Episode #104: La rentrée for grownups
How are you preparing for your next season? Your next chapter? Is there something you want to build or create? In today’s episode, Sharri Harmel shares steps we can take to turn our thoughts and ideas into action. She also discusses how things like vision boards and accountability partners help us to move forward on our goals.
Resources and Links:
- Monica Michelle, BloomTV Network, https://bloomtvnetwork.com/
- Listen to Episode #91 Bloom TV Network with Monica Michelle, https://extraordinarywomenmagazine.com/blog/2022/06/13/bloom-tv-network-with-monica-michelle/
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Episode #104: La rentrée for grownups
I love fall. Maybe because my birthday is in October but even as a child, I loved nothing more than going to school and fall meant new books, new teachers, new pencils, new and exciting things to learn.
But like you, I’m now a grownup- significantly grown- maybe not always up!
Fall is still my favorite time of the year, and we are almost there.
Fall holds a special time for all living things…and whether a plant, a bird, or a human, as we all prepare for the coming winter. In many ways Fall is much more important than any new year celebrations.
In Paris Fall is the chestnut season and the Tuileries are loaded with chestnut trees. You’ll see chestnuts everywhere! Then there are the chestnut roasters. Every time I cross over the pedestrian bridge down the street from my apartment that takes me from the left back to the Tuileries on the right bank- I greet the smiling fellow selling roasted chestnuts. I love the smell of those roasted chestnuts. It is one of the best sensory reminders of the season and makes me want to wrap up in my cashmere scarves. It is Paris after all.
Plants stop growing in the fall and get themselves prepared for winter.
Birds start to think about migrating to a warmer climate and finding more abundant food sources. Often, we see them starting to gather in groups- aren’t you just sure they must be planning their voyage?
Kids get excited to see friends and in any school supplies shop or department, you’ll see parents with glazed eyes wandering around with lists in hand or cross-checking the list on their phones.
Then there are the fall foods….
Chefs start to present food that feels cozy and warming. Eggplant parmesan, courgette bread loafs for the freezer, soups start be re-entered out dinner plans.
Did I mention Starbucks and their fall love of everything pumpkin?
But what about you?
How are you preparing for your next season? Your next chapter?
As in all seasonal transitions, things start to shift and change long before the new season is actually official. We all feel we’re in winter long before the official start to winter on Dec. 21.
And just like the birds who are gathering together for their migration or plants going dormant to rejuvenate for the spring, shifting season always means there are things going on under the surface. Those feelings and emotions you have and the preparations you are thinking you’ll need to do, may not be obvious to the people around you, yet you are working on them in your head.
We humans are special beings. We can imagine things in our heads and then go out and build out the vision that previously were only thoughts in our heads.
We can even imagine an entirely different life, can’t we?
No other animal can do that.
Every other living thing besides humans, lives solely in the present or very near future. In the fall, they are responding to external triggers such as the shorter daylight hours, cooler temperatures, food sources dwindling….
All living things other than us humans, change behaviors solely based on what is happening in the present.
We humans have the gift to be able to plan and dream of things we might want to create.
What is it you want to build or create in this next season?
If you aren’t driving…. close your eyes and envision exactly what it is you really want.
Maybe it is a home that nurtures and inspires you. If so, you can see the color of the walls, the bookshelves, your favorite chair, your dining area.
Or maybe you want a solid relationship, whether with a friend, a child or a significant other. You can see yourself with them, having dinner, laughing, and talking about nothing and everything.
It might be a business of some kind that you have wanted to start or build. I bet you can imagine exactly what you’ll be doing in that business, who your clients would be, even how big that business dream could become!
Whatever it is, breathe in that idea, that vision. See yourself walking around inside the story of whatever it is that you really want to create. Imagine how you will feel, see yourself smiling and filled with excitement for the day.
That my dear friends are like an AI vision board!! Well sort of…but wouldn’t that be a fabulous application of AI?
But just like the Baltimore Oriole bird, who has to get to Florida for the winter, you need a plan.
First though, think about creating that vision board.
We’ve all done vision boards. I’ve heard both fabulous success stories and some that are so, so but give it a try. The difference might be around what you do AFTER you create the vision board.
Because however you choose to keep your vision, your dream, your plan in front of you…studies have proven that plans work.
Dr. Heidi Grant Halvorson, a researcher
Discovered that
deciding in advance WHERE and WHEN you’re going to take specific actions to realize your goals can actually double or triple your chances for success.
Sort of like that Baltimore Oriole, right?
If she sits around and doesn’t find her pals, enjoys the late summer and when the cold weather surprises her, the poor bird is going to struggle to get to Florida before she runs out of food and warmth.
Same for you and me. We have to plan, and that plan starts with a vision.
You all know how to create vision boards. If you don’t – go into the EW private FB group and ask for suggestions. Wonderfully resourceful group of women.
Basically you are taking everything you imagined when you closed your eyes and saw yourself walking around in your dream – and putting it on a poster or a Pinterest page. Personally, I love having something to touch- so I prefer paper vision boards. But go with what works for you.
In the old days we cut out photos out of magazines but now it’s easier to use google images or Pinterest- print them off and then arrange and glue onto a poster board.
Vision Boards are a little like scrap books but with a laser focus on what it is that you want to create- what kind of life you want to build.
Remember- consistency in reminding yourself WHERE and WHEN you’re going to take specific actions to realize your goals makes all the difference.
So every day- take a look at your vision board and let yourself walk into your goals and dreams.
Next- share what you want to create with someone you trust who has those big dreamer gifts.
For the October issue of the EW magazine, I interviewed Monica Michelle, the founder and CEO of the BloomTV network.
By the way, I’m the new host of the BloomTV podcast! Super exciting to be a part of Monica’s vision. In our magazine interview she talked about how she is a big thinker and yet, she has a business partner who is an off the chart visionary.
Monica shared how valuable it was to tap into that person’s gifts, because Bloom TV suddenly became a vision much bigger than if she hadn’t reached out for his feedback. People who are really big thinkers, great idea generators- absolutely love nothing more than to be in brainstorming sessions of big possibilities, you just have to ask. I know because I’m one of those people.
The BloomTV network vision is big- and it expanded when Monica sat down with someone who doesn’t see potential limitations.
Once you have your vision- Be brave and ask someone who has that BIG vision gift to meet and “play” with the potential visions around your idea.
Last- find an accountability partner or coach.
The American Society of Training and Development researched the value of having an accountability partner built into your plans and goals.
The results were astounding.
If you have someone who holds you accountable to do what you say you are going to do, the chances of you achieving your goals increases by 95%! Crazy right?
So accountability leads to achievement of goals, which almost ensures you will create or building whatever it is you want in your business or your life.
So let’s welcome in La Rentrée….and welcome in the fall season.
See your vision of what you want and put it on a vision board.
Share your vision with the biggest visionary thinker you know and let them help you to see how much bigger your vision and dream could become.
And finally, get an accountability partner.
I’m super excited for this new season, my favorite season.
Let’s together make our dreams happen.
À bientôt mes amis
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