As you may already know I get my inspiration from many sources and this week it came from a poem I saw in a shop which talked about the traits of a willow tree. From this I thought I would use the Willow Tree as a metaphor and see how we may use some of our existing skills or adopt some skills we didn’t previously have to become more like a Willow Tree. The Willow Tree is felt to be the rebel of the tree world in that it is anything but conventional; and zigs when other trees zag, its roots are intriguing and daring in that they seem to find their way past or through every obstacle that may be in their way. They have the flexibility to bend when other trees break even in the fiercest storms, taking these challenges in its stride. It constantly reinvents itself, continually
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Now is the time we need to be considering what we want to achieve personally and professionally whether in work or in business. We do need to think about what we want the end result to be i.e. where do we see ourselves by the end of 2021. We need to take into consideration what support we might need, what challenges we might face and what obstacles may get in your way. We may need to upskill, this may be reading books or signing up to a course or workshop. We might want to consider where we want to stretch ourselves, which areas are we less strong or knowledgeable in where we could minimise our lack of knowledge or reduce our weaknesses. But, where to start? It may feel like a mammoth task, feeling like there’s a whole lot of ‘work’ to be done before you can even set those
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Are you focusing your attention on your intention?What are your intentions?Do you have any intentions?Is your attention in focus? Before we can set our intentions, we need to identify where our attention lies and check we are being attentive in the right areas to do the right things. Then we can determine what our intentions are and aim to keep them. But first we need to determine what the difference is between intention and attention. Attention usually is observing or listening on something or someone, paying close attention and taking in what we are seeing or hearing. Intention is usually a course of action taking us from where we are at present into something we picture as being our future, where we might see ourselves. An intention is our goal or aim, our purpose, something we intend or mean to do, determined not to put it off and not to
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We’re at the time of year where New Year’s resolutions are made and where we reflect on those made at the same time last year which were broken or unfulfilled. We repeat the same pattern with plans for our life, personal or professional goals. We aim to make things better for our business or work in the hope that these goals will keep us on track, focused on stretching ourselves to achieve success. Have we ever thought about why we don’t fulfil our ambitions or achieve our goals? Is it a good thing to repeat the cycle by doing the same thing every year with the same unfinished outcome! Isn’t that the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing hoping for a different outcome when instead we just have the same outcome each time? You might be interested instead of examining why you haven’t completing those goals in the past.
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Looking back on 2020 what might you have said was one of the good things to come out of the year?What might have been one of the toughest challenges you had this year? We even refer to ‘before’ or ‘after’ lockdown or COVID-19 like we would usually refer to this year or last year! Upon hearing what clients, friends, colleagues and family have said, despite the awfulness of the global crises with the pandemic and the changing climate, I have yet to hear anyone who didn’t benefit from lockdown in more ways than they might have originally anticipated. We had things thrust upon us believing we couldn’t cope when for the most part we rose to each challenge, stress, problem that was put in front of us, managing to gain something positive from which initially was the biggest disaster of our lifetime. Now of course as we are nearing the
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As we start to wind down for the end of the year reflecting on what a year it’s been and how we’ve faired on a personal and professional level, as well as starting to prepare for a new year, and wondering what might be in store for us, we need to start with how we can manage ourselves and our well-being. When we start with ourselves, we need to look at how confident we are and determine how much we believe in ourselves. We need to be aware of this before we even contemplate planning for a new year otherwise, we are unlikely to achieve our goals. Our self-belief and self-confidence often take a battering during difficult and stressful times, so let’s start with what they are, why they are different, what the difference is between them and why they are important. What is self-confidence? Self-confidence is our ability to
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Whether you are a goal person or not and whether you are a list person or not, I’m sure you still have goals, aims or visions of what you want to achieve in life. Often these are wish lists or ‘if I won lotto’ thoughts, but if we put our mind to it, we can achieve what we want. If this is the case, then why aren’t we all achieving what we want in life? Usually there is something that prevents us or hinders us from doing so, and that ‘something’ is usually us. What we think, feel, or the way we act becomes the barriers or obstacles that hold us back. As parents we tell our children they have choices and can do and be what and who they want, and life is what they make it, so we need to follow that great advice we give them and
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Did you know there are two different types of mindset?Fixed or Growth Mindset – Which one are you? Fixed Mindset: Some people have a fixed mindset, where it’s felt these qualities are inherited, fixed, and unchangeable. Growth Mindset: Those with a growth mindset, it’s believed, is where abilities can be created and improved through sheer commitment and hard work. Whichever mindset we have we may be a mixture of both dependent upon the situation and the environment. Wouldn’t it be great if we could incorporate tips and tools to develop a GREAT mindset that’s flexible to accommodate any or most situations to help with our personal development? QUOTE: “Once your mindset changes, everything on the outside will change along with it.” Steve Maraboli Here are FIVE tips for developing a great mindset: Positivity – If we focus on using positive and not negative words when we are talking, either to
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You might be aware of a quote by Mahatma Gandhi about how our beliefs eventually become our destiny? Hearing this quote recently in a book I was e-reading about how everything we do can lead to a path with a destination. However, if we don’t have a clear path, or we get side-tracked or enticed up a path of no return we are never going to reach our destination, achieve our goals or stay true to our values. Your beliefs become your thoughts Your thoughts become your words Your words become your actions Your actions become your habits Your habits become your values Your values become your destiny Mahatma Gandhi There is a saying we are what we eat, however, we are also what we believe. This should mean if we believe in ourselves and stay true to our values (assuming we are clear what our values are), we should
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Do you know what your personal values are?Do you live by your values?Are you often in conflict with your values? AND Do you have core values for your business?Are these core values in alignment with your business?Are your core values often in conflict with your personal values? The thing is if we can’t value ourselves then how can we value our business. If we go against our values when we work with or onboard a new client or customer that doesn’t align with who we are, this can upset our moral balance and our integrity. If you feel you are living ‘under’ your values then perhaps you can use some of these steps to help your bring ‘true value’ back into your personal life and your work or business. Knowing your values help you regulate and manage your decision-making to become your moral compass. Try these SIX STEPS to developing
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