What are you doing to learn new things?
One of the things that most excites me about coaching individuals and groups is to witness when clients learn something new about themselves or their situation that they haven’t thought of before. The “light bulb” goes off, the “ah ha” settles in.
Learning stretches us, it opens us up to new ideas and challenges the status quo. We do, however, need to be intentional about it. Take time to learn new things. Racing from meeting to meeting, checking off items on your to-do list, and focusing on finishing tasks doesn’t leave much time to learn.
Coaching works because there is space to connect the dots and dig deep into an issue or situation. Making time to read, even reading this short newsletter, gives you the chance to learn something new. Lean into being genuinely curious, take a step back and ask a few good questions, do some research on a topic you want to know more about. Learn.
#WiseWords
“Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor
and attended to with diligence.“
Worth the Share
Take time to learn something new about the Olympics that just ended a few days ago. You will be fired up after you read various lessons about age, resilience and using your voice to make a difference.
Of the eight lessons, “Don’t be afraid to try something new” is my favorite. After dancing throughout high school, then moving to track and field, Discus Gold Medal Winner Valerie Allman first tried throwing the discus just to get a dinner invitation! And now she has a gold medal. Impressive. Try something new, learn, keep growing.
Read Eight Leadership Lessons From Women Olympians Competing in Tokyo from Fast Company. It will brighten your day!
And Finally...
Confession, I’m an assessment junkie. Digging into the results of an assessment like Clifton Strengths, NBI, or a 360 is fun for me. I love to learn more about myself, and especially love to learn about my clients so we can use the assessment results in our work together.
One of the 34 Clifton Strengths is Learner: “People exceptionally talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continually improve. The process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.”
While I like to learn new things and continually improve, I am trying to build the skill of learning, to appreciate and value the process of learning, and not rush to the answers. Are you a learner? What have you learned in the last 24 hours? What are you curious about?
Have a great week,
Mary Jo