DECISIONS

How do you make decisions? Let me be more specific - how do you know when you've made the right decision? We all make decisions in our own individual ways - some weigh up all the evidence, others make a more snap judgement. What interests me is what internal gauge do we use to know that what we've decided is right for us? The language that we use to talk to ourselves in is important here. Do you ask yourself - does this look right to me? Maybe you ask yourself does this sound right?. Others, and this includes me, will ask themselves this question - does it feel right?

It doesn't matter which way you do it, all are equally valid, what matters is being able to recognise your own yes signal. Once you know what yes means for you, you can be really confident in your decisions.

I've had a big decision to make in the last week. I considered all the pros and cons but in my heart of hearts I think I always knew which way it was going to go. When I thought about carrying on as I was, I felt weighed down and somehow not authentic. However, when I thought about following the other path and making the change I was considering, everything just felt right.

Maybe you've got a decision to make, or you're wondering is this the right way for you to be going. Think about how you've assessed your decisions in the past, what has worked for you before? Chances are it will work for you again. Another technique is to think about flipping a coin between two alternatives. Just before the imaginary coin toss, stop and ask yourself which way do you hope it's going to land. Might be more revealing than you think.

INTERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE HAPPY MIND

I don't know about you but I woke up this morning to bright sunshine streaming into the room - wonderful. There is something about a sunny day that makes everyone feel so good isn't there? OK I know it's forecast to rain later but who cares - I guess we need it anyway. Certainly in the surgery patients are noticeably happier on a sunny day.

Great as that is, why wait? Why let your happiness be determined by the weather or indeed by any external factors at all. Why not just decide to be happy?

You see I believe that happiness starts from the inside and begins with a decision; a decision to start being happy right now. Michael Neill, coach and author of several great books, once said "When you are happy, nothing changes but everything is different" and I think that is so very true.

When you are happy you smile and that alone makes you feel good. If you don't believe me then just try it. Not only will it make you feel better but it makes other people behave differently to you. They respond warmly, they smile back, they talk to you. This further reinforces those good feelings.

So yes it's Friday, yes it's the weekend, yes it's sunny - all great reasons to be happy in themselves and I know you've got many many more of your own too, but my message today is don't let what's happening out there determine how you feel inside. Take a positive decision right now to be happy, from this moment on and just see what happens. I guarantee you'll be glad you did.

Have a wonderful, fun-packed inspired weekend and I'll see you on Monday.

MOTIVATION - DON'T WAIT JUST DO IT!

This weekend will see 25,000 or so people from all across the world converge on the streets of London to run the London Marathon. It's a wonderful day, I know because I ran it myself in 2005. I ran in aid of the spinal injury charity Aspire and raised over £ 4500. Pleased as I was with the fundraising, the real winner that day was me. I learned a lot about myself during the training and the race, lessons that have served me well ever since.

As a GP I often hear my patients say that they would love to do something eg. stop smoking, lose weight or start to exercise, but they don't have any motivation. If I know them well or I've feeling mischievous, I stop and hunt around in my desk drawer for a while before saying - sorry I don't seem to have any in here for you today, I'm fresh out of it! That usually makes them laugh or at least smile. I haven't yet had my face slapped but there's always a first time.

My point is that motivation is not a thing, it's a concept. In NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) it is what is referred to as a nominalisation. Think of this as something you can't put in a wheelbarrow. So if it's not a physical thing, maybe it's something you don't need? At least not initially.

Back to the marathon. Although I played fairly regular sport, at the time I started to train for the marathon I was most definitely not a runner. An April marathon involves doing most of the long, hard miles in the winter and I trained very early in the morning. If I'm honest I didn't often wake up and think yes, it's blowing a gale out there, let me out there into that horizontal sleet! What I can say though is that once I'd got myself out of the door and a few yards down the road I always felt better for it - and then I loved it.

You don't need to wait for motivation to come before you start something. As they say on the Nike ads - Just do it, the motivation will follow.

Knowing this opens up vast new possibilities of achievement. Just start and see what happens. If you start and really don't enjoy it, then maybe it isn't the right goal for you - more of that in a later blog. My bet (and I did have the winner in the Grand National last week) is that once you've started you'll develop momentum. Do something a few times and you develop a habit. Once good stuff has become a habit then you are bound to achieve great things. It doesn't matter how small your steps are - as long as you are going in the right direction you will get to where you want to go.

So to recap:

      Motivation is not a thing.
      You don't need it to get started.
      Once you are under way motivation will follow.
      You'll develop momentum and be on your way to your goal!

So as you watch those runners plod along, spare a thought for what they've been through. Maybe running a marathon doesn't float your boat but take inspiration from them and use it to create something wonderful in your own life.

INSPIRE A GENERATION

I was fascinated by today's news story about the choice of motto for the London Olympics, now just 100 days away - "Inspire a generation." I listened to a discussion about it on Radio 5 this morning and was amazed by some of the comments. People seemed all too quick to moan about it, mostly stating that it is far too big a statement and overly-ambitious.

