Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #321. - Every breathe you take, after slowing down

Today's coaching question may appear mundane, and yet it's probably going to be difficult to answer for most people.
We rarely pay attention to how and how often we breathe, and therefore the answer to this mysterious question is usually "Too often".

Like every person accustomed to meditation or body awareness practices can confirm, breathing in a deep, relaxed way is paramount for our health, our well-being, our ability to relax and concentrate.

[More often than not, people should reply

with a big "Way too often". It's time to change this]

If the question made you curious, it could be interesting to measure how often you actually breathe in a minute under normal circumstances, and then to slow down a little bit.
If you are usually breathing 20 times in a minute, try to aim at 18 for a couple of minutes, and see how you feel. Could this become your new normal?

Coaching question of the day: 

"How often do you breathe in a minute?"                          
                                                    

Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Habits, Building new habits, Healthy habits, Body awareness, Deep breathing, Dealing with stress

What to read next:

Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #237. - The healthy habit to try out this year

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Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #283. - Your opinion about life hacks

Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, as we have been investigating already earlier this year.

The same applies to life hacks of any kind.

For some, it may be something related to their finances or how to deal with investing, for someone else it can be intermittent fasting or anything related to body hacking, for others it's about decluttering, or cleaning, or finding the best deals online.

[Here we are, with yet another apparently innocent question

that will give you a chance 

to think about your attitude towards life hacking...]

We all have something we swear by and that can make others cringe or get excited.

In the end, the most interesting aspect of this is, at least in my opinion, whether or not we are curious about what could be seen as a life hack and where the boundaries are.

Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #275. - A new daily ritual for you... and your relaxation

Would you like to experience more relaxation in your day-by-day life?

Few things are more effective for that than designing some kind of tiny "special moment" to experience on a daily basis in order to develop the ability to turn the switch off and take a break.

Some people call it a habit, others call it a ritual.

In the end, even if there are some differences between a habit and a ritual, it doesn't matter.

[A daily ritual doesn't have to involve

Bollywood-like choreographies or shiny gimmicks:

Five minutes of your time can do wonders]

What matters is finding something that works for you, enjoying the benefits of it, and tweaking it according to your needs when necessary, again and again.

If relaxing is difficult for now, creating a ritual may be a good solution for learning (again, or for the very first time) how to slow down, take it easy, and unwind.

Coaching question of the day: 

"Which daily ritual could help you relax?"                 

                                                    

Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Relaxation, Daily rituals, Mindfulness, Self-care

What to read next:

Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #177. - The places where you can reward yourself

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Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #272. - Your last daytime nap

We usually think that the more active and productive we are, the better.

Our body doesn't always agree with us, though, and a good example of this disagreement is our relationship with sleep: More often than not, it can be described with "it's complicated", at best.

[Close your eyes, think about this question

and remember how you felt after that last nap you took]

Today's coaching question is an invitation to start thinking about our sleep, our sleeping habits, and how we overall consider sleep and making time for it.

Stay tuned for further questions on the topic!

Coaching question of the day: 

"When was the last time you took a nap during the day?"                          

                                                

Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Mindfulness, Sleep habits, Healthy habits, Body awareness

What to read next:

Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #67. - The meaning of well-being

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Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #270. - A peaceful day, a peaceful hour

While thinking about our day or even while describing for someone else how our day has been, probably not that many of us would use the word "peaceful".

More often than not, we like our days to be productive, interesting, adventurous, fun, relaxed, successful, exciting... but peaceful?!

Somehow, the idea of "peaceful" is not that sexy or inviting for most of us. As if it would be a subtle way to talk about something boring, predictable, mindless.

[Peaceful is the new sexy:

Let's bring it back to our lives]

And yet, the opposite is actually true:

Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #264. - The taste of happiness

Some foods and beverages, some flavors, some unique tastes that mean a lot to us are what happiness is made of.

It can be something related to a special meal from our childhood, a family recipe, our favorite drink that brings with it tons of fun memories, having salty lips after a swim, the meal we had when we went out for an important business event, or that curious dish from a romantic date, that personalized dessert we mastered over time, the lip balm that we need in the winter, or kissing a small child on the cheeks...

[Chocolate ice cream, my cat's fur, rosy cheeks, a granita,

farinata even if it's not keto-friendly, my favorite lip scrub...

How about you?]

The taste of happiness can be everything, and it can also change depending on the different chapters of our lives.

