When I rebranded my business to Start With You back in 2015, it was after a lot of exploring and soul-searching, primarily about why I do what I do and what it’s really about. (I can highly recommend Simon Sinek’s book “Start With Why” and his online resources to help with this process, by the way. Oh, and it wasn’t until the following day after ... [Read On]
These ain’t normal times, peeps (watch out for subliminal stress)
This week, one of the coach directories I belong to, Get Coached, posted a poignant message:You are not ‘working from home’. You are at home, during a crisis, trying to work.While I’m not a fan of dramatic words like ‘crisis’, it’s hard to argue with it right now.We all have a lot on our minds. There’s a lot going on, a fair amount of uncertainty ... [Read On]
Lockdown Resources to Help You Thrive
Dear ones, Here in New Zealand we've found ourselves plunged into a very sudden level 4 lockdown and whilst it was very much on the cards, it’s still very jarring and very disruptive. There are a lot of very’s in that sentence but I guess that’s the nature of the week we’ve had! Here are a range of free resources at Start With You to help to ... [Read On]
I don’t believe in stress management
Although I specialise in stress and resilience, among other things, I actually don’t believe in managing stress or stress management. That’s a bit of a mind-bender for some, but this nuance in semantics is actually pretty important. These terms presuppose we’re going to have stress and it needs to be managed, which is buying into the paradigm ... [Read On]
Sometimes the practical tools are just not enough
I’ve always been quite a practical person – able to fix a blown fuse or repair a piece of broken china, or organise a kitchen to work well for the cook. And when I think about it, this actually pervades my approach to personal and professional change and stress transformation. As soon as I started specialising in stress and resilience for instance, ... [Read On]
Stripping things back to the essentials
For me, June has been a month of enjoying the simplicities of life; enjoying a thermos of fresh ginger tea on cold mornings, lighting candles in the early wintry evenings. With all the rain we’ve had here, I’ve been chasing the sun on the days it has appeared and soaking it up. I’m feeling like my solar battery has been filled up again. Sunshine is ... [Read On]
I Still Get Stressed – Confessions of a Stress Junkie
Honestly, I still get stressed sometimes. Yes, I’m a Business Coach and Intuitive Healer who works with business owners and professionals across a range of areas, but especially around getting out of the cycle of stress or avoiding/escaping burnout. I'm also human. Perhaps one of the main reasons I've ended up specialising in stress is ... [Read On]
Give Yourself Permission to Change Your Own Rules
It’s so easy to forget that every one of us is influenced by our individual, unique set of ‘inner rules’, values, precedents and social norms – some of which we are conscious of, and some that are unconscious. In either case, they drive our thinking, our behaviour, our decisions – virtually everything about how we do life. And it’s because they ... [Read On]
A fresh take on dealing with depression and anxiety
Allison used to describe herself as ‘slightly depressive’. Outwardly to many people she was cheerful, friendly and successful. Close friends knew she had the odd low moment, although they didn’t know how often those moments came along. She’d feel ridiculous if they knew. At times she would feel so low and unable to help herself that she would sit ... [Read On]
More on how to beat overwhelm at work
What I notice for a lot of people wanting to beat overwhelm, lower their stress and feel more control in their day, is that they’re not taking that control. They’re bobbing on an ocean of busy-ness, demands and distractions and going where the merry water will take them. They may occasionally try grabbing an oar and shuffling some water, hoping to ... [Read On]