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Caught That Tail of Yours Yet?

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August is a funny old month isn’t it? Not funny ha ha, funny peculiar, but a nice kind of peculiar. Commuting is a sprint instead of a marathon, and it’s a great opportunity instead of playing telephone tennis, to have a proper rally and meet up with people. Then just when you have had a minuscule chance to catch your breath, bingo there’s September, a rush hour in my year as people are ready to change career having reflected during their holidays.

I love August because it feels like a creative month, and I love creating things, but there’s always those things lurking at the bottom of the ‘to do’ list. And as someone who helps people to tackle such things as part of being a coach, that’s quite an admission!  Don’t tell anyone!

The “clear out the files on my computer” task has been languishing at the bottom of my ‘to do list’ for quite a while now, sunbathing in a sprinkling of new file rays. I am pretty focused, but I let myself off the hook – “that’s a task for dark winter days while recovering from legionnaire’s disease,” I justify to myself. Trouble is I have a vivid and visual imagination, and I picture my computer getting so full, it explodes very messily, bytes and megabytes like rain dust, contributing to global warming. As for the Internet reaching capacity, well I think I’ll keep a lid on that thought for now. 

If you have some time to think and reflect this August, you might fancy a personal springclean, in which case click on the link below for some free tips.

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1103381622768.html

Relationships Are Like Runner Beans

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If I forget or don’t make time to visit my allotment for a couple of days, the runner beans get too big and aren’t very nice, so they are wasted. If I visit more often and pick them, I am rewarded by delicious beans without strings attached. Not only that, but the more I pick, the more beans grow, so giving them a little attention means they are more productive.

People are like runner beans. They will reward you back if you give them time and attention. I think human beings have a fundamental need to be heard and thought about, but the ‘to do list’ can get in the way, especially with our mad busy lives.  Whether it’s employees, friends or family, we all need watering and tending.

Sometimes I put off phoning people because it feels like too much time with everything else I need to do. Every time I do phone, it feels good, I get an idea, give support and feel connected. If I don’t, I feel out of sorts,  disconnected and withdraw – a vicious rather than virtuous circle. Which ‘runner beans’ are you going to nurture today? If this post resonated wih you, you might enjoy our tweets on Twitter. Click on the link below and follow us on Twitter:

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What Floats Your Boat?

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Success and what it means is such an individual thing isn’t it, but it doesn’t always feel like that. I find that a lot of people are living lives and doing jobs that actually don’t give them what they want. Our society is hugely money and status driven, but research shows that after a certain point, it doesn’t affect happiness. We can feel pressure to work harder and push for promotion and get a better house or car, when actually what we want is to have more time.  

Many people do ‘shoulds, oughts and musts’ when actually doing what they want would float their boat a lot more. In coaching we call it living life by your values – i.e. what’s important to you. Freedom, space, choice and honesty are some of things important to me, so guess what, I am self-employed!   I have seen huge growth in people seeking more meaning and purpose, and it will be interesting to see what happens as the downturn lifts.

Are you receiving the Energise monthly bulletins via e mail? Don’t miss out on free insights, tips and inspiring case studies. We create 4 each months, topics below. Click on this link to opt in:

http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1102862873131&p=oi

  • Career strategies
  • Human capital
  • Smart living and working
  • Self promotion  

Are You Sleeping On The Job?

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Apparently 3 out of 4 workers get less than the recommended eight hours of sleep a night, with worries about job security being a factor (Source Travelodge research). If I was an inventor, I would invent an off button or dimmer switch for the brain. 

Civil servants get just under 6 hours a night, which is less than bankers and factory workers came in third. As someone who spent a couple of days as part of my university placement working on a production line injecting gelatine into pork pies, I can say that I used to snooze on the job hypnotised, as the work was quite repetitive.  I’d imagine that farmers were too busy to fill in the questionnaire as they were harvesting and creatives didn’t sleep at all as they were too busy working on a pitch. 

In Buenos Aires, there is a dedicated sleep centre offering clients a choice of soothing colours, aromas and music and they claim that a siesta helps beat work related stress. As someone who naturally wakes at 5 and has been having an afternoon snooze since I was about 15, I agree with them!  Open plan office, no thanks!

Tip – before you go to sleep, think of an open incisive question to help your unconscious mind solve a challenge you have been grappling with.

For some tips on emotional resilience, click on this link:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1103319741569.html

Do you have any ‘sleeping on the job’ stories to share. Go on….!

Have you seen our Linkedin profile? Click on the link below to view it:  http://uk.linkedin.com/in/energiseliberateyourtalent

Have You Got A Screw Loose?

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I found one loose screw at the weekend, not just a small one either, it was huge. I had friends staying, the sofa bed was in use, and there it was on the carpet the next morning winking at me. Is this a sign, do I have a screw loose? Or was it presenting itself as a gift so I need to put it back somewhere, otherwise a piece of furniture will dramatically collapse in a heap unexpectedly? But if this is the case, how do I know where the screw’s home is? Maybe it’s from a flat-pack and they put one spare screw or nail in just to keep you on your toes, so you finish the job properly?

How do I know when a sign is a sign or when it’s just a coincidence? I wish I didn’t think so much and was a village idiot, life would be so much simpler. Am I being too analytical? OMG! Personal development and self-awareness is like Pandora’s box and that Pandora has got alot to answer for! 

My handyman has made a career out of preventing loose screws. He left the inside of corporate life for the inside of IKEA. He specialises in creating furniture from flat packs and achieves in minutes what would take me hours, and quite possibly years. I bet he never has any loose screws, and if he does, he puts them in his took-kit and puts them to good use. What natural talents do you have that you could put to good use and make a career out of?