It has less to do with gluttony and indulgence, and a lot to do with mindfulness, self-care, and enjoying the small pleasures of life. It is about being present and living in the moment, being thankful for what we have, understanding the many nuances of what can give us joy.

During difficult and stressful times, knowing how happiness tastes like can be a good antidote against binge-eating, junk food, and comfort food.

Because happiness is for sure somewhere else. So let's go find it.

Coaching question of the day: 

"How does happiness taste like, for you?"                     

                                                    

Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Happiness, Body awareness, Five senses, Mindfulness, Taste, Gratitude

What to read next:

Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #165. - The taste of your day

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Where to start, if you are new 

Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #255. - Your self-care routine

Even if being spontaneous and living in the moment are great things, at the end of the day, our life is just going to be as good as the routine we created for it over time.

It doesn't matter whether daily, weekly, monthly, or even once a year: We truly are what we repeatedly do.

And this applies to our health, our career, our relationships, our growth, our goals, and last but not least, to our self-care as well.

Reflecting on what we actually do for our self-care on a regular basis can be illuminating, revealing, pleasing, or even embarrassing. 

[It may include some kind of workout, a meditation,

dancing, reading a book, having a good conversation,

spending time in nature, a hot bath, cooking a healthy meal... 

pick your faves and go for it]

Still, if the answer should not be the one you would like to go for, it's never too late for establishing a new, more suitable self-care routine for yourself. Small steps add up over time.

Coaching question of the day: 

"How does your self-care routine look like?"     

                                                    

Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Self-care, Self-care routine, Habits

What to read next:

Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #214. - The golden part of your day, every day 

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Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #242. - The permission to pause

We like to talk about work-life balance, and about how important work-life balance is for us...

Even if defining what work-life balance actually is and how we could achieve it can feel at times difficult, blurred, ambiguous.

We are always willing to recharge our smartphones and other devices, and yet we often fail to realize that we are running on empty.

[A good answer to this question?
"As often as you all need it". Just saying]

Today's question is a precious tool for performing an honest reality check.

On top of it, it may be quite revealing and unveil one among at least four possible constellations:

Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #234. - The trick needed for your own reboot

Rebooting is a concept we all know, thanks to our computer and its need, under special circumstances, to execute its own boot process once more and to reset itself while reloading the operating system.

A reboot is way more thorough than a simple restart, and it usually takes some time and the activation of many processes at once.

Sometimes, we could use a reboot in our life as well, it doesn't matter if in one specific arena (in our career, in our lifestyle, in our connections) or everywhere.

This is what all those fancy "before and after" scenarios and all our dreams of a better future are about, in the end.

[You could also think about this question as 

"What is the very first step you would need for a reboot?"]

What if a reboot could take place right now, and not in a remote future?

Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #230. - Slowing down - Reprise

"I will not let this slow me down", we say. As if slowing down would always be a very bad thing to do. 

Sometimes it is, other times it isn't. 

In a culture that sees every pause as a sign of weakness or laziness, slowing down is considered just the same as falling behind. 

Sometimes it is, other times it isn't. 

[While slowing down, your mileage may vary.
What's "a little bit" for you can be "a huge lot"

for someone else. But your pace is the one that matters]

Slowing down is more often than not a way to practice self-awareness, mindfulness, and thankfulness. 

Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #194. - That other kind of quality time

We like to talk about quality time and we are proud of how much quality time we are able to carve for some kind of good cause or for our relationships with people we care about.
Meanwhile, we rarely consider the time spent unplugging or the time dedicated to ourselves as quality time.

Having some me-time seems not so important, or even a selfish thing to do.
And yet, we spend every single minute of every single day with ourselves... 

[Quality time can also be me-time,

even if not so many people look at it this way]

Coaching question of the day:
"When was the last time you had some me-time?"                                                

Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Unplugging, Self-care, Me-time

What to read next:

Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #149. - Unplug is like...

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Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #186. - Listening to your own body

Over the decades, tons of pop songs taught us how to listen to our hearts, our guts, our minds.
Unfortunately, the same didn't happen with our own bodies.

Still, for some of us, listening to the body, and to what it has to say, may be a no-brainer.
For some others, it could be less intuitive, and for sure there are people that consider the whole concept of "listening to the body" a bit weird, if not exactly impossible.

The body doesn't talk. 
How can we listen?!

[Depending on your belief system, the answer could go either

"Always" or "Never", or everywhere in-between]

Well, the body talks. A lot.
Just, most of the time, we don't listen.

Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #184. - Where beauty lies, for you

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, they have been saying for over two thousand years, by now.

