Boost your Positive Intelligence. Build core mental fitness skills.

Transformation

“Transformers, more than meets the eye.”

My brother loved watching The Transformers Saturday mornings in the 1980s. In an alternate universe, these “robots in disguise” fought epic battles with Optimus Prime as the leader representing Progress and Megatron representing Destruction.

Today, we live in Megatron’s universe. Destruction and its attendant, decline, appear everywhere. High-level proofs include the rise of authoritarianism, the devastation of our environment, and a dysfunctional society obsessed with image.

It doesn’t need to be this way.

Cycle of Life

Birth, growth, maturity, decline, death. Nature follows the cycle of life. For new life to blossom in the spring, nature accepts the dormancy of winter.

Humans live this grand “Cycle” too along with smaller “cycles” throughout our lives. We experience periods of dormancy and germination before fruition and harvest.

Often, growth happens as we exit one stage and enter another. Growth also happens through the inevitable hardships of life, the big and small traumas, as well as its joys, like babies and friendships.

Stagnation

Sometimes we resist these cycles. We cling to the current state – even if it no longer serves us – not realizing we’ve grabbed the downcurve not the upcurve. We maintain the false hope that if we close our eyes and cross our fingers, we’ll stay safe. Bored, maybe, but safe.

That’s a fallacy.

Safety can lead to stagnation. Resistance to the progression of life stops us from growing. In truth, we are always changing. Without that acknowledgement, we only get more of the same. Following the natural order requires expansion. “We must expand in order that we not contract.”1

Sameness becomes contraction over time because of the refusal to expand ourselves – to change. In our Megatron universe, that’s what’s happening: we’re contracting. Contracting doesn’t work. Things start to die anyway, despite our best efforts at “sameness.” The high-level proofs discussed above show the effects of contracting on a macro scale.

Transformation

All is not lost, however. Hope lives in the cycles of life. So does Optimus Prime.

The question is, “What’s next?” At this inflection point of humanity, we have a choice in how we respond.

Humanity has proven its ability to innovate, to change, to grow repeatedly. We will evolve once more.

It starts at the personal level. I must look within, identify who I am and who I want to be.

I want to be a change agent, an uplifter, for myself, my family, my friends, my clients, and the larger world around me. When I think of the entire world, though, I feel overwhelmed. So I start where I can, with myself. Look within then without.

The Parabola

In coaching, we call this process which visually looks like an upside-down parabola. We descend into the parabola, we release stuck energy, and then we invariably climb up the other side. Metaphorical death and rebirth.

Transformation requires cycling through all the stages of life, mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We get stuck when we don’t allow the natural progression from one stage to another. Something must “die” in order to experience “rebirth.” Without this process, transformation remains limited in scope.

1 Julia Cameron, Faith and Will

Butterfly Photo by Krzysztof Niewolny on Unsplash, Ripples Photo by Linus Nylund on Unsplash, Turning Point Photo by Roger Bradshaw on Unsplash, Crater Photo by Natanael Vieira on Unsplash, Chrysalis Photo by Nazrin Babashova on Unsplash

Be Gandhi

As Gandhi says, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Change starts with you. As you change from within, your outer world changes too. You don’t need to force it; it just happens. Imagine a world in which each of us undergoes this process of transformation. This is how we will change the world. One by one becomes many over time. Humanity has done it before; we can do it again.

You have to be open minded in order to grow. The coaching that Laura gave me opened my eyes to what and how I was doing things and allowed me to see the bigger picture. I am not done yet but I already see the changes in my everyday life.

MM

I think coaching is a great way to help you clear your mind when you get stuck with overwhelming situations or when stepping into changes in your life.

MO

Coaching is life changing. It pushes you outside your comfort zone and challenges your perspectives.  It is highly motivating and the exercises and techniques used are both fun and informative.  I think the main benefits of coaching are to see yourself, others and the world more clearly.  I think coaching is valuable to anyone regardless of where you are in your life or career.

LE

I honestly never thought I’d need a coach. I thought coaching was for CEOs and industry VIPs. I didn’t think it was for the “little guys” (i.e. me). Now, I’m of the belief that everyone – yes, EVERYONE – needs a coach. Coaching has really benefitted me and I’m so grateful to have had that time with Laura. It’s changed my life!

VB

Laura is very patient. She took the time to understand what was causing me to be stuck where I am today and help me build a better vision so I can continue to grow.

MM

I think Laura’s coaching was what I had been waiting for. Laura was so approachable, kind, and open. Her willingness to help and support made a difference for me. I found in her coaching new strategies, ideas, and perspectives that I could incorporate into my goals and objectives that I didn’t see before.

MO

Laura is an incredibly intuitive, positive and caring coach. Her techniques helped me recognize both my strengths and areas I might want to explore as I embark on the next chapter of my career. The exercises she employed were instrumental in providing self perspective and challenging my frames of reference.

LE

Laura is a natural coach. Her probing and compassionate questions helped me learn about myself: my value system, interests, goals and strengths.

LM

Coaching sessions with Laura gave me new perspectives on how to process specific feelings and situations in life.  She showed me how to sit with my emotions, acknowledge them, and then use visualization strategies to move through them.  I now feel more confident and in control of how I choose to walk through life.

CP

From the beginning, Laura put me at ease, creating a safe, open space for me to talk and share freely without fear of judgement. I loved the variety of approaches she used depending on the topic we were working on and it was fun being able to try out things I wouldn’t have considered before! With Laura’s coaching, I substantially grew my confidence in the workplace, overcame fears, dealt with issues I’d been carrying around for many years and, most importantly, learned to value myself and define a path forward into the future.

AG

Laura’s coaching was a breath of fresh air and EXACTLY what I needed at that point of my life. I didn’t realize how impactful coaching was going to be, but by the end of the sessions together, I left feeling refreshed, inspired and genuinely curious about what my future held for me. Because of Laura and her coaching, I believe I became a better person – someone who is more open-minded, someone with a clearer focus, and someone who is willing to explore opportunities and possibilities far more than I ever did before.

VB

I engaged Laura for coaching as I took on an expanded role leading an asset management company in Canada. As a female, I knew I would be a role model and had high expectations of myself. I was feeling overwhelmed and anxious.

In our first few coaching sessions we worked through exercises that allowed me to reflect on my purpose, leadership style and what mattered most to me. I continue to be grounded by the clarity I achieve in my coaching sessions – allowing me to be resilient and confident when challenges came my way.

OS