Dear Reader

For a lot of people this is holiday time and I often hear people complaining that there is always a rush to finish work, sort out household things before going away and then the affects of the holiday seem to dissipate within about 24 hours of returning. So in this months 'Inspire' we ask: Can you hang on to the holiday feeling throughout the year?

The ‘Mastering Your Inner Critic, Releasing Your Inner Wisdom’ workshop in July was very enjoyable and fruitful. I will be running a couple more workshops later in the year so watch this space.

Best wishes

Melanie Greene

Can you hang on to the holiday feeling throughout the year?

The run up to your holiday – Most people have busy lives resulting in holidays being squeezed between everything else. The result is little time to get ready, increased stress levels and having to take more time to unwind when you get away. Then when you return there can be a rush back into work, meetings to catch up with things, trawling through 100s of emails and other activities with no space to ease back into normal life. Many years ago I returned from Canada and hit the M25 24 hours later for an early morning meeting. I then realised that this was not the way to do it. I now organise my life and work to allow time to ease back into work, so that the benefits of a holiday are not lost as soon as you return.

What can you do to allow yourself time to prepare for the holiday and time to get back into your normal life?

What stops you from doing this and what can you do to overcome these blocks?

‘Insanity is doing the same thing, in the same way, while expecting different results’ Chris Clarke-Epstein

Programming your mind – part of my outcome for any holiday is to get to the stage where I am looking forward to returning home and to getting back to work. Rather than spending the end of the holiday being stressed out about what you are returning to or dreading coming back. By setting this as an outcome I find that I am ready to return and even looking forward to it.

How do you want to feel at the end of a holiday when you return home?

‘We always attract into our lives whatever we think about most, believe in most strongly, expect on the deepest level, and imagine most vividly.’ Shakti Gawain

Anchors & triggers – one way of bringing your holiday feeling into the rest of your life is to create anchors associated with your holiday that when you see or hear them trigger positive emotions. For example, last year I went on a 6 week trip to New Zealand and knew when I returned to the UK staying positive and relaxed might be a challenge, as my mum was very ill and work was busy. So, I created some anchors that reminded me of the peace and joy of my time in NZ. I brought a purse with New Zealand written on it, which is a constant trigger every time I use it. I also brought a journal with pictures of the New Zealand mountains so that in the coming weeks as I wrote in the journal I could reflect on my airplane trip around the southern alps where we landed on top of a mountain and glacier!! And often in my minds eye I revisit a particular afternoon spent on a near deserted idyllic beach watching the baby seals playing and the waves crashing. As I write this I feel how great it was to be there and can revisit that experience at any time.

What anchors can you bring back from your holiday to remind you and keep you connected to the good times you had?

Holiday feel throughout the year – I have a great book called ‘Stopping’ by David Kundz. He talks about ‘stillpoints’, ‘stopovers’ and ‘grinding halts’ to distinguish between different levels of stopping and taking time out that you might engage in throughout your year or life. Sometimes we need to take some time out as we go through the months to stop and reflect, to ponder and review, or simply to enjoy what there is to enjoy. See the right hand column for some inspiration from Maya Angelou.
‘For fast acting relief try slowing down.’ Lily Tomlin

Changing your perspective – One of the strategies I use when things are getting on top of me or I am losing perspective is to draw upon a Buddhist idea of living as if today is the last day of your life. When I say this to people they often look at me as if I am mad! But it makes me sit up and think – if this was the last day on this earth I would want to enjoy it and make the most of it – so instead of being stressed out or moping around I make sure that whatever I am doing I enjoy it or find something to enjoy during the day.

Want more Inspiration? If you want any support in getting back into work mode, hanging onto the holiday feeling or dealing with the pressures of everyday life, we can offer 1:1 support or group workshops to assist you in doing this. Just call 01865 377334 or email mg@grovelands.org.uk to arrange a time to speak in confidence. For more information about Grovelands visit our website: www.grovelands.org.uk

Feel free to pass this issue of ‘Inspire’ onto others – if you have been forwarded this issue and would like to receive your own copy each month, click here to subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Some wise words you make you stop and think....

One of my favourite authors is Maya Angelou and in her book ‘Wouldn’t take nothing for my journey now.’ She writes about ‘A day away’…

‘We often think that our affairs, great or small, must be tended continuously and in detail, or our world will disintegrate, and we will lose our places in the universe. That is not true, or if it is true, then our situations were so temporary that they would have collapsed anyway.

Once a year or so I give myself a day away……

Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us. We need hours of aimless wandering or spates of time sitting on park benches, observing the mysterious world of ants and the canopy of treetops….

When we return home, I am always surprised to find some questions I sought to evade have been answered and some entanglements I had hoped to flee had become unravelled in my absence.

**********

How can Grovelands help you?

In each issue of ‘Inspire’ I will describe a different aspect of our work.

Time management. Do you manage your time effectively? Could you be more efficient?

From my experience of coaching and training people, the topic of time management is a lot more complex than learning to plan and prioritise work. People often become overloaded and unproductive because they do not know how to negotiate priorities with others or even to simply say No at times.

Looking at this topic in terms of managing yourself and your life is often a more constructive way to approach the issues of time management. If you want to discuss this further do give us a call.

**********

Look out for September’s issue of ‘Inspire’ that will get you to ponder the question, Do you practice what you preach?

What does it mean to ‘practice what you preach’? Does it mean you have to be a perfect professional, team member, manager, parent or friend? Are you allowed to be human and make mistakes? The term is often banded around in organisations when managers talk about ‘walking the talk’, but what does it really mean?

**********

Grovelands provides:

Consultancy advice
in-house and public workshops
to individuals, partnerships, SMEs and national organisations.

See www.grovelands.org.uk for more details

You are receiving this email because you are a friend or client of Grovelands or you have requested the newsletter from our website. If you no longer wish to receive this please click here.