Time rules
Time is both subjective as well as objective dimension. However, we have only understood the objective aspect of time which is usually measured as productivity. This makes us rigid about how think and use one of the important resources in our lives. An alternative is to look at time subjectively which would help in how we use time to enrich our lives. One way to look at time is by reflecting on our own internal time rules.
Do we feel accomplished only when we are striking away as many to-do items?
Do we feel enriched because we have met our deadlines all through our working life?
Do we feel we are worthy of a personal break only when we have slogged for weeks/months on a critical project?
Our inner time rules are imbibed from culture, social requirements, and our goals. These rules become our fixed views of when things should occur or how long they should last. Time need not be only productive but also meaningful or joyful.
“I know this much: that there is objective time, but also subjective time, the kind you wear on the inside of your wrist, next to where the pulse lies. And this personal time, which is the true time, is measured in your relationship to memory.” – Julian Barnes, British writer
There are no small roles
Tom Hanks drives an important lesson in his acting class at the Oxford union society – ‘There is the old saying, there are no small parts but only small actors’. He asks for the actor to be the conduit of reality for the audience to connect with that moment in the story. This happens when actors demonstrate authenticity in the role being played. In real life, there are many small roles that we play across different occasions. We may choose to dismiss those moments and play as small actors or choose to be authentic and make those small part memorable moments in our or someone else’s life.
“Remember, there are no small parts, there are only small actors” – Constantin Stanislavski, Russian Theatre Practitioner
Not anymore
Coaching is about enabling change at a personal level. One thing I have observed with people who have been successful in transforming themselves, is their willingness to look at who they are and who they want to be. Sometimes, we are so caught up with our old familiar patterns of thinking, doing, and being that it is hard to let it go. One way is to catch the limiting patterns and challenge them. One of my clients used the phrase ‘Not Anymore’ each time he caught himself thinking in his old limiting patterns.
I have never done this before – Not Anymore
I have always felt awkward to initiate something – Not Anymore
What we did or did not do in the past need not limit us in who we can be in the future.
“Breaking out is following your bliss pattern, quitting the old place, starting your hero journey, following your bliss. You throw off yesterday as the snake sheds its skin.” – Joseph Campbell, American writer and professor of literature