As a Life Coach one has the opportunity to positively impact and influence another life and its ripples can be felt miles around. It is huge responsibility.
Thriving as a Life Coach
Every life is unique and a life coach needs to keep ideating and integrating approaches and interventions that make way to transformative changes. It can challenge the very best.
To thrive as a life coach and be effective it is necessary…
Approachability : To be approachable and open to feedback, which helps to foster trust and respect within the clients
Patience : To empathize with others and understand their perspectives before offering solutions
Resilience : To adapt & to bounce back, no matter the challenges.To be able to bend and not break under pressure.
This calls for a great amount of emotional intelligence, consistency, creative thinking & resilience. A resilience that comes from experience and one that is honed in flexibility & adaptability.
What matters most is how a life coach can instill confidence and trust in another to make a meaningful difference.
As a dancer, I often use my dance education and experiences by associating concepts and find it helps me understand and evolve in the many life challenges and relate to the changing world.
In a world where almost everyone is interfacing with ChatGPT and AI and finding new and improved ways of prompting for application of technology for every day use, I find some relevant associations here with partner dancing and technology.
Dancing & Prompting has a lot in common A dance with a partner is an action and response More than a reaction. Likewise in today’s world every day is a dance with AI and our prompts are nothing but inputs towards an intelligent response than just a reaction. The better the input the better the output. Here I want to share a few thoughts for starters Dancing with a partner is about being in tandem, one leading the way and one following without anticipation Likewise prompting is about giving clear directions without ambiguity. To dance is to set and hold the frame In a good prompt setting the context and format helps to streamline the output.
In a dance the music sets the movements of the dance… And in a prompt sharing the example of what it feels like helps clearer and relevant output.
In a dance a leader can evaluate as you go which steps will work with which partner. Assessing the dance space available helps in evaluating the flow. For there are no second moves… Whatever you do decides the dance flow… And you are free to improvise your self as you go along
Likewise in prompts evaluation helps check what is working and tweaking it gives better quality output.
When a dancer is a professional Dancing a single step may feel fluid but in breaking down the steps it’s easier to understand the flow. In prompting dividing the steps well into multiple steps connected to a certain goal will give desired results.
Be it a dance with partner or with words for AI when you have a clear intention and purpose and are able to communicate what you want and where you want to reach, in easily understable and suitable way not only will you reach your destination You will enjoy the journey!
Unconference, the word piqued my curiosity for a while until I checked it up on the internet, only to find that the idea has gained tremendous momentum across the globe.
The idea of un-structuring the ingrained structure seemed interesting to say the least, in creating spaces and possibilities to honour the learning.
Suffice to say recently, when I came across an Unconference event in the local newspaper I decided I must make a visit.
The venue of this Unconference was the well known Symbiosis School of Liberal Arts in Pune. I reached just in time for the proceedings to untold.
A customary registration ensued and I was greeted by a few volunteers with a relaxed warm and welcoming attitude. Clearly, the Unconference had started right there.
The word Conference kind of stiffens people up. There is a formal attitude, a thick air of competition to perform at their very best. There are fees and strict rules to adhere to. There are super busy organisers scurrying through and tension is writ large on their faces and their bodies as well are stressed out with expectations of the outcome of the event. Suited men and women whizz through looking super important. And yes there would be a Chief Guest of honour and a coterie of important people who need VIP handling… Adherence to their whims and fancies and most importantly their speeches which may or may not be of interest to any. But all must endure as to get up and leave is an offence to the speaker.
On the contrary here, there was a prevalent free-spirited feeling in the first place that all were in it together. The sense of community always takes time to build so I stood in that room with a small group of people waiting for the (informal introductory practice,) the opening circle.
The Opening Circle :
Someone from the group had taken an initiative to design a pretty pattern made of flowers in the centre of the space and light a lamp there.
A few introductory rounds later which turned out to be icebreakers with a few games to let loose and get into the flow.
There was a board set up with a mention of few rooms and a time slot to boot. The participants were encouraged to choose to attend or conduct workshops or just wander around and network.
A few people got up to mention their workshops and claim their slot. On a moment’s impulse although I was not exactly in the right attire for a dance workshop I simply decided to go with the flow and offered a Dance connection workshop by me.
Encouraged by a decent number of participants I let the moment take the lead. As I began teaching I witnessed the flow of the energy in the exchange.
I spoke about the dance, hold, frame and positioning and started introducing them to partner dancing and some basic steps. Bit by bit people shed inhibitions as they were getting tuned into the moves.
