As my birthday rolls around this year, I’ve been thinking about how people feel about their birthday arriving and whether they treat it like a celebration or not. I have friends who feel it’s nothing special and prefer to ignore it, others who acknowledge it but don’t like being made a fuss of, and then others who love an excuse to take the day ... [Read On]
How to really get the juice out of gratitude
I’ll never forget the first time I saw the beautiful images of frozen water crystals in Masaru Emoto’s book, The Hidden Messages in Water. The one for ‘love and appreciation’ was so stunning I think it’s been etched on my visual cortex forever. Anytime I think of this it reminds me how powerful the act of doing gratitude is. It has an energy and ... [Read On]
Comfort Can Kill Your Spirit
I’ve been super inspired by a number of clients recently who have opted out of their current jobs because of poor leadership, limited opportunities, or a crappy culture. They’ve defined their ideal role or next step and then gone and got it. So good! This is on the back of thinking a lot lately about how attached we can become to the comfort of ... [Read On]
3 Ways to put your mind in service to your happiness
The mind. Friend or foe? Many of us have challenges at different times with our mind getting too busy or too negative, or simply taking up too much space in our consciousness. Honestly, I used to think my mind was more troublesome than helpful and I just wanted it to shut up, behave and let me be happy. It can distract us or make us doubt. It ... [Read On]
Whole Happy Well
I’ve been thinking a lot a lot lately about how many of our patterns and behaviours are driven by a sense of needing to be available for others and to ‘perform’. Historically my motivation for getting a good night's sleep was so that I could work hard (usually for someone else). I was motivated to eat healthily and keep my weight at a good ... [Read On]
Could you be getting caught up in “I’ll try” thinking?
How easy is it to get caught up in “I’ll try” thinking ?? Do you hear yourself say it to people? “I’ll try and get that to you by this time.” “I’ll try and be there.” “I’ll try and do it.” “I’ll try” can mean I’m going to do this, but really I’m not that keen or enthusiastic. Or it feels too much on top of what I’m already doing. Or I’m ... [Read On]
Our unresolved stuff can be a sneaky little energy drain
Do you recall the sensation of finally getting something off your chest or resolving a situation with a friend? Of how much of a relief it was and how much lighter you felt afterwards? Isn’t it funny how often it’s only with retrospect that we realise how much that situation was taking up space within us? How heavy it was on our shoulders? This ... [Read On]
Start With You Means Having Sovereignty Over Yourself
When I rebranded my business to Start With You back in 2015, it was after a lot of exploring and soul-searching, primarily about why I do what I do and what it’s really about. (I can highly recommend Simon Sinek’s book “Start With Why” and his online resources to help with this process, by the way. Oh, and it wasn’t until the following day after ... [Read On]
Give Yourself Permission to Change Your Own Rules
It’s so easy to forget that every one of us is influenced by our individual, unique set of ‘inner rules’, values, precedents and social norms – some of which we are conscious of, and some that are unconscious. In either case, they drive our thinking, our behaviour, our decisions – virtually everything about how we do life. And it’s because they ... [Read On]
Hiring a coach is an act of courage.
Gentlemen, this one is for you. Yes, I offer coaching for men, and at least half my coaching clients are male – business owners, directors, leaders and professionals. One of them was telling me yesterday about two recent conversations with male friends of his about their challenges around stress and mental health. He was feeling really good ... [Read On]