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.

What is it that you really want then?

Image courtesy of Hilbo & iconeasy

An interesting observation in recent weeks is how many of us choose to focus on what we don't want in our lives on a daily basis.  I've heard a lot of people, including myself, ease into the conversation of a situation in our lives that doesn't work for us any more.

The conversations range widely but what the common denominator in them all is where the focus is.  Instead of taking action to change and go after a solution, the energy seems to focused on what we don't want in our lives and how we don't want certain things or situations to continue.

The problem here is that the focus remains on the 'don't want' topic.  In relation to the Law of Attraction, it really doesn't discern whether you want or don't want an outcome...it simply gives you more of the stuff you've placed your energy and attention on.

Another area of observation for the last short while however is the amount of people 'surprised' about how happy they are!  They're feeling lighter, more in flow with their life and definitely unreservedly more 'happy'.  It catches them off guard completely.

Yet I wonder if they've just been implementing a very simple and natural rule but perhaps don't realise it.  Maybe they reached a tipping point where what they didn't want just finally made them stop what they were doing and take stock of their life.  Maybe they got tired of the same routine and found themselves going 'right, I've had enough and I'm doing what I want from now on'. 

Either way the shift that has occurred is clearly working for these individuals, and what is very interesting is that it isn't a phase.  They seem to be moving into this new way of asserting what they want in their life to happen so that it becomes a natural thing to do. 

So if you find yourself stuck in the mud still, maybe take a minute and ask yourself 'What is it that I really want right now?

You never know, you might just be surprised at what happens!