We are not creatures of habit. We are creatures of environment.

I, like many of my clients learnt the hard way that your primary relationship is with your Self. That is the one that needs to be mastered. That is the one that needs the most attention and resepct and adoration. Your internal relationship with your self is reflected by your external relationships with others. That is why it is often said ‘Relationships are our mirrors’.

So, what that means is that if you are unkind and impatient and intolerant with your self, your partners will be unkind, impatient and intolerant with you. Change how you treat your self and you will see others will treat you differently. Thats also why it is said ‘We teach people how to treat us’. Noone treats us worse than we treat ourselves.

I am a coach who encourages that we be kind to ourselves. That we treat ourselves well. Learning what that means and how to do it in practical terms is an ongoing research project for me so when I read something enlightening I love to share it. Today I received a newsletter from Roger Hamilton.

He is a genius in wealth creation and if you have not seen or heard of him before google him when you have a free hour. He is an extraodinary teacher and creative genius. Read what he had to say today, I hope this inspires you to treat yourself better today or in the future:

This July, will you be procrastinating, or taking action? Top tip for the new millennium – Don’t wait for the lights and camera.

Remember the old phrase ‘Lights, Camera, Action?’ – When we waited for the stage to be set before the show began? Today it’s the reverse. It’s the show that creates the stage and, as you would have noticed, the show keeps moving!

Here’s three steps I’ve found works again, and again, to stop procrastination or interruptions and get to the really important actions in your life:

1. Know the power of your environment: The stage you set will determine your actions. When you walk in a library, you talk quietly. When you go to a club, you dance. Try reading a book on the dance floor or dancing in the library. It doesn’t work so well. Many of us are making calls, planning days, doing our accounts in the wrong environment – which is why it’s so tough to get things done. We are not creatures of habit. We are creatures of environment.

2. Create five stages: Use the Five Wealth Dynamics Frequencies to plan your environments – have a different stage for each activity:

a. Your water/spirit stage: Near running water, peaceful, no phones! Your space to check in on the ‘Why’, reflect on the day and tap into your centre, where the universe revolves around you.

b. Your wood/spring stage: Full of imagery, your creative, brainstorming ‘What’ space. Let’s you think expansively without interruption, with plenty of visual stimulus.

c. Your fire/summer stage: Busy, bright, where you have meetings and make calls. Maybe you’re walking about, maybe it’s at a café. It’s your ‘who’ space and scheduled calls lead to random ones.

d. Your earth/autumn stage: Green, grounded, where you settle things down, take care, manage the team and customer issues. It’s the ‘when’ space where you have the time and space to slow down.

e. Your metal/winter stage: Quiet, organised, no disturbances, this is your ‘how’ space. This is where you analyse your metrics, review your finances, on your own or with a team focused at clear measures.

3. Make each day a masterpiece: Plan your week and each day based on where you are physically going to be, to match the energy of what you need to do. I have a day for each stage, so Thursday is my ‘fire’ day for all my calls, and Friday is now my ‘earth’ day for all my team meetings, with Monday my ‘wood’ day for uninterrupted creativity. When you physically move yourself into the space designed for that energy, it’s amazing what you can achieve. The worst possible thing is a home office where you’re trying to do everything from the same desk.

Every day, I also have time set for different energies, beginning with my water space at 6am every morning, to centre myself with a daily ritual of gratitude and possibility. The power of setting a canvas and separating the colours on your palette, is that it allows you to paint the most amazing masterpiece every day with natural grace.

“In nature, nothing is rushed yet all is accomplished.”
– Lao Tzu

In a world full of interruptions and distractions, make sure you have set your own stages to let your actions flow. So get on with the show, until the fat lady sings.