Put the sunshine back into your thinking!

I'm confused. There are so many books out there at the moment about attracting what you want, watch what you think, attract without thinking, vibrate at a higher energy more, go with the flow...and so on.
Coaching is about changing your thinking, shifting it to become more aware of how you've been relating to yourself and whether this has been a good thing for you or isn't working any more. It's also about how your thinking effects your relationships with others in your life and what choices you make because of your thoughts.
Shifting your thinking enables you to change your perspective in an instant. Ever had an 'ah ha!' moment? One where you had such clarity or just knew what you were doing with such certainty that the world looked brighter? Can you remember that first 'floating' feeling when you were in love? How good did life look then? Your thinking was different, you were in a positive place and you were energized.
So how can you shift your thinking so you can FOCUS on the things you are grateful for, look forward to the things you want and think better of yourself and your life? You can start by simply THINKING..
Right now...
Just think something good about yourself..
It's a good place to start.

Words, words, words...choosing them wisely for July

During the summer, when you manage to get a half decent one that is, you normally take time to chillout, relax and enjoy the outdoors and barbeques. The last thing on your mind will be any of the 'to do' things on your list for this year.
However, this is a great chance for you to sneak in some new habits to help you on your way to achieving your goals.
Consider the following:
What is your self talk like?
What kind of expressions or words do you use most often?
When is the last time you stopped to hear what you were actually saying to yourself..or to others?

Treating ourselves with respect and kindness is sometimes not that easy...sure it comes quite naturally when others need it from us. When it comes to ourselves however we tend to fall down and get quite critical.
This month is a chance to examine your self talk and change it. If your thoughts lean towards the negative then lets get started on stopping that trend.

First step - watch out for the following pressure words - always, should, never - they put pressure on yourself and sound hard and can be off putting. You might be saying them to others, you might be hearing it a lot from others. These pressure words can be replaced with - sometimes, occassionally - and instantly release the pressure attached to them.
E.G - Oh I should really lose weight, I should be earning more, I should be an astronaut(okay so the last one was just to highlight a point!).


Second step - Write down all the things you think you 'should' be either doing or being... even write down the ones that other people think you 'should' be doing or being..(if the list gets long just keep going with it!)

Third step - Once you've finished writing pick out your top 5 common 'should' statements.
How do you feel reading each sentence?
Are you inspired or pressured to do something about it?

Fourth step - replace each of the shoulds in each sentence with 'sometimes' or 'occassionally'.
How do you feel reading each sentence now?
What has changed?

Do this as many times as you like - the more often you stop to consider your thoughts and self talk, the easier it becomes at recognising those destructive and negative words and sentences...and for those that have an external source for the sentences, i.e. other people, maybe July is the time to rethink how you want them to treat you in the future?
Start with number one first - when you improve your own self talk the ripple effect will astound you and your goals become easier as you go on.

REMEMBER! - all of these changes take time, you've established a life time of habits that are possibly outdated for you. No beating yourself up! Change requires kindness and patience and this is long lasting...so enjoy the process and the journey!

Look at how far you've come! - June

So we are now in June - half way through the year. Some of the goals you set at the start of the year may be forgotten, completed or refreshed. Either way this is definitely a month to examine what you have achieved so far!
It is very easy to get caught up in the whole process of going for your goals, but it is vital that when you achieve them that you celebrate it.
Just as important as all of that though is a recognition of the journey you've made. You made a decision to honestly strive towards your resolutions and goals this year...and no matter what has happened in the last 6 months, there is no denying that the journey has given you food for thought along the way.
Perhaps during the remaining part of this month, look at what you have achieved so far - even in some of the situations where you feel you might have not done so well, look for the golden opportunity of learning in it all. It will boost your energy and help you focus on the good things you've achieved, and when you acknowledge that every event has a chance to learn then you know your journey is well worth it!
Keep the faith and get ready for next months blog as we'll be stepping it up for the remaining 6 months of 2008!

