Find your happy place…
Warm and fuzzy… calm and collected… exuberant and passionate – these are all feelings that are important for a fulfilling life but can sometimes escape us when we’re going non-stop at a million miles an hour and the world is speeding by. Being an ambitious sort, I admit, I have been unimpressed with the ‘speed bumps’ on the way to some important goals for myself – such as illness and major priority clashes – but know that I’m incredibly lucky to be able to be in a position to get past disappointment at missing self imposed deadlines, shake off any negative self talk (seriously… that shizzle helps no one!). shift some deadlines, take a step back and re-evaluate / re-plan and essentially have another go at what I was looking to achieve in the first place. Looking at the shifting goalposts of the last few months has inspired me to write today’s post. No… it’s not about tightening up your goal setting abilities.Not about getting focused.Not even about not being so hard on yourself (… all of which are very valid topics that I have… or will write about)…Instead, I’m cutting to the chase and am encouraging you to pause, catch your breath (yes… breeeathe) – and sharpen your ability to find your happy place – right now.What is this happy place? Well… as the beginning of the post suggested – it’s a place (can be physical, mental or anything in between) where you feel warm and fuzzy, grateful, exuberant and at peace – and alive. I place where you truly feel joy. *Sigh*… sounds awesome right? Exactly – which is why today is the day... read more
Break out of your comfort zone… to achieve this year’s goals (features video)
Last weekend I spent an awesome Saturday with the 6 ladies in my mastermind group and the key ingredients to this get together were scissors, glue and magazines. No… We weren’t regressing to our childhoods (though we were all surprised at how much fun this primary school type activity was) – we were doing something much more grown up. We were creating vision boards which showed our intentions (a visual representation of our goals and dreams) for the next 12 months. I’m excited. This group of ladies is intending to achieve a LOT this year. While of course making sure we enjoy ourselves in the moment (always crucial) we also have some HUGE plans – which means lots of vulnerability ahead as we go for them. What do I mean? Well… there is a close link between vulnerability and your next success. I’d even go so far as to say it’s inescapable. This link runs so deeply that in my experience, one rarely (if ever) exists without the other. I say this because to achieve your next success, whether in your personal or your professional life (you know here at Limitless Coaching it is essential to look at these aspects of your life together in order to create the lifestyle you want) – you need to step out of your comfort zone to make it happen. You need to stretch beyond the norm and what has become daily existence in order to step up to this next challenge you are setting yourself. Ain’t that a ***** (ahem… an inconvenience). Well… only if you look at it in that glass... read more
Happy New Year… Bring on 2014! (Post features 4-minute video)
The festive season has come and (nearly) gone and I hope you and your family (whether family by blood or family through love and association) are having / have had a fantastic holiday season. How have you spent the last week and a bit? I have been blessed to spend the last days of 2013 with family (my hubby Rahim, my mum and my dad) in slightly sunnier climes than what we’re blessed with in the UK and it really has been lovely to spend quality time together and truly reconnect. As is often the case when away from the daily grind, it’s also been beneficial to have some time and space to think, plan, strategise, mastermind, plot (mwa-ha-ha – but not in an evil way, I promise!) and actually to really think about the many many things to be thankful for. “Gratitude” is a big part of my mantra for 2014 (mantras are something we’ll discuss further sometime soon – stay tuned). In the meanwhile – I just wanted to say a belated Seasons’ Greetings and to wish you all the best for a very Happy New Year. Not surprisingly – I’d also really like to encourage you to do 2 things (it’s all about action right?!): 1. Look back on 2013… and pat yourself on the back. Ask yourself – What did I achieve? What am I proud of? What surprised me about myself? What do I now know I can do, that I would not have believed I could do, this time last year? Be kind to yourself (so important). Where there were disappointments, set backs and anything you... read more
You can rock 2013! (Yes… I said 2013)
The nights are dark, the air is crisp and every other ad on TV mentions the words “this Christmas.” Yup – the season to be jolly is approaching which means that the end of 2013 is imminent. How has 2013 been for you? How far along did you get with any New Years Resolutions you set more than 11 months ago? Did you score the new job you were after? Gain the promotion you were working towards? Create a deeper, more supportive connection with your partner? Spend more quality time with your children? Have more fun with your friends? Lose that excess weight that’s been bugging you? Plan or go on the spectacular holiday you wanted? Yes? Yay you! There really is not much else that is as satisfying as moving closer and closer to these sorts of goals if they help you create the kind of lifestyle you want. If you’ve not quite gotten there yet and are already Thinking “it didn’t happen this year but I’ll DEFINITELY make it happen in 2014” then I would like to stop you in your tracks. Whoa there! “I’ll make it happen next year?!” Your resolve is commendable but you have forgotten one thing. There are (just under) 7.. Yes nearly 7 weeks of 2013 left. You know his much can happen in 7 weeks? Lots – to put it mildly – so with that in mind I would like to share 7 ways that you can progress further to your goals in the last 7 weeks of 2013. 1. Look for a quick win: Are you close to achieving one... read more
Can Carnival Celebrations Cultivate Career Creativity?
