Transcript00:00:05I’m Joanna Lindenbaum, a coach ritualist and all around transformation nerd who is obsessed with helping clients go deep to create more change.00:00:17And results with their clients.00:00:19I created the Coaching Revolution podcast to share with you coaching skills, tips and advice, as well as a deeper understanding of human behavior and.00:00:29Yourself so that you can do even better client work and group work.00:00:34Grow your business organically.00:00:36And know that you’re making a real difference in the world.00:00:41This is about creating a revolution in the transformational industry so that more practitioners feel amazing about what they do.00:00:51And so that more of our clients experience life changing shifts, let’s get started.00:01:02Welcome.00:01:03I’m Joanna and I am so happy to share today’s quick but fun and powerful episode. Some of you may know that I’m a student of the seasons. It started over 20 years ago when I was in my mid 20s.00:01:19And I absolutely fell in love with this idea of honoring The Four Seasons and what they each have to teach us. The seasons are so rich and potent, and have so many metaphoric pieces of wisdom.00:01:33That we can apply to our lives.00:01:36Spring equinox is coming up in just a few weeks here in the northern hemisphere where I live, and so I thought it was the perfect time for us to explore some of the themes of the spring season.00:01:50And then I’m gonna share with you.00:01:53A5 step coaching process for spring renewal after stagnation that you can use for yourself and with your clients.00:02:02This is an eye opening process that you can apply to your business, your marketing strategies, your personal habits, your romantic relationships, your friendships, really anything in your life that has been feeling a little stagnant or like it’s kind of gone underground.00:02:21In a certain way.00:02:23This is definitely one of those episodes that you’re going to want to listen to more than once.00:02:29And one of the times, at least, you’re going to want to have a journal and pen ready so that you can do some looking inward and strategizing.00:02:40Because I’m gonna be asking you some coaching questions, but let’s start here.00:02:46As you probably know, springtime is so much about a cycle starting over again.00:02:55It is about new beginnings and planting new seeds.00:03:01You might know that I’m Jewish and in the Jewish tradition, Passover is a springtime holiday and one of the symbols of Passover is the egg.00:03:14Similar to Easter, which is another springtime holiday holiday.00:03:19And the reason why the egg is one of the symbols of these springtime holidays is because we’re honoring the season of new life of birth and of exciting activation.00:03:35Spring is also very much about renewal, getting creative and motivated and excited and curious about those things that have become stagnant during the winter seasons.00:03:50Things that are ready for new life.00:03:54And new attention.00:03:55That’s why we have the phrase spring cleaning.00:04:00It’s all about bringing in new energy after things have gotten kind of sleepy and dusty during the long, cold winter.00:04:11When we go through a winter phase on a project or a strategy or a habit or a relationship.00:04:19That thing can kind of slip through the cracks and gather cobwebs.00:04:27And infusing that project or strategy or habit or relationship with some spring energy has the potential to revive it, to bring it back, and hopefully to bring it back even better than before.00:04:43And as I said, in the Northern hemisphere, spring equinox is almost almost upon us. When I look out my window now and I’m recording this episode towards the end of February.00:04:58I can see that things are starting to change just.00:05:02Little bit.00:05:04The spring equinox falls every year on March 20th.00:05:08And it is the day on the wheel of the year where there is exactly as much daytime as there is night time.00:05:18On the Equinox, day and night are equal.00:05:25And the equinox is a wonderful marker of starting to cross this threshold from the darkness.00:05:33Of winter into the suntime becoming more and more prominent.00:05:41The days becoming longer and longer than the nights.00:05:46And it’s also a moment to Mark Spring’s starting to do its thing.00:05:52This is when we start to see the blossoms slowly appearing on the trees and from the ground.00:06:01This is the time of year that the animals start coming out more and more from their winter hibernation.00:06:09And we can also start to feel the energy shift a bit in the air around spring equinox. We want to be outside.00:06:19A little.00:06:20More our curiosity about the world maybe starts to get activated again.00:06:25No.00:06:27So as we move towards spring equinox and as we step into spring, you might be feeling it’s time for renewal after stagnation.00:06:40Maybe one of your marketing strategies has gotten stagnant, like your social media or your newsletter.00:06:50Or maybe one of your group programs needs a rebirth and a renewal.00:06:55You’ve kind of let it go.00:06:56Go for.00:06:57Bit and you’re ready to come back.00:07:00To it.00:07:01Or maybe you’ve