Resistance to Change

November 2, 2010 By 2 Comments

In my M.A. Leadership program we are learning all about resistance to change this week.  There are two types of resistance, active and passive.  In active resistance we may find fault in the change and therefore be critical of it and we may experience fear of the unknown or have a low tolerance for uncertainty.  In passive resistance we may say that we’re going to change so we agree verbally however we don’t follow through with the steps required.  Instead we may drag our feet or procrastinate.  In order to accept change, we must be truly motivated to learn and grow.  Even more simplistically, we must really want it.

“Resistance may stem from a single fact, belief, feeling or value.  But that is the exception.  Facts, beliefs, feelings and values are usually linked together in sequences or patterns.  The most effective way to find missing pieces in a pattern is to ask nonthreatening questions relevant to the specific situation” (K. Hultman, Scaling The Wall of Resistance)

Coaching is a creative process or dance whereby the coach and client respectively seek to ask and answer these underlying questions.  Supporting the value and principles of mutual respect and trust is of paramount importance in this relationship.  This dance stimulates the cerebral cortex allowing capacity for future visioning and the bigger picture.  This in turn allows us to mentally experience or try on the desired change, to see ourselves in it and yet be disassociated from it at the same time thus reducing resistance to change.     

Whatever your resistance may be initially, you have the ultimate power to believe in yourself and to experience the magnificent kaleidoscope of color that comes with desired change.

Cheers,  Glo

(C) 2010 – True Bliss Coach Gloria Higdon

Filed Under: Goals, Making Changes, Professional Coaching Services Tagged With: , , , , , ,

As The Seasons Change, Do You Change With Them?

August 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Wait a minute…this is starting to sound like the name of a soap opera! 

As I was walking the dog this morning I could feel the air was crisper and that Fall was just around the corner.  I must confess, I’m not a big fan of winter.  Although, I’m a sincere lover of summer with full on sunshine and blue sky, I don’t dread the thought of cooler nights or the leaves turning.  There is something about September (at least where I live) that brings to mind comfort food and warm and fuzzy fleece.   Having the fireplace on to take the chill out of the air.  Watching movies.  Entertaining.  Reading.  Whatever memories you have of Fall, they are likely quite different than that of summer.  How many times have you said to yourself or someone else “Let’s plan to do it after Labour Day” or “I’m going to start after Labour Day” or “Once the kids go back to school” or “Once I go back to school”?   Could it be that a change of seasons also brings with it a change of mindset and focus with new goals and possibly new obstacles?

Leaving a place of comfort to venture out into something new regardless of how big or small that change is, can be exciting and yet scary at the same time.  Work or life, it makes no difference.  Change is change.  Breaking things down into bite size pieces can help to minimize feelings of overwhelm and create change that is more sustainable over time.  Set goals for yourself that are SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely.  If you need help defining and or achieving them, look for a support system.  As with all goals, it is easier to achieve them when someone is there supporting you.  Someone who believes in your inner power and wisdom.   Someone like a Professional Coach. 

Be inspired, feel empowered and set the world on fire with your passion!    ♥ hope and courage are a powerful force ♥

Labour Day is just around the corner…time to put your thinking cap on and embrace change.  What will it take to light your fire this Fall?     

Cheers,

Glo

(c)  2010 – True Bliss Coach Gloria Higdon

Filed Under: Goals, Life, Making Changes, Professional Coaching Services Tagged With: , , , ,

Dear Blog: Oh how i ♥ you and miss you

June 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Blogging has become an important creative outlet for me. I’m learning that I absolutely love to write! Who would have thought? Not me, that’s for sure. Learning new things about yourself at any age is pretty cool.  At 46, I am truly ecstatic to be learning and evolving.

Ten days or more have passed since I last wrote a blog post and I really miss it. The thing is when you aren’t doing the things that you derive so much pleasure from, you feel almost incomplete.  I am challenged lately for a few reasons.  I was in a car accident four weeks ago today and a resulting neck and back issue has caused problems in other areas making long term computer usage, holding a book, blow drying my hair, housecleaning, holding the steering wheel the way I usually do and other every day things somewhat challenging.  You might want to stay away from me on the road (just kidding, I was sitting at a complete stop and someone hit me from behind).  My hair however, is another story altogether!   I am also in the final two weeks of one of the courses in my program so have a lot of writing to do for school. Aside from email, short posts on twitter and facebook, my computer time of late is limited to school. Ah excuses excuses…I’m full of them but its short term guaranteed! 

