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And there it was once again,The unconscious thinking, the intense pain;The stream of thoughts, emotes through the self,Not able to hold, I cry out for help;For a reflective space, in which I can dissolve,My mental conditioning and to further evolve;Expecting nothing short of a miracle,I turn to my friend, my coach, my journal. My journal is my friend,A true mate, that I can depend;My loving neighbor, with no doors to knock,Always by my side, always ready to talk;It offered me a page, one after the next,I poured it all there, in an endless text;Till a full stop, at the end of my trouble,Thank you, my friend, my coach, my journal. What does this journal do to me?I wonder, how did it help me, to BE;It must be the space that it holds,The space of love and care, in which it all unfolds,Actively listening, all the time,Accepting the whole of me, as I am;Ever so simple, neither attached nor judgmental,My partner in presence, my coach, my journal. Rajiv Padmanabhan is a Certified Life Coach from Institute Accredited by ICF. He is based out of Pune, India. To know more about coaching and to book a session with him please write to metobecoaching@gmail.com or WhatsApp +919822404753

I know I was meant to fly; To make that leap and to touch the sky, So, I did what it takes; In this world, to make my place, Soaring up high, but I don’t know why? A strange sense of void, that I could not deny, Not to be fulfilled, how much ever I try, This feeling of fear, like falling from the sky, All I thought was true, seemed to be a lie; I set out to find, WHO AM I? I looked for it, everywhere; Out in the world, no place to spare, It seemed like a tiring chase; To look for an answer, in time and space, Nowhere to go, to search what I seek, I came to the point, to accept WHAT IS! The point that I missed was found within, An immense source of life, joy and peace; In the space of NOW, “me” met the “I”, To scale new heights, I glide into the sky. -Rajiv Padmanabhan

“I am worried and I don’t know what to do!” – A very common expression that I get to hear from people who are hit by the given crisis of COVID 19. I am a recruitment professional and the crisis I am referring to here is job loss that a lot of professionals are experiencing due to its impact on the businesses worldwide. I have tried to answer this question for few such people who have reached out to me – the following article is a collation of what got discussed – To deal with the situation – what is required is a very focused planning and action. The given expression that “I am worried! And I don’t know what to do!” are the biggest mind blocks that one needs to overcome on priority! Let’s begin with the first part of the expression – “I am worried!” We all know that worrying does not help in solving the problem and that is because when we are worried, we are kind of paralyzed, somehow it drains all the energy out of us and causes inaction. Let me quote a story from Zen teachings which goes something like this – “Once a highly educated, scholarly person in the quest to learn about Zen visits a very reputed Zen Master and requests him to teach him about Zen. Zen Master offers him a cup of tea before they can start. He pours tea into his cup and does not stop even after it is filled. The scholar looks at the overflowing cup and immediately alerts the Zen master. Zen master then smiles and says – “Like you cannot pour more tea into already filled cup you cannot learn Zen unless you “Empty your Cup”…This story may seem to have different context but it is very relevant here, because this is what WORRY does to you…it fills up your cup (your mind) and leaves no room for any constructive thinking. Your ability to find a solution to the problem is obscured. So how do we empty our cup – how do we NOT stop worrying! If you look closely your worry is a set of thoughts, the thoughts of unpleasant possibilities like if I do not have a job, I will not have any income, if I don’t have a income how am I going to take care of my family, my expenses, my future, my lifestyle etc. OR why did this happen to me and related thoughts! If you look even closer you will know these are all not your real current situation but these are all something that is likely to happen in the future OR something that has already happened in the past. Hence both your so-called worries are not real, they are notional, virtual, and mere mental projections. Your real challenge or real situation can only be defined as “I have lost my Job” OR “I am Jobless” We can stop worrying by being alert and catching ourselves dwelling into our NON real thoughts and this conscious effort is all that is required to empty your cup and create the space. This space is then used to find the answer to the next expression – “I don’t know what to do!” The answer to this question is known to every one but due to lack to mental space it is does not emerge – hence once you know how to stop worrying the answer to “I don’t know what to do!” just shows up – Please remember that you were working and you had a job is because of your skills, knowledge and competencies (SK&C) and you will find a job because of your skills, knowledge and competencies (SK&C) only.   Before we go in to the step by step process of what is required to be done, let’s understand the basic reality of Job OR Work. When we work, we apply our SK&C to create value for the organization that we work for, the organization (group of people) creates value to their clients or customers and the customers create value for their consumers (we could be one of them ourselves!). This is the ecosystem. We all benefit from each other directly or indirectly – we are all connected. The bottom line is you will be employed till you are adding value to others. You are able to add value to others is by employing your skills, knowledge and competencies (SK&C). So here is the step by step action plan – Bonus thoughts – The answer to the expression “I am worried! And I don’t know what to do!” is within you and all that is required is to create the mental space and take right action. The above article is only a humble effort to give you some insights in to this expression and a possible way-out. So, what are you waiting for – STOP WORRYING! TAKE ACTION!  ALL THE BEST! Please do write in with your thoughts OR any guidance that you may require OR if you are looking for any sounding board to clear up your thoughts! We look forward to be of service to you!

