Here are the top 10 things I heard or read on Twitter this last week that made me chuckle!

#10. We picked a bad time to stop listening to scientists.
#9. I guess if I want to sell my new book, I should print it on toilet paper.
#8. The World Health Organization has announced that dogs cannot contract Covid-19. Dogs previously held in quarantine can now be released. To be clear, WHO let the dogs out.
#7. My daughter’s college has closed for the rest of the month. My son wants his school to close too. Ya’ll…we home school.
#6. Going to be very depressing when in two weeks, every website is filled with essays with headlines like “Binge-Watching in the Age of Corona virus” and “The Radical Feminism of Social Distancing” and “What Quarantine Taught Me About Vulnerability and Self-Care”
#5. A tip for professors who may be moving to online classes: feature your pets & kids prominently especially if they are doing dumb things. Don’t stop the lecture when your husband yells MOTHA#*?$A in the background cuz he dropped his drink.
#4. Are we supposed to eat the toilet paper, or…?
#3. TV series The Office and if there was a Corona virus episode – Dwight acts completely normal and claims genetic immunity, Angela wears a hazmat suit, Kevin says that he’s had it for weeks and feels fine, and Creed is somehow Patient Zero.
#2. Since we’re all not going anywhere… who should I follow?
And #1. If your dog stretches and you don’t say, “OH BIG STRETCH” every single time, then you are a psychopath and I don’t want to know you!

 In the midst of the stress and anxiety, let's not forget to look for joy as humor is good for the soul and we only have each other.
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Stay safe my friends!

Photo by Isabel Vittrup-Pallier on Unsplash

The brain has 100 billion neurons, which we call brain cells. The heart has about 40,000 neurons, and it can sense, feel, learn, and remember; it is your heart-brain. The gut has 100 million neurons in the intestines; it is often referred to as the gut-brain.

As a coach, I believe great work happens when clients are willing to access all three of these domains in coaching sessions to make sense of their leadership, challenges, wins, and career trajectory.
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Based on years of coaching and deep listening, I can quickly pick up on the preferred orientation of a client. Some are clavicle-up and need some coaching to drop into the heart space. Others lead with emotion, and I may have to ask questions to help them think critically through the issues they face. Then there are those few who let the gut-check guide them even when there is contrary information that might suggest a different path. My coaching in this scenario is to help them become aware of the impact of their decision making.

There is never a domain that is always right or always wrong. Our hearts and brain have a dynamic relationship and can inform the other – they can also disagree. Often the gut is the deal-breaker when wrestling with decisions or a course of action. The important thing for a client is to pay attention to all three ways of sense-making to identify where their domains agree and where they conflict.

It also takes courage for a client to be coached in domains that are least preferred. Dealing with logic, emotion, and gut-checks are not always easy. Those who are willing to do this hard work are often the clients who grow the most.

In my previous posts in this series of how to be a good client, I reference the importance of reflection, sharing your story, and having an objective when working with a coach. When clients also show a willingness to stretch into different ways of knowing and making sense of themselves, significant work is accomplished. It is also true you do not need a coach to ask yourself three essential questions regularly.

What am I thinking? What am I feeling? What is my gut telling me?

Photos by Ansh Minchekar & Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash