Good. Better. Best. Which self do you want to be?

The 3-Minute Coach

April 12, 2001, Issue #18
Embrace Your Numbers

Welcome to The 3-Minute Coach

Welcome friends, old and new.

The 3-Minute Coach Country Update: 46 Countries (Since last newsletter, The Bahamas, Ecuador and Pakistan have been added!)

Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Istanbul/Turkey, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malta, Malaysia, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sultanate of Oman, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United States, Wales, Yemen, Yugoslavia

Have a joy-full two weeks!

Louise

P.S. Quit Smoking Meter: 75 days! (2.5 months!) Thanks to each and every one of you. Knowing that you knew has helped me enormously to stay smoke-free!

Food for Thought

"The shorter way to do many things is to do only one thing at a time." --- Mozart

Keep It Simple

Do it "Just One More Time"

A few weeks ago, I finally went through my clothes closet. I admit I needed my husband to get me started, but after an hour (and putting things back in, then out, then in again), I had about 8 bags to go to our local charity. This felt wonderful, especially since my personal clothes closet was always so difficult for me. (I might mention that I find it quite easy to help my husband keep his client 'simplified'!)

A few days later, however, when my computer was in the process of a 3-hour defragmentation job, I decided to go through my closets "one more time". I'm not sure I can tell you exactly what happened, especially since the first time had been so emotionally traumatic, but somewhere in the process of doing it 'one more time', something broke. The fear of letting go just got up and went. Suddenly I was a whirlwind, not just content with my clothes closet, but all chests of drawers, the closet in the back room, the hall, I just kept going. Not only did I collect about 25 more bags of stuff, but I had an incredible need to get them out of the house that night. As soon as my husband returned with the car, we loaded it up and brought every last thing to the charity that evening. I couldn't relax until that was done.

The next day, I went through the refrigerator, the freezer and the pantry. I'm not clear what it is, but we both feel so unclogged! All of this stuff had been weighing us down and we were totally unaware of the effect until we started freeing ourselves from it. And I know I'm still not done. I find myself looking at everything for "clogs". So my advice is, even after you think you've done a good job, do it 'one more time'!

Feature Article

Embrace Your Numbers

The essence of coaching is in identifying the gap between where you are and where you want to be. There are many ways to get from Point A to Point B, and many of them ask you to suspend your addiction to numbers. However, it is practically impossible to move from Point A to Point B if you can not clearly articulate where Point A is. For most of us, that involves numbers of some kind.

This is even more critical for those of us who fear being trapped by numbers. We usually prefer to 'go with the flow' or 'fly by the seat of our pants'. If this is your natural style, as it is mine, the idea of getting intimate with the numbers that make up our lives can be a little scary.

So often, we feel that "what we don't know can't hurt us". This is simply not true. Not knowing that your blood sugar levels are over 400 doesn't mean that you can't go into a coma or have some other life-threatening complication. The trick is to embrace your current numbers, identify your ideal or goal numbers, and work from there.

Here are some examples of the 'numbers' in our lives. Embrace them!! So often the fear associated with them just goes away once we admit to ourselves what they are. (This is very similar to another fear I frequently see with my clients who are afraid to go to the doctor because they might find out that something is wrong. And is also related to the relief they feel, once they do go, when they find out what it is, regardless of the seriousness of the illness involved.) We have a very strong 'need' to know. Get yours met!

Remember, these are only some ideas to get you started. Figure out what are the important numbers in YOUR life. To be successful, and to get to where we want to go, we must know our starting point. And we must know what numbers represent our success, or we will find it difficult to attain our goals. However, there are many ways to define our goal so that it is comfortable for us. For example, if you know you are over weight, which of these sets of numbers 'turns you on' more?:

Going from 200 to 120 pounds (80 pounds)
Going from Size 20 to Size 10 (10 sizes)
Going from 'can't do it' to walking up one (or two) flights of stairs without getting winded or in xx minutes?

Frame the goal in the way that is most comfortable for you. Then, keep asking what your current numbers are. That is one of the secrets to getting where you want to be.

PERSONAL NUMBERS
Weight, Blood Sugar/Cholesterol/Blood Pressure, etc., Vision , Budget: Income, Expenses, Savings, What's Left, Dates/Birthdays, Number of times a month you wash the car/floor/etc., Number of visits each year to doctor/dentist - (and when the last one was!), How long it takes to get places, How long it takes to get ready

BUSINESS NUMBERS
Salary, Taxes , Sales per Week, Month, Quarter, Year, Return on Investments Clients per Month, Speed of Processing, Business Forecast / Projections, Budget: Income, Expenses, Savings, What's Left, Turnover Rate, Cost to Hire and Train Staff vs To Keep Staff, Quality Numbers (Error Ratios, etc), Client Expectations / Quotas, Boss Expectations / Quotas

Related Quotes

"Facts are facts and will not disappear on account of your likes." -- Jawaharlal Nehru

"Approach each new problem not with a view of finding what you hope will be there, but to get the truth, the realities that must be grappled with. You may not like what you find. In that case you are entitled to try to change it. But do not deceive yourself as to what you do find to be the facts of the situation." -- Bernard M. Baruch

"God give me strength to face a fact though it slay me." -- Thomas H. Huxley

"Let us take things as we find them: let us not attempt to distort them into what they are not. We cannot make facts. All our wishing cannot change them. We must use them." -- John Henry Cardinal Newman

"When the mind withdraws into itself and dispenses with facts it makes only chaos." --Edith Hamilton

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." -- Aldous Huxley

"It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts." -- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Theme Watch 2001

LMK: Theme 2001: Extreme Self Care

Quit Smoking Meter: 1480 hours (61.5 days) !!!!!!

I almost forgot to include this section, which I think is great news. Have made it over two months. Although I still find myself thinking things like "I'll do that after I have a cigarette". I wonder if that ever goes away.

I am also starting to get my sense of smell back. I don't think it is accidental that smokers can't smell. Although I am not yet 'repulsed' by the smell as my non-smoking family members tell me they are, I must admit it isn't always pleasant. And when I think how surprised I used to be when someone who never saw me with a cigarette knew I was a smoker!

I'd love to include your progress in this section. Please send me a line, letting me know what theme you picked for the year and how you're doing.

If you're a new reader and are wondering about themes, see Issue 12, available here

Louise Hay Power Card of the Week

Louise L. Hay is a metaphysical teacher and the best-selling author of 27 books, including "You Can Heal Your Life" and "Empowering Women". She has recently created a set of 64 Power Thought Cards, with beautifully illustrated affirmations. Each newsletter, I will share one of these wonderful thoughts.

Power Card:	I turn every experience into an opportunity.
Affirmation:	Each problem has a solution. All experiences are opportunities for me to learn and grow. I am safe.

All That BIZ

Louise Morganti Kaelin is a Life Success Coach who partners with others to help them turn their dreams into reality.
Phone: 1-617-984-2868
Email: louise@touchpointcoaching.com
Web: http://touchpointcoaching.com
While you're there, register to win a free month of coaching.

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