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Julia Stewart

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Coaching 20 Years Later: What's New Since the Founder of Coaching Has Passed

Posted by Julia Stewart

Thomas Leonard RIP 2003 - 2023

Thomas Leonard was a brilliant leader who led with generosity rather than ego. 

 

He started the 1st coaching school in 1992. Launched the first professional association of coaches (ICF) in 1995. Sold his first school to a colleague and started a second school in 2001. Established another professional association of coaches (IAC) in 2003 because he disagreed with how the ICF certified coaches. He passed away a few weeks later of heart failure at the age of 47.

 

Thomas' passing left an enormous chasm in this fledgling profession. Many tried to fill it, some with questionable intentions and disastrous results. Without strong leadership setting expectations for the practice and ethics of coaching, the profession developed a reputation problem but continued to grow, anyway.

 

Here are a few ways coaching has changed in the past 20 years:

 

  • Today, many coaches work in large organizations instead of for themselves. For some, coaching is just a job description. Others have made a stand for coaching without an agenda, the way Thomas taught thousands of us to coach from the beginning. Coaching continues to grow.
  • There are now many university degree and certificate programs available. And there are multiple certifications to choose from. 
  • Coaching still does not have a strong research basis. IAPPC and other organizations are working to change this. The amazing thing is that research-based coaching tends to be freer and even more effective.
  • Artificial Intelligence and smart phone apps proliferate. Researcher, Richard Boyatzis just launched his Helping People Change coaching app for iPhone.

 

It's hard to imagine what coaching would be like if Thomas were still here. But going back to the beginning shows that we have indeed grown beyond our roots..

 

If you would like to go back to the beginning and explore Thomas' work for free, click below:

 

Get Thomas' 28 Principles of Attraction Free eCourse

 

 

 

Topics: Coach Certification, Thomas Leonard, Attraction Principles, IAPPC

We're Making Our Coach Training Free for You

Posted by Julia Stewart

Free Coach Training Banner 2022


Coach training that used to cost thousands of dollars is now free.

SCM hasn't announced any new courses at SCM in months because...they're free.

On New Year's Day, we launched a new paradigm in coaching associations. No more expensive organizations where you vote for people you never heard of and where your training and coaching choices are limited by endless rules, where you have to spend years of your life and thousands of dollars to get a credential, where they communicate with you solely through emails blasts. And you feel isolated, intimidated, and alone.

 

"Julia, This Network is so exciting and cool. All of the new additions are refreshing to see & light me up with, “Oo, I want to do that too!”     Your Happy 2023 wonderful creation is quickly becoming a most wonderful place for me to start out my Happy 2023. Thank you!"

- Member, Janie Miller, "Life Coach Jane"

 

So what is this Network? It combines the best of social media but it can do so much more, and it is genuinely private. You won't be bombarded with ads, or your Grandpa's political views, or your cousin's Herbalife memes. Instead, you'll meet and connect with like-minded coaches, who support each other, learn together, pursue professional goals, and co-create the next iteration of coaching. Oh yeah, and your coach training is free!

 

Want to learn more? Watch a sample class when you read this blog post.

 

Member, Rennell Parker, CPPC, said:

"I thoroughly enjoyed it and was able to apply several of the points from the course, over the weekend".

 

Get your coach training included in your low annual membership. Access it whenever it's convenient for you.

 

People have paid me thousands over the last 16 years to learn coaching from me and now I am sharing it with you when you join IAPPC.

 

But Free Courses are just one feature of your membership.Among other extras, we're making certification free, too. Qualify for our Certified Positive Psychology Coach® (CPPC) credential for free by becoming a member and then applying before the deadline. For effective coaches, it takes months, not years, to achieve this science-informed and internationally recognized certification, because it focuses on your coaching strengths rather than forcing you to comply with a list of competencies that are not science-informed.

Here's what member, Ana Cargea, CPPC, said:

"It is an honour to have taken this certification, as since 2014 when I did my first training with you, you have become my role model in coaching!
 
I told myself at that time: one day, I want to coach like Julia and be so masterful and skilled like her! 🤩🤩
 
So passing this session is very important to me! 🤩❤️"
 
 
While I am honored to be a role model for any coach who is as skilled as Ana, with our new strengths-based coach certification, you don't have to coach like anyone else. Rather, use your unique strengths-set to coach in your uniquely effective way. It's faster to become masterful this way and allows you to serve the people who respond best to your individual approach. And now you can get certified for it!

