What does your personal brand say about you?

24th April 2019
Personal Brand
What does your personal brand say about you?

We all have a reputation. It’s what people say about us when we are not there and it can be positive and negative based on how people have experienced us. This is your personal brand! The question is, are you aware of your brand and is it consistent?

We go through life often blind to who we are, what we bring and what really motivates us. It’s only when we get clear about these things that we begin to get clear on our brand and can live it easily and effortlessly.

Here are some things to think about while living your brand:

Be Consistent

Be consistent in all that you do, it builds trust. If you say that you are going to do something, do it. Every exposure to your brand needs to be the same as the last. Online encounters, face-to-face interactions, and every other way that you connect with other people must reflect the brand that you have set forward – who you are. If your brand promises one thing online, but a physical encounter does not measure up to that image, your brand will suffer. 

Be Committed

Consistency takes commitment. Be faithful and dependable in the execution of your brand’s promises and values. For your brand to be seen as dependable, multiple encounters with other people must reflect the values and mission of your brand. By committing to execute your brand effectively, your reputation will remain positive and spread. 

Be Balanced

It is easy to believe that your personal life is completely separate from your professional life. However, you are the same person so the two should intersect. Your values are intrinsic to who you are and if you try to behave in a way that is incongruent to these you’ll come across as inauthentic and inconsistent. It’s also likely to cause you stress! If your personal brand conflicts with your professional brand, distrust for both your personal and professional brand will develop. 

Additionally, exercise restraint when using social media. No matter your privacy settings, nothing online is private. What you say on your personal Twitter account needs to positively reflect your personal brand. If you must vent your frustrations, do so in a private setting that will not reflect poorly on you. 

Be a Professional

When developing and living your brand be professional and define what this looks like for you. Not everyone defines professionalism the same way. Some people are more rigid in their views and others are more relaxed. There are, however, a few different ways to behave professionally that most people agree on:

  • Be dependable.
  • Be competent in your work.
  • Act with honesty and integrity.
  • Treat everyone with respect.
  • Be a positive example. 

This list is not inclusive, but it is a good starting point. By behaving professionally you will help create a brand that is respected. 

Live It Every Day

Committing to your brand requires you to take action every day. It falls in line with consistency and constancy. As we have already learned, every interaction with your brand needs to build a sense of dependability. Committing to living out your brand is the only way to make this happen, and you must commit to doing it every day. How you execute day in and day out will depend on your brand and your customers. 

Regardless of your brand, the point is for you to follow through daily. As you do, the actions will become more natural, and you will be able to expand your brand’s reputation. If you are being authentic this will be easy.

‘Always be a first rate version of yourself, instead of a second rate version of someone else.’

Judy Garland

50 shades of grey…

19th March 2019

Let me start by apologising to anyone who thought this may have something to do with the world famous book by E.L.James. It has nothing to do with that. It’s more about the 50 shades of grey in leadership, and maybe there are more than 50 in that arena…

Day in and day out as a leader in business you face confusion, complexity and chaos. If your living in the UK at the moment Brexit is a great example of this!  What they create (confusion, complexity and chaos) is mess, shades of grey, not knowing and sometimes lack of clarity around your role or what the next step is.

Some of you may thrive in chaos but hate confusion and others of you love complexity but hate chaos. The truth of the matter is leadership today requires you to be comfortable with the ambiguity that may be caused by one or all of these three themes. No matter how much you know it doesn’t stop the inherent feelings of panic, anxiety and stress that ambiguity can create.

When any of us are faced with these emotions our brain is pumping cortisol through our body to take action to ‘feel’ safe again. This stops us thinking clearly, which is the very thing we need to be doing in that moment.

Moving Forward in a period of uncertainty

As a leader you  set the tone for the environment you are in and the team you are leading. And despite the fact that we all know the pace of change is driving this ambiguity many of us are still looking for black and white answers! Part of your roles as a leader is to manage the tension that this creates. Bringing as much clarity as you can to help your followers.

We need to train ourselves to think ahead even if it’s only the next few steps, the next 30 days to feel as though we have some ‘control’.

Here are some simple things to think about:

  • Adjust your leadership style to suit the needs of individuals and the situation. Know when to partner with your team, when to take a more evaluative, analytical and decisive stance, when to support and encourage and when to delegate.
  • Provide structure and direction, which might simply be around when we meet and making small decisions to move forward. Ensure people are clear about their roles and the expectations you have of them.
  • Work constructively and calmly under pressure. Identify how stress and pressure affect your own performance and understand your trigger points. Ensure you have mechanisms in place to cope with these and recover.
  • Maintain a positive mindset, even when things aren’t going to plan. There is learning in every situation.
  • Be patient!

