Tag Archives: learning

Bounce Back!

I recently had a major disappointment.  I’d been working on a project for nearly three years.  Having spent lots of time, energy, and money on this endeavor, I was ready to reap the fruits of my labors.  The final assignment was to pass a very rigorous test.  I did not pass.

I was devastated.  I’m used to succeeding.  I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

I was mad.

I cried.

I swore (sorry Mom).

I screamed about my perceived injustice.

I crumbled.

Then I sat back and asked myself “what’s next?”  How was I going to bounce back?

As a coach, I encounter this type of situation with my clients on a frequent basis.  I worked with my personal coach (yes, even coaches use coaches) to help process the situation and determine my next steps.

Embrace the emotion:  I’m a very emotional person.  I feel deeply.  This rocked me to the core and I knew I needed to acknowledge the disappointment.  So, I let myself have 24 hours to process all the negative emotions, then I stopped feeling sorry for myself and started figuring out what my next step was.  Years ago I remember my coaching mentor saying “there is motivation in emotion.”  Yes, yes, there is!

Own it:  I had a very clarifying conversation with my mentor.  She gave me some incredible insight into where I’d gone wrong; how I could learn from this disappointment; and what I could do differently to prepare for my next opportunity.  How often do we look at our ownership in things that don’t go the way we want them to?

Put it in perspective:  At first, I wanted to completely throw in the towel, but deep-down I knew that would only be a further disappointment.  I literally said to myself “why even try again?”  Honestly!  Even though I’d spent nearly three years working on this project, it is not a one-and-done opportunity.  It’s a process.  It’s a learning and character-building opportunity.  In the scheme of things, this is a little bump in the road.

Learn from others and work harder:  When I really thought about it, I realized I’d not put the effort into the test that I should have.  I’m generally pretty successful at things and hadn’t really acknowledged the effort being successful in this endeavor was going to take.  Fortunately, I have several colleagues that have been through this process.  I asked each and every one of them what they did to be successful and have incorporated their processes into my new learnings.  In a nutshell, I’ve learned both from my mistakes and the successes of others.  And, frankly, I’m just plain working harder this time around.

The silver lining in this process is that I’ve become a stronger, smarter, and more resilient person than I was before this experience.

What can you learn from the disappointments, large or small, that you encounter?  How do you bounce back?

Cindy Jobs

www.organizetosimplify.com

 

 

National Association of Professional Organizers, Seattle Chapter Vice President
ICD_LogoTag_Horz_72 website
Institute for Challenging Disorganization:
Level I Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization; ADD; Client Administration; Time Management; Mental Health; and Hoarding.
Level II Specialist Certificates earned in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD.
Coach Approach for Organizers
Graduate of the Comprehensive Training Program: Coaching Essentials; Strengths-Based Coaching; Brain-Based Coaching; Life and ADHD Coaching; and Organizer Coach Integration
Graduate-level training: Body-Based Coaching; ADHD Coaching Competencies

How do you learn stuff? Process and Interaction

Pixabay BrainAs I mentioned in my blog post last week, I recently completed a year-long Coaching curriculum intended to increase the effectiveness of the organizing and consulting client work I do.  One of the things that resonated most with me was an in-depth study of how we each individually learn  and interpret our environments (learning modalities).

Denslow Brown, Master Certified Coach, breaks down learning modalities as follows:

Sense-based modalities (last week’s blog post covers these):

  • Visual
  • Auditory
  • Kinesthetic
  • Tactile
  • Taste/Smell

Other significant ways people process information and interact with their surroundings:

  • Verbal (language)
  • Emotional
  • Cognitive
  • Intuitive

Each of us probably use all of these modalities at different times.  Each of these modalities can be strong or weak within each individual, and can present as hypo-sensitive or hyper-sensitive.

Verbal (language): Involves the language center of the brain and includes both the spoken and written word.

Weak to strong indicators:  Someone may be weak in this modality if they have aphasia (loss of language) or if their brain struggles with language processing.  Alternatively, someone very gifted in the verbal modality may be an excellent teacher, linguist, or motivational speaker.

Emotional:  Impacts how we interpret our feelings and connections with people, places, and things.

Weak to strong indicators:  A person weak in the emotional modality may have difficulty perceiving, expressing, understanding, or managing emotions.  People who are strong in this modality could include therapists (tapping into and expressing client emotions) and actors who can feel and emulate emotional connections.

Cognitive:  Incorporates the processes of understanding and mental knowing.

Weak to strong indicators:  Someone weak in this modality may not have the ability to think through processes or apply logic to situations.  This could be the result of a medical condition, lack of confidence or training.  Someone strong in this modality has the ability to “think outside the box” developing new concepts (inventor) and solving complex problems (mathematician).

