Share your toys....................

You know there is a lot of stuff in the media today about workforce engagement, and how as a nation, a human nation, we are killing ourselves with deadlines fuelled by fear of not having any work. We chase, we pursue, we often push others out of the way just to keep the fear at bay. 

For some years now I have been banging on about doing things differently, I have tried, and failed many times, to get people to 'share your toys.'

Sometimes the glimmer of times gone by ignites the memory of doing just that and people stop pushing and shoving and give someone else a helping hand. Sometimes all I get is the blank stare of 'what is in it for me', and when I get this I know that this person or this group of people have forgotten what it is to not have someone pushing and shoving them around.

Nearly five years ago I set up a collaborative called 'The Coaching Network', this group  functions on reciprocity or 'sharing of toys'. We don't make money on each other, we work with others collaboratively, we exchange our skill set and resources (our toys) with others so that everyone feels like they have taken part. Over five years the group has grown in size but is still fairly small, but small is better than none and each member knows that when they join they have to start to think differently about the bigger picture and perhaps how they can play a different part.

Every person that joins the group is welcomed in by being accorded a musical instrument from the 'sorting hat'. I do this because I see the whole of the group as an orchestra, that we are reliant on each other and that ultimately there are no virtuosos just a whole load of people who rely on each other.
It is this reliance on each other that made me think about us women, and how traditionally we have been the glue in society by providing the connecting links between families and community. We still do that but we also take this part of ourselves into work too, we organise the work parties, we know when our colleagues birthday is, we can tell when someone needs some support and are in like 'Flynn' to put that arm around a colleague that is struggling. Of course we have our reverse side too, being human means we can also be horrible but on the whole I believe womankind see the connectedness and support the connectedness in all things.
As this year comes to a close I hope that you 'share your toys' and think more about how what you do and what you don't do affects others. As far as this blog goes your 'toys' are your stories and I hope you continue to share your wisdom with me and all the other women out there. We all need to stay connected and learn from each other....and in the spirit of sharing have a listen to this...and share....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP_hsXJcbVw

Come and join us on The Coaching Network too, you don't have to be a coach but you do have to share.

http://tinyurl.com/9r3jrpr

Much love 

Dee

The Importance of being

Hello and good afternoon on this gorgeous Wintery day. Today's posting has been sent in by Carole Hamilton, Carole contacted me to say she would like to share a profound learning experience with all of you and hopes that you learn from what she now knows.



The Importance of being Caroll

I would like to begin by telling you I have no idea as to why I believed I wasn't even worth the cost of a roll of toilet paper but it was true. Nobody had actually said as much to me but it to me it was self evident. Please notice I say was not is. My lack of concern for my health, and my hit and miss attitude to food was awful. Eating some days, not on others and carelessly ignoring the signs that my body (in particular my digestive system) was struggling.
All of this changed when aged 51 I had to undergo surgery for which I had no option. Years of poor eating habits had taken their toll. The morning after the operation I was desperately trying to go to the toilet, the pain was excruciating and I cried. I cried not just for the pain but for the fact that all of this could have been avoided if I had shown Caroll some respect and taken the time to cook for myself, to sleep, to exercise, to be careful with myself. 
I am hopeful for a recovery in the next 2 - 4 weeks not just from the surgery but by taking time to sort out the mess I have made of things.
Over the coming months I will continue to care for myself. So far I have made my kitchen a place to store and cook delicious food, it is no longer the room where you can't find ingredients because I didn't buy them or simply a place where I keep 'stuff' that I don't know how to use.
I am going to cookery classes too, I am learning to get past the 'burn it throw it out' stage to 'oh, that has worked and I can eat it' and soon I will be at the 'wonder what that will taste like if I add that stage'.
The biggest change though has come not just with the physical healing from surgery and the emotional/mental healing from learning to love food it has come by realising that by doing these things I am learning to love Caroll. Caroll now understands that she is worth the cost of toilet rolls because you get only get out what you put in.......and just like the toilet metaphor I put very little into being Caroll so very little came out.



I would like to add to Caroll's story by posting you the link to this tune.....I think you might all agree that this is how we should all feel about ourselves.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BoMKrlzrag