Can sequins, bright colours, feathers and loud pulsating Caribbean music teach you significant, thought-provoking lessons about maximising your career development efforts? No?An understandable assumption, but you’re wrong… and I’ll tell you why. Do ever feel exhausted when you think about your work week ahead? Wonder how you managed to make it through another weekend without getting enough rest or switching off and having enough fun? My recent annual pilgrimage to the streets of West London – to ‘play mas’ (participate) in the Notting Hill Carnival reminded me of a few things: Actively participating in an activity / hobby you love is so good for you… it’s incredibly ‘freeing’ Hanging out with a group of friends that you – generally speaking – don’t see nearly often enough is food for the soul Switching off from work for a few days (whether to dance down the road with a drink in your hand or go out of town to get away from it all) gives a fresh and creative perspective on day to day life – including your career. So… incredibly energised and inspired by my weekend of carnival celebrations, I decided to have some fun pulling together some career development lessons that we can glean from some of the most popular soca tracks from 2013. Get ready to jump and wave your way closer to your career goals: 1. Track 1: Float: – (Arguably?) The world’s premier soca artist, Trinidadian Machel Montano has had thousands upon thousands of revellers at carnivals worldwide singing along to his catchy hook… “We not staying down… we getting off the ground!” #SocaCareerDevelopmentMessage1: Float... read more
How to Prioritise: Tools, tricks and tips for busy professionals (Part 2)
Since posting part 1 of the “How to Prioritise” blog a couple of months ago, I have enjoyed hearing from people who took the time to tell me that they found the tips useful in reference to helping them balance their responsibilities / tasks. This series of posts is designed to help you feel more control, get past ‘overwhelm’ and ultimately – give you the tools to help you answer the question “what did I achieve this year” with your head held high. You can check out “How to Prioritise: Tools, tricks and tips for busy professionals” (Part 1) here… and check out a few more suggestions below: Embrace Mind Maps – Part 1 of this blog mentions making a written task list, however it’s worth bearing in mind that sometimes thinking in a linear fashion doesn’t necessarily channel the information you need for that list you are looking to create. By (literally) spreading out your thinking through creating a mind map – your thoughts sometimes flow more freely. Once you’ve done this, you can then categorise or order the varying things on your list – to help you prioritise. Set deadlines – In the same way that you had deadlines at school, set deadlines against the items on your to do list. This works on a variety of levels. On a straightforward level, it gives you the opportunity to think through the range of tasks in your life and means that you have clear dates to work towards. Do you have a big project deadline at work? Do you have a birthday or anniversary card... read more
How to Prioritise: Tools, tricks and tips for busy professionals (Part 1)
As we rapidly approach the second half of 2013 (yup… the time is nigh) – conversations I have recently had with colleagues, clients and friends led me to the conclusion that it was time to write a short, thought provoking, action-orientated post on “How to Prioritise”… so here goes: Why? Well 2013 seems to have the potential to turn into another one of those ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ years. You know the ones. The ones where January comes and the year feels like it’s full of promise. You take a deep breath and exhale when you think of the promise of the blank slate ahead of you. This will be the year that X, Y and Z happens. This will be the no-nonsense ‘I can do it’ year. Suddenly – before you know it, it’s July and although you hopefully have some of your main goals ticked off your list, you realise that unless you get your skates on- you’ll have less to celebrate by the end of than you would have envisaged. With that in mind, read the points below (and those in the rest of this series of posts) – designed to give you the tools to help you answer the question “what did I achieve this year” with your head held high. Have a look and adopt, remember and/or repeat anything which takes your fancy. Remember, when it comes to achieving your goals, the adage “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” applies if all is going as you’d like it to… but if you feel like you can stretch yourself even further – try... read more
