change

Photo of two women, one dark-haired, one fair-haired, in a bar, learning forward to sip from the liqueur glasses in front of them

Why A Fellow Traveller is More Powerful Than Empathy

Reading Time: 4 minutesEmpathy is wonderful, but what’s even more powerful is connecting with a fellow traveller. I learned that from talking to my cousin The picture by the title is a throwback to 2017 when I met up with my cousin Brigette who lives in The Netherlands. We were visiting the Wynand Fockink ‘Proeflokaal’ (tasting room) and […]

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photo of person using treadmill

How To Get Off The Hedonic Treadmill

Reading Time: 6 minutesEvery New Year people hit the gym and jump on a treadmill to undo their Christmas excesses without understanding the real issue: getting stuck on the hedonic treadmill.  Thankfully, once we become aware of how the hedonic treadmill operates, we can implement strategies to minimise its impact, or even help us jump off it. What

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Red neon sign saying "Pizza", with the Z's forming a lightning bolt

What A Pizza Disaster Can Teach Us About Mistakes

Reading Time: 4 minutesLife tends to serve me up metaphors at every turn – and the last day of 2021 gave me a fantastic object lesson in my attitude towards mistakes. The Great Pizza Disaster of 2021 I was given a pizza stone for Christmas, and was excited to take it for a whirl. My wonderful friends K

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A hand positionining the "0" candle, which spells out 2022 in golden candles on a peach background

The 86 Days In 2022 When You Can Create Lasting Change

Reading Time: 4 minutesWhy do people make New Year resolutions? After all, 1st January is a day just like any other day in the calendar, right? Or is it? The New Year resolution approach to lasting change (and why it doesn’t work) Depending on who you listen to, between 25% and 75% of the population will make New

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illustration of woman standing inside a chart showing increasing performance, which is what you'll see when you use your unrealised strengths more

How To Use Your Unrealised Strengths More Frequently

Reading Time: 5 minutesAs I wrote in a recent article, one of the best ways to boost your energy, engagement and achievement is use your unrealised strengths more often. That’s because they are like hidden treasure – things you are already great at, and that light you up. But the reason they are “unrealised” is because you aren’t using

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Blue metal tool

What Are Your Unrealised Strengths And Why Do They Matter So Much?

Reading Time: 4 minutesImagine that you are facing a problem that is preventing you from moving forward, and you don’t know how to solve. You try one thing after another. Something that has always worked for you in the past. Something that you’ve always been praised for. Something that everyone always assumes is the “right” way to solve

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A photo of a white jigsaw puzzle on a black background, with a piece missing

How Can We Deal With “Wicked Problems”?

Reading Time: 2 minutesI’ve been thinking a lot recently about the concept of “wicked problems”. More and more, we’re facing complex and challenging issues as individuals, partners, parents, work teams and as a society. So what should we do when we’re faced with a problem that doesn’t have a simple solution? Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as finding

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A photo of a person with a box over their head labelled "brain" and a hand putting the word "idea" into the box

The Best and Wisest Piece of Advice I Ever Received

Reading Time: 5 minutesBack in my early 20s, I was given a piece of advice, and told that it works in every situation that humans face.  I initially couldn’t (or rather, wouldn’t!) accept the idea that it could apply in every context. And I tried really hard to imagine a situation in which it wouldn’t work… but even

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