Welcome to the Deploy Yourself Newsletter. Every two weeks I share about what impactful coaching and leadership look like. I also share the most insightful lessons and stories I encountered in the last two weeks. You can also read this issue online.
What In Your Life Is “On Hold”?
What feels impossible right now, but deep down, it’s what you really want?
We all have ambitions or goals which are on hold because we are waiting for the perfect day. From my neuroscience and psychology research, I have seen that change is a complicated idea for human beings. We will go to any extent to resist change.
Tomorrow will not be the perfect day you have been waiting for. No new sunrise can bring that change. Instead what you need is a change of mentality. A different way of looking at the world.
You have things in the “I will do it someday” category only because you don’t want to risk failure. But what if you succeed? What if you are capable of much more than you think?
What if instead of playing safe, waiting and resisting change is the riskiest bet of all? Think again, are you afraid of failure? Or of your success?
Achieving success means you are entering uncharted territory. You are putting yourself out there to be criticized. It’s only human to wonder whether you’ll be up to the challenge, and that creates anxiety that holds you back.
So ask yourself – what if you can pull it off?
What lies are you telling yourself which are holding you back? What if that “someday” which you have been waiting for is today?
What one small step you can take right now, right after reading this email, to move a tiny bit towards your goal?
Before your brain (feeling anxiety?) gives you another reason to procrastinate, hit reply, and send me your big ambition, and what tiny action are you going to take today?
Articles and Stories Which Have Fascinated Me
One
The Value of Journaling
“I don’t journal with anyone else in mind.
I don’t ever think about a reader or worry about making sure I’ve explained something clearly enough for a stranger to understand.
It’s really all about me releasing stress, filling myself with gratitude, celebrating my small accomplishments with healthy choices, processing things that are confusing, and getting clarity about what matters to me.
I only think about “what do I need right now for this day?” I don’t think about how it looks, or how anyone else would experience the jumble of words.
Sometimes I use the pages to doodle something I might make public, or paste ticket stubs, or pay attention to making my handwriting look cool, but I don’t worry about doing any of that consistently. I only do that if it feels like what I need that day.
And so, most pages are just messy stream of consciousness rambles that leave me with what I was hoping for: feeling full of clarity, gratitude, and awe.
I am a little biased, obviously, but for me, journaling feels like a magic elixir.”
From an article titled Reflections on Journaling for 25 Years by Crystal Ellefsen
Two
Understand What Coaching Is Really Like
“This is important: We lie to ourselves. Don’t labor under the misapprehension that you do not.
Physicist and total genius Richard Feynman once said:
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.”
So expect a bumpy ride. It’s always you getting in the way of you. Your coach can’t help you if you don’t put in the work or if you’re not going to bare your soul and tell them the truth.
I got a taste of my potential and for the first time in ages, I’m excited for what I can do. Nothing seems impossible anymore. It’s just whether or not I decide to try. And that alone is money in the bank.”
From an article titled I Bought a Year of Tony Robbins Performance Coaching and Here’s What It’s Like
Three
Make Stress Work For You
“We can actually use stress to improve our health and well-being. Over a decade of research — ours and that of others — suggests that it’s not the type or amount of stress that determines its impact. Instead, it’s our mind-set about stress that matters most.
Based on our experience working with Navy SEALs, college students and business leaders, these are the three steps to harnessing the benefits of stress while minimizing its harmful effects.
- Acknowledge Your Stress
- Own Your Stress
- Use Your Stress “
From an article titled In Stressful Times, Make Stress Work for You by Kari Leibowitz and Alia Crum in the NYT
That’s it for now. If you have any questions, just hit reply and we can have a chat. All the best,
Sumit
(Twitter) @SumitGupta
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