Wise Wednesdays

  One of the reasons I hear people say makes them afraid of change is: “I want to keep my lifestyle”. But research in positive psychology including from its leading proponent Dan Gilbert at Harvard shows that we are not very good at predicting what will make us happy, which is why there are plenty of wealthy, powerful unhappy people. In fact, after about $70k or so in annual income, the return on quality of life tends to flatten out for any additional earnings. What does help is knowing which principles you want to live by beyond material success. That’s why transformational coaching focuses on helping you articulate your deeper vision and values. I invite my clients to write a Personal Manifesto and refine it regularly to guide their decisions. Being New Self Made means you are consciously choosing who you want to be and what you want to do in the world rather than letting old societal models of success or external expectations from previous generations dictate them to you. You ar...

Now, what do a politician, activist and transformational coach have in common?...   …Not their height. But it’s a flawed question!   While similarities create a sense of psychological safety, it’s our differences that provide rich terrain for perspective-taking and fresh thinking.   As a society, we spend too much time seeking comfort in commonalities and demonising differences – hence a mounting crisis of polarisation.   You can let go of trying to find commonalities and celebrate the differences (although from a universal perspective we are more similar than we are different).   It’s in the actual *differences* that the magic can happen.   Coaching tool: Actively Seek Difference – especially what triggers you - and use it to fertilise creative problem-solving and enrich your own development.   Have a great week,   Amina p.s. Are you interested in understanding power dynamics and their role in your work? If you're interested in power and politics...

We give up just before we reach the goal. Whether it’s a job, relationship, dream business or simply having more space and work-life balance, the closer we get, the more likely we can revert back to the old… Why? Because the fear of failure and emotional intensity can be the highest when we’ve gone the furthest along the path. The dream is within reach – but not yet materialised – and we don’t realise how close we are. “The night is darkest just before the dawn” – Thomas Fuller. You see, it’s easy to start off with enthusiasm. But as you take action, you begin to see the risks involved and the uncertainty of the outcome. The pressure can become intolerable. Your comfort zone suddenly looks much more inviting… Sometimes, the goal is right in front of you but you don’t trust it – it’s “too good to be true”. So you convince yourself that you don’t really want it or that it’s not possible for you. You can see it in animals who want human contact but are afraid of getting hurt because ...