I haven't written in a while. Between raising a 1 year old, taking care of the house, and managing my own free time and sanity, I somehow found a mental space to ask myself: "If I were, in this one year away from work, to do something else, something that truly defines me, what would it be?" After ...
Planning for flexibility
One thing I don't like about myself is the fact that I overplan- a lot. I mostly live in the future - 80% of my brain activity's about "what should I do next", "how to squeeze this appointment next to the other one", "oh god, I'm late with that, when should I do it" and so ...
Trust the process
I'm fascinated by my personal growth process. I've gone through ups and downs, had months in which I felt tremendously strong and stable, and days and weeks when I felt like I don't know who I am anymore. It's easy to give up and say "This is who I am. I'm probably never going to change." The hard ...
Self-actualization and lessons on becoming a Person
Many people tell me I'm calm, a good listener and quite well balanced (yeah, that helps with coaching). Sometimes I laugh and say "You have no idea." I've been doing therapy for one and a half year now. No, I'm not mentally disturbed and I don't have major issues (well, not more than most people out there). Personally, ...
Work Life Balance – The Basics
I come across as a well-balanced person - I leave on time from work, I have time for hobbies, I enjoy myself and try to keep in shape. Many times when I deliver trainings or talk to people, they ask me how I manage to do that. It's funny - like most things you end ...
Why Gen Y-ers are so confused
[caption id="attachment_870" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Luiz Vazquez/©Gulf News"] In the past year I've been invited to several career events, to coach or hold speeches about choosing a career, a life vision, or something similar. At first, it was kind of surprising, since this blog's aim is not career planning. But there is a need out there, and ...
What you hate is what inspires change
I'm going through some confusing, yet change-prone times. It seems to come around every few years, a restlessness and need to re-define my life. Normally it includes hating what I've worked hard to earn, and a feeling that unless I do some big change around here, I'm not - ever! - going to be really ...
5 questions for 2012′s New Year Resolutions
I wished for a quiet year in 2011 - a year with my family, friends, new home, and work. I wished for no big changes, no surprises, and good sleep. I got all minus the last one. But I compensated by learning to cook and experimenting in my new kitchen. Now in 2012 I have almost ...
Control vs Freedom – A Power Tool
This is a post inspired by my Power Tool submission for my coaching training. A Power Tool is an antagonism (two opposite concepts) that a client can use to his benefit in one extreme or the other. I chose to write about Control. Control vs Freedom We live in an era of multitasking, and we find ourselves ...
What are you learning new about yourself?
I haven't been posting for more than a month, which, in blogger terms, is unexcusable. I haven't posted not because of lack of ideas, but of lack of ability to get myself together and do something constructive. Instead, I kept having long conversations with myself, especially at night during my insomnia hours. It seems that lack of sleep ...
What to do when you can’t figure out your Life Mission
I recently coached a young NGO leader on developing a conference for fresh graduates and master students, called "Heading for the Future". It's not the first time this conference was held, and I appreciated the idea even the first time I heard about it. But by working with Cristina, and wondering how we could better ...
1 year of Life Toolkit! Best posts & Coaching challenge
So one year of blogging passed away, quite fast. What happened during this time? Looking back... - I started blogging like crazy, read all I could on SEO and social network promoting, then decided I should just let my readers unfold as they come. And that's how I got to this steady, smallish base of you ...
Drawing lifelines
How do you draw your own design for life? Do you think about what you want to achieve, and then paint back the road to that goal, imagining the steps? Or do you start from what you have, and build your dreams one by one, from there? Painting a masterpiece A short movie from the training "7 Habits" ...
The art of simple questions
I bought a "Simple Diary". I love to read and write, but to be honest, I don't get the time to do that much lately. And I'm telling to myself I need to be in a certain state to create (which of course is a lame excuse)... The "Simple Diary" is a perfect coach - in ...
The first steps of a transition
Since ages, I've loved transitions. The first days of falling in love; the changes of seasons; moving to a new place to live (ok, without the packing and unpacking); going back to school in autumn; and changing the job. Transitions spice up life. Without them, we would be caught in a neverending slumber. The only thing ...