 

There's much more. It's all in the Network and you can get in on the ground floor and help us create the best environment for great coaches. Don't miss it!

 

 

Join the IAPPC Network Now for a Great 2023

 

 

PS: Not ready to join but want to learn more? Subscribe to the new Thrive Blog!

 

Topics: free coach training, Coach Certification, Certified Positive Psychology Coach, positive psychology coach, IAPPC

When Coaches Gaslight Their Clients

Posted by Julia Stewart

Gaslighting and manipulation

 

Coaching is a professional service that empowers clients to grow and reach goals. So how is it possible that coaches can be gaslighters?

Well there are tools used by some coaches that leave clients feeling confused, filled with self doubt, and even helpless and hopeless. That's not empowerment. These are symptoms of being gaslighted.

Has this ever happened to you or are you a coach who does this? Find out with this quick 5-minute read.

Read this about gaslighting if you don't already know what it is.

 

In short, gaslighting denies the other person's reality by confusing and blaming them. It's a form of manipulative abuse and is often done by a person of authority to gain power and control over others. Others use it as a crutch when they feel insecure. It is common in our culture and you likely have been gaslighted or have gaslighted others without realizing it. If you have, you need to stop. If you are a coach who does it, please stop immediately.

 

Gaslighting is usually subtle, but here is an example that is easy to see. I knew a psychologist who would attempt to control others (coworkers, friends, family) by starting an argument with them by pushing their buttons until they got angry. Then the psychologist  would tell them the reason they were upset was that they were mentally ill, that they needed treatment or hospitalization, and the psychologist could help them get it. Can you imagine how this would feel? If you were insecure, you might doubt your sanity and believe the gaslighter was trying to help you, but they weren't. They were trying to control you by denying your reality.

 

In this post I am going to focus on one particular coaching area where gaslighting often, but not always, occurs: Spiritual Gaslighting In short, this happens when a coach teaches a spiritual tool to a client, tells the client that the tool will help them reach their goal, and if the client doesn't reach their goal, tells them it's the client's fault. Sound familiar?

 

These spiritual tools often have grandiose names like the Law of Attraction and the Law of Mirrors and the coach may use double talk and negativity to confuse the client.

 

These tools are sometimes used by scam artists but mostly well-meaning coaches use them. It happens when the coach is nervous or self-conscious. This lowers their empathy and leads to unconscious negativity and black and white thinking.

 

Examples:

 

  • "It's not working for you because you are doing it wrong."
  • "You choose to feel bad."
  • "If you wanted this enough you would do anything to get it."
  • "What have you done to attract this problem?"
  • "If you see a negative trait in someone else, it's because you have that trait."
  • "This is your karmic payback."
  • "Your low vibration is holding you back."
  • "Your negativity is stopping you."
  • "You're not focusing on abundance."
  • "You need to register for my $40,000 platinum program to learn this."

 

It's easy to see the glaring negativity (and the scam) when you put these all together.

 

When you blame and shame your client, they don't feel safe. You trigger their fight, flight or freeze response which stops your client from being resourceful. Instead, they become MORE negative. They don't reach their goals. And they won't want to coach with you.

 

If you have trouble attracting and keeping clients, listen to yourself coach. Nobody wants to pay to be gaslighted.

 

If you think you may have gaslighted a client, here are some ways to stop:

 

  • Stop listening to coaches, teachers, or anyone else who gaslights you.
  • Stop gaslighting yourself.
  • Get science-informed coach training.
  • Work with an effective coach and experience what great coaching is really like.
  • Lower your own stress and increase your empathy before each coaching session.
  • Keep working at it until your clients are so thrilled with your coaching that they tell everyone about you (and thereby do your marketing for you).

 

How can you enjoy the benefits of coaching while avoiding the gaslighters?

 

Step into science-informed coaching. It is just as spiritual, but way more effective.

 

Join the International Association of Positive Psychology Coaches

 

Topics: Coaches, spirituality, IAPPC, Gaslighting, science-informed coaching

What is Positive Psychology Coaching, Anyway?

Posted by Julia Stewart

positive psychology coaching two men

If you are a coach or you are thinking about becoming one, you need to be aware of the trends in professional coaching.

