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Super Mom Katherine’s Time Management Dilemma
On my way to walk this morning, I saw my neighbor Katherine in her signature pink sweatshirt. Both of us were glad to have company for the walk. The weather was exceptionally nice for a Seattle morning; the temperature was mild, and the sky was clear with the golden rays of sun sparkling on 84th avenue, my usual walking route. After a small talk, I asked Katherine how she was doing at the new job she had started recently. “I am not there yet; I need to start making some boundaries for all my responsibilities, my work, my children, my parents…” she started. My question just hit the center of…
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Focus on Your Vision: A Positive Approach to Life’s Challenges
[Key point: I have described how vision focus works as a great parenting tool for me. It not only helps to manage the current situation more gracefully, it gives a greater clarity and builds a more sustainable foundation for the future.] I am preparing for the seminar next week on this topic for a tech company. No matter how professionally savvy audience I address, I always get a few parenting questions (specially from the Moms). A typical one: “How can I teach my 8 year old to be responsible enough to keep his room clean”? I candidly admit that it is a work in progress for me as well. I…
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Don’t Focus on the Problem – Focus on your Ultimate Vision
Last year, an engineer, let me call him Tom, came to me. He looked very tired and unhappy. “Sharmin, I am working long days, late nights, still my manager wants me to do more, have more impact, show more leadership…where is the time…why can’t he see my contribution already! With changes going around all the time it is so hard to get anything done on time. I even wanted to change this job, but in this economy, it is so hard to get an interview even!” – Tom gave me quite a vivid picture of his life. I felt compassion for him. Not too long ago I experienced this first…
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A Baby step isn’t just for the Babies
In my 1:1 coaching and group classes, I have been teaching this concept from TED on how to create your own vision (what do you want) and design baby steps to take you closer to that vision. A baby step is not just the execution; the idea, the planning, even as simple as carving out a solid 30 min from your busy day to think about your vision could be a baby step. A baby step gives you more clarity about your vision; it gives you added experience and learning. Even when you fail, a conscious baby step always takes you closer to realizing your vision. Zynga CEO Mark Pincus said…
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TED finds the lost ring
I have been busy with this week’s webinar. The topic is from the Power of TED; Empowerment is all I have in my mind. I even empowered myself to be okay with taking a break from my weekly posts. But then I found this gift, call it the law of attraction or anything else! Here it is: When I was walking my daughter to school, I noticed she was holding the light-up ring in her hand (she bought it with her allowance money last week). I knew she misplaced it last night and had asked me about it. I got curious and asked her how she found it. She smiled wisely. “You know…
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Live a Creative Life
[I have recently read this book, The Power of TED* The Empowerment Dynamic. I am writing a synopsis to share the concepts with my readers. This is the second and last part of my write up. I address the “Creator Orientation and The Empowerment Dynamic (TED).” Part 1-Victim Orientation and Dreaded Drama Triangle(DDT) is here. ] My friend once wrote in her Facebook status, “I know what I don’t want, but I don’t know what I DO want.” She spoke for many. Most of the time, we know what we don’t want, what we want to avoid, and what problems are causing us troubles. How about having a shift from this and…
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The Power of TED* (Part1)- Victim Orientation and Dreaded Drama Triangle
How many times we feel sad, upset, or mad and act very negatively just “because someone else did it”? We feel we are the victim of someone else’s fault; there is not much we can do but to react (negative way) unless another person solves the problem for us. This is called the victimhood. Victimhood is a very common orientation among mankind; It is everywhere… most of the news reports are stories of Victims and Persecutors and, sometimes, Rescuers. The feeling that the victim has is all fear-based and produces various anxieties. As a victim one become very hyper-vigilant, always anticipate the next bout of suffering. A victim always sees…
