When I worked on the Thames Diamond Jubilee River Pageant in 2012, I was bombarded with jargon…SAG, LOSPG, C3. The job was a step up for me and trying to navigate the acronyms didn’t help with my imposter syndrome. A few weeks in, I realised that lots of people were struggling with the same thing. We’d all sit in meetings, and no-one wanted to look silly. It took one brave person to ask for an explanation and you would see the relief fill the room. I even changed the LOSPG acronym in one meeting to see what would happen and no one batted an eyelid or had any idea what the acronym was supposed to be! Over the years, I have got braver about asking when I don’t understand something. I think this also comes with confidence. Yet I did experience the same feeling when I started swimming training sessions this year. It took me a long time to sign up to classes because I was worried that I wouldn’t understand the jargon around swimming drills. And as expected, I didn’t but the more I talked about it, the more I realised that I wasn’t alone. I also realised that people are only too happy to explain it to ensure that I understand what to do. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of wanting to understand fully, in order to do your best. The fear of asking is often tied up with how we perceive we will be judged. When I think about when people ask me things, I don’t have that judgement so why should they have it about me? We are often wrapped up in our own thoughts and our perception of what people think of us, is simply not true.  I know that acronyms and jargon are supposed to make our lives easier but sometimes it feels like it’s being done to look good. Often a simpler way of communicating can be far more powerful and effective. We don’t need big words or jargon to prove we can do our jobs. By complicating things, we often exclude people. So have a think about whether your language is serving you and your community and whether there is a more effective way to communicate. We are all responsible for creating an inclusive, open and welcoming environment and we can do this by communicating clearly and being prepared to be vulnerable when we don’t understand.

Earlier this year, I set an arbitrary time target for my big swim. The following week I was sea swimming in very choppy conditions, and I was aware that so many elements are out of my control and setting that goal was not going to serve me. It’s a similar theme in my life when thinking of goals and habits - how much of a tangible goal do I need to set and how much do I leave to enjoy the journey and let things emerge. For anyone familiar with Insights Discovery, I lead with sunshine yellow energy, closely followed by fiery red and sometimes those two sides of me have a little tussle about the best way forward! I know my goals need to have flexibility and I also know that having targets is a helpful way to keep me on track, but they key for me is working out what it’s useful to measure. Is that goal serving and motivating me? Am I allowing for all the uncertainty and elements outside of my control. For my swim, I realised it was three things. The first is about preparing myself to be in the best shape that I can be - for me this is a goal around regular swimming and gym training and eating well. By doing this, I’ll be in the best shape to face the unpredictable conditions on the day. The aim is to be the best that I can be and that is motivating enough to keep me training The second is about preparing mentally to face the cold and unpredictable condition – for me this is about me reflecting on my swimming journey, celebrating my swimming successes and building my resilience The third is about enjoying the journey and reflecting and learning about myself along the way. I continue to push and surprise myself about what I can achieve when I put my mind to it! The time goal was not pushing me to train more as I’m already training enough. In fact, I could be setting myself up for failure as there is so much that I cannot control.  Often, it’s about doing something consistently, seeing those successes and enjoying the journey. Sometimes the destination changes or you get knocked off course. So, whatever your habits and goals, choose them wisely, measure what is serving you and step back and celebrate the successes along the way.

I’ve found myself navigating a busy period of work – not just busy but a lot of brain-switching between wildly different projects. Amazingly my swimming doesn’t suffer during these busy periods – I still manage to fit my swims into the week, no matter what’s on the agenda. However, I noticed that other elements of my life have been neglected in the last couple of months. In particular – reading. I finally started a book at the weekend that I have been trying to start since the beginning of March. Why does the swimming never suffer, and yet other things do? I’ve thought about it and think there are a couple of things going on for me: The benefits of swimming radiate through all aspects of my life – mind, body, spirit – I always feel better after a swim, and I know that feeling so well that I always know that it is worth carving out the time for it I have found times that are flexible and work with my routine. I build enough flex into the week so that when things get busy, I can find another way to make it work Swimming is always front of mind when I am planning my week In essence, swimming is a big non-negotiable part of who I am and my whole being. When I started my book this weekend, which is about walking alongside grief, it was an incredibly uplifting read. However, I realised that the perception I had been carrying beforehand was that it might be hard going and so had prioritised something seemingly lighter like watching TV over reading. It comes back to what James Clear and others have said about habits – you need to find a routine but also recognise the reward and benefits of doing them. So how can I work on this? I know I need to bottle the feeling of when I started my book and remember how it nourished my soul I can be more creative about when and where I read, particularly when the rest of life is busy I need to accept that there are some ebbs and flows in what I can do in busier period BUT I have a choice and, for me, it’s about listening to my heart and making more mindful choices My own fulfilment suffered because I didn’t truly appreciate the rewards I would get from reading. So next time you are doing something and get in flow, think about how it makes you feel and write down that feeling. The more we keep those feelings front of mind, the easier it becomes to prioritise what makes us come alive and in turn, we can live a more fulfilled life.