There are two big coaching trends:

1. The trend toward more science-informed coaching, a.k.a. positive psychology coaching, because potential clients have heard some crazy stories about certain  coaches.

2. The trend toward more credentialed coaches, especially certified coaches, for basically the same reason.

We've got you covered for both!

Read on for information on positive psychology coaching, a new IAPPC certification that is currently free, a course that can help you pass that certification, and a free downloadable scoresheet on the IAPPC Positive Psychology Coaching Tools (This is a 2-minute read)...

 

So what is positive psychology coaching, anyway?

 

Here's the International Association of Positive Psychology Coaches (IAPPC) definition:

Positive Psychology Coaching is a science-informed customized conversation that empowers the client to grow and reach an important goal or vision.
 
 
What does that mean?
 
 
"Science-informed" means this type of coaching has a underpinning of scientific research. As Dr. Dan Siegel has said,

"We must be informed by science, not constrained by it."

 

Coaches still use their natural curiosity and intuition and other strengths, but they have science-based  tools that help coaching become more effective and limit any biases a coach may have.

 

"A customized conversation" means the coach does not follow a coaching formula or template, nor a set of competencies, but personalizes each coaching conversation so it best supports the client's success.

 

These conversations also "empower the client to grow" into whoever they need to become to reach their treasured goals of life visions.

 

So there you have it! How can you become a positive psychology coach?

 

Visit our scheduled courses here. Read more about them here.

 

How can you become an IAPPC Certified Positive Psychology Coach® for free?

 

Members of the IAPPC are helping us take a new approach to certification and we are thanking them by making certification free through this year. Join IAPPC here and get started!

 

Want to know more about IAPPC coaching?

 

Download a free simple scorecard on the IAPPC Positive Psychology Coaching Tools.

 

Request Your Scorecard Here

 

Topics: Free, Coach Certification, Certified Positive Psychology Coach, become a positive psychology coach, IAPPC

Forbes Says this is How to Succeed with a Business Coach

Posted by Julia Stewart

Success Coaches

"The coaching and mentoring industry is exploding, and for good reason," says business magazine, Forbes

Actually, Forbes offers not one, but two great reasons, that are solutions to problems everyone has, even if they don't own a business. It is literally impossible to solve these types of problems by yourself. In many cases, you won't even be conscious of the problem until your coach asks about it.

If you're a coach, you'll want to read this, because this is what your clients want.

I give examples further down in the post. And these examples can give you insights into your own challenges.

And if you're an entrepreneur, business owner, or member of the Great Resignation, you'll want to consider getting a business coach who can help you this way. Read on...

Here are the two areas entrepreneurs find most helpful when they work with business coaches, according to Forbes:

 

1. Getting clarity

Clarifying is a meta-skill in coaching. It unearths what's going on inside clients that they never knew before. Actually, once clients say it out loud, they realize they did know but just weren't conscious of it.

What kinds of things do entrepreneurs need clarity about? How they define success, how they feel about marketing and sales, who they are when they are at their best, how they are unique compared to every other business owner, to name a few.

Without this clarity, business owners tend to just chase their tails. They can't make solid decisions because they don't know what matters most. Too often, that means working ridiculous hours while feeling dissatisfied with the results. That's leads to nowhere but burnout.

 

Example Questions:

- Why are you in business, anyway?

- What's your ideal vision for your business?

- How have you been stopping you from achieving this success?

- Who else will benefit from your success?


2. Identifying and removing limiting beliefs.

If you had to write down the one thing holding you back from your ideal business success, what would it be? If you don't know, you're in great company. People don’t know because they've held some beliefs for so long, they've stopped questioning if they're still true.

 

Example Questions:

- Who would you have to become to achieve all your goals?

- What would happen if you were more successful than your friends and family?

- Does this belief empower you or disempower you?

- If you weren't scared, what would you do?

 

These simple deliverables make or break businesses and business owners.

 

A business coach doesn't have to understand the type of businesses their clients are in. They just need to recognize the patterns that keep people stuck and know the questions that make the biggest difference.

I've coaches business owners whose businesses I knew nothing about. It feels a little surreal to have those conversations, but the client knows their business better than I ever will, so I pay attention to the questions they aren't asking themselves and between us, we find clarity and beliefs that have seismic impacts on their businesses.

Would you like to get in on the surge in business coaching? The Certified Positive Psychology and Neuroscience Coach Program will prepare you with science-backed tools that will empower you to empower business owners.