The moment strangers began to hold hands and face one another… for many, there was harmony to be found in the mirror imaging. For after all the lead and follow were simply an extension of each other dancing as one unit.
The energy in the room turned up a notch with the Achy Breaky Heart country cha sounds of Billy Ray Cyrus for company.
All started sensing the tuning in to the rhthymic expression of music & movement with their partners at that moment.
After the dance workshop I asked what they felt in that moment and here is what they shared immediately…
1. Acknowledging another as they are 2. Being mindful of boundaries 2. Caring to confirm 3. Listening with Attention 4. Having patience 5. Sharing in authenticity 6. Allowing space for curiosity & growth 7. Behaving respectively 8. Being present & available 9. Respecting personal space 10.Valuing emotions in resonance 11.Holding space for perspectives 12. Showing care and offering comfort to another.
You may find a few empathic faces coming up in front of you after reading this… People who have been showing some or almost all of these signs.
Hold on to them. Learn from them Respect their ways… They have understood much about life and living and valuing the strength of the interconnects.
Pablo Picasso was born in Spain. And lived in France for most of his adult life. He is a prolific artist with varied interests, his early naturalistic painting gave way to his famous modern art in his adult years. He is known for his ‘Artistic Versatility’ and also for painting from imagination. He is renowned for his unconventional & radical life & art and is influential for his development of Cubist style.
A few musings…
On Art & Acceptance
If Picasso was born in the east Perhaps he would have had it tougher to touch the height of success. For he was best born in the west And live in the heart of liberalism Where his technique was acknowledged and given wings. He passionately painted his spirits strokes in freedom.
The eastern world has always been more traditional Conservative & restrained in art and life Somewhere it took a long time Catching up with the possibilities of creativity Where chaos becomes art.
In chaos there is disorder But in disorder is the arising of new creative possibilities Envisioning in the unconventional a restructuring in the flow Every stroke of the brush or ink on paper Is indicative of thoughts and emotions in the brain behind the brush. Of the development of hand eye brain integration That creates art out of simply anything and everything. And then, there is the viewer critic and the art dealer who see hope & possibilities in both the artist & his art.
Art is born in the mind of the artist
Art channels itself in the flow
Art is honed in the perspectives of critique
But art is realised and enjoyed in the acceptance of a patron
Gratitude makes us recognize and value things we already have even more. That is how it brings a sense of abundance.
Every day a practice of gratitude could include a variety of things that may feel right to you. From seeing the positives in a situation or in people, focusing on the good in life journaling regularly and being thankful, etc
A practice of living life with a positive attitude makes life more meaningful.
Give gratitude freely without holding back.
Thank you dear reader, Truly grateful for your time. Pls consider sharing this message of giving gratitude in this now.
Every path is unique to itself Every journey creates it’s own pathways Each phase and stage of life Enveloping in itself creating patterns and yet, Embedded and enmeshed Are the journey lines in the flow..
To me walking has been synonymous with freedom, and I believe that it is one of the best ways to balance your mind and body every day. I have been enjoying this healthy activity pretty consistently.
Walking is something people take for granted but with the right approach the act of walking can be a friendly support for a lifetime.
But this is about walking and walking on from pride of success so that you create space for more.
Sharing an interesting read that came my way today… Life is to thrive
One day a farmer’s donkey fell into a well. The animal cried loudly for hours, while the farmer tried to find something to do to get him out.
Finally, the farmer decided that the donkey was old and the well was already dry and needed to be covered anyway; that it really wasn’t worth pulling the donkey out of the well..
He invited all his neighbors to come help him. They each grabbed a shovel and began to throw dirt into the well.
The donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly loud. Then, to everyone’s surprise, he quieted down after a few shovelfuls of dirt.
The farmer finally looked down into the well and was amazed at what he saw… with each shovelful of dirt, the donkey was doing something incredible: It was shaking off the dirt and stepping on top of the dirt.
Very soon everyone saw surprised how the donkey reached the mouth of the well, went over the edge and trotted out…
Life is going to throw dirt at you, all kinds of dirt… the trick to getting out of the hole is to shake it off and use it to step up. Each of our problems is a step up. We can get out of the deepest holes if we don’t give up…
Use the land they throw you to get ahead!!!
Remember the 5 rules to be happy:
Free your heart from hate.
Free your Mind of distractions.
Simplify your life.
Give more and expect less.
Love more and… shake the dirt, because in this life you have to be a solution, not the problem.
Savvy Raj 
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