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As a life coach, I help people make decisions that fit who they truly are and who they want to become
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Showing posts with label Self-awareness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Self-awareness. Show all posts

Monday, February 12, 2024

Coaching Monday: The reality check question

Today's weekly question may seem too easy. Or too difficult to answer.
I strongly believe that we should ask ourselves this question more often, quite regularly, as a useful and humbling reality check.

Weekly question from life coach Azzurra Camoglio: "What's next?"
[Write down today's answer to this question, 
and then ask yourself the same question in a week.
Comparing both answers may surprise you]

No matter when you last asked (yourself and/or others) this question, today is a good day to ask it again.

"What's next?"  
                                                    
Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Life design, Reality check

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Monday, February 5, 2024

Coaching Monday: In need of a rethink

The big misunderstanding about rethinking something is the idea that rethinking something is like admitting that we were wrong before. Maybe sometimes it may be true, but it's not always the case.

Weekly question from life coach Azzurra Camoglio: "Where in your life do you need a rethink?"
[A rethink doesn't always have to be big or life-changing, 
but it can always change the quality of our lives]

A rethink is a new (mental, physical, emotional) place, a new page, a new chapter. A rethink is a chance to start fresh again thanks to different ideas, updated information, and/or improved tools.

What could be better than that?

"Where in your life do you need a rethink?"                                                

Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Rethink, New chapters, Life design

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Monday, January 29, 2024

Coaching Monday: Your cue for walking away

We can call it a deal-breaker, a no-no, a red flag. Or we can just call it our cue. We all have one, for both getting involved with AND walking away from something (or someone).

Recognizing our cue is half the battle.

Weekly question from life coach Azzurra Camoglio: "What is your cue for walking away from something?"
[Knowing what your cue is before you are going to need it
can spare you from drama, problems, and discomfort]

"What is your cue for walking away from something?"                                                  

Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Boundaries, Letting go

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Monday, January 22, 2024

Coaching Monday: Protecting what's non-negotiable

Important decisions are scary. We may fear the consequences, the uncertainty of an unknown outcome, the FOMO. 

Also, many of us focus only on the supposed outcome and not on the journey that a specific decision can generate for us. They focus on the "what", not on the "how" or the "why".

That way, it's difficult to know where we are headed with the decision we are about to take.

Weekly question from life coach Azzurra Camoglio: "How do you protect what is non-negotiable to you?"
[Another way to think about this question is:
"What's the most precious treasure I have
and how I am going to protect it?]

Knowing what is non-negotiable and how we are going to protect what's non-negotiable to us provides us with a blueprint for every decision. This way, we always know what we can compromise on and what is out of the question, what can be a possibility and what we would for sure regret in the long run, what is worth the effort and the discomfort, and what we can let go of. 

When in doubt, let's look for what's non-negotiable.

"How do you protect what is non-negotiable to you?" 
                                                
Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Life design, Priorities

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Monday, December 18, 2023

Coaching Monday: The time to call it quits, sometimes

Once in a while, in the middle of something, we may hear a little voice from within saying something like "That's enough", "This doesn't make sense any longer", or "It's time to stop".
And yet, even if the voice may be right and calling it quits could be the most reasonable thing to do, we don't, more often than not out of fear.

Calling it quits has a bad reputation, as if calling it quits sometimes would automatically mean that we are quitters all the time and that quitting is what defines us. 
In reality, they are two different, separate things.

Weekly question from life coach Azzurra Camoglio: "When is it time to call it quits?"
[While reading this question, your mileage may vary.
All is possible, from "Many times a day" to "Never",
but I like to think that the answer is 
"When something doesn't feel right"]

Calling it quits can be a good decision.
Depending on the circumstances, it's about cutting losses, letting go, designing a healthier schedule for ourselves, setting boundaries, changing course, improving our time management, concentrating on the right priorities...

Calling it quits is not always about laziness or someone's character flaws. And yet, we are still afraid. 

"When is it time to call it quits?"    
                                                    
Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Life design, Time management, Setting boundaries, Letting go

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Monday, December 11, 2023

Coaching Monday: The question you keep asking yourself

Suppose the quality of our lives depends on the quality of the questions we ask (ourselves and others, no exception) on a bigger scale than on the quality of the answers we give and receive. In that case, it's easy to understand that being aware of the questions we keep asking ourselves is pivotal in creating the lives we want to lead.