 

The results feel like magic, but it's science.

 

Download the course list and begin your journey to successful coaching:

Discover Positive Psychology and Neuroscience Coaching.

Topics: business coach, coaching questions, successful business

How Coaching With These Strengths Can Prevent Coaching Mistakes

Posted by Julia Stewart

Strengths are Your Superpowers

Strengths are ways of doing and being that help us accomplish things faster, or more easily, or achieve better results, and/or have more fun in the process. 

Our individual strengths help set us apart from others.

VIA Character Strengths have been pretty well researched, so we can make some predictions about how they might show up in coaching. One prediction is that whatever your top strengths are, they can help you coach more effectively, especially if you practice coaching with them until you obtain mastery. This makes more sense than trying to mold yourself into coaching like someone else, even someone who you think is masterful.

Curious how your top strengths can help you coach more effectively?

Here's how each of the 24 Character Strengths can help you coach more effectively.

 

  1. Creativity helps you stay open to new ways of being and doing and modeling that for your clients can help them prevent narrow mindsets that keep them stuck.
  2. Curiosity helps you stay present throughout the coaching session. That's the only time you can coach!
  3. Judgment may help prevent your client from jumping down the rabbit hole of narrow decision making because you can assist them in thinking through all sides.
  4. Love of Learning will inspire you to practice and learn ever more about your strengths, without which you won't master your strengths enough to be an effective coach.
  5. Perspective can prevent you from getting mired in the details of your client's complaints and it can help you reframe their stories so clients get the outcomes they want.
  6. Bravery will prevent you staying quiet when you need to ask an uncomfortable question.
  7. Perseverance helps you stay supportive with the client who is growing, but at a snail's pace. Sometimes, great clients need to go slow.
  8. Honesty helps you honor your ethics and integrity. Without them, you'll fail to achieve the foundation of coaching, which is trusting relationships with your clients.
  9. Zest prevents low-energy coaching sessions that don't inspire. Actually, the coach who uses their own strengths to coach is more zesty even if Zest isn't one of them.
  10. Love will stop you from coming across cold or disconnected which blocks effective coaching.
  11. Kindness helps you communicate tough information in ways your client can hear. Don't be a sledgehammer coach.
  12. Social Intelligence helps prevent disconnects with your clients, because you can fathom what's going on with them even if they can't articulate it, yet.
  13. Teamwork will stop you from thinking for your client, or making plans without their input, which is never helpful.
  14. Fairness helps you put your biases aside or at least admit them to the client so they can decide how to proceed.
  15. Leadership prevents passive coaching. Your clients need your positive input.
  16. Forgiveness helps you accept your clients' humanity. They can't be superheroes all the time.
  17. Humility can help you avoid competing with your client, or pretending to be the expert, because your ego is out of the way.
  18. Prudence helps you choose your words carefully so they have optimum impact. Because confusing your clients with messy communication just wastes their time.
  19. Self-Regulation can help you stay quiet when you think you know the answers.
  20. Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence helps you notice when your client is doing great work even when they think it's not much. Nothing is more validating than a genuine note of awe in your voice.
  21. Gratitude stops you from taking your clients for granted because you appreciate the honor of assisting someone to be their best.
  22. Hope gives you faith and stops you from focusing on problems instead of solutions and opportunities.
  23. Humor prevents the conversation from getting heavy. That just makes things too hard.
  24. Spirituality brings meaning and purpose into the conversation. Without them, what's the point of coaching?

 

All 24 Character Strengths can help you coach. Whichever top strengths are yours, they provide the juiciest possibilities for you, especially when you are starting your learning journey.

 

Want to discover your strengths and learn to coach with them from the very start?

 

It's the fastest road to mastery, but most schools won't start your training this way. Take the course that's designed to start your coaching journey with your own strengths, values, and vision. Live classes start soon; you can get early access to resources; and their is still time to save on this valuable course.

 

Get started now!

 

Join Introduction to Positive Psychology Coaching

Topics: Become a Master Coach, gratitude, Strengths, Values, coaching excellence, become a positive psychology coach, IAPPC

Is Positive Psychology Only For the Privileged?

Posted by Julia Stewart

VIP only

Recently I attended a workshop with Dr. Ramani Durvasula in which she wondered aloud whether positive psychology was only for the privileged.

