Make the choice to be happy
22 October 2010
It’s autumn now, and the dark is encroaching, the cold getting more bitter – and with the seasonal change, people often find their mood follows suit, changing from a happy and optimistic ‘summer’ mood to a darker, pessimistic, sadder ‘winter’ mood. Some call this SAD (Seasonal Affected Disorder), others see it as just not feeling themselves… There are lots of ways to deal with this feeling, from taking St John’s Wort or 5HTP to holidays in the sun and hibernating until the summer comes round again. There’s also what I think is the most important thing – making the choice to be happy.
It’s all too easy to get stuck in negative thinking, in feeling like life is not quite right, that we need to do X or Y to fix it, and then everything will be perfect… But I think we need to change this attitude, we need to make a choice – do you want to be happy?
If you choose to be happy, then you’ll do the things that make you happy; you’ll look after yourself, eat well, get enough sleep; you’ll spend time with the people who make you happy and not the people who bring you down; you’ll make plans and set goals to work towards what you want in life, instead of dwelling on what you think is wrong with your life, feeling stuck and bringing yourself down…
Doing the things you need to be happy sounds pretty easy, but many of us struggle with them… It can be hard to break the habits of a lifetime and do the simple things that make our lives better, that make us happy – so getting some help, be it a coach or a good friend, to encourage and support you and help you see things in a different way, is often just what you need…
We make choices in every moment – if someone is rude to us, we choose whether we react with anger or with compassion; if we feel low energy, we choose whether we eat a bar of chocolate and go to bed or if we look at what drains us and what makes us energised and work with that knowledge… Every day I choose to be happy – what’s your choice?
If you’d like some help in being happier, including a free, no-obligation 15-minute chat to understand how coaching can help you, then email me now at carole@caroleraycoaching.com
Is life coaching just a gimmick?
28 April 2010
British people don’t ‘do’ counselling and they don’t talk about their problems, right? So why on earth would they need coaching? Talking to a stranger about your life – well, it’s all just a bit weird, isn’t it?
Coaching is certainly better accepted in the States, where people are a bit more prepared to give things a go before deciding if it’s for them… In the UK, people aren’t quite so prepared to take a risk. I’m from New Zealand and, believe me, we’re exactly the same! There are real benefits for those who are prepared to ‘risk’ a chat about coaching though – which is why I offer a free 15-minute consultation, with absolutely no obligation if you feel it isn’t for you – honest!
A qualified, professional coach will motivate you, focus you and help you move forward in your life… It isn’t counselling (which looks backward, while coaching looks forward) and it isn’t something your best friend or mum can do for you – a coach is objective, with no opinion on what is ‘right’ for you other than what you decide for yourself, and they are trained to know how to help you figure that out.
So if you’ve ever said to yourself ‘I’m not happy at work, I need to change my job’ or ‘I wish I had a bit more confidence’ or ‘I wish I had handled that a bit better’, coaching really will help. So go on, be brave, take the risk – get in touch for a chat and find out yourself how coaching will help you!
If you’d like a no-obligation, free 15-minute chat to understand a bit more about how coaching works and how it can help you, then email me now at carole@caroleraycoaching.com
