by Suzy Reading | Mar 21, 2013 | article, blog
Last weekend I had the great privilege of attending a friend’s wedding which turned out to be one of the happiest, most jubilant celebrations I can ever remember. Just reflecting on it now instantly buoys my mood.
It’s got me thinking what was it that made this particular wedding so joyful? While there are a number of different underlying reasons, the one that leaps out at me most was the quality of “savouring” evident in the whole day, from the beautiful religious ceremony to the stunning reception at Luna Park on Sydney Harbour. (more…)
by Suzy Reading | Feb 20, 2013 | article, blog
Take a good look at the 12 strategies from Part One (gratitude, optimism, avoiding overthinking, practicing kindness, nurturing relationships, coping, forgiveness, flow, savouring, committing to goals, spirituality, caring for body and soul) and decide which ones resonate most with you – consider your personality, your strengths, your interests, your available resources.
Identify the top three that inspire you and find ways to practice those skills. Look for ways you can do more of it in your current schedule, prioritise it, actually structure it into DAILY life by making an appointment with yourself if necessary, set goals about it, get coaching to develop it, fully commit to it.
For guidance on effective goal setting techniques see my article entitled: “It’s time to review your New Year’s Resolutions: are you serving them and are they serving you?” found at www.suzyreading.co.uk (more…)
by Suzy Reading | Feb 15, 2013 | article, blog
Self-care can broadly be defined as personal health maintenance undertaken with the intention of improving or restoring health, or treating or preventing disease. I’d like to add the purpose of ‘flourishing’ to this definition and to promote the notion of thinking broader than just nourishing physical health.
When we think about practices to sustain good health and wellbeing, the most common themes are good nutrition, exercise, relaxation, sleep, hygiene, minimizing health hazards like caffeine, alcohol, and all of these are valuable, helpful elements to consider. Less often considered are those things that directly enhance psychological functioning – the things that alter how we perceive the world, our place in it and the quality of our interactions with other people.
In addition to caring for your body and nourishing your insides, I’d like to take an introductory look at some of the self-care tools that make you happier by nurturing your mental, emotional, social and spiritual bodies!
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by Suzy Reading | Feb 8, 2013 | article, blog
A handful of dear friends of mine have recently experienced some extraordinarily challenging and painful life events which has prompted me to write this article. While most people will be familiar with the condition post-traumatic stress disorder far less well known is the concept of post-traumatic growth.
When I was facing the crisis of my father’s terminal illness coupled with the birth of my first child I turned to positive psychology – the study of all the things that make life worth living. In the growing field of positive psychology I found some tremendously valuable solutions and discovered the concept of post-traumatic growth.
Just reading about it at the time was a tonic to me and now 2 years later I can really see the blossoming that has occurred as a result – the silver lining so to speak. I hope this article may provide some help in the same way, perhaps in time to come. (more…)
