Hello Everyone,

I hope you all had a very good New Year and that Santa brought you everything that you asked for!

I’m afraid my New Year wasn’t fantastic; some of you may know Pauline who has worked for Quick Formations for more than 2 years now. She passed away very suddenly on the 2nd January, and what makes matters harder is that she was also my Mother-in-Law. Despite the obvious Mother-in-Law jokes we were very close and she will be a dearly missed colleague, friend, and member of our family.

Since coming back to work I’ve read an article written by a regular contributor to this newsletter, Jacky Pratt, which I feel is appropriate for today’s fast moving and busy work environment. So if you are feeling bad about breaking any of your New Year resolutions don’t be too hard on yourself, read what Jacky can show you about living for each day well.

I wonder how many people woke up on 1 January determined to eat better and get more exercise this year?

I heard a phrase recently (at a presentation by the wonderful Macmillan Organisation) which resonated for me:

"Eat well, keep fit, die anyway"

I do my best to eat well and to keep fit but I know that I still have very little control over when or how I will die. Despite scientists' best efforts, we still don't really know the rules about how to eat best for long, healthy life - the rules seem to change all the time.

So I am passionate about a third element - not only eating well and keeping fit, but also living each day well. People go on radical detox diets, but do they consider the more immediate value of a 'habits detox'? When on a diet, each 'lapse' often results in feelings of failure. We judge ourselves harshly if we over-eat the wrong food, drink too much or miss a planned fitness session. But how do we react when we 'lapse' in terms of how we spend our time - perhaps too much TV, perhaps an angry reaction to someone who didn't deserve it but was in the wrong place at the wrong time, perhaps too many years spent in a job we dislike? Why are we not more concerned about the impact these 'lapses' have on our happiness each day?

We may lack control over when and how we die, but we have much more control over how we live each day. How we spend our precious time... the attitude that we present to the world around us... how we react to events that arise...

When you wake up, what determines your mood for the day? Is it external factors such as whether the milk was off, whether your train ran on time, how much traffic you encountered as you travelled to work? Or do you choose your mood yourself? Two people can experience identical events and yet both react differently - one being overwhelmed by the mounting obstacles and the other remaining cheerful and grateful for another day to experience. What determines your reactions?

A lot has to do with perspective. If we feel lucky and grateful for our lot each day, we are likely to be cheerful. If we feel unlucky and like a victim, we react accordingly, taking our mood out on others, judging ourselves and others harshly, jumping to conclusions, comfort eating, and a multitude of other 'toxic habits'.

"Act as if you were already happy, and that will tend to make you happy" Dale Carnegie

Detox time

So - when you wake up tomorrow, take a few moments to consider how you would like to live your day. What habits need a detox? What can you do to make this happen?

In many respects, this is an easier detox than attempting to control strictly what you eat and drink, and the impact on your happiness will be instant! However, just as you may need to join a gym in order to develop a fitness habit, you may benefit from working with a coach to develop a 'happiness habit'! Please feel free to call me and ask for a no-obligation consultation to determine whether I can help.

Recommendations

 1. Here is a nice poem to start the New Year off with determination - see http://www.the-race-movie.com.

I'm afraid I am short on recommendations this month, having spent all of December away... I moved house and then enjoyed an amazing 23-night trip visiting South America, followed by New Year away with friends. I am home now, but with very infrequent access to email and internet, so apologies if I have ignored any emails. I'm unlikely to be fully online until mid-January, so please contact me by phone on +44 (0)1604 889152.

Wishing you a very happy January.

Jacky Pratt
Accredited Practitioner Coach (ECI)
www.ambitioncoach.com

Due to Pauline passing away the UKBF network event has been cancelled until later in the year. All money paid for tickets has been refunded and more information about the new date for the event will be posted in this newsletter later in a few months.

I wish you all well for this New Year, and look forward to bringing you some more helpful and informative articles next month.

Kind Regards,

Richard Osborne
richard.osborne@Quickformations.com