How would you react if I told you we were leaving tomorrow to climb Mount Everest…? Unless you’re an experienced high-altitude climber, I imagine something like the following would run through your mind… “But, I can’t climb mountains!” “But, what about my job?” “But, I don’t have any equipment!” “I’m scared…”
Continue readingHamlet said, “for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” As we say goodbye to the summer and anticipate the onset of autumn we have a choice; we can either dread the colder, wetter weather or we can look forward to the leaves changing colour and the excitement of the build up to Christmas. It’s up to you – the end of summer can be a good thing or a…
Continue readingConfidence. It’s one of those things we often envy in others, wondering how they so effortlessly present themselves to the world. Maybe you’re one of those people who comes across as really confident but is filled with self-doubt underneath. Or, perhaps you used to be really confident until so-and-so or such-and-such robbed you of your self-belief.
Continue readingAs part of a recent Confidence Building Workshop, the delegates and I were discussing what confidence is and also what it isn’t. When I wrote the following statement on the board, “Confidence isn’t permanent,” there was a collective sharp intake of breath as light-bulb moments fired off across the room. This statement proved to be very powerful as it freed the people on my course from thinking that in order to be a confident person…
Continue readingIn tribute to the late Stephen R Covey and his brilliant book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (which, if you haven’t read I’d really recommend you do), I thought it would be interesting to look at the opposite. So here, from my own (and my clients’ experiences) is my list of the 7 Beliefs (“Thinking Habits”) sure to keep you unfulfilled, unhappy and unsuccessful…
Continue readingI talk a lot about authenticity in my work, regularly encouraging my clients to find their authentic selves in order to lead happier, more fulfilling lives. So, what does it mean to be ‘authentic’?
Continue readingYour best is enough… The more clients I see, the more I become convinced that we live in a culture where perfectionism is rife and I believe it’s sucking the life out of us. We try to sculpt our bodies into perfectly lean model sizes (unable to enjoy our normal bodies because they’re not “perfect”), we boast on Facebook about our perfect lives on our perfectly groomed summer lawns or in front of our perfectly…
Continue readingKaren* came to me last year as she was at a crossroads in her life. She’d fallen into an unfulfilling career after university, and then had her children who were now all at school. Quite tearfully, she explained to me that the thought of returning to her former career filled her with dread but she had no idea what else she could do. She wanted to find her passion in life but didn’t know where…
Continue readingRecently, I’ve been mulling what it means to ‘go with the flow.’ Why? Because I’m learning that when I do manage to let go of trying to control outcomes I have much more peace and things seem to just fall into place. So, how do I reconcile this with being a coach and helping people reach their goals…? A friend once complimented me on my work by saying it was, ‘self help without the wiff…
Continue readingAre you someone who worries about the future and spends time fretting about the past? Most of us can relate to this state of mind and we all know it gets us nowhere. For some of us, this way of thinking becomes entrenched and consumes the majority of our thought-life, meaning we can never enjoy the moment. I know because I used to live this way myself.
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