The upside to this is that I am getting better every day and I have learned how much I love to write in addition to coaching.  I consulted with an experienced editor lately about the future of writing and they told me that I’d better like Kraft Dinner.  As a matter of fact I do and I am so delighted that it comes in many different variations : )

I have difficulty with anyone telling me I can’t do something, it must be the Taurus in me.  Stay tuned Blog …I will be back with a vengeance! 

Cheers,

Glo

(c) 2010 – True Bliss Coach Gloria Higdon

Filed Under: Life, Professional Coaching Services, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

Selling Yourself Short?

May 31, 2010 By 4 Comments

Do you get caught up in the game of limiting yourself and your abilities?  I use the term game knowing fully that it’s not a game I want to play any longer.  I think it’s too easy for us to pigeon-hole ourselves when really, we have so much potential.  We use those nasty words I can’t when really we can.  We often sabotage ourselves before even getting to the starting line.  It’s like it doesn’t really matter what the goal or the limitations are, we just knock ourselves down and out.  What’s up with that?

Last night I watched an inspiring video on UTube that one of my sisters shared. It was 80 year old Janey Cutler singing on Britain’s Got Talent.  Ironically Janey chose to sing Edith Piaff’s “No Regrets”.  I wonder if Janey ever sabotaged her efforts.  I wonder what the catalyst was to getting her up there on stage when she indicates that she’s been singing in pubs and clubs.  Did she start believing in herself?  A friend told her “better late than never” and she says very matter of factly “I like singing and my friends said go for it”.  As I watched this video I could feel her heart filling with joy not just because of the thousands of people giving her a standing ovation but because she was doing it.  You see it, you feel it and you hear it.  Janey Cutler was up there doing what she loves! 

If Janey can make it on Britian’s Got Talent at 80 and my Mom can start using facebook and a blackberry at 79, doesn’t that say something to you?  Don’t let anything or anyone stop you from learning and doing new things.  Address any fears, take that plunge,  get out there and do those things that used to scare you. 

Don’t sell yourself short!  Sell yourself tall!  Heck, make it a grande!  Really go for it, you are so worth it!

Let’s work together to change limitations into possibilities and fear into hope…if Janey did it, so can you!

I invite you to turn up those speakers and sit back to enjoy Janey Cutler http://bit.ly/dsRdyq

Cheers,

Glo

(c) 2010 – True Bliss Coach Gloria Higdon

Filed Under: Life, Professional Coaching Services Tagged With: , , ,

Relationships With Self and Others

May 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

It is interesting to sit back sometimes and reflect on the important aspects of your life. It seems like it’s really just a series of relationships and events. Relationships that we have with our family members, friends, colleagues, partners, clients and the one you have with yourself. You might be wondering as you read this, relationship with myself? What on earth is she talking about now? What does that mean? I’m not in a relationship with myself! Oh yes you are…and it very well could be the most important one you ever have.

You feed yourself messages continuously. Whether you say it out loud or it’s just a mind game, it’s going on all the time. The thing is, only you have the ability to turn off the negative and focus on the positive messaging. I’m not suggesting it is easy but I am suggesting it is not only doable but it is necessary to live a full life filled with bliss. By moving from a mindset of focusing on the impossible to focusing on the possible, you will experience a shift. When you change the relationship you have with yourself, the events that happen as a result of it will change too. Try it and you will see for yourself!

Healthy relationships whether in our personal or professional lives have many elements but the foundation is often trust, respect and appreciation. When this foundation is not only laid but woven into the fabric of your existence, you and the people you have relationships with will be more open to possibilities. You will experience freedom from those negative thoughts and gremlins. You will have trust in your ideas, you will respect your decisions and you will appreciate your unique talents.

Freedom is truly empowering.     

There are some life changing events for which you have no control over. You do, however, have control over how you respond to them and the events that take place as a result of them. Feed yourself positive messages. Throw those negative messages out the window and slam it shut. Replace I can’t with I can and see what happens. These new messages will become your new reality. Your reality becomes your life. 

How are your relationships affecting the events in your life? What can you do to increase the frequency of positive messaging? And don’t say you can’t because I know you can!

