The goals you set say more about your beliefs than your ambition
Every January (and, let's be honest, most Mondays), people set goals. Lose weight. Get the promotion. Finally deal with the anxiety that's been running the show for years. Some of these goals get chased down with real momentum. Others lose their momentum by February, and the person who set them decides — not for the first time — that they're "just not the disciplined type."
But guess what? How you set a goal, and what happens when it gets hard, has very little to do with discipline. It has almost everything to do with what you believe about how much power you actually have over your own life.
Read More
Talk to yourself like someone else (yes, really)
I've coached a lot over the years about how much your language matters - the actual words you choose, whether out loud or in your head. Positive versus negative, active versus passive, all of it. Here's another reason why: it turns out even the pronoun you use when you talk to yourself under stress changes how much anxiety you create. The research behind it is honestly some of the neatest, simplest stuff I've come across in a while.
Read More
Why your imagination might be working against you
Firstly, a question. When you imagine something you're anxious about, how does it usually play out in your head?
Does it go well? Or does it all fall apart?
If you're anything like most anxious people, it's the second one. And here's the kicker: new research suggests that habit of imagining the worst isn't just uncomfortable, it might be one of the very things keeping your anxiety alive.
Read More
Why your anxiety could be shaping theirs
Firstly, a question. When your child is scared of something, what do you do?
Step in. Smooth it over. Keep them close.
Totally natural, right? But new research suggests that response, especially when it comes from an anxious parent, might be quietly teaching your child to be anxious too.
Read More
How to challenge an unhelpful belief
Firstly though, what’s a belief? A simple explanation is a belief is ‘a thought you keep on thinking’.
But beliefs are a little different to thoughts because thoughts emerge and then if we don’t grab hold of them, they slowly drift away. Beliefs on the other hand are like a lens that we’re looking through every day.
Read More
What score would you give yourself today?
How we feel about ourselves is a critical component of our mental health. It’s often referred to as our self-esteem. Essentially though, it is how you rate you. Your perception of you. If you like who you are, knowing of course that you’re not perfect, then the chances are you have a healthy self-esteem.
Read More
Why being an optimist isn't enough in 2021
With 2020 soon behind us, many people may be feeling optimistic about the future. “We’ll have a COVID vaccine soon! 2021 is going to be better!” And while having those positive and optimistic thoughts are great and should be encouraged, they aren’t enough.
Read More
COVID and anxious kids. What to do?
Most of us have heard of the term “helicopter parents” but what does it really mean and have you been guilty of it? The answer is probably.
Read More
Minimising anxiety even during a pandemic
A little over a month ago, we were all going about our daily lives as usual. Going to work, sports, shopping centres, cinemas, and cafes. I was able to visit my mum in her residential aged care environment.
Read More
Checklist: Everyday Positives
It’s pretty easy to spot the negative stuff. We go about our day buzzing from one thing to another. Not much time is spent looking out for those positive moments. When we do notice them, we quickly forget them and move on to the next dot point on our daily list of bullet points.
But you can change that.
Read More
