CENTRE

Do you need to design in some rest weeks?

Do you need to design in some rest weeks?

How does your energy work over time?

Do you wake up every day, every week, of every year with the same amount of it?

Or does it ebb and flow?

With times when you feel you could take on anything, times when you need to curl up and hibernate, and times when you just want to get outside and play?

Like the seasons of the year, most of us vary. We don’t all have access to the same amount of energy all the time.

And yet we can expect that we ‘should’, and feel surprised that we’re not operating at our ‘usual’ capacity.

This is me right now. Really ready for a hammock!

What does your anger feel like?

What does your anger feel like?

I’ve just finished a yoga class where I experienced really strong feelings of anger. And it was brilliant!

When I was a little girl I was super connected to my anger. I could feel it freely and easily - and often did.

As I grew older I lost my connection with it.

I wasn’t sure how to express it when I felt it (because good girls don’t get angry), and eventually I wasn’t even sure how to recognise it.

It got jumbled up in my body with other emotions.

Until recently.

Until I felt A L L the yoga rage in a hot Hatha class with the fabulous Vinna Barber.

Are you skipping the scary parts?

Are you skipping the scary parts?

The first date my husband and I went on was to see Pulp Fiction at the cinema. He quickly realised I’m not good with the scary bits!

I spent most of the film with my face pressed into his shoulder and my fingers in my ears (miraculously we’re still together nearly 30 years later).

I’m still not great with anticipatory fear on screen. I close my eyes. I block my ears. I find it really hard to watch.

And it can affect life off screen too. Fear of what might be - the unknown - can often slow me down and keep me stuck.


And yet…

The easy trap of compare and despair…

The easy trap of compare and despair…

“Do you find yourself contrasting how someone else’s life looks on the outside, with how yours feels on the inside?

Can it feel as though everyone else is doing it ‘better’?

Is compare and despair an easy trap for you to fall into?

Me too. My inner critic absolutely loves to jump into this place.

A snapshot of someone else’s life can bring up a whole lot of stuff for many of us. Especially if it lands in a tender spot.

This was brought to life for me recently - but from the other side of the experience…

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.

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.

The power of taking some time just for you

The power of taking some time just for you

A few months ago, I booked a hotel and went away for the night.

Just me.

I walked there, took chocolate and a good book, and did nothing except relax, read and be in my own company.

I don’t think I said a word for hours.

It was a wonderful treat. It felt indulgent and exciting (and maybe a little weird?).

And it was EXACTLY what I needed.