August 2024 – Update
I loved taking a month to potter and catch up with myself and friends. So, here is my round-up for August as a coach, writer and human being. 😊
Is it time for a new chapter?
There are several times during our adult years when we find compelling reasons to create a new chapter – to launch our lives again. We live in a world of discontinuous, constant change.
The Hudson Institute
Today, I am sharing my revamped post on the Hudson Renewal cycle – a model I have used extensively with clients. Now, I am looking at it for myself because I wonder if I am starting to move towards a new chapter. And though I can’t quite see how things will turn out, I am on a path. I suspect a wiggly one with many twists and turns but a path, nonetheless.
In any case, the link to my Careerresilience post is here.
How do you surprise yourself?
Despite being an introvert, I’ve always felt a bit of a performer—one of the reasons I ended up singing in a gospel choir for seven years and even managed to bag a solo 😊.
So, on Sunday, 22nd September, I will co-host an Open Mic event for writers and authors at Afrori Bookshop, Brighton, with Oliviyah Bain.
I will also be sharing Knife on a Bus, the short story I read at the Emerging Authors Showcase at the Brighton Book Festival in June this year.
So, and this is the real point of today’s update: if you want to share your writing with a live audience within a warm and supportive environment, contact us at authorsopenmic@gmail.com, and we’ll confirm your five-minute slot.
We want to support writers in getting their words heard, and we’d love to see as many writers from the Global Majority as possible.
We’re hoping to make this a regular thing.
So, how might you yet surprise yourself in 2024?
The link to attend the event is here.
The joy and power of journaling
Recently, I have had a few people ask me about my journaling practice and then serendipitously, I found this quote in Robert Holden’s Higher Purpose – How to Find More Inspiration, Meaning and Purpose in Your Life:
‘..the purpose of keeping a journal is to learn to be truthful with yourself and to recognise your true voice…’
My reasons for journaling have changed; what started as an experiment almost seven years ago is an essential part of my life today – so much so that I am often found with a rucksack to accommodate my A4 notebook and pens.
But back to the quote.
How many of us are being truthful with ourselves? And yes, this feels particularly pertinent right now.
Increasingly, journaling is helping me hold myself accountable, hold up a mirror to myself and my life, and check if I still like what I see. It is the one place where I cannot hide.
It has also helped my voice grow and evolve because that is precisely how our voices emerge—by using them and saying what we have to say, if only to ourselves, at least to start with.
I’ve had my ups and downs with journalling and writing in general – sometimes stories, ideas, and posts flow from me and at others, it’s a hard slog. For the past year, it has been more challenging – not sure why so I have taken the time to look at how, when and where I write:
And what seems to be working right now:
Mixing things up with locations – coffee shops, libraries, sitting by the sea, all tend to help me generate fresh ideas I can work on once I am back home. If I am creating something new – a different location seems to help, even if it’s just outside in the garden.
Writing prompts are helpful for me, and recently, I have been using Jackee Holder’s Nature, Self-Discovery card deck in addition to her 49 Ways to Write Yourself Well. The book contains tips, guidance, and information on starting and maintaining a sustainable writing practice.
Most recently, I have created writing blocks – and committed to two a day during the summer months, an AM and PM block of one and a half hours. Recognising the need for larger chunks of time to do the heavy lifting – I set my timer, plug myself into my Spotify writing playlist and get my head down.
And if you want to read my original post on journaling, you can do so here.
How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?
Answer: Open the door, put in the giraffe and close the door.
Question: How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?
Answer: Open the door, remove the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door.
Question: The lion king is hosting an animal conference; all the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend?
Answer: The elephant they are still in the refrigerator.
I wish I could take credit for the above, as I found it on a managers’ forum ten years ago. At the time, I was looking for a light-hearted quiz to include in my Maintaining Energy and Focus in Tough Times workshop for a local council. I can’t remember why I didn’t use it in the end; perhaps I thought it was too frivolous for my intended audience.
But I couldn’t resist sharing because what you find while clearing out stuff can be intriguing. I am back on my decluttering mission, which has been in stop-start mode for at least two years.
Today, I am trying a new approach because it’s what I do every day that has the most significant impact. So now I take fifteen minutes to focus on and clear one area. With laser-like focus, I can achieve a lot in those fifteen minutes, and it stops me from feeling overwhelmed by the volume of stuff we have books, papers, cassettes, notebooks, etc.
So, I am eating my elephant one bite at a time 😉.
Until next time
