Britain’s weather seldom provides any real reason for concern beyond an arched eyebrow or an audible sigh – so I’ve never taken much notice of those MET Office warnings, the three-staged colour code of yellow, orange and red.

And, as remarkable as this year’s UK weather has been, even a red warning doesn’t have me “taking action” as the code advocates.

If this seems flippant and irresponsible – please don’t judge me – and hear me out on where I’m going with all of this. I got to thinking about the wisdom of those three stages of alertness to impending danger (or change).

As a gentle reminder, here’s what that Met Office Warning Code looks like:

YELLOW: Be aware
ORANGE: Be Prepared
RED: Take Action

YELLOW:
How many of us, in our hectic over-stimulated lives, ever give a thought to just being aware? Our daily awareness may stretch to avoiding traffic or how many days over the sell-by date the food in our fridge is -– but are we ever really aware of the state of wellbeing, where we stand in the stakes of our career, family, fulfilment?

ORANGE:
I’d hazard a guess that means we’re never ever really prepared for any sudden changes to our equilibrium – that sudden takeover at work – or that realisation that our offspring has a newly acquired cannabis leaf tattoo. It’s hardly any wonder then that any action we might take; to keep that job or intervene before the trip to Ink-inc – is knee jerk – unthought-through.

I’m not advocating we live our lives in some sort of ninja-style awareness to change or danger. But saluting the yellow flag a few times each week – casting around – being aware of our state of wellbeing – inventory checking that which is important – our values – goals and dreams – and how far off they are – might not be a bad thing.

RED:
Consequently with our awareness of and our preparedness for change – the action we take might be well informed – taken with due care and real insight.

When I’m coaching – I often meet clients facing the red stage – having to take action – long after life’s yellow and orange warnings have past unnoticed. This is entirely understandable of course and entirely manageable – the resourcefulness of my coachees never ceases to amaze and inspire me.

But coaching can and will lead to better self-awareness, can encourage us to be more aware of our state of fulfilment and in-turn prepare us to take action before any crisis. And, if we’ve been aware and prepared we’ll know with more assuredness exactly what action to take if and when the storm hits.

And you don’t have to take my word for it:
“I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion.”
Billie Jean King

Most of us humans have the great gifts of self-awareness and imagination – and consequently the power to direct our own lives – maybe working the aware – prepare – act trilogy will help us to leverage that power.