Changing Habits – for the better..

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,

How serious you are about setting your goals?

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

Choosing your Niche

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

WHY would you need a coach?

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

Working as a Team using the ‘Goose Story’

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.

Developing your own Personal Plan for Success

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,

Will 2022 be your best year yet?

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

Endings – New Year New Beginnings

We know that: “Every ending is really just a new beginning” From experience we also know that: “New beginnings are often described as painful endings” - Lao Tze We probably also know this too: “Endings are our beginnings, and beginnings are ours to turn into something good” – Elizabeth Chandler We could try and do this: “Celebrate endings as they precede new beginnings” – Jonathan Lockwood Huie A reminder our lives are different to stories: “Every story has an end, but in life every end is a new beginning” At this time of year it’s always a time of reflection on the good, and the not so good that’s happened to us over the last year. It’s also a time we may look to the New Year with new hope and inspiration as well as a time for making positive changes, developing new habits, introducing positive changes – a time

Taking ownership

The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again expecting a different outcome. Isn’t that what we often do? We end up stuck in a pattern of habit, particularly bad habits where we just follow the same route, routine or pattern we have always done. We are often just too busy to consider how or what we might do differently – no time – no energy – no inclination – so what happens? We just keep doing the same old. Today might be the day you draw a line in the sand and take ownership of what you are doing and why. Decide that today is the day for change and change for the better. Today might be the day that works on those weaknesses, or obstacles, certainly those things you wish you had done better. It’s often not as hard as we think it is.

Seeing our Vision

If I asked you when was the best time to create a life plan, what would you say? 20s, 30s or older? When you were younger did you make a life plan? Did you map out your career or your life even just an outline? Or did things just happen? Doors opened and you went through them to where you are now. Did you end up where you wanted to be if you did plan? I often hear clients saying that they are no good at planning. They can’t create a plan, see a plan and find it hard to plan. One of the best ways of developing a business or personal plan is to create a vision board. Whether we are a creative person or not, seeing something visually is powerful and deep. There are stories of people who have developed a vision board and packed it away only