Claudia Clayton Coaching

Too true!

I’m re-reading the wonderful ‘Your Body is Your Brain’ by Amanda Blake and this nugget stood out for me today. It’s a view I share, and a way of thinking about courage and composure that I assess will help anyone - senior leader or mere mortal - on their journey towards developing presence, building resilience and deepening relationships.

“Composure is not about getting rid of the nerves. Nice as that may sound, sometimes it’s not possible. Rather, like courage, composure is about being able to tolerate all the strong sensations that go along with making a big, important move. It’s about consciously feeling all of the intensity and physical discomfort while aligning yourself in such a way that those sensations can move through you without getting stuck in a swirling whirlpool of anxiety. It’s about using your breath as best you can and choosing to take action from your commitment rather that your fear. This is what courage and composure really feel like. It’s not always comfortable. In fact, it rarely is. And yet, it’s the one thing that makes all the difference in meeting challenging circumstances.”

From ‘Your Body is Your Brain’, by Amanda Blake, Chapter 9. Composure, page 147.

“Composure is not about getting rid of the nerves. Nice as that may sound, sometimes it’s not possible. Rather, like courage, composure is about being able to tolerate all the strong sensations that go along with making a big, important move. It’s about consciously feeling all of the intensity and physical discomfort while aligning yourself in such a way that those sensations can move through you without getting stuck in a swirling whirlpool of anxiety. It’s about using your breath as best you can and choosing to take action from your commitment rather that your fear. This is what courage and composure really feel like. It’s not always comfortable. In fact, it rarely is. And yet, it’s the one thing that makes all the difference in meeting challenging circumstances.”

- From ‘Your Body is Your Brain’ by Amanda Blake

“Hope is often misunderstood. People tend to think that it is simply passive wishful thinking: I hope something will happen but I’m not going to do anything about it. This is indeed the opposite of real hope, which requires action and engagement.”












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Are you facing a difficult challenge right now?

What are the values that will serve you most as you navigate it?

Cancel out the noise by taking a few slow breaths and ground yourself in what matters most to you.












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'Reality' has a peculiar way of confirming to our beliefs about it.

How is your way of looking at the world shaping what you see? Have you considered how your beliefs, emotions and even your body are playing an integral part in your perception?

What new possibilities might start to open up if you could begin to see how you are seeing?

It's all about perspective. Are you able to observe your own perspective? How is the way you're looking determining what you see?

"Presence enables awareness and awareness enables choice." - Bebe Hanson.

How can you begin to cultivate presence? What new choices might you make if you could be present?

Deep down, what opinion do you have about yourself? How does this affect the way you see your place in the world and the possibilities available to you?