Have you ever been stuck? Like really stuck where you can not think your way through what you are trying to solve, racking your mind for the next creative burst and nothing comes?

Me TOO! I think we all have and I have a little trick that I have learned that I want to share with you today. 

I will give you a hint, I am doing it right now. I am demonstrating this right now by writing on a a topic that is totally left field to what I have been sharing about.

The awesome move I am talking about is called "Pattern Interrupt."

Choosing to interrupt a pattern is one of the many skills that my Emotional Intelligence mentor, Kathlyn Hendricks has taught me.  Here is how it goes… when you notice you are stuck, in any way… change one thing. 

Simple, I know, and, when practiced over time yields profound results. 

Here is why this is a magical process... 

When I interrupt myself and go in a completely different direction then my brain or body was going, I naturally begin creating a new muscle where there was not one before. I create  unfamiliarity, causing my brain and body to act differently and creates innovation by doing. 

Just like a seasoned weight lifter changes their routines to create muscle confusion, same rule applies to the way we do other things. What kind of things? Anything… find yourself stuck on a project at your computer, change one thing about the way you or sitting, or go for a five minute walk.  Having trouble sleeping through the night, change the side of the bed you are sleeping on and the fragrance of the room by defusing an essential oil into the air.  Hitting a plateau on a project? Do something radically different like go for a hike instead of work one morning. 

The purpose is to create just enough confusion to bring you back to a place of clarity, a new place where whatever emerges is the new idea, and it usually comes to you while you are moving instead of while you are sitting and thinking. 

If you are in any type of leadership role, which I believe everyone on the planet is, this is a wonderful practice to try and role model.  By YOU becoming uncomfortable with the unknown it creates a confidence within yourself.

Be unconventional, try something NEW, interrupt your patterns in favor of not getting stuck.  Because after all, everything we do is interrelated, how you do one thing is how you do EVERYTHING.  If that is the case, choose different, choose new, choose discomfort in favor or learning what it is like to bend and flex in new ways.  

So give it a try, go into the unknown in favor of growing into your true capabilities and please, let me know how it goes! I LOVE talking about the BIG LEAPS people are taking. Get after it ;-)

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Lindsey Rainwater, also known as Lindsey RainH2O, is a sought-after business consultant, leadership coach, writer and presenter to the fitness and wellness industry. For more information about Rainwater, follow her on Twitter@LindseyRainH2O

The Unarguable truth and the Arguable truth.  What's the difference and why does it matter? It matters because this is another one of those skills that generates MORE energy and aliveness when done consistently. 

Authentic (unarguable) speaking is about telling the truth versus concealing.

Instead of telling the truth, a typical way of communicating is to withhold, withdraw and then project.   When we withhold information, concealing what is true, it begins to eat away at us. As the withholding goes on, withdrawing starts to occur and you begin avoiding the person you are concealing the truth from.  And then, the story telling, or a projection of what you think might be going on starts to occur, creating an impenetrable amount of space between the relationship.

If you are interested in trying a new way of communicating, one that is authentic/unarguable and generates more energy, there is a super easy way to begin playing with your articulation and arrangements of how you are feeling/doing etc. 

The three F's to speaking authentically/unarguably:

FACTS! We all love a good story except that the story can easily get out of hand and be a long way from the truth.  An easy way to clean up your communication is to speak facts, what actually happened, "I went to lunch with Susan".  It can be easy to take one small fact and create a whole story! AND while that can be fun, it also is a fast track to speaking in an arguable way.  Stick to the facts versus concealing/exaggerating what happened. 

FEELINGS! Just like facts, stick to what is real. A feeling is not a thought, "I feel like you ruined my whole life", is not an accurate description of how you are feeling.  Speaking about feelings sounds like, "I feel really angry about being in relationship with you".  When speaking about feelings it is best to stick to the core ones, anger, sadness, fear, sexual attraction and joy. 

FANTASIES! What do I mean by that? Well, just what you might think! Where is your imagination taking you and are you talking about it? Fantasies could be as elaborate as "I am imagining us creating a new product for our company and I want to share with you about it" or in an intimate relationship sharing about a dream vacation.  Sharing fantasies deepens relationships and creates more emotional intimacy.

The next time you find yourself withholding information and speaking in an arguable way, remember the three F's and see if you can create a new experience for yourself.  You'll know if you're not speaking authentically/unarguably, because you will feel uncomfortable around the person you are tangled up with.

Happy Communicating!

