The monthly newsletter for aspiring downshifters,
sustainable living enthusiasts and sustainable small businesses.

June 2009
In this issue...

1. The Anyway Principle.
2. Your exploration this month.
3. From the Blog...
4. Quotes of the month
5. Want to comment or contribute?
6. Personal coaching

1. The Anyway Principle.

The Paradoxical Commandments

1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

3. If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

6. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

7. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

9. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

10. Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

© 1968, Kent M. Keith www.kentmkeith.com

" The Paradoxical Commandments" were written by Kent M. Keith in 1968 as part of a booklet for student leaders.

There’s another version of this which is widely attributed to Mother Theresa, but much of the second half of Kent Keith’s Paradoxical Commandments have been re-written in a more spiritual way.

"People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."

As a coach, I see my job as one of assisting others to remove the obstacles to their progress. At the same time, I’m continually working on removing the obstacles to my own progress, of course! I hold the fundamental belief that at our core we all have what it takes to get to where we want to go. So, what gets in the way? There can numerous beliefs, conditioned and unconscious behaviours, there can be plenty of practical and logistical elements to our lives that are crying out for change. One persistently recurring obstacle that I’ve noticed is this: our unwillingness at times to give without knowing what the outcomes might be. So, our giving, to ourselves or to others, turns out to be conditional. This can stifle our inspiration, motivation and creativity.

Crises, global, national and personal, can prompt us to review the way we’re living our lives. What if we do the review anyway? What do we discover? In my experience, most people will come to re-visit their values and to weigh up how they are actually spending their time against how they would like things to be.

Being value and vision led seems to be most important (as opposed to Jumping Through Other People’s Hoops, for example.) We notice that when we value the planet we live on, we will not want to exploit it, regardless of climate change or peak oil. When we value our families and our wellbeing, we will not want to neglect them, regardless of whether we are being threatened with serious illness or relationship breakdown. When we value meaningful work, we will not settle for less for ourselves or our colleagues, regardless of whether we are facing redundancy or business failure. When we value our truth, we will continue to unveil it and live by it, regardless of whether it looks unattractive at the time.

This is the “Anyway Principle”. It’s a way of living in alignment with our values and even changing our values as we grow and develop. It’s a way of removing one of the major blocks to our progress, whatever or wherever we’re aiming for. Using the Anyway Principle in our personal lives can lead to improvements in physical and mental health and wellbeing, relationships and personal happiness.

In our business lives, the Anyway Principle can help us become clear on our business purpose, inspiring and motivating us and the others we work with and improving our chances of business success.

It’s altogether a very effective way of living and working consciously.

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2. Your exploration this month.

What are you prepared to give only if it works out well?

What would happen if you were to do it anyway?

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3. From the Blog...

Ways to Encourage Our Children to Live More Simply.

A tipsheet to help us cultivate sustainable habits in the next generation… (more)

Ten Ways to Quickly Cut Your Living Costs.

Some clients approach me for coaching having been “forcibly downshifted” through redundancy, ill health, relationship breakdown or some other unforeseen circumstance. This list is a compilation of the most tried and tested methods for quickly cutting costs in those kinds of circumstances. Actions of this kind often leave us feeling less anxious about the future, more in control of our destiny and therefore more able to take a deep breath and start to focus on creating a new, more sustainable way of living....(more)

Banking For a Sustainable Lifestyle.

Some pointers for where to start building some resilience into your personal finances and a short video about an alternative to banks...(more)

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4. Quotes of the month.

"The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving."
Oliver Wendell Holmes

“ We are no longer puppets being manipulated by outside powerful forces; we become the powerful force ourselves.”
Leo Buscaglia

"Conscious evolution begins as we take responsibility for clearing our own obstructions."
Dan Millman

5. Want to comment or contribute?

If you would like to comment on any aspect of this newsletter or submit an article for inclusion in it, please contact me by email.

6. Personal Coaching.

One-to-one coaching can help you:

• let go of your old,stressful way of life, find a new path of vitality and an improved way of living.
• deal with fears surrounding financial responsibilities, your relationships with others and other consequences of making a major life change.
• improve your health, wellbeing and spiritual life.
• further your personal growth.
• achieve balance, clarity and peace.
  
  You can view further details on personal coaching here

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Have a fruitful month!

Sally

Sally Lever
coach, writer, educator
downshifting, sustainable living, sustainable business

+44 (0)1749 674842
sally@sallylever.co.uk
http://www.sallylever.co.uk/

7 Welsford Avenue, Wells, Somerset. BA5 2HX. UK.