When the world falls apart
  Shimbou-zuyoi (means looking on the bright side)
How do Japanese people manage in such terrible times? Two earthquakes and a tsunami as well as an unhappy nuclear power station. It's a difficult time, yet people stay calm and try to feel positive. This is called Shimbou-zuyoi. It means looking on the bright side of things when bad stuff happens.
It's been quite bad for us here too. We haven't had natural disasters, in fact the weather has been fine with everything blossoming, but the cuts have affected us all in one way or another and things don't feel very safe.
We are probably asking ourselves the same questions as the Japanese people are.
How do we stay calm when the earth feels like it's being pulled out from under our feet?
How do we find a new direction and path, when things are so unclear?
Leading ourselves through these difficult times and making sure those around us don't sink is a big job.
Sync thoughts
Life ebbs and flows, you only have to look at the fossil records to see all the change.
(Jon Adams, Sync Thinking, March 2011)
Change is part of life. We're all going through big changes and some of them don't feel that easy.
We're sharing some good changes this month, finding out what has changed for people through their contact with Sync.
This month we're focusing on the impact of Sync Coaching as well as looking at what has changed for people and their achievements.
One of the most powerful moments for many on our Sync Thinking day in March was when Caroline Cardus in conversation with Tony Heaton talked about how coaching had helped her to be 'ready for a no'.
As long as Caroline feels she's done her best, then a no, now doesn't feel so bad. She's choosing how to feel about what happens to her in her work life.
You can see a video of Caroline and Tony talking next month on the website.
There's lots of great things to read at the end of each section of the bulletin this month so get stuck in. Why not enjoy Simon Mckeown and Ruth Gould talking about achieving great things.
Simon and Ruth's conversation
Melting pot
My coaching journey through Sync saw me through a time of huge change, from working within a disabled-led very small organisation to completely changing and going into a very large, mainstream organisation with a very different kind of support and trying to find my own personal path through that. (Rachel Bagshaw)
Rachel Bagshaw joined Sync Intensives programme a year after her mentor and manager Jenny Sealey completed the Sync 20 programme.
At our recent Sync Thinking event in March they spoke openly about how coaching had helped them to share more of the way they behave. Hiding used to be a big part of this.
For Jenny, she used to 'hide in a bubble' not wanting to connect, using her deafness to hide away. For Rachel, she used to hide her pain and not make space to rest which was really difficult for her.
It got us together to really talk about being deaf, being a wheelchair user, pain management, frustration, fatigue, we were able to put all of that into a bigger melting pot and talk about it a lot more honestly.
Read their whole conversation by clicking here!
Rachel and Jenny's conversation
Being me
Without Sync or 2012, I would never have said 'I'm not going to hide any more, I'm going to get on and do it'. What was important was finding out about me, through the coaching. If I didn't know who I was I wouldn't be able to do it. (Jon Adams)
In the afternoon of the Sync Thinking event we heard from Jon Adams and Cat Loriggio
Jon trained to be a geologist and he understands how change works in nature and this has helped him accept change at work.
Life ebbs and flows. You only have to look at the fossil records to see that change is inevitable. Like Caroline Cardus said this morning, it's how you look at things, how you work with them. It's life and it will always find a way.
Caterina describes herself as a catalyst for change and has been hugely dependent on people like Jon in building a strong arts project around the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the South East region.
Whilst Jon and I think very differently.... we both adore detail and have very high expectations, it's our likeness that has actually made a lot of this work happen, but our differences ensure that it's very interesting and exciting work.
Cat and Jon in conversation
Sync moves
In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms and beats which are in some way unexpected.
We've had our first meeting to see what Sync might do through 2011 and into 2012 with Arts Council England, but we're still not quite sure as to the beat of things to come.
As soon as we know more, we'll share this with you. In the mean time, hope you've enjoyed the Easter break.
See you again in May.
Sarah Pickthall
Sync Coaching
(oh and yes, we know it is now May! We weren't all too busy watching the royal wedding - honest. We had some technical problems we had to sort - all done now. Enjoy!)
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