All content is my writing inspired by the integrity skills via Gay and Katie Hendricks, for more information click here. 

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Lindsey Rainwater is an experienced consultant and coach  to the fitness and wellness industry.  She specializes in business development and leadership. Currently she is working with the Fitmarc Team helping Health Club owners all over the south central region of the united states propel their business forward via group exercise solutions.  For more information about Lindsey, follow her @lindseyrainh2o

Two weeks ago I wrote about Emotional Intelligence, if you missed it click here to read the post.  

Once an understanding is reached about Emotional Intelligence, the next step in peeling the onion is moving from awareness and into action.  If being emotionally intelligent means that we understand our emotions, then how do we go about doing that, literally? 

When feeling happy, sad, angry, fearful or sexual sensations, what happens next? 

This weekend I began to read a new book, The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership a new paradigm for sustainable success. I was reminded of the topic of feeling our feelings and I really love the way they broke it down. 

What are you feeling right now?

Discerning between thoughts and feelings and locating the feelings in your body to best describe your experience. 

 "The core emotions show up in certain regions of the body.  For example, fear often manifests as a sensation in the belly (like butterflies inhale stomach), whereas anger appears in the back, shoulders, neck and jaw, as well as down the arms to the hands.  We typically experience sadness as a sensation in the heart area, the front of the throat and face, and in the eyes.  Joy is often experienced as a rising, effervescent sensation in the core of the body or up the spine, and sexual feelings are typically experiences as tingling sensations in the erogenous zones... Learning these emotional zones of the body can be a shortcut to emotional maturity.  When you feel a sensation in one of those areas, check to see if the corresponding emotion is present.  Let the body lead your awareness." -The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership 

The most genius fact about your feelings in connection to your body is that it is all connected.  We feel feelings and think thoughts and our body shares with our minds how the feeling is showing up so that we can send our attention towards the sensation.  Powerful stuff when you really think about it.

Here is an example from my own life.  When I am not traveling I work from my computer a lot and I often notice that my shoulders and upper back can start to ache.  When I recognize that sensation and check in with my thoughts, add breath and ask myself what am I feeling, typically something has me feeling angry.  My upper back and neck do not just start independently aching, there is a reason I created that sensation. Not always is there a big "thing" to be undone, it could be as simple as too many notifications are dinging, creating irritability while focused.  The point being, when I bring my sensitive awareness to what I am experiencing my energy is refreshed.

My invitation this week is when you find yourself feeling achy or feeling a feeling, check in and ask yourself; where is the feeling landing in your body? 

There is so much to be discussed on this topic and I just barely skimmed the surface.  Please check out The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership or Kathlyn and Gay Hendricks live workshops to learn more about your feelings and the body's intelligence. 

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Lindsey Rainwater is an experienced consultant and coach  to the fitness and wellness industry.  She specializes in business development and leadership. Currently she is working with the Fitmarc Team helping club owners all over the south central region of the united states propel their business forward via group exercise solutions.  For more information about lindsey, follow her @lindseyrainh2o 

Do you get stuck when working on an important task?

Most of the time when I “get stuck” it is because I have lost interest in what I am working on, this happens for a variety of reasons, sometimes due to a lack of energy, concentration and possibly frustration.  I have created a tool called the reset button, combining many different tactics I have learned over the years, I am sharing it with you because when I use it consistently, not only does my productivity go through the roof, I have way more fun! Hitting the reset button allows you to renew your energy throughout the day instead of crashing when you get stuck.

Start by asking yourself if you are willing to shift from Stuck to unstuck?

Seems like an obvious question, but you would be surprised how many people enjoy being stuck.  Being stuck allows you to continue to feel sorry for yourself and not make any changes.  If you want to stay stuck, do not engage in this activity, because if you do… you are going to have a really hard time feeling bad let alone stay stuck. 

Here are the moves; I designed them after my favorite Hendricks mantra “ Breathe, Move, Love” and in combination with tools I have learned from Katie Hendricks. 

Breathe

Stand up at your desk or wherever you are working, take 3-8 full belly inhales and exhales.  Full belly breathes, most of us breathe in and out only accessing our breath through our chest. We spend the majority of our time using what I like to call “keep me alive” breathes, we don’t think about it, we just breathe.  Bringing our breath from our toes to our foreheads creates lots of energy!  Feel the breath fill your belly, come out of your nose and bring oxygen swirling into your mind.   On the inhale appreciate yourself for taking the time to reset and on the exhale appreciate a person in your life you love.  