Intuitive:  Knowing something without proof or rationale.  “You know what you know but don’t know why.”

Weak to strong indicators: A person that is weak in this modality potentially is unaware or not tuned into things that are not based on fact or reliable knowledge.  Alternatively, a person strong in this modality may present as the person that always knows the right way to go at the fork in the road.  They don’t know why they know, they just know.

Once I learned about all the different modalities, I used that knowledge to change how I interacted with my family, friends, and clients.  I learned that I’m very much a verbal processor.  I like to talk.  Knowing that, I remind myself constantly to not interrupt or monopolize conversations.  Alternatively, if a client is highly cognitive, I know I need to give them some extra time to process what I’ve said before moving on to the next subject.  All this modality learning has allowed me to be much more in tuned to myself and others.

If this small bit of information has you curious, you may be interested in getting a copy of Denslow Brown’s Modalities Guide

Note:  If you, or someone you know, could benefit from Life/ADHD coaching, please contact me.  My passion is working with people to help them become the vision of who they want to be!

Cindy Jobs

Organize to Simplify CMYK

www.organizetosimplify.com

cindy@organizetosimplify.com

206-707-3458

National Association of Professional Organizers, Seattle Area Chapter President

seattle

 

 

 

Institute for Challenging Disorganization, Six Certificates of Education

ICD_LogoTag_Horz_72 website

 

How do you learn stuff? Sense-Based Modalities

Pixabay BrainI recently completed a year-long Coaching curriculum (I’m so excited!).  One of the things that resonated most with me was an in-depth study of how we each individually learn things and interpret our environments (learning modalities).

Denslow Brown, Master Certified Coach, breaks down learning modalities as follows:

Sense-based modalities:

  • Visual
  • Auditory
  • Kinesthetic
  • Tactile
  • Taste/Smell

Other significant ways people process information and interact with their surroundings:

  • Verbal (language)
  • Emotional
  • Cognitive
  • Intuitive

Each of us probably use all of these modalities at different times.  Each of these modalities can be strong or weak within each individual, and can present as hypo-sensitive or hyper-sensitive.

Personally, I found myself to be very strong in visual, kinesthetic, and verbal modalities.  This partially explains why I’m pretty good with finding lost golf balls; why I have to be moving all the time; and the fact that I love to talk!

During this post, I’ll just give you a basic understanding of the sense-based modalities. The others will be covered next week.

Visual: How our eyes see things and our brain’s process the information.

Weak to strong indicators:  If someone has a visual impairment or their brain doesn’t process visual cues (can’t “see” something that’s right in front of them), this modality may be weak for them.  Alternatively, someone may present as strong in this modality if they can discern slight variations in visual cues (think artists, architects, etc.).

Auditory: How we hear and process through the brain’s auditory and language centers.

Weak to strong indicators:  Like the visual modality, an auditory weakness can be based on a physical impairment or auditory processing problems.  Conversely, someone who is strong in this modality will be able to excel in areas like music, interviewing, and psychotherapy where careful listening is required.

Kinesthetic (one of my favorites):  Moving and engaging the body and how the body interacts with space.

Weak to strong indicators: Limited use of this modality may be caused by injury or age-related conditions causing diminished muscle control and lack of coordination.  Strong kinesthetic modality will present in those that use their bodies with precision, like athletes, performance artists, etc.

Tactile: How things feel as experienced through the skin, hands, feet and tongue.

Weak to strong indicators: A person weak in this modality may have difficulty differentiating between textures, feeling hot vs cold, etc.  Alternatively, those strong in this modality will tend to be those with very refined touch abilities like surgeons, massage therapists, etc.

Taste/Smell: Responding to odor or taste through the nose, mouth, and the olfactory center of the brain.

Weak to strong indicators:  Aging and medical conditions may be the cause of missing or distorted abilities in this area.  Those strong in this modality would present in occupations such as chef, sommelier, etc.

Taking a closer look at how my family, friends, and clients learned things and interpret the world around them changed how I communicate.  For example because I’m very kinesthetic (as are some of my clients), if there is a crucial conversation that needs to take place, we will have the conversation while on a walk.  Not only does it feel good, the information is processed more effectively!

If this small bit of information has you curious, you may be interested in getting a copy of Denslow Brown’s Modalities Guide

Note:  If you, or someone you know, could benefit from Life/ADHD coaching, please contact me.  My passion is working with people to help them become the vision of who they want to be!

Cindy Jobs

Organize to Simplify CMYK

 

www.organizetosimplify.com

cindy@organizetosimplify.com

206-707-3458

National Association of Professional Organizers, Seattle Area Chapter President

seattle

 

 

 

Institute for Challenging Disorganization, Six Certificates of Education

ICD_LogoTag_Horz_72 website