Ep. 4 Simon Crowe : The fire hydrant of infinite potential
“This is where I give my self permission to not be focussed on the small separated me, but to focus on the big fire hydrant of infinite potential. Developing practices to take me there rather than having to fight my way through the spiders web.” - Simon Crowe
The Permission Podcast Series : Exploring what it means to give yourself permission to live life on your own terms.
I have connected with Simon a number of times over the last few years, and as I share in the introduction to this conversation, for me Simon always embodies a deep sense of presence and purpose. I love how his energy allows me to really drop down into my body and really ‘feel’ the conversation.
I loved how we start with an ‘uncomfortable’ silence, once in which I found myself not knowing quite what to do with… who would be the first to break it! A courageous start for a podcast ;-)
We talk about permission showing up in everything. The inherent courage in giving ourselves permission and the willingness to be uncomfortable.
We discuss what leaning in to uncertainty looks like and how curiosity is an antidote and how through clarity of vision and intention the school project in Liberia is coming to life.
There are also fire hydrants, spiders webs and cups of tea!
Find more about Simon here: www.simoncrowe.com
Listen below or via your favourite podcast platform…
Ep. 4 Simon Crowe : The fire hydrant of infinite potential
Show Notes:
A summary of conversation highlights that stood out for me…
2:40
*the silence!*
4:00
How everything we ever do is the result of the permission we give ourselves and the role of courage to do things we've never done before.
5:22
There is so much about 'doing', but a lot of self-permission is also sitting with the 'being'.
8:30
Creativity is simply the space between knowing and not knowing. Creativity is as simple as just giving yourself permission to sit for five minutes or have have an idea or write something or draw something. Trust that if you have a blank piece of paper in front of you, something is going to happen that leads to a process of action. It's also giving yourself permission that a thing you might initially draw on a piece of paper is not necessarily going to be a thing of beauty, but it's where that takes you.
10:20
Jo talks about quitting her architecture career and the permission needed to do it even thought others might not 'get it'. The permission part in that process was entertaining the idea in the first place. "I could leave". That was the permission process - actually putting the option on the table and once the option was on the table and I sat with it for long enough, it got to the point where it was shouting so loudly, it was just the only option.
14:30
Every day is created through intention, desire and inspiration. I'm giving myself permission, because there's no one else to ask for it. I also give myself permission to our source tasks that we don't like doing in our business.
16:30
We discuss what leaning in to uncertainty looks like and how curiosity is an antidote. " I don't need certainty if I'm curious".
19:00
Leading with curiosity through clarity of vision and intention, Simon shares his real life example of the school project out in Liberia where curiosity is unfolding with a knowing that it will happen, conversation by conversation.
Stay open to the process but not to attached to it happening in a particular way. If you get too attached it reduces creativity and reduces opportunity.
Keep asking questions and having conversations.
24:40
There's a massive difference between understanding something an intellectual level, and then really dropping down into it at a grounded heart level. That's where are the 'shoulds' falls away.
26:10
Being comfortable with being uncomfortable. It's necessary for growth. I've been working quite tirelessly at creating a series of practices and behaviours that when the curiosity does go behind the cloud, how do I get beyond the clouds? How do I get back into that flow of creativity?
29:40
Don't be passive and wait for that mood to shift. Use tools to take action to step back into the flow of creativity. It's incredible empowering.
32:00
Stopping the battle with resistance and stepping beyond the spiders web.
36:40
I give myself permission to not be focused on the small separated me, I instead focus on the big fire hydrant of infinite potential.
Most mornings I wake up feeling anxious and nervous. What's going to happen today? And I think, right, okay well, I've got a choice. It's my responsibility.
39:15
We don't have to believe our own thoughts. It's the permission to not stay stuck, permission to feel differently.
41:20
How we frame our language, even to ourselves can be the difference of curiosity or resistance.
43:20
What's just one small step that I could take right now? It's not even so much about the step, it's the realization that you can take the step. You're not the emotion, you're the observer of it.
44:20
A cup of tea as a mechanism for shifting state.
46:00
Creating an internal shift. From that place you've got a completely different set of choices.
48:50
Start to develop some strategies and some processes to support you stepping out of that stuck space. A habit of doing something creative everyday uses a different part of your brain, uses inspiration and curiosity. An intentional practice creates the choices.
51:20
Give yourself permission at the small 'day to day' level. It's not just about the big things. Its the same muscle being worked.
52:30
We're being run by our habits all the time. Being in a crap mood is a habit. We talk neuroplasticity and how we can change the brain simply by having a different thought.
55:40
The centre of the brain, which is responsible for fear and nervousness, is the same part of the brain that is responsible for excitement and anticipation. When I feel nervous or frightened about something I tell myself I'm excited about it. Because it's the same feeling, it's just the story I tell myself about the feeling.
59:20
When everything looks shit, there's still something which is good. We fall into polarised thinking but it's rarely those extremes absolutely. Develop the ability to a little bit more nuanced. Allow yourself to be present to the spark of possibility.
1:02:10
Our experience is always a result of the choices that we're making and we can always give ourselves permission to make a different choice.
Find out more and connect with Simon here:
“I help successful people to understand their true purpose, so they can experience greater levels of happiness and fulfilment, often in a single conversation.”
W : www.simoncrowe.com
FB: www.facebook.com/simoncrowecoaching
LI: www.linkedin.com/in/simoncrowe
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