Latest articles on Life Coaching

If you believe that confidence is an innate quality, think again - study after study has shown that confidence is learned and that confidence levels can be increased. I’ve seen many people overcome social anxiety, low self-esteem and low confidence at work to become assertive and successful.  Confidence is one of those qualities that permeates all the areas of our lives. This means that a confidence increase, however modest, will help you feel good, make decisions that are right for...

The New Year is a time when many people decide that a change of job is in their annual goal plan. As an interviewee, you should never under-estimate the impact of body language in an interview. Body language is non-verbal communication conveyed to another person. Many interviewers make their minds up in the first 30 seconds of meeting someone so it pays to be aware of your body language. You want to appear calm, composed, confident and clear. Having been invited to an interview, it’s...

Have you ever thought that you'd rather die than speak in public? You're not alone, most people don't feel brave enough to show their vulnerability in front of others because they're focusing more on what other people think of them than the message they want to communicate. Wanting validation from others makes us their prisoner, we're using their judgement to determine our worth. But, other people's opinions and thoughts are influenced by what is happening for them in that moment or their...

The second in my series of exploration of who we are and why we act the way we do. I am going to discuss self-confidence and what it will mean to you. It is a trait that everyone desires, with us all feel drawn to those that display it. We often perceive this in others but worry that if we show it, people will see as us arrogant or self-absorbed. When we imagine someone self-confident, we think of an inspirational speaker or doctor, for example. We feel attracted to them or see something in...

If you struggle with anxiety or feel that you lack confidence, you are not alone! Irrespective of the many reasons why clients get in touch with me, everyone finds themselves challenged by emotional difficulties such as anxiety and confidence at different times in their lives. They are the main reasons why people report feeling stuck and unable to find a way forward. However, it’s really hard to think your way out of your emotional challenges on your own, simply because of the way our...

The clocks were going back at the weekend, and Bob had decided to use the end of daylight savings as a marker to re-start his fitness regime. Over the past ten months, since his aborted attempt to create a regular gym routine for himself, he’d bemoaned his ever increasing waistline and gradual decline in energy. Bob knew he wanted to be fitter, and this time he was going to do it right. He knew he had to set a goal, so he’d set his sights on the local 10k in February. That gave him...

So you've found a role that you think suits your skills and maximises your strengths; now it's time for the application process. Like many aspects of a recruitment process, the application part can vary from simply submitting a CV, to having to input everything apart from your shoe size into an online form. There are still companies who require you to complete a paper-based application too, although the majority tend to use an online system. You can expect any combination of the items listed,...

Kintsugi It’s something I’ve heard of before, but I heard an item about it on the radio this week which brought it back into focus. If you’ve not heard of it before, it’s the Japanese art of mending something broken (usually crockery or pottery of some sort) but instead of trying to do it so that the joins can’t be seen, the point is to make the joins beautiful and noticeable and strong. Kintsugi means ‘to join with gold’. The origins of Kintsugi are...

It can feel miserable when times are tough in your career. You may be looking for a new job or a career change or perhaps you are returning to work after a break. Whatever the reason for your job search, it can be tough looking for the right job for you, especially if you are struggling to know what you want to do. Your career search can feel endless and cause frustration and stress. When times are tough, the best thing to do is to take a step back from your search and go back to basics. This...