70 minutes of passion
Two passions are better than one according to new research and in this column I’m inviting you to think about rekindling an old love (not the dodgy Friends United type) and giving it 70 mins a week.
Hands off managers (and holidays)
Not only do I think Sir Phillip Dilley’s departure from the Environment Agency was wrong, I think it was an incredibly bad decision. Outsiders shaming a person in a position of power into resigning because he or she didn’t return from a holiday when his of her organisation faced one of their biggest challenges is ridiculous. Virtue-signaling (which is becoming tiresomely prevalent in our society) was at the root of this shoddy thinking and poor decision-making.
Working with what you’ve got
20 people regularly rock up at my local leisure centre at 0630 on Mondays and Wednesdays to pedal as fast as they can and go nowhere (‘spinning’ to the uninitiated). It’s brilliant and we’re bonkers and on the first Monday after Christmas when an instructor failed to show I watched how people reacted and thought there was a blog post in it.
Self doubt – grip it and use it
How much self-doubt have you handled this past week? And when you doubt yourself, what’s the impact? I ask because a research paper I read recently concluded that self-doubt could lead to good outcomes.
Fearful? What are you assuming?
When I was 17 I thought nothing of walking a mile home by myself after a post-pub curry late on a Friday night. 19 years later, I felt afraid running solo along a country lane close to home on a bright, clear-skyed Sunday morning. Booze and youth, the critical difference?
Complete Overwhelm
Standing in a messy kitchen feeling slightly ticked off that I am making another meal, harboring the thought that if the world was a reasonable place weekend catering would be outsourced so I can get on and tackle ‘higher order’ things. And then I stop and ask myself what’s going on. I love cooking, I love inviting people to eat with us, I love listening to Radio 4 whilst I potter.
Are you bored (and busy)?
I had a chat recently with someone who clearly couldn’t be bothered. She exuded fatigue and indifference and I wondered “is it me?” As our conversation unfolded I decided she was professionally bored yet busy; a toxic combination.
Are you nourishing yourself enough?
Are you nourishing yourself enough both professionally and personally? I ask because it’s been part of several coaching conversations recently. My coaches have discussed it in terms of professional fulfilment as well as nourished minds, bodies and relationships.
The horse's mouth
“It’s been remarkable – a huge impact on my personal and professional life.” Nicky’s getting better results from her team, she’s confidently approaching difficult conversations and is fulfilling a secret ambition to write a book. Read how Agnes, Dani, Andrea and Emmy say they’ve benefited from a short spell of coaching.
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