 

Dr. Ramani, as she calls herself, is a leading authority on narcissistic abuse. I highly recommend her books, YouTube videos, or workshops if you've ever been targeted by an abuser, even if it was "only" verbal abuse, because she can help you understand what happened, how to handle it, and how to heal.

She mentioned attending a conference where someone had done a presentation about a positive psychology personality test. I think the test she was talking about was the VIA Character Strengths test since it is sometimes referred to as a positive personality test. She said that after the presentation, she asked the presenter if the test could identify narcissistic personalities and the presenter said, no, they had not focused on that with the test.

At that point, Dr. Ramani said she wondered if it was only for the privileged, then.

 

I could see where she's coming from, but I would say that positive psychology is definitely for everyone. On the one hand, I can see how the luxury of living a positive life or of never having been targeted by a narcissistic abuser could be seen as a form of privilege. On the other,virtually everyone has been touched by narcissistic abuse, which can range from ruining your day to invading your country, and positive psychology interventions are usually easy and often free.

 

Positive psychology interventions may not heal you but they can do something else that may be just as powerful.

 

If you're experiencing symptoms of depression or anxiety, for instance, working with a therapist is often the best place to start. But supplementing that with a positive psychology intervention such as a gratitude journal can help you start experiencing moments of positivity even before your therapy is complete. Interrupting the negative with some positive emotions and thoughts can help train your brain for healthier habits. Plus, those moments of focusing on the good are like mini-vacations for your body and mind.

 

Positive Psychology tools can also help you increase your resilience.

 

Resilience refers to your ability to bounce back after difficult experiences. We're all in the process of bouncing back from the Covid pandemic. Whether you or loved ones contracted the illness, or you're just burnt out from all the extra stress of the pandemic, how quickly or easily you return to well-being can be amplified by various positive psychology practices. They are mostly fun and easy to do.

 

Plus, positive psychology can help you coach more effectively.

 

If you would like to learn how to apply positive psychology to your own life, or help your coaching clients enjoy greater well-being and resilience, here are three options. One of them is FREE.

  1. If you are new to coaching and positive psychology, the Introduction to Positive Psychology Coaching course starts with an experiential module so you can start experiencing the power of positivity for yourself. You'll even start developing a positive vision for your own coaching career.
  2. If you are already a coach but are new to positive psychology, Positive Psychology Tools for Coaches will take a deep dive into positive psychology from the perspective of coaching. It's a delightful upgrade! Both these courses help prepare you for IAPPC certification and you can save on tuition for a while.
  3. If you'd just like to experience positive psychology for yourself before you decide to take a course, Fully Alive with Positive Psychology is a one-hour class coming up soon. View it here and register while space is available.

 

Register FREE for Fully Alive with Positive Psychology:

 

Take a Coach Training Course Here.

 

 

Topics: gratitude, coaching vs. therapy, Positive Psychology, positive psychology coaching, Strengths, positivity

When You're Too Overwhelmed for One More Self-Care Tip

Posted by Julia Stewart

Overwhelmed and working from home

Folks like me wrote a lot of self-care posts at the start of the pandemic, hoping they might be helpful.

But as we enter year three of this, self-care is sounding a little like a bad joke. Who has the energy?

When your overwhelm starts feeling over done and you're getting a little extra-crispy around the edges, you're may be sliding into burnout. This is the time when less is more. Read on, please...

Burn-out is officially recognized as a syndrome that occurs because of poor work conditions.

It's characterized by physical and emotional exhaustion and difficulty getting work done. But now that work occurs practically everywhere, we might as well recognize that burnout can occur because of multiple causes. If you feel apathetic, cynical, resentful, or irritable, and this isn't your usual mindset, it's not you, it's your circumstances. Time to unwind...

 

1. If you are overwhelmed, exhausted, or burned out, you don't have the energy or focus to get anything done right now. So put away the phone, the laptop, the to-do list and just stare into space for a few minutes.

While you are staring, replace your worries with the truth. Tell yourself, "This won't last forever." Because nothing lasts forever. You might want to make this your mantra, for a while.

The world, your job, your family, you, will all be okay if you check out for a bit. Really.

Burnout happens because your stress levels have been elevated too long. Your energy is depleted, but you don't have enough control over your circumstances to relax. The good news is that you can begin restoring one moment at a time even if circumstances don't improve.

That gives you some freedom and control again.

