We need to ‘cut the information umbilical cord’ – so says Tim Ferris, author of The 4-Hour Work Week. We can’t read and listen to everything, right? Although I sometimes seem to attempt this! Could we benefit from tuning out from the information overload and tuning in to ourselves? There is so much to know and to learn. We can …

‘Permission to be human’ is a phrase I have used for many years. It’s an antidote to ‘shoulds’ and self-judgment. I am a passionate advocate of this way of living. We can have a sense that we will be ok at some future point when we have achieved some particular inner state or outer goal. But, we are ok right …

Recently I looked a little more into the scientific reasons why being in nature feels so good. It was pretty fascinating. Here are some things I discovered… Microbes in the soil positively impact our serotonin profile. Being around, and touching, soil boosts our mood. In a forest, we breathe in phytoncides, airborne chemicals emitted by plants. Phytoncides help plants fight …

The mind is a wonderful thing. Its capacities for planning, remembering, inventing and imagining are, quite frankly, astounding. But also, my feeling is that we can be too much ‘in the head’. If we spend too much time operating from the mind, it can get full, tired, foggy and unoriginal. Coming from the mind then becomes counterproductive. It is so …

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? …

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 …