Leadership is an inner game. If you can master leading yourself through the chaos, complexity and confusion that surrounds you you’re more likely to take others with you.

“Be the warrior not the worrier”
Angel Ceberano

Increasing your ability to be more agile and adaptable

28th February 2019
You need a variety of tools and techniques

As a leader in today’s world you need more than one approach or viewpoint. You have to be willing to open your mind and be a little bit more creative in considering the best approach. You are required to be adaptable. 

Not only do are you required to be adaptable but your team and the culture you create does too. In this way you can be more agile and responsive to the situation you find yourself in.

You have to be a master craftsman. If you only have a hammer and a chisel in your toolbox you are pretty limited to what you can achieve. A range of tools and techniques in your armoury to be as creative and resourceful as possible is key.

Creating a climate of adaptability

We all know that leadership isn’t easy. Youset the tone for the environment you want to create so here are some simple (not easy) steps to work through to assess the level of adaptability your current climate is:

  • Review your current team and the wider organisation. How do people react to new situations, problems or solutions? Do they:
    • Try and take control?
    • Enjoy the excitement of the unknown and new?
    • Wait for others to explain what is expected?
    • Worry about how to go about it in the ‘right’ way or whether they are making the ‘right’ decision?
    • Use the opportunity to experiment and learn from failures? 
    • Speak candidly without fear of reprisal?
  • What are the obstacles to adaptability? Are they systemic? Is innovation and creativity hindered by existing processes and procedures? Is there the right mindset – an openness and curiosity with a discipline on where to focus?
  • Are the business reasons for being adaptable clear? When people are clear about the rationale they are more likely to align and be willing to learn.
  • Are you modelling an attitude of adaptability and agility? If not where can you start? I’d suggest starting small and explaining why you’re making the change e.g. changing the way you run meetings, empowering others to make decisions, ensuring learning comes out of successes and failures and applying those learnings.

Once your assessment is complete identify 3 things that will help you move the culture forward. Make them practical. Things that can be implemented easily. It’s often the small things that have the biggest impact!

Increasing your ability

On the job experience accounts for 70% of a leaders development, so whilst you may be tempted to look at what courses or workshops are around, don’t. Start by looking at what is around you. Here are just a few suggestions:

  • Find people who deal effectively with ambiguity and ask them to share their experiences and tips. 
  • Review your priorities. Where are there opportunities to take a different approach?
  • Ask for feedback from your team or trusted colleagues. Where do they see your strengths and where are their opportunities to adapt your approach?
  • Take some time out for reflection. Look at past successes and failures, what can you learn from them? What is your current mindset? How can you be more comfortable with not knowing? Where might you need to loosen the reigns?

These are just some ideas to get you started and if you feel working with a coach could really help please make contact to set up a free discovery call to explore how we may work together. 

“Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right.’ Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.”

George Herbert

Slowing Down or Pressing Pause – Managing Transition

5th February 2019

As we come to the end of January many of you will have forgotten your New Year resolution, fallen ‘off the wagon’ and given up, or not bothered to consider the start of the New Year in any way. After all it’s just another day/year not a major transition…

I’m not sure where the ritual for marking the start of a New Year originated but I like to think of it as marking a transition. To consciously consider how last year went and what I want from the year ahead.

In our life we go through many transitions; moving home, leaving school and college, starting a new job, getting a new boss, getting married, getting divorced, having a baby, children leaving home etc. This list could go on ad infinitum as we consider smaller changes we face such as introducing a new system or process at work, getting promoted or moving office. My point is we may make these choices consciously but we often fail to mark the transition by considering what we may need to leave behind, how we may need to be different in the new scenario or taking any learning from the past.

These changes can be quite scary. We don’t really know what lies ahead. We may have ideas of how we’d like it to be but we are rarely in full control of how things may pan out. Our well-practiced ways of operating show up and we could find that ‘things don’t change’.

Constant Change

We live in a world where things are changing all of the time and we can easily get caught up in keeping up and feeling out of control. This is normal, and it doesn’t have to be that way. You can slow down or even stop for a whileas you gather yourself and your thoughts together before moving on.

