About the Author:
Sherry Lowry is a Austin-based business coach who works nationally and
internationally with executives, managers, business owners, other coaches,
psychologists and therapists. She brings experience to her clients as a
founder and developer of 7 businesses, including one non-profit organization,
as a consultant and trainer, and professional mentor. Co-leading group
telecalls (via regular telephone connection) and telegroup series is a
speciality....with other field experts on corporate marketing, using public
speaking as a marketing tool, marketing with heart, and offers with Diane
Menendez special teleclasses for mental health professionals transitioning as
coaches. In 1996, Sherry founded and continues to host The Coaches’ Showcase,
a free theme-based telegroup exchange with some of the industry’s most
experienced coaches. Also useful is her online collection of The Lowry Notes -
free to the public at her WWW site. She holds two traditional graduate degrees
and has completed the Coach University curriculum. She is on the Board of
International Coach Federation and is a member of Professional Coaches’ and
Mentor’s Association and Texas Executive Women.
Contact info:
Sherry Lowry, MCC
Austin, Texas, USA
Ph: 512-527-0097
Email: sherry@sherrylowry.com
Web site: www.sherrylowry.com.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Tips in Leading the Seamless Life™
#4 - Meeting Your Needs
The SeamLess Life™ approach to life is one that will add meaningfulness to
your every day. The tip for the week to help you in your SeamLess Life™ quest
is both a recap and a set of suggestions.
A Need (such as for security, power, achievement or affiliation) -- when fully
met in life -- tends to set you free to be your best or do your best. A Value
-- when fully honored or lived through and expressed -- will help you become
increasingly creative and give you immense satisfaction and well-being.
Identify your Needs as basic needs or growth needs,
as Abraham Maslow, the
transformational psychologist, thought of them. Needs are something you
usually tend to meet by striving to gain something externally or by measuring
where you are vs how you want to be. You learn more about Needs by comparing
or noticing how you are doing in life against something outside you. This
usually also is outside your own complete control.
For example, you may measure your Need for approval by how often you are
complimented or acknowledged publicly. When that happens often enough, your
"approval Need" is filled sometimes even to capacity. At that point, it may
not be a Need at all for now. When it's filled for good your self-esteem is
sufficiently strong. That's when you are able to put the things in place in
your life to keep this particular Need from beginning to 'scream' and demand
again - possibly forever.
Maslow believed once a Need was at least 60% met it would set you free, so to
speak. Once this happens you could become interested in meeting a higher order
need. It's at this point The SeamLess Life™ begins to possibly gain your
interest as your Values begin to draw your attention.
Once you have secure shelter, enough food and a stable income, you may meet
your Need to be more responsible by taking a time-management class. That leads
you to develop the new habit of spending time with a calendar/organizer ten
minutes each morning -- which helps keep your need to be responsible met day
in and day out. Though it may be a good idea, that's probably NOT how you
would prioritize starting every day when you are out of work, can't pay your
rent this month and are hungry.
Needs are something that will tend to drive you until you understand and drive
and direct them. This is when you set up ways in your life to meet them more
effortlessly and less expensively. A helpful practice in your weekly review of
how your life is going is to ask yourself this question about each of the
Needs you have identified:
"Is the way I'm striving to fully meet this Need the easiest way, the most useful way for me?"
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About the Author:
Diane Menendez, Ph.D., is a business and personal success coach. She has been
coaching since 1983 when she began the High Performance Coaching process as an
internal staff coach at AT&T. Since 1988 she has coached more than 250
business executives in Fortune 100 companies and has provided leadership for
company-wide efforts in executive and leadership development. Menendez’s
special niche in executive coaching is providing support to leaders of rapidly
changing industries who are committed to transforming their personal
leadership styles. She has successfully transferred her skills to work
with entrepreneurs, other business owners, family owned business leadership,
and non-profit executives and their organizations. She created Results-Focused
Leadership Development, an intensive, creative and empowering process that
influences and inspires client to fully develop their leadership potential
while supporting their company’s mission and goals. Her passions are inspiring
the success of family business members, entrepreneurs and therapists and other
professionals in transition. Her www domain name, HeartDance.com, is an
expression of her belief that, “Our work can bring us joy as well as financial
rewards.” Yes, that’s what she means -- real joy, enough to make your heart
dance.
Contact info: HeartDance, Cincinnati, Ohio USA, 513-474-1137,
1-800-882-9383;
Email: diane@heartdance.com
Web Site:
www.heartdance.com
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You may find it's too expensive, too energy-requiring, or simply not time-
efficient for where you are now in your life vs where you may have been even
two or three weeks ago. You are growing and evolving. As you do, you will find
easier and more fulfilling ways to meet Needs. Once met even up to 60%, Needs
will then support you in setting new boundaries or more productive goals. When
a recurring Need again requires your attention, you can trust it to remind
you.
Needs are not optional -- they require being met. When you are doing this
insufficiently, a Need will begin to drive you to manipulate others, your
circumstances or environment, or even yourself. If you find yourself doing or
saying things unlike the real you -- things maybe that embarrass you a little
-- pay attention! That's a Need busy at work trying to get itself met in an
inappropriate way for you.
STOP, analyze what it is you really need or want, and develop a better plan
for arranging this. Then you will be able to be proud of how you take care of
yourself and you won't need these behaviors that don't work for you.
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