Getting Unstuck: 3 Tips to breaking free
Stuck in the mud was a fun concept as a kid. Do you remember this primary school playground favourite? For those of you who need a reminder – the concept of stuck in the mud (as we played it) was that you had one person who was “It” and the rest of the participants aimed to escape being caught. Once caught however, the player was stuck in the mud and was unable to move. Stuck. No movement. No going forward. No falling backwards. Stuck. They needed to stay put – legs slightly apart (second position distance for the childhood ballerinas among you) and you stayed there – stuck in the mud – until another player rescued you by tagging you and crawling through the gap between your feet. This game gave us hours of fun through my young childhood and it may have been the same for you. Fast forward to adult hood and the concept of being stuck isn’t so much fun. It certainly doesn’t feel like a game… And unfortunately, especially for mid career professionals and even sometimes for those quite early in their career but a few years into a job – this feeling of being stuck (and too still for comfort) is quite common. So what do you do? Are you content to stay stuck or do you crave movement of some kind? For those of you ready to move, here are 3 tips for becoming “unstuck”: 1. Do something differentOften feeling stuck can relate to monotony. Your routine may look like any of these. You go to work, you go home. You go to... read more5 inspiration activators for you
I don’t know about you, but at the moment – I am happily accepting ‘inspiration’ from wherever it comes. It is mid-April (we’re in the second quarter of 2013 already!) and for those of us in the UK and Europe and even much of the US – it has been a long winter with sun and warmth being but a distant dream. The season of spring – the season that represents new beginnings is only now beginning to grace us with its presence. Not sure whether this is the case for you, but sunshine has always been a source of energy and inspiration for me and with so many conversations focused around meteorological matters at the moment, I thought you may appreciate a quick run-down of 5 things which may inspire you, rain or shine. Inspiration for the purpose of this blog post is anything which makes you smile, energise you, motivate you, generate new ideas or confidence in yourself and more. Have a read, let me know what you think of these inspiration activators and please share some of your own. #1: Connect with loved ones Stepping away from social media for a while to have a face to face or even a phone connection with a loved one can be really energising. Don’t get me wrong – I am a HUGE fan of social media for forming and maintaining connections but it is the face to face time, phone conversations, Skype calls etc. that are at the heart of true connection. This week, take 10 minutes to make a phone call to someone you’ve been meaning to... read more
Happy dances and holidays
On the Saturday of the Easter weekend, I raced to the door when I heard the mail drop through the letter box. Ignoring the other 3 items, I picked up a padded envelope and when I saw the identification stamp on the back, I felt my shoulders drop immediately. I exhaled, it was here… Just in time. I could relax as its arrival meant that I’d stay on track with my deadline. As those of you who are part of the “Happily Ever After forGrown-Ups” community on Facebook will know – it was my final proof copy of my book that I received in the post. I ripped open the envelope and a wide smile immediately took residence on my face. This moment inspired today’s post (and hopefully reading to the end will make you think and allow you to reward yourself with a fun video). Before I continue, I just want to emphasise that when patting yourself on the back isn’t a regular occurrence, it can feel strange to stop and – date I say – congratulate yourself, but that’s exactly what I did on Saturday morning. As I ran my fingers over the lettering of the title and looked at the book from every angle again and again – I could not quite believe that I had reached that point. After over a year of blood, sweat, tears and one helluva balancing act – I was nearing the finish line in the writing/publishing process. Alone at home, I found myself doing a little happy dance and as it felt so great, it got me thinking about why... read more
I believe in the power to change or develop anything that needs it and I have an unshakable belief in your ability to create a career and lifestyle which makes you light up.
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