by Suzy Reading | Jul 29, 2013 | article, blog
In the last few weeks I have spoken a great deal about living a purposeful and meaningful life – a life that is shaped and guided by our values.
Let’s dig a little deeper today and examine what values are and three ways to identify yours.
What are values?
Values lie at the very heart of personal meaning and purpose. They are defined by Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as “verbally constructed, global, desired and chosen life directions.”* Values are not goals, they are the guiding principles which shape and define our lives. You can think of values as a direction, with no end point, whereas you can think of goals as something that can be finished, checked off, or accomplished. We set goals in service of our values.
Values tap into what really matters to us as individuals, and what we perceive as a well-lived life to look like. You’ll know if you’ve tapped into a value because talking about it, thinking about, and acting in service of it will ignite in you a powerful feeling of vitality, energy and inspiration. Our values have the potential to light us up and wake us up… (more…)
by Suzy Reading | Jul 3, 2013 | article, blog
Stop self sabotage by harnessing the power of your PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE self.
Are you trying to create change in your life? Have you set an intention that you are working towards? Do you have a vision you feel passionate about realising? Consider the concepts of “past”, “present” and “future” self to help you in this process…
Let’s take, for example, a goal concerning your ‘health and wellbeing‘. First, you need to get really clear on what it means to you to be healthy. How do you see health and wellbeing manifesting in your life? Rather than setting a broad goal of “being healthy”, pinpoint more closely what you value and aspire to. A more effective goal could be something like “feeling vital, vibrant and being a positive role model for my kids”.
Using the concepts of past, present and future self to help you achieve greater vitality, you could reflect on the following questions: (more…)
by Suzy Reading | Jun 11, 2013 | article, blog
Why do people engage a coach? In a nutshell, it’s because everyone deserves to be nurtured and empowered to nurture themselves. Who uses a coach? ANYONE with the one or more of the following…
- a dream, a vision or a goal,
- a feeling of unrealised potential, a desire for a fuller life
- a project, a task or a problem,
- a decision or cross roads to be faced,
- a situation you can’t change but which must be managed
- change, transition or stress to deal with. (more…)
by Suzy Reading | May 27, 2013 | article, blog
When you’re feeling STRESSED – try child’s pose
When you’re feeling SAD – try a handstand
When you’re feeling TIRED – try legs up the wall pose
When you’re feeling STUCK – try a twist
When you need a BOOST – try a gentle back bend
When you need to LET GO – lengthen your exhale
When you need to SLOW DOWN YOUR THOUGHTS – earth your brow… (more…)
by Suzy Reading | May 21, 2013 | article, blog
We all have some of the following…
Words left unsaid,
Deeds left undone,
Thoughts unexplored,
Items without a home,
Feelings, half-felt,
Physical aches unaddressed,
Apologies or appreciation unspoken,
Visions unrealised,
Aspirations cast aside,
Healing yet to be fully resolved,
All those ‘nearly there’s…
All these things, these incompletions, can be an energetic drain on us whether we are conscious of them or not. They can get in the way of us achieving our full potential and relating whole-heartedly to those we care about most… (more…)
