Where have you shown courage of late? And what has been the cost of courage for you? It takes courage to stand up for yourself or someone else in the face of opposition. Saying a bold ‘no’, or a faith-and-fear-filled ‘yes’ both take courage, and also require a counting of the cost. Much less glamorous but…
Would it make a good tattoo? Labelling yourself
What are you labelling yourself with this week? And should you be labelling yourself thus? These are the final two cognitive distortions that we will look at in this current series of musings: Labelling yourself and “should” statements. What we label ourselves with is linked to how we view ourselves and how we talk to…
On benevolent detachment and noticing
Noticing. I am noticing that I am doing a lot of noticing at the moment. I am talking to clients about the importance of noticing, and I am aware of how much space this is making in my own mind and soul. Simply stopping, and noticing. And detaching. Like letting go of a balloon and…
Learning to say no well.
Over these past weeks, I have been musing here on the impact of Covid burnout. This has included considering the effects of burnout on our physical bodies, what negativity and numbing do to us and how to take remedial action. What rest means to you and how to engage in rest that is actually –…
Do you struggle with rest?
What does it mean for you to rest well? Do you struggle with rest? Chances are – especially if you are a woman – that you do. We can all-too-easily attribute attitudes like ‘lazy’, ‘unproductive’, ‘selfish‘, ‘self-indulgent’ to the idea of us resting. It might be easier to acknowledge that other people need to rest…
Why we need to let go of control
What are you struggling to let go of control of this week? And what is the impact of that – on your physical, mental and emotional well being? It seems to me that control has been a feature of a number of conversations recently, and indeed of my own musings. I have been talking here…
Observations from a DC world: Creating Structure
Here we are in the midst of our strange and surreal DC – During Corona – world, trying to find a way to live well in what is a new ‘normal’ (albeit temporary) state. Life BC – Before Corona – seems a distant memory. Physical distancing is necessary and important but we are becoming skilled…
Declutter your mind
How viscous is your brain soup? That might seem an odd question indeed. But brain soup has been a term that has resonated in this house as a means of encapsulating that feeling of being simply overwhelmed by the amount of information contained within your head. [Google brain soup and you get a very different…
Too busy because we need to be needed?
How often this week have you told someone that you are busy, when asked how you are? And has your motivation for that at a deep, possibly subconscious level been your need to be needed? Ouch, that is a harsh way to start. We have been musing during this Lent season with the idea of…
The tyranny of the urgent over the important (Or, Habit number 3).
The tyranny of the urgent over the important – It was Charles E Hummel who first used this phrase in referring to our constantly pressured lives, with endless unfinished tasks and little fulfillment. And he said this in 1967! Seems like in some ways our oft gerbil-wheel-running lifestyle is nothing new. I have spoken here before…