Our life is really quite short. So why do we give so many of our hours, days and weeks away to distraction, serving someone else’s purpose, and other people’s expectations? And why do we seem to overvalue money and undervalue time? And is life really short? Or is it how we choose to spend our time that makes it seem that way? As I notice our fast paced, instant gratification world of modern ‘advances’, and dopamine imbalances leading us further down the path of physical and spiritual dehydration, I find myself leaning on the ancient readings of the Stoics to satisfy my thirst for deeper wisdo ..read more

“The best way to help others is to help ourselves, and so lead by example” – Peter Crone We try to ‘fix’ others It’s really hard to see the people we most care about in our lives, going through struggle. Its only natural that we wish for them to be living a more pain-free easier life. One of the traps that we can fall into when we try to help someone close to us, is that we try to rescue or ‘fix’ them. It can feel like we are being our best selves, giving others our unsolicited advice or resources. We may however be compensating for our own sense of lack, or looking for the feel-good buz ..read more

I truly believe we have a bit of a people-pleasing culture in New Zealand.  This might be a bit of a controversial thing to say, but usually, these ‘social norms’ are the type of thing that are ‘best kept under-wraps.’ I believe, many of us have fallen for the trap of always pleasing our family and friends, at the cost of our own wellbeing, dreams and desires. We end up feeling grumpy and resentful because we never get to do what truly matters to us. Of course, its great to give and stay connected to our friends and family, but getting clear on the what is healthy giving, and what is dys ..read more

If you don’t make the time to work on creating the life you want, you’re eventually going to be forced to spend a lot of time dealing with a life you don’t want. If we don’t have a ‘true north’ in our life our life can feel a bit glum. We operate in auto pilot, in a low energy kind of way. “If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favourable” - Lucius Annaeus Seneca Most people spend their whole life feeling largely unsatisfied and unfulfilled because they haven’t taken the time to get intentional with carving out a meaningful life. This is the key word here – meaningful ..read more

I recently returned from a week’s camping trip on my own in my tent. I stayed in some fairly remote places, where I could enjoy the simplicity of living close to nature, soaking up the goodness of some of New Zealand’s most beautiful remote beaches, walking tracks, and stunning picturesque views. I’ve done this on and off for about 12 years now, since I left the ‘normal 9-5 life’ (see this blog here). I always get so much benefit mentally, physically, spiritually when I create time for myself, to get away from it all and go on an adventure that strips away my usual habits and routines and tak ..read more

Who you surround yourself with has a huge influence on your behaviour – it impacts your view of the world, what you think is possible, and what you expect of yourself. If you are more often than not around people who seem to drain you, or seem like they’re ‘just not your type’, or you feel obliged to go to that family or work function just because it’s the right thing to do even though you’ve done this all before and you know they’re not ‘your people’, you might want to take a moment and reflect on how you are choosing to spend your time. After all, it is a choice, to be around those that lif ..read more

3 questions to ask yourself, to live with more purpose and courage For 7 years, I had no home address. This was more of a problem for banks, accountants and insurance companies, than it was for myself I noticed!! I didn't fit their box. My choice to live 'outside the box' was a decision I made to experience a different way of living. (I appreciate its a privilege to have the choice, when for some it's not). It started as an experiment I was willing to take (for a few months!) to see if I could feel better mentally, physically, spiritually. To 'break free' of the caged life, the life of doing ..read more

“Purpose emerges through you when you use the greatest gifts of who you are to positively impact or influence what matters to you, while being or becoming someone that you deeply respect and admire” – Connor Beaton The path to living a life based on your own truth, not someone else’s, is to start asking yourself some deeper questions. You can start to get curious about your unique gifts and talents, and start to align your life with your deepest desires, values, wants and needs. No matter where you are in your life, it is possible to start living a more intentional purposeful life. Exami ..read more

As we begin a new calendar year you might be starting to think about how you are going to set yourself up to make 2024 the best year yet. So you ‘like’ events on social media, catch up with family and friends and talk about our goals - because it makes you feel like you’ve taken action on your goals. People want to change, but they don’t want to change What I’ve noticed is many people talk about positive inspiring change in their lives, but don’t really live it. They are still in the cognitive mode, the philosophical mode. They have gone to many self-help courses, and read numerous books but ..read more

Do you find yourself asking the question ‘Is this all there is in life?’ The hype of Christmas day and all the promised happiness, and New Years celebrations may for many be masking an undercurrent of discontent. A void that we never to seem fill. No matter how much more we do, and have, in our life, MORE never seems to satisfy that place within us that never feels full. Even among the affluent and supposedly ‘successful people’ we see the signs of unhappiness, addiction, relationship conflicts, obsession with social media, and the relentless drive for MORE. Even though by historical standard ..read more