Some Journalling Prompts For The New Year

As it's almost the end of the year I'm sure I'm not the only one feeling reflective, so I thought I'd share some journalling prompts with you. 

Journalling is a great thing to do if  you want to take stock of the past year or are thinking about setting any New Year Resolutions. You don't need to answer all the prompts, they're simply a starting point for your thoughts. Grab yourself a coffee, a notebook and pen and treat yourself to a few minutes of  valuable 'me time'.

I hope you find them helpful.   

• What brought you the most joy during the last year?

• What were you most proud of?   

• What felt most meaningful? 

• Who supported your best interests?   

• What situations brought out the best in you?  

• What did you learn?  

• What will you do differently in the coming year?
  

If you're ready to set some resolutions, you might also want to check out this post on choosing the right goals for you. 

And if you want someone on your side, you know where I am.

Wishing you every happiness in the new year.

Let's Get You Happy

As some of you know, I'm on a mission to help create a happier world - not only because it feels good but because the evidence shows that happier people are also healthier, live longer, perform better in their careers and have better relationships. As a Life Coach this is exactly what I love to help with.

And because I know that you don't always have a lot of free time ... because money can be in short supply ... and because we can achieve so much in an hour .. I'm now offering one to one Happy Hours to make a real difference to your happiness and that of those around you.

A Happy Hour is an affordable, one off, feel good session in which we'll assess your current levels of happiness, discover what really makes you happy, and create your own happiness action plan based completely on what will work for you.

And as always there's no mumbo jumbo just practical steps forward to a happier you.

I'm really excited to be offering this, and looking forward to making a difference.

Let's get you happy.

Simple Steps from Stressed to Zzzzz

On a scale of 1 to 10. How stressed do you feel today? (Read on for your unique stress management plan).

How do you feel when someone talks about Stress Management? I'll be honest and say that even the word 'stressed' makes me start to feel stressed. So that's why I want to approach this a little bit differently.

In fact I don't want you to focus on stress at all. If you're feeling stressed (and possibly stressing about feeling stressed) I invite you to focus on how you'd like to feel instead.

Grab a pen and paper and write down (or draw) how you'd like to feel. Maybe you want to feel relaxed? Or maybe you have another word that describes what you want better?

Then bring to mind all the times recently when you have felt the way you want to feel. Even if those were just moments. Every moment matters. Jot down as many of those moments as you can remember.

Look over your list and circle all the moments you could include in your daily life.

Commit to include 1 or more of these each day.

Congratulations - you have your own unique stress management plan and hopefully are starting to feel better already.

I'd love to know how well this worked for you.

Walk and Talk - Coaching Gone Wild!

You know how bright ideas seem to come so much easier when you're out walking in nature? Well imagine that combined with the support and encouragement of a coach!

Those who know me will tell you I'm in my element when I'm in a big pair of walking boots and wandering through woods, or maybe along the cliffs or simply strolling along Swansea's seafront. There's something about being outdoors which helps me relax, get a wider perspective on things and find solutions to whatever has been on my mind. And I know that's true for many others too. Nature does that. It allows us to think and sometimes that's just what we want. But one thing it doesn't do is to ask us questions to further our thinking. And that's where 'Walk and Talk' comes in.

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir

Walk and Talk is coaching in nature. Making the most of the beautiful places around Swansea and Gower, it provides you with space in which to gain clarity, focus and insight while, quite literally, moving in the direction you want to go. We'll use our time together to explore what's important to you and to help you overcome any obstacles in your path. I shall be encouraging you to find answers within yourself (even to questions you may not yet have asked) while at the same time being open to the possibility of nature providing unexpected insights. And throughout your sessions I'll be helping you to move forward - always progressing at your own pace.

So if the big outdoors is beckoning and you are ready to open yourself to the powerful combination of nature and coaching, get in touch. I look forward to helping you discover your natural potential.

