Monthly Archives: November 2017

How well do you give and receive compliments? This is a question that I’ve asked several Springboard and Sprint groups over the last months. Some people nod wisely and say they’ve been working on this aspect of assertiveness. But still for the majority there is a great challenge in being able to say a simple ‘thank you’ when presented a compliment. Reasons for being reluctant to accept praise can vary from the fear to being thought arrogant/big-headed, to the suspicion that compliments are false or untrue (or just given in order to generate a returned compliment). Understandably there are some [...]

There’s a comedy chat show on the radio that encourages celebrities to try out things they’ve never done before – things that many other people have done. The programme has made me smile, especially when Sandi Toksvig tried out wearing high heels for the first time and it made me consider if this could be an approach for some gentle goal setting. Personally, there are many things that I haven’t done, dishes I’ve never tasted, books I’ve not read, places I’ve not visited – and the key point is …I’m surprised I haven’t done these things. Let’s be quite clear: [...]

Looking through the window, the sun is shining, the sky is blue. This may be the last warm sunny day of autumn in the UK. But I’m into my fourth day of a nasty cold/flu attack (who ever knows the difference between a cold and the flu – especially when you’re in the middle of it). Reaching for the tissues and paracetamol, I could easily be stressed that I’m indoors and not out walking on this beautiful day. I could ruminate on the time I’ve ‘lost’ this week – time I planned to spend preparing and getting excited for new [...]