got a friendship that you haven’t been tending to, or it slipped into stagnation and you’re ready to renew it.00:07:12That could maybe look like getting back in touch regularly with an old friend that you haven’t connected with.00:07:19For a while.00:07:20Or it could maybe look like spicing things up in your marriage, right?00:07:24A kind of renewal.00:07:26Or maybe you’ve got a habit.00:07:29A personal.00:07:31Like a workout habit or a hobby that just isn’t working anymore.00:07:38Or that you’ve let slip away.00:07:40Or that you’ve just become kind of.00:07:43And blah about.00:07:46Because let’s be honest.00:07:49The projects, habits and relationships in our lives, even if they are important and dear to us, they can sometimes get a little dusty.00:08:01There are times when maybe we neglect them because we’ve gotten frustrated with them.00:08:09Or bored with them.00:08:11Or there are times when we are simply overwhelmed or too busy.00:08:17And so we let go important.00:08:20For a bit.00:08:22Sometimes the winter phase of a project or relationship or a habit is really obvious.00:08:28We’ve not been in connection.00:08:30At all with that thing.00:08:33Maybe we’ve stopped sending out our newsletter altogether.00:08:37Obvious.00:08:38But other times the winter phase and the stagnation is maybe more subtle.00:08:46Things have just kind of gotten a little boring.00:08:49Or they don’t quite work anymore, but we still keep on showing up for them in the same ways anyway, and it’s time for a change.00:08:59It’s also important to say that a lot of the time the winter phase is really necessary.00:09:10We need breaks. We need rest.00:09:14We need to put certain things down at certain moments, even if they are important things.00:09:22This is all a part of life.00:09:26Oh, but how sweet it is when you know it’s time to revive something when it truly is the right time to bring it out of stagnation.00:09:39Clear out its cobwebs.00:09:42And to bring it back to life.00:09:45So in the spirit of renewal and bringing things back to life, here is a sweet little five step coaching process with a bonus six step.00:10:00That you can use for yourself to self coach.00:10:04Or you can use with your clients who have something that you’re working on together that is ready for new life and inspiration.00:10:15You’re going to want to have a paper and pen out so that you can really take yourself through this process that I’m going to share.00:10:24Going to want to journal on some of these questions.00:10:29The journaling can often times be more powerful than just thinking about them in your head.00:10:37And then when you write things down, you’re often more likely to follow up with them to take action.00:10:44On them rather than them just slipping away because you’ve merely thought them.00:10:51So here we go.00:10:53Here’s step #1.00:10:57That you wanna think about or you wanna ask your client.00:11:02When you’re working on supporting them to bring something out of stagnation and into renewal, and this first step is very simple.00:11:12Sometimes we just we have to start with the basics, right?00:11:17The question is.00:11:19What is something?00:11:22Specific that has fallen into stagnation.00:11:28Or into a winter phase.00:11:32What’s something specific that’s fallen into stagnation or a winter phase and the coaching tip here in this question is to remember in your coaching questions.00:11:48Be.00:11:51Ask for specific answers.00:11:54Specificity helps you focus.00:11:57In on the issue at hand.00:12:01And on change and on solutions.00:12:07Every now and again, a general question that leads to a general answer can be helpful, but for the most part, general answers usually go no where.00:12:22They feel too big or overwhelming, or they’re just kind of like blanket statements that don’t mean enough or don’t point to.00:12:31Details that can be helpful.00:12:34So here are some examples of specific things that may have fallen into stagnation or a winter phase for you.00:12:45Some specific examples in business might be your newsletter.00:12:51Or maybe your outreach to be a guest on different podcasts, maybe for a while you were sending out outreach to be on podcasts, and that’s just kind of falling by the wayside.00:12:52Play.00:13:07You feel ready to revive it again?00:13:10Maybe for you your website you haven’t touched it in a long time and it’s kind of outdated at this point.00:13:20Doesn’t really match how you’ve evolved.00:13:25And you noticed that your website really hasn’t been doing anything for you lately, right?00:13:30That is an example of a winter phase.00:13:35Here’s one more example in business.00:13:38Maybe lately your team meetings have been stagnant. If you have a team, maybe they’re not inspiring anymore.00:13:48Or they’re not really very effective anymore.00:13:53And here’s some examples from your personal life of things that maybe have fallen into stagnation or a winter phase. I’m sharing all of these examples to help you brainstorm and really get clear on.00:14:09One specific.00:14:09Thing that has become stagnant or gone into a winter phase. So some personal example.00:14:15Maybe your journaling practice?00:14:19You’ve either let it