With the Olympics going on, there are four things that really strike me, and I’m so inspired by. . The first one is the warm and fuzzy feeling that the whole world has come together in a spirit of yes, competition, but also of harmony and humanity. There is so much a spirit of connection – of us all being part of the human family, regardless of culture, religion, race, etc. It does my heart good to see that athletes who are not accepting and open to that humanity are not deemed welcome at the Olympic Games.
I do a lot of work with Emotional Intelligence, and find so many examples of that in both the competitive spirit and the mutual respect and admiration that the entire Olympic community inspires. Everywhere there are stories of commitment, great life experiences and transformative moments. In fact, there is a book that was made into a movie a few years ago that is a great example of the power of the internal spirt:
Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives by Dan Millman – Click here to read reviews of the book
(There are a whole lot of books written by Dan Millman about this topic as well)
The second one is the amount of time and effort that each athlete has spent on training and preparing for that one moment in time that will determine their destiny. At best, with the winning of a medal (especially a gold one), they will be considered an Olympic “champion”, with lots of accolades and endorsements at their feet. And for that, it is all about the gold At the least, participation in the Olympics will give them a feeling of great accomplishment vs the sacrifices they have had to make over the years. When I look at the competitions, it is remarkable to me how closely that margin of “winning” or “losing” is (100ths of a second)…
All of that certainly is the result of the “get ready” part, and there is so much involved in that process. Getting up at 5 am every morning to train and practice for a few hours with unbelievable regime and discipline, every day for years and years is a true testament to one’s vision and determination to driving oneself to certain goals and aspirations. And guess what? That is true of the coaches too – they are there at 5 am, to guide, inspire and demand commitment and discipline.
Then the third observation has to do with that role of the coaches for each of these athletes. When they are interviewed, the amount of time and sacrifice they have devoted to this person (or team) that they believe in so deeply is remarkable. And yet, I don’t think that commitment would be there if it wasn’t for the athlete (s) believing in themselves and and being willing to commit and be held accountable for reaching, stretching and challenging themselves. Doing all that they can to get “set”.
As a result of all of that, it’s finally time for the “let’s go” part. Both the athlete and the coach have put in the training, the hours, days and years of sacrifice and commitment. Now, it’s time to put all that to the test. At this point, the mental state has as much to do with the results as the physical part does. Time and time again, we hear commentators talk about that, and sure enough, that truly does make a difference! Getting to that place of “let’s go” is to me more a matter of “letting go” .
Having the expectation, anticipation and intention is only part of the process. Not being attached to the outcome is the essential ingredient to success. You try your very best to get ready, get set, and then you “let go”…
Keeping that in mind, the teamwork involved between coach and athlete is my fourth point of reflection. There is no doubt that the relationship between the two is crucial in embracing that bud of potential and developing into a flower of possibility and accomplishment.
What does all this have to do with Life Coaching? Glad that you asked… Click here to read my post about what is Life Coaching?
Well, there actually is a big difference between a Sports Coach and a Life Coach. The most obvious one is that the Sports Coach directs, advises and leads the way whereas the Life Coach listens, investigates, encourages and “leads from behind”, or said another way, let’s the client do the talk, destination setting and the walk to get there.
True, the athlete “sets” the goal – that of winning the gold medal or setting a world record, or becoming the best in the world, and the Sports Coach leads the way in getting there. Likewise, the client of a Life Coach sets the goals, but then uses the reflective questions that a Life Coach asks of them to use their life experience, their own emotional intelligence and perspective as a guidance system for that process of “ready, set, let’s go”.
The other difference between a Sports Coach and a Life Coach has to do with the goal itself. Is it a transactional goal – one that just changes a behavior for a time, like in sports? Or is it more of a transformational change that has a more permanent nature – one that explores more deeply what long-term consequences are involved and desired?
In either case, the role of the Sport Coach and the Life Coach is crucial in helping someone achieve their goals. And both can be a thrilling journey of “getting ready, set and let’s go”…
OLYMPICS INFORMATION
Here are some sources of info to learn more about the history and statistics of the Olympic Games :
http://history1900s.about.com/od/fadsfashion/a/olympicshistory.htm
http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/
INSPIRATION
This is a video that I use a lot in my workshops on Emotional Intelligence – it says it all about what the human spirit is really all about. Enjoy!
BOOK RECOMMENDATION
Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives by Dan Millman – Click here to read reviews of the book
UPDATE ON EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
I have been finishing up my certification to use the Six Seconds’ Model of Emotional Intelligence. I conducted a six-week workshop earlier this summer, introducing this model , as well as offering various presentations to the Santa Barbara community . It has opened up some pretty amazing opportunities in reaching out and connecting with our fellow human (and emotional) beings – something we all have in common!
Now I am working on developing On-Line methodologies for even more people to learn about EQ through Webinars and Teleseminars – stay tuned!
What is Emotional Intelligence? Why is it called Six Seconds? What does EQ have to do with IQ? And how does Life Experience and Life Intelligence play into this concept?
For answers to these questions, and discussion about them, ask me!
A good starting point to explore the world of EQ is to take an Assessment that measures your Emotional Intelligence on the extent to which you have self-awareness and can translate that to the world around you. How does that help or hinder you? What can you do to achieve the success you would like to embrace using these EQ skills?
I can give you that Assessment (called an SEI Assessment) and then provide you with an extensive review of your results., complete with recommendations and guidelines for your desired outcomes. For your convenience, it can be taken on-line, with timely results made available to you for your consideration.
So, here’s another way to “Get Ready, Set, Let’s Go” on an adventure that will have major transformative and inspirational changes in store for you! Let me know if you would like to go on that journey with me, or maybe you know of someone who would benefit from exploring this concept.
I’d love to hear from you, so please provide your comments below, as well as clicking on the “Like” button, if you found this Newsletter useful in some way. And please help me “spread the word” by forwarding this newsletter to anyone that you think would enjoy i. I know we all get an awful lot of e-mails and info thrown at us, but some of it is more useful than others…
Have a good rest-of-the-month!
Take care,
Ingrid