Blog
Your engine + energy (Part I)
To kick Engine Month off, I wanted to share a few things every functional engine needs:
It needs enough fuel in the tank.
It needs to be able to start going. You need to be able to turn on the ignition, regularly.
It needs to be able to keep going. You need to be able to keep the car going on the freeway, at a solid pace, for the long haul.
On one hand, these three things may sound obvious. Like: Of course we need fuel, and to start + keep going.
On the other hand, I’ve seen many clients struggle in each one of these areas without being able to articulate the problem. And each struggle necessitates a different coaching approach.
For example:
If a client isn’t making progress, is it because he doesn’t have enough fuel?
Or is something stopping him from turning his engine on and getting started?
Or is he breaking down by the side of the road?
Depending on the situation, I might help him get more fuel, help him un-block himself from getting started, or develop more endurance to keep going.
…
In the next few weeks, I’ll share some ideas for each of those potential issues.
But for today, I want to ask: if you know what you want, but feel like your engine isn’t working as well as you’d like it to, which of the following areas are you struggling in:
Do you have enough fuel in your tank?
Have you been able to get started, on a regular basis?
Are you having endurance issues?
As always, I’m rooting for you. You’ve got this.
Katie
p.s. I currently have two openings for new 1:1 life coaching clients. Would you like to work with me? Learn more here!
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2 (easy) ideas for when you're emotionally and mentally exhausted
Among the many things that I help my clients with, one category is what I’d call “feeling better” (we could call that “feeling less anxious” “feeling less tired” or even, “going from good to thriving,” depending on the client).
If you’ve been getting this newsletter for a while, you know that I have lots of ideas on how to do just that — from a two-day prescription, to ideas for intrepid intentional tech adventurers.
Today, I thought it might be nice to share 2 no-brainer ideas. For me, “no brainers” are not hard, don’t require a much (if any) emotional energy, and are at least slightly fun.
If you’re already doing both of these, awesome! If you’re not, they’re pretty no-brainer ones to add to your life.
Here they are:
1. Read a physical book or magazine for 30 minutes.
Design magazines or romance novels (my favorites) count. So do celebrity gossip magazines or Revolutionary War histories (just finished this, 100 pages into this). Anything counts as long as it is a physical reading material.
Just get off of your phone or laptop or TV and read something. Do it for 30 minutes. If you haven’t been reading much that’s not an internet article lately, it may be a bit hard to focus. That’s okay. Just practice, and it’ll get much easier.
I find it astonishing how much my breathing slows down, how much my nervous system calms down, when I read a physical book.
For extra credit, go for a full hour.
2. Take a walk.
Walk to your corner and back. Walk around the block. Or, sure, walk for 45 minutes or an hour. But if you’re anxious or overwhelmed, if you’re not walking…you need to start walking.
I know, I know: I’m so overwhelmed. Walking won’t help. Walking won’t fix it.
I dare you: Go take a walk. Email me if you don’t feel better afterward.
…
On one hand: maybe these feel “obvious” to you.
On the other hand: are you feeling low-level anxious, tired, or overwhelmed today? Have you done both of these things?
You’ve got this.
Katie
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