With any change there is a ‘way it was’ and there is a ‘way it will be’. In the middle is uncertainty. Brenda Reynolds has a great TED talk about Navigating Transition Fog  and suggests you approach these situations as you would if you were driving in fog:

  • Slow down
  • Put on the lights so you can see just enough ahead to keep moving
  • Pull over and rest – wait for the fog to clear

All of these put youback in control of you. You can then move forward purposefully. 

For me, going through any transition is an opportunity to press the pause button.

Recalibrate

Taking a moment (or longer depending on the circumstances) to slow down or stop gives you the opportunity to reflect. In this moment consider these three questions:

  • What strengths do I need to carry forward? 
  • Do I need to leave anything behind either temporarily or forever and how do I honour this?
  • What are my expectations and how do I need to show up differently?

It may well be that you need some help and support as you move forward. Most of us do and are afraid to ask. We are increasingly facing situations where what used to work in the past will not work now.

We all need support. Be willing to ask for help and also offer support to others.

“We can’t chart a new course until we find out where we are, how we came to that point and where we want to go.”

Brene Brown

Creating and Building the ‘Right’ Relationships at Work

11th December 2018

Right relationship at work

 

The world of work today is more complex than ever. More tasks and processes are outsourced, digitalised, interconnected and often in another part of the world.

As a leader there are many challenges to managing these situations and it’s easy to loose sight of the relationships required to ensure things run smoothly. In my experience more emphasise is put on the task rather than having the right relationships to complete the task, and this goes way beyond the immediate team.

What do I mean by right relationships?

We are social creatures. We are wired to belong and be in connection with others. if we don’t get what we need it can impact us psychologically and physically.

As an individual you have the capacity to impact everyone you meet either positively or negatively and as a leader this is magnified.

Right relationship for me means having a positive impact even when delivering bad news. It’s about being authentic and accepting the other person as a whole individual. You can have honest conversations without them becoming toxic.

There are 3 key elements to be able to be in right relationship with anyone:

  • Self-awareness
  • Listening
  • Collaborating

Self-Awareness

One of my founding principles is that you cannot lead and develop others until you first learn to lead and develop yourself.

How well do you know yourself?

Are you aware of your beliefs and values?

Do you know how they impact your behaviour?

Are you able to control your behaviour even in stressful situations?

Reflect on how you show up – constantly!  Set aside some time in the week to reflect on how you have shown up as a leader. Where were you brilliant in relationship? Where could you have done things differently? What will you do to continue to build your reputation, presence and relationships?

You are on show all of the time and people are watching you all of the time. Be consistent in everything you do and role model what you expect. You set the standards for what is acceptable and what isn’t in your environment.

Listening

Truly listening is an art. There are many things we can pay attention to in both your audience and you.

You are the only person you are in control of. Pay attention to what is happening to you as well as your audience, tuning into the following areas:

Words – Listen to the words, tone, timbre and pitch

Emotion – What do you see and hear that gives some indication of the mood or emotion that is present?

Physiology – What do you notice about the way the person you are listening to is sitting, standing, moving, and breathing?

Energy – What are you picking up energetically?

As you are doing this be curious, ask questions and suspend your own judgement. Solicit input and check your understanding by summarising what you are hearing.

I know all of this sounds simple, however there are real subtleties to observe which you will pick up as long as you practice.

Promote collaboration

Most initiatives require the cooperation and combined effort of teams across the organisation. Stand out from the crowd and promote collaboration across the organisation and find ways to unblock the blockages to getting things done. This may mean dealing with conflict.

Most of us shy away from conflict and back off or avoid the situation if it feels like it might be confrontational. Yet, conflict is inevitable in organisations.  Think of conflict as differing points of view which, when discussed without blame or defensiveness, can be the starting point of creating a better solution, better product or better way of working.

Act to preserve relationships, even under difficult or heated circumstances.

Relationships are fluid. They are changing all of the time and they will not always be consistently good. They grow, end and go through rocky patches at times. I always advise my clients to at least maintain the relationship at its current level. Ideally you want to be building relationships so when there is a heated exchange make sure you circle back and affirm the importance of the relationship and, if necessary, apologise!

“”Love” is the radical respect of the other as a legitimate other.”

Humberto Maturana

 

 

Engaging in Conflict Objectively

16th November 2018

Engaging in Conflict Objectively

 

In the past year I’ve become more interested in conflict in the workplace, particularly the degree to which it is ignored, neglected and avoided. I’ve even begun to wonder how well I deal with it.