find this instance described in the book – Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl, very insightful. This is what a prisoner advised Dr. Frankl when he arrived at the concentration camp – “But one thing I beg of you”; he continued, “shave daily, if at all possible, even if you have to use a piece of glass to do it . . . even if you have to give your last piece of bread for it. You will look younger and the scraping will make your cheeks look ruddier. If you want to stay alive, there is only one way: look fit for work. (Otherwise, you will be gassed). “Look fit for work” – This is such a powerful metaphor and so relevant to the sustenance and growth of one’s Career. How do you relate to this story with reference to your Career? What are your actions to remain “Fit to Serve”? To know what is “Career Coaching” and how it can help, please write to me at metobecoaching@gmail.com

Making a Career Choice is an important decision in one’s life! In my observation within my immediate and larger network I see very broadly the Career Choice is based on – 1) As advised by others or by chance2) Hot Jobs – The jobs that are trending or has promising future at the time one is making the career choice.3) Passion – Making a career out of one’s passion. I also notice the most fulfilling Career is the one which happens to be the combination of Hot Jobs and Passion! Are you in a Career which is progressive at the same time honors your Passion? What does this question bring up for you? To know what is “Career Coaching” and how it can help, please write to me at metobecoaching@gmail.com

Look at any success stories that inspires you – all of them are the stories of endeavor of becoming the best in one’s craft! In most or all of the stories there are three things in common – 1) Sense of Purpose2) Quest to Continuously Improve3) And, Touching Lives of Many One’s career is not an exception. This too has a similar trajectory – 1) Setting Career Goal2) Continuous Improvement in Skill, Knowledge and Competencies3) Endorsement by all Stakeholders – Customers, Colleagues, Industry etc. Knowing what is Career itself is a good start, rest follows. To know what is “Career Coaching” and how it can help, please write to me at metobecoaching@gmail.com

If honoring the HUMAN becomes primary and NOT them being a RESOURCE, then there will never be any ATTRITION! Here the word “ATTRITION” is referring to the feeling of concern, disappointment, regret, sense of loss or betrayal etc. that one may experience. When one honor’s only the RESOURCE part of one’s being then they are treated as a means to an end leading to dependencies. The LOSS of this support prompts negativities. Feeling of being treated as a RESOURCE is reciprocated and a relationship that gets developed is what is commonly known as professional relationship, which tends to be fragile. On the contrary when one honor’s the HUMAN part of one’s being, the same feeling is reciprocated implying mutual well-being. In such relationship ATTRITION will never leave behind any trails of disappointments and negativities. Hence, No ATTRITION in true RELATIONSHIP!

Perceiving a situation as a PROBLEM is a movement of thought. This movement of thought is a representation of one’s experiences, beliefs, values, biases and mental conditionings. It is this same movement of thought which is involved in finding a SOLUTION leading to a state of flux and inaction! A coaching engagement subjects one to right questions, observations, silence and reflections, leading to an INSIGHT. This INSIGHT is what breaks the pattern of repetitive thinking leading to desired SOLUTION and more importantly TRANSFORMATION! To set up an exploratory “What is Coaching?” conversation, please write to me at metobecoaching@gmail.com

Stability in the JOB is an important factor for many working professionals and it is also one primary job preference for the job seekers. Stability here means continuation of employment/work and growth irrespective of the business situation. And this seems to be possible only by focusing on one’s CAREER – which means to strive to excel and remain the best in one’s craft by continuous learning and practicing.

An involuntary or forced separation from the work caused due to various reasons is referred as a Job Loss here! Last year an acquaintance called to seek help for her husband. Her husband had lost his job after spending 15 years of service with an organization. She said, he is feeling depressed and not talking to anybody since few days. Can you speak to him? She handed over the phone to him and we spoke. I acknowledged his situation and expressed support. He started to open up – I inquired about his expertise, preferred role etc. As he got a little comfortable – we explored a few ideas and next steps. We connected a few more times later – he kept me updated about his progress and within a month he got a suitable role. He had right credentials; he knew exactly what needs to be done. However, the psychological burden of job loss was causing inaction – a state in which one is dwelling in the past, complaining, resenting and worried about future. A gentle support, a compassionate listening is all that it takes to create a space for ideas and taking action. To set up an exploratory “What is Coaching?” conversation, please write to me at metobecoaching@gmail.com