I’ve read many books that state that the way you think and what you think affects the quality of your health. It’s very obvious that there are some people who move through life with very little illness and generally great health.

One particular book of note for me has to be “You Can Heal Your Life” by Louise L. Hay. In there is a list of likely mental causes of most of our major health problems, concerns and diseases and ways to overcome them.

Now that’s all well and good, but try telling someone you love, or even admit to yourself that your chronic illness is a direct result of your, or their own thinking… Not an easy job.

For each individual, the responsibility lies in the understanding of how their situation has been created by their thoughts, whether intentionally or not, and in the future choices they make. If you come to realise there is some truth in this for you, then it becomes your responsibility to make changes if you desire better health or wellbeing.

For me personally, when I do not feel as healthy as I want to, it indicates to me that my thoughts and body are not in alignment and I can begin to understand myself more deeply. I understand this is a hard concept and for most people, it goes against what they may already believe. Remember this is only a belief in itself, if it holds truth for you then it is true for you, if not then your own beliefs hold your truth.

If you have illness or ill-health, then at the very least your responsibility for your actions and reactions to this state are yours. For a deeper understanding, Louise L Hay’s book is a wonderful place to start.

As always, feedback and comments are welcome and the views expressed are my beliefs and understandings. I respect your views, conflicting or otherwise.

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Technorati Tags: health, responsibility, thoughts, wellbeing

There are many questions that get asked about coaching and it’s about time I looked at these in this blog. Probably the most frequently asked is what is coaching, or what is life coaching? Most people have some idea about counselling and so it is useful to look at the differences between the two when considering the answer to this question.

So what is the difference between life coaching and counselling? Primarily the difference is in the focus - counselling looks at and analyses the past and past behaviours, whereas coaching mainly focuses on the present and future goals and dreams.

In coaching the process is led by the client or coachee - the coach is required to keep their own thoughts, ideas and opinions out of the equation. I like to see it as a process of awareness and responsibility - by this I mean that the coachee will reach a new awareness of their behaviour or some aspect of their character and then will take responsibility for this new awareness and if desired, will make changes to their thoughts and behaviours to bring about change in their lives.

It is very much like having a conversation with a very close friend, but without the advice, judgement or attachment to any implications or outcomes. For me, coaching was a wonderful, uplifting, challenging and at times a hard process. I am more confident, I think much more clearly, I have more energy and motivation and much higher self-esteem. So for all the challenge and difficulty, coaching continues to prove itself as a method to help me improve and strive for personal excellence. Yes I still receive coaching as well as giving it! It keeps me on my toes and I recognise that coaching is a skill I will continuously develop and improve.

If you’ve had coaching, then it’d be great to hear your comments - please feel free to share your experiences by leaving a comment in this post.

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When you are undergoing a process of change or personal development, don’t forget to take time to celebrate and reward yourself for all the great things in your life. It’s all well and good to concentrate on the areas we wish to change, but if we focus solely on them it can be de-motivating when we do not perceive change at the speed we wish.

At these times, it is a great idea to take a step back and focus on all the things you admire, respect and love about yourself. This can be challenging for some people, especially where self-esteem is one of the areas that requires work. If this is a major difficulty then find someone who you trust and ask them to write you a list of all the things that they admire, respect and love you for.

After you have done this, then write your own list of things and then spend some time every day reading the lists and feel good about yourself on a regular basis.

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Most people at one time or another have a sense that they are creating their experience through their thoughts and the words they use. The phrase “self-fulfilling prophecies” is an understanding of this, although we often use it jokingly as though it is something to do with fate or destiny.

I am a firm believer that fate or destiny is your choice and I recognise that this is only an opinion. If fate works for you then that’s great - without variety there would be little to learn from or improve.

For a rich, fulfilling life, choice is vital - every choice you make is a brand new opportunity for you to experience who you really are. In a place of destiny or fate, choice is somehow pre-determined for you by some other force outside yourself and your understanding. To me this is a default setting where you get what you are given. This is a perfectly wonderful place and most people are content with this as it doesn’t require much thought.

The people who take control and create and shape their experience are never content at the default setting where fate operates. If things do not go their way, they change them. Their destiny is in their own hands and they state what their destiny is, not what other people or other “forces” say it is.

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Taking some time for yourself is one of the most important things in this busy world that we live in. There always seems to be something to do and to just switch off creates major challenges for so many of us. Most people are aware of the consequences of not taking time out and yet so few people do so with any regularity.

Better than simply taking time out is taking time out with no distraction or other tasks to do. In fact, making the time out the task is many people’s solution. If the only important thing you have to do is to spend time on your own doing your own choice of thing, then the quality and effectiveness of the time out is hugely increased.

Really it is impossible to take time out when you are thinking about things that you have to do, or places you have to be, or worrying about aspects of your life. In fact that kind of time out is likely to create more stress and worry that you are not doing all those other things.

Time out is a discipline - just like time management (which of course enables time out to be included in our schedule) or organisation skills. It takes hard work and commitment, but the benefits are extremely powerful and enhance our ability to focus and be effective in our work, our relationships, our hobbies and all other aspects of our lives.

So, think of the things you would do if you had no tasks left to do and no other commitments for your time. Then schedule these things into your schedule on a regular basis and go and do them.

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