Month: January 2020

If you want to be a leader try to become a storyteller

 I became aware last year of the power of storytelling. Our children have a way to show us the impact of a story, but we often diminish its role: this is just a story! What a shame… Children know best.  I believe storytelling has a powerful transformative ingredient worth remembering and considering, as we try to make changes around us or within our lives. 

We often carry on with life wondering how to get out of a situation where we feel stuck. We may even give up. We may yet realize that whatever may be the situation, it is always the result of choices we made consciously or unconsciously. We may even know deep down that this realization is the best way to take one hundred percent responsibility in how we feel and understand that, as a result, we have in us the power to get out of it.  Despite this awareness, we may have lost the ability or never consciously learned how to affect change and get out of our “stuckness.” This is because we have lost track of the link between where we are and the story we have been telling ourselves. 

Let us say that you have been telling yourself that you always fail… or you simply fear failure based on past experiences; this will block your ability to succeed. But you have the power to change the story you have been telling yourself. Listen to children changing their stories to get to the result they want… it is that easy! Acknowledge that you have been trying hard and did your best, spelling out all your actions and qualities, remembering the fine moments on your path. Then redress towards where you want to go. In doing this kind of work, you make it possible for a positive story to emerge, and for you to get out of a stuck place. Enjoy going after your new story for 2020!

Let’s welcome a new year!

As I packed my Christmas decorations this weekend, eating the last chocolates from visiting loved ones, feeling the presence of departed family and friends, I am wondering why life seems so empty all of sudden. This mellowness does not have to tarnish the fulfilling memories of happy festivities. It does not have to trigger a pang of gloom. The trick is that the magic of the holiday season lives on when we know how to avoid settling back into routine.

We can all discover the pleasures of everyday existence, and rest assured that the cycle of regular celebrations will return like seasons orchestrating our years. There is something so comforting in remembering how life just like celebrations are cyclical. Reverting to the holiday highlights and what we value most, such as the generosity and gratitude of Christmas, or the simplicity and forgiveness to stay home alone for a quiet time off when everyone else is buzzing all over the world, or the joys of traditions or even the time of volunteering for the less fortunate can help us stay connected to the spark of special times.

You will find tremendous excitement in building the days and months to come this year integrating the joys and values that you just reflected upon, whether you experienced them fully or wished they were part of the fun – togetherness, magic, beauty, peacefulness. They can all be called upon all year long, if your heart is in it and your imagination triggered. Let it be a magical year!