Notebooks

For a long time, I thought some emotions were simply better than others. Confidence was good. Calm was good. Happiness was good. The rest? Well, I tried not to pay them too much attention. If I felt anxious, frustrated or upset, my instinct was to push those feelings aside and get on with things. I thought that was what resilient people did. Coaching helped me see emotions differently. Instead of asking, "How do I get rid of this feeling?" I started asking, "Wha

Have you ever noticed how kind we can be to other people and how incredibly hard we can be on ourselves? We celebrate a friend's success without hesitation, yet when something goes well for us we explain it away. "I was just lucky." "It wasn't that difficult." "Anyone could have done it." That inner voice can be remarkably convincing. The trouble is, just because we think something doesn't make it true. Over the years I've worked with many people who, from the o

There was a time when I thought being busy meant I was doing well. My diary was full, my to-do list was never-ending and, if anyone asked how I was, the answer was almost always, "Busy!" It felt like a badge of honour. Looking back, I'm not sure it was. Somewhere along the way, we've started treating busyness as a measure of success. We rush from one thing to the next, answering emails while making a cup of tea, thinking about tomorrow while we're still living today. We