Conflict when handled well can lead to an amazing work environment where relationships really matter. When not handled well it can create very toxic environments.

My invitation to you is to consider how do you handle conflict?

Do you address it when it’s present?

Are you aware that it’s present?  It can be easily disguised in sarcasm, laughter and avoidance.

How do you surface it in a way that is non confrontational?

Do you become defensive or play the victim?

Conflict is normal

Conflict is normal. It’s all around us, in our families, friends, colleagues and in the world at large. Your job as a leader is to find a way through it and unlock the potential behind it.

It shows up in teams as feeling stuck, flares of anger/frustration, avoiding topics or people and being defensive. We all recognise it and the impact it has on us personally. It stifles creativity, productivity and individual performance. Yet very few of us take proactive action.

How can you pull people in the same direction and embrace their differences?

Creating a supportive culture

You are expected to manage the complexity and multiple layers of the work environment and yet so often we see conflict as binary – one person is right and the other is wrong. Instead consider the relationships at stake.

How can you help the relationships build and grow rather than be destructive?

Conflict is often a sign that a desire or need is not being met, so, with this in mind your job is to become an explorer and detective to reveal this. This requires you to be a master at asking questions and a consummate listener…

Here are some tips to get you started:

  • Begin the conversation with a curious tone.
  • Take turns speaking and listening.
  • Acknowledge and respect each others hopes and dreams.
  • Recognise the solution may take time, don’t look for a quick fix.
  • Consider asking the following questions:
    • Tell me the story.
    • What do you believe about this issue?
    • How do you feel about it?
    • What do you want/need?
    • Tell me what do these things mean to you?

Like all things that require a change in behaviour it takes practice and if you’d like some additional support then fee free to call me.

“Only three things happen naturally in organizations: friction, confusion and underperformance. Everything else requires leadership.”

Peter Drucker

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 signs that your team is not aligned

26th September 2018

Team

Ultimately the effectiveness of any team is judged by the results they achieve. So if you’re not getting the results you want, the chances are your team is misaligned in some way.

When we are in the team it can be hard to spot when there is misalignment, so in an effort to provide you with some clues, here are 3 things to look for:

Conflict

Healthy conflict in a team is good and necessary to be able to challenge each other and make effective decisions. However, when unhealthy conflict occurs it get’s in the way of healthy discussion and effective relationships. Based on the work of John Gottman, here are signs that will tell you there is unhealthy conflict in your team:

  • Criticism – This can come in the form of blaming or aggressive attacks on others. It may start with a complaint, which is great, if it’s focused on the issue. It becomes criticism when some negativity about anothers personality is added.
  • Defensiveness – Although it’s understandable to defend yourself when someone complains, or is critical, it doesn’t help. It can look like deflection, not being open to influence or excuses. In effect you’re saying, “it’s not me”.
  • Stonewalling – You’ll notice stonewalling when you see or hear avoidance, uncooperativeness, withholding information, disengagement and potentially yes men and women.
  • Contempt – This is the most damaging of these four behaviours because it conveys disgust and can take quite some time to repair. You’ll notice it through the following behaviours; sarcasm, cynicism, sneering, eye rolling, cutting others down, hostile gossip, demeaning communication and disrespect.

Lack of Commitment

There can be no internal cohesion (alignment) without commitment and collective accountability. An absence of this can result in members of the team heading in different directions resulting in wasted time, energy and poor results. Here are some signs that can indicate a lack of commitment:

  • Low moral in the team or an individual over a period of time
  • Energy fades or there is a lack of energy
  • High turnover in the team or a particular department

Communication problems

Yes that old chestnut! No matter how well you think you communicate people will always tell you they want more. This is not about the volume of communication it is about the style and effectiveness of the communication. So here are some clues that you may need to address this topic:

  • Lack of transparency about a situation when confidentiality is not an issue
  • Conflicting needs and demands e.g. stakeholders don’t share the same agenda, teams have different priorities or priorities are not clear
  • Lack of initiative to make things happen or get involved
  • Lack of cooperation – sub teams don’t communicate or share information

The Good News

The good news is you can do something about all of these scenarios and it’s relatively straightforward to fix. All it needs is an investment of time and your own commitment.

If you’d like some help aligning your team feel free to email me and set up a free discovery call.

Empowering the individual when there is relatively low level of alignment worsens the chaos and makes managing the team more difficult.