We may be aware of some of those questions, others may run in the background, invisible and unchecked, and yet in a sort of endless loop. Are they useful? Are they helpful? Are they serving or hurting us?

Weekly question from life coach Azzurra Camoglio: "What is the question you keep asking yourself?"
[A good way of practicing self-observation
is asking yourself how you feel
after each of the questions you ask yourself]

When in doubt, getting curious about which questions are keeping us company regularly can be the missing step in getting the clarity we need and in noticing thinking patterns, both positive and negative, that may have a big influence on us without us noticing.

How about you?
"What is the question you keep asking yourself?"
                                                 
Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Thinking patterns, Self-observation, Life design

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Monday, December 4, 2023

Coaching Monday: Your own definition for "liberating"

"Liberating" is a word we don't use that often, probably because it has been weaponized and misused in the past. 
I hope we can finally leave that collective past behind us and, letting politics aside, ask ourselves what would be liberating.

What does the word mean for each of us?
What do we associate the word with?

Weekly question from life coach Azzurra Camoglio: "What would feel liberating right now?"
[With your answer to this question 
you can go big or, just as good, 
stay small and think about all the little things
that make you feel free, and lighter]

To me, being honest with myself feels liberating, and the same applies to being able to let go, choosing my battles carefully and ignoring the rest, and plenty of other habits that can make a difference in my life on a daily basis.

How about you?
"What would feel liberating right now?"           
                                  
Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Life design, Healthy habits, Liberating

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Monday, November 20, 2023

Coaching Monday: Just lovely

Sadly enough, we often use the expression "just lovely" in a very sarcastic way, in order to convey quite the opposite.
"Isn't just lovely?!" we say while being actually upset, angry, stressed, even desperate, or all of these things at once.

Weekly question from life coach Azzurra Camoglio: "What about today has been just lovely?"
[That's the kind of question that could help you
establish a new daily ritual about finding something lovely
and being open about it]

Wouldn't it be better if we would get used to using the expression while truly meaning it and do our best to find daily something that is, indeed, just lovely?

What kind of difference would it make in our days and what would our focus be, this way?
"What about today has been just lovely?"
                                                    
Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Emotional intelligence, Positive reinforcement, Focus

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Monday, November 13, 2023

Coaching Monday: Simply irresistible, because...

Today's question for Coaching Monday may look silly and yet it is pretty important and revealing.
The answer to it is for sure very personal and says a lot about us, what we like, what we value and find endearing, about our soft spots.

The answer to it is so personal that we may or may not feel comfortable sharing it with others at all, depending on their role in our lives and how we want to be seen, perceived, and considered.

Weekly question from life coach Azzurra Camoglio: "Who or what is simply irresistible to you, and why?"
[No matter what others would think of your answer, 
the most important part is the "why" attached to the question]

What matters is for us to be honest with ourselves about the answer, it doesn't matter whether we decide to share it with others or not, and to get curious about the why. Even if we think that we know ourselves well, discovering the "why" could be a big revelation.

"Who or what is simply irresistible to you, and why?"  
                                                    
Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, 

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Monday, November 6, 2023

Coaching Monday: Thinking ahead

Thinking ahead is important, but being able to be in the moment and reflect on the past is just as important.

We may want to be all in for playing the long game and to have as many steps as possible figured out as soon as possible... and yet finding a good balance between our thoughts on the future, the present, and the past is what can help us design the kind of life that will make us happy, thankful, and satisfied both short-term and long-term.

Weekly question from life coach Azzurra Camoglio: "How many steps ahead are you thinking right now?"
[How about three to five? You would prefer to have ten?
What's a good number for you?]

Thinking ahead is great, as long as we don't get lost in the process and forget about the present moment. 
"How many steps ahead are you thinking right now?" 
                                                    
Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Thinking ahead, Life design

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Monday, October 2, 2023

Coaching Monday: Something worth celebrating

Since Germany is celebrating one of its most meaningful national holidays this week, this Coaching Monday is dedicated to celebrations.

The big achievements need to be recognized as such and celebrated, sure thing, but what about the small ones that many people take for granted or brush off out of fear of being seen as someone bragging for no reason? 

