A pain in the neck!

Posted on 22. Jul, 2011 by Susan Wright in Life Coaching, Personal and Professional Development

Literally I was in the midst of stretching and yawning at the same time while warming up a cup of coffee and snap – the pain in my neck came back with a vengeance! Over the years, I’ve suffered from the occasional muscle-skeletal flare up from my active lifestyle pursuits and as the familiar story goes – when we neglect the maintenance plan, then usually something breaks down.  Our body, mind, and spirit really doesn’t like to be neglected and just like a car breakdown – we can end up with a pain in the neck!

Often we get subtle reminders and either disregard them or pay attention. The interpretation of these warnings may lead us in a proactive way or potentially a less than optimal way.  The connection between mind, body, spirit gets interesting as who’s to know with total certainty which informs the other, and what subtle message to listen to and act upon.  We are whole-beings and when we start to dissect and seek out the one possible cause for our pain, well, we simply miss the sum of our existence! Before we know it, we become part of the band-aid approach to life and run into a series of breakdowns and misguided actions.

If I really get clear about what’s going on with my life, I’m sure to recognize there’s a multitude of factors contributing to the instability of my well-being. Building stability in our lives and the foundations in which we work and play are essential. I think this is partly how organizations and people run a muck in everyday life. We don’t necessarily pay attention to the stabilizing factors in our environment, our bodies, our psychology, and culture.

People generally have good intentions like: exercising on a regular basis, communicating more effectively, creating positive work environments; but on the contrary, don’t attend to the development and nurturing of the systems that support healthy, positive, and sustainable outcomes.  Listening is essential and reminded, when we talk less and listen more the ability to generate better solutions and yield better outcomes is magnified. In fact, Daniel Pink, best-selling author of A Whole New Mind, has a new credential for it: “The Four Word-MBA”

So to bring this back to a personal note (hopefully one that you can relate): clearly I wasn’t paying attention to my wiser self that said, make a maintenance appointment with my massage therapist. Good thing I have the resources and people in place to get back on track, and for that I’m truly grateful! Whether it’s in our personal lives or within the organizations we work, it’s worthwhile to check in, listen, and bring a whole perspective to maintaining strength and stability.

Tags: life & business, listening, Mind Body Spirit, perspective, well-being