Personal Development
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Uncovering your strengths
Review of StrengthsFinder 2.0: Discover Your CliftonStrengths by Gallup (2021, Gallup Press, 172 pages) Think of a positive outcome that you have achieved recently. How did you achieve it? What skills or qualities did you use? As we go about our busy lives, jumping from one task to the next, and wading through our never-ending ‘To Do’ lists, it can be all too easy to overlook the many qualities and skills that we possess and rely upon to help us to achieve our goals. It is good to bring our strengths to mind so that we can give ourselves some credit where it is due, recognise the strategies and approaches…
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The route to self-acceptance
What did you learn about loving and accepting yourself as you were growing up? What is your relationship with yourself like now? When I was growing up, to ‘love yourself’ was actually considered an insult! Unlike today, where we see messages plastered all over social media telling us to go forth and love ourselves, the phrase often implied that you were vain, self-centred and overly confident and, in an attempt to take you down a peg or two, it was hurled at you if you dared to walk around with your head held high. Believe me, you did not want to be seen to be loving yourself! Looking back, I…
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Using coaching skills in everyday conversations
Think about some of the best conversations you have ever had. What was happening between you and the other person (or people) in the conversation? What were the most inspiring conversations you have ever had? What stands out to you about those conversations? When have you felt like someone has really understood you? What did that person do to show their understanding? I immediately recall a conversation that I had with my lecturer as I was nearing the end of my degree. After giving me some helpful feedback on my assignment she asked me about my plans after graduation. As I started telling her about some of options I was…
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Thinking about giving up on your goals? Read this first!
Ever wondered why your goals sometimes fall by the wayside or the journey towards them just feels like a continual uphill struggle even though you would really love to achieve them? This is where Byron Morrison’s brand new book, Maybe You Should Give Up*, can help! Byron is a mindset and high performance coach and author of The Effective CEO and CEO In Control. Byron kindly provided me with an advanced copy of Maybe You Should Give Up*, which is out in bookstores on 27 June. *Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops. At first glance…
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How to create a reading list for your personal development
Are you wondering what personal development books you should read this year? I’m a self-confessed bookworm and lifelong learner so personal development books are always at the top of my ‘To Read’ list! I love soaking up all the knowledge and wisdom they hold, I relish the self-exploration they encourage, and enjoy learning new, helpful strategies that I can put into practice in my own life. However, I noticed that I was randomly selecting my reading material and had got into the habit of snapping up the latest personal development books, leaving all of my other books to gather dust and, sadly, demoting them to ‘shelf-help’. I realised that…
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Gaining insights from your journal writing
If you have ever kept a journal you will know that it can provide a rare space in your life where you can just ‘be’, away from all the noise and distraction of daily life (and the influence of others!) Within the pages of your journal you can be open and honest about how you are feeling, entertain your latest creative ideas, explore new directions for your business or career, and work through your problems. It is the most attentive listener and will never wade in and try to persuade, advise, or judge you. Combined with coaching, and talking things over with people in my support network, I have found…
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Acknowledge your wins and celebrate them!
Here we are at the end of another year! Before you start thinking about New Year’s resolutions or goal setting, take a moment to look back, reflect on how this year has been and consider what you are taking away from it. In the process of doing this, it is important to recognise the successes you have had, to acknowledge the effort and positive decisions you have made, to take the time to give yourself a well-earned pat on the back, and express gratitude to those who have supported you along the way. Read on to find out why you should make a habit of celebrating your wins, not just…
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Keeping your cool at Christmas time
Now that the shops have had all the Christmas gear out for a good few months, and we are well and truly in the run up to the ‘big day’, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on how I have prepared for Christmas in the past so that I can take a few of the lessons that I have learned from those moments and aim for a more chilled experience this time around! I want to be able to kick back and relax come 25th December so, as a bit of a ‘note to self’, here are some of the points I am going to bear…
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Make your day work for you!
Sometimes it seems like we are at the mercy of the day’s events! We might start off with the best of intentions, that we are going to have a highly productive day, breeze through our tasks and bask in that wonderful feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment by the end of it…. Yet we find ourselves having to sort out an array of issues that pop out of nowhere and just seem to get sidetracked and distracted throughout the day. By the time we manage to put our feet up, we realise that we have done very little of what we actually needed (or wanted) to do! While we are not…
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Unearth your creativity (and discover yourself in the process!)
Review of The Artist’s Way* by Julia Cameron The ability to be creative is not just reserved for the artists of this world, it is within us all and can be expressed in a multitude of ways in our lives. Personally, I have always craved some kind of creative outlet but found that I had dropped many of the creative activities that I enjoyed in my younger years while continuing my education, getting a ‘proper job’, and raising my family. When my children came along, exploring my creative side mainly meant running around and engaging in imaginary play with them and doing the odd bit of Playdoh or finger painting!…
