A Powerful Now

Sometimes when you experience a Powerful Now, time seems to stand still. We feel to be out of time and space. This is the moment of awakening, insight, Eureka, innovation.

Creative Change happens one thought at a time. It's the same as saying transformation happens one thought at a time.

I love the idea in the Abraham-Hicks books that with every thought reach for a better feeling thought. We have an internal guidance system in our emotions which feeds back to us through feelings of ease or dis-ease whether we are reaching for a better-feeling thought or not.

Frequently, we choose to be in our comfort zones in our thinking. We choose habitual thoughts and of course this is okay. Some of us habitually choose more powerful thoughts than others, and practice this until it becomes a flowful habit, flowing harmonious thoughts from one moment to the next.

We can also decide to play a game, a transformational game by ourselves, as we nudge a thought into an even more powerful direction. We choose to embrace expansion of our awareness and increased feelings of harmony and confidence.

Thus we embrace our resourceful states and stretch it to an even greater appreciation of this resourceful state. Embrace your strengths. Appreciation makes the difference. Of course NLP has some superb methodology that will help you achieve this in just a few minutes.

I was able to powerfully increase a participant's confidence in 2 minutes and 1 (to appreciate the transformation). This was all done in a room of 100 people, in groups of three, making a lot of noise.

"Every time you wink the stars move" Emerson

One-Minute Coach

While I was at a 2 day coaching seminar, I discussed my strategy for giving my book Passion to Performance more body. My initial thoughts in writing my book was to provide a training manual/ workbook for running workshops, one on one coaching and even self-coaching.

My thought was to provide good research and background info and keep it primarily experiential.

At the end of the seminar, 2 people won coaching manuals. I started thinking - that was the idea of my book, I should have put the word manual or workbook on the cover so I don't have to explain this.

One thought led to another, like it usually does, and I thought, well I could repackage it even as a blog and call it "one minute coach". After all, transformation happens one thought at a time, for practical purposes say one minute at a time. Then it occurred to me that I like the sound of "10-minute coach" even more. I could coach somebody anywhere, even on the run or in a coffee shop or park while walking. Two times five minutes is also a powerful number. Of course clients can self-coach or use my book and even weblogs to the same effect.

Just imagine if you opened an inspiring book in a bookshop, picked up an idea (whether a quotation, a story, five lines, a page, whatever). You then spent 5 to 10 minutes thinking only on this (in an experiential way). Even this thought can transform the way you perceive time and energy investment.

To make a long story short, I won't be calling myself a one minute coach. I also won't be calling myself a ten minute coach. Why not? A simple search with google , will answer this.

You can still experience transformation in 1 minute or 5 or 10, by simply checking out coaching websites and weblogs.

GROW SMART in coaching

I am currently attending a two-day coaching course. A primary model of coaching used is the GROW model. Grow is used to enable the client to set goals and move action. The model guides the coach who asks the client a series of questions corresponding with each of the letter of this acronym. While there are slight variations the general idea is as follows:

• G - Goals - What specifically do you want?
• R - Reality - What have you done so far?
• O - Options - What are some of the things you could do...?
• W - Will - What actions could you take in the next 48 hours...?

Each of the steps involves asking multiple open-ended and/or directional (focusing) questions. These questions incorporate enabling the client to clarify very specifically what he wants, resources, obstacles, multiple options, and well as checking client commitment and motivation. There is an abundance of information on the net on this model.

Another model used is the SMART model. Again there are many variations. The model can be used in a similar way to the GROW model. Generally the idea is as follows:

• S - Specific - What specifically do you want?
• M - Measurable - How will you know when you have achieved this?
• A - Achievable - What similar goals have you achieved up until now?
• R - Realistic - What resources do you have that will help you...?
• T - Timed - By when do you want to achieve this?

There are many obvious parallels between the two models. And again, one can change any of the key words, e.g. T for take action and incorporate the "timed" part in one of the other steps such as "measurable". Anything to make the model more suitable and effective.

In my book, Passion to Performance*, I explain in more detail how this can be done. Any of these models can be seen as a starting point and be expanded later on in the process. My first level expansion of SMART is SMARTEST. The -EST extends the process so the client is better able to apply it.

• E - Ecological - What are the benefits to myself and others...?
• S - State - What needs to happen for you to feel more confident about this step?
• T - Take Immediate Action - What can you do right now towards making this happen?

*Passion to Performance, Bakker Aneesah, 2007, Trafford Publishing, ISBN 142511689-2,

If you found this article interesting, you might also be interested in this article I wrote for the Association for Coaching, Spring 2007 Bulletin:

http://www.associationforcoaching.com/pub/ACB0705.pdf

where I discuss and give more examples of specific questions in this goal management process.

