Reclaim the Ease of a Childhood Summer
Yet another brand new summer now at your finger tips. Maybe you vow yet again to truly slow down and enjoy this season 2016. Chances are that the rush of daily life will sweep you away, well into fall, without you thinking about the season of summer. Therefore, it will take a conscious effort to make this the summer of your dreams.
First, there is a conundrum I want to talk about in order to arm you for what you are up against. Ten years ago, when I started out with my coaching business, I created a logo and the tagline to sum up the results my clients would get: “Reclaim the Ease of a Childhood Summer.” The line was met with comments like, “Oh, I would love to have that feeling in my daily life; I feel like I can´t breathe for I am so busy,” or “That would be amazing.”
Yet, over time I had to learn that the promise of feeling at ease and unencumbered, even while managing the daily grind, was not motivating people to actually make it happen. It was as though people believed ease and navigating daily life were opposites, never to be experienced at the same time. This is actually not a big surprise, since we are all too used to keeping relaxation time for when we are on vacation. But when are we only on vacation anymore, totally void of our e-mails and phones? Those times rarely exist.
A statement from spiritual coach Alan Cohen comes to mind to deeply understand what´s happening: “Pain pushes and vision pulls.” As many mental health workers will have experienced in their line of work, pain is the best motivator to go seek help and to resolve to make a change. It´s a “no brainer.”
Action comes easily; we don´t have to overthink it. We feel pushed to do it and go seek help. But as soon as we are back to “good enough,” we usually stop and are satisfied with the outcome. This is a real pity though. Life can be so much better, calmer, more fulfilled, and at ease.
That´s where having a vision comes in. If you have ever tried to push or pull something you will have noticed that pushing, by using your body weight, gets things moving easier than just pulling. It takes a conscious effort, a mental and physical commitment, to move something out of place. Even if we have vision, a sense of what we would like life to look and feel like, it takes strong determination to leave a place that is “not too bad” and go for something, yet, unknown, and hopefully better.
Needless to say, my tagline disappeared into the background. I still hold the intention for my clients, and they often achieve it. But it is rarely the sole motivator for them stepping into my office for the first time.
Here, at the beginning of summer of 2016, I invite you to make it a good one. Go and create those spaces and places in which you can play and experiment. Maybe you want to be surrounded by nature, to just stare into the air until your soul catches up with you after a busy first half of the year. Maybe you want to pick up a long forgotten hobby and enjoy getting reacquainted. Maybe you want to make summer a complaint free zone and replace complaints with compliments.
Whatever your decision, I hope you have fun season by creating a feeling of an endless summer with long days outside and unlimited possibilities.
Author Sabine Starr is a psychologist licensed in Vienna, Austria, currently living and working in Mission Hills. She has written numerous articles for professional psychology journals. For further information, visit www.starrcoaching.com and follow her blog at www.HealthwithTaste.blogspot.com; and a new social media offering is www.facebook.com/StarrCoaching.
Category: Health & Fitness, Life Style
