Blog
On Your Bike
Jun 03, 2022
When I was coming up to my 30th birthday, I thought; IS THIS IT!
Is this what I will be doing for the rest of my life? What do I need to change? What do I need to do?
In the run up to my birthday and was flicking through a magazine and an advert caught my eye- cycling across Kenya for 3 women's cancer charities (for cervical, ovarian and breast cancer)
I thought; this will give me purpose, meaning and something to aim for. Let’s Go!
I always loved the idea of being a runner and I had on my goal list to complete the London Marathon. But running seems to just bore the shit out of me and I lose interest. Some of my friends have done hundreds of park runs and loads of marathons and love the social aspect of it. But it’s not really for me, I’ve done a few 5k’s and a half marathon once (I hated it!), but my love has always been cycling.
I could pedal for hours and hours and I love being outdoors. So this...
Mind The Gap
May 27, 2022
This is the title of my next book which is launching in July and available on my website for pre-sale very soon. Very soon it’s going to transform from words on a page to an actual real life book and the feeling of seeing and holding months of your work in book form, is something I never tire of.
Mind the gap is the journey from balance to burnout and back again, my experiences and my journey in recognising that the gap between health and burnout, isn't always a big one. And if we're not doing what we need to do, we can fall through the crack quite easily.
Core-led living is what got me out of burnout. I had created this gap between the true me, (who I am at my core) and the façade version of me that was trying to live in a way that suited everybody else.
I was going after everyone else's level of success.
I was trying to fit into these leadership boxes that were just not me.
I was living in a way that wasn’t aligned to who I am...
Nourishment
May 20, 2022
For the last few years rather than creating a long list of resolutions (that quite frankly I never do), I instead have a word of the year. I still have my big goals and quarterly goals for the year, but I focus on a word rather than resolutions.
For example, my resolutions used to be, quit smoking, quit drinking, eat healthier etc, but I failed so quickly into the New Year and never quite managed to get back on track. So I created a habit and a focus on one word for the year.
This year my word is NOURISHMENT.
In previous years my word has been:
Focus
Permission
Kindness
Growth
Compassion
Success
Abundance
Before I came up with my word for this year, I’d realised that I had been writing down and talking about the word ‘nourish’. So I sat with it for a while and it just felt right for all Four Core-Ners of my life:
Self
Relationships
Work
World
For me, it’s more than just...
Ego Vs Being Core-Led
May 13, 2022
It’s impossible for us to be ego driven when we are being core-led.
When we are core-led we can easily spot the people that are living and leading from a place of total bulls**t. We can spot them a mile off and those who think they are amazing and successful are usually leading from a place of ego and arrogance instead.
One of the things I hear women say when I talk about stepping up, speaking up, being more confident and living and leading more from their core, is that they don’t want to do that because they are worried people will think they have a big ego and their confidence will come across as arrogance. We do see some of this arrogance in our organisations, in our communities and on social media etc, but normally our worries are just that and they don’t actually happen, especially when you are coming from a core-led place.
Definition of Ego; I or self of any person. A person who is thinking, feeling and willing, and...
Women Supporting Women
May 06, 2022
As core-led women we continue to be aligned to our core and we encourage others to do the same. When women support women we create a ripple effect and there are always amazing women supporting other women. But there are times when women aren't supporting other women or trying to pull them down and criticising them on their appearance, parenting, relationship or work choices.
One big story this year was that Molly Mae podcast episode- After it there was so much aggression and hate from other women. I understood their point of view, though that doesn’t necessarily mean I agreed with what they were saying; but what was it that caused them to react in such a way?
When we are core-led, we react to things in a different way. I strongly believe that hurt women, hurt women and empowered women, empower women. When we see those horrible comments directed to other women, I wonder why? Why are they saying these things?
I was very lucky that from a young...
True To Yourself
Apr 28, 2022
What can change for you when you start being true to yourself?
I had a conversation with a woman recently who was turning down the opportunities of presenting to her organisation and widely in her community. She is seen as an inspiration and a leader in her community, but she wasn’t feeling this herself. After listening to my podcast episode about being a core-led woman, that day she had been asked to do a talk and her initial reaction was no I can’t do that. She then took 10 minutes and did a little happy dance and went back to them and said YES! This week she is delivering a talk to 1500 people on a stage and it’s the first time she has done a talk to that many people. A lightbulb went off and she thought she just needs to stop hiding.
YES! This is what happens when we are aligned with our core, we can’t hide anymore. I felt a similar way a long time ago, I was nervous to give talks about myself and what I do. I was nervous about...
The Impact Of Burnout On Our Creativity
Apr 22, 2022
What impact can burnout and high stress levels have on our creativity?
Problem solving
Our perspective
Seeing the bigger picture
Ability to generate new ideas
I believe all of us have the ability to be creative and when I think back throughout my career, I’ve always been a creative person. The way I work, the way I have recruited people into teams, the way that I have led induction programs, was all about creativity.
Throughout school, although I loved contemporary dance and got an A* for it in my GCSE’s, I hadn’t thought of myself as a creative person. But I loved the movement and the stories you could tell and being able to partner that with powerful music. However, art class wasn't my strong point and I wasn’t artistic at all. If you were to ask me to just draw or paint something right now, I just couldn’t draw anything that resembles anything. But sometimes after my meditation class we are asked to create a...
What Does It Mean To Be A Core-Led Woman And A Core-Led Leader?
Apr 15, 2022
How can living and leading in this way, help eliminate guilt, help avoid burnout and define and create success on your terms?
Being core-led is as simple as; who are you at your core? If I was to cut you in half like a stick of rock, you’d have that writing that goes through the centre from the bottom to the top, that’s what I mean by your core. If we strip away all of the labels that you have been given, assigned and accrued over the years. The boxes you have been placed in or jumped in yourself over the years, if we strip all of that back, that’s who you are at the core.
When I first start working with my clients, the initial message from them is they are out of alignment, lost, burnt out, they want to feel more successful and alive. Many of these women are highly successful, but they just feel something is out of sync for them. I always start with the same question. Who are you?
We usually start with their age, are they a...
Does Burnout Recovery Always Require Radical Change?
Apr 01, 2022
When I deliver talks about burnout and how to come through the other side, I’m often asked to give 5 or 10 things that people can do to recover from burnout. Well, if you know me and my work, you’ll know I believe there are 3 things that people can do to prevent and recover from burnout.
- Get really clear on who you are at the core
- Implement boundaries
- Take time for yourself
But I have noticed that when we are clear on who we are at the core, that can become a catalyst for radical change to be made within our lives. So for me personally I don’t believe burnout recovery always requires radical change, but perhaps radical change is the outcome of getting clear on who you are at the core.
Of course if what we are doing today and continue to do tomorrow and the day after and the day after that, has got us to the point of burnout; continuing to do what we have been doing, is clearly not going to be enough to get us through...
Stop Trying To Manage Time
Feb 25, 2022
How many of you have tried varying different time management techniques? Over the years I have tried diary blocking, time blocking and I've tried varying different colour coding ways of blocking out my diary. In 2020 I trained with Paul Holbrook (check out his book) to become a diary detox practitioner, which I found very helpful. Certainly in terms of looking at where I spend my time, making sure that I'm not wasting it and giving as much value as I possibly can to myself and to my clients. I have also tried Pomodoro techniques and varying different egg timer techniques. I've tried everything!
I think a lot of my family and friends are always amazed at how much I can actually get done in a day. One of my friends is amazed at just how many Netflix series I can get through and still manage to get so much done throughout my day. But I've recognised that for me, it's not so much about managing my time, it's actually about managing my energy.
We all have 24...
