We haven’t even reached the end of January, yet so far 2012 has been full of challenges.
I’ve been struggling with the discovery that one of our beloved cats, Patsy, has developed a cancerous growth on her leg. We had been told that it wasn’t the type of tumor that spreads. So the prognosis was that removal of the growth would be relatively easy.
We checked Patsy into the animal hospital early January to undergo surgery that cost more than £2000, and as far as we are concerned, worth every penny. During the operation the surgeon discovered a further two “nodules”, which he also removed and sent off for analysis.
It’s now two weeks since Patsy had her operation and her recovery has been amazing. She’s back to her old bouncy self. However one of the nodules tested positive for cancerous cells – just when we thought everything was going so well. We are now left not knowing if all the tumours have been removed or if they have spread to other places in her body. So we have no idea if Patsy will be with us in 4-6 months time, or live for another 8-9 years.
Coming to terms with not knowing can be a struggle, even at the best of times. When it’s something like this it’s even harder. You don’t know whether to grieve or celebrate and nothing seems to help. We’ve realised that no matter how long the uncertainty lasts, the main priority is for us to enjoy spending time with and loving Patsy – however long she’s got. Whether it’s a few months or a few years, we are now committed to cherishing every moment with her. Read more of this article »
Sometimes it feels like we’re swinging from one extreme to the other – one moment careening towards a crash, and a moment later, struggling up the mountain without a clear view of when (or if) we’ll reach the top.
Life can feel like a rollercoaster ride of heady peaks and stomach-churning troughs, and whilst we would all be terribly bored if it was just a flat track to the horizon… wouldn’t it be great if we could learn to balance out those pendulum-swings just a little? Even-it-up a bit so that it flowed more smoothly, and we could actually start to enjoy the ride?
Sam joins Paul on his train-journey of discovery into how we can keep the momentum and motivation flowing when we need it most!
During a recent podcast with Gina, we talked about getting back into an exercise routine and going back to the gym. It was something that I’m very familiar with, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to give you a quick progress update.
I’ve now been going back to the gym for 3 weeks, 4-5 times a week. I’ve discovered that if I just go to the gym 2-3 times a week my days off become too tempting for me to have “just another” day off. Always promising myself “I’ll go tomorrow!”, which of course I ended up repeating the next day, until every shred of motivation had been stripped away.
Self-sabotage may be at play, and if it is, the chances are you might not even realise it… but you might notice the effects it has on your attempts to achieve your goals and dreams.
Can you relate to the feeling of:
Making things harder for yourself than they need to be?
Allowing yourself to be distracted by something other than your priority?
Punishing yourself when something isn’t perfect?
Taking on too much when you know you can’t fit everything in?
Sometimes sabotage can show up in a way that obviously affects our goals, and other times it can show up more subtly. Read more of this article »
Two people I know, quite independently, are going through the crappiest time right now. Both of them are under the threat of losing everything. Their homes being their main worry.
I wish I could tell them everything will be fine by the time they wake up tomorrow, but it won’t.
I wish I could ease their burden by taking away or fixing some significant part of their problems, but that’s just not possible.
I wish I knew exactly the right words to say: one magic phrase to help them through this. Sadly, I’m not magician. Read more of this article »
Being a coach, I’m very keen to “walk the talk” or rather, not just say coaching is good but have a coach myself because I know just how powerful it can be.
During a recent session it quickly became clear that I was on the verge of taking on too much. Over the last few months the power of being coached has resulted in some significant changes in my life and how I view situations. I’d been actively putting in a lot of work, spinning a lot of plates and generally been about as busy as I could physically be.
What surprised me was that I’ve now reached a point where pretty much everything is going to plan, on track and on schedule. I found myself looking for that extra thing that would put me back into the sensation of feeling, well rushed, busy and on the edge of coping.
I had become so used to “working my butt off” that now I had been able to schedule things better, automate them or even outsource them (my new favourite thing!) I was presented with a strange feeling of “what next?”!
Thankfully working with my coach I was able to see that, I was busy, very busy in fact. I was however, working smarter, better than before and I was now producing the results without having to work 16 hours a day. Ultimately I want to keep it this way, working at a pace that is healthy and even FUN! As long as I’m still progressing, make moves in the direction that I want to go at a pace that works, then I’m doing the right thing.
I’d love to hear from others that have almost become so used to feeling rushed, that they often end up missing that feeling when everything is going to plan. What do you do to make sure you don’t overload yourself, just because you feel you should. How do you know when enough is enough?
CONNECTING TO OUR EMOTIONS can be scary for many of us. We’ve been brought up to hide, suppress or even completely deny what our bodies and feelings are telling us. We often believe we will be overwhelmed if we ‘feel’ too much – so we take the very unhealthy option of shutdown, or escaping down the proverbial rabbit hole. Not a great idea… Read more of this article »
To say I’ve been busy lately would be a gross understatement. I’m not going to list out everything I’ve been juggling – at least half of which has been on strict deadlines – but I’m talking about things on the level of starting a new job, doing a major college assignment, planning a 3wk trip to the other side of the world… and I’ve had about 8-9 of these things on the go for a few months now.
