Secret Super Powers, and Chaos to Calm

Last night I was at a group for women I like to go to every month in Shakopee called the Polka Dot Powerhouse. Among other things, each of us gets up for a minute or two and tells about what we love about our business, or maybe the types of connections we would like to make. I told a quick story about how at my favorite Restorative Yoga I go to on Tuesday night (8:00pm @ The Yoga Barre), last week as we were sitting on our mats at the beginning of class, in a circle, with the lights dim and the candles lit - the instructor, Tammy, invited each of us to go around the circle and share our high and our low for the day or week, whatever came to mind. I was sitting next to her at the end of the circle. As I listened to the six other women share their high and low, all but one had to do with work stress and work/life balance. As I sat there and listened, my heart went out, yet I was not surprised as this is a predominant theme from my clients. Not to mention most of my friends. (In case you were wondering - my low  was about the election. Of course. My work is a high.) 

So this is what I shared in the meeting. How - when I work with clients the conversation goes way past calories and carbs - as you may have guessed since, so does my blog - because it has to, or it is only cosmetic. The biggest barrier I see, is not a desire to be healthy, but how to find the time. How to put it first. (Hold that thought.)  

Then, the speaker for the evening told a story about how, in a nutshell, she walked into a room full of peer business consultants who were assembling packets for a conference, and it was a total mess. There was no system. Which seems ironic, and she thought so too. She proceeded to help bring efficiency and order to the project until it ran smooth. Then afterward in her hotel room, her a-ha was to not dwell in frustration over the mess, but instead to realize creating systems was her gift. (Hence her 20-year background in retail work.) That the others had many other gifts, but her gift was order. And so her ability to create systems is what she shared that day. (Hold that thought.) 

After the agenda wraps up, we end up staying around for a while to chat. I got talking to a friend of mine, Suzy Wigstadt, who is a sales coach. She had a handled mirror with her, with the purpose of having you say what you get to do to help others, while talking into the mirror. You were not able to look anywhere but into your own eyes while you talked - no looking up, around or even blinking too long. In other words, no thinking. Just speak from the gut. IT took me a few attempts.Each starting with: "I get to.. help women take back their lives.."  And then I would talk on a bit about whatever came out. It surprisingly very effective at striping down all the rhetoric and getting to the core of what your purpose is really about. Laying in bed that night it got even more clear. "I get to... help women take back their power. Help women be strong, and confident. And create lives that mean something, to them. And have healthy bodies. And healthy lives. And raise strong, healthy, on purpose kids...."  (You see my "low"  issue for the week, right?) 

Which brings me to today. I talk to my business coach, Melissa, on Friday mornings, and what had bubbled up for me was - a) my gift, or superpower and b) the first step for many people (I do not just work with women, but it is a passion, as I am one.) as they desperately want to create health, is to clear the chaos and create some calm, to be able to see how health as a priority is even possible. 

I shared with her how, quite a number of years ago while networking, I remember a divorce attorney who would facilitate on Fridays, for up to four people each week, a mini-mastermind, problem solving group. Free of charge. With nothing to do with divorce or law. It was just something he did, because it was his thing. 

So I decided a couple things: I know one of my gifts is to go from chaos to calm - and see all the steps in between. For example, when I was a business coach a number of years ago now - my favorite thing was to set aside the agenda for whatever the meeting was planned to be, pull out my unlined notebook and have a business owner brain dump every single thing spinning in their head, getting in the way of their ability to focus - and turn it into a plan. I just see the steps. The dominoes I call them. I do this for myself when I get overwhelmed. I can do it with a mess of a basement or garage, with a mess of anything really. I used to get frustrated with others for not being able to see the path, but now understand it is somewhat unique. And so - as I know there are many people out there - who would love to focus on their health, but cannot fathom being able to focus on it now - because of all the other pieces spinning in their heads... I want to offer something similar, starting next week. Because it's my thing. Here is a link to my calendar - to schedule a "Chaos2Calm" 30 minute call from 12:30-1:00pm on a Friday. There will be no back-door agenda. 

The second thing I decided was to bring my "Make It Happen Monday" concept to Facebook. God help me. I am going to make peace with my fear of Facebook or die trying. :)  Each Monday we are going to start a conversation about an intentional area of life. Meal planning, finances, purpose, ME time, etc. If you would like to be added to the group -  please let me know. Just send me an email with the subject: "I'M IN" - and I will add you to the group, by next Friday. I plan to kick it off the following Monday, October 24.

Now that you know all about what's in my head... I would very much encourage you to try what seemed like a silly exercise. Hold that mirror up and say what you get to do. Or, ask yourself the question - what is my gift, or secret super power, and how do I share it? And move from frustration to appreciation. 
gms