Coaching Application
Shifting from Ennui to Wonder
Assist your client’s shift from ennui to wonder by helping them become more curious. Ask questions about their interests or something they have always wondered about. Give homework and ask for action steps that will draw out their curiosity and help them see that possibilities exist for them. Curiosity and wonder can help them adopt more healthy perspectives on their situation and life in general.
Awareness – Tools: Questions and Reflections
- A list of questions for the client
- How satisfied are you with your life? Rate from 0 to 10 with 0 being completely unsatisfied and 10 been extremely satisfied.
- If your satisfaction level is under nine, what is one thing you could do to raise that number by two points (in the next week, month)?
- When was the last time you experienced wonder?
- What did that feel like?
- How did experiencing wonder affect your life?
- What could hold you back from experiencing wonder?
- Limiting beliefs
- Fear
- Would you be interested in learning more about wonder and how to cultivate it?
Action – Tools: Questions and Activities
- Questions
- Have your client ask him or herself a daily question. They should let their actions be the answers to their question. Engaging in this practice makes each day a quest!
- Examples of Questions
- How do I maintain a positive perspective throughout the day?
- Do I lose myself today, or find myself?
- What is my purpose?
- Activities (Actions Steps/Homework/Creative Play)
- Spend time with children. Their joy and wonder can be contagious!
- Get into nature. Spend time making discoveries in nature. Ask questions.
- Explore your senses. Examples:
- Eat something you have never eaten before.
- Create your own scent test. What do the scents remind you of?
- Make up stories as you listen to music.
- Learn something new. What have you been curious about that you would like to spend time exploring?
- Keep a curiosity notebook
- Keep a curiosity cabinet or drawer for items that have made you curious. (A practice that started in the 17th century.)
- Take a community class.
- Photography. Discover a new way to view the world.
- Travel. Meet new people. Explore new terrain. Study different cultures.
- Practice mindfulness. Be present and inquisitive about the now.
- Explore creativity. Paint with your fingers. Take a class in interpretive dance.
- Read and write. Answer journal prompts or read a genre new to you.
- Remember past experiences. Think back to a time in the past when you experienced the joy of wonder.
- Stop thinking you know everything. Give ego a rest.
- Connect with and be curious about others.
- Learn to listen
- Focus on ideas not yourself
- Be open to others and not judgmental
- Connect with people outside your profession or circle of friends
Wisdom begins in wonder.
Socrates
From wonder into wonder existence opens.
Lao Tzu
Resource
2 Ways to Rally: Curiosity, Delight, & Deep Connection – Into Your Creative Profession & Life, Jeffrey Davis, www.trackingwonder.com