Those moments raise your levels of calming neurotransmitters/hormones, which can counteract the stressful ones. That's all you need to get started.

 

2. Another almost effortless tool that you can do anywhere is what I call One Deep Delicious Breath. Breathe in slowly (preferably through your nose) and exhale just as slowly. If it feels good, do more than one breath like this. Relaxed breathing is one of the most effective ways to lower stress and you're breathing anyway, so why not make it a restorative breath?

 

3. Next is what I call my Breast Pocket Relief. It's a variation on Professor Jim Hickman's Back Pocket Positivity, which is about wiring your brain for greater positivity by collecting positive memories, savoring them for at least ten seconds at a time, repeating daily, and saving them metaphorically in your back pocket so you can enjoy them anytime.

I'm a firm believer that even adults sometimes need their Mommy. My Breast Pocket Relief memory is about a time when my Mommy really came through for me. I was four years old, disobeyed my Mom and long-story short, I got lost. I was so terrified I started wailing. Some bigger kids found me and took me to my Mom. Instead of punishing me, she sat down in a rocking chair. put me on her lap, even though I was a little old to sit on her lap, and rocked me until I stopped crying. This was a moment of perfect love: I was forgiven, comforted, and made whole again. I imagine keeping it in my breast pocket, near my heart, and take it out whenever I am feeling undone.

 

When was a moment when you were well loved?

 

Sometimes we have trouble remembering emotions vividly, but art, especially music, can help. Here's a beautiful song, Grandma's Hands, by Bill Withers, that might help:

 

 

4. Of course, hugging a loved one can be a tremendous help for you both, even if it's your dog or cat. If they are too far away, gazing at a picture of them can make a difference, because love fills us with oxytocin, the "love hormone". When we have more oxytocin in our systems we naturally have less cortisol, the stress hormone that makes some people sick.

 

Key Point: All of these approaches require little or no time or effort, but they do incrementally add to your  restoration. The benefits increase with daily repetition. For best results, practice them a few times per day. Most people feel like themselves again, surprisingly fast.

 

If all of this is too much, maybe just looking at this picture of a little girl hugging a puppy will be helpful:

 

Little girl hugging a puppyWe all get a little undone sometimes. Fortunately, we don't have to stay there, If you're looking for more self-care articles, here are some, below. Too soon? Never mind.

 

Manage Stress and Promote Mental Well-being with the Daily Seven

10 Questions to Help You Thrive Through the Pandemic

2020 Stole Your Life. Here's How to Get it Back.

 

 

 

Topics: positivity, self care, pandemic

How to Have Happier Holidays with Positive Psychology

Posted by Julia Stewart

How to Have Happier Holidays Image

Virtually every culture has holidays coming up in the next several weeks and we all want them to be happy.

This is a fun time that we plan all year. Unfortunately, the busyness, stress, extra expenses, fatigue, and even too much togetherness it isn't always fun.

How can positive psychology help you have happier holidays?

Read on for some easy ideas that can transform difficult holidays into happy ones. You can even download a new FREE eBook to help you have more fun and less stress!

What do you love about the holidays?

  • A chance to see family and friends
  • An enriching spiritual experience
  • Celebrating traditions (and/or creating new ones)
  • The food!
  • The fun!

What holiday challenges do you experience?

  • Too much/not enough togetherness
  • Travel hassles
  • Too much busyness
  • Too much rich food
  • Trying to sleep away from home
  • Boredom
  • Bickering
  • Overwhelm

This holiday season, wouldn't you like more of what you love with fewer challenges?

I wrote the new free eBook, How to Have Happier Holidays with Positive Psychology to be a quick tool that anyone can read in a few minutes and get ideas for how to have happier holidays this year. It's short and simple. You don't have to do everything. Just do what speaks to you. Let it inspire you rather than limit you.

This eBook talks about such topics as:

  • Positivity
  • Love 2.0
  • Gratitude
  • Strengths
  • Kindness
  • Self-Compassion

But don't worry. This isn't a stuffy lesson on psychology. Just fun and quick tools to lighten your holidays and help make them as happy as you have hoped.

Everything in this eBook is backed by research. Truth is, there are many more ideas from positive psychology that might make a difference for you. If you want more, read one of the books listed in this eBook's references over the holidays!

