Wise Wednesdays

Well, according to those who’ve discovered the deepest freedom in their lives while in prison – yes.   According to psychiatrist Victor Frankl who survived a concentration camp – yes.   According to reports from people who are reconnecting with a sense of creativity and vitality during lockdown – yes.   How is this?   It’s possible if you accept this principle:   Sticks and stones can cage your body but never your spirit.   Of course, this doesn’t mean that there isn’t anguish and frustration (nor that you don’t take action). But it will not eclipse your freedom to choose how you experience life.   We may be aware of difficult conditions but they do not define who we are or how we experience them. We decide that.   Viktor Frankl put it like this:   “Everything can be taken from a human but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way”. “We’re not free from cond...

It takes more than nine months…to give birth to your dream. It might take the better part of your life.   During that time, you might get promoted. You might lose your job. You might take a break. None of it having anything to do with your dream. For almost 20 years I thought I was on a path to becoming a global health expert and working at the WHO. When the dream arrived, it quickly morphed into something different. And here I was in 2016, pivoting onto a new track. [Photo: Exploring the Cuban health system, Maternity Home, 2002] Self-leadership starts when you listen to your quiet inner-voice The important thing is that you pivot when your quiet inner-voice guides you to. Even if it doesn’t always make logical sense – which will be the case if it’s guiding you to something outside conventional expectations. That’s how visionary leadership starts. It’s even more important during times of chaos or disruption, even if it’s a little harder to access. Sometimes you pivot before the di...

‘I’m building a bat shelter’. I paused to take in the sentence, slightly puzzled. ‘No, no. I love bats! It’s a rare species that we have in the barn. In fact, bats are a good omen for me!’ Indeed, Helena has had a number of successes this past year building her consultancy in food systems and sustainability. And, she’s flourished in more ways than one: starting to write creatively; renovating an old farm in the country with her husband; and landing a dream contract this January working on the UK Food Strategy. When Helena and I met, she was an in-house expert and Director in a well-known, global organisation. She felt a constant sense of urgency and time pressure. Sleepless nights were not uncommon.   But she had a big dream of becoming an independent professional, having a more balanced life and working on food justice .   What was stopping her was not knowing ‘how’ to make it happen or when she’d find the time.   But as the Zen saying goes: ‘Meditate for an hour a da...

If you’re looking to hire a coach, some key distinctions may help you set clear expectations and agreements for the coaching process. Coach vs consultant A consultant gives you their expertise. A coach helps you tap into your own genius. Coach vs mentor A mentor is ahead of you and helps you navigate your field (the right jobs, the pitfalls). A coach may not be from your field and helps you navigate uncertainty. Coach vs therapy A therapist helps you makes sense of your old story. A coach helps you write your new story and transcend it. Here are another few pointers from coach Lorenza Clifford on coaching: It is not therapy, though you may find it therapeutic It is not counselling, though your coach will listen exquisitely It is not mentoring, though your coach may share experience with you ​ Essentially coaching helps you do two things to save you time and energy and create what you want in your organisation, career or life: - It challenges thinking that holds you back - It helps ...

When I wanted to do medicine, they said it was a hard path for a woman When I wanted to study social anthropology for a year they said it was a cop out for a scientist When I wanted to go to Cuba for my elective, they said why not Harvard? When I wanted to do Public Health they said surgery was more glamorous When I wanted to go to South Sudan on a humanitarian mission, they said it will stop your career progress. When I applied for a quarter mil of medical funding for ‘developing country’ public health research, they said it's never been done (I got it done) When I wanted to lead an international team in a collaborative way, they said you should focus on the budget. When I said I wanted to take time out and do something different, (well, I kept that quiet because I knew what they would say…) When I started sharing a message, they said you should have a marketing strategy. When I focused on serving one person at a time in my business, they said you should scale. When I said a movem...

Some hated January. Some loved it (probably if you’re an introvert). No commuting. No office politics. But difficult work-life balance, social isolation and a mounting number of Covid cases. The death of a loved one at Christmas certainly put me out of whack. Some of my clients have weathered geographical dislocation, social isolation, relationships ending and jobs ending (for the best). But they felt more resilient because of the work we’ve done together.   So I want to share a few simple tools to thrive in the (r)evolution that you’re being called into including the day-to-day work/life adaptations as well as the massive cultural shifts. 1) GIVE YOURSELF A SENSORY PLEASURE BATH A thing called ‘skin hunger’ has been described in the psychological literature as missing human touch. But it’s probably just a subset of the wider ‘sensory deprivation’ that’s happening. Being wise to it, you can trick and retrain your mind to be more sensitive to the beauty around you. Things you can ...