And they will probably keep saying it as long as we will all be around.

Even more so, in a world that wants to celebrate and empower diversity.

We all have our own sense of beauty, style, aesthetics.

We look different, we are surrounded by different stimuli, we are attracted and impressed by different things.

[Beauty is a state of mind.

Discovering new places for it can be the quest of a lifetime]

This can be very enriching and valuable, as we get a chance to discover what can be beautiful for someone else and, very often, we are surprised to experience something so different from what we considered the epitome of beauty just five minutes before.

Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #175. - When in doubt, smell the roses

Being able to "smell the roses" means being able to celebrate the small things in life that are often ignored or taken for granted.
It can also mean taking the time to unplug, to relax, to be fully aware of the present moment.

Seen this way, "smelling the roses" can be considered a synonym for mindfulness, self-care, thoughtfulness.

[Smelling the roses on a regular basis can feel odd at first,

and yet it is a very precious habit that needs to be cultivated]

Whatever the meaning that the figure of speech can have for each of us, we should not spend a single week without dedicating at least some time to all those tiny moments that can have a huge impact on the quality of our life.

Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #172. - A tribute to rainy days

We put aside money for a rainy day, we write rain checks, we don't want rain on our parade.
More often than not, the rain has a bad reputation, even if it's actually vital for plenty of human and animal activities, and it keeps the soil from just drying out too fast.

Put this way, rain is one of those things that keep us alive.

[It's time for an official rehabilitation of rainy days,

so you can start making the most out of them!]

Rainy days can be just as vital for each of us.

Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #171. - The importance of treating yourself

The first question should be another one, to be honest.
We should actually start with the question about whether you consider treating yourself as something acceptable or not.

Some people think that treating oneself is selfish and a waste of time.
There is so much to do, there are so many people that need something, anything, the world is suffering... so why devoting time to oneself?!

[If you haven't been treating yourself so far...

How about starting right now?]

And yet, I like to think that without helping ourselves first we are not really able to help others.

Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #165. - The taste of your day

The longer the hours we spend online, the bigger the part of our life that becomes merely "digital".
We tend to live more and more in a sort of virtual dimension, where visual and auditive cues receive the lion's share of our attention and very little space is devoted to things like taste, smell, and touch. 

And yet, even without quoting Oliver Sack's impressive work over the years, every foodie and every wine expert will tell you that taste is actually incredibly important for the quality of our lives.

[How was your day? Bitter, salty, sour, 

astringent, sweet, pungent, or umami?]

It could be interesting to explore more, to pay more attention, to cherish more what kind of tastes are enriching your life day by day.

Coaching question of the day:
"How did today taste like?"                      

Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Body awareness, Five senses, Mindfulness, Taste

What to read next:

Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #34. - Savoring the moment

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Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #163. - Relax is the word

Sometimes I wonder how many people would actually be able to give a thoughtful answer to a question that could appear absolutely mundane, at first.
And yet, most of the time, we are just so busy, so busy, so so busy...

Too bad that being busy is not a synonym for being productive, creative, or successful.
Too bad that being busy makes it very difficult to relax and to be mindful, essential habits needed on a regular basis by our brain, our body, and last but not least by our creativity and productivity.

[We are talking real relax here...

Spoiler alert: Endless scrolling on Facebook is not real relax]

Relaxation is the other side of the coin.

Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #160. - Enjoying a shared silence

Enjoy the Silence is not only one of the best songs ever written by Depeche Mode, but it's also a way of life, and of caring.

Over the years, I came to realize that some of the best conversations and interactions are the ones we can have with people also able to spend time with us in silence.
Those people are the ones that understand us without words when words are not necessary or even misleading, or dangerous.

[Communication without words is probably

the ultimate test for a very good interaction]

A good conversation is incredibly precious, and yet a shared silence full of empathy and understanding is gold.

Coaching, reloaded - Coaching question of the day #159. - Rethinking what crying is for

Crying is among those things that get a bad reputation without always deserving one.
Sure thing, crying can be often related to pain, suffering, stress. But that's not always the case.

Besides the fact that crying is not always a sign of distress and we can also cry out of joy, relief, gratitude, and feeling touched, a good cry can be incredibly healthy, both for our body and for our peace of mind.
It can help to get feelings sorted out, to talk out loud about something we are scared of and that is suddenly less scared if expressed in words, to free ourselves from an emotional burden.

[It's called "a good cry" for a reason...

And it can really do good once in a while]

There is a big misunderstanding about crying.