Earlier this week I was sitting on a beach, morning coffee in hand, reflecting on all things Yellow Dot. My peace was soon disturbed by the arrival of a visiting family. The children ran headlong down a slipway onto the beach and then stopped. I see this often with families. The focus has all been …
Continue reading “Brave New World – How do you respond to the unfamiliar?”
Yesterday was Mother’s Day in the UK and it got me thinking about mothers. Not any mother in particular just the general concept of mothers and the way we often stereotype them. Why are mothers always seen as sinners or saints? Is there no possibility of them just being good enough? I spent ages trying …
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How resilient are you? You may have noticed that resilience is a hot topic at the moment. News headlines tell us that employees lack resilience in the workplace. Universities report that students are incapable of facing setbacks. And, in that great indicator of fashionable trends – magazines are full of chirpy little quizzes designed to …
Today is International Women’s Day #BalanceforBetter. It would be very difficult to argue against the notion that a balanced world is a better world. The only things getting in the way of this happening are fear and habit: Fear of change, fear that if things get better for women they will necessarily get worse for …
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Everywhere I look I see memes and tweets telling me that kindness matters. At the same time I see multiple examples of unkindness and intolerance. So what’s going on? First of all, let’s look at why kindness matters. There is a wealth of psychological research which shows that kindness benefits the giver as well as …
This week I have been reflecting a lot on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Many would consider this old theory to be out of date. It’s not cutting edge enough in the current world of psychology. And yet, I think it still has much to offer in terms of understanding your own state and that of …
It’s Monday morning. The chances are you have arrived at work, taken off your coat, put your head down and run straight into task mode. Stop. Lift your head up and pay attention. Take a moment to think before you plunge straight into action. Think People Look at your colleagues and remember that they are …
How many of you have a CPD plan? I am not talking about professional development here but Continuing Personal Development. Many of you will have a clear idea of what training and development you need in order to progress in your chosen career. In fact it is possible that you belong to professional body which …
Cognitive dissonance is a slightly unwieldy psychological term for a phenomenon we will all have experienced. It is the uncomfortable, confused feeling we get when two or more of our beliefs or values are in conflict with each other. Dissonance is defined as a lack of harmony between musical notes. That’s really a good way …
Continue reading “Cognitive Dissonance – or what happens when we disagree with ourselves.”