Declutter to get energy back

May is a month where we start to feel the positive effects of an approaching summer. The evenings are brighter, we feel an awakening of new energy and definitely more fun in the air.
At this point you may have reached one or more of your goals from the new year list. If so I hope you've pushed on and established new ones to keep the momentum. If you got stuck you may have revisited the goals to see if they are really what you wanted. If you are still heading towards the goal but are finding yourself distracted from it, then now is the time to get refocused.
One of the best ways of doing this is to declutter your space. Feng Shui recognises the importance of keeping the energy flowing around your home, and decluttering is the best way of freeing up all energy stuck in your space. It cannot be emphasised enough how much better you will feel from getting rid of anything that seems to just pile up.
For May, apply some time to sorting out each room in your house. Get rid of anything you haven't used in the last while. Organise your paperwork on bills or simply put any unwanted paper clutter into the recycling bin. Clear out your wardrobe and bag the dull clothes that don't work for a charity shop drop off. Dust, hoover and open the windows wide.
All of this creates positive energy in your home and thus provides a better environment for you to get refocused and energised. This in turn allows you to put your focus back onto your goals and you'll find yourself decluttering these too. As a result you will be back on track and moving forward in the direction you want and stand a better chance of getting things done.
Decluttering is always a good step to take when you find yourself slowing your pace and getting stuck when making new changes in your life.
On a side note, just for a bit of fun, buy some seeds or bulbs that you can use to represent your goals. Plant them now so you can watch them grow and remind yourself that change is a process that takes time but the fruits of the labour are worth it!

The importance of being good to yourself..

This time last year the sun was shining, people were walking around in t-shirts and the vibe of summer was clearly in the air. What a contrast! When the weather isn't the best it is easy to get down and feel less than 100%..thats if you're even up the 100% mark as it is! This is also the type of weather for getting colds which really doesn't help either. When you are in a low place the last thing you're going to think about is whether your on track for your goals!
So this month is about focusing on looking after yourself. Eat well, sleep well and get some light exercise in if you can. This will keep your mind healthy as well as your body, and is also a key way to ensure your self esteem is kept at a healthy level.
If you've been particularly busy the last while, then this is definitely the time to take time-out. Get some DVDs in, wrap up in some comfies and just chill, distract and forget about the world for a little while. Chocolate, popcorn and ice-cream are of course, optional!
Either way, the important thing is to recognise that life can get busy, and external factors that can't be controlled simply happen. Having a window of quiet time provides you with a moment to gather your energy, recharge your batteries and then you can continue with your quest.
Being good to yourself is extremely important - so no excuses of 'not enough time!' or 'i'm simply too busy!'...you just got to do this one important thing for you..no one else.

Is your goal working for you?

We are now into March. February was a tough month and even though spring was promising the weather didn't really reflect spring! So how are we doing with our goals so far?

Time to stop and think for a minute. If you have achieved one step towards your goal now is the time to really go 'Nice Work!'. Sticking to your goals can be a difficult thing to do, especially if you are not getting inspired by it. So here's what we do for March.


Lets have a quick look at how you made your small step happen - how did you go about it?
Did you get excited about it? How did it feel to accomplish it?
If you didn't manage to get anywhere with your goal then maybe the goal isn't REALLY what you want?
What qualities in a goal make it attractive? How do you get excited about a goal?


Lots of questions I know, but maybe this is what March is about. Celebrate the good things you have achieved so far in the year and figure out what can attract you or distract you where making a goal is concerned. Sometimes we think we want a certain goal, but when we start going for it the energy and enthusiasm doesn't seem to be present.



Goals are something to be passionate about or at the very least enthusiastic!! So if it's not working now is the time to find out why and change it!

Spring Clean your Life!

We are coming to the end of January...whew!..what a month. It seems like a long time ago when you made those resolutions right? Well lets see what happened.
You put down some great ideas - change jobs, lose weight, stop smoking, get healthy...and so on.
How did you do?
Probably started out pretty well no doubt, and then into the second or third week well... the weather wasn't great, work was tough, it was raining so you couldn't walk or the stress got to you so you had a cigarette. It happens.

Spring is just around the corner. Yep, Spring starts on the 1st February! So here are some things you might do to make the most of this new energy.

REVIEW - have a look back over January - write down some details on a piece of paper with a line down the middle of it.
On the left side of the page title WHAT WORKED, and on the right title WHAT DIDN'T WORK. Take the time to really think about the good things you did this month, what you DID achieve, even if it was simply sticking to your diet for a week that is something that worked and that is important!
THINK - Think about what you DID achieve, even if you simply kept to your diet for a week jot it down and mention what kind of things you did. Next think about some of the stuff that didn't work to keep you on track.
Maybe you caved in on the smoking when you were out with a bunch of friends that do smoke or maybe you felt stressed so ate more...don't dwell too much on it, just observe as we aren't here to get caught up in bad feelings about all this! The idea here is to get a pattern of what situations helped you stick to your goals and what situations might be stopping you and throwing you off track.
When you've done that then you're ready to move into February with a clearer vision of how to reach your goals as you have the advantage of knowing what works! If you aim to do less of the stuff that doesn't work for you then you are moving closer to your goals!