VA TIPS - Notes To Self
Posted on 12th December 2019 at 09:20
Collaboration over competition is a term that is thrown about a lot in the Virtual Assistant and Personal Development industry. It’s a mantra both Suzy Sanders at Alchemy Virtual Assistance and Charlotte Green at Specific Learning & Coaching wholeheartedly live by and when we had an opportunity to present collaboratively at a networking event, we jumped at the chance!
NOTE TO SELF – If you feel nervous about something, it’s a pretty good indication that you should go for it! The fear means it’s an opportunity to learn and grow.
“There is enough business to go around so embrace your competition, collaboration is liberating and fun.”
We received some wonderful feedback on our session, so much so we felt inclined to share our learnings and ideas wider and write a collective blog…
Charlotte is a Leadership Trainer and Certified NLP Practitioner and huge believer of what you think about, affecting how you feel and how you feel affecting how you behave. Putting that knowledge into practise consciously can be very difficult.
NOTE TO SELF - When we recognise that we are feeling overwhelmed and stressed – pause for a moment and find a solution.
Now, over to Charlotte…
“If you knew it all, life would be boring so who do you know that you can aspire to be like.”
NOTE TO SELF - What does being grounded or mindful really mean to me?
Often that pause comes in as a thought… “I must ground myself’ OR “I must be mindful” and we investigate what this looks like and often come up with a list of things we could do to change the situation around.
Very few of these ‘new’ thoughts, ideas or ‘to dos’ that we create for ourselves come naturally to us, because our common ‘natural’ state as business owners is often overwhelmed, busy and stressed.
Perhaps some of these thoughts resonate…
● I must eat more slowly
● I must mediate 3 times a week
● I am going to go outside for 30 mins daily
● I should start running
● I will not take my phone to the dinner table
● I should put my phone on silent
● Perhaps listening to whale music will sooth my busy mind
● I should go to the gym….
Phew, I am feeling a little pressured just reading and recognising in myself how this stuff makes me feel... are you?
NOTE TO SELF - Remember, what you think about affects how you feel.
Now over to Suzy...
I invited all attendees to do a simple, yet powerful exercise together. This is an exercise that I did myself recently and I wanted to share it as I found it quite profound and powerful.
We all wrote letters to our ‘future selves’… letters which will be posted back to us at some point next year.
I first completed this exercise last December and I received my letter in the spring. I had written a few personal reminders which being honest reduced me to tears…
One of my biggest challenges is making time for myself – I am a mum and I run a business. My business is centred around creating more time and headspace for other busy business owners, so I often allow myself to slip down the priority list.
So, when I received a letter, I’d written to myself asking if I was prioritising myself and reminding me why it was important… I got a bit emotional! Because I had got caught up in the busyness of life and forgotten.
Charlotte had given us all some wonderful ‘notes to self’ to help us with the imminent festive season. So, in writing letters to ourselves, we were going to preserve some of that awareness.
What are the things you’d like to tell your future self?
What do you need to be aware of and that will benefit you into the new year and beyond?
Some attendees where brave enough to share that they found it a little difficult or uncomfortable and I can understand why. We’re not often challenged to speak to ourselves mindfully in this way.
Now, I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions (and I know Charlotte agrees) - they’re yet another way of putting way too much pressure on ourselves. However, we used our letters to set some intentions, to ask ourselves some poignant questions and remind ourselves of what’s truly important.
NOTE TO SELF - Take learnings from 2019 as opportunities to improve and have a successful 2020.
We will end this post with a few ‘Dear Future Self’ letters to inspire you…
If you’d like to explore having Alchemy Virtual Assistance or Specific Learning and Coaching speak at your next event, please reach out.
Suzy Sanders – hello@alchemyva.co.uk - 01604 312195
Charlotte Green – Charlotte.Specific@gmail.com - 07954 179010
Dear Future Self,
Everything that has happened has lead you to this moment. Don’t change a thing. Everything worked out exactly as it should be. All the puzzle pieces fit, all the paths make sense. All the people were meant to be. All the successes and failures and heartwarming and heartbreaking moments were all worth it. No regrets. You were and are and have been and always will be yourself, and that’s what matters above all.
Dear Future Self,
Hey girl, slow down for a second - I have some things I want to share.
Some stuff is going to happen to you. You won’t be able to plan for it, pencil it in your schedule for when is good for you, or always have someone pick up the phone to guide you through it. You’re going to have to just roll with the flow, take it in, glean lessons from it, and then carry on, head held high. Maybe journal on it—sometimes insights don’t come quick, but there’s something positive to be found from most experiences in life. Focus on that.
About Specific Learning and Coaching:
Charlotte Green and Lindsey Marriott met at a networking event and discovered a strong synergy. It was clear that their skills and experience would complement each other, and they decided to stop trading independently, collaborate and set up a joint business.
Lindsey is a customer service specialist and worked to help improve customer journeys and transform their organisations through customer and employee feedback. Lindsey worked closely with leadership teams to implement and cascade positive change. TheREAPNetwork, an online, real-time survey software created and launched by Lindsey last year provides valuable diagnostics and this forms part of the Specific process.
Charlotte is a business operations specialist and worked in businesses to streamline processes and provide leaders with support and structure to manage people and process in high volume environments. As a qualified neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) practitioner Charlotte worked with leaders and teams to change mindset and business cultures to improve operational effectiveness and customer outcomes.
Together they offer Specific solutions to businesses, including their unique REAP diagnostic tool. They offer blended learning and coaching solutions including online, face to face and via Skype & Zoom Rooms. No project is too small or too big for the Specific Team.
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