Weekly question from life coach Azzurra Camoglio: "What in your life is worth celebrating?"
[The answer to this question is a very solid hint
to what matters the most to you: 
career, health, success, relationships, self-awareness, generosity...]

And what about the tiny ones and even the mistakes, the good days, the bad days, the daily baby steps that help us be who we want to be, even when we are not at our best but we are still doing our best to get there? 

Everything can be celebrated, and there is so much to be thankful for. Celebrating is not about showing off, it's about gratitude, humility, and hope.

"What in your life is worth celebrating?"        
                                
Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Celebrations, Thankfulness

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Monday, September 11, 2023

Coaching Monday: A different kind of jackpot

Today's question should be a no-brainer.
If we know the answer to this question and live by it, almost nothing will be impossible.

Weekly question by life coach Azzurra Camoglio: "What gives you strength when you are very tired?"
[What's your secret weapon
and show what you are truly made of,
even if you are dead tired?]
    
The days can be long and tiring.
Knowing what motivates and gives us strength is like winning the jackpot.

"What gives you strength when you are very tired?" 

Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Strength, Resilience

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Monday, August 7, 2023

Coaching Monday: Taking your gut feeling seriously

Many people (myself included) swear by it, others seem to doubt its existence and/or efficacy, and others would love to use it more for big and small decisions, but have lost the connection to it (or never had one to begin with).
We can call it "gut feeling", "instinct", "sixth sense", "or intuition", and come up with plenty of other names regularly. 

If you ask me, that happens when we were not taught to listen to it in the first place, or when for whatever reason we decided, at some point, that we could not trust our gut, or that decision-making is all about facts and figures and other elements are not relevant. 

Weekly question from life coach Azzurra Camoglio: "How often do you take your gut feeling seriously?"
[Your mileage may vary, but if you ask me,
the answer to this question should be: "Daily"]

And yet, I am sure that each of us said at least once in life: "I should have trusted my gut. Deep down, I knew that something was off, but I ignored it".

The good news is that we can always learn to trust our gut more, step by step, one decision at a time. It may require some effort, and that's okay.
The secret is creating new habits and reinforcing them consistently: taking our gut feeling into account before making a decision, asking ourselves how we feel about it, then taking the answer seriously and, if possible, acting on it. Decisions taken this way are very seldom the ones we end up regretting.


"How often do you take your gut feeling seriously?"   
                                                    
Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Gut feeling, Decision-making

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Monday, July 10, 2023

Coaching Monday: Those stories we love to tell

Someone asks us "Can you tell me the story of [blank, insert here what is relevant to you: your life, your career, your brand, your relationship, your summer holiday, your hobby, your adventures]?" and the magic can begin...

​The stories we tell again and again, those are the ones we remember and that shape not only our memories and our past but also our thoughts about ourselves and who we are, about others, and about the world we live in. 

Weekly question from life coach Azzurra Camoglio: "Which of your stories do you love to tell again and again?"
[Among my favorite stories: How I adopted my cat Kim,
my first winter in freezing cold Berlin, 
and how I learned to bake farinata like a pro]

Those stories, no matter the topic or circumstances, become a sort of invisible archive easily accessible to us, a mind palace that we keep visiting in order to share our stories with others, reflect on what happened before, understand what's happening now, and guess what is "therefore" going to happen next. 

We are the stories we tell, and those stories are our past, our present, and our future.  

"Which of your stories do you love to tell again and again?"   
                                                    
Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Personal storytelling, Personal brand

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Friday, June 16, 2023

Coaching Friday: Your life lessons

Happy Coaching Friday, stunning lifelong learners!
This week's question is about what learning is all about - creating a "before" and "after", two versions of ourselves before and after we truly learned something that may have a long-lasting impact on our lives. 

If you search for "teach someone a lesson", you will get over 49,000 entries on Google.
It may be a common figure of speech, but "teaching someone a lesson" would most probably not do anybody any good at all.

Weekly question from life coach Azzurra Camoglio: "What's the latest lesson you learned?"
[It may be a lesson about yourself, about others,
about life, about your relationships, about your boundaries...]

Punishing, belittling, or rebuking others is not the way to go if you want someone else to actually learn something, and that's not only true about others, it's also true about us.
Others cannot teach us a lesson because we truly learn only what we are open and willing to learn. There are no lessons to be "taught", but plenty of lessons to be learned and cherished.

