Category Archives: Choices

So plant your own garden and decorate your own soul instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers

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“So plant your own garden and decorate your own soul instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.”

—Jorge Luis Borges, 20th Century Argentine essayist, poet and translator

Image from Unsplash by Markus Spike

Today’s quote reminds me of Stephen Covey’s habit of being proactive. These days, it has become increasingly easy to have things come our way with little effort. With the click of a few buttons on our phones we can order a meal, get a ride, and have virtually anything delivered in minutes or days.

The caveat here is that we still need to do a bit of searching and actively click a button or two for our flowers to arrive.

EXERCISE:

Where in your world are you waiting for things to happen with little or no effort on your part? Where would proactively planting your own garden and decorating your soul add more beauty and abundance to your life?

Although the best coaching may be offered by good examples

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Although the best coaching may be offered by good examples the next best may be found in bad examples. It is up to each of us to discover the lessons in both.

—Calm App Reflection

Who are the people in your life that set a wonderful example of living a rich and meaningful life?

How would you describe their character and best qualities?

How has their example impacted and influenced your personal and professional efforts?

Where in your world do you see terrible examples of how to live?

Where do you see people acting in ways that are contrary to what you value and believe?

How have their bad examples taught you valuable lessons that led you on a far better path?

EXERCISE:

Take an extra close look at the good and bad examples exemplified by people in your various communities.

What new or different choices and actions will you make and take from these observations?

Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now, take what’s left and live it properly

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“Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now, take what’s left and live it properly.”

—Marcus Aurelius, ancient Roman emperor & Stoic philosopher

Image from Unsplash by Usman Yousaf

What does it mean to live a “proper” life?

At the end of your life what would you like people to say about you?

How would you have answered these questions 10 or 20 years ago?

As we age, many of us notice changes occurring in our minds and bodies.

Usually, this a gradual process and most of us come to terms with the finite nature of our lives.

We usually strive to do better and make the most of it.

What if instead of a more gradual process your life was coming to an abrupt end? How satisfied and complete would you feel and what regrets would you experience?

EXERCISE:

The movies Defending Your Life with Albert Brooks and Groundhog Day with Bill Murray offer many laughs and some good examples to consider.

intentions have a shelf life

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“Intentions have a shelf life.”

Image from Unsplash by Maria Lin Kim

When was the last time you went shopping for groceries?

What are the factors that have you select a particular item and place it in your cart?

How often do you examine the expiration dates and perhaps look to the back of each shelf to select the items with the best dates to limit spoilage and waste?

Our intentions are not like Twinkies!  They don’t have an indefinite shelf life in which they stay forever soft and fresh.

Just examine the practice of making New Year’s resolutions and see how many fall by the wayside in weeks or a few months.

EXERCISE:

What are your most important intentions?

How can and will you act on them with urgency in the coming days so that they have the greatest chance of being realized?

Don’t ever work for someone you don’t want to become

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“Don’t ever work for someone you don’t want to become.”

Kevin Kelly, Founding Executive Editor of Wired Magazine

Image from Unsplash by Christina Victoria Craft

How have you been influenced by the great resignation? What is it that makes large numbers of people leave their jobs to pursue other ventures, given the need many of us have for safety and security?

More and more people these days are insisting on thriving, not just surviving. Life is short and we only have one. Experiencing current regrets and projecting them into the future is not acceptable. Observing those around us in distress — and perhaps feeling our own — has many people throw more caution to the wind to chart a new and better course.

EXERCISE:

How good a fit is your current job? To what degree do you admire and respect the leadership within your organization? How proud would you be to see yourself in their shoes down the road? If the shoe doesn’t fit, what then?

To be To do To have Take life in this order

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To be. To do. To have. Take life in this order.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Paico Official

The CALM app I use each morning recently added a new seven-minute morning meditation/guided journey called The Daily Jay with Jay Shetty. Jay is an English author, a former Hindu monk, and a life coach. Prior to joining the CALM team, he was perhaps best known as the host of the podcast On Purpose which included many famous guests and has received over 60 million downloads.

