In an effort to amuse the puppy and stop her from barking at mourners milling about at my father-in-law's wake I take my new fork into the garden to dig in the borders and try to remove all traces of the creeping cinquefoil. The puppy sits on the steps and watches, occasionally picking up a scrap … [Read more...] about Fork Handles
Recovery
Mutually Assured Distraction
What can you do to support people who are feeling sad and worried about the same things that are affecting you? Can we be of much help to someone when we step down into the hole they appear to have fallen into? "I expect everyone is talking about the war," a client says to me in the … [Read more...] about Mutually Assured Distraction
What Do We Learn From Ourselves?
Do self-knowledge and self-compassion help when it comes to controlling emotions? I'm pretty good at dishing out suggestions but am I speaking from a place of self-knowledge, or is it just all theoretical training? I was asked this week to write a piece for businesses that are trying to … [Read more...] about What Do We Learn From Ourselves?
Taking Action Without Thinking
One of the things that anxiety is incredibly good at is preventing us from taking action without a great deal of unproductive thought. When we are anxious our brains go into overdrive, looking at the situation from this angle and that one desperately trying to establish a way of removing the … [Read more...] about Taking Action Without Thinking
Is Feedback The Breakfast Of Champions?
It was management expert Ken Blanchard who originally said, "Feedback is the breakfast of champions," but this week I've been thinking a lot about feedback and wondering whether such a general observation is actually very helpful. For a start, "breakfasts of champions" is a very wide genre … [Read more...] about Is Feedback The Breakfast Of Champions?