Week 7

It’s Week 7, you are more than half way through the challenge.

It’s not quite downhill from here but you can now begin to reap the rewards of the hard work and all the preparation you have put in.

It’s worth saying again that you need to continue to stick to your routines and discipline that has led you this far.  Having said that, be gentle with yourself. Don’t sweat the small stuff and, if you do fall off schedule, just get straight back on it.

What’s important now is completing the whole 12 weeks, working through the exercises and focusing on their objectives.

Just keep going and you will win!!

 

Week 7 is in two parts :

Part one continues to develop and evolve your understanding of your destination or desired future. we get the chance to have another look at that list we made and see if there are any new ideas or thoughts. Spreading this process over a few weeks really help you test what you think you want and we need you to complete the challenge with a real good sense of what you want going forward. It’s easy to jump over this exercise and think you have it all done. Our experience is people have moments that change everything when they cross our large sections of what they thought they wanted or outline whole new areas that would really make them excited to be alive and living. This is a big thing that made the most difference with thousands of our delegates. Know ing what you want lets you understand what you get from doing what you do. If it needs effort, if it requires you to step up  or do new things then knowing that this will give you more chance of having what you really want provides power to push through. We are about to ask the Monkey to join forces and work with us. They may well query or check what you think you want and  it will really help if you are pretty definite. Please don’t play lip service to this exercise.

Part two sees us starting using this to begin working more formally with your Monkey.

Obviously our Monkeys are always there in the backgrounded  they have been aware of everything you have done so far. They know about your preparation your thoughts and your desires.  This week sees us building on this informal process, making sure there are no misunderstandings or miscommunication  by consciously talking to your Monkey.

Down load this week’s practical exercises here:

  • Exercise 9 – Making A List
  • Exercise 11 The first formal chat*Note think of exercise 11 as in existing in two parts –   11a and 11 b. They  utilise the same recorded session. Use the recording as ‘11a’ to run your first formal meeting with your Monkey, then use the recorded session as exercise ’11b’ to facilitate  repeat or follow up sessions to talk more.  After completing exercise 11a, you can use the same recording for repeat sessions with your Monkey and drive the nature of the meeting for your own agenda.

Standard Weekly exercises

 

Ongoing Action

  1. Hold the thought. – “If this contact from the Monkey was designed to help – what would it be helping me with?”
  2. Make a note of any evidence you uncover of Monkey Help.
  3. Hold your destination and your plan in your mind whenever you can.
  4. Share your experiences and scores on the Facebook challenge page. 
  5. Whenever you get a spare moment, take a deep breath, drift up and look back at yourself.

 

Read More about each of this week’s exercises below –

*Note 11a and 11 b are the same exercise. 11a is used to run your first formal meeting with your Monkey, repeats or follow ups to meet and talk are known as 11 b.

Week 7 timetable is shown below:

Week 7 Day Exercise Planning and organising
  43 Exercise 9 Make a List
  44 Exercise 11 The First Formal Chat
  45 Exercise 9 Make a List
46 Exercise 11 Further Meetings (using the framework of the First Formal Chat)
  47 Exercise 9 Make a List
  48 Exercise 11 Further Meetings
  49 Exercise 13 Survey Exercise 14 Week 8

Exercise 9: Make a List

This is a rerun of the exercise in Week 5 and gives you the chance to refresh or polish what you have. Take the full 25 minutes and write out what it is you think you want. Your list will evolve as we progress through the week.

If you are still struggling, use a simple format with two columns titled, ‘More of this’ and ‘Less of that’ and start writing out what you want to be different. Don’t worry about whether you have more items in the ‘Less of that’ list. You have to clear out things to make way for new things and some of us may have a lot to clear out to begin making the space for the things we want. Whatever you produce now, see it as a good start.

Again, what you write down may feel like it’s coming out of nowhere and surprise you. You may realise you have been spending time and effort on things you really do not want in your life.

Note: if you have more stuff on your ‘Less of that’ list, you can find some useful extra reading here.

Exercise 9 objectives

The objective of this exercise is to consciously review what it is you think you want and continue to evolve your list to be a closer representation of what you actually want.

Continuing to review your list and noting any resistance to taking any actions you need to take to create the life you say you want is a good ongoing discipline to make sure you don’t waste time and energy on things you don’t want.

 

Exercise 11 The First Formal Chat

In this exercise we want to be at Viewpoint 3 and use the preparation we completed in Exercise 10a. We are going to ask the Monkey to join us and talk with us in that space.

In this exercise we repeat the same breath-based activities we have used for previous exercises.

This is a key meeting and its worth reviewing some of the rules:

Be respectful and aware that they may need to question or even complain or accuse. Listen to what they say like you would with a good friend where the relationship has gone sour. Make sure you take responsibility and accept that you must change to make your relationship work. Show them you feel like this and hold onto your vision for the future relationship.

Remember your Monkey wants a good relationship too, so let them vent, it will let off steam and you will then be able to move on together.

Control yourself. Actively look for positives and avoid reacting to anything inflammatory. Understand that you may get some anger and other reactions. Be nice but firm, you want this relationship to work and you are committed to making it happen.

Accept that they have probably got a point and much of what they will bring up is true. Your acceptance of this shows your maturity and your determination to make this work.

On no account be tempted to argue or score points.

Focus on your future together and remember that the past is the past. Remember that their previous efforts, however painful, have been in the best interest. Use any upset as hints that the ‘best interest’ needs to be better understood.

Stick with your intention that you can and will make this relationship happen.

Try to find a page you can both stand comfortably on. Your objective in this first meeting is to sit together and agree on something that moves you forward together. When you feel, you have come to an agreement, agree to meet again and end the meeting. This will lead you to the second type of Exercise 11 which is a less formal meeting at view point three.

*Exercise 11 repeats in more general terms as a method for ongoing meetings or discussions with your Monkey. To make it easy we refer to this as 11b. We suggest you use it this week to revisit where you are at and tidy any loose ends.

 

Exercise 11: The First Formal Chat objectives

The objective of this exercise is to make the first formal contact with your Monkey and talk through setting up the relationship you want to see in place. It’s based on the preparation you have done previously.

We ask you to do this exercise formally once on Day 2 of Week 7 and then repeat it as the basis of a more general catch up or meeting on Days 4 and 6.

By the end of these exercises, you should

  • have had the chance to check your conscious list from Exercise 9,
  • have a more accurate written list of what you think you want to achieve,
  • have met with your Monkey formally to launch your vision for your future together, and
  • have conducted two additional and less formal meetings to tie up loose ends and cement the relationship.

Make any notes that seem relevant to you.

 

Exercise 13 Misaligned Monkey Relationship Survey

Remember to take the survey again on Day 7 so you can build your picture of the effect the exercises are having.

Useful links

Weekly details

 

Background Listening / Reading