Positivity and Wellbeing

Our advice is not nearly as good as we think it is. Take a moment and reflect on that statement. These words come from the fabulous book, The Advice Trap by Michael Bungay Stanier and in his opnion, that is the trouble with giving advice and offering solutions to other people’s problems.

But we all do it, we hear half a problem and in no time we are jumping in with advice. Good, well meaning advice no doubt, but advice unlikely to have the impact we think that it should. Instead, he suggests th…

Do you truly know what matters to you and for you?

What brings you alive?

When are you in flow?

Sure, you love your kids, your pets, and even your job. But what truly matters for you to feel satisfied and complete?

Let me tell you. It’s not your fancy car or your super stylish house. It’s not the incredible grazing plate you created or the number of likes you have on Facebook. It’s not the length of your marriage or the distance you have travelled. It’s not your wine cellar, art collection o…

Hey there - how are you doing? What is bringing you joy at the moment?

I listened to Tarana Burke - author and founder of the #metoo movement, and she reminded me that you could feel great joy and great sorrow or pain simultaneously.  (Ever laughed at a funeral??)

Whilst I embed wellbeing and positivity in my teaching, it's not because I want you to run around pumping sunshine and engaging in toxic positivity. My biz is called Positively Beaming, for all sorts of subtle reasons, but NONE of th…

The one thing I could do all day, every day, is to listen to people tell their stories. To sit on my coaching couch and talk to clever women about their successes, their fears, their joy and the places at which they get stuck. Most clients will go through the motions with me but the clients I could spend all day with are the ones who are prepared to go all-in, get uncomfortable, receive feedback, question it in their own head, fight it and push through to a new solution.

I love it when it go…

A couple of weeks ago, I was travelling down south for work (and a little pleasure) so I listened to a few podcasts. I have a love for true crime .... I can't listen to high-brow stuff all the time. Randomly, at the end of Australian True Crime, an astrologer came on and what she had to say was fascinating. 

She said that Astrologers had been predicting the turmoil of 2020 for some time. The last time certain planets were in alignment was at the start of the industrial revolution - where life a…

I have been thinking a lot about resilience again lately. It's something that has fascinated me since I crashed and burned in my first career. Now that the universe has stirred up a tsunami of challenging events, I have been watching carefully again.

Our brain is hard-wired to make us safe. Our brain is velcro for the bad stuff and Teflon for the good. In evolutionary terms, there was no point noticing a beautiful flower when you were about to be eaten by a tiger. Sadly that same pre-historic a…

A wise person once told me that feedback is a treasure hunt not a witch hunt. The idea is to look for the gold and if there is not much then to look for the lesson and what can be learned.

But most of us would rather have root canal surgery than give or receive corrective feedback and so we miss the treasure that someone might be handing us.

1. Stop Your First Reaction

At the first sign of critical feedback, before you do anything—stop. Really. Try not to react at all! You’ll have at least on…

At my local park, where I walk my dog, they also host junior hockey on the weekends. As I was waiting for Albert to sniff every tree and goal post I watched families arrive for what must have been an under-10 mixed-gender match. It was cold and windy, and I am thinking kudos to parents who do this at 8 am on a bleak Saturday morning.

A well-dressed Dad hops out of his lovely car and says to his son, “Did you bring your jacket mate?”

Of course, the 10-year-old boy said, “No.”

Dad said in a m…

Every creature on earth has a purpose – even flies, which are annoying and can ruin a good picnic.

Feedback can be like that too.

We need feedback to grow and develop but boy-o-boy can it ruin your day!

We are getting feedback ALL THE TIME but mostly we don’t notice it.

If it doesn’t come in the language or currency we understand, we brush it off not even registering it as feedback.  Batting it away like a pesky fly – barely giving it a thought.

Until that fly buzzes past again, and again u…