Towards the end of July, most school children in UK received their end of year report card. Remember those days? Well, being on the flip side, I didn’t personally feel the joy or worry that comes with this kind of assessment – BUT it did inspire me to think about how I would be assessed against my targets for 2014 at this stage. Seeing as I love a good audit (as anyone who’s read Happily Ever After for Grown-Ups will know) – it became a prompt for me to imagine my end of term report… and it was a great exercise. In summary, it was a little bit like this: Goal (NB: Phrased here in a very general way – don’t worry…I have these in a more specific, measurable way!) Assessment Grade Effort Grade (where 1 is excellent and 4 leaves much to be desired!) Career development B- 2 Health & Fitness aspirations C+ 2 / 3 Focus on family and friends B 2 Adventure / fun B 2 Gratitude B+ 1 To have a fair idea, you first need to know what your targets are – and it’s most likely that these will involve recognition / clarity about your New Year’s Resolutions…and if you weren’t clear then, why don’t you get clear now. What might yours be like? Looking (way back) towards my school days, I had to really work hard to achieve the A grades I wanted and these days it’s no different. Not only can it be difficult but is also a strategic approach needed in going for your goals… but when you really want something –...
The nights are dark, the air is crisp and every other ad on TV mentions the words “this Christmas.” Yup – the season to be jolly is approaching which means that the end of 2013 is imminent. How has 2013 been for you? How far along did you get with any New Years Resolutions you set more than 11 months ago? Did you score the new job you were after? Gain the promotion you were working towards? Create a deeper, more supportive connection with your partner? Spend more quality time with your children? Have more fun with your friends? Lose that excess weight that’s been bugging you? Plan or go on the spectacular holiday you wanted? Yes? Yay you! There really is not much else that is as satisfying as moving closer and closer to these sorts of goals if they help you create the kind of lifestyle you want. If you’ve not quite gotten there yet and are already Thinking “it didn’t happen this year but I’ll DEFINITELY make it happen in 2014” then I would like to stop you in your tracks. Whoa there! “I’ll make it happen next year?!” Your resolve is commendable but you have forgotten one thing. There are (just under) 7.. Yes nearly 7 weeks of 2013 left. You know his much can happen in 7 weeks? Lots – to put it mildly – so with that in mind I would like to share 7 ways that you can progress further to your goals in the last 7 weeks of 2013. 1. Look for a quick win: Are you close to achieving one...
Stuck in the mud was a fun concept as a kid. Do you remember this primary school playground favourite? For those of you who need a reminder – the concept of stuck in the mud (as we played it) was that you had one person who was “It” and the rest of the participants aimed to escape being caught. Once caught however, the player was stuck in the mud and was unable to move. Stuck. No movement. No going forward. No falling backwards. Stuck. They needed to stay put – legs slightly apart (second position distance for the childhood ballerinas among you) and you stayed there – stuck in the mud – until another player rescued you by tagging you and crawling through the gap between your feet. This game gave us hours of fun through my young childhood and it may have been the same for you. Fast forward to adult hood and the concept of being stuck isn’t so much fun. It certainly doesn’t feel like a game… And unfortunately, especially for mid career professionals and even sometimes for those quite early in their career but a few years into a job – this feeling of being stuck (and too still for comfort) is quite common. So what do you do? Are you content to stay stuck or do you crave movement of some kind? For those of you ready to move, here are 3 tips for becoming “unstuck”: 1. Do something differentOften feeling stuck can relate to monotony. Your routine may look like any of these. You go to work, you go home. You go to...
On the Saturday of the Easter weekend, I raced to the door when I heard the mail drop through the letter box. Ignoring the other 3 items, I picked up a padded envelope and when I saw the identification stamp on the back, I felt my shoulders drop immediately. I exhaled, it was here… Just in time. I could relax as its arrival meant that I’d stay on track with my deadline. As those of you who are part of the “Happily Ever After forGrown-Ups” community on Facebook will know – it was my final proof copy of my book that I received in the post. I ripped open the envelope and a wide smile immediately took residence on my face. This moment inspired today’s post (and hopefully reading to the end will make you think and allow you to reward yourself with a fun video). Before I continue, I just want to emphasise that when patting yourself on the back isn’t a regular occurrence, it can feel strange to stop and – date I say – congratulate yourself, but that’s exactly what I did on Saturday morning. As I ran my fingers over the lettering of the title and looked at the book from every angle again and again – I could not quite believe that I had reached that point. After over a year of blood, sweat, tears and one helluva balancing act – I was nearing the finish line in the writing/publishing process. Alone at home, I found myself doing a little happy dance and as it felt so great, it got me thinking about why...
Do you remember having discussions about how hard it was to believe 2012 was already coming to an end. “Where did the year go?” “2012 whizzed by… How did that happen?” “It seemed like only yesterday that”… etc. You remember those conversations? They happened over office Christmas meals, seasonal drinks with your friends and festive meals with your families. Yet, here we are at the end of January already… Suggesting that 2013 may have the same Usain Bolt-esque speed that we experienced last year. Whether or not you officially set yourself some resolutions / goals within the first month of the year, chances are, you at least paused to think about what you wanted 2013 to bring. How is that going for you? Here we are, past the alleged Blue Monday (3rd Monday in January – deemed to be a common day for giving up on new years resolutions), and on the cusp of the second month of the year. Even if you aren’t a structured resolution or goal setter, I bet you still don’t want the year to pass by without feeling like you’ve moved (edged, even) closer to your aspirations in some way. Whether its leaps and bounds or the slow but steady approach, don’t let 2013 come to an end with only fireworks to make you say ooh and aaah. My wish for you is that some of that incredulity is saved for your own special achievements this year. Whether that’s earning a promotion, finding a new job, getting onto the dating scene, improving your health and fitness, going on a trip you’ve always dreamed of...
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