I believe that helping people helps people – we can all live more upbeat by causing positive change to things that matter. Still Waters is how I can contribute to changing the things that matter to me.
Covid, heart surgery and redundancy in 2020/21 brought me time and space to reflect on what was important to me and what I wanted to do next. Eventually the idea of Still Waters came about. With the help of Brook and the good people at 3 Men Squared I got to the essence of my purpose in this work – to help people help themselves.
I believe that everything in our personal and professional lives is interconnected – which means the actions we take have an effect beyond what we might imagine.
This belief drives our collaboration. We stand on each other’s shoulders to work out what’s going on and create momentum for change. Together we integrate the seemingly separate aspects of life to unlock potential; by changing one thing you can cause change in everything around you.
To help understand how this collaboration might feel I thought it worth sharing some guiding principles that have proved helpful to me. They are a set of beliefs I hold about people and the nature of change and they tend to guide me through work and life. The guiding principles are:
• Everyone has potential, no matter what
• Mindset matters most
• We’re all flawed and that’s ok
• We need courage to show vulnerability
• Helping others nourishes us
• Collaboration generates, competition disintegrates
• You can teach an old dog new tricks
• Everything is connected, so it all matters
• Embracing impermanence alleviates suffering
• We need more love and hope, less hate and fear
You might think of Still Waters being three things;
Firstly, a place to come to find resources that aim to interest, educate, inspire and provoke.
Secondly a set of skills or services that I feel confident in offering to help you help yourself.
And thirdly, though this will take time, a community of common interest.
Resources
The resources have been grouped into four sections, each containing several categories. They have been designed to be easy to access and hopefully helpful to explore. Please contact me with any feedback on how they could be improved.
The four resource sections are:
Helping Organisations Thrive
Becoming An Eco-citizen
Being Adopted
Still Waters Overview
Services
I have created five services, in the form of roles I offer.
Consultant
I watch and listen to your organisation and then we work on what I notice. I aim to bring fresh eyes, a lively, creative mind and plenty of experience to my consulting work.
Coach
I work closely with individuals and teams to achieve the goals they aspire to. We build trust and rapport early so that we can challenge stuck patterns and find breakthroughs.
Facilitator
I help teams and groups help themselves. We work out what’s needed, why and how best to make it happen. Then we get going together in a collaborative, challenging way.
Teacher
There are some things that I feel able to teach, including mindfulness practice, presentations skills, challenger tools. My teaching is light on theory, heavy on experiential practice.
Mentor
I am a trusted advisor for people who are in situations that I have some first or second-hand experience of. I offer advice lightly and in the spirit of collaboration more than autocracy.
Community
In terms of helping organisations thrive, I already feel part of an inspiring community of practitioners. This is nourishing to me personally, but more importantly our collaboration enhances the service we can offer customers.
In order to explore how to become an eco-citizen I have already become a member of several communities, including The Green Party, The Deep Adaptation Forum, Project Drawdown and New and Ancient Stories. I’m hoping that will be enough, and that I can integrate the spirit and thinking of these communities here. Perhaps one day we’ll need our own community in Still Waters for Becoming an Eco-Citizen, let’s see how this exploration develops.
Private Facebook groups can be a helpful place for people grappling with being adopted. I am a member of several groups and have reviewed them in an article to help you make a choice about that. I will continue to research communities of adopted people and share my findings. At some point, if there is a specific need not being met elsewhere, I may create a community forum within Still Waters.
…And finally a few words on charging
Still Waters is my living and so I do need to charge for at least some of what’s offered here. I am committed to providing free access to all resources and respond to any requests for help. For chargeable work, I am very happy to use the spirit of the Gift Economy so that people who need help can choose to pay what they feel is right and what they can afford. And I am also able to charge more conventionally if that is helpful for you.