Top 10 Tools for a Strong Personal
Foundation
Coaching is about living great
lives. It’s about living lives based on our values, our priorities and
our choices. And, as in building a great building, it takes a very strong
foundation. In fact, the more spectacular the visible parts of the
building are going to be, the more time and precision has to go into preparing
the supporting structures and systems underneath. But one of the most
difficult things in life is spending the necessary time on the foundations.
Most of us are eager to build,
to start living the life of our dreams, and the temptation is always to neglect
the details of a strong personal foundation. Here are my Top 10 Tools for
creating the foundation that will support whatever else you want in your life:
- Get plenty of sleep. I know, that wasn’t on the list
when I was younger either, but as Vince Lombardi noted, "Fatigue
makes cowards of us all." Tired people are cranky, they miss
opportunities and make careless decisions. And, getting plenty of
sleep suggests a fairly regular pattern to your day, some structure and
orderliness, and that’s a good thing!
- Eat well. Yeah, I know, another boring
one. But the body needs good stuff to keep it sharp and ready to
serve you. Some people go a long way on this, carefully nurturing
their bodies with organic fruits and vegetables. I don’t have that
discipline, but replacing potato chips with carrot sticks, sure does seem
to help. Cut down on fat, drink more water and fruit juice, and see
what happens!
- Exercise. Even a walk around the block
does wonders to clear the head! At least 30 minutes, 3 or 4 times a
week, and more if you enjoy it. Work up a sweat, huff and puff a
bit. They say you’ll live longer. I know it gets me out of the
office, away from the phone and computer for a few minutes, and my dog
loves the chance to run! Enjoy it.
- Read a lot. Read magazines and history, read
biographies and cheap novels, but read. Follow politics and the
economy, keep up with current films and take a moment to follow sports and
those funny short stories in Reader’s Digest. It gives you
perspective, broadens your point of view, and, like exercise, it gets you
away from the phone and computer for a few minutes. It may even make
you wiser!
- Meditate. Keep a journal, or pray.
Develop your own style and preferences for making peace with your world,
and do it every day. Find the time and place that works best for
you, sit quietly, settle into your routine, and take time to notice.
Stuff will come up. You’ll have ideas, you’ll fall asleep, you’ll
remember what’s really important. Whatever happens, be at peace with
it.
- Eliminate tolerations. Keep your nest clean!
There’s no excuse to be tripping over the same clutter every day. It
slows you down, and it wears you out. Some people are
"neater" than others, and this isn’t about having a clean desk,
unless that’s important to you. This is about eliminating those
annoying frustrations that come up every week. Get a housekeeper, a
bookkeeper, a gardener, and at least have your car washed! If it
annoys you, deal with it.
- Keep relationships clean. It’s not possible to be best
friends with everyone, and some relationships do end, but that’s not as
expensive as having a strained relationship that drains you every
day. If you have "friendships" that need to end, take care
of it. If you have an intimate partner with whom you need to spend
more time, schedule it tonight. Stay on good terms with those you
can, and end those relationships that are never going to support
you. Just do it.
- Do work you love. Doing a job you dislike is
exhausting. I often talk with folks who are eager to change careers
"as soon as…." They usually finish the sentence with
something that will happen in a few years. Why wait? Life’s
short! I suspect the time lost is a greater risk than making the
change right now! Do what you love!
- Laugh a lot! Humor and warm friendships, love
and laughter go further to maintain "balance" than all the
programs I’ve ever tried. Life is either a wonderful, strange and
funny dance…or it’s too scary to think about. Either way, laugh all
the way through!
- Develop your "Daily 10". Have a regular pattern of 10
wonderful things you do every day for your own vibrant personal
foundation. Find your own little rituals that just make you feel
good! Every day, do 10 simple things that remind you how special,
powerful, alive and wonderful you are! Delight in them!
Here's to you, and to building a
strong, deep and lasting foundation that will support you for many years to
come!
Copyright 2000
by Philip E. Humbert. All Rights Reserved. May be freely copied and
distributed as long as you include the following information:
Written by Dr
Philip E. Humbert, author, speaker and personal success coach. Dr Humbert
has hundreds of tips, tools and articles on his website that you can use for
YOUR success! It's a great resource! And, be sure to sign up for
his FREE newsletter! Visit him on the web at:
http://www.philiphumbert.com"
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