Missing a step does NOT save time!

Hello my friends,
As some of you may know this Monday when leaving the house I somehow missed the last step leaving my flat (in a really old building with loads of narrow, windy, wooden stairs - not the one in the photo which is from www.bilderkiste.de), fell and managed to sprain my ankle. My son was on his way to his school exchange trip to Sweden and I had to say goodbye there and then instead of taking him to the meeting point. My little daughter offered to alert the neighbours (at 6:50 am) and my older daughter's hair was full of shampoo at the time. And then there was me, lying in the corridor whingeing and cussing. Anyhow, all kids sorted themselves out, went to school, the neighbours stayed unalerted and I spent the day with my foot up. So first part of the post is a warning: Watch your step! Getting hurt and being unable to walk is EXTREMELY annoying. On the bright side, there's a learning experience in nearly everything: Now that my foot is getting better (only hurting slightly when walking instead of being painful all the time and horrendously so when putting any weight on it) I really appreciate it and I am grateful to generally be able-bodied. It's the old "You only know what you're missing once you've lost it." I have also learnt that I can ask for help and have had some really kind people drive me to and from classes.

All this got me thinking about taking steps, not only literally. Every single step in a staircase is important - miss one and you might suffer (more or less) severe consequences. In a worst case scenario that can literally break your neck. And if you don't take the first one, you'll never get anywhere. Same goes in life: Even the longest journey begins with the first step. Yes I know that's old and cliché, but I think it's very true. Equally important are all those smaller or bigger steps in the middle of any project. If you change direction so might your project (which is not necessarily a bad thing). If you miss one, you risk falling (I thought about writing "failing" but then I don't like that word, since "there is no failure, only feedback" which can be the topic of another blogpost.) A "shortcut" in between might not necessarily save you any time. And what happens if you miss the last step? All the effort you put into a project is in vain if you don't finish it.

Imagine, for example, you apply for a new job which you really think you're suited for. You research the position and the company, compose a well worded cover letter, perfect your CV ... and then you don't send it? What would have been the point in investing the time and energy? There might be a nagging voice inside your head telling you that you're over- or underqualified or there is some other reason why wouldn't get the job anyhow. Or even worse someone outside your head telling you so. Well what the h*ll do they know?

Go for it, whatever dream it is you are pursuing and enjoy every day you can walk or run towards your goal. And watch your step ... and in case you do trip I know some great homoeopathic remedies now ;)

Hugs,

Mel

Farewell my friends - I will miss you!

Today has been an interesting day. One of those where you feel happy and sad and proud and joyful, tearful and huggy - all at the same time. The second and final leg of my hypnotherapy diploma and NLP practitioner course finished today. It was so much fun, I'd like to do it all again! (I probably won't say that about all the written homework.) So for you guys I've made a little photo memento. Enjoy!
Hugs,
Mel

Another free picture slideshow by Smilebox

Poole your ideas in Bournemouth

Hello world, I am in lovely Bournemouth on the southcoast of England. Not all just for fun, but for the second part of my hypnotherapy diploma training course and saying that, it IS fun. Yes folks, it really is! There is a lot to learn and do (yes, we actually get to DO all the things we learn about, not just sit in that room right next to the entrance and absorb theory all day long). I admit there were times when at the end of the day (and after being seriously tranced out three times) I felt quite exhausted, but now - just that I'm in the swing of things again - it's nearly over.

Let me tell you about yesterday afternoon. We did something "Apprentice" style in groups of three and where given the task to invent a product or service (it could be as "realistic" or absolutely imaginary as we liked) and a marketing strategy to go with it. (Marketing? I hear you ask. On a hypnosis course? ... hmmm, ever heard of hypnotic marketing and copywriting? We don't just make each other dance like chickens yanno - in fact we never do that.) Anyhow, let me get back to the ideas. It's absolutely amazing what three random people can come up with within an hour (The fact that all my course-mates are even more amazing people helps, of course). One group marketed a pill for you to move into your favourite celebrity's body for a week. I won't give you the details of what they planned to do to the real celebrity and we found out it might also be a good idea to actually use that pill to morph into the celebrity's significant other ;)

Whether hypnotherapy to enhance your acting or overcome grieving a pet, or learning perfect pitch through headphones, some of the products were so good - I actually wanted one! What I found really valuable - apart from tons of laughter - is that when you pool and share ideas with your friends they feed off each other and can spiral into miraculous heights. Not all these ideas might be feasible (just yet) but actually going "over the top" can propel you into something extraordinary and with a little tweaking you might find a real life application for it. As they say nowadays, is there an APP for that? And yes guys, I really like the Hypnopedia App, make one, I'll buy it ;)

So with your ideas, dare to be outrageous, have fun, who cares if it's "realistic", feasible, doable right now - we save sensible for later and who knows where you might end up. On a scale from 0 - 10, I guess you've just bust the scales because you are at 11!

Keep having a great time!

Hugs, Mel