slip away or it’s just become.00:14:23You’ve just started kind of making lists lately in your journal, but it’s not really doing anything for you.00:14:31Or maybe your dinner menus have become kind of.00:14:37You’re just cooking the same things every week over and over again for dinner. You’re feeling bored.00:14:47Uninspired.00:14:48And you’d like to get excited about dinner.00:14:53Or maybe your meditation practice has fallen by the wayside.00:14:58I’ll share one example from my own life on something that has become stagnant.00:15:05And that is resistance.00:15:08So I’m 49 years old.00:15:11Be 50 in August.00:15:14And I am definitely at that age and have been for a number of years now where it’s really important physiologically for me to not only do cardio workouts.00:15:29But resistance training workouts, either weight training or yoga.00:15:35Things that will really help my bones and help me build my muscles help me with my blood sugar.00:15:43All of the things.00:15:46And.00:15:48I will be honest for a while now.00:15:52I have just stopped my resistance training.00:15:59I default to.00:16:01I take lots of walks and.00:16:03I maybe get to the gym and get on the elliptical or do a cardio workout on YouTube, but I have not been doing.00:16:14Resistance training.00:16:15And I would like to start doing it again.00:16:20So there’s one other step here. In the first step of this process that we’re looking at.00:16:28And that is whatever you’ve identified, whatever this specific thing is, that has become stagnant or gone into a winter phase that you would like to revive.00:16:42The question is.00:16:45Why do you want to revive this thing?00:16:51Why do you want to revive?00:16:53And I really encourage you to spend a couple of minutes, not just to write down a quick phrase, but really to spend a minute or two journaling on why this thing is important to you.00:17:08My coaching tip around this question just to break down for you and and so you understand why this question is in the process here is that.00:17:20Whenever we set a goal for ourselves, whenever we work with our clients for them to set a goal, understanding the motivation behind the goal is.00:17:35Really important. That’s what the why question is about.00:17:37Do you want to revive this right?00:17:39What is the motivation here?00:17:41Is this important and?00:17:45And.00:17:47The reason why you want to be aware of this as a coach, as a transformational practitioner.00:17:55Is because sometimes our clients are going to set goals that actually aren’t aligned.00:18:02They’re going to set goals that don’t really have a good Y WH Y behind it, right?00:18:10Asking the why a question is going to help them see that.00:18:14The other way that the motivation question can be really helpful when you’re coaching your clients is because when they name a goal that is important to them.00:18:30That has a good reason for them to pursue it. Them getting clear on the why on the motivation behind it is going, and to articulate it to is going to help.00:18:44Them feel more inspired to move forward with it with your help.00:18:53And by the.00:18:54You probably know this, but just to say, if you are following along with the podcast and doing your own inner work and journaling on these questions, feel free to pause the podcast.00:19:07At any time so that you have the time to do the journaling.00:19:12For now, I’m gonna move on to Step 2 of this coaching process to move from stagnation to renewal.00:19:23And the question for Step 2 is this.00:19:29Why has it fallen into stagnation?00:19:37What is the reason that this thing?00:19:42Has gone into a winter phase or has become.00:19:45I want to invite you to Journal on this one for a little bit.00:19:50Is it because you lost motivation for it?00:19:56Or maybe you lost patience with this project because it wasn’t progressing the way that you wanted.00:20:04Or it wasn’t feeling the way that you wanted.00:20:08Maybe this thing slipped away because other things took precedence and priority during the time period.00:20:17Did this thing, this relationship, this habit becomes stagnant because you got scared about it in some way.00:20:28Or maybe you felt rejected in some way.00:20:32I see this happen a lot with entrepreneurs.00:20:36Start a marketing strategy.00:20:38It doesn’t work right.00:20:40And then they feel like they’ve been rejected. And so it just goes stagnant.00:20:44Stop working on it.00:20:46Or maybe whatever this thing is this project, this strategy, this relationship, this habit, maybe it dropped off because you were tired and you needed a rest.00:21:01For a period of time you needed some hibernation.00:21:05If we look at my personal example.00:21:10With resistance training.00:21:13For me, it fell into stagnation because I hated and I will repeat it.00:21:22Hated the type of resistance training.00:21:27That I was doing.00:21:29So before COVID I was doing weights at the gym.00:21:36And I really like that. I was working with a trainer and even though I didn’t love it.00:21:41And you.00:21:42I had that accountability. I worked hard.00:21:45It worked for me.00:21:47But then when COVID hit and I couldn’t go to the gym and work with a