2016 – A Year of Change

This will be the last Life Coaching Insights Blog Post for 2016 as I join many of you esteemed readers in taking a well deserved break for a few weeks!

As the year draws to a close there will surely be no lack of pronouncements by the various media on how it, and the various events that characterised it, stacked up in importance to – and affect on – the human race.

Here’s how I see it:

[box type=\”shadow\”]“The new year will be like the old one if you keep on doing the same old things.”

– Jean-Paul Malfatti[/box]

 

2016 – A Year of Change (continued)

 

Trump and Brexit

As the world’s biggest superpower, the spotlight is always cast on America and anything newsworthy that happens there. And, of course, the shock election of billionaire Donald Trump, will be the main talking point.

Trump captured the imagination of Americans desperate to give the two fingered salute to establishment politics and those fearful of a perceived waning of American patriotism and global influence.

In the UK, one of our two main markets, the ‘highlight’ of the year, from a newsworthiness perspective, was undoubtedly the so called Brexit vote in which Brits decided by a small but important margin, to signal their intent to wave goodbye to the European Union in a couple of years.

As in America, the populace showed its disaffection with the rising tide of immigrants and a perceived erosion of the national identity.

Populism and South Africa

Political events in other nations in 2016, have sparked much discussion about a marked rise in populism, which could be loosely defined as belief in the \’power of the people\’ as opposed to, for example, the ‘established order’ or the ‘ruling elite’.

In the other of our main markets, South Africa, president Zuma, whose appointment in 2009 was seen by many as a victory for populist politics, has endured an ‘annus horribilus’, one in which populism (in the form of civil society, and upholders of the country’s progressive constitution) has turned on him and the serious corruption, patronage and poor leadership associated with his tenure. The writing may well be on the wall for him.

A wild ride

Political uncertainty breeds economic uncertainty and volatility, and 2016 has seen plenty of that.

So, all in all, 2016 has been a fascinating year from a political and economic perspective. Some would call it a wild ride. Others would no doubt describe it in far more sombre tones!

Breaking new records

On the environmental front, life is no less interesting (or challenging). Two of the most important indicators of climate change – the rate of retreat of sea ice in the Arctic region and the average surface temperature globally – have broken new records this year.

Low lying island nations face may soon disappear altogether with rising sea levels, while marine life is increasingly under duress with the 2200km Great Barrier Reef, for example, suffering serious coral bleaching in large parts.

At the current rate, we also stand to lose two-thirds of all the wild animals that roamed the Earth in 1970 (imagine that … in a period of just fifty years!)

Change – the new norm

The upshot of all this seemingly glum news is that, although 2016 has been a year of great change and – it’s fair to say – upheaval, change on the scale we have experienced this year is almost certainly the new norm and not a random blip on the chart!

Why here?

Life Coaching Insights is primarily a site for good news and uplifting messages of personal development … so why have I chosen to focus on news that most would derive some discomfort and anxiety from, you may ask?

The reason is because, first and foremost, this Blog is about life coaching and the wonderfully positive effects of life coaching – even if that message is often conveyed ‘between the lines’.

The antidote

And life coaching, in my opinion, offers the perfect antidote to a world that is becoming increasingly challenging to live in as the result of the ever increasing rate of change that we are being exposed to.

Good life coaching practice promotes the importance of understanding, appreciating and even wholeheartedly embracing change.

Although changes in our external world may seem daunting and even threatening, they are just that – changes.

If we can learn to expect, rather than dread change, and equip ourselves for the challenges that change brings, rather than bury our heads in the sand and hope it won’t be too awful, then we can begin to break through all the doom and gloom that the media portrays and would have us feel, and begin to sense the many and diverse opportunities that change presents to us.

The power to create our own reality

Through life coaching you will learn to appreciate the unbridled power that resides in each of us to create the reality that we truly desire.

You are not meant to be here as a powerless passenger, helpless – in the presence of a hostile world – to change the course of your life and destiny. If you choose to believe that is the case then, of course, that will be your reality … but you can choose to believe differently and take responsibility for creating the life you really want to live.

When you do so, you will start to see the challenges that the external world throws up in a completely different light – as opportunities for growth. And, as the rate of change around you increases, so does the rate of increase in opportunities for growth – and the scale of the personal growth available to you!

2017 will require a change of mindset

As you bid farewell to 2016 and prepare for the even greater changes that 2017 will undoubtedly bring, know that it is your mindset, attitude, level of self-awareness and degree of self-belief that will determine whether this is something to be scared of … or something to embrace with open arms!

If you haven’t yet tried life coaching, then make 2017 the year to give it a shot.

Better still, if you want to experience all the amazing benefits of life coaching and then use this newfound awareness and knowledge to build a career helping others to experience the same, then I invite you to consider training with New Insights to become a life coach yourself.

From me and the team at New Insights, thank you for being a loyal reader in 2016. May you enjoy a wonderful festive season break (assuming you are fortunate enough to get one) and prepare for your best year yet in 2017!

 

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