There was a long gap when I didn’t write any blogs for my business. One key reason for this is that it would take me sooooo long to write them, as I tried to drill down to find the perfect word or expression and to really put my finger on what I was trying to say. I would get in …

In 2018, there were 12.8 million working days lost due to work-related stress, anxiety or depression, according to figures published by the Health and Safety Executive. Consider the significant suffering experienced by all those individual human beings. And clearly it also has a huge financial impact on a business. Whether you’re an employer or an employee, knowing how to recognise …

Is perfect worth it? In her famous TED talk, Brene Brown talks of the importance of being vulnerable, as a key ingredient to living well. It struck a chord (over 50 million views) and launched her into fame. Perhaps people took a collective deep sigh when she created this permission to be vulnerable, to be imperfect, to be real. Over …

It’s natural to cast our mind forward or back – recalling good times or dreaming of the future. Mental time-travel can be emotionally enriching. So what if you considered that the past and future don’t really exist, other than as concepts? When we actually experience the future and the past, we experience it as the present. There only ever is …

A happy working and personal life is, as we know, all about balance. So I like to think of myself as having a ‘well-being bank account’. Keep it well in the black and you’re more able to handle one of life’s ‘withdrawals’ any time – big or small. It’s not about eliminating adversity (because you simply can’t), but ensuring you …

As the visionary musician Frank Zappa once said: “A mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it is not open.” This is as true in business as it is in life. Taking an open-minded approach to different situations and people at work does more than endear you to them (and vice versa). So, how does open-mindedness benefit you? …

As the famous 20th Century theologian Reinhold Niebuhr wisely puts it, I believe that living according to this principle is one of the best things you can do for inner peace. So what are some examples of things you can’t control? (or at least that you have less direct influence over) the weather the traffic what others say other people’s …

If you were a stick of Blackpool rock, what word (or words) would run through your core? Kindness? Professionalism? Creativity? Loyalty? Humanity? Fun? Values can be hard to pin down because they’re so deeply embedded in our personality and psyche and they can get covered over by behaviours or lifestyle we’ve fallen into. Sometimes, though, it’s helpful to take stock …

Years ago, the philosopher Bertrand Russell took a light-hearted look at how our perspective shapes our experience when he said, “I am firm; you are obstinate; he is a pig-headed fool.” Different people can respond to the same event, person or situation in completely different ways. We create our own interpretation and then act as if that interpretation is a …

20th March 2013 was the United Nations’ first ever ‘International Day of Happiness’. The importance of universal well-being is being given greater priority than ever before, thanks to its positive impact on all areas of economic, social and cultural life. It’s pretty significant when 193 member states agree on a resolution like the International Day of Happiness. But they’re certainly …