The STOP Exercise to Enhance Focus and Informed Choice
Paying attention is the window to all of our experiences every day of our lives. Where and how we place our focus of attention (or where and how we allow other things to grab our attention) determine the quality of our lives, and our relationships with ourselves, others and what the world has to offer. What we know of ourselves, how we feel physically and emotionally, and our ability to make informed choices are all influenced by both how we focus attention and the quality of that attention.
Spring is in the air, and many people start to think about spring cleaning their homes at this time of year. But what about our lives? We can bring positive energy into our lives by eradicating negative areas and old habits.
In December I gave you tips on how to prepare to take minutes at a meeting. This month we will focus on how to take the notes at a meeting, whether it is a formal meeting with an agenda or an informal team meeting. So, after you have prepared, here are the top ten tips to help you take notes at meetings:.jpg)
If you ever find yourself getting tense or stressed out at work, there is an exercise which can help you. It was developed by American physiologist and physician Edmund Jacobson in the late 1930s, and it works on the basis of gradually tensing and then releasing tension in individual muscle groups in sequence. Muscles are always more relaxed after being tensed and released. This practice automatically brings physical relaxation which, in turn, calms the mind and our emotions. It works particularly well in reducing anxiety and insomnia but also in improving concentration and increasing self-esteem and a sense of control over moods. The whole practice lasts for 15 or 20 minutes, and the more regularly you practise this, the more you will get from it.
Are you excellent at what you do? Have you reached 'the top of your tree'? Are you seeking a greater challenge although you don't want a new job? Or are you looking at how to make more of the role you have? If so, it can sometimes feel as though you don't know where to start! So here are the top ten tips to help you seek out challenges and add value to your role.
The way in which we express ourselves can make a vast difference in how others respond to us. Communication styles have a large role to play here. So, if we use certain types of communication which are expressive of our needs and yet respectful of the needs of others, then we can maximise the chances of others responding well to our requests.
Part 1 – Preparation
Problem? What problem? Problems are not really problems – they’re improvement opportunities...although I will admit that they don’t always feel that way at the time. But the reality is, problems can exist, and if we use effective problem-solving skills, tools and techniques, we can significantly improve the situation. So here are the top 10 tips for improving your problem solving:
There is an exercise you can do which is an incredibly powerful tool to dispose of lingering angry feelings towards someone’s behaviour or to release words when we have not been able fully to articulate our anger at the time. It might apply to a difficult client, a colleague, a manager or someone closer to home. The exercise is based on an approach originally published by a Dr Mahfouz in 2008. 
At times we can be our own worst enemy. Whilst this can take any number of forms, one particular culprit is self-criticism. You know the sort of thing: you find yourself saying or thinking things like ‘I’m useless’, ‘What an idiot!’ ‘I’m no good at this’ or ‘I can’t do it.’ Although an appropriate dose of constructive self-criticism can motivate us, a higher dose puts us under stress and generally makes things worse as a result. We invariably come out with global self-critical remarks or thoughts like the ones above when we are under stress already. Piling on yet more stress prevents us from accessing our innate capacity to help and support ourselves in a positive and encouraging way.