What’s got me through day by day has been simply putting one foot in front of the other – taking that next little step that would get me a bit closer to whatever was needed (as well as a simple ‘project plan’ that allowed me to keep track of it all). Not everything has been given equal attention, and I wouldn’t be human if some things hadn’t slipped down the priority list; but what is more interesting is what I noticed today. Read more of this article »
Stress is a part of life – there’s no getting away from it. But how we deal with stress really determines whether we move forward and onward, or drown under the weight of our problems. Gina and Sam share their own strategies for avoiding stress meltdown…
Whether it’s the weather, the time of year, a bug doing the rounds or simply bad luck – we are all likely to be feeling ill and run down from time to time. So, do you go to work or call in sick? It is not always as straight-forward a question as it seems.
I’ve had sinus troubles again recently. Not an unfamiliar story. Luckily, I managed to minimise the infection this time through some timely use of nasal spray, ibuprofen and a lot of rest over the weekend despite having a list of priority things a mile long to do (including studying for an exam on the Monday). So I got through the exam, and was back at work feeling a wee bit sorry for myself, but confident that I wasn’t posing any risk to my colleagues. I might not have been the sharpest tack in the building, but I was functioning.
However, there were times in the past when I perhaps didn’t rest; when I kept pushing myself through the things that needed doing and consequently spent weeks recovering from the serious infection that set in. Read more of this article »
Sometimes in life, you get shat upon. Sometimes, there’s no avoiding it or the messy clean-up job that follows.
As a teen, I owned a shirt that said:
“I’m always in the shit –
Only the depth varies!”
It can be a great metaphor for what life ‘throws’ at you. Still: there are times when you half expect it, and other moments where the timing could not be any worse.
I was chatting to a friend for the first time in a few months, on MSN today. He is a dear friend I originally met through WoW (World of Warcraft) gaming, and whom I am in contact with irl (in real life).
We chatted for a bit, then he asked me the ‘big question’ – “Are you still playing?” I admitted, yes – that I was but that I was more aware of when I chose to play these days. He has been cold-turkey for quite a while now, so he sent me a link, and mentioned that it may inspire me to write a blog post. The site is www.wowdetox.com, and whilst I realised it was a link aimed to help people overcome their WoW addiction, I didn’t really expect it to have a lot of immediate relevance to me.
Paul and I have mentioned WoW on podcasts and blog posts from time to time – which is why I felt this dedicated post was appropriate. And for the record, I’d like to state that whilst I talk openly about my own gaming experience, in NO circumstances would I recommend WoW to anyone. In fact, I’d say ‘avoid it if you want to have any life’. Read more of this article »
This is the high-energy follow-up to the previous podcast ‘Blindsided by Anger?‘
Sometimes it feels like we’re swinging from one extreme to the other – one moment careening towards a crash, and a moment later, struggling up the mountain without a clear view of when (or if) we’ll reach the top.
Life can feel like a rollercoaster ride of heady peaks and stomach-churning troughs, and whilst we would all be terribly bored if it was just a flat track to the horizon… wouldn’t it be great if we could learn to balance out those pendulum-swings just a little? Even-it-up a bit so that it flowed more smoothly, and we could actually start to enjoy the ride?
Sam joins Paul on his train-journey of discovery into how we can keep the momentum and motivation flowing when we need it most!
We’ve just had our 5,000th motivational podcast download and are celebrating by giving away 4 free telephone coaching sessions. All you have to do is post a comment on our site (Comment on this post!) before 15 May and you may be the lucky winner. Click here for more detailsand leave a comment to win. Take that action now!
Asking for help seems to be one of those dying arts.
Something we’ve lost touch with the ability to do.
We feel uncomfortable and vulnerable;
and like we’ve failed or can’t handle the pressure.
But when it’s offered, we’re suspicious of the motive.
Whilst the perfectionist or overachiever in us cringes at the thought of requesting assistance and sharing the load, our controlling aspects can feel desperate and frustrated, and this seems to add to our stress and uncertainty.
Yet receiving help can be both a miracle and a gift – helping us to make progress and overcome challenges, whilst empowering the giver-of-help with a sense of achievement and purpose. They say two heads are better than one, so Gina & Sam put theirs’ together to explore just why asking for help is so hard, and how we can take small steps towards fruitful collaboration.
Do you find that life is just too hard? Maybe you are actually making it harder for yourself! During this episode Paul and Gina talk about dealing with being addicted to the struggle.
ActionPodcast is your weekly source of inspiration and motivation for taking consistent action in your life.
From managing stress to managing time, gaining confidence to getting rid of excuses, the experienced team of ActionPodcast coaches provides practical insights and actionable ideas for making consistent progress in the important areas of your life. Read more...
Topic Suggestions
Got a suggestion for a podcast topic?
We’d love to hear from you! Tell us what topic, challenge or issue you’d like us to discuss in an upcoming podcast. Post your idea on our Facebook page or simply email one of the podcasters directly
Be the First to Comment