The saying goes “Find your tribe” and we do crave belonging and being part of a community. When I look at my university friends some of us bonded over music, others over being the one not picked for the sports team, others over our shared love or shared hate of something and quite a few over the fact that we couldn’t do a backward roll! It makes us come alive when we find some common ground and connect. With some friends, the reason we bonded is no longer a shared interest, but we have evolved and grown together and a common sense of being has kept the friendship alive. Sometimes I think being part of a tribe can limit our horizons and opportunities to grow; the stories we tell ourselves plays a part in this. When I took up swimming, I thought I’d always be bad at it and slowly that story is evolving and yet I still don’t fully give myself credit for who I have become. I was recently on a long-distance swimming training week and despite walking in with imposter syndrome, I came away feeling fully part of a new tribe. The sense of a shared passion and interest, despite being at different stages of the journey, was incredible and opened my eyes to what might be holding me back. I came away realising it’s ok to be vulnerable and share fears but at the same time, I have to celebrate me today, not me 10 years ago. We often hold on to those stories because it’s easier. If I let go off the “I’m rubbish at sport” story, I have nothing to hide behind and no excuses not to try and perform better. It can seem cosy and comfortable to stay in our current tribe but if we don’t push ourselves to explore, to try new things, we won’t grow and will never truly know what we’re capable of (or not capable of). We learn just as much from things not working out as from things that do. We may find ourselves telling stories about the tribes we’re not part of to justify our exclusion, whilst deep down we might really quite like to join them. There are negative stories about most groups but if we look deeper, I am sure we would find some people to connect with. Sometimes we are looking for an excuse not to dip our toe in.  So let’s keep challenging who we are and who we want to become and rewrite those stories as often as we need to. Let’s find our tribe but why not seek out another one or two and two tribes don’t always have to go to war.

I recently completed my Insights Discovery accreditation. Insights Discovery is a psychometric tool which helps people understand themselves and understand others. We all have a unique mix of four colour energies with a preference for using certain colours. These colour energies are a filter for how we perceive the world and the people in it. It was a really inspiring four days and I love the use of colour energy to explore how we behave. As part of the accreditation, we looked at our own profile. Nothing surprised me about my mix of my colour energies but since completing the accreditation I have been more alive to how I adapt and connect and how I respond to others. The realisation for me is that my ability to be open to other people’s styles is far greater when I feel comfortable in a situation. Take a work situation where someone gives feedback on a proposal – I have no problem with direct, no-nonsense feedback to evaluate something quickly and come to a swift conclusion. Compare this to my swimming lessons where I suffer from imposter syndrome. That direct feedback triggers my “I’m rubbish at sport” story and I feel inadequate. The same feedback needs to be given to me in a much more supportive way as it helps me to feel like I am making progress in a situation that I find difficult. What does this tell me? We are all unique and we all have our unique mix of colour energies, and these give us a great indication of why we behave the way we do. But we also have to be present in the moment to be alive to other vital signals which may require us to adapt differently. What you need from me today may be very different from what you need from me tomorrow depending on the situation, emotions, past experiences, underlying stresses, to name but a few.  So do use the data you have wisely – it is a rich source of information and helps us to understand ourselves better and understand how we might better connect with those around us. But don’t forget to take every situation as it comes – be present, be in the moment, be curious and use everything you see, as only then can we truly form better connections.

