One for me.
A space to deepen my own wellbeing, to grow my mastery as a coach and trainer, and quite simply, to become a better player in my own life and work. And those two days did something unexpected.
They scrambled my brain. In the best possible way.
They got me thinking about thinking.
That might sound obvious at first. After all, we think all the time. But that was precisely the point. Most of our thinking happens so automatically, so habitually, that we don’t even notice it. It runs in the background like an operating system we rarely question.
Yet it shapes everything.
How we feel. How we lead. How we respond under pressure. How we judge ourselves and others. How we make decisions. How we hold back.
One of the biggest insights I took away was just how unaware we often are of our own thinking, and the impact it is having on us physically, mentally, emotionally — and on the people around us.
My coach encouraged me to explore my thoughts much more actively, almost with curiosity rather than assumption.
To ask: where does this thinking come from?
Is it coming from something authentic inside me?
Or is it someone else’s belief? Someone else’s judgement? A message I absorbed years ago and have been carrying ever since without realising?
Because so much of our thinking is conditioned. We learn how to behave, how to fit in, how to do the right thing, how to be socially acceptable. We learn what gets rewarded and what gets criticised. We learn what feels safe.
And yes, that conditioned thinking helps us function in the world. It helps us get by. But the same thinking can also quietly keep us stuck.
It can limit who we truly are.
It can shrink what we believe is possible.
I see this so often in the senior leaders I work with. Outwardly, they are highly capable. Successful. Respected. They carry enormous responsibility. And yet inwardly, they can feel frustrated. Stuck. Overwhelmed. Not making the progress or impact they know they are capable of. They’re working harder and harder, yet something isn’t shifting.
And so often, when we look beneath the surface, it comes down to their thinking.
The unexamined assumptions. The inner narratives. The old patterns running on repeat.
“I have to do it all myself.”
“If I slow down, I’ll fall behind.”
“I’m not quite ready yet.”
“I shouldn’t take up too much space.”
It’s not that these leaders lack skill or ambition. It’s that their thinking is keeping them inside a smaller version of what’s possible.
As a coach, my role is not to bulldoze those thoughts away. It is to gently and respectfully challenge them. To bring awareness. To open space. To help clients see that a thought is not necessarily the truth. It is often just a habit of mind.
And once we begin to notice our thinking, we begin to loosen its grip. We begin to access choice. We begin to lead with more clarity, more freedom, more intention.
So my thought for the day is a simple invitation.
Pay attention to what you are thinking today. Especially in moments of stress, pressure, or self-doubt.
Ask yourself: is this thought truly mine? Is it helpful? Is it aligned with what really matters?
Because your thinking shapes your leadership.
And changing your thinking — even slightly — can change everything.
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