I’ve been working in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in the UK Civil Service for the last four years. I have been based in Whitehall, at 1 Victoria Street, close to the Houses of Parliament.
It’s been a fascinating journey since I’ve joined BEIS. I’ve had the fortune of moving around a few different positions and gaining a wide range of experience in a relatively short amount of time.
I have particularly enjoyed being in BEIS – as far as government departments go, I find the atmosphere welcoming in particular, and the remit is very broad meaning there are plenty of opportunities to move internally and try something new.
Category: Personal Development
Taking in nature to restore your wellbeing and energy
I must admit that I’ve never really paid that much attention to nature previously. I’ve grown up in cities, and tended to relegate visiting ‘green spaces’ to a walk at the city park or when on holiday to see the local exotic scenery.
Perhaps it’s an added effect of the lockdown, but I found the opportunity to find silence in a forest unbelievably nourishing. Having spent most of my life in the space of a small apartment over the last six months, the freedom and release from covid-style living was extremely revitalising.
Understanding ourselves during the rollercoaster of lockdown
The lockdown has been a tough journey. For some of us, it has meant the difficulty of losing loved ones and not being able to grieve as we normally would. For others, it has meant homeschooling and juggling job responsibilities. Some of us are worried about protecting our more vulnerable friends and family, meaning we haven’t been able to visit them in quite some time.
For better or for worse, I’ve learnt a lot more about my own trigger points and warning signs internally. For me, I tend to be a lot more disorganised with my thoughts, often interrupting myself mid-speech when I am overwhelmed.
What have you learnt about yourself during the pandemic?
Building More Gratitude in our Daily Lives
In my previous team, we spent every morning listing three things we were grateful for. We would go around in a circle (which turned virtual as the Pandemic hit) listing one thing each, patiently waiting until someone had something to say.
Whether it was having a nice coffee break, relaxing in the evening to a nice meal, catching up with a long-lost friend, spending time with the kids or simply the sun coming out in the morning, we started verbalising these positive moments far more than we ever would have done otherwise.
Why Authenticity is key for our success
I really believe in the importance of helping others and supporting individuals on their own journey. This led me first into working in Government, then into Diversity and Inclusion work, and most recently into coaching.
One of my initial blockers was whether I would come across cheesy, or insincere.
The answer for me was bringing a higher level of authenticity into what I say. I post things that I think will be genuinely helpful for people, and that I actually believe. After all, how can I give advice to anyone if I don’t believe it myself?
Do you know what your personal strengths are?
Think of someone you know well and have seen a lot of over a long period of time. Take a few moments to think about what their relative qualities are. What skills do they have, and what are their personal qualities that are their greatest strengths?
But what if we’re not talking about someone else – what if we are talking about you? Do you know what your own strengths are?
Why we need to learn to be bored
We are unable to be bored. If we need to sit still, we often can’t.
Instead, we constantly check our phones, looking at the latest stream of depressing news, or comparing ourselves to others from social media.
We know this has a negative effect on us, but we do it anyway.
What can we do to change things?
Why people aren’t listening to your advice
Do you find it frustrating when people don’t listen to you when you give them advise?
It can be exasperating when you do your best to help someone else only for them to either blindly ignore it, or worse, get upset with you.
Why is this happening?
Are you in control of how happy you feel?
Have a job that makes us miserable? We look to change it. Unhelpful comments from your manager? We look to confront them. By doing this, we expect that by solving the things that are making us unhappy, this will stop the problem and lead us to a land of bliss.
But has this really worked for you – are you now happy?
What do you want your legacy to be?
What do you want to be remembered for?
As we follow the treadmill of life through our various stages of adolescence through to adulthood, the question that usually is on our minds is often ‘what’s next?’ How do we get that dream job, new house etc.
Let’s take a step back.