Here’s a revelation: sometimes, blogging life coaches draw a blank on motivation, creativity and cool words to dole out to readers. So what to do, when your blog’s due out on Friday, it’s already Thursday, and you think haven’t got an idea in your head to share? Coaching yourself is not easy, believe it or not, but this week, I’ve had no choice.  I sometimes ask my clients, “If a friend came to you with this problem, what questions would you ask them?”  So let’s walk my talk for a moment… Question: Is this problem (the one that I’ve not a thought in my head) a provable fact, or is it ..read more

Have you ever been with someone whose calmness and even-tempered nature makes you feel like you can cope with anything life can throw at you?  It’s very motivating and empowering.  Life can be frenetic, aggravating and stressful, so calmness is a good state to cultivate.  It’s a great way to be, if you can master it. I don’t know about you, but when someone tells me to calm down,  I instantly feel less calm, and, possibly, even irritated.  (I hear Michael Winner’s voice: “Calm down, dear.”)  It’s much better to be shown how to be calm, than to be told to be calm ..read more

This is not a blog about fibre in your diet, you’ll be pleased to know!  It’s more about motivation: the sometimes-mysterious, often hard-to-come-by force that spurs you on, makes you determined to do something.  Some of you can be really creative when it comes to motivating ourselves and others, and that’s my mini-challenge for you this week.  Pick a task that you might need a little nudge towards completing, or maybe something that you think you don’t want to do at all. Got one?  Good.  Now what would make it very much worth your while to complete that task? Mind and ..read more

Changing, whether this involves a new job, house, life direction or circle of acquaintances can be both exciting and daunting.  A new beginning is often about making new contacts, learning, experiencing different sets of values and beliefs.  Excited is a good state: you are open to the different experiences in front of you and actively look forward to taking part.  Daunted is a less helpful state, and can hold you back by stomping on your confidence and introducing negative thoughts into your head.  Imagine you’re about to embark on something new.  Do any of these ring ..read more

How do you rate your tolerance levels?  What will you tolerate, and what will you not tolerate?  When does it get to the stage where you say, with a nod to the grammatically passionate amongst you, “Up with this I will not put!” Tolerance: your choiceTolerance, as a behaviour,  is something you can choose to do.  If you look at your own levels of tolerance, you will see that by and large, they will be influenced by your individual beliefs and values system; by what is important to you.  Ask yourself: do your levels of tolerance define you as a person? Does your toleran ..read more

Sometimes you simply have to ring the changes, don’t you?  And I’ve been writing standard blogs every week for 5 years now, so I’m definitely due for a change!  And things are changing for me too, which is why I wrote this.  It’s for all of you fab ladies out there, to help you think about what still needs to happen, and to remind you that I’m here to help, if you need it.  And it’s for me too.  Is that selfish?  Nope.  Walk your talk.  Always. With thanks to my favourite English teacher, Mrs Anne Isaac, and with a nod to Rudyard Kipling… If you can keep ..read more

Last week’s blog was about dealing with the warm weather.  This week’s is about learning from it.  Since it seems there’s more to come, we may as well make use of it!  Here’s what we can find, if we pay attention… working on tasks more slowly can result in a more thorough job reviewing priorities saves energy to give to what really matters increased awareness of  how we, and others, are feeling, both physically and mentally, gives the opportunity to take action to address any issues appreciating the benefit from the wellbeing-enhancing properties of warmth and sunlight, an ..read more

“We mustn’t complain!”  But of course we do.  It’s a bit hot, isn’t it, and some of us aren’t sleeping too well.  A quick wellbeing check-in may also reveal headaches, irritability, low mood, foggy thinking, perceiving many tasks to be completed as difficult, reduced tolerance to pain and a host of other unexplained symptoms. Now, I’m not medically trained, other than watching copious episodes of Inside the Ambulance and 24 hours in A and E, but I’d say this current spell of hot weather has a lot to answer for! It’s a shame to moan about it though, because sunshine is theoretica ..read more

Have you ever been asked the questions: “What’s your purpose?”  or  “What’s your plan?” And did you answer immediately, struggle to put it into words or did you find yourself unable to answer?  It’s a bit of a deep one for a Friday morning, I agree, but as much as it’s useful to have some idea about what you want, what you choose to happen next and what you’ll do to get there, it can feel daunting when someone uses those particular words.  I’m personally a bit bored with them.  And if you’re not sure either, maybe it’s the words “purpose” and “plan” that are off-p ..read more

Last week’s blog was about reviewing your day as it goes along, and at the end, about the questions you might ask yourself to focus on the positive.  Then what?  Curious about tomorrow now?  Fancy setting yourself up for another positive one? As soon as you begin to ask yourself questions, your brain will look for solutions and links.  It’s what the brain does.  If you approach each day with negative thoughts, that’s what you’ll attract.  If you set your brain up to search for something more positive, it will do just that.  With that firmly in mind, what will ..read more