Move

Something truly magical happens when we move our bodies, when we move we create a stream of aliveness that runs through our whole body.  We find it necessary to think less and enjoy more.  You know this principle from exercise.  Finding unique ways to move your body that are nurturing to you is the key to generating more aliveness into your body and switching your energy from left to right brain.   One of my favorite ways to move my body during my work day is to wiggle!  While I am standing after I breathe, I wiggle my fingers, toes, knees, neck, torso, and jaw.  I find the jaw to be the most important, I hold a ton of tension in my face and usually until I move it, do I realize what was hanging out in those muscles.   

Love

Caring is sharing!  When something happens to us we love to tell others about it, talking amongst ourselves is a point of connectivity and generates lots of energy!  Once you have taken 3-8 breaths, moved your body and start to feel more alive, go tell someone about it! If you work with other people, go share with a co-worker what you experienced shifting from stuck to unstuck, celebrate with them!  It does not have to stop there, text a loved one, tell your Facebook family how good you feel unstuck.  The important principle of this step is to share and celebrate your experience; it takes the attention off of you and puts it on something else.

After you have engaged in this activity, which only takes about one to two minutes, go back to the task that you were working on with a fresh set of eyes.  I would imagine you find you are able to work with ease and get much more accomplished in a shorter amount of time.  The impact of resetting your day when you are stuck will allow you to renew your energy throughout the day instead of wasting energy staying stuck.   All you have to remember is Breathe, Move, Love!

Let me know, Lindsey Rainwater how this experience of Breathing, moving and loving works for you. 

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Lindsey Rainwater is an experienced consultant and coach  to the fitness and wellness industry.  She specializes in business development and leadership. Currently she is working with the Fitmarc Team helping club owners all over the south central region of the united states propel their business forward via group exercise solutions.  For more information about lindsey, follow her @lindseyrainh2o 

Do you find yourself doing more than one thing at a time?

I recently heard one of my favorite people, Katie Hendricks say "I can do what I am doing, because it's all I'm doing". That struck me in that moment, she was coaching one of my peers and what she meant in that moment was that she was fully present and paying attention to what was going on in that moment, nothing else was happening in her mind. She was able to be the most effective because she was literally only processing one thing at a time.

Since that moment I have been thinking about the concept of multitasking, and evaluating how often I do more than one thing at at time.

The outcome... I am a multitasking junkie! I simultaneously do many things at one time, almost constantly.

I did some research and I want to share with you what I found on the subject, does multitasking work, or are you hurting yourself by playing along with this addictive way of conducting your time?

The answer, NO! Multitasking is wildly ineffective. My favorite article that I found on the subject was one featured in Forbes magazine.

Douglas Merrill speaks on the subject below in the article : Why multitasking doesn't work:

Unfortunately, our brains just aren’t equipped for multitasking tasks that do require brainpower. Our short-term memories can only store between five and nine things at once.

When you’re trying to accomplish two dissimilar tasks, each one requiring some level of consideration and attention, multitasking falls apart. Your brain just can’t take in and process two simultaneous, separate streams of information and encode them fully into short-term memory.

When information doesn’t make it into short-term memory, it can’t be transferred into long-term memory for recall later.

If you can’t recall it, you can’t use it. And, presumably, you are trying to learn something from whatever you are doing, right? Instead of actually helping you, multitasking works against you. It’s making you less efficient, not more.

Here is what I have concluded:

My iphone is a large contributor to my addiction to multitasking, I can complete anything, almost anywhere while doing other things. I am guilty of doing this almost constantly unless I am engaged in direct conversation face to face. The action I am taking?

I am going on a multitasking diet, and I am inviting you to join me!

Multitasking is a direct line to adrenaline, largely driven by fear and I have decided to interrupt the pattern to see if I can actually accomplish more, by doing less at a time.

My plan is to write a follow up to this in one month to let you know how it worked.

Are you like me? are you addicted to doing more than one thing at a time? Try bringing this topic into your awareness today, you might be surprised how many simultaneous activities you are engaged in at one time.

Good luck streamlining your tasking!

-Lindsey

Lindsey RainwaterLindsey Rainwater is an experienced consultant and coach to the fitness and wellness industry. She specializes in business development and leadership. Currently she is working with the Fitmarc Team helping club owners all over the south central region of the united states propel their business forward via group exercise solutions. For more information about lindsey, follow her @lindseyrainh2o