I recently had the privilege of a 3-week holiday, something I had not done for a long time. I always thought that my preferred formula for holidays was little and often. Yet I was blown away by the difference that a 3-week holiday made. It was transformational and I felt like I entered a completely new way of life. There was a sense of awe in discovering a new country and a new culture, there was daily joy and laugher and more meaningful conversations and opportunities to explore what was really on my mind. I know we don’t often have the luxury of that much time out but how can we create those moments in our daily lives? How do we create time and space to think, feel, breathe and open our eyes to the possibilities in front of us. I never feel like there are enough hours in the day and then I am starkly reminded of the fact that the average person spends 3 hours 15 minutes on their phone each day. Is there a way that we can be more meaningful with our time? Think about your overall goals for the day or the week. It is very easy to get bogged down in a huge to do list without stepping back and looking at your bigger goals. Do you want to reconnect with an old friend or spend more time outside or think about your next career step? Are you saying no to things that don’t serve you? I used to pride myself on responding quickly to invitations and my only check was whether I was free on that day. Now I think about my energy levels, what else I might have going on that week, whether I have swum enough and whether there are other priorities for the week that are more important to me at that moment. Are you creating enough time to sit and think and be at one with yourself? In a world where we have so much to do, it often feels like a luxury to sit and do nothing yet by doing just that, we can open up new thinking and possibilities. How can you embed habits to create that space in your week – my new intention is to try writing for 10 minutes post-swim when I am feeling energised. I realised that a holiday was the perfect excuse to do nothing – I had permission to slow down and experience the awe and joy around me which was so invigorating. We need to be self-compassionate and give ourselves permission each week to do just this. Since coming back, I’ve realised that I have a good self-care routine, but I don’t create enough dream and thinking time. I wonder why I’m not being more creative and then realise I am trying to cram my creativity into a 5-minute slot in my diary! So the invitation today is to think about how you can build a habit to connect with yourself fully – to think, to dream, to wonder, to create.  My coaching supervisor Kay recently quoted Parker Palmer and I think this is beautifully apt "The human soul doesn't want to be fixed, it simply wants to be seen and heard. The soul is like a wild animal - tough, resilient and shy. When we go crashing through the woods shouting for it to come out so we can help it, the soul will stay in hiding. But if we are willing to sit quietly and wait for a while, the soul may show itself".

It’s International Women’s Day this week and I do believe we can all support each other and value and celebrate our differences. I also think that sometimes we are self-defeating and don’t celebrate our own successes. We often speak more harshly to ourselves than we would if supporting a friend. There are many parts of me that I may criticise but most of them actually have a very positive aspect and make me me. So today I’m celebrating 10 things I haven’t always realised I love about me. 1.. I feel emotions deeply and get upset when friendships don’t work out. I used to be hard on myself about this and wonder why I couldn’t ‘just get over things’. But now I realise that by being open and vulnerable, I do feel things deeply yet on the flip side it leads to the most amazing connections. I can’t have one without the other and it is definitely worth it for those wonderful connections in my life. 2.. I am beyond ridiculous about being on time for everything. I now realise that this is linked to my number one value of respect. I hate being late because to me it feels disrespectful so it’s not because I’m a geek (well maybe that as well!) but it is to do with something hugely important to me. I think about how I can usefully spend those 15 minutes in reception more meaningfully as I do not want to change this about me. 3.. By being a giver in life, some people can take advantage. But being a giver brings me such joy and it’s a big part of who I am. I’ve learnt to say no sooner when things aren’t right, and I also know that my true friends give back in bounds. 4.. I still have a lot of fears around doing sport, but I’ve learnt through my swimming journey that I am very tenacious and resilient and push myself into my discomfort zone. The journey with sport has helped me conquer limiting beliefs in other areas of my life. 5.. I get really nervous before public speaking. Well doesn’t everyone? I like to think of it as a sign that I care – with the right amount of preparation, those nerves can be channelled for good. And guess what, I always enjoy it when I get going, so I’ve learnt to remind myself of that feeling and remember that the anticipation is often much worse than the thing itself. 6.. I find it hard to let things go if I know it can be done better. I see this as a sign of wanting to do the best and I’ve learnt to channel it into coaching questions for the team as well as challenging myself about whether I do actually know best. I know this can be for the greater good if my ego is in check. 7.. I find it hard not to organise things if they are a bit chaotic – is that interfering or is that helping out?! I have learnt not to fight my natural tendencies but to check that people would appreciate the help. I have also learnt that sometimes I have to step away. 8.. I don’t like confrontation and yet I often have difficult conversation at work. This has been excellent for me to find my own assertive way of having effective difficult conversations that suit my personality type. I don’t shy away from conflict, but I know I need to find a respectful empathetic way of having the conversation. 9.. I am often the person that people open up to and for years this stopped me opening up myself as I thought it would be sign of weakness. In recent years, I’ve become much more comfortable talking about difficult emotions and believe this vulnerability has deepened my relationships. 10.. I love a chat with a stranger wherever I go. When I was younger, I used to be so embarrassed when my Mum did this, so it makes me smile that I have become her 💜 What are your strengths? Perhaps you considered some of them a weakness and didn’t appreciate the full beauty of who you are. So this week, I’m encouraging you to embrace all of who you are and celebrate your strengths and successes. As Arnold Beisser said, “Change occurs when one becomes what she is, not when she tries to become what she is not.”