trainer, I started doing resistance training at home.00:21:57I would put on high intens.00:22:02Ity interval training workouts on YouTube and I would do them and high intensity interval trainings.00:22:09Sometimes called hit.00:22:11They’re a form of exercise that involves short, intense bursts of activity.00:22:17And again, I did not like doing it in fact.00:22:24Even though I would only do 15 minute videos, I would curse at the instructor on the screen every single time. I struggled through it.00:22:37And this is the exact reason why I stopped resistance training.00:22:45So.00:22:47It’s important to acknowledge.00:22:52Why something has fallen into stagnation. Why? And that’s why this is Step 2 of the process.00:23:00So for me, acknowledging that I just really don’t like hit workout.00:23:07In particular, and especially without the accountability, and have a trainer.00:23:13Just by acknowledging this, this can help me move towards problem solving towards making tweaks and towards reviving resistance training for myself, but in better ways that work for me.00:23:30Right. So when we coach, we want to ask questions that help our clients connect the dots.00:23:39Matt, help our clients understand why something has happened.00:23:46The why won’t necessarily solve the problem all on its own, but it will provide important insight that can lead to effective next steps.00:24:02Understanding why something has become stagnant or fallen into a winter phase can also be really helpful because it can support your client.00:24:18To have more self compassion and self love, right?00:24:24Can help them see. Oh.00:24:27That’s why I stopped doing.00:24:29Or that’s why that hasn’t been.00:24:31Or that’s what’s going on, right? Instead of just beating ourselves up like I suck because I’m not doing resistance training anymore.00:24:43And self compassion and self love are an important key ingredient for motivation.00:24:56All right, let’s move on to Step 3 of this little coaching process.00:25:02And Step 3, the question here is.00:25:07What would you need to believe?00:25:12About the thing that you’d like to renew.00:25:17So that you can really refresh it.00:25:20And get it going again.00:25:23What would you?00:25:24What would you need to believe about the thing that you’d like to renew so that you can really refresh it and get it going again?00:25:34And I’ll give you some examples here.00:25:36Let’s say you wanna refresh renew your.00:25:40Maybe for you the belief is, I believe my newsletter can be a source.00:25:49Of immense value for whoever.00:25:51Set.00:25:52Or maybe for you the belief that you need around your newsletter is, I believe that my newsletter is important no matter if 10,000 people read it, or 20 people read it.00:26:09Maybe if you would like to renew your dinner menu for each week, the new belief that’s gonna be really important for you is I believe that it doesn’t have to take me many, many hours a week.00:26:24To come up with new dinner ideas and prepare that.00:26:30If we keep on looking at my example with the resistance training, one new belief for me around it is I believe that I can find a form of resistance training that.00:26:46Even if I don’t love it, I can like it well enough to show up for it regularly.00:26:56And I’ll share with you another belief that’s going to be really important for me in order to start up resistance training again is to believe that I can make time for resistance training.00:27:11During my week.00:27:14And that it’s not gonna leave me scrambling to finish other tasks each day.00:27:19I tend to go there like I just don’t have time for this.00:27:25OK.00:27:27So.00:27:30The second part of Part 3, as we’re looking at new beliefs.00:27:37Is to not just write down the new belief.00:27:43It is good to identify a new belief.00:27:48Cognitively, we want to do that.00:27:51But we don’t wanna stop there.00:27:54So.00:27:55I wanna invite you to do next.00:27:59Is to feel.00:28:03The new belief.00:28:05See if you can find.00:28:11Where in your body?00:28:14You really believe this new thing?00:28:18Even if many other parts of you don’t believe it yet, right where in your body do you know this new belief to be true?00:28:31Really take a moment with that.00:28:34To feel the new belief inside of you.00:28:39Give it space.00:28:42Let it take hold.00:28:45There are a couple of coaching.00:28:49And human nature reasons.00:28:54Why we want to feel the new belief?00:28:58First of all, like I said earlier.00:29:04Cognitive is great, but it’s not enough.00:29:08It’s really important.00:29:13To make new ideas and beliefs even more real by bringing a little bit of the somatic in by really holding and owning it in our bodies.00:29:27The other reason?00:29:31Why this part of the process is so important to feel the new belief?00:29:38Is because it is really, really difficult to renew or revive a project.00:29:49On stagnant feelings or beliefs, if you still have the same beliefs and the same feelings about this project or this habit or this relationship.00:30:01That you had when it fell into stagnation. It’s gonna be really, really hard to revive it.00:30:13And.00:30:15We want to let new beliefs and new energy lead the