Through my professional and personal life, I’ve come across many extraordinary, driven individuals who want to make a positive impact in the world.
Unfortunately, what I also see is a lot of stress, anxiety and overwhelm. There is an increase in the amount of burnout which is negatively affecting people’s personal sense of wellbeing. This is sad in of itself – everyone deserves to live a happy, fulfilling life.
But also, when we are stressed or burnt out, we are also becoming far less effective in making the change we want to see in the world. This means the positive change is severely limited.
But the great news is that we can change our outlook. One of the big revelations for me was recognising that the barrier to my own performance was the way I treated myself.
Tag: #selfdevelopment
The limits to intellectualizing our life decisions
When we make decisions, many of us try to look at things very logically. We research information or ask friends for guidance. Maybe we’ll write a pros and cons list.
But can we really make a pros and cons list to as big a life decision as getting married? How about having kids? How about moving country? How about doing what you love?
One of the biggest downwards spirals I had with my life was trying to logically decide what I wanted to do. I would turn my brain to overdrive to figure out what the answer to my career and life were. I saw life as a puzzle – if I simply stared at it longer and spent more time trying to figure it all out, I would know what I was meant to do.
I learnt that the mind is not always the best tool to understand or decide bigger things in life.
Why people use personal coaches for development
Who uses a ‘coach’, and what are they exactly?
The word ‘coach’ comes from the idea of an old coach carriage, which could take you from one place to another. A coach does the same thing, only rather on a development journey rather than a physical one.
Coaching can be far more than a simple motivational tool. It can help genuinely develop people in a way that courses and books cannot as it takes a far more individual approach to personal development.
When I received coaching, I never realised how much certain implicit beliefs I had built up were holding me back. For example, I had this subconscious view that to be successful in my career I had to be unhappy.
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?
Overcoming the dreaded ‘Imposter Syndrome’
Imposter Syndrome is the feeling of being a fraud. Rather than getting to your current position, you feel like you have lucked your way through. You now fear being found out for this fact.
Imposter Syndrome sadly is a fairly common trait in the modern world; probably due to the prevalence of social media leading us to compare our lives with one another, mixed in with impossibly high requirements for entry-level jobs.
in my own experience through coaching, it is a topic that has come up alarmingly frequently and is seemingly more prevalent in women and ethnic minorities (probably due to a sense of being an outsider).
So what can you do to overcome Imposter Syndrome? Here are some ideas to support you:
Feeling Uninspired? Challenge yourself by learning something new
Remember the excitement of our first day at work, or taking up a new hobby – When was the last time you experienced that? If it hasn’t been for a while, perhaps you might want to think about finding something new to do to rekindle that creative energy.
If you feel like you’ve got some room for some inspiration, why not learn a new hobby or skill?
Your biggest productivity hack? Give yourself a break
If you’re in the UK, you’ve probably just come back into work a bit bleary-eyed after a long weekend with the bank holiday. It’s a nice novelty, considering as a country we have one of the lowest amount of public holidays in the world.
We usually appreciate the feeling of having some time off, so this is a good moment to reflect: what if we could tap into bringing ourselves out of our work routines more often?
Unfulfilled by your early career? Ask yourself four questions
I’ve spoken to many friends and contacts about starting a career in the modern world. Often it is filled with angst and disappointment. If you are currently feeling unfulfilled in your early career, here are some questions to ask yourself
Top Books for self-development
I previously wrote about how books can be a great way to learn as a cost-effective and time-saving measure. This got me thinking of what books I would recommend. So without further ado, here is my list: