COMPOSE YOUR LIFE Coaching  …   February 2010 Newsletter           CONTENTS 1)      A NEW MINDSET FOR A NEW DECADE 2)      ADULT LEARNING, or “CRACKING THE COGNITIVE EGG” 3)      QUOTABLE QUOTES 4)      COACHING WITH VALERIE   A NEW MINDSET FOR A NEW DECADE   As I sit down to write this month’s newsletter, I am feeling charged with many energizing ideas that I’m bursting to share with you.  Last month we set our intentions for the New Year and some of us made firm resolutions; already it is possible to discern just how the year is getting into gear.  So what, if anything, has changed so far in this New Year? In this second decade of the 21st century, the old mindset of focusing upon problems and working on solutions is dissolving. As we move forward to embrace the future with inspiration, there is a growing sense of excitement about playing with purpose and creating possibilities. Partnering with a coach no longer signifies an intervention for problems, but rather it is a powerful and effective way to clarify values and integrate steps to create joyful possibilities in one’s own life. It is also a way of overcoming the outmoded “Lone Ranger” mentality of the past, of creating a support system to enable forward motion; it is a way of saying “yes” to responsibly effecting positive change.  Embarking upon this path is significant, entailing a marked shift of energy from resisting what one doesn’t want to identifying and going towards what one truly values. Collaborating with a coach entails dropping self-imposed limitations, accepting accountability for one’s actions and embracing the success of aligning one’s passions, potential and greatest contribution to the world. Just imagine – what might success look like for you in adding a coach to your trusted inner circle? ADULT LEARNING, or “CRACKING THE COGNITIVE EGG”   It is a well-known fact that our aging population is getting bigger and is living longer – and we are all heading in that direction! Consequently, over the past decade neuroscientists have looked deeper into how brains age. Despite the fact that neural connections (responsible for receiving, processing and transmitting information) can weaken with disuse or age, it has now been established that they also continue to develop through and beyond middle age. Recently, researchers have found even more positive news. As the brain reaches middle age, it gets better at recognizing the overarching patterns of the “big picture”.  With proper maintenance, the brain can continue to build pathways and find solutions even faster than a young person can.  So what are some of the key elements for adults in keeping brain connections in good condition and growing more of them? According to Dr. Kathleen Taylor, a professor at St. Mary’s College of California, adult learners should “jiggle their synapses a bit” by confronting thoughts that are contrary to their own. Challenging familiar assumptions (rather than simply learning new facts) is therefore an effective way to tune up and nourish the brain. “There’s a place for information,” Dr. Taylor says. “We need to know stuff. But we need to move beyond that and challenge our perception of the world … We have to crack the cognitive egg and scramble it up. And if you learn something this way, when you think of it again you’ll have an overlay of complexity you didn’t have before — and help your brain keep developing as well.” The implications of this upon the future of both our collective brain health and the coaching profession are astounding. Coaching conversations typically include technologies which encourage the client to see multiple perspectives and entertain varying viewpoints; such mechanisms encourage the reframing of ideas and the alignment of core values and actions. By reflecting critically upon the body of acquired assumptions, adults can once again access hidden layers of knowledge and resources. With the support and assistance of a coach who is trained to ask powerful questions, clients can reorient themselves and tap into their own innate genius and success while continuing to grow their brains. If you would like to learn more about this, keep your eyes open in April for the publication of “The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain” by Barbara Strauch. QUOTABLE QUOTES:   Our truest life is when we are in our dreams awake. If you advance confidently in the direction of your own dreams and endeavor to live the life which you have imagined, you will meet with success unexpected in common hours.                                                              Henry David Thoreau  People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success.                                                                Norman Vincent Peale                                                                                       Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.                                   Thomas Edison     Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success.                                                                                    Albert Schweitzer   The important thing is not to stop questioning.           Albert Einstein                                                                                                                                              COACHING WITH VALERIE:         So how are you coming along with cracking your cognitive egg?? If you need help translating your ideas and resolutions into actions and results, please contact me at (514) 318.8792 or at info@ComposeYourLife.ca for a complimentary consultation. I'd love to offer you to a taste of what coaching can do in your life and help you create the outcomes you long for!    Please pass the word around and feel free to send this newsletter, or part of it, to anyone you like. Just add this: "Reproduced from Valerie Legge’s Compose Your Life coaching newsletter. To subscribe or find out more about Valerie's personal life coaching, visit http://www.ComposeYourLife.ca."