The most common evidence-based treatment for low mood and low motivation focuses on refocusing on achievements. As a somewhat-perfectionist who grew up in an environment where academic and ‘on-paper’ achievements were highly valued, this treatment was not the right one for me, long-term. In the last few months I’ve been exploring ‘delight’, ‘play’, and ‘joy’ or ‘fun’ and trying to explore what this means WITHOUT achievement. Apparently, watching other people… Read More »Fighting the Achievement Expectation and Finding Delight | #28

We’re 6 weeks into 2021. This is the time we fall back into an old routine rather than whatever goals we often set for ourselves in January. it’s important not to ignore the impact of the past 12 months on how we experience things (and how this may affect our perceptions moving forward too). I also share my own systems and current routines for managing the ‘new normal’ of lockdown,… Read More »Experiments in Daily Living – My February Routine | #27

Today we look at “what if?” anxiety thoughts, focusing on those “is this what I want?” and “what if I fail?” questions. We ask more questions but also look at how to consider failures as being part of the road to success. || LINKS MENTIONED|| – The Super Mario Effect – Tricking Your Brain into Learning More (TEDx) – How to Talk With Your Fear (Mine’s Called Kitten) – Want… Read More »How to Manage What If Thoughts (What If I Mess It Up?) | #23

Note: Before I talk about energy as a currency, please note that this episode was recorded before last week’s events in the USA, and I want to acknowledge that this is not the first fortnight of 2021 most of us hoped for.  This episode covers having multiple reasons “why” for a change, and how this can fuel us (and how not having this energy can lead to failing). I speak… Read More »Mental Energy As Currency | #22

This week, Ember and I explore my experience of setting a word-of-the-year (sometimes shortened to WOTY) since 2009, and Ember even shares her word of the year out loud during the episode. I list a few ways I’ll be using my word to shape specific goals and invite you to share your words with me in the comments below. || LINKS MENTIONED|| – Want my free emails on reinventing your… Read More »My Word of the Year for 2021 | #21

It’s the final episode of 2020. And I’m focusing on what things feel hard, how much we struggle as humans, when the path feels ‘wrong’ and when we don’t know if this is the ‘right’ decision. || LINKS MENTIONED|| –Want my free emails on reinventing your 2021? –Episode 16 – The Truth about Resistance (NaNoWriMo) –Raise Your Hand Say Yes Podcast: On Being Enough (ep.347) –The Struggle of the Butterfly… Read More »Sometimes The Struggle Is The Process | #20

It turns out envisioning is a real word. Who knew? As we reach toward the end of the year, I talk about the importance of (and touch on some of the science around) crafting a life vision and designing how you’d like your life to be to boost your sense of clear direction and motivation. We plan and prepare and review and check on everything… except our lives. THE TWO… Read More »On Planning and Envisioning for the New Year | #19