Does anyone else feel a sense of overwhelm about how much information we ‘should’ know. I am constantly walking into situations where I feel less knowledgeable about current affairs, the latest coaching trends, the latest music (we could delve into whether I am less knowledgeable or whether that’s in my head, but I think that is another blog!). Sometimes I find it difficult to know where to start. I was heartened to hear a colleague tell me that she deleted a podcast recommendation from a friend – not because she wasn’t interested, in fact she thought it sounded fascinating, but because she knew that given everything else, she didn’t have the capacity to listen to it. It’s taken me a long time to be ok with dipping into random episodes from a podcast series. The completist in me used to struggle with this but I realised that I was unlikely to ever get through every episode and, more importantly, not all episodes were of interest to me. What I consume needs to be serving me. I notice that sometimes I embrace learning new things whole heartedly and other times I am more resistant – is that because it’s too hard, I’m fine as I am, I’m scared, I have no interest, or I’ve got distracted? We owe it to ourselves to remain curious so what’s the answer in a world of information overload? Think about how you find meaning, your values and what makes you come alive and which content can support that Be more conscious about the information that you would like to consume. Where does your focus lie – is it current affairs, trends in your industry, purpose-driven, general knowledge or something to bring you joy? All of these are valid - it’s knowing what you want Know yourself and how you best consume information. It took me a long time to realise that I consume complex issues better when it’s audio rather than written. I also value time away from screens so I still love a paper book as I engage with it differently Think about which sources will be best for your information – in the case of something like current affairs, you may choose multiple sources to give you a balanced view Schedule time and be more mindful about what you would like to do in that time. Endless scrolling can mean at the end of an hour we haven’t looked at anything intentional. If I see an interesting article, I make a note and save it for my scheduled time rather than feeling the pressure to read it immediately I learnt a concept a few years ago about time being elastic – if you have an hour free before a meeting, you often perceive the first 30 minutes to be more productive than the second 30 minutes. Use what you know about the time you have and your energy levels to schedule accordingly Remember that multi-tasking is a myth. If you are trying to focus on two things at once, one is probably suffering. Decide where your focus is at any one time Be conscious about the harder stuff that you’d like to learn but that might take more coaxing. I know I need to understand AI more and I have been resistant because of the unknown. My solution is to ask a friend to help me rather than me searching online and feeling more overwhelmed on top of the fear Sprinkle joy amongst the harder stuff – I love listening to comedy podcasts and new music. If friends are talking about something you don’t know about, have the courage to ask them to tell you more – you might learn all you need over dinner, rather than spending that time being anxious and faking your knowledge Remember that it’s ok to say no, even if something sounds brilliant. None of this should be at the detriment of your own wellbeing. Know your limits and know that you will have to make value choices about the information for you  Most of all remember that being curious and learning new stuff is really fun so let’s find a way to still love it rather than making it feel like a chore.

It’s January and lots of you might be thinking about whether you have made the right resolutions for the year. I find the word resolution so cut and dried – it’s defined as “a firm decision to do or not to do something”. No wonder we feel a strong sense of failure when we don’t manage to keep up our resolutions. Instead, I like to think about making intentions and forming healthy habits to help me get there. And it’s totally ok to change those habits to find a way that will fit comfortably with the rhythm of your life. The key is to be self-aware and know whether you are avoiding something slightly challenging or scary, or whether there is genuinely a good reason for changing that habit. My intention for this year is to take on a big swim and to get there I have upped my training. Whilst I’m excited about the swim, I am also really scared and it triggers my old narrative of ‘I’m rubbish at sport’ and in turn, my embarrassment doing sport around other people. Last week I found myself considering cancelling a swimming training session and I stopped to reflect and ask myself why? Did I need to change the time because of other important commitments or was it because I was fearing the session and looking for an excuse to cancel? I realised I was anxious about the session and there was no other good reason to cancel. I sat with the fear, I sat with the discomfort, and I thought about how good I would feel at the end of the session. More importantly for me, I reminded myself that I wouldn’t have even considered going to a session like this 3 years ago. I am swimming in higher circles than before and sometimes I don’t give myself credit for this. The path to growth means we constantly put ourselves in discomfort, then get more comfortable and aim for the next big thing and face the discomfort again. We often forget how far we have come and don’t take the time to celebrate the successes along the way. What did I learn from my session? This is my session and no-one else’s. I have to set my own targets and be honest with myself afterwards about my successes and what I would like to work more on I often have imposter syndrome and the fear that other people are judging me for being too slow. After the session I realised that I couldn’t remember a single thing about anyone else’s technique, so I doubt they can remember anything about me! Most people are concentrating on themselves in those situations I always think I am the only one worried about something and yet whenever I share this, I realise that I am not alone. Being more vulnerable with others has helped me form stronger relationships and embrace my fears Kindness is an important part of my life and yet I don’t always consider how harshly I am judging myself – talking to myself as I would support a friend helps me to encourage myself, celebrate how far I have come and know when to push myself more I know that my habits work best when they are things I want to do rather than things I feel I have to do. I wanted to do this session, even if I did feel the fear, because I enjoy learning, getting fitter and the positive impact on my mental health There will be discomfort but when I analysed it, I realised that most of that discomfort was my limiting beliefs rather than anything tangible stopping me doing it I know I need flexibility, so I have picked sessions where I have flexibility each week to fit around my other commitments I need to be self-aware and honest with myself about why a habit is not embedding itself successfully – Is it the wrong time? Am I really interested in doing this? Or is fear getting in the way?  And for me personally, I need to remind myself that every swim I have ever done has made me happier, stronger, braver and better equipped to conquer the world.

