12May 2022 by Manuela Zeitlhofer No Comments

Freedom in Between

Mental Fitness, Mindfulness, Personal Development
So often, people feel that they are not in charge of their own lives, that their lives are determined by circumstance, duties and habits. Victor Frankl is said to have shared a thought-provoking perspective: Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. Viktor E. Frankl What are your thoughts on that? Please drop me a note. ________________ New and super relevant: I have expanded into Mental Fitness coaching to support lasting change in my clients’ lives. #mentalfitness #personalfreedom #mindfulness #coachmanuelazeitlhofer
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28Jan 2022 by Manuela Zeitlhofer No Comments

Multiple Perspectives

Connecting with Nature, Getting to know your Coach, Mindfulness, Personal Development
Essentially, things just are. We attribute meaning to things and events. Sometimes we dwell in the negative aspects or implications of something, when there really are other sides to everything. In coaching we use this principle, and we call it reframing: We encourage a different perspective or seeing something in a different light. Today, I did this with my sandpit: Part of our property consists of a former sandpit that was left in its soil-deprived state. For the past 25 years, nothing more than a few tough grasses, willows and even fewer very tough pines and cedars (all looking like bonsais) have been growing here. In the summer, this bothers my agriculturalist’s heart. Now, with a little bit of snow, the steep banks make marvelous sliding hills. And I wonder…
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24Nov 2021 by Manuela Zeitlhofer 1 Comment

Everything Has Two Sides

Mindfulness, Personal Development, Philosophy
I repainted my mailbox. It looks like new, but the flag is not installed properly yet (long story). When I inspected it today, contemplating how to solve the issue, I noticed beautiful ice crystals on the north-facing side of the mailbox. The south-facing side was steaming in the sunlight. I was thinking how everything has two sides: literally and metaphorically speaking. If we accept that our perspective can only be subjective, and that every situation has different aspects to it, then we have to accept that we might not always sit on the sunny side of a reality. And if that is the case, we could infer that there IS indeed a sunn(ier) side to things. How does that strike you? By the way, as a life coach I can…
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16Nov 2021 by Manuela Zeitlhofer No Comments

Freedom Choices

Cultural Awareness, Mindfulness, Personal Development
I keep thinking about my fellow Austrians. My country of birth seems divided and propaganda is driving the wedge even deeper. Thinking about our collective history, I am concerned where this might lead (again). What comes after the division? Segregation? Finding a scapegoat? Then what? I keep thinking about this dilemma. And I want to understand. So please come along and let’s ask some questions. The situation as it presents itself to me in the stories I hear and read from people I know: The government is taking away some of our freedoms, and we feel restricted. Some of us fight by being obstinate or by complaining. Others, in a more inward-directed way, are being unhappy. A few might be involved in constructive political activism; others trust that our countries’…
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28Oct 2021 by Manuela Zeitlhofer No Comments
Global Cultural Mindset (Part 1: Values)

Global Cultural Mindset (Part 1: Values)

Cultural Awareness, Personal Development, Self-Reliance
For a seemingly long time, the work was becoming smaller as global travel became easier and more and more affordable. Then, a pandemic hit, and the world seemed to expand. Sometimes, the other side of the earth seems to be as far away as another planet. Then again, we are interacting and working with people from all over the world, often in a virtual setting. In my work as a teacher and a life coach I have come to learn about the cultural challenges a global setting can provide for individuals. In a synthesis of my training as a sociologist, my experience as a teacher, and the many wonderful things I learned from people I have worked with, I have created a program. The series is called “Developing a Global…
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13Oct 2021 by Manuela Zeitlhofer No Comments

Less Knowing More Being

Connecting with Nature, Mindfulness, Personal Development, Philosophy
Sometimes I wonder about the scope of our awareness. My ego does not agree, but my intuition tells me that there is more than I can perceive. Nature taught me a valuable lesson about that: I have been baffled many times by the perseverance of ants, walking back and forth on their established routes, carrying up to twenty (!) times their body weight. I kept thinking about their world view: What do they see? What do they perceive the world to be? And where does the world as they know it end? While I am aware that the average ant might not be thinking those thoughts, I inferred that their world view is probably more limited than ours. Yet, they might confidently state: “This is how the world is!” We…
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01Oct 2021 by Manuela Zeitlhofer No Comments

What Snapping Turtles Can Do to You

Connecting with Nature, Personal Development, Philosophy
Life has been a bit challenging recently, due to ____ (please feel in the blank). Today is a sunny late summer day. As I took a break from work and went outside to sit in the grass for a few minutes, my gaze fell upon a little snapping turtle, no bigger than two inches. He (?) was sitting 1 foot away from me, staring me “down”. I had to smile, and I thanked that little creature for making me smile. Then I realized that the world had not changed, but my attitude had shifted: from my problems to the possibilities life holds. My name is Manuela. I am a Professional Life Coach. Contact me when you are ready to shift your focus from the backwards look at your problem to…
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