We are all struggling right now and some more than othersWe are worried about the current situation and our futureWe may have mixed emotions with differing views, activities and situationsWe may be struggling with work, business, home, family, friends, finances Whatever the situation we are in or dealing with we need to recognise the emotional signs of stress and how we might be able to manage them as best we can. What are 5 emotional signs of stress? Psychological and emotional signs may show themselves through feeling depressed or anxious. We may feel angry, irritable or restless. Sleeping may be a problem along with a feeling of being overwhelmed, unfocussed, unmotivated with an inability to focus or concentrate on basic tasks. Worry starts to kick in making problems seem larger than they are causing us to make erratic, rushed and perhaps bad decisions. We may have a problem breathing and
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Recognising signs of stress We are all struggling right now and some more than othersWe are worried about the current situation and our futureWe may have mixed emotions with differing views, activities and situationsWe may be struggling with work, business, home, family, friends, finances Whatever the situation we are in or dealing with we need to recognise the emotional signs of stress and how we might be able to manage them as best we can. What are 5 emotional signs of stress? Psychological and emotional signs may show themselves through feeling depressed or anxious. We may feel angry, irritable or restless. Sleeping may be a problem along with a feeling of being overwhelmed, unfocussed, unmotivated with an inability to focus or concentrate on basic tasks. Worry starts to kick in making problems seem larger than they are causing us to make erratic, rushed and perhaps bad decisions. We may have
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To pay it forward means that instead of paying someone back for a good deed, you do a good deed for someone else. Paying it forward inspires generosity, empathy, concern and compassion. Whilst we are often chastised for thinking of others more than ourselves, or putting others first before ourselves, and encouraged to put ourselves first more, paying it forward is more about how we can help ourselves feel better by giving. We know it’s better to give than to receive. Focusing on others rather than ourselves, particularly when things aren’t so good can help our mental health and our emotional wellbeing. Paying it forward helps others and us! When we help others we get a euphoric feeling afterwards, giving us that ‘feel good factor’. This feeling generates loads of positive things in our brain making us feel so much better. Sometimes doing something for another person might just be
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What is it about habits? The ones we want to introduce (i.e. the good habits) into our lives we can’t seem to embed and find difficult to introduce, and the ones we don’t want to adopt (i.e. the bad habits), we seem to find no problem keeping them and which are unable to shake off!! Why? Murphy’s Law? Or is there a strategy we can use? You might find some of the tips below helpful to use to lose those bad habits and adopt those good habits. Firstly, let’s look at what a habit is. The meaning of the word is ‘a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up’. As I mentioned earlier, ‘hard to give up’, which explains why we are unable to drop our bad habits. ‘settled or regular tendency or practice’ explains why good habits are so hard to introduce,
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I hear you already! Goals! I have no time to write goals! I write them down but don’t look at them! I try to achieve them, but stuff gets in the way! I understand ALL of the reasons and have heard of them all over the years. However, if we don’t have a goal we don’t have a direction. Perhaps you could carry out the FIVE steps below and see if you can pass the test! Please do let me know how you get on! (adapted from coaching tools) STEP 1 - The Simple COMMITMENT Test How committed are you to achieving your goals?On a scale of 1 – 10 what do you score?If your score is less than 8, what is getting in your way?How can you address the obstacle?Then score again and repeat STEP 2 - The NOW Test! How much do you really want your goal?If you
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It can be really hard when you’re in business either as a soul trader or limited company, particularly when starting as a single-person enterprise or ‘one-person band’ to try and show your point of difference, unique selling point or niche. You might find the points below helpful in working through the steps to identify how you can stand out from your prospective, potential or current competitors. Even if you’re looking to set up a hobby business you might find these steps useful also. Something that you're interested inFirstly you need to identify where your passion lies and what you spend most of your time doing. What is it you totally obsess about and don’t stop talking about? What is it that gets you most excited that you talk to others the most about? Something that addresses a market needIt’s all very well having a passion for something but is what
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Have you ever used a business or life coach? Do you know what it might entail? Are you aware of what the value of benefits might be? Often, I hear people have an assumption they will be told what to do or perhaps had a bad experience from a coach at some point putting them off engaging a coach again. Business Coaching If you have bought, started up or are running a business, there are three key specialists or experts you most definitely need. AccountantLawyerCoach You might feel the first two are obvious, as all businesses need an accountant and perhaps a lawyer at one stage or another, however for some having a coach is often felt unnecessary and more of a luxury than a necessity. Personal / Life Coaching If you feel you need help personally and are struggling with direction, focus or feel you have gotten stuck in
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We work as a team in many different circumstances, at work and at home, personally and professionally. We know teamwork is imperative to ensure success. Geese can teach us a great deal about teamwork. I remember when I came across the ‘Goose Story’, many years ago and have been intrigued ever since. They can teach us a great deal. Below are five things we can learn about teamwork from geese: Working Together Their iconic V shape isn’t just aesthetics but a way of them working together as a team. When each bird flaps its wings, it creates a lift for the other birds so they can fly together with less effort. Flying in formation means they use less energy, perform better, reach their destination quicker. Lesson Learned: Having a common goal means they are more efficient and effective; working as a team creates success; using the strengths of team members.
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Do you want to improve your chances of achieving success?Why not design your own Personal Plan for Success (PPS) What is a PPS? A Personal Plan for Success or PPS is about finding out what you need to do to enable you to reach your goals. You can do this by identifying and implementing your behaviours, actions and plans. Our behaviour is the way in which we act or conduct ourselves, and it’s often our behaviour that lets us down and causes us to fail. Repeated (not good) behaviour can often be the cause of self-sabotage. Developing your PPS means you design a simple system that starts with a risk assessment. Identifying where you are likely to go wrong, or off the rails, or not start, or not continue. Developing a risk assessment is the best place to start, as we can then work out how to minimise the risks,
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How did you perform last year? Did you achieve your goals? If you did, a huge well done! Keep doing what you’re doing and keep up the great work! If you didn't, now is the time to reflect on what happened last year. Perhaps you could consider the following questions: What were my goals? Why didn't I reach them? How can I adapt them to achieve them this year? When did it all start going wrong? Where are the weakest links? Typically, there are three key reasons why people don't achieve their goals: Not setting goalsNot having a planNot sticking to the plan We know this is common sense, but it isn’t common practice – AND we know it’s easier said than done, otherwise everyone would be achieving their goals. We all probably know the SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timebound), so they are clear rather than a
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