Tag: Different thinking

Use the 4-7-8 breathing technique to ease stress and anxiety

I listen to Dr Rangan Chatterjee’s brilliant Feel Better Live More podcast frequently, especially his short bitesize episode, and have been using this technique to deal with anxiety and panic attacks to great effect since first hearing it last month. Taken from his episode with Dr Andrew Weil, a pioneer in the field of integrative …

The Power of 10 and why it could be a real game changer for you

I was off work last week and spent much of that time decorating. I didn’t cross much else off my to-do list which, as per, is hugely frustrating for me. Yet another instance of grand plans which ultimately fell by the wayside. One thing I did manage to do though, other than touching up paintwork …

What would happen if you looked at your story and wrote it from another person’s point of view?

I recently watched a snippet of a TED talk which really hit home. The talk is titled How Changing Your Story Can Change Your Life, by Lori Gottlieb. The general theme is that what we tell ourselves shapes how we live our lives – Gottlieb summarises this by saying “The way we narrate our lives …

Don’t waste time spending time with people you don’t want to be with

The older I get, the more I realise this is really important. Do you ever sit back and consider if you spend time with people you don’t actually want to spend time with? A potentially controversial question but one we do need to ask ourselves. Admittedly, there are certain times when this can be difficult …

Me? A procrastinator? I’ll prove you wrong someday. Just you wait and see.

As referred to in last week’s blog, a post on good old procrastination. My number 1 enemy. When thinking about what I need to include in this post, I looked up some definitions of the word and found the following: Cambridge Dictionary: To keep delaying something that must be done, often because it is unpleasant …

The good outweighs the bad more often than not

A couple of weeks ago, Lux Bay played our first gig in 22 months. We’d been practicing for a couple of months beforehand, revisiting every song in our sets to ensure everything would be perfect. Not for us a nice easy lead back into the world of gigging, such as a relatively stress-free pub gig. …

What is your limit? When you think you’re done, you may only be at 40% of your capability.

I’ve stepped up exercising lately, particularly home-based exercises such as using a portable abdominal crunch, power twister bar, portable step machine, rowing machine and kettle bells. I don’t know if it’s a sign of aging, but the workouts are tougher than they used to be – it would certainly be easy to do a minimal …

Right or wrong? How one simple question could change your life.

I get frustrated easily. I have a shorter fuse than I would care to admit to. I frequently make bad decisions, though don’t we all? Nothing major – just those daily decisions I make that aren’t ridiculously important but can affect my mood. The decisions where it’s usually easier to take what I know is …

Please don’t become a slave to the scales – a weight-loss update

I’ve written previously about my relationship with food and a need to lose weight, primarily in the posts Why my relationship with food is the most complex in my life and needs to change (Feb 2021 – link here), Using food & alcohol as a comfort blanket (Jul 2019 – link here), Time to change …

Don’t forget just how important the mental health of our children is

A vitally important subject which was really emphasised to me by an e-mail I received earlier this week (more of that later). The mental health of our children is vitally important and whilst we’re all clearly aware of this, it can be easy to forget it during day-to-day life. I’ll refer to our children as …