How clearly can you think when there is space with no distractions? The clarity of thought that is possible by removing all distractions and being fully focusing on what is important for you can drive incredible thoughts and actions.
This is Sleat Beach from our Staycation on Skye last week. Sleat has clear aquamarine water and a white sandy beach. Making our way to Sleat I tackled one of fears… we took the ferry from Mallaig to Skye. I find ferry crossings really daunting as I have such respect for the power of the sea. I have to admit the ferry was great, as due to Covid 19 restrictions we were not able to leave our car and from the position in the ferry, we could not see the sea. This was great. As I could not see, I had little concern for the sea and my irrational fears about taking a ferry. The benefit to this is my children will not learn my fear of the sea from my behaviours. I was calm and relaxed and we made great use of time by having the picnic in the car!
On reflection, has this experience changed my perspective or fear level of taking a ferry? Not at all. The term burying my head in the sand comes to mind with the image above! I ignored my fears and distracted myself. This is not going to improve my perspective for future ferry crossings. It would be more useful to explore my irrational beliefs about ferries and balance these with the facts about how many ferry crossings take place and how many recordable incidents take place. If it were not for writing this blog now, I don’t think I would have come to these conclusions, as the first thought about ferries is always fear. I now have something to work with to dispute my original thinking and to create more useful, positive and effective thinking.
In the workplace, as leaders it is challenging to find the space to think in this way. The pace and volume of work coming to leaders is immense and there is not often the space to find the clarity of thought to explore your thinking and how to refine your thinking to get your best results. Cognitive Behavioural Coaching offers this space to explore your thinking and refine these to be more useful.
So back to Sleat Beach, on the walk to get to the beach the guide did say it was undulating! This was understated, as it was a route of consistent steep rolling hills for a couple of kilometres. My intuition told me to keep to the wide path, but there was a small sign that said we needed to scale some narrow rocks to get to the beach. We followed the route and it was so worth it. The effort of the slippery rocks delivered us to the beautiful Sleat Beach.
How do you feel when you are on a tranquil beach? What do you think about? Do you feel energy? What does the experience do for your motivation?
I found being on the beach gave me a sense of achievement, a sense of freedom and gave me time to be totally present, to listen to the sea, acknowledged the colours, the sound of the sand on my feet and of course the squeals of excitement from my children, as they explored rock pools.
The tranquillity allows an opportunity to connect to what is really important and how to move things forward. This gave me the chance to recognise how frantic lockdown has been between working, home schooling and supporting my wider family.
As a leader during Covid 19 has been challenging with many experiences we may not have even considered before lockdown. As organisations and leaders’ roles continue to evolve you may need some time to find your headspace, for you to think clearly and really explore what the future of yourself and your business holds.
Coaching can provide space, through non-judgemental and unfaltering listening. Clients bring their own topics and challenges to coaching, through which they will explore their options and define actions to move forward. Coaching is very powerful to explore organisational change, supporting leaders though changes and to ensure messaging to employees and clients is empowering.
If you are interested in hearing more about coaching for your organisation or personally, our conversations are confidential in line with the AoC Code of Ethics.
I look forward to hearing from you!