 

Ready for Happier Holidays? Get the new free eBook here:

Go Here For Your Free eBook Now

 

Topics: Positive Psychology, free ebook, science of happiness

Free Video: Living Sensationally with Winnie Dunn

Posted by Julia Stewart

Winnie DunnOn September 27th, I had a fun talk with Winnie Dunn, PdD, OTR, FAOTA, the leading authority on sensory processing, on how differently we each experience the world based on our sensory traits.

Winnie is an internationally recognized researcher on how people respond to sensory experiences in their everyday lives. She's also a graduate of the Certified Positive Psychology Coach Program here at SCM and knew I had done a series on Sensory Processing Sensitivity, a common trait among coaches. She generously she sent me a copy of her book, Living Sensationally.

Once I read Winnie's book, I knew this was a topic coaches need to understand! Your sensory processing is determined by how your nervous system is wired and to you, it represents reality. But everybody else is wired differently so their reality, and their behavior, may sometimes clash intensely with yours. The solutions to these challenges can be quite simple, but first you must understand what is going on.

Read further to learn about the Four Major Sensory Patterns, how they show up, and some simple ways to manage them. You may recognize yourself and others you know! Get answers to questions such as:

  • Why doesn't my spouse ever notice the laundry is piling up?
  • Why does my date always want to leave a party just when it starts to get good?
  • Why does my office mate HUM when I'm trying to work??

Also learn a bit more about Winnie and her incredible career as a Distinguished Professor in the field of Occupational Therapy. And learn about her current successful career as a strengths-based coach and coaching researcher along with her business partner, Ellen Pope, PhD, another coach who has been certified by us.

According to Living Sensationally, there are four major Sensory Patterns.

These are based on two factors. The first is neurological thresholds. How much sensory input does it take for your brain to notice? If it doesn't take much, you have a low threshold. If it takes a lot, your threshold is high. The other factor is how you self-regulate sensory input: Are you active or passive about it?

  1. The Seeker has a high-threshold and actively seeks more sensation. They are likely to be the adventurers and partiers you know. They are fun and exciting but may be too much sometimes for some people.
  2. The Bystander has a high-threshold and is passive about experiencing sensation. It can take a lot to get their attention because they don't notice sensory inputs that may be obvious to others. That can be frustrating and exasperating for other people.
  3. The Sensor is low-threshold and active about managing their sensory input. They can be easily overwhelmed by sensory overload so they manage situations and communicate to others what they need. They set boundaries, but if they don't do it with finesse, people may find them stifling or controlling.
  4. The Avoider has a low-threshold and is passive about managing sensory input. They also can be easily overwhelmed but may not speak up about it. They just avoid people, activities, and situations that are too much, when they can, which can confuse and even hurt other people. If they cannot avoid overload, they may have trouble managing their emotions, because too much sensory input can eventually make anyone lose control and it happens faster when a person has a low threshold.

 

Read Living Sensationally to learn details on how to manage conflicts between different sensory types. The first step is to recognize that people's sensory patterns aren't chosen. We cannot rewire ourselves to please others, but we can learn to respect, negotiate, and compromise. Winnie offers some dead-easy workarounds to  resolve problems that I thought might be impossible to solve.

 

This information might help one of your clients save their marriage or job. It might even help you save your own!

 

Here's a sensory example you may find amusing. I am a Sensor with some Avoider habits. If I buy lotions or other personal products, I like mild scents, no dyes, organic ingredients. If they are sold in a spa-like or Zen-like environment, so much the better. But I have relatives that love products from Bath & Body Works, which sells personal products with strong scents, that may have beads and grit that offer sensory stimulation, plus bright colors. If I enter their stores to buy gifts for others, it is like a cacophony of scents, sights, and sounds. I get in and out as quickly as I can. These stores and products were clearly designed for Seekers and Bystanders. In fact, Bath & Body Works posts salespersons outside their stories who pounce on passersby and tell them all their special offers. Clearly, they are not going to let a Bystander get past without noticing this store that was designed especially for them! Me? My inner Avoider doesn't even want to walk past that store when I'm not buying gifts! (If you are a coach who is learning about marketing, this is a perfect example of a company identifying its target market and desiging everything around them!)

 

Learn more about this fun topic by watching the FREE Living Sensationally Video with Winnie Dunn:

 

Free Living Sensationally Video With Winnie Dunn

 

Topics: Free, Certified Positive Psychology Coach, video, HSP

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