Well that's the point isn't it? Do we really want to publisise our nation with a motto along the lines of,

"A fortnight of running races that might get a few people into sport for a bit."
or
"A glorified sports day at the tax payers expense."

No, no and a thousand times no!

Mottos like this are all about huge ideals, about massive goals and tremendous achievement.
They've got to be big, they've got to be bold and they've got to really appeal to your heart.
The thought of inspiring a generation makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck and gives me goose pimples - in the right way. It's the same way I feel when I remember David Beckham's free-kick goal against Greece that put England into the World Cup finals. It makes me proud, it makes me want to stand up and be counted and above all it makes me want to take action. After all isn't that what any motto or goal is supposed to do?

We are all motivated by what Anthony Robbins calls big juicy goals. The things we really care about, not the small mundane stuff. I wouldn't be motivated to get up at 5:30am and go and do a commuter surgery in the practice if I did it just to pay my bills. No. What gets me up in the morning is the knowledge that I am making a difference to peoples' lives - every day. I'm lucky to get the chance to do that multiple times every day but whatever we do we can all do this in some way. Whether that's with a smile or a word or just a small random act of kindness.

So if like me you're excited by the thought of inspiring a generation, let's say so. Let's do something about it. Let's lead by example. If you want to change the world, begin with yourself. As Gandhi once said, "my life is my message." Make sure it's a message that you are proud for others to see, hear and feel.

I recently read Jonny Wilkinson's excellent autobiography - it's superb. One of the goals he aspires to is always be able to sign off a 24 hour video recording of his life, thereby always being happy about and proud of his actions. Now here's a man who takes being a role model very seriously but we can all learn from this. Become a role model for those around you - your kids, your friends, your colleagues. Make yourself proud, make them proud and "Inspire a generation!"

NEW WEEK, NEW START, NO LIMITS

The last year or so has been really exciting. As well as continuing to work as a part-time GP I've been working hard to establish my NLP Training business, NLP4MEDICS. I love doing this but it has meant I've spent less time doing the thing I really love doing and that is individual coaching. That is all about to change.

Whilst I've continued to coach during this last year I've only taken on a small handful of clients. We've had some excellent results working together. Coaching never feels like work, it feels like a privilege and an opportunity for me to learn from some amazing, inspirational people. The thought of doing more of this fills me with energy, joy and excitement.

Coaching is wonderful. It's an opportunity to achieve things you didn't think you were capable of achieving. With the help of a coach you will not only reach your potential but often far exceed it.

"The only limits in our life are those we impose on ourselves."
Bob Proctor

The limits are coming off and I'm ready for anything. I'm going to be using this blog to explore resources and concepts that have helped me in my personal journey. I've found them really inspirational and exciting and I hope you will too.

So if you're thinking about coaching or just want to share ideas and thoughts then you're in the right place. Why not sign up for regular updates and share this page with your friends?

BUSY TIME

Hello again.
It's been a busy few weeks since my last post.
I spent three wonderful weeks up in North Yorkshire studying with NLP Master trainers Susi Strang and Craig Wood and have now qualified as an INLPTA certified NLP Trainer. Since returning, my business partner Suzanne and I have been busy networking, setting up our website and generally preparing our 2011 course programme of NLP trainings. These will be up on my NLP4Medics website very soon. As well as this I've been coaching clients and working in the GP practice.

I made some great friends whilst on the course. It was fabulous to be surrounded by a group of like-minded people, who all took responsibility for their own lives. None one moaned, even though the workload was pretty relentless at times. On the contrary, everyone rose to the challenge. The evaluations were tough - two presentations, a four hour written paper, NLP technique demonstration and an interview.

Next step is to get out there and introduce a whole new batch of medics to the wonderful world of NLP.

THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH

Well I don't know about you but I can't wait for the World Cup to start.
First game kicks off any minute now, then a whole month of solid football - ah, life is sweet!

Maybe football isn't your cup of tea - I believe there are people like that out there - but even if this is the case there is still so much for you to enjoy and appreciate.

It is undoubtedly one of the world's great sporting events. Over the next few weeks there will be some 'where were you when X happened?' sort of moments. There will be surprises, shocks, thrills - things that absolutely no-one could possibly have predicted. Take last year's final for a start. Who could possibly have imagined in their wildest dreams that Zinadane Zidan, one of the greatest players the world has ever seen would end his career as he did. In the World Cup final, he lead France out against Italy and seemed destined to lift the trophy when a moment of madness caused him to be sent off for head-butting an Italian opponent. Amazing! A really dramitic moment.

I love the way that sport brings people together and this event, like the Olympic Games is a worldwide celebration of that. So whether like me you'll be cheering on England, or if you're a Scot or an Irishman who's cheering on 'anyone but England!', sit back,relax and enjoy the greatest show on earth !