One Size Fits All?...really?

When I go out to shop and see some clothes with the tag 'One size fits all' I put that item back on the rail.  It'll never be a tag that works for me and yet for someone else it might be perfect.

Then it got me thinking about 'one size fits all' and 'coaching' and how many ways there are to communicate.  There are tons of opinions on the internet about the Law of Attraction, The Secret, vision boards and SMART goals.  Some cite that the power of positive thinking is an impossible task, while others view the law of attraction as a notion that isn't realistic.

Vision boards are also up for the opinion poll, and some go so far as to outline experiments conducted that show how a vision board may provide a sense of satisfaction among people but that it doesn't ultimately result in more success.

So it got me thinking and some of those thoughts were as follows:

1 - A vision board provides people with a chance to play.  It frees up their inhibitions, permits them to dream BIG and provides some focus for getting clear on what they want to go for.

2 - A positive attitude can help them to take action and ensure that goals extracted from the vision board can be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achieveable, Realistic and Timely)

3 - The idea that energetically we influence outcomes through thoughts can help us to understand the simple principle that what we put our attention on we get more of.  Minds will wander, thoughts will dip, energy shifts...but being AWARE that this impacts on our ability to think or focus and take action to or away from a goal can be extremely helpful.

4 - Lots of options being available to people means there is a stronger likelihood that a change for the better can be made in their lives because the message behind all of this is about being responsible for your own life and how you live it.  

If all of these approaches to coaching dispelled with the myth that one is better than the other, then essentially you just have a good solid honest message told a number of different ways.As far as communication goes one size does NOT fit all so however the message reaches you, if it helps you to shift your thinking or move to act positively then it is doing the job it is meant to do.  It's helping.

The Work

Some of you may have heard of 'The Work' with Byron Katie, and may be familiar with her books. Some of you may not however, so I'll give you a brief run down on what it all is.
The Work, is created by Byron Katie, and through a series of questions Katie asks you to question thoughts that are giving you stress. These can range from thoughts around job loss, relationship issues, self issues or general anger, bemusement, frustration or other emotion you feel against the world. With these thoughts in your mind, she then invites you to starting writing it down on paper and apply a series of questions and turnarounds in order to examine them.
The beauty about The Work, is that it starts off judgemental. We are judging all the time, so rather than side step this fact, it is approached head on. However, and this is the bit that really is brilliant, you are asked to then question these thoughts via a series of simple questions and examine the stories generated behind them.
Over the years, this whole process has helped me in heaps of situations. When I was first introduced to it by my own Life Coach, I thought she was nuts! I read through it and thought 'what the hell is this?? What nonsense!!' and put the whole thing out of my head for a year or two.
When I came back to it, I had done some 'work' on myself with opening up to new ways of looking at the world, done some re-evaluating on how life was being lived and was probably in a better place to understand what was being asked.
Re-reading it blew me away. The simplicity in the questions, the realization of how much drama was involved with the stories being created...it made me laugh out loud! Ever since then, I do my best to remember to revert to The Work when life and my thoughts are getting on top of me or stressing me out.
The website is brilliant, super supportive and offers free videos and free booklets and downloads to assist you. It is worth visiting and giving a go:
http://thework.com/thework-jyn.php (link may not work so please copy & paste into your browser)
This year I found out Katie will be having an event in Dublin. Tickets are going to be available on the day only and I am so going to be there. This is one gig I am already looking forward to and it is only January!! :)