24/12/2010 by Marketing Team.

She spent 13 months being held hostage by Somali pirates, but Rachel Chander has said that she used comforting events in her past and thinking about them in minute detail to get her through the 95 days that she was kept apart from her husband.

And no matter where you are, some powerful happy memories can help you change your whole outlook on the situation you find yourself in.A friend mentioned recently that every time she thinks back to her wedding day, and the excitement and happiness she felt, as well as the overwhelming happiness, never fails to put a smile on her face when she’s having a difficult day.
She also said that when she’s stressed out, she takes a couple of deep breaths and think about watching elephants at a watering hole in Kenya. It always makes her feel relaxed and peaceful, despite how hectic things are around her.

So, where’s your happy place? It may be the birth of your child, or your wedding day, or on a sun lounger next to the pool at your favourite holiday destination. Wherever it is, close your eyes and think about it for a minute. Imagine the colours are extra bright, the noises are that bit louder and the smellls so strong they’re almost overwhelming. Remember how you felt at that moment - elated, beautiful or thoroughly relaxed? Enjoy that for a couple of moments, take a deep breath, and then open your eyes.

It all feels a bit better now, doesn’t it?

Posted in Life Coaching | No Comments »

14/12/2010 by Marketing Team.

Actress Emma Thompson has recently said in the Radio Times that her bugbear is the overuse of slang words in youngsters.But is it a sign of the times, laziness, or a bit of both?

With social networking sites like Twitter limiting how many words you can use to get your message across, and more and more people using texts as a way to communicate, it’s perhaps inevitable that slang slips into conversation.

But what impact is it having on the use of language and the way we communicate with each other?

I can’t help imagining what business meetings might be like in 10 years time, though

“This is, like, the best idea ever though, innit?”

“OMG! It’s, like, totally wicked!”

“Whatevver.  I’m not really bovvered about the idea. I was just sat thinking about the profit margins…”

But does the message get lost across the generations? Do ‘grown ups’ take younger people less seriously because of the language they use? The way we communicate now is also different to how it was when our parents were our age. When was the last time you put pen to paper and sent a letter, card or note to a friend? Or decided to pick up the phone instead of send that quick text?

So before you hit send on the latest email to your mate, imagine the difference it might make if you popped a note in the post. Ok, with Royal Mail you can’t guarantee it’ll get there, but if it does, you can bet they’ll remember a letter hitting the door mat more than they’ll remember the PING of a new email…

Posted in Life Coaching | No Comments »

01/12/2010 by Christophe.

‘Have you ever wondered what could really be going on instead of making assumptions?’

How often do we judge people through what we believe the meaning of their actions is?
How much do we get affected by comments, behaviours, gestures..?
How often do we feel threaten or do we react defensively?

You can surely think of a number of situations where you have made a judgement on someone’s behaviour or even on the person considering only your view of the situation. And you, probably like many of us, just explored this only one view.

For example, you enter a familiar place where a person you value as a friend is busy doing his own things, you say ‘Hello!’ (as usual) and the only thing you get is a quick glance. You are surprised and quickly wonder what you’ve done to deserve such treatment. You start feeling different.

So what can we do?

We simply need to be curious about the situation and to explore the potential meanings of what we are experiencing by asking ourselves the following questions:

1.    That’s interesting, what might be happening here for someone to behave like this?
2.    What would I need to be experiencing to react like this?
3.    What else? And what else?

As you begin to ask yourself these questions, you are dealing with these moments in an inquisitive manner and focusing on possibilities. And over the next weeks and months, you will be surprised to notice how much you are experiencing these situations in a more resourceful way and how much you have more control over their effects on you.

Enjoy!

Posted in Tip of the Month | No Comments »