10 Tips to Avoid Ending At The Starting Point

I’m back! Following nearly three months overseas travelling and living out my version of Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” – I’m happy to be home in wonderful Winnipeg.

Looking out to sea in Cascais

I visited some amazing places…Amsterdam, Stockholm, London, and several cities in Portugal. I also discovered some ordinary places.

Soon after returning home, I noticed a sense of settling, tranquility and peace. It felt like being on the edge of falling into old habits, patterns of thinking, and performing.

Having come so far, I did NOT want to end up at my starting point. I needed to take action quickly!

“We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” Joseph Campbell

The topic of my newsletter this month is how a “Hero’s Journey” can be a rewarding and life changing experience. And, if you are not paying attention you can end up right where you started.

At the end I share “10 Tips to Avoid Ending At The Starting Point”.

Join me at the next NLP Cafe Winnipeg, July 30, 2013. “Summertime NLP Self Coaching Tips, Tools & Techniques”. Limited spaces still available – grab your seat early to avoid disappointment.

What you do with what you learn impacts how your journey ends

People asked me, “What is life in Europe like?” I describe my experience living in Europe as, “Different”.

In Amsterdam, I assisted John Grinder and Carmen Bostic St Clair on a special New Code NLP course hosted by Peter Koijen, International NLP and Catalina Flore, Fit For The Top. We had an incredible experience adding rhythm to change work – brilliant! Next stop was Stockholm where I co-delivered a rapport building workshop to a group of medical students with Gabiria Brandimarte. The Doctors were so impressed they want to include an NLP course in their trainings.

Away from distractions, I focused on writing my book “Be Yourself Coach: A Model for Designing, Transforming and Living an Authentic Life”. I also like “The Art of Self Coaching” as a title. Your feedback on which title do you like is welcome! Send me an email jnagy@holisticdirections.com

Most of my time was in Cascais, Portugal. I am fascinated by the differences in how people live in everyday life so I opted to rent an apartment. Cascais is a historic city on the Atlantic coast. Mornings flew by walking for hours embodying full sensory experiences along the seaside…warm, sharp air striking bare skin, white tipped waves swelling, crashing and shrinking back in rhythm, hues of blue merging sky and sea.

Adventures that stand out were touring Lisbon, trekking a Knights Templar castle, panoramic views atop the romantic Pena Palace in Sintra, touring the Portuguese countryside, and a trip to a northern university to hear a presentation on film directing. Like I said, “different”.

“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” – Dalai Lama XIV

There were times I did not have a place to stay and am deeply grateful for the hospitality of loving friends. I looked for ways to pay forward their kindness and in most places my kindness was returned. Some days I felt lonely. I missed the prairie sky, crisp northern air, creeks, aromas and whispers of home.

Not all my experiences overseas were pleasant. You can read more on these in future newsletters and in my book. When the dust settled, I was happy to have my self-coaching tools to quickly release unpleasant feelings, regain my state, renew my intention, and move forward.

After nearly three months away, slinking back into a cushy bed that first night home was like being swathed in warm butter – pure bliss.

Ending At The Starting Point…Where To Go From Here?

My intention for going abroad was to delve deeper into my ‘bodymind’ self-coaching practices as I continue along my “Hero’s Journey” started in 2008. This trip turned out to be one of THE richest learning experiences of my life. My big “ah-ha” moments happened when I began to integrate what I learned into my life after returning home.

When you decide you want to invest in your own personal development and self growth applying self-coaching practices can help you recognize the creeping in of old habits more quickly. This step is key. Otherwise you may end up right where you started. You can then integrate your new learnings into your own bodymind practices to improve the quality of your life and business.

“Experience is not what happens to you; it’s what you do with what happens to you.” Aldous Huxley

So, what’s going on in your life? Are you thinking you may want to go on a journey of your own design? Are you ready for a change in your life? Do you have a plan to not end your journey at the starting point?

Maybe you are planning a trip, wanting, entering or ending a new career or relationship, retiring, or transitioning through the next stage of your life in the comfort of your home? I am going to share some self-coaching tips to help you along the way and to integrate after you return.

Before setting out on your “Hero’s Journey” here are my “10 Tips to Avoid Ending At The Starting Point”:

Know your intention and future test. Think and|or write down your intention(s). Next, imagine yourself in the future. Looking back, using ALL your senses notice what do you look, sound and feel like? Notice how you have changed. If you like what you see, hear and feel this is evidence your intention is well formed.
Choose wisely. Who you decide to share your journey with is really, really important. Do your homework first. Ask questions to find out what people are offering and how they will support your learning matches your intention.
Suspend what you know. Be ready to absorb new information without your personal filters. Enter into your new learning experience with a state of curiosity and gift yourself the opportunity to ‘play full out’.
Accept confusion. When you are learning something new in a big way it is natural to find yourself in a confused state. Accept this as a stage in your learning. Remind yourself of your intention and stay with the process. You will eventually reach a state of clarity.
Take notes. Write down your observations. Create visual representations, mind maps or diagrams. Compare your observations and insights to your intention. Notice when your experience is matching your intention, and when it is not. Speak to a friend, coach, trainer, or mentor to help you identify and close any gaps.
Notice now. Pay attention to how you feel in the moment. When you feel an internal sense or signal something is not right this is generally a sign of a conscious:unconscious incongruency. You may want to pause, explore and re-evaluate.
Be ready for anything. If things are not going the way you expected, be ready to flex and change your approach. Prepare for being flexible by practicing different ways of responding in various contexts.
Allow time to integrate. In my experience, this stage is super important. Your bodymind needs time to integrate, weave new learnings into tacit knowledge, and release what does not fit your unique map of the world.
Test. Set aside time to practice and test to find out what works for you and how these changes impact other people in your life. Over time you will develop new patterns of thinking, behaving and bodymind states.
Pay attention to the future. When you feel ready, make plans for doing new activities, meeting new people, exploring new ways of living your life. Taking this last step is key if you want to bring your new learnings forward and improve the quality of your life.

Your life journey is never complete. You will always be “travelling”. In my experience, and I hope it is for you too, taking a risk to live your life fully -the way you want- is a trip worth taking.

Join me at the next NLP Cafe Winnipeg, July 30, 2013. “Summertime NLP Self Coaching Tips, Tools & Techniques”. Limited spaces still available – grab your seat early to avoid disappointment.

Quick Tip: A “Hero’s Journey” is personal. You get to define what your journey will sound, look and feel like. If you don’t want to be entirely alone, ask a friend along or hire a coach to help you create your individual road map for the journey.

Look Who’s Talking: “NLP is a set of tools to sharpen your senses so you can make sense of your world – and then reshape it!” Sharon Spann

Jacquie Nagy is a certified NLP and Business Coach CBC™, Speaker and Certified NLP Trainer with the team of NLP co-creator John Grinder, Carmen Bostic St. Clair and Michael Carroll.

Jacquie is passionate about sharing self-coaching and leadership practices. She provides tools that support and help people of all walks in life take responsibility for their personal and professional performance and wellbeing.

As founder of Holistic Directions Inc. her ‘Be Yourself Coach’ leadership programs offer coaching and training for living authentically, autonomously and audaciously.

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Holistic Directions Inc.,Winnipeg, MB R2G 3K2, Canada