29/01/2012 by Christophe.

Naomi just send us this message:

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30/10/2011 by Christophe.

If I asked you to list 10 positive things that happened to you so far today, would you be able to do it?

They don’t have to be big things, just 10 positive things that have happened since you woke up this morning.

It’s easy to get to the end of the day and think it’s been a bad one - that nothing’s gone right for you, and that everything is going against you.

But, if you spend just a couple of minutes thinking about it, you can easily think of at least 10 positive things that have happened - like the sunshine through the window, an unexpected smile, a warm welcome, seeing the first autumn colours, a nice word from a friend or just a cuddle with a loved one - there’s always something to add to the list.

So when you’re on your way home from work this evening, or laying in bed tonight, take a couple of minutes to think back over your day and make a list of 10 positive things.

Suddenly, your day has been successful and a nice experience.

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25/09/2011 by Christophe.

I read a very interesting article in a Sunday paper about Emily Dugan who decided to cross England from the south (Land’s End) to the North (John O’Groats)… Nothing extraordinary so far.

But, she decided to hitch-hike all the way. Is she fearless?

75% of females say they have never hitch-hiked compared to 54% of males.

She was apparently very conscious of the situations she could have encountered, but 30 hours later, she reached her destination and said:

‘All I can go on are my own figures: 12 lifts, 12 very kind people and 12 reasons to think strangers aren’t necessarily the bogeyman.’

Since I’ve read this story, I keep thinking that we might be living our life being afraid of the ‘bogeyman’ and we might have forgotten that there is a vast quantity of ‘very kind people’ around us, in our neighbourhood, in our community …

I wonder what life could be like if we start appreciating, recognising, sharing, and living with all these kinds of people… How would it change the community spirit? How much would it give us a sense of belonging? And quite simply, what would happen if we were kinder to others?

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02/08/2011 by Christophe.

From some research I read a few days ago, it seems women smile on average 5 to 6 times more than men… it would be interesting to know why this is the case - why do women smile more than men?

Why do we smile?

We can generalise and say that it’s an external representation of what we’re feeling inside about what we’re experiencing at that moment, or it could be when we’re remembering great memories. If you start thinking about all the wonderful moments that fill up your life, you probably do begin to feel differently and the more you recall them, the bigger the feeling gets.. you are probably smiling already.

Do we always smile when we are happy?

Well, apparently we also smile when we feel embarrassed, under stress, uncomfortable or because it is part of what we do. Just imagine what it’s like for people who work in hotels, restaurants, shops… when you have to deal with people. So if there are many different reasons why we smile, why do we still smile? What does it do? And do different smiles affect us differently?

It’s easy to imagine that there must be a difference between smiling because we feel like it and smiling because we have to. And the difference is only, maybe, how we are responding. I personally am more attracted to someone who smile because they feel like it..

So when was the last time you smiled at someone because you felt like it instead of feeling you had to?

What difference would it make to our surrounding if we smiled more often and we did it because we wanted to? How much more easily would we communicate with people around us? How do people respond when you are smiling?

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27/06/2011 by Christophe.

As Wimbledon fortnight gets into full swing, everyone has an opinion about who their favourites are.
I was watching Serena Williams play France’s Aravane Rezai in the staff room with some colleagues when one of them said “I don’t like [Serena Williams], or her sister, really. I think they’re really arrogant and up themselves”.
“No she’s not”, another replied, “And anyway, she’s bloody good at what she does – surely she’s allowed to be a little bit cocky?”
It got me thinking about the fine line between confidence and arrogance.
Personally, I think the Williams sisters are brilliant at what they do. They train hard to be the best players they can be. And, when they go out on to a tennis court, they have to believe that they’re going to win the match, otherwise, what’s the point in them being there?
That, I think, is where their true talent lies. The belief they have in themselves and their abilities. Maybe some of the other players could do with taking a leaf out of the Williams’ book and believing in themselves a bit more.
In fact, I think we all could. If you don’t believe in yourself, how can you expect other people to believe in you?
Think about the people that you admire – the people who you aspire to be like. It’s unlikely that they have got to where they are without believing in themselves.

Do you know when you are stepping over the confidence line and landing into the arrogance world?

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10/06/2011 by Christophe.

I have just read that a stationmaster with 27 years experience has been sacked because he decided to remove a supermarket trolley from the tracks.  He took all the necessary steps to protect himself and was still fired for a ‘serious breach of health and safety’.

