Wise Wednesdays

Have you ever shared an idea that you were excited about and then forgot about only to have someone ask you: Hey, so what happened with that thing?... Perhaps you gulp as you try to remember what it was that you said exactly, and mumble a story of why you haven’t completed the thing. I felt the overachiever “incompletion guilt” for a year or two every time someone asked me about the book I was writing (The Success Trap), before eventually switching approach… Good things take time Seeds take time to sprout and turn into a garden…The timing is not fully within our control. You may not even know the full impact of your efforts and simply have to trust that the garden will grow. Did you read the How to Be Useful in a Crisis Wise Wednesdays? It explains why you have a role to play even if you’re not on the frontline. You see, it’s not just the what but the how of actions (i.e. whether they are aligned with your true purpose) that has impact; and the impact can be felt both now and ...

A time to lead: 3 ways to be an unstoppable leader As the pandemic kicked off, I remember resolving to lie low and ride it out quietly. But the strangest thing happened. As I gave myself permission to lie low for a few days, a surge of energy hit me. I felt 100% clear that this was a time to show up and be the best leader I could be in service to whoever I could help. It’s not an accident. It’s social contagion and the impact of being surrounded by great role models and leaders including my own coach. You see good leaders create more leaders (not more followers). Did you know that the word “leader” comes from the Old English lædan meaning “to go before as a guide”? This is a great time if you know in your bones that things could be better in your work or life and that problems are opportunities in disguise. Toxic environments are being challenged and purged to some extent. Time will tell how the chips land in the long term. I also believe that the best way...

A friend asked me recently whether I’d been called back to the frontline as a doctor, since coronavirus struck. When I explored that a little, she confessed to being concerned that she wasn’t doing enough, working from home. She felt cut off from the action – which was unusual for her as a business leader. Was there away she could be more useful to society? Perhaps she should volunteer somewhere?… I asked her to pause. At a time where PPE is limited, and only 12% of hospital doctors and 2% of GPs feel adequately protected against COVID-19, working at the frontline is heroic. I’ve worked in emergency departments, intensive care units, epidemics and the last pandemic. It’s satisfying and it’s not for the faint of heart. And while there is no single answer, I do believe one thing: Everyone has a role to play. The confusion comes from wanting to play someone else’s role. But that role’s already taken. So you might as well play your own… …whether it’s...

Caged with calories to burn and nowhere to exercise: managing diet and exercise in lockdown. A healthy diet and exercise can be a bit of a challenge at any time, let alone with lockdown. Perhaps you’ve found yourself wearing your workout gear without ever getting to the workout, or eating less healthily than you’d like.   In theory exercise should help you feel good and calmer. But you don’t feel like it… What’s going on? Having done a PhD on obesity, I felt some kind of responsibility to look into this. Lockdown has psychological parallels with what might be experienced in a prison…The epidemiology suggests that being in prison results in weight gain, particularly for women. But lockdown is more complex because we have some control over our food supply. We’re also receiving mixed signals amid a lot of uncertainty about the risks and no resolution is quite in sight, yet. There are short term issues and long term issues which our mammalian-reptilian brain i...

Dear *|FNAME|*, It's Wise Wednesdays! “I just need a hug right now”. It’s hard enough to ask for one of those under normal circumstances, especially if you’re a strong and independent type who is normally the one helping others. Asking virtually when no one is quite sure what the etiquette and new ways of engagement are is even harder. A few years ago, I was struck by a statement by Nick Vujicic who was born with phocomelia (no arms and no legs). After a suicide attempt because of how bleak his life felt, he realised: “I may not have hands to hold my wife's hands, but I don't need hands to hold her heart. That's what I'm gonna hold.” Today, he’s married with four children and inspires teenagers (and adults) to overcome their insecurities. The good feelings that comes from a hug are linked to oxytocin and dopamine release. When a mother breastfeeds, the oxytocin release helps her bond with her child, for example. Loving-ki...