It’s good to win! What does the word competition mean to you? The word can be seen both positively and negatively – winning usually comes at a cost to the person who doesn’t, but not always! In order to move forward, progress and be successful, we need to win, we need to step up, which means we need to compete. What is the definition of winning? To win – you defeat those people you are…

What does self-sabotage mean to you? For most people, our behaviour or thought processes hold us back and prevent us from doing what we want to do. We often know we are doing it, yet continue anyway, and sabotage our performance at work and home life, in our relationships, our sporting progress, or historically in our schoolwork. We need to understand which self-sabotage habits and tactics are natural for us. Self-sabotage has many different angles…

Volunteer, philanthropic or unpaid board positions – they are good to do when you have the time, incliniation or desire and when we take on these roles, they have to work both ways. If there is any risk of you begrudging the hours you have to donate, then either the time isn’t right for you now, or the role doesn’t fit; if this is the case, walk away. There are so many situations where you…

There are times when we need to reflect on everything we have around us and assess whether or not it’s still working, old or new, broken, no longer fit for purpose, or out of date and unskilled. Is it doing what it’s meant to do? Is it taking too long? Think of your mobile phone and how long you have owned it? The older it gets, the more outdated it becomes, and the older software…

So many of the situations we get ourselves into, positive and negative, are direct and indirect results of an action or a lack of action. In other words, our choices! Some would say that it’s down to wisdom, maturity and experience, but is it? How often do you ask the right question, listen without prejudging and trust your gut feel when it comes to supporting others and looking after yourself? The subject of mental health,…

Sitting on the kitchen floor with 10 labrador puppies climbing all over you, they’re not doing anything for you intentionally, just playing and being very cute and cuddly. For you, it is heartwarming, energising and can even be medicinal, as they take you back to a place of total innocence and pure joy. Personally, I get all of this as a result of giving a small amount of my time. How much time do you…

There are signs everywhere – on the roads, in your house, your body and of course, in your horoscope. No matter where you look, there are signs. How you filter them is the question. What do you read? What are the signs that you pay attention to? And why do they stand out in comparison to all the others? Not being a Neuroscientist, I wouldn’t want to start quoting incorrectly as to what the reticular…

Mindfulness and meditation normally involve a belief that we have to sit still, , turn off our mind so it can become completely blank and just exist in an alternative state resembling some sort of zen space. The reality is very different. I’ve never been particularly good at the art of mindfulness and meditation and to me they mean pretty much the same thing – Mindfulness is the awareness of “some-thing,” while meditation is the…

Trust your network, trust your Mental Wealth Team. Ask them for their help, thoughts and advice and then act upon what information you get. There’s no point in having a support network if you don’t use it, don’t seek their opinions, and worse still, if you don’t take action on their advice. Trusting my network was really brought home to me recently when I had a particular challenge; it was not a life-challenging situation but…

The cumulative effect of helpful friends and collaborative partners providing small amounts of help and support once, twice, or multiple times can be massive. Putting the onerous burden of necessary support onto only one or two people is destined for failure and resentment, whereas asking many helpers for a relatively small amount of help can have a substantial impact. Relying on one person to help you fix all your problems is challenging because the amount…