Peter Senge

Do you trust yourself? Building personal mastery

29th August 2018

Trust, building personal mastery

I’ve been working recently with a senior team embarking on a transformation project. The purpose of the assignment was to revisit how they work as a team and the culture they want to create moving forward.

The model I introduced was Lencioni’s 5 dysfunctions of a team and we spent a significant amount of time talking about trust (the absence of trust being dysfunction #1). Lencioni describes this as the willingness to be vulnerable with each other.

Reflecting on this, and similar workshops I’ve run in the past, it struck me that the step before this is to consider to what degree do you trust yourself. This has to be the start of any work to do with teams or leadership.

Playing safe vs. being courageous

We are all aware of the speed at which the world is changing and the sense of overwhelm that this can create within us. No longer can we predict what is going to happen or know for certain what the outcome or solution will be. So how does this affect how you show up as a leader?

Do you protect yourself, play small and keep your head down to ensure you’re not failing or making mistakes – playing safe? Or, do you take each moment as it comes being comfortable with not knowing, knowing that you will make some mistakes and even make some bad decisions?

As a leader you set the tone for your team and the more aware you are of who you are, the more consciously you can set the right tone, show up and be present.

So how can you learn to trust yourself more?

Banish self-doubt and comparisons!

We live in a world of never enough. Brene Brown in her research on shame and vulnerability found that people constantly assess and compare elements of their lives.

This often triggers thoughts in our head that prevent us from taking action, for example:

  • I’m not good enough
  • I’m not successful enough
  • I’m not thin enough
  • I’m not fit enough
  • I’m not certain enough
  • I’m not safe enough
  • I’m not perfect enough

These thoughts are triggered by fear, fear of being left out, fear of being out of control, feeling unappreciated, misunderstood, not recognised…

AND they don’t help! They only fuel self-doubt.

Trust yourself – being courageous and stepping into your power

There is a way to change this and it’s about shifting your mindset.

The moment you feel your self-doubt starting to surface – STOP! Press the pause button and take a step back. Focus on what is actually happening externally. Get curious. See things for what they are.

  • What might you be fearful or uncertain about?
  • What situations have you faced in the past and overcome?
  • What strengths do you have that you can utilise in this situation?
  • Who may be able to help you?
  • Are you clear about the direction you’re heading, even without all the information?
  • Have you provided enough information to engage people?
  • Have you congruently asked for what you want?
  • What assumptions are you making?
  • Start a dialogue.
  • Seek feedback and create an environment that makes it easy for others to do this.

This isn’t an exhaustive list, simply some ideas to get you started that I hope you find helpful.

Leadership is always work in progress and we can always learn from each other and if you would like to explore this further feel free to email me.

To your success!

“What we know matters but who we are matters more”

Brené Brown 

 

 

Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t you’re right!

8th August 2018

mindset

Sign for settled ways of thinking which can be difficult to overcome.

We have all heard the quote from Henry Ford “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t you’re right” at some point in time. What he was pointing out was mindset determines success or failure. But what lies behind our mindset?

Over the last few weeks I’ve been working with a number of people to explore their beliefs. These beliefs can be empowering – helping us take positive action to achieve results, or disempowering (limiting) and preventing us from taking action, or taking action in a way that prevents us from getting the result we really want.

An empowering belief might be I’m brilliant, I’m competent, I’m confident, whereas a limiting belief might be I’m weak, I’m useless, I’m not wanted. Either way they are self fulfilling – the action you take and the subsequent results will re-inforce that belief.

For this article I want to focus on limiting beliefs. We all have them and recognising and changing them to something more positive and empowering will change the way you act and consequently, the results you get.

What are the stories you tell yourself?

We all ‘get in our own way’ and often prevent ourselves from being even more brilliant that we actually are. We do this through our own unconscious patterns of thinking, telling ourselves:

  • “It can’t be done”
  • “It’s not possible”
  • “I don’t deserve this”
  • “I’ll look stupid”

To name but a few…

All of these are stories. They blinker us. These stories are formed from the beliefs we have and are always driven by fear and a place of thinking that you are fundamentally flawed, you’re being disloyal, you’re a burden or you can’t stand out.

They stop us from seeing what just might be possible.

As a leader in business you are constantly learning and working to be a better version of  you. Yet most of us focus on tasks and management tools and techniques. These all help, however, our stories are created in our head. No amount of busyness or management tools and techniques will change the stories. It requires a different approach.

Getting out of your own way

The good news is you can do something about this.

