What compels you?

The Upword of this week is COMPELLING.

The definition of compelling that I like most is “requiring urgent attention.” It makes me think of one of my coach's favorite phrases “What you resist will persist.” Passions are that way – they are like a magnet - you can’t stop yourself thinking about them, obsessing about them, running after them.

Lori Koop, creator of Upword asks “So what compels you?” “Where do your passions lie?” “What excites your inner spirit to think about?” Well …. lots of things as a "7" or "The Enthusiast" on the Enneagram scale! They include -

• Cuddling with my husband and my dog
• Enjoying local gourmet food and wine and giving back to the community
• Fabulous music like the King’s Singers close harmonies that reach in and touch my soul
• Singing and harmonizing, using my God given gifts
• Entertaining and making people laugh
• Being fully present for my husband, my dog, my family and friends
• Being the best me I can be and true to my essential self
• Connecting at work, in life, on social media
• The thought that we are all connected in the universe
• Helping other people achieve their true potential
• Building deep roots, relationships and communities
• Making a difference in the world
• Travelling - experiencing and understanding other cultures
• Writing: particularly white dog haiku and children’s stories
• Sharing our blessed abundance with people we love
• Learning more about wine, especially NY wine
• Supporting causes like Quality of Life for Long Term Cancer Survivors, Animal Rescue, Wine For Water, Heifer International, ALS
  

“By feeding our own passions,” says Lori, “we now become compelling – attracting others with our energy… Our light, now sparkling, allows others to see.” I so feel that! I think that’s why I like going to live concerts, broadway shows, live performances, why I prefer live sporting events to watching them on TV, why I choose live education sessions to online or recorded ones. When I am there in person, I can feel the performer’s or the educator’s energy, it’s infectious and yes, compelling. I can only hope that I do the same for others when I am connecting with them.

So the question I’ve been wrestling with this week is not so much what compels me but more how can I be more compelling for others? One thing I know for sure: to be compelling, you have to show up. You have to focus on being fully present, not thinking about the next thing on the list. And it's not about doing a million things - it's about focusing in on the ones that move you, saying no to those that don't.

I do a lot of formal and informal mentoring. I love giving back by helping people succeed in life, in love, in career and infusing them with a positive perspective. I am part of IBM’s coaching community now and have been chair of our IBM TriState Women’s Networking group for several years. I mentor on MentorNet, at IBM, and for the College of the Holy Cross, my alma mater. I get so much from these interactions that it truly has become a passion for me and much more than a hobby. It fuels me as much as I sense it fuels those I work with.

In addition to writing more on this blog and evolving my Children's Book writing passion, on my list to do this year is to take advantage of all the in person mentoring and coaching training, tools and systems I can get so that I can better compel others achieve their true potential.

Through all my Upleveling work with Christine Kane, and my work with my coach Tonya Leigh Williams, I know that I can be even more compelling, more inspiring to others by learning even more, sharing what I’ve learned, being fully present as I do this this instead of trying to do too many things at once. Not trying hard to "make a difference in the world" but being your true authentic self which will effortlessly accomplish that.

I’d love to hear what are you doing that compels you or others, where your passions lie. I compel you to leave a comment and share it!!