How to Make and Keep Your New Year's Resolutions

Lose weight? Watch less TV? Get a new job? Declutter? Stop smoking? Spend less time online and more with friends? Learn a new skill? Think positively? If the idea of making New Year's Resolutions is accompanied by a little voice telling you that you never keep them (and so why bother?) this post is for you. Keeping motivated isn't as hard as it may seem once you have a few key factors in place to help you reach your goals. And the good news is you probably have much of what you need already. If you don't, help is at hand.

On the other hand, if you're one of those amazing people who achieves whatever they set their mind to with ease, this may seem familiar, and I hope will spur you on to greater challenges this year.

Control

The first thing to ask yourself when making your New Year's Resolution, is 'Do I have control over this?' And importantly that includes control over the choice to set that particular goal. For example, if you are aiming to lose weight because someone else wants you to, your motivation isn't going to last very long. In fact that may make you feel completely demotivated. Quite simply, your goal needs to be truly your own if you are to achieve it. It needs to be something you want to do.

Tip - Ask yourself, 'Whose goal is this really?'

Congruence

Congruence is a word coaches love but simply put it means that the goal needs to be in line with your values. For example, if one of your values is that your family should have the best opportunities possible, you may find it easy to squeeze your children's interests into your busy schedule but focusing on your own career or personal development may be more difficult. On the other hand, you might recognise that by pursuing your own interests you also provide a good role model for your children. A coach can help you explore your values so that you can make New Year's Resolutions which feel right for you.

Tip - Ask yourself 'Is my goal in line with what's really important to me?

Competence and Confidence

You need to feel that you can achieve your goal. That may mean you need to learn new skills in order to do so, but you need to feel confident that each step towards your goal is manageable.

Tip - Break your goal down into simple steps.

Connections

We are social animals and even if our goal is to have more time alone, we are more likely to achieve this if we have the support of others. This is one of the reasons why people who join a gym often have more success than those who go it alone. Think of someone who wants to take up running, for example. It may be that one of the reasons for them doing so is to have some 'me time'. However there will be days when it rains and motivation is hard to find. That's when the support of someone else (and I don't mean the type of support that offers you a cup of hot chocolate and a cosy evening in) helps get you out there despite the weather.

Tip - Get someone in your corner.

Preparing for Challenges.

It happens - your partner/son/daughter eats the healthy meal you were keeping for yourself, or the car breaks down and your new found positive thinking flies straight out of the window, or you are ready to apply for that new job but your Internet connection goes down. What do you do? Returning to our lone runner on a rainy evening for a moment, it would be so easy for them to have a night off, but how would they feel afterwards? Chances are that they'd feel disappointed at least and might find that the little voice that tells them they never stick to anything starts to speak up louder than usual. We know that things crop up in life that can throw us off track, so better to be prepared for them in advance. That's where realistic goal setting can come in (aim to run 3 times a week instead of every day?) and identifying different options in case the inevitable should happen.

Tip - Have a back-up plan.

Celebrate Your Successes

We humans have a funny way of noticing what goes wrong over what is going well, and it's easy to be hard on ourselves when we feel we've let ourselves down. We eat the cake we promised ourselves we wouldn't, we decide that learning that new skill isn't as important as a night in front of the T.V, or we get to halfway through January and our goal seems just too far ahead to reach. That's where it can help to stop and look at what you've already achieved. Celebrate the days you didn't have the cake, acknowledge the things you've already learned, look at the distance you've already travelled - realise you're on your way.

Tip - Look at what you've achieved already. You're doing great!

Get a Coach

I know you can do this but it's far easier when you have the help of someone who wants you to succeed. That's where coaching comes in. I can help you set realistic goals which are in line with your values, help you break that goal down into manageable steps, help you identify obstacles, keep you accountable and, best of all, celebrate your successes. You can contact me either by using the contact form on this page or via my facebook page. I look forward to helping you achieve your goals.

Tip - Contact me now and let's get your New Year's Resolutions off to fantastic start.

Wishing You a Very Happy New Year.