Eve Earley, Empowering Change

You've heard a lot about the SPEAK: Uncertainty event we're promoting next week - so here's the case for joining us - or keeping an eye out for the talks via YouTube a few weeks after. And what did I learn yesterday from the wise Carol Conway (she/her)? The opposite of judgmental is not non-judgmental - it's curiosity. Nothing in life is certain. And long ago a wise woman taught me that there is no #normal. It's just a setting on a dryer! We hope you'll get curious and enjoy our sampling of the stories of thriving that follow surviving uncertain borders, boundaries and identities - in everyday life! https://lnkd.in/eacS76Av

"Tell me your story" - followers have heard me ask it - again and again. I tell my story because life is short. It takes a long time and hard work to alchemise a tarnished past into a golden future - please - make your learning curve shorter than mine. That's what every influencer, mentor, and friend who changed my life did for me - alongside the writers and poets who caught my attention with their words. Our futures are as promising as the company we keep today - and the stories they tell. This week - and most - missives from Aodan Enright and Aoibh Johnson made a difference via my inbox. A brilliant conversation with Sarah Laverty and another with Tove Kane moved me from gloom to optimism. So thank you! And to Alison Matthews, Suzanne Murdock, and Jason McGee who recalled a positive impact I'd made on their trajectories - via stories I'd long since forgotten. #Storytelling matters.

So, what are you doing to stay hopeful?

What would it take for you to 𝑰𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆? When was the last time you took a risk for the sake of risk? #JustDoIt sold a lot of trainers for Nike. So, what would one simple act of expansion look like in your life? Give it a go - five quick answers - then take one and run with it...

“If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room.” Once again - I've switched out a scheduled post for something that suits a message from the Wednesday morning The Mums At Work Network session! Thank you, Evelyn McAleer and all the other coaches for bearing witness to the mindset and techniques that can move us from where we are into a world of possibility. Hers was the best advice I heard today: Act as though the wish is fulfilled. Below there is a great exercise from a chapter on Discovering Adventure: The Verb To Be.* Why? Because by allowing ourselves 'to be' - we give ourselves permission to choose self "invention vs. convention". Colouring outside the lines allows us to play our way into an exuberant future beyond our imaginations. *Walking in This World, The Practical Art of Creativity.

Language changes! Today's coaches and well-being practitioners have embraced the benefits of meditation, energy work, emotional freedom, and spiritual practices - our ideal clients are often in need of translation. This Wednesday series of questions and tasks are designed to take the 'woo' out of the work. The first in Julia Cameron's series of over 12 books on The Artist's Way was written in 1992 - the language is practical and pragmatic - and serves as an invitation to experience the benefits of grounding, breathing and meditation - with labels like #ArtistDates, #TimeOuts, and #MorningPages. Take 20 minutes - write quickly, set aside your inner critic, and be confident that no one need ever read what you write...

As the equinox approaches I'm acutely aware that as we begin to lose the light, I will have to operate around my waning energy. "Accept the things I can not change..." comes to mind. I once thought that all those begrudgingly accepted obstacles I tried to let go of wound up in an overcrowded burial ground. The author Ralph Blum suggests otherwise: "The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings." Cameron suggests they can become fuel - it's heartening to believe that we can alchemise obstacles into energy. 𝙒𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚 ...𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙨𝙮𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙘 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣…𝙒𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣, 𝙬𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮. 𝙒𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜-𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙨. This exercise comes from a Never Too Late chapter on "Reigniting a Sense of Vitality:

Fall is in the air - and that feels like 'back to school'. The good news about the ritual of that schedule is that even if we're not feeling "ready" for a course - this may be the push you need. Even if things are going well - ask yourself: What am I doing to prepare for what's next? We live in uncertain times - and occupy the uncertain place between what yesterday was and what tomorrow might bring. Why not set a course for where we're going next - instead of drifting along with the tide? #CreativeRecovery, #NeverTooLate, #JustDoIt Information sessions will follow on Wednesdays and Sundays through the end of the month.

We facilitate groups committed to #creativerecovery. If that sounds too woo, consider them 'personal change management' masterminds. We start with a framework, offer support, and schedule regular check-ins to ensure we're #MaintainingMomentum. A key feature of that framework is the call for a weekly one-hour play date. There are other features - habits and homework that most participants adopt from the start. The one we struggle with the most? The one-hour playdate. It's critical that we overcome that resistance - because - "The opposite of play is not work, it's depression." Dr. Stuart Brown THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR PLAY #ArtistDate, #play, #Creativity Carol Conway (she/her), Suzanne Murdock, Don Harris, Fiona Molloy, Kevin Spath MEd, LMHC, Dr Jonny Bloomfield, Joanne Callan, 🙕Linda Wright🙒, Andrew Keogh, Tove Kane, Alison Matthews, Ellie McBride https://lnkd.in/epsSA_Uc

#DontGoItAlone isn't just a hashtag we default to - it's a way of life. We all need #allies, #advocates & #champions! No matter how supportive our families and close friends can be - they may be too lovingly cautious or protective of us to support a daring adventure or radical change. So, who can you turn to? If you need help cultivating those relationships - get in touch.