Intuition

Everyone has intuition, it’s just a matter of developing it.

How does your intuition communicate with you? Do you listen and act upon it?

‘The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, and the solution comes to you, and you don’t know how or why.’ Albert Einstein, Physicist and Nobel Laureate

‘Intuition isn’t mystical’. Dr James Watson, Co-discoverer of DNA

Are you Indispensible?

Many of my clients are very hard working and committed to their jobs. When we start to look at work/life balance they always quote how indispensible they are and how they can not possibly drop any of the balls they are metaphorically juggling. Is it true - are they or you indispensible?

The Indispensable Man ~ (by Saxon White Kessinger)

Sometime when you're feeling important;
Sometime when your ego 's in bloom;
Sometime when you take it for granted,
You're the best qualified in the room:
Sometime when you feel that your going,
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow these simple instructions,
And see how they humble your soul.

Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it up to the wrist,
Pull it out and the hole that's remaining,
Is a measure of how much you'll be missed.
You can splash all you wish when you enter,
You may stir up the water galore,
But stop, and you'll find that in no time,
It looks quite the same as before.

The moral of this quaint example,
Is to do just the best that you can,
Be proud of yourself but remember,
There's no indispensable man.

Age is a State of Mind and Body

I heard a quote today that alluded to the fact that those people who seem to be young at heart are those who are open minded still able to seek out new experiences whatever their age. Eastern religions teach that as we age we should look to maintain a suppleness in our body so we can bend like a young sapling in the wind.

Peace is not to found in withdrawal from the World

I heard a version of the above quote on TV and it struck me just how many people use various levels of avoidance strategies to attempt to find some peace in their lives.

Here are some examples:

I'm never going to date again as I've been hurt too many times before.

I'm not going for promotion as it is too political in higher management.

I could never do a customer facing role as I couldn't deal with customer complaints all day.

I'm not friends with that group - they are too bitchy.

I've stopped playing football on Sundays as all the guys really wanted to do was spend hours in the pub afterwards.

All of these avoidance strategies are examples of self destructive behaviour. Withdrawing from friends or families or situations may seem like a permanent solution but in fact it can be the start of a repeating pattern of behaviour that may eventually escalate into a more serious almost phobic response such as agoraphobia or panic attacks.

True peace is to be found in finding ways to be true to oneself but at the same time finding ways to inhabit the world. No one is asking you to be friends with people you don't get on with but having a wide circle of friends and respecting their differences and foibles is healthy. No one is asking you to do a job that you hate but question are there skills you could learn or support you could ask for that would help you.

True peace is to be obtained when, in the words of the famous poem by Rudyard Kipling, 'If you can keep your head when all around are losiing theirs...' or more accurately if you can find yourself and be true to yourself in any situation then you will be at peace with yourself.

Snow - challenge or opportunity?

Is the big freeze helping or hindering with your New Year's resolution? Is it too much of a challenge to get out of the house? Are you bored and listless?

Any challenge is also an opportunity.....

If the children have snow days - take the opportunity to rediscover your inner child with snowball fights or build a snowman.

Go for a walk with your camera and take shots of the places you see everyday but look so different completely covered in white.

Catch up on your reading or watch a film you've always meant to see but have never got round to.

Phone a friend and catch up on what they are up to.

Sit down with your 2010 diary and make some plans to get the most out of this year for you and your family.

Search online for where you might like to take a holiday or visit this year.

Buy some bird seed and watch the birds visit your garden. See if you can identify all the different species.

Sort out a cupboard or drawer that is the biggest muddle in the house currently.

Go on - do something completely different today and forget about what you feel you 'should' be doing but can't because of the big freeze. Next week when you are back to business as usual you can look back at the things you took the opportunity to do during your snow days.

Why Dieting Makes you Fat

As thoughts move from the excesses of Christmas and the New Year many people will be thinking about eating less, joining the gym or starting this years fashionable diet. The bad news is that more and more science shows that dieting, particularly the yo yoing between dieting and overeating, causes more problems in the long term.

As humans we are very cleverly programmed for survival which means that when we overeat or 'feast' our bodies lay down stores of fat for any potentially lean times ahead. When we diet or go into 'famine' we don't immediately start to unlock those fat stores. We will eventually use those fat stores if we remain consistent in our dieting efforts but most diets are so restrictive that we'll crack (just one biscuit or bar of chocolate won't hurt!)

As Jenifer Aniston might say in those famous adverts...here is the science bit!

When we eat, glucose is extracted from food and circulated in the bloodstream from where it then enters the cells to be used to make energy. That's fine as long as what we eat equals the energy we expend but we lead increasingly sedentary lifestyles and high calorie foods are easily available.

If we eat more than the energy our body needs, the glucose in our bloodstream increases and insulin signals for the excess glucose to be converted first to glycogen and then to be laid down as longterm reserves i.e. fat.

If we eat less and exercise more, then the fat is slowly broken back down to release glucose and make up the deficit. The problem with yo yo dieting is we are constantly stressing this process. If you are constantly storing excess fat over time those fat reserves become harder and harder to break down. So you may think that just because you have dieted successfully in the past you can do it again. Wrong - everytime you diet and then put weight back on the next diet will be harder and the next one even harder.

Is there any good news? Yes slow and steady weight loss is the key to longterm success. Yes I do mean 1-2lbs a week (or 2kg maximum) but as I write this blog there is an advert on the TV for a diet to drop a dress size in 2 weeks and another to lose 4 inches off your waist in 2 weeks. These are exactly the quick fixes that do the long term damage.

So on the first day of your diet for the New Year make these your rules:

1. Be consistent - whatever you eat or however you exercise must be sustainable over the long term

2. Eat regular small meals to maintain your glucose levels and stop any sugar crashes which cause cravings and make you run for the biscuit tin

3. Make exercise part of your day (don't start the New Year with another gym membership) climb the stairs instead of taking the lift, walk 3 times a day just for 10 minutes a go and you are at the 30 minutes a day that is recommended. Being too busy is no excuse - everyone can find 10 minutes and build it into their day.

And above all - food and exercise need to be fun or your new habits will not be sustainable in the longterm and you'll be back to feast and famine.