A New Brain - A New Life

Epiphany - That´s what happened to me on the morning of my 2010 birthday. I was listening to an interview of one of the leading brain scientists from Germany. He talked about revolutionary findings of recent years which were made possible by new noninvasive methods. The brain in action can be observed. The things he said confirmed the things I have learned in my spiritually based Coaching Training. Amazing! There was this university professor who confirmed and affirmed my work as a Life Coach. It was my best birthday present, because he told me that my life´s work matters. I can help people reshape their brains and give them a new life, THE life they always wanted, the live they choose to have. And all of that completely without brain surgery.....

According to neuroscience the brain can be reshaped until the end of its life. This in itself is a fairly new and revolutionary finding. So it is never enough to have a good life, no matter the history. But also revolutionary is the finding that things learned in a positive atmosphere, with positive feelings and done with enthusiasm and passion, are the things that truly shape your brain. This delivers the scientific explanation of the incredible results of the inspired learning model (www.inspiredlearning.com). This model got developed by my coaching teachers after applying it to coaching trainées for years. I was fortunate to experience it myself and am now blessed to be able to pass it on through my work. The brain expert (by the way his name is Gerald Hüther, he has published many books on the topic, one of them together with the Dalai Lama) also talked about the power of pictures in the brain for success. In coaching we call it visualization. He mentioned that successful trainers in sports use the pictures in the brain and have great result with their top sports people. He also said that not only do they get instructed to imagine how they are standing there with the gold medal and the crowd is cheering them, they are also encouraged to FEEL the feelings that they have once they have won, to BE the winner. Now, this is exactly what I have learned to do with my coachées. Never before have I heard science talk about it, despite great results with my clients. Here it all was, the scientific proof, proof of the power of these methods, visible in the brain. My hope is that these scientific results will encourage people who are very science oriented to go and shape their lives as they wish them to be and to reach high and BE successful, BE happy, BE themselves. This is a day to celebrate, indeed!

10 Things that Make Your Change Last

The most often mentioned reason for not sticking with New Year´s resolutions is "Not Enough Willpower". As an expert for change I cannot say it often enough: Don´t rely on willpower - nobody should be so harsh to her-/himself. Below is my gift for my readers. You want change - read on and enjoy your long wanted new habits...

10 Things that Make Your Change Last

1. Take a quiet moment in a pleasant environment. Get comfortable, think about what it is you want to change.

2. Envision how it will be after the change has been made, feel the joy of having made that change.
3. Rate your desire to make a change from 0 to 10 (0 being no desire, 10 being highest desire). If you have a number 8 or higher, go for it. If you have a lower number, drop that goal for the time being and find another one with a number 8 or higher. It would not be worth it to put in the effort as chances of succeeding are relatively low.

4. Put your desired change in numbers. Meaning: break down the change in single, doable steps. Make the change measurable (e.g. lose 10 pounds in 2 months, or one clothes size down in 4 weeks, as opposed to wanting to lose weight).

5. Make clear and precise plans on when to do the first step and for how long, what exactly needs to be done, etc. In the above example it could be a 30 minute walk on Mondays and Wednesdays, desserts only on weekends, drinking 2 quarts of water daily.

6 Simply do it. One step at a time.

7. Be prepared for relapses and be kind to yourself. People tend to rely on willpower, which is not a good idea when attempting to make a lasting change. Remember, we are human and have the right to make mistakes. It does not mean you have lost your chance to reach your goal. If your goal is for example weight loss and you had to have your favorite treat after being good for a while, instead of beating yourself up, ENJOY it and then go about your step by step plan towards your goal.

8. Remember that readjustments of single steps and deadlines when to reach the goal are always helpful options if you feel you have an honest reason for it. Going toward a goal slowly will still get you there whereas never trying will get you nowhere. Goals are typically set with high ambition, and not so much on the realistic step by step getting there.

9. Focus on enjoying the single steps and on enjoying the process. Life is truly too short and it’s unnecessary to feel miserable for a single moment. Sentences like “everything that’s healthy tastes bad” or “work must not be pleasurable” might stand in your way to achieving your goals and living a pleasantly balanced life. Personal Life Coaching helps you eliminate any obstacles in your way.

10. Know and continuously remind yourself that you are creating your own life. You get to choose how you want things to be and which goals to reach. The real limits of life, we typically do not even get close to. So there is a huge amount of wiggle room to experiment with and to have FUN with.

11. BONUS: Enjoy your beingness, your bliss, your blessings, your passions, your talents, your livelyness!!

A New Year - A New Life?

Your New Year´s Goal list is long and ambitious, but the change of little habits is defeating you already on January 1st? Don´t despair. There are simply misconceptions about the nature of lasting changes that are making it difficult...

Things have finally slowed down with X-Mas. The year ended faithfully. Automatically the events of the old year were coming to mind again, a holiday letter was sent out to friends and family. New Year´s Eve was full of fireworks and champagne: The New Year has arrived. I like the feeling of a clean slate on January 1st. Life seems full of opportunities, just like way back when, when I came fresh from High School and had a long summer ahead, trying on countless versions of my life in my head.

Whenever possible, my husband an I watch the live broadcast of the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra´s New Year´s Concert. Is is so inspiring, so cultivated. It seems like a guarantee for the year to turn out according to my own dreams, when I am able to get it started with this in 70 countries broadcasted event. During the 2,5 hour concert, we would talk about our goals and wishes for the year. A list is compiled and added on a document with all the last New Year´s Goals. Many of the goals have been accomplished, some keep being put on the new list, still hopeful. Others have disappeared altogether - never carried out, having lost its importance on the way. Until this point the year is fresh and innocent, carrying all these opportunities.

The afternoon of January 1st is the first challenge. The simple habits, the ones that seem unimportant in the scheme of life, start talking: Maybe drinking coffee isn´t so bad for me after all. Drinking wine is known to be of benefit. More exercise - well but not TODAY... Thus, life´s big goals seem in danger, because not even a tiny habit seems to be able to be changed. This is the point, where a little attention goes a long way. Don´t beat yourself up about any of this. The approach is often done with will power. One of the best kept secrets of change seems to be that will power is not a good companion when it comes to changing habits. The nature of change is human. Relapses are likely and should be expected. Don´t answer with an all of nothing mindset and head for the family size cookie bag just because the urge to have a cookie despite the resolution to keep your hands off cookies for the rest of your life has become unbearable. ENJOY a cookie of your favorite kind, savor it, eat it slowly and include all your senses: How does it look like, smell like, taste like, how does it sound when you bite it.... Be kind and gentle to yourself. And one more thing: be HONEST. Do you really want to live your life without cookies, what is the real goal here - weight loss, healthy nutrition, no more overeating and numbing yourself with food? Whatever it is: It is vital to be honest to yourself and find out your true desire. Then there will be a doable path to get to it. Most likely it will include occasional cookies. The path will be easy. Will power is not needed here.

Life coaching has such wonderful ways to get you what you truly want in your life. Often it is just a shift in perceptions that can make a big difference in our life quality. Everybody deserves to live her/his own unique life of fulfillment and happiness. I wish you, dear reader, a most joyous and fantastic year 2010. May you follow your dreams and encounter things beyond your wildest dreams on the way. Live, laugh and love often!