Cheers,

Glo

(c) 2010 – True Bliss Coach Gloria Higdon

Filed Under: Making Changes, Professional Coaching Services Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Best Gifts to Give Part 2…Believe in Others

April 23, 2010 By 2 Comments

This is Part 2 of a 2 Part blog: Believe in Yourself and Believe in Others

April 16th marked the 2nd year of celebrating World Entrepreneurship Day.  According to the worldeshipday website this is “a 24 hour global initiative dedicated to spurring economic growth and creativity”.   This organization known on twitter as @WorldEshipDay tweeted on April 16th inviting people all over the world to do something to support an Entrepreneur they know.  On April 20th they tweeted again inviting people who participated in supporting an Entrepreneur on April 16th to submit their stories.  As an Entrepreneur and Professional Coach, I am a big believer in supporting and promoting others of all ages as they realize their dreams and full potential.  

I didn’t need to think very long about who I was going to support or how.  I have met with and spoken to many young Entrepreneurs recently however, I was very impressed with a unique idea that Jen Butson of Ottawa, Canada  came up with.  Jen is a very bright Entrepreneur and 3rd year BCom student at the Telfer School of Management.  As Founder of Jennifer Lee Promotions, a company specializing in custom promotional goods, Jen may be young but she knows exactly what she wants.  She wants to own her own car by Canada Day.  Canada Day is July 1st for those of you reading this post that are not Canadian.  Jen has created a hashtag on twitter so that every time she tweets about this goal it is saved under #CarBeforeCanadaDay.  In addition, Jen created a boot strap marketing campaign offering “investors” advertising on her vehicle in exchange for a monthly fee which would be used as part of her car payment.  I roared with laughter when I first saw this post come across on twitter but after further consideration I realized it was just plain brilliant!  A few weeks went by but when I read the post from World Entrepreneurship Day about supporting an Entrepreneur I knew that was it!  She had me.  I was hooked.  On April 16th I let Jen know that I would “sponsor” her Car Before Canada Day campaign by advertising on her back window for a mere $20 a month.   

Jen is no fool.  She has since written a blog post directed at Ford Motor Company and even received a personal call from Mr. Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford Motor Company in the US acknowledging it.  Like most Entrepreneurs, Jen is focused on her vision and she has no shortage of ideas to help her get there.  If you want to learn more about Jen’s brilliant Car Before Canada Day campaign please see the attached document or read her blog post  “A love letter to Ford”.  With a spirit like this, Jen is sure to soar!

http://ow.ly/1Au2A

Jen Butson

To follow Jen on twitter @JenButson

To follow World Entrepreneurship Day on twitter @WorldEshipDay

To follow the author on twitter @trueblisscoach

Cheers,

Glo

(c) 2010 – True Bliss Coach Gloria Higdon

Filed Under: Entrepreneurs, Professional Coaching Services Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Best Gifts You Can Give…Believe in Yourself and in Others

April 20, 2010 By 2 Comments

This is Part 1 of a 2 part blog Believe in Yourself and Believe in Others

Do you believe in yourself?  Do you understand the true value in doing so?  Do you know that you will accomplish so much more if you believe that you will? 

Do you ever want to do something and then you have these annoying inner gremlins that are chattering away?  They are feeding you negative messages about all the things you can’t do and why you can’t do them.  This negativity may be ingrained based on years of conditioning but it’s important to recognize that where you focus your attention is what you will get more of.  If you say you can’t do something, you almost certainly won’t.  If you say that you can and if you truly believe that you can do something, you almost certainly will find the way. 

The process of getting from saying it to believing it isn’t exactly rocket science but there is a definite distinction between the two.  Saying it out loud, shouting it out from the roof top to the Universe (or whoever else wants to listen at this point) is a good start.  By saying something, by putting it out there, that is where you will start to focus your attention.  You will start to believe it because this is the message you are hearing.  Believing in yourself, fully and completely, beats those nasty gremlins anytime!

Think of a particular goal you want to achieve.  Is it realistic?  Is it within your span of control?  Does it align with your core values?  Is it sustainable over time?  What are the factors that affect whether you will or won’t go for it?  What messages are you feeding yourself at this very minute?  Are the gremlins having a sing song or are you already all fired up and ready to roll?  Where are you?  Who are you? 

One of the best gifts that you can give and receive is to believe in yourself.  There is no shame in this.  It doesn’t mean that you’re arrogant.  It simply means that you’re accepting what is possible.  Most importantly, it sets you free and allows you to soar to your greatest heights.  It is completely inspiring and empowering. 

Need a Coach to help you with this?  I invite you to come and fly with me!

Cheers,

Glo

(c) 2010 – True Bliss Coach Gloria Higdon

Filed Under: Professional Coaching Services Tagged With: , , ,
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