In a recent offering, he suggested the idea of a To-Be list to go along with our often-crammed To-Do lists.

Considering how we currently behave, and then shifting and choosing how we would prefer to be as we do the things we need and want to do, can make a remarkable difference. Consider the following word list and expand it for yourself as you do your chores, go to work, listen to your children, and relate to others in your various communities.

Calm Patient Positive Hopeful Courageous
Generous Loving Supportive Helpful Kind
Open-Minded Bold Caring Disciplined Funny
Joyful Content Fair Nurturing Adventurous

EXERCISE:

Add an extra To Be column next to your To-Do list today.  Please reply to this post about the kind of day you have. What other words of being did you add to your list?

“When the path is blocked, back up and see more of the way.”

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“When the path is blocked, back up and see more of the way.”

—Mark Nepo, Author of The Book of Awakening

Image from Unsplash by Mike Cox

How familiar are you with the game of golf? To make courses more difficult, golf architects do numerous nefarious things to challenge and often frustrate both the weekend warrior and even the pros. Beyond making a course longer, various types of obstacles are built into most holes to make putting that little ball in the hole more difficult.

Of all the obstacles that cause the most consternation is the sand trap, which is now referred to as a bunker for political correctness.

Sometimes upon entering one, our ball lies so close to the lip that forward movement with the next shot is impossible. In such circumstances the player must step back from the situation to realize the only path forward is to hit the ball sideways, backwards, or even go back to the tee and accept a penalty stroke.

EXERCISE:

Where are your paths blocked in either your personal or professional life?  How would stepping back from these situations help you see your way forward more clearly?

“The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously.”

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“The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously.”

—Henry Kissinger, Former U.S. Secretary of State

Image from Unsplash by Victoriano Izquierdo

Over the past several years I’ve been fascinated by people who live a sustainable lifestyle. Many live in remote parts of the world, spending the majority of their days focused on providing the essentials of water, shelter, and food.

These hunter-gathers take whatever nature offers, or they go to bed hungry. On many a day they go to bed hungry anyway because nature’s food isles are empty.

Somehow these rugged individuals remain remarkably happy with their lives and limited alternatives. It is also very common that they thank some higher power for providing them sustenance for another day.

EXERCISE:

Where has a life with far too many alternatives cluttered up your mind and caused you distress?

Consider eating a very simple meal with only a few ingredients for one or more of your meals today to see how this might clear your mind a bit.

How might dramatically reducing your choices in other areas of your life offer you greater peace of mind?

What shifts do you want to make to your relationship with food?

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What shifts do you want to make to your relationship with food?

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by The BlackRabbit

The intention of the Quotable Coach blog is to provoke and challenge you to improve your mind, body, and soul.

Pursuing personal and professional excellence to have a gold medal life was my primary inspiration to become a coach back in 1992.

Over the past 18+ months the majority of people I speak with have put on at least a few Covid pounds and seem less energetic and vital.

Beyond our shifts in our exercise routines such as sports and going to the gym, many of us have sought out a bit too much comfort from less-than-optimal foods choices and portions.

Working from home may have reduced our commute but may also have had the unfortunate impact of adding a few inches to our waistlines. Consider how much of your previous wardrobe is still sitting on hangers with the same dry-cleaning tags.

EXERCISE:

Please download a copy of the food target chart from On Target Living website to help you shift food strategies for the better at the following link.

I am the me I choose to be

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“I am the me I choose to be.”

—Sidney Pottier, first black male to win the Best Actor Academy Award

Image from Unsplash by Pierre Bamin

Today’s quote seems like a modern version of Shakespeare’s famous line, To thine own self be true.

To what degree are you the “thee” you choose to be?

With all the pushing and pulling on us by outside forces, many of us have exchanged followers and likes for a bit of our souls.

Being a chameleon and constantly trying to please others almost always moves us away from our authentic selves.

In what ways have you or others close to you given away the power to choose and lost your way?

EXERCISE:

On what issues is it time to more courageously choose your most genuine self to receive the only essential “like” worth pursuing?