Way back in the day, when I first stepped into a people leader role, I had to write myself this Post-it note.
It’s such a simple question, but one I found it really hard to remember to ask!
Would you like to express yourself more clearly?
How do you feel about owning your “I”?
Sharing your perspective, your preferences, your priorities?
Communicating what you need in the moment - or what you’re looking for in the longer term?
Or are you hoping that your expressions, actions or work will speak for you, and the other person will figure it out for themselves?
Could you use a restorative pit stop?
Last week I spent a chunk of time back in Yorkshire on retreat.
The same venue, another brilliant group of women, another transformative experience to absorb and reflect on.
Usually I drive straight home afterwards, using the 5-hour drive to decompress before returning to my everyday life. This time I pit stopped with a friend for a night.
What a gift!
Do you have too many "Bob's"
I absolutely love this book.
It’s one of my regular re-reads for many reasons, but one of the key ones is that the ideas in it have such wide applicability.
It’s a book about creating purposeful gatherings that also works for creating clarity and focus in our lives - so we can be clear on what matters most, and then organise our time and energy around it.
I have many of the key elements captured on Post-its, but my favourites are these: “Commit to a bold, sharp purpose” and “Close the door to create the room”.
And for that, you need to manage your “Bob’s”.
Would it be useful to re-read your story?
There are some books I re-read over and over.
The stories are so rich, and each time I come back to them I experience them differently.
They are the same words through fresh eyes. I’m in a different place in my life, and so I see them from a different perspective.
It’s the same with my own story, which changes shape depending on where I am in relation to it.
Do you have an unfulfilled dream?
What brings out the best in you?
I’m endlessly fascinated by what brings out the best in us.
How do we like to work? How do we set our lives up so we can win at being us? What gives us good energy - inside and out?
We’re all uniquely wired, so it makes sense to take some time to figure it out. It gives us an incredible foundation, and pays back brilliantly when put into practice.
What helps you keep going?
It’s been over 4 months since I started Couch to 5k and I’ve just completed the final run of Week 4 for the 5th time.
Can you tell it hasn’t gone to plan?
It’s really not been the consistent, steady process I hoped for when running and I started dating again. There have been false starts, frustrating setbacks and ever decreasing motivation.
At the start of the year, I hit a low. What was the point? Was it even worth keeping going when it felt this hard?
When does your New Year energy kick in?
My New Year energy is a late bloomer.
It’s still in hibernation mode at the moment and generally seems to lie in wait until February, sparking to life as January comes to an end and the days start to get lighter and brighter.
It’s perhaps because we have a busy festive season followed by a number of birthdays just after. Or years of following the rhythm of the school year - waving kids off after the half term break and appreciating the lighter mornings. Or maybe I’m simply more solar powered than I realise!
Whatever the reason, it means that January is rarely a time to set big new goals or tackle big energy moves.
So, what do I do in the meantime?
What are your 2025 highlights?
This photo captures one of my favourite memories from 2025.
It’s a selfie of me and my lovely husband Stu, taken in a pub garden in Grasmere.
It was the first time in a while that we’d been away just us - no teenagers, no dog - and this sums up the feeling of the experience.
When I look at it I smile - I can see our partnership, the fun, the team spirit, the ease and the love.
