On March 8th we celebrated 'International Women's Day' with it's theme of #balanceforbetter, a campaign which will continue throughout the year.

​I believe it should continue beyond 2019 so we carry on creating balance in the world. The challenges we currently face won’t go away if we just quit taking action once we reach the end of the year. As with any change, behavioural or otherwise commitment and perseverance is required or progress will stop.
 
The ‘Balance for Better’ campaign looks at building a gender balanced world, which is essential for businesses, economies and communities to thrive.
 
Diversity in thinking, perspectives, learning styles and personalities is a must for success in business and these other areas, gender balance allows all of these and many more attributes to create and enhance success.
 
We already know how important balance is in all aspects of life, it’s something we can all work towards creating for ourselves and for others in varying forms.
 
The campaign theme emphasises that we all have a part to play to make gender balance happen. Including both women and men in the conversations for change will enable collaborative action.

Here’s an example of how an open conversation can change assumptions and perspectives, which are very important for working towards gender parity.

​The first thing to do is acknowledge it, instead of being fearful. If any type of fear subsequently accompanies your feeling of self-doubt, then also acknowledge your fear. It sounds a strange thing to do but acknowledging the feelings that at first seem to hinder your progress is a valuable way to remove the hold they have over you. Awareness and acceptance of feelings or emotions labelled as negative will mean you can start the process of removing the power they have over you and in the case of self-doubt will enable you to elevate what you believe yourself to be capable of.
 
When we fear something or are uncomfortable with the way we’re feeling there's a tendency to veer towards avoidance rather then acknowledgment, exploration and acceptance, which would in fact provide you with a starting point for options towards change and more affirmative action.
 
The uncomfortable feelings you experience such as self-doubt might at first appear to be there to trip you up or stop you from progressing but they are created by you (mostly unconsciously) with a helpful purpose in mind. They are created to protect you, which is a wonderful intention but not always helpful. They’re created with the intention of saving you from being hurt or disappointed and to keep you safer within your comfort zone, the zone of only doing what you know and where you think you are certain of the outcomes.
 
As humans we are very complex in the way we think and sometimes it’s not always easy to understand our thought processes, which determine our behaviours and actions.

Are you fed up of yo-yo dieting? Want to learn how to love you body? Want to ditch the scales?

You have an ideal that you want to eat healthier, think better and move more. You’ve had this ideal for a while now but life keeps getting in the way. You start with more fruit on Monday and by Wednesday you’re back to the Donuts and Wine.
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What if this could be different?
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What if you could follow the 80/20 rule where you eat well 80% of the time and allow yourself to have your ‘something else’ 20% of the time. How does that sound?

We’re all busy, we work hard, we have children, aging parents, partners and pets. All of these require our time, inevitably the thing that slips is how well we look after ourselves.

Having a healthier approach to life is not difficult and can be simple if you choose to prioritise self-care, being kinder to yourself and implement some basic manageable guidelines.

If you’re up for this now, keep reading if not I’ve planted the seed come back when you’re ready.

We want to help you buy into the idea of making better choices for yourself.

Your ally when it comes to looking after yourself more is your mindset. Once you engage your mind to be more supportive of healthier choices, you’ll find things become just that little bit easier, until you’ve created new habits that work for you rather than against you.

​Where or how do I start, I hear you ask?

Communication plays a huge part in our everyday lives. It influences our relationships at work, at play, with friends, family, even strangers.  There is no doubt that the way we communicate is important, in particular as a way of imparting and receiving information, ultimately influencing what we give and receive out of life.

The subject of communication is of course very comprehensive but for today I will be brief. My aim is to get you thinking, if only for a moment about the way you communicate, how do you like to share and exchange this valuable commodity.

​A positive, great, mediocre or negative communicative experience has the power to leave you anywhere on the scale between feeling absolutely amazing and the complete opposite end leaving you feeling low and lacklustre.
 
How much effort do you make in your daily communication? Speaking, writing, or otherwise?
How do you like your communication best served?
How important is effective communication to you?
 
I have a thing, in that I really enjoy listening to others and how they communicate when speaking with each other, some might call it eavesdropping but I like to call it curiosity or research.

​There are many factors that can affect our-self confidence these can come in all shapes and sizes. Let’s start with self-belief, over time or at a given moment in time a lack of self-belief is one of the key contributing influences on your level of self-confidence.  If you are also feeling tired, experience a negative comment from someone, or are having what might be considered by some to be a bad day may also detract from your level of self-belief and therefore what you feel self-confident about.
 
For those who have suffered with confidence challenges for a long time the probability is that a specific intervention or course of action may be required to build a (mostly) consistent level of self-confidence going forward.  Here are some basic ways that can start you off, which you can build on overtime.  These tips might also be particularly useful when you have a specific event that you want to get through, feeling at the top of your game and brimming with confidence so that you can truly enjoy your experience.