For some thoughts on the changing world of work, click on this link:       

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1102946487623.html

Spider Stops House Move

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A spider has been stopping my sister from moving house. Actually that’s not true. Spiders.  The shed at the bottom of her garden is looking a bit of a mess, so I asked her why she hadn’t cleared it out. She replied that her car’s not big enough to fit the things in and she needed to get someone with a big car to help her. Well I’ll help you, I replied. No! she retorted The real block turned out to be the prospect of her facing the spiders. I had many a fun time chasing her as a child with a spider encased in my hand, to the backdrop of her screams. 

Why am I telling you this story? It’s because the things that stop us from doing what we want or need to are not always obvious, they can be hidden. That’s one of the reasons why procrastination happens. Blocks can be conscious or unconscious and the bigger the task or change e.g. career change, the more the blocks can get in the way and so we keep on stopping ourselves and then get frustrated when we don’t make progress.

I had a block about becoming successful because I thought I’d become busy and get stressed, which I didn’t want to be. We can keep at bay things we want without realising WE are the root cause! What do you want to change and how are you stopping yourself? 

Often people are afraid of career change. Click on this link to download the FREE Energise report “Pain free career change” http://www.careerstrategies.co.uk/

Help! Taming Tricky Teenager Tips Please?!

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I am ‘teenager sitting’ my nephew Joel, 13. My goodness you parents have my admiration. I don’t know how you don’t go grey the moment they shoot down the birth canal. I feel like a cross between a policewoman and a serial nagger. How people cope with it day after day, I really don’t know, I am more of the ‘naughty auntie, teach them a few bad habits and hand them back’ breed.

Stopping a thirteen year old from spending all day looking at computers should be a career. In fact maybe it probably is; “Preventative Consultant in X Box addiction.” Any companies thinking of spending £000s on influencing and persuasion skills training, save yourself the investment and send your executives to spent a day with a sulky bored teenager.

I am ready to leave the garden of England tomorrow and return to the peaceful teenager free zone of my cottage in Oxfordshire. Bliss. Off to read my own ‘saying no comfortably’ article – give myself a taste of my own medicine! 

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1103218836146.html

Any tips on handling teenagers, greatly appreciated. 

 

FEAR IS NORMAL!!

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If I could wave a magic wand, I would change one thing. It would be for people to say what they really feel, true, raw and honest. I am a Northerner stuck in a Southerner’s body and perhaps my work on developing ‘verbal padding’ has gone too far?! 

FEAR IS NORMAL!

If only people expressing fears meant they wouldn’t be judged but supported. Companies and people wouldn’t use the open expression of fears to manipulate, but self-awareness would increase and a healthy exchange and support ensue. Overwhelm and procrastination would be less as a result. The world would be a very different and better place. Politics wastes so much time and money, when if this same energy was directed at fruitful productivity and pulling together to get the world out of the mess we’ve got it in, we’d get there quicker. Fear increases people playing politics at work. 

I think the truth is that the world at the moment is quite scary. Uncertain jobs, pensions, an aging population and Alzheimer’s and a shed load of national and maybe individual debt to pay off over probably decades. It’s not exactly cheerful is it?

Women in my family live until 98 so that’s a lot of care home fees to work hard for, as I doubt the government will have money to fund for any but the most poor, by the time I am as wrinkled as a prune.  I remember after the credit crunch, walking through London thinking, why is everyone looking so happy, carrying on as normal? Don’t they realise it means years of poverty, misery and strikes? 

At least challenge creates emotional resilience and a refocus on what’s really important! I am going to sit in the sun today and revel in every moment, surrounded by flowers and butterflies. What are you going to do that you would normally put off for another day?  Do make a post sharing this – thanks!

A Good CV Is Like Juiced Oranges

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A good CV is like juicing oranges because you only want to have the best bits – the juice. The skins, pith and pips represent all the ‘stuff’ that you have done in your jobs, with often duplication. 

A CV needs to be focused and especially at the moment with so many people applying for jobs, so yours needs to work even harder than it would normally.

What’s the best and tastiest ‘juice’ from your career – achievements, best skills etc?

If you want to change career direction or have a few years on the clock, it is even more important to take the ‘juicing’ approach.  Don’t let your CV let you down, many people do.

Have you downloaded our FREE 30 page Energise report yet – ‘Pain free career change’? Click on this link: http://www.careerstrategies.co.uk/

Ever Wake Up Like A Bear With A Sore Head?

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Waking up feeling grumpy isn’t the best start to the day, especially before you disappear into the bowels of public transport or the long commute. The good news is that you can manage your grumpy bear – as if by magic. Yes really.

We don’t get taught at school or college how to deal with difficult emotions, so they can fester and then we give them to someone else, a bit like throwing a cow pat – nice gift! It’s called projection and often we don’t realise we are doing this. So next time someone gives you a dressing down out of context, get curious not mad.

Try this tool to banish your grumpy bear:

Step 1: Name the negative feeling and acknowledge it e.g. sad

Step 2: Name how you’d like to feel e.g. buoyant

Step 3: Recall a memory when you had the positive feeling of buoyant

Step 4: Recall the good memory in 3D and superb technicolour with the best sound system there is and bingo, the grumpy bear has retreated back to his cave Have a good day and please me know how you find the tool – after the grumpy bear has gone back into his cave, naturally!

PS saying yes when we want to say no can cause big grumpy bears, so click on this link if you want to read more. Saying No: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1103218836146.html

Post a comment about how the tool works for you – but only after your grumpy bear has retreated into his cave!

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