Life is short – Seize the day
*Please read this blog bearing in mind the intended respect of the author for all mentioned below* If you, like most of us, often procrastinate… saying that you will achieve your aim on a mythical ‘tomorrow’; start your plan next week or maybe consider doing something next year… this weekend has been a quick, short, sharp and tragic reminder of how short life is. This weekend, we have been rocked by the death of those in Oslo and of the young people on Utøya island, the China rail crash, escalating emergency situation in Somalia… as well as the surprising (yet sadly, not so surprising) death of Amy Winehouse. These incidents were the result of very different factors… yet undoubtedly have a common message… that life is fleeting. So, what does that mean? How will these sad reminders of our mortality affect us? The possibilities are endless: Not at all It may be sad… but what has happened to these people has nothing to with you, or how you live your life Stop for a moment You’ll spend 48-72 hours reeling from this weekend’s news… and get straight back to your daily routine. No one’s claiming there’s anything wrong with your daily routine… but when you think about it, it is amazing how we can often go from being so moved… so affected… yet soon suffer amnesia in respect to why we felt that immediate and powerful reaction A more lasting impact Make a decision to truly live each day to the full. Plan, set goals and act on them… start the process today. This weekend… I choose to take a... read moreHacked off?… Change your state
In the past week, for those of us in the UK, it would have taken a miracle to escape the furore over the News of the World phone hacking scandal… which took an exceptionally ugly turn when it became clear that not only celebrities were affected, but much more disturbingly, so were families experiencing tragedy relating to murder cases and acts of terrorism. The UK public is hacked off… and the management decision to close century and a half old newspaper will only displace / create a slight diversion to the problem… not make it go away. From the national news agenda to a much more personal one however… being hacked off – in the annoyed sense of the term – is not something that can be described as unusual. How many of us also recognise that we create a problem distraction… instead of meetng it head on? As varied as all of our lives, jobs and experiences are – in any given week, there is some common ground: The intense dislike of Monday mornings (my mother instilled in me to rarely if ever use the word ‘hate’ but this may be the most appropriate word in some cases!) being annoyed with our boss / the employee / the colleague that ‘floundering’ / slightly lost feeling doubt about whether in the right industry / role motivation depletion: the desire to have more get-up-and-go the internal debate over whether to indulge in that snack the want to change a situation we’re in (i.e. a moment of wondering whether there’s any more than this) the reminder (be it through watching news,... read more
Celebration time… c’mon!!!
It’s not only the horrendous UK weather which makes it hard to believe that June is here already… it’s the fact that for many, years seem to be whizzing by faster than ever. Hard to believe then that the 1st of July… 6 months on from the day when many of us would have made our series of New Years Resolutions… is nearly upon us. Finding / changing jobs, losing weight, taking up a course, starting a hobby, spending more time with family, expanding our skill set – there are all sorts of things that we vow to do at the beginning of a year – many of which are still on our list on December 31st. So… I have a suggestion. This season (summer, winter – whatever it may be where you are) 6 months after the start of the New year, i.e. on or by the 1st of July – I’d like you to take 15-30 minutes to do an self-audit. That’s right… kind of like an internal MOT… and here’s how: 1. Look at your list of aims you set for yourself at the beginning of the year. If you didn’t write them down, remember them and do so now. 2. Decide how far you have come along on each of those things. When it comes to your year so far, what are you proud of? What has surprised you? What are you kicking yourself about? What are you going to do about it? 3. Decide if these things are still important to you or if your aims, priorities and circumstances have shifted over the past... 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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