How can we be at ease in the Unknown?

What scares us the most is indeed the Unknown, this shapeless nothingness that makes us fear the worst. To be ready for all possibilities, we then imagine the worst and exhaust ourselves in strategies to be prepared. And when Life does surprise us (Covid19,...), we are helpless!

But how can we foresee everything? How can we prepare ourselves for something that we can't foresee? By reflex we try to keep control. Innocently, we set up dams to stem the flow of new things and limit overflows. What if the problem were the dam itself? Indeed, are there overflows when there is no dam?

I offer you an innovative approach to deal with changes in an agile way and experience the "flow" on a daily basis.

You used to be “very well prepared”. You learn to be “very present” in order to catch the wind that will bring you where you want to go.

What is Performance?

A financial product performs better than others if it generates higher returns. Its remarkable performance makes the difference. But what is Performance when it comes to us? Our Performance is the Results we get per unit of time. And the Result is the Impact, what makes the difference. Making the difference means identifying new opportunities, detecting a competitive advantage, daring to do things differently.

Focus is the fertile ground on which our creative ideas germinate and our innovative projects grow.

But what prevents us from being 100% present to our project? 

When our minds whirl around, we are easily distracted and find focus impossible. These distractions prevent us from experiencing the "flow" and therefore the Performance.

I invite you to discover an innovative approach that relies on our two thinking modes (our usual thinking mode and our natural thinking mode) in order to experience pressureless Focus, and therefore effortless Performance.

You thought you needed Pressure to be focused and effective, you realize that Focus is the only reliable source of your best Results. More gets done with less interference and you glide from one task to another. Your experience of time shifts from busy and anxious to relaxed and spacious.

What is stress?

When we are stressed out, the radio in our head grows louder. This constant noise blurs our thoughts and prevents us from seeing clearly.

Traditional approaches try to cope with this stressful confusion by providing tools to navigate the 'fog'. They try to minimize the EFFECTS of stress. What if we could understand the CAUSES of stress in order to act upstream before the fog lifts? Indeed, when the radio in our head is muted and nothing is blurring our thoughts, then we no longer need navigation tools to move forward.

How can we get back to clarity?

When a child touches a hot stove and burns himself, he instinctively takes his hand off. Actually the moment he understands that the hot stove is causing his pain, he removes his hand. There is no REFLECTION nor application of a strategy or a technique. It is just the buit-in immune RESPONSE of our BODY.

During our sessions, we examine the true role of our inner radio. The more we listen to the radio in our head, the louder it grows and the more stressed out we feel. But if we keep listening to it, it's because we think its message keeps us safe. This 'Misunderstanding' triggers STRESS. The moment we realize, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that our inner radio does not have any warning function but that it does trigger our mental stress - just as the child realizes the hot stove does trigger his physical pain - we turn off our inner radio. This is the built-in immune RESPONSE of our MIND. My role is to help you embody this insightful understanding. This understanding will enable you to switch off the radio in your head and doing so to reduce your stress level substantially.

Despite external evidence of their competencies, people experiencing Impostor Syndrome remain convinced that they are „frauds“. They feel that they do not measure up to the trust others place in them and that they do not deserve their position. They live in a form of permanent doubt because they do not feel legitimate in their status. In this precarious context, they feel unstable and live in fear of being unmasked.

Traditional approaches are aimed at minimizing the manifestations of this syndrome by providing tools to reduce the discomfort. What if we could understand the CAUSES in order to act upstream, before the mask is on? Once the mask is removed, we cannot be “unmasked” any more!

How to unmask the syndrome itself?

When we experience a big leap within our domain of expertise (e.g. from actuary to chief actuary) or outside of our domain of expertise (e.g. from expert to manager), we lose our bearings. When we identify with a function or a role, we try to stabilize the situation so that we don't lose our footing. This titanic task mobilizes all our attention and prevents us from seeing the opportunities of our new function. Each change makes us feel insecure and prevents us from doing what is necessary to be up to the challenge of the new situation. Actually it is exactly when we do need clarity and focus most that everything seems unclear. Then we feel trapped between keeping a low profile or playing a role to fit the new purpose.

During our exchange, we discover the constant of our Identity, the solid ground on which we can always build to grow personally and professionally. We realize that when the iceberg of our past experiences melts away, it is not our Identity that is sinking but a new personality – better adapted to the new situation - that is emerging. Free from our fears, we can embrace the changes in "exploration" mode. We no longer need to step out of our comfort zone as quickly as possible, with fear and a sense of urgency. We can step into the learning curve with ease and a sense of curiosity.

We are leaving in a VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity & Ambiguity) world. This acronym was created by the US Army War College to describe the new challenging reality emerging after the end of the "Cold War". The linear thinking that was so common in a polarised and quite simple environment is not an option any more.

Nowadays so many questions keep challenging us. Should I have a website, a workspace, some visibility on Facebook, Instagram? How to disconnect from work over the holidays, when I still need to check my email…? The complexity of our reality triggers a jungle of solutions, each of which is adding a new layer of complexity. We are surrounded by “the 8 principles of exponential results”, “the 5 steps to happiness”, “the 3 keys to financial security” and unable to think our way through this jungle of "how-tos" and "quick fixes". When we feel stuck, we surrender and ask experts to guide us in this VUCA world. We may be moving forward, but we cannot help wondering whether we are on the right track. These feelings of stuckness and doubt are draining our energy. How can we connect to our source of resourcefulness to be able to navigate in the dark?

What if we could switch on the light?

During our sessions, we learn how to make decisions based on our inner resources: our common sense, intuition and wisdom. Clarity is our natural state of mind. Why do we have our best ideas in the shower? Just because our head is free and fresh ideas can emerge. Indeed when our heads are full of information, we feel like a shaken snow-globe. But when we stop shaking the globe, the snow settles, the liquid clears, revealing the scene. Similarly, when we let go of our swirling practices and doubts, clarity of mind emerges and we can generate helpful, fresh and clear thinking. Having a clear mind allows us to acknowledge the reality of a situation.