with lung cancer 8 years ago, but she completely ignored it, refused all treatment, and it apparently got bored and went away. Seriously, even the doctors were amazed and couldn’t explain it.
The irony of course is that she doesn’t even remember having cancer and on a daily basis says she is so lucky not to have had anything bad happen to her. Tell me there isn’t a mind-body connection going on! In fact, all those years ago she said she would prefer to have cancer than dementia. Oh the irony of life.
Each week I take mum out for lunch. It’s only an hour or two as she gets very tired. Up until last year I found these outings very stressful. Learning mindfulness has really helped.
I also try to gently keep her from repeating stories from her past, which she can tell over and over and over again. Now, I still show interest, but move her off on a tangent to another part of that story or to move her more to the present. The odd thing is that she seems to have no memories at all between age 13 and now.
This week I bought mum one of her favourites, a peppermint chocolate to go with her coffee. We both savoured our naughty little chocs and carried on chatting, discarding our bright green sweet wrapper on t
he table.
After a few more stories mum grabbed her wrapper and said “oh, this reminds me of my mother. she used to tell me off for screwing up my wrappers saying ‘life isn’t like that Peggy’.”
By contrast, my wrapper was folded neatly next to hers. I don’t know where that comes from!
New experiences to date: ocean swim, NYE boat on harbour, ocean kayak, boogie board, teacher workshop.
Books on Purpose
One I often recommend to my clients who are concerned about their finances is Money Love (Buy it here). It has completely changed the way I think about money, including how I spend it and save it. Definitely worth a read, even for those who think that they have a healthy relationship with it.
People on Purpose
My choice this week has to be Richard Branson. I have just noticed that he has copied my idea and is doing 65 new things in his 65th year! The cheek!
The irony is that the first time I can remember really going out of my comfort zone was back in 1987 in London. I was working for a merchant bank at the time and a group of us decided to start a band so we could play in the Square Mile Charity Concert.
So, complete with green silk shirt and fishnet tights, I was one of the backing singers for our band, Gordon and the Gekkos (yes, the fictional character from the movie Wall St – wow, I really am showing my age now! Oh yeah, I think I’ve kind of given that away with my blog anyway!).
Coincidentally, Mr Branson was launching his new condoms brand, Mates. One of his campaigns was to sing on stage to launch them. And who do you think were his backing band for the launch at the concert? Yep, the ‘Gekkos’! Great experience, definitely out of my comfort zone! I can also say that Richard Branson is a fantastic businessman, but singing will definitely never be his forte!
Magpie Coaching 