I’m sitting in my first ever “Humans First” meet up.

I’d been encouraged to go by two separate (wonderful) people that I have met over the last few years of being down in Dorset.

This group however, is VERY global.

Online, you don’t really feel like the “newbie”, because people don’t sit in clumps or gather by the coffee! You don’t have to “nudge” your way into a conversation.

Welcomed by waves, or hellos’ in the “chat box”, it already feels friendly. Its so much easier to integrate and I just melted in. Of course, the person that had joined from the beach, planning a swim straight after helped me feel at home too! There was an intro from one of the hosts, and I introduced myself. I change what I say every time (contrary to all advice about having a “pitch”!).

Not the sort of group for a “pitch” anyway to be honest, it is what is says on the tin – humans; like-minded people gathering to talk about what drives them as human beings. We were invited to discuss a question “if you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you start doing?” and then…”what is stopping you doing it now”. That is a regular coaching question when I partner with clients and brought a rich discussion in itself, but what really got me going today, was the next one:

“Why do you wake up in the morning?”

Subtly different to “why do you GET up in the morning?”., it makes you think a bit more.

With three of us in our breakout, we eased into the conversation with talk of our shared ditching of corporate jobs and the things that might keep us from sleeping. One of our group had just started a new job as a waiter and reflected on his last worry before bed being whether he had given a customer the toothpick they asked for! He couldn’t recall too much trouble getting to sleep that night.

Reminiscing about my days as a waitress, I’ve always thought of it as one of the jobs I enjoyed the most, you never know who you might meet, the conversations or how busy it would be. A real memory of a thriving feeling. Back to the question. My answer, which I’d kept to myself to this point (for fear of it being a bit jokey) was:

“when I have had enough sleep!”

It didn’t feel profound enough.

Being the newbie too, I was reluctant to share. However I, in turn, was asked the direct question, so I gave my answer with a chuckle. You’ll see from my other posts that I like to be light hearted, but also, how much I know about the importance of sleep, so that was on my mind as I answered too!

What I was thrilled about, was the discussion it opened up. When I have had enough sleep, I am ready for the day, excited about what it might bring, what I can offer, and what I can glean.

We talked of curiosities for the day ahead. What might one wear? What happens if I choose left over right? Who might I meet? What might change? The word curiosity is still ringing in my ears. THAT really got me fired up.

Go back a couple of years, and I would never have said “when I’ve had enough sleep”. I never felt like I’d slept well. I had many years of anxious/depressed mornings, waking up with the weight of the world, bags of worry (that didn’t even have any labels).

I have worked very hard over the last few years on my own self-awareness to get to a place where the morning is not something to be fearful of. Through exploring what I need to do to help myself feel good, I have found it enables good sleep. It is different for everyone, I know that from coaching others to find their own ways (forgive me, I am not a magic pill giver I’m afraid!).

Waking up in the morning feeling that I am READY and EXCITED for the day is quite a revolution. That moment, or maybe more as I reflected during the day afterwards, I flooded with gratitude. I have always been curious, and as the conversation unfolded, I filled more and more with that zest for life; that “what might be around the corner?” approach.

It reminded my of my values, leading with curiosity, following with growth, creativity, connectivity, and of course…humour. Values are such an important part of who you are. If you don’t know what they are, it is really hard to know if you are being true to them, or what you need in your life to meet them.

In working with many people who think they know who they are, we still spend two or three sessions honing it down, because they weren’t as clear as first thought. Once we nail it, it is truly is revolutionary. Re-igniting mine fuelled my thinking for today and reminded me that I have purpose in each and every time I wake, “BE CURIOUS” and let me tell you, that feeling is something to be really grateful for.

I think its the permission that purpose can be big, but it can also be small, and the simpler it is, the easier to keep real and apply frequently.

So, let me ask you;

Why do you wake up? and as you reflect on your answer…

What is that question sparking for you? and if you want more…

How much do you know about your values and purpose? share this post with a friend – what is their answer?

If you want a super quick exercise to find out what you value, do this:

• Go look at your bank statement – what are you spending most of your money?
• Go check your diary – what are you spending most of your time doing? [OK that might be work, so is it what you really love?]
• Think through the people around and in your life – do they bring whats important to your life?

What did you conclude? Lets talk…(or write to me…)