Possibility Thinking Knol

I have posted my knol on "Possibility Thinking - explore, play, appreciate".

You can do a search on possibility thinking or go to:
http://knol.google.com/k/aneesah-bakker/possibility-thinking-explore-play/uzzgne17cdi/12#

I offer an insight into how to apply this form of creative thinking in simple, accessible steps. Whether you just want to have fun, train your brain, enrich your experience, solve specific problems, create new ideas, brand a product and so much more - you could find that the possibilities are unlimited!

Just focusing on a few words, e.g. choose three objects in a room. Play around with them in your imagination - make them bigger, animate them, put them on a screen, turn them upside down and even make them flexible. This little game can help you feel more confident and even enable you to reclaim your personal power in a situation where there is some dis-ease.

This is a popular and very effective technique used in NLP (neuro-linguistic programming). To find out more, search my other knols on NLP.

Explore, Play, Appreciate

Having written many academic and non-academic articles on Creativity and the stages of creativity, I am now working on making this topic more interesting and accessible to people of all ages and all walks of life.

I have written extensively on I-VOLUTION where I explain the 7 stages in creative thinking. These are:

1. Interest, Initialisation, Introduction
2. Interaction
3. Immersion
4. Incubation
5. INSIGHT, innovation
6. Integration (personal level or specific area)
7. Integration (globally)

Through experience in coaching and consulting, I have come to condense these stages into 3 steps. These are:

1. Explore
2. Play
3. Appreciate

I have found this new Creative Thinking Model can hold and transmit more information in less time - it's more efficient, effective and versatile.

I am currently writing a knol with the title "Possibility Thinking - explore, play, appreciate" to present a simple, fun and valuable exercise with wide application.

Passion to Performance

I am so passionate about the subject of using creative thinking to embrace your passions/potential and to drive this passion to performance that I authored the book "Passion to Performance - A Formula for Self-Mastery".

P2P takes you from the very depths of your passions to successful performance and personally fulfilling outcomes.

The experiential exercises are presented in three phases:

• Find your Passion
• Create Passion-Driven Goals
• Cultivate a Resourceful State

Passion to Performance was published in 2007 by Trafford Publishers. While the foundational thinking remains the same, the ideas have evolved with my experience and practice. Passion to Performance, I now also refer to as Essence to Presence. I encourage clients and workshop participants to personalise this and they come up with interesting credos, e.g. Design to Delivery, Mind to Matter, etc.

The latest evolution of this concept and the three phases above is "Explore, Play, Appreciate". This is a natural evolution that I believe is congruent with changes I have noticed in Universal Thinking.

Change happens... Creative Change needs a helping hand

We all have learned and habitual ways of dealing with change. I propose a conscious awareness, a continual learning and application of creative thinking as a habitual way of living and being.

At its most simplistic level, I would define creative thinking as simply thinking. I agree with the adage that "A man is what he thinks about all day long".

We cannot not think. We can choose what we think about and how we think about these things. In other words, we can choose what to focus our attention on and how to focus this attention. You may have heard the saying "Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so." I believe creative thinking is a way to see opportunity where opportunity seems not to be. Creative thinking creates options and opportunity where the driving intention is a desire to grow and expand one's potential.

We have unlimited creative potential and we can consciously choose and develop our own unique ways to drive our thinking and our creation and experiencing of our own personal reality.

To this end, I consciously look at ways in which creative thinking can be applied.

Life goes on... more creatively

The only constant in life is change. We have the choice and the creative potential to consciously embrace these changes creating successful and life-enriching experiences.

We all want to feel success and mastery in our lives and we all have the potential to achieve this.

Creativity workshops and coaching enables my clients to keep their focus on the things they want and off the things they do not want. I encourage a creative life-enhancing approach to the challenges my clients meet in the face of change.

Creative Connections is based on the assumption that focus is everything. Focus refers to the focusing of one's attention. Another popular term for this is consciousness or conscious attention. This concept can be taken from the one end of the spectrum where we speak of a simple thinking process to the other end of the spectrum where the more esoteric concept of creative consciousness is used.

Creative Change Coaching

My name is Aneesah Bakker and I am a Creativity and Transition Coach.

I coach individuals and groups on sourcing and using their creative potential for

• personal and professional writing - books, presentations, journalling...
• painting, drawing, doodling
• creative visualisation - using the imagination to visualise outcomes
• discovering their passions, strengths, talents...
• goal management
• creating change in their personal and professional life
• mastering change (loss, bereavement, expatriation, etc.) so it becomes a life-enriching transformation

As a professionally qualified Life Coach, Trainer and Consultant, my clients include artists, CEOs, company directors, medical specialists and other coaches.

In a nutshell, my collaboration is as a positive and tranformational coach.