08.11.2023

Feels Like Home | Ask Great Questions | Mindset

Hello there! Welcome to my weekly LEAPS. 

You’re receiving this email because you subscribed to my weekly Wednesday feature or our mailing list. Every Wednesday, I share 5 things using our LEAPS approach: 

Learn: something new or an idea
Energy: something that’s creating an energy (good or bad) - a word
Action: something to do
Processing: a question to consider
Shout out: something or someone that I want to celebrate or acknowledge

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LEARN
Something Worth Sharing

Feels Like Home

Our middle son has returned to the UK after two years of living in Canada. He’s only here for 3 weeks and will then head back. This led me to think about ‘home’ and where he regards as his home - and what exactly is ‘home’?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘home’ as: ‘house or flat that you live in, especially with your family’ or ‘a house or flat, etc., when you think of it as property that can be bought and sold’. However, when I consider the meaning of ‘home’ it makes me think more of feelings and people - particularly of ‘safety and sanctuary’.

For many of us, ‘home’ begins with the ‘family home’ where we grow up. As we move through our life’s journey, our ‘homes’ change and evolve - in terms of the physical location and also the feelings associated with our ‘safe space’. Most people will have more than one home in a lifetime, and if the original one was unhappy, there is always the opportunity to do better when creating a new home.

Of course for some (too many), they are displaced through war and end up fleeing their homes, and even country. For others, and just as heartbreakingly, homelessness becomes part of their life. For them, the quest for a safe ‘home’ is everything.

This week’s learn is that most of us are incredibly lucky that home does mean safety, sanctuary, the place we can rest, relax, enjoy time with friends, learn, grow and just be. The learn is also that our homes say a lot about who we are and what we think is important in life, for example the use of the word HOME can also be associated with:

• identity: how we style our house or where we regard our hometown

• connection: our local community

• passion: our home team in sport

• belonging: the feeling of being with your loved ones

• safety: as Dorothy said, “there’s no place like home”

• opportunity: to create and protect a safe environment

Wouldn’t it be great if our businesses were inspired to feel homely in this way?

To summarise, ‘home’ is important to everyone in all its meanings and in the words of country singer Tim McGraw:

“Chase your dreams but always know the road that'll lead you home again.”

ENERGY
Focusing on an emotion or energy; a stand-out word / s

Gentle

‘Gentle’ is a word I associate with my son; the meaning of ‘gentle’ is "well-born, of noble rank or family". It is directly from Latin GENTILIS "of the same family or clan" - which was formed from GENS which means "race, clan".

ACTION
Something small that you can do that might make a big difference

Ask A Great Question

At home, we love great questions. At work - GLAS Group - we base much of our work on questions. It’s fair to say that questions are valuable in all aspects of my life. So, the action for you this week is to ask some great questions; you can ask them of yourself or others. Obviously the next section of this email is “Processing” and has a question…so use it as a starting point and see how meaningful you can make some further questions.

PROCESSING
A question to think about and consider (you can discuss this with someone or write your thoughts down)

“What is the kindest thing that someone has ever done for you?”

Next week, on the 13th November, it’s World Kindness Day. That is my inspiration for the question of: ‘what is the kindest thing that someone ever did for you?’. Sometimes the kindest thing could have felt terrible at the time!

I’d love for you to send me your own stories / thoughts about this. Drop me a line with your answer / thoughts on this question

SHOUT OUT
Who / what I think deserves recognition, my gratitude or to be celebrated.

Waiting

Last week I shouted out ‘the weekly series’ and touched on how we’d have to wait for the next show to air on TV. Waiting can be so valuable - even though it’s often uncomfortable and annoying! We’ve waited for two years to see Max, our son. At times it’s been so challenging and difficult, but in that ‘waiting’, we have had the space to miss him, he’s grown and learned so much and as we’ve waited, the anticipation of his visit has increased. When we wait, we can prepare, think, plan, question, consider, grow and learn about ourselves, find value and much more.

While it’s not always the top of people’s ‘favourite’ things, waiting is highly valuable.

BONUS GIFT FOR YOU
This week’s little extra for you - from me

This week, I wanted to share a download that’s free of charge to everyone (no code required). This is a visual I created following a BBC documentary by Roman Kemp called The Fight For Young Lives. I work with the charity he is a trustee of and that was created in Roman’s best friend’s memory - Joes Buddy Line.

I also wanted to gift you my visual for a classic and much loved book, Mindset by Carol Dweck. This visual is available to you for free (for 7 days) using the code: GROWTH when you check out. Access is via the link below.

The artwork featured in this section is all copyrighted and for private use only. If you wish to use these online, in blogs / features or in presentations etc - we are happy to discuss licences. Please get in touch. The downloads do not have watermarks.

If you’d like to discuss having your ideas, business or culture captured visually - you can also let me know via email.

SORT YOUR SH*T TASTER SESSIONS

Start building your confidence and clarity…

LEAPS is a process used by our team and clients all the time - and even my own family on a daily basis. 

I’ll be sharing a set of LEAPS each week with you and encourage you to do your own version:

• L: what have you learned?

• E: what’s your energy / feeling word

• A: what’s one thing you need to do?

• P: what are you thinking / processing?

• S: who or what can you shout out?