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During the recent hurricane here in WNC, I was reminded of a distinction I learned as a brand-new life coach 20+ years ago … one that would serve all of us well to keep in mind!

Thomas Leonard, the founder of Coach U, who many consider the “father” of coaching, created a Personal Foundation Program.  It’s a pretty intense undertaking, with ten foundational steppingstones designed to enhance your personal and professional success and fulfillment.

These life affirming steps include foundational pieces such as getting rid of the things you’re tolerating, raising your standards, strengthening your boundaries, and living a life aligned with your values.  All important elements if you’re going to be happy in this world.

Enter the hurricane.

It showed me where Tom and I were not fully prepared when it comes to another of Thomas Leonard’s bits of advice.… even though we thought we were!

Have a reserve. 

To have a reserve means having more than you need.

In fact, it means having even more than what you think is more than you need.

We thought we had plenty of reserve, when we really didn’t have enough in some critical areas.

Thankfully, we had enough drinking water in gallon bottles and toilet-flushing water … thanks to a lake where we could re-fill our buckets.  We had lots of food and cash on hand when all the credit card machines failed.  We had lanterns and just enough batteries.

But our expensive solar generator wasn’t up to the job.  We hadn’t yet assembled our propane powered camping grill … not something you want to do under stress when the food is starting to defrost.   And I’ll never again let my car’s gas tank go below half-full thinking, “I can always get more later.”

I’m not trying to be an alarmist here.  These things are easy to stock up on if you’re just aware and don’t let the busyness of life throw you off track from ensuring your basic needs are met.

Here are some of the areas of reserve that Thomas talks about that go beyond survival needs … things we tend to think less about …

• Time … at least an hour or two each day just for you.
• Space … room to think and be, without pressure or obligation.
• Energy … enough “oomph” to get through the day consistently and rest well at night.

These are the things that keep your tank full, so you have more energy to deal with the challenges of life!

What this hurricane taught me was that resilience is the #1 critical element I need to cultivate to deal with the challenges of life … from small irritations and challenges to that freak hurricane that rips through your community!

And it’s the time and space I give myself every day that keeps my battery charged and available when I need it.

So, build up that reserve of actual batteries and staples just in case, but make sure you have the reserve of energy you need when life takes its inevitable twists and turns.

Love,

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Meet Denise: Denise Hedges is a Business Development Coach and Speaker Coach for small business owners who want to be more comfortable, confident, and successful with their sales and marketing efforts. She specializes in helping them use speaking as a way to dramatically improve their results

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