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Late Spring/ Early Summer  2010 -                           Catalyst! newsletter from Sue Cowan Coaching
                                                                    
                                                          
Issue 8
     
 
A note from Sue

Hello!,

It's good to be back again, touching base with you, after a short break of a few months!

Spring has already sprung, and early summer greets us with warmer temperatures and clear blue skies (but sadly, not so clear and not so blue seas in the Gulf of Mexico).

This Spring, of course, we literally had clear skies as a result of the Icelandic volcano spewing its ash; although things have been back to normal for some time now I have still chosen this as the topic for this issue's article.

rhododendrons
Look out for June's newsletter towards the end of the month...

Wishing you all the joys of late spring and early summer,

                           
Sue


You can email me at     [email protected]
phone me on    (+41) 076 2055 076 (mobile)

or visit       my website     www.suecowancoaching.com
where you can also read past editions of this newsletter via the archive.

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In This Issue
* Clear Blue Skies..and Uncertainty
* Quote of the month
* Video
* About Sue Cowan Coaching
Clear Blue Skies...and Uncertainty

Things are back to normal now, but there is still a sense of it lurking in the background as occasional flights are affected... Even if we weren't directly caught up in it, in Europe at least, most of us knew a friend, family member or colleague who was.
Yes, the volcanic explosions in Iceland caused massive disruptions.

Back in April - as airspace closed, one airport after the other -  the skies over Europe progressively emptied.People simply couldn't get to where they wanted to be. And effects were felt far and wide. Tourists were stranded, holidays wrecked, business plans thrown into chaos.... Channel ports were besieged. Supply chains the world over began to collapse, with consequences felt for supermarkets all the way down to farmers and growers on the other side of the world. Mainland Europe's rail system was overwhelmed, coach services booked to capacity, hire cars no longer available from the usual hubs.

Amidst all this, two lines of reporting and comment stood out for me: the stories of people finding ingenious ways of reaching their destination, and the positive side of clear skies for those living near airports who could, albeit briefly,  savour the unusual sound of birdsong.

And it reminded me of the importance of perspective and choice. So often we see things from only one perspective ( "that's just the way it is" ) with the result that we are less resourceful and may feel victimised by our circumstances. When we are invited, or forced even, to see life/ events/ issues from a different perspective -  to look at things from  different angles - then we are able to see possibility and options, with scope for action. Whenever we take a perspective on an issue we have resulting opinions, beliefs, assumptions, expectations...Perspective can be a powerful filter that usually means we notice only certain things while not seeing - or even ignoring - others.

One reporter in the UK press commented  how she felt lucky that she wasn't forced to sleep in an airport when her flight was cancelled - her holiday was simply extended: "except, it transpires, that a holiday is an elective thing. You have to want to be on it, or it ceases to be". The holiday entirely changed its identity for her: "no longer guests, we were captives." I'm sure she was not alone in adopting this perspective.

I am curious how people made their decisions about which action to take when faced with flight disruption: Should I stay put? Ride it out till the ash clears? Should I go? If so, then when? Where? What route? What means of transport? It led to people having not only a Plan A and Plan B, but every option along the way to a plan Z!
What priorities affected decisions? Was it health considerations? Mobility? Finances? Work commitments?

It awakened creativity and a sense of adventure in many, getting people out of their comfort zones and taking risks they might never normally have  taken as they faced the uncertainty of it all. The disruptions challenged attitudes and paradigms of thinking: made us realise that we take so much for granted in our daily lives.

I smiled at the story of the five Geneva bankers who between them hired a private jet to get back from the US, via Portugal where an airport still remained open after others in Europe had shut down. Still smug from exerting their entrepreneurial ingenuity, they managed to secure the last rental car available for inter-country hire when they landed- a little Fiat Punto. Probably not how they had expected to arrive back in Switzerland!
Same destination...different journey.

The volcano reminds us of the overriding fragility of the daily routines we so take for granted...And the power of Mother Nature to remind us of our place in the world.
And wasn't it fascinating how people on the move dealt with the uncertainty of it all!

And that leaves me curious:
  • How do you deal with uncertainty in your life?
  • What other options are there?
  • And how might things be different if you chose a different way of reacting to uncertainty?
And reflecting back now, long after the event: If you were affected by the volcanic ash, directly or indirectly..... In the bigger scheme of things, how important was it?

Quote of the Month

"We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails."

                                                                                                                    (
Author unknown)
                       
Video - Furlough Friday

This was sent to me by a friend in California, where a regular "furlough day" has become a common experience for many employees. I had to check it out in the dictionary,as it was a new word for me: employee furloughs are mandatory time off work with no pay, used as an alternative to a layoff.
California is one of several US states to have imposed compulsory mandatory furloughs on a variety of state level employees in order to reduce the financial burden on the state budget.

Educators like my friend are also affected (two days a month, on her campus in California), and apparently most state offices are closed three days a month- on three "Furlough Fridays".

It was sent to me by my "furloughed friend" as an example of finding humour in the face of adversity...

Click here to view   (3min 55)
About Sue Cowan Coaching
If you are curious to know more about what I do, or about coaching in general, then why not visit my coaching website
Sue photo
Please contact me if you have any questions or comments.
[email protected]
Tel.    (+41) 022  757  0849
Mob. (+41) 076  2055  076
www.suecowancoaching.com