Pounding the streets at 5:30am (yes, I am a morning person!) in preparation for the Asics London 10K run on 21st July in aid of Manta Trust to support the research and preservation of Manta rays, I have plenty of time to reflect on what drives and motivates people. Exploration is freedom, what does this mean to you?
What do you choose to explore?
I am struck by how much freedom we have in Europe. We have so much choice to be able to achieve virtually anything we want. It is in our power to decide how to live our lives, to change direction if we don’t like the way our lives are heading, and even to create a new life if we wish.
We may come across constraints such as those generated through past experiences, family obligations or money. Sometimes, we may decide not to take action, and that in itself is a choice we make.
However, having that choice in the first place and putting
the power back into our decision-making process is empowering. It generates
confidence that we can follow our dream, gives us a purpose and determines
actions that take us on a journey to reach our destination and goal.
Where to begin?
Firstly, realise that you have the resources within you to go after what you wish for. Create a storyboard of what you want. Visualise your desires and start working on thoughts about what you want your life to be like. Look at this creation process as a game, a fun thing to take part in, rather than looking at it like something scary and difficult. Exploration is freedom.
It’s a question of mindset and YOU are the only one who can decide how you want to look at it. In the end, this is a journey that helps you understand better what you want and what you don’t want.
Explore. Research the possibilities. I love my role in helping people to dig inside their mind and find their own solutions. My clients build, mould and shape what they want for themselves.
Sometimes, it’s difficult to know exactly what you want unless you try it. However, taking action, testing it and moving in the direction you want to go in based on your feelings is very powerful – even if it’s not quite the right destination in the end. Ultimately, you get to know yourself better!
Redefining failure
Failure can be equally as powerful. Failure is getting one
step closer to what you want by learning from it. Next time, you can do the
same but better – or different.
I love this quote from Martin Luther King Jr: “You don’t
have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” The whole staircase
might be overwhelming to look at, with fears creeping in, but if you take it
one step at a time, then it becomes more manageable.
I love exploring, discovering and learning. And that is why I love travelling so much. I find it a wonderful opportunity to open your mind and get to know yourself better by getting out of your comfort zone and exploring new territories.
In this adventure, you get to experience new things, some you like and some not so much. For me, this is such a beautiful parallel with exploring the possibilities that you have to create the life you want.
Growing is taking the freedom to explore and embarking on the journey… Exploration is freedom! #FreedomToExplore
Do you know that when your body moves, your brain improves! Yes, that’s right, let’s see how exercise boosts your brain function.
So, I am increasingly fascinated by brain hacks and the interaction between the body and the mind. We are all familiar with the mind-body connection; our movements are controlled by our brain.
What about the body-mind connection? By
using movement, we can increase our brain power!
Body-mind connection
The benefits of exercise are numerous
and fairly well known at a physical level. There is also a strong relationship
between physical activity and brain health, with many benefits of exercise for
cognition, sleep, depression, anxiety, and overall quality of life.
Who hasn’t experienced this good-feeling sensation after exercising? The immediate effect of this ‘runner’s high’ is to increase levels of neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline. They are happy brain chemicals, improving the mood and general sense of well-being. Moreover, it releases endorphin, helping to relieve pain and stress.
Furthermore, exercise enhances cognitive health in various ways. Cardio workout raises your heart rate and increases blood flow to your brain. You also breathe faster and stronger, depending on the intensity of your workout. As your increased breathing pumps more oxygen into your bloodstream, more oxygen is delivered to your brain.
Serious effects!
Studies have showed that a single
workout can improve your ability to shift focus and attention, and that focus
improvement will last for at least two hours.
On the long run, neuroscience studies find
that exercise actually produces brand new brain cells, in the hippocampus, that
increase its volume, as well as improve your long-term memory. Consistent
workout also improves your focus and attention capability, dependent on the
prefrontal cortex. And bonus, you will also be in a good mood long-term… Happy
days!
One of the most important effects of
physical activity is to protect your brain. Have you heard about the expression
“the brain is like a muscle”? Well, here is why. The more you exercise, the
bigger and stronger your hippocampus and prefrontal cortex get. This postpones
significantly normal cognitive decline in aging and neurodegenerative diseases
(dementia or Alzheimer’s).
According to various researches, at
least 30 minutes of cardio three times a week would help achieve those results.
“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche
So, working out has immediate, long-lasting and protective benefits for your brain. Moving your body also leads to creativity. According to a Stanford University study, a person’s creative output increased by 60% when they were walking. Then, I understand better now why Steve Jobs used to do walking meetings. And if you can take those in nature, it would seem to improve problem solving!
And you, what are you doing to activate
your brain cells?
The art of fulfilment has many aspects! During my time as a Headhunter working with Supply Chain Professionals, I often came across the notion of fulfilment, a process of taking an order and executing it by making it ready for delivery to its intended customer.
Now, being a coach, fulfilment has taken a whole new dimension; it is a feeling of happiness because you are doing what you intended to do in life.
It is like you are taking the order of your own joy and delivering it to yourself by doing what lights you up. I see fulfilment as the fine art of living a joyful, balanced and meaningful life. Everybody wants it, yet, most people struggle to live it! It feels like seeking the Holy Grail!
Wake-up your adventurer soul!
Now, picture this, you are Indiana Jones or Lara Croft, in the best movie ever made… Your crusade: In Search of Fulfilment!
Like an adventurer, on a quest to find the most precious treasure of all time: getting to know yourself better to feel fulfilled! During that quest, you are curious, looking for clues, trying things out to see where it leads. You take risks and face obstacles. An obstacle here, you overcome it, a giant one rising there, you might need to take a step back and look for a different solution, maybe contouring it… Yes, this quest is challenging but so worth it.
The key is to get to know yourself better, to understand what makes you tick, what lights you up!
I have come to understand that it is not that easy. We are so caught up in our day to day lives that we don’t take the time to slow down and listen to ourselves and to our desires. Like driving from one place to another and realising that we don’t remember the journey… Sounds familiar? We tend to not pay attention and forget to be in the present moment.
Ikigai
As many of you might have heard, in Japan, they talk about Ikigai. It means a ‘reason for being’. That’s a comprehensive way of looking at it.
I am certainly on that path and it is
beautiful, and fun, and hard, and scary, and exciting… all at the same time!
Now, I am coming back to my first
loves, helping people, nature and animals. As a child, I wanted to be a Veterinarian
and then a Marine Biologist… It didn’t quite go as planned but now, with the
skills I have acquired through the years, I can certainly contribute in helping
people embracing a better life and I am looking at ways to support sustainable
initiatives and marine conservation.
The art of fulfilment
I like the holistic approach of looking at a person in its entire being. To be truly fulfilled, take a look at all the areas of your life, everything is connected. Who hasn’t had their life affected at home after a painful day at work, or vice versa (even unconsciously)?!
That’s why fulfilment could be seen as an art. Like a tightrope walker, you juggle with the globes of your life, keeping your balance as much as you can.
Life is meant to be enjoyable; the good news is that YOU get to choose what you want.
So… ready to explore and go on your biggest adventure yet?
Hi… I’m Fabienne!
Explore possibilities... Contact me for a chemistry session.
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