Cocktails and Coaching

I recently wrote a blog about balance and how to find out what balance means to you... Which prompted a conversation with a friend on how does 'one' actually find balance?... My favourite cocktail is a Caipirinha... To make it, you just need Cachaca (white rum), lime, sugar and ice... The right balance of all and it tastes amazing... Get the balance wrong and it's really not good!! I work full time and have 2 lovely little girls who are always full of energy! And I try really hard to balance work and motherhood (plus have time to go out for cocktails with the girls every so often)! It is important to me that I am the best I possibly can be, at whatever I do, whether I’m at work or at home. I need to feel that I am the best possible version of me.  I love my job but I also love being a mum, as I said, I have 2 girls who are 2 and 5 - don’t get me wrong, it can be hard work coping with early morning wake ups and the terrible two's! But I don't believe I have to choos...

I've learnt a lot about myself recently while spending a week at Telefonica University in Barcelona. I'm a fairly self aware person however the value of stopping, reflecting and gathering your thoughts is immense and I highly recommend it! While I was there I spoke to lots of people and the common theme that came out is the importance of balance. It is very personal and individual but whatever 'balance' means to you is worth exploring. For me, balance right now is about being successful at work and progressing my career but not at the expense of my family. For myself and my family, I want to create memories and I want to shape my two girls into wonderful people. True balance for me is recognising that me being successful at work compliments my ambitions for my family.  Questions you can ask yourself... Why do you get out of bed in the morning? (And not because your kids are jumping on top of you!!!) What are you passionate about? Are you proud of how you spend your time...

I have spent time with, and heard from, some really inspiring people recently which has led me to reflect a lot about self talk. Whenever we really step out of our comfort zone, we talk to ourselves. But who's doing all the talking? The critic in you? Or your own personal cheerleader? Spend a few minutes to think about a time that you were brave.... What was your self talk? Were you in a positive or negative mindset? And how did you overcome any negative self talk? I believe that if you have a positive mindset then you are much more likely to see positive results. But even more than just thinking positively, think about things that you know and believe are true. We all get nervous, especially when we need to be brave. A great tip that I heard from Executive Coach Sarah Brummitt was that getting nervous is just our bodies way of getting the adrenalin pumping so our body is ready to perform at it's highest possible level. I love this, as it really encapsulates th...