The power of altitude

The power of altitude

I absolutely love being safely up high.

When I was little, I loved to sit at the very top of the climbing frame in our back garden (strangely, especially when it was raining and I could sit under an umbrella!).

Some of my favourite holidays have been in the mountains in the summer.

When I imagine where my future self lives, she has a wide-open view.


Anywhere with a bit of height and a big sky calms me down and opens me up. It gives me a beautiful sense of perspective. I can see things more clearly.


I keep this card close by to remind me of that feeling.

Do you have a greenhouse for ideas?

Do you have a greenhouse for ideas?

“Where do you get your ideas from?”

I was asked this recently, and I replied that I see ideas everywhere.

I’ll notice something - a visual, a sentence in a book, a view, a part of a conversation - and an idea forms in my brain. Sometimes it’s just a fragment, and sometimes it seems to download, fully formed.

And I then realised that wasn’t the whole story.

When I reflected on it further I realised that I’ve been increasing my capacity to have ideas over time. I’ve been building a habit.

It’s a practice, not a gift.

The trap of all or nothing thinking…

The trap of all or nothing thinking…

I recently spent the weekend on retreat. A hugely restorative 48 hours in a beautiful place with the perfect mix of rest and activity.

As it came towards the end there was a focus on what we wanted to take home with us.

What to add into our regular lives that would help us hold onto some of the magical feeling.

One thing to say yes to for ourselves.

A super useful exercise, as when you can’t take it all, it can be easy not to take anything, to simply return to normal life.

To think that, because you can’t recreate the whole experience, then doing nothing is the only option.

Are you taking what's magical for granted?

Are you taking what's magical for granted?

Looking out of the window the other day I saw a green parakeet (and then managed to get a photo!)

Beautiful. Exotic. Magical….

And completely normal for me (we have an abundance of them where I live).

I also walk everyday in Bushy Park, among the deer.

And just a little further afield is the river and Hampton Court Palace with it’s sparkly gold gates.

When people come to visit they are astonished at these sights. Through their fresh eyes they are magical.

And I realise they are so familiar to me that I can take them for granted.

This can be true of our surroundings, and just as true for ourselves and what we bring to the world. So often we can’t see what others find magical in us, because it’s simply a part of who we are.

What's your relationship with feedback?

What's your relationship with feedback?

Do you love feedback, or loathe it?

Does receiving it make you feel uncomfortably in the spotlight?

Does it feel like a judgement about you?

I’m back for the third time in Tara Mohr’s Playing Big Facilitators Training (as an alum I get to go back every year and experience it again).

It’s hands down one of the best investments I’ve ever made, and the book is one of my most valuable resources - and the one I most often send the women I work with.

I use a lot of her principles and practical tools in my life and coaching, but one of my favourites - and a gamechanger for both me and others - relates to reframing our relationship with feedback.

We’re on this section of the course right now, and listening to the call this week I was struck all over again at the effect our relationship with, and experience of, feedback can have on us.

What feels like luxury to you?

The word luxury can conjure up images of grandeur, of impossible dreams, of wealth, and maybe a little self indulgence?

And yet it’s also a lovely feeling to treat ourselves. To give ourselves a small piece of something that feels like luxury to us. To add an element of luxury into our day to day to lift our energy.

Especially if we spend a lot of our time and energy working, delivering, supporting others.

For me, as someone who works from home, and who grew up as a Paperchase devotee in the 80’s, this is luxury for me.

It’s also how I spend every Monday morning - thanks to inspiration from fellow coach Catriona Horey.

Does your inner perfectionist have their magnifying glass out?

Does your inner perfectionist have their magnifying glass out?

A few weeks ago I was writing an email and found myself comparing two slightly different versions.

Which was better?

Was there a magically perfect version to be created by combining them?

What would be the best one that would make the biggest difference?

And then I caught myself. Or not me, but my inner perfectionist who loves to get her magnifying glass out and scrutinise the smallest of details.

What's your recipe for a life that gives you energy?

What's your recipe for a life that gives you energy?

“Start by drawing a line down the middle of a piece of paper”

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve said this as part of a coaching session - either for the work we are doing in it, or as something to explore in between sessions.

I find it SUCH a useful tool for getting things down on paper so we can see them, understand them, and decide what to do about them.

One of my favourites is in the picture - the Energy Map.

Are you running on autopilot?

Are you running on autopilot?

We have two paths down to the cabin at the end of our garden. Can you spot them?

There’s the one we want everyone to take…

… and the one the dog has created all on his own by hurling himself down the garden.

He does this when he desperately needs to assess the situation and combat any threats to our borders. He’s on autopilot.

Funnily enough he trots back down on the ‘official one’, when he’s calm and relaxed and has everything under control.

We all have these types of automatic reactions, but often they’re not as easy to spot!

Are you carrying around a huge bag of worries right now?

Are you carrying around a huge bag of worries right now?

I’m having a lot of coaching conversations about uncertainly at the moment.

About how to navigate through it at a time of restructures, changing circumstances, and other unknowns, as well as how to help others navigate through it too.

One of the main questions has been how to start a conversation about it, in a way that’s useful.

And how to hold the worry of other people while you’re also holding your own.

I’ve been pulling out The Huge Bag of Worries by Virginia Ironside, and sharing the wisdom within it as a useful tool to explore.