How many examples do we hear, when we can or can’t do something based on the health and safety grounds? It seems that we have reached an age where we apparently need to be protected from all the dangers of life.  We can also wonder how much the often described ‘age of compensation’ is playing a role in the ever increasing health and safety regulations popping up left, right and centre in our every day life.

So, we can easily argue that all these regulations are here to keep us safe but I am more interested by the impact this could have on our life, and maybe more on the life of our children, or even the children of our children.

What would life be if our actions are directed by a large number of signs warning us of all the possible dangers, hazards or threat? How would this affect the way we live our lives, the way we seek opportunities, or even the way we challenge ourselves? How are we making decisions?

What if the more we are told what to do or NOT to do, the less we need our common sense?

What if the more signs are appearing, the less we believe we can take any initiative?

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13/05/2011 by Christophe.

It’s unbelievable to think that it’s almost half way through the year.

You might have noticed that there wasn’t a tip of the month in April.

With work, family and friends it can be difficult to stop, take a minute for yourself, and breathe slowly and deeply.

We all face the challenge of prioritising our workloads, nights out with friends, quality time with your family and often the thing we forget about is the most important of all – ourselves.

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18/04/2011 by Christophe.

What did you get up to at the weekend? A nice lay in? A bit of cleaning? Tidying the kids’ bedrooms? Watching some Saturday night TV?

Or were you out partying until the sun came up? Eat out at a fancy new restaurant? A romantic weekend away, perhaps?

Chances are, your weekend was a mixture of catching up with the boring household things that need doing and spending some quality time with your family. But will you tell your workmates that when they ask you?

Apparently, 27% of British adults exaggerate what they get up to in the spare time to make themselves seem more interesting. Most of the fibs involve going to a pub or club, going to a dinner party, or going out for a romantic meal.

But why do people feel the need to lie about what they get up to?

Are we embarrassed to admit that actually, after a hard week at work, all you did was chill out with your nearest and dearest and recharged the proverbial batteries?

Or is it because we think people expect us to have had an exciting weekend (because let’s face it, watching Casualty with a class of wine isn’t all that rock n roll, is it?), and we don’t want to disappoint them? Or do we think that who we are, really isn’t interesting enough for the rest of the world who sounds like they have a such better and fulfilled life?

Who’s the happiest one, the liar or the one who’s happy with what they have.

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21/03/2011 by Christophe.

It’s true that it’s all too easy to compare what you have with what someone else has. And it’s true that in these situations it’s hard to see what you have got because you’re always looking at what you haven’t got…

Some people use the analogy of the glass half empty or half full. Are you aware that the glass is half empty of half full?

Do you often notice when someone has something, and you haven’t?

How does it affect you? How do you feel about it?

When we spend so much time worrying about and focusing on what we haven’t got, our life can become full of wishes, frustrations, jealousy, sadness and maybe even anger. And in this state of mind, we ignore and forget the side of our life that is full of joy, happiness, warmth and reward.

But as soon as we stop looking at others and simply enjoy what we already have, we start to feel happier, notice the beautiful things and people around us and are more at peace with who we are.

And to demonstrate how much our attitude towards who we are can be changed, I invite you to watch this truly amazing person…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc4HGQHgeFE&feature=related

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18/02/2011 by Christophe.

I would like to share with you this interesting personal experience that a friend had with the word ‘sorry’
“Elton John reckons that sorry is the hardest word. It doesn’t seem to be a problem that I have, though. In fact, “Sorry” seems to be a word that comes really easily for me.

I hadn’t actually realised that I said it so much until a couple of people pointed it out to me. In fact, “sorry” seems to be a prefix to a lot of the things I say:
“Sorry, but I have a question…”
“Oh, sorry, I’m in your way…”
“Sorry, but before you go any further…”

Most of the time, I don’t even need to say sorry – I just do it. I think that if someone punched me in the face I’d apologise for someone walking into me!

But, why do I do it?

Is it because I think it’s polite?
Is it because I feel like what I’m about to say isn’t important?
Or is it because I’m apologising for being me?

Honestly, I am not sure why I do it, but it’s something that I have to start to work out. In the meantime, I can’t tell you, or, I’m sorry but I can’t tell you!”
A few very interesting questions to ask ourselves:
Why do we think we need to excuse ourselves?
What impression do we give when saying sorry all the time?
How often do we say it?

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