way to strategy and to action and to inspiration.00:30:30OK.00:30:31Let’s keep on going here.00:30:34We’ve got a couple more steps left in this process, so once we’ve identified what’s stagnant and we’ve identified why it’s important to revive it.00:30:47And once we’ve really been clear on why it’s fallen into stagnation, and then what we need to believe.00:30:57In order to move this thing forward, now we’re finally ready for Step 4, which is to identify the new vision for this project.00:31:10This strategy.00:31:12This.00:31:14Habit this relationship.00:31:18How do you want it to look?00:31:23And I really encourage you to take a few minutes to get into the details of it.00:31:29Do you want this to?00:31:31In its springtime.00:31:35Its new cycle.00:31:36And it’s renewal and I really encourage you as you vision and as you get clear on what you want this thing to look like.00:31:46To bring the springtime energy of curiosity and playfulness to it as you vision it.00:31:56It will bring these energies in the curiosity.00:32:00Playfulness will really help you vision.00:32:06Strategize in ways that are helpful.00:32:14And I’ll share with you just briefly for my resistance training. When I sat down on this step of the process to vision it.00:32:25I got clear that for me, I really want to start going back to the gym and doing weight training and then also combining that some days with yoga.00:32:36Those are things that I actually enjoy and that I.00:32:41Really know I’ll make time.00:32:43For.00:32:47OK, moving on to our fifth staff in this process.00:32:53Just like we do in spring.00:32:58Plant.00:32:59A seed.00:33:01Plant a seed on this project. This relationship, this habit.00:33:06So what that looks like practically in coaching?00:33:12Is what is one specific baby step.00:33:16You can take.00:33:19To plant the seeds of your renewed project.00:33:22Act.00:33:23Well, it’s one.00:33:24Specific baby step that you can take to plant the seeds of this renewed project.00:33:34And for me, it has been about.00:33:40Putting into my calendar my gym days.00:33:46And I didn’t start. The baby step was not put it in the calendar for the rest of the year.00:33:52The baby step was start with next week. When is it going into the calendar? Baby steps.00:34:01Especially when things have been stagnant when we’ve turned away from them for a while, when we’ve let them rest for a while, we it’s harder to jump into the whole big.00:34:14The full strategy and all the things.00:34:16It’s going to feel overwhelming.00:34:18Starting something new.00:34:20We got to start with those baby steps.00:34:23It’s like we’re learning to walk again, right?00:34:28And then finally, here’s a little bonus stuff if you wanna take it a step further for yourself or your clients.00:34:36The bonus step is whatever.00:34:40The the specific baby action item that you identified.00:34:46Make a commitment. A real commitment to it and find accountability.00:34:52So there are so many ways to make commitments and find accountabilities. It might be about an accountability partner.00:35:01With your client, it might be about them emailing you to let you know that they took the step.00:35:08It might be something that they a promise that they make to themselves.00:35:17For me, with my resistance training, not only did I put it in my calendar, but for accountability I set an alarm to go off.00:35:251/2 hour before the time so that I would start wrapping things up, getting my sneakers on and getting out the door to the gym.00:35:39So in a moment I’m gonna review all 6 steps.00:35:43I hope that you really learned a lot, not only for yourself. If you’ve been following along doing the inner work.00:35:51On this technique, but I also hope that you learn a lot about Co creating transformation with your clients and I hope you learned a lot about human behavior just through us looking.00:36:05These steps.00:36:06To go.00:36:07From stagnation to.00:36:10So again step one was get specific.00:36:13What is the thing that has fallen into stagnation?00:36:18And then as a sub part of that step, why do you want to revive this thing, right?00:36:25The motivation?00:36:27Step 2.00:36:28Why has this thing fallen?00:36:31Into stagnation.00:36:34Get.00:36:35Connect the dots.00:36:38Step 3.00:36:38What would you need to believe about this thing that you’d like to renew so that you can really refresh it and get it going again, and then feel the new belief?00:36:50Just leave it at the cognitive.00:36:52Bring it to the body level.00:36:54Step 4.00:36:56What is the new vision?00:36:59How is this gonna look as you renew it and bring that springtime energy of curiosity and playfulness as you vision it?00:37:09Step 5 was plant a.00:37:11Get clear on that next specific baby step.00:37:15And then the bonus step 6.00:37:19Make a commitment. Find accountability.00:37:23I hope you enjoyed this episode A.00:37:27I hope you got inspired around the spring. We’re almost there for those of us in the northern hemisphere. If you loved this episode.00:37:38Please give it five stars and a really great review.00:37:43Please also share it with anyone who you know would get value and I’ll look forward to seeing you next time.
