It’s coming up to seven weeks since 33 Chilean miners were trapped almost half a mile underground. Yet, when you see the reports on the news, or read about them in the paper, it’s hard to believe it’s been so long.
I find it absolutely remarkable how they have adapted to the environment they’ve found themselves in. They’ve split what little space they have in to a living area, bedrooms, a dining area and a bathroom. They’ve broken the day up with work and all report to the shift foreman that was in charge on the day they were trapped. They have a doctor, and he’s recently assigned someone the role of “assistant paramedic” to help him out.
The daily contact they’re having with the outside world is no doubt helping to keep their spirits high, and the training they’ve had for their jobs is definitely helping too – they know the calculated risks they can take, and they’ve been trained for such an experience. But how do these men, after more than 6 weeks, remain so positive?
These men have undoubtedly shared a life-changing experience unlike any other and will be bound together by it for the rest of their lives. And, after all this time (and no doubt a few more weeks to come) I can’t help but wonder how these men will think and feel when they are finally rescued and reunited with “real life”.
Can they return to the life they had before the incident?
Will the experience have changed what’s important (or not) to them, what’s necessary (or not) and what’s true (or not)? Will they have the same view on life? Will they be the same person? How much a life changing experience like this one change who they are and their life purpose?

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The beautiful lesson from a little bird

16/09/2010 by Christophe.

I recently observed this little bird making a daily morning trip to the swimming pool cover to eat all the insects that gather there over night. I was amazed at how flexible and adaptable nature is around us and quickly realised that there were hundreds of examples like this one.

Is the amount nature adapts around humans a continuous development driven by
necessity, choice or opportunism?
And, how often do we as humans adapt to our environment? How flexible is our behaviour to fit with our environment (instead of imposing our ways)? How much more can we learn from nature? And how different would it be if we were more adaptable to live with our environment instead of living in the environment?

Just a thought…

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RIP Big Brother

10/09/2010 by Marketing Team.

The doors of the Big Brother house in the UK will close for the final time on Friday.

After ten years, eleven series, and numerous housemates, the plug has finally been pulled.

Love it or hate it, there’s no denying that Big Brother brought something new to the table back in 2000 when it first started. The villain of the first series (Nasty Nick) was even on the nine o clock news because of his “cheating”.

But what is it about programmes like Big Brother, I’m a Celebrity and other reality shows that captivates us?

Every year I promise myself I’m not going to watch, but every year I’m drawn in. The love stories, the tasks, the pyschology of a group of strangers forming relationships with people they would never usually spend time with.

But, as Big Brother signs off for the final time, I can’t say I’ll be sorry – maybe next summer I’ll be able to enjoy my own life, rather than watch other people living theirs.

Real life, I’m coming to get you!

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Is there an age where you should stop being adventurous?

10/09/2010 by Christophe.

I have just read a couple of articles where people of a certain age still feel the necessity or the pleasure to stretch themselves and do things which are often qualified as ‘too dangerous for their age’:

-The first one is an 84 year old former RAF pilot who is planning to cross the Atlantic on a raft made of plastic gas pipes with a crew aged between 56 and 61.

-And the second one is an 75 year old granddad who injured himself trying tombstoning.

Are they too old to enjoy life as they want?

Is there an age limit to feeling alive?

In the first case, we can easily be in admiration in front of such a trip and in the second case, we can quickly criticise such behaviour. And who can say what is acceptable (or not) behaviour for a 75 year old or 84 year old man?

What sort of things will I be up to when I am ‘a certain age’? What will I be doing to fully enjoy my old age? Will I also be called a ‘daredevil’ because I am not doing what is expected?

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Tip of the Month

07/09/2010 by Marketing Team.

‘A life full of stretch is a fulfilling life’

How often do you stretch yourself?
Do you find that you tend to stay in your comfort zone?
Do you remember the last time you felt a great sense of achievement?
Well, now you can, with a simple model that can be used everyday, called ‘The Comfort, Stretch, Panic Model’

Karl Rohnke, an American expert in experiential learning, has developed a simple to use model called ‘The Comfort, Stretch, Panic Model’ for a wide range of applications and this model is especially useful for:

-personal development
-and building your confidence and self-esteem.

The Stretch Model is composed of 3 zones. Each model is unique and can be totally different from one person to the other.

The Comfort zone:
The comfort zone represents all situations where you feel comfortable, at ease, and when you have full (or near enough) control of the situation (at home, in your car, in your local pub, with your close friends…)

The Stretch zone:
The stretch zone involves new and different situations where you feel some pressure to do something you are not used to (starting a new hobby, a new job, meeting new people, driving for the first time on the motorway…)

The Panic zone:
The panic zone is normally when you loose total control and you also loose your ability to communicate and to do (climbing a high ladder when you are afraid of height, public speaking, …)

There are only 3 simple rules to fully enjoy our everyday life and to make your future fulfilling and exciting:

1-Never step into your panic zone (or push someone in their panic zone). This directly affects your self-esteem and self-confidence.

2-Always stretch yourself with suitable and appropriate new challenges. This gives you a sense of achievements and boosts your self-esteem and self-confidence.

3-Always find the right balance between stretching yourself and looking after yourself in your comfort zone.

As soon as you start adopting these 2 ‘always’ and the ‘never’ about these three important rules, you’ll quickly notice how much more you do, how often you get a great sense of achievement and how easy it is now for you to challenge yourself.

In the next weeks and months, you are going to build a greater self confidence and a long lasting self-esteem.

Enjoy!

For more Tips of the Month, visit the website

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Quality of Life

01/09/2010 by Christophe.

I have just read an article on quality of life that states that the best place in the world to enjoy the highest quality of life is Finland (according to a bunch of economists and social policy experts), followed by Switzerland and Sweden. Britain is 14th…

First, it is important to realise that the article doesn’t explain how they have come up with this list.

Secondly, I have to wonder how we define quality of life and how much we get affected by this information.

What is quality of life?

Is it about what you can buy and own or is it simply about fully enjoying what we have however small and insignificant it is? Is it thinking about the past and worrying about the future or is it just about making the most of the present moment?

Who is responsible for our quality of life? Experts? Us?…

How much do we get affected by this information?

Do we notice such information because it reinforces the way we feel and it gives us a reason to continue feeling this way (‘I knew it!’’)? Do we just accept it or do we ask ourselves how it can be true? Do we blindly believe in it and don’t question it? Or do we wonder how can it be and how we could benefit from this and build on it?

May be something to be more aware of.

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