The starting point is awareness. Because beliefs are held at an unconscious level they will come out in the language we use. So, the best way to spot them is to listen to what you say, particularly your internal dialogue. Take some time out to reflect on your self -talk – the conversation that goes on inside your head.

I encourage people to take a specific situation(s) where things didn’t go the way you wanted and brainstorm the things you say to yourself. We’re specifically looking for the negative comments. This may actually reveal the limiting beliefs you have, or at the very least, provide a doorway to get to them.

Once identified you then look for the belief you want instead that is empowering. For example, last week I worked with someone whose limiting belief was I’m weak, and identified a more empowering belief of I’m assertive and strong.

One of the best ways to work with this topic is hire a coach – but I would say that wouldn’t I… An external person can often see what you can’t, your blind spots.

I have a specific technique I use which creates shifts easily and effortlessly so if you are interested in finding out more email me.

“Those who can’t change their minds can’t change anything.”

George Bernard Shaw

 

 

Life! Where’s the Pause Button?

2nd July 2018

MindsetAs we firmly enter into summer and the holiday season most of you will be looking forward to some time off and the opportunity to unwind, relax and press the pause button.

This is a time to de-stress. I hear many people talk about how long it takes them to unwind which got me wondering. Do you know how stressed you are? Are you stressed at all or simply tired?

We live in a world where we are bombarded with information all of the time, through emails, social media, TV, requests from your team and family members, not to mention the random thoughts that go through your head, such as the volume of work, that potential promotion, the new programme that’s about to commence…

Being overloaded with information leads to distractedness, confusion and poor decision making. Your brain is flooded with data.

The thing is our brains are not designed to do more than one thing at once. As soon as it becomes overloaded it slows down and uses more of our energy.

Prioritising is actually one of the brains most energy hungry processes!

Your best quality thinking lasts for a limited amount of time, which is why at certain times it’s harder to concentrate, or even think straight.

So, how can you organise yourself so that you do your best quality thinking at the right time and deliver better results?

Managing your attention

Our brains are always on!

Our brain is an amazing instrument that we take for granted. It runs our body, controls our movement, enables us to speak effortlessly and provides us with the capability to plan, problem solve, create and prioritise.

With all of the research that has been done in the neuroscience arena we have much more information on how the brain works. With some conscious choice over how you engage your brain you can change your habits and strengthen your mind to improve your professional life.

Our brains can only hold a small amount of information at anyone time. Some recent research by Nelson Cowan at the University of Missouri, found that it’s likely to be 4 items and that depends on the complexity of the four items.

Declutter your brain

Here are 4 things you can do to engage your brain more effectively:

  • Capture your thoughts on paper, or an electronic note pad. Remember your brain can only hold 3 to 4 ideas at any one time, so give your self the space to think. If you’re one of those people who pride themselves on being able to remember everything, bear in mind you are using a lot of your brains thinking capacity to do this.  If you’ve things ‘to do’ write them down and get them out of your head so you can use your brain for it’s best work: planning, problem solving and communicating.
  • Simplify and chunk more effectively. Your brain learns complex routines by automatically grouping things into chunks, so break complicated ideas into their core elements so they are easier to manipulate.
  • Automate more of what you do by creating routines. This uses less thinking energy as routines become hardwired into the brain. Think about your computer, my guess is there is little conscious thought goes into how you use it. Thinking about problems when it relates to things we have experienced before or seen is easy. So if there is anything that you can make a routine – do it! This helps it become ingrained in your brain (and your body) requiring less “thinking capacity”.
  • Remove distractions. Distractions simply add to the information and data in your brain that will send you into overload. You need to become really good at setting boundaries and saying no, or no not now. This may seem harsh, or selfish, and people will get used to it and it is about you operating at your best, so it will be a win/win on all sides in the long run.

Taking Stock

It is our brains that create our very own stress response. It’s based on what we perceive as a threat. When we feel under threat the brain releases cortisol and adrenalin that floods the prefrontal cortex and stops us ‘thinking clearly’.

The brain likes things to stay the same so tackling one thing at a time and being focussed to create a new neural pathway is important.

Where would be the best place for you to begin to create a new habit/ I would suggest you start with a situation that creates mild stress. This way you are creating a higher probability of success.

Take one step at a time and focus on what you want not what you don’t want.

 

If you’re feeling overwhelmed and would like some additional support email me to set up and free discovery call to explore how we could work together.

“I follow four dictates: face it, accept it, deal with it, then let it go.” 

Sheng Yen 

 

 

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