As we approach the end of the year, we find ourselves reflecting on the last 12 months. Personally, it has been a year with a lot of joy, particularly in terms of travel, and yet there has also been so much not knowing. I’m used to the not knowing but this has felt like a longer, more uncomfortable period. But here’s the thing, if we don’t go through those periods of discomfort and not knowing, we don’t open ourselves up to new opportunities and places to grow. I learnt this year that I have to sit with stuff longer, listen to my heart, try new things and remind myself that I don’t yet know the right path. Part of the journey is going through the rough bits. I knew that this needed to be a period of change and that requires the work to get there. I am reminded of when I left university and didn’t fancy a job as a management consultant or accountant. In the 90s there seemed to be no other advice for economics graduates, but I knew there would be something out there that I would love. It was 2 years after graduating that I discovered the world of events – 2 years felt like a lifetime yet 25 years on, I still love it. It was worth the discomfort and exploring till I found something that made me come alive. There is so much social pressure to do the job that you ‘should’ be doing, to live the life that follows a certain pattern and as a result, we don’t always take the time to explore what is right for us. Through these periods of growth, I’ve learnt that I need to be reflective, but I also need to surround myself with friends and activities that bring me joy. And while these periods of wintering can feel difficult, by sitting with it, by working through it, I have emerged feeling energised and more purposeful about the path ahead. As you reflect on your year and look forward to 2025, have a think about: What can I learn from the hard stuff that has happened What can I celebrate How can I hold my nerve when everyone around me seems to be living the perfect life (spoiler alert – they’re not!) What do I need to flourish and come alive Who in my life can support me on this journey without judgement and with love How can I embrace uncertainty and stay open to the opportunities ahead It is a running joke amongst my friends that I am always early for things. I always say this is because I find it stressful if I am late and it feels disrespectful. But there is another reason for leaving early – giving myself those minutes in the day creates unexpected moments and connections. By building flex in my day, I allow for that chat after swimming, to stop and admire nature, to have a fleeting chat with someone, to read an article that sparks a new idea, for the magic to happen. We are all left to our own devices and can feel pressure to take a certain path, but we can influence the route, try things out and create space to energetically connect and find out what makes us come alive.  I love this quote from Cory Allen “The more you can live the life that feels right, instead of the one you feel is expected from you, the happier you’ll be”.

I’ve just finished a course on Ikigai – the Japanese concept of your ‘reason for being’. It is the intersection of four areas - what you love to do (passion), what you are good at (skills), what the world needs (mission), and what you can be paid for (profession). I love this concept and yet I feel that lots of people think that finding it must be pipe dream. My experience was incredibly inspiring, showing me that we can all take steps towards it and I wanted to share my reflections. Our inner critic is quick to come out but how often do we spend time thinking about what we are good at. Do take some time to understand yourself and the value that you bring. If you are prone to being modest, why not ask colleagues and friends what strengths they think you have In our busy lives, we can be guilty of not being conscious with our decision-making. Having an Ikigai statement as a guiding principle can help us follow a fulfilling path. Even if we make decisions that are not fully in line with where we want to be, being conscious about them makes it easier to make peace with it I learnt a lovely phrase ‘benevolent assertiveness’ – learning to say no to things kindly without feeling guilt or shame. I’m reminded of reading Sarah Knight’s “The life-changing magic of not giving a f**k” which taught me to pause before making decisions and check that I did things that were in line with my values and how I want to live my life It reminded me that life is a constant balancing act and it’s ok that things can feel out of kilter but the more we can be aware of this, the easier it is to manage our emotions and our self-care Through the process I have learnt what my non-negotiables are in terms of values. If I am triggered in a situation, it is often because my non-negotiables have been compromised and this helps me understand my reactions There is always something I can do each day to move me towards living a more connected life – whether that’s breathing, swimming, connecting with a friend, coaching or journaling. The key is in how we embed those healthy habits. Some of my habits like swimming are so embedded, others are newer and taking time to bed in. It’s all about finding something that fits with your life Our reason for being is constantly evolving, so take time to evaluate and see what’s important for you at any moment in time Ultimately, think about what makes you come alive as you are likely to have the greatest impact  I love this quote from Howard Thurman which I live by, “ Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who come alive”