"What's the latest lesson you learned?"             
                                                    
Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Life lessons, Self-improvement

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Friday, June 9, 2023

Coaching Friday: Performing under pressure

Happy Friday evening to everyone, amazing people!
Let's be honest for a minute: Being under pressure is often scary.

Being able to stay calm when the going gets tough? Having what it takes to think, to act in a meaningful way, and last but not least to perform well under pressure is not an easy thing to do.
And yet, most of the time, we can say afterward: "I did it". 
We make things work. We take things as they are, even when they are anything but perfect. We keep our cool and succeed, in our own way. 

Weekly question from life coach Azzurra Camoglio: "When was the last time you performed under pressure?"
[The last time you performed under pressure
you made yourself proud. It's great to celebrate it
and to remember it when you need it the most]

Some days the task is very scary, some days it's a little less scary, but most days we go for it anyway. Next time we're having a bad day, we should therefore ask ourselves: "When was the last time you performed under pressure?" 

As a nice reminder: 
Follow the Purple rabbit and read on »
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Friday, June 2, 2023

Coaching Friday: Your bucket list

Our first coaching Friday of the month is dedicated to a very fun, entertaining question that can help us know someone else better and also be quite useful in re-assessing our goals and desires on a regular basis.

The funny thing about bucket lists is... We all have (at least) one bucket list, it doesn't matter whether we are aware of it or not.
We can call it a bucket list, use other names for it, or just say things like "One day, when the time is right, I will [insert a dream/wish/desire/aspirational goal here]" without realizing that we are talking about something that is, for now, just an item on our bucket list.

Weekly question by life coach Azzurra Camoglio: "What's the biggest item on your bucket list?"
[It can be a travel destination, an experience, an activity,
a special item, a hobby, something else... You decide]

Our bucket list can be something we like to share with others on a regular basis, or it can be a pretty private matter or even something that we don't consciously focus on daily, but it's still always on our mind, running in the background and shaping our decisions. 

And yet, once in a while, we return to it and say "No matter what, I definitely want to [X]".
"What's the biggest item on your bucket list?"              
                                                    
Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Life design, Bucket list

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Friday, May 12, 2023

Coaching Friday: Saying NO as a life skill

For many people, saying NO feels very scary and difficult, so difficult that it may be almost impossible.
And yet, in a pretty interesting and revealing way, those are the people that would badly need to be able to say NO more often.

Knowing when to say yes is important, sure thing, but knowing when to say NO is just as important. Both saying yes and saying NO have to be in balance, they need to have a purpose, they should be seen as practical tools for designing our days and lives.

Weekly question by life coach Azzurra Camoglio: "What do your NO's say about you?"
[Saying NO often can create space for saying yes
to something that truly matters to you]

They also both say a lot about us as people, professionals, and social beings. 
"What do your NO's say about you?"                
                                                    
Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Saying NO, Boundaries

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Friday, May 5, 2023

Coaching Friday: Your best conversation for today

In order to be good or helpful, or even life-changing, conversations don't necessarily have to be tense, challenging, or scary.
Sometimes, the best conversations are the ones able to let us see things with new eyes in a fun, relaxing way.

"What was the best conversation you had today?"
[Change may happen in many shapes and forms,
quite often thanks to a valuable conversation]

Let's keep those coming, and be sure to cherish the person you had your best conversation of today with.
"What was the best conversation you had today?"

PS. And if you feel that today you didn't have a pleasant, insightful conversation yet, it's not too late!              
                                                    
Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Relationships, Positive communication

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Wednesday, April 19, 2023

The quote to keep in mind every time you need to keep calm and stay in control

When thinking about self-empowerment, self-awareness, and emotional agility, very few quotes can compare to this evergreen gem by Jim Rohn: 

Coaching quote selected by life coach Azzurra Camoglio: "Either you run the day, or the day runs you" by Jim Rohn
["Either you run the day, or the day runs you"
Well said, Jim Rohn!]

In a nutshell, you either are in control of your emotions, thoughts, and actions and go through the day accordingly, or you are going to be "controlled" by the day and by every possible external factor, distraction, and unrequested interaction that comes your way.

What's your daily strategy? How do you relate to this quote, if at all?        
                                                    
Tags: Coaching question, Self-coaching, Self-awareness, Self-reflection, Motivational quotes, Emotional intelligence

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