Tag: Self Awareness

An Award Winner Talks About Anger Management

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Photo by Gezer Amorim at Pexels.com:

Sir Sidney Poitier was a thoughtful, charismatic actor and Academy Award winner.

He was also an activist. He marched on Washington in 1963, as part of the call for equality spearheaded by Dr Martin Luther King.

He could see that channelling his righteous anger could influence millions of people around the world.

His life was celebrated during this year’s Oscars ceremony, alongside others in the entertainment industry who passed away in last twelve months.

The ‘slap that was heard around the World’ might have eclipsed that segment.

I think the only slap which people will remember Mr Poitier giving was the one his character, Virgil Tibbs, gave the racist character Endicott ‘In The Heat Of The Night’ (1967).

That was a bold, justified, and revolutionary act. It is a long way from what happened on film in the sixties to last weekend at the Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles.

Apologies have been offered since then.

Learning is underway too.

Meanwhile, to close here’s a quote from Mr Poitier which puts all that into context:

I have learned that I must find positive outlets for anger, or it will destroy me.

Sidney Poitier: The Measure Of A Man A Spiritual Autobiography

Helping Ourselves On #WorldMentalHealthDay

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Solving Problems Is Easier When We Act Together. (Picture credit Photo by August de Richelieu from Pexels )

Today, of all days, it is worth saying that life without good mental health is hard.

From my experience, in the developed world, it can still feel dark, stressful, and overwhelming to struggle on alone.

In developed and developing nations stigma about mental health conditions can affect outcomes. In some countries and cultures mental health taboos can leave those issues to silently fester in the dark. People affected can hide their illness. It can feel their secret shame to bear alone.

Left untreated their illness can become more significant than it needed to be. That is bad news for their loved ones, their colleagues and everyone else affected.

So, to change those outcomes, wherever we live, tackling mental health issues needs to involve:

  • Recognising something is making our life more complicated than it needs be
  • Reaching out to professionals who are able to help
  • Staying in touch with good listeners amongst our family network and friendship circle
  • Being kind to ourselves

What has worked for you, or people you know?

Always worth remembering, wherever in the World we find ourselves, and whatever else is important in our lives, struggling alone is not a solution.

We are stronger together.

Making Change Happen – Personal #Goals In 2021

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What Needs To Change? (Picture credit SHVETS Productions via Pexels.com)

So, what has September felt like to you? 

Post-pandemic is it business as usual, once again?  

Or, is it more like something from a science fiction film, complete with rapid testing and face coverings? 

Happiness involves choice.

Making change happen starts with moving towards a goal.

Everyone choosing to follow a different path after lockdown has had to plan their way forward. Maybe that is something you want to do? If so there’s plenty of information in the posts here to get you started.

Check out the download section too, if you want some ideas on where to focus your attention.

The first step is to ask yourself, what do I want to change by the end of next month?

Then figure out what your next step looks like. 

Then take it.

Leave a reply and let everyone know how you get on!

A Few Thoughts For #Carersweek

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Taking Care Of Someone Else Means Taking Care Of Yourself First – Picture credit Madison Inouye on Pexels.com

It has been another tough year.

The Coronavirus is still knocking people for six.  

Relatives and friends looking after loved ones are feeling invisible and under-valued.

For instance, research shows more than 7 out 10 UK carers haven’t practiced self-care and had a break in 12 months (a link to the report is below).

Which mean thousands of people are exhausted. Which means tired relatives struggling to focus on caring for a loved one. Which leaves the cared for person with less than the full support they need.

Vaccination is making a difference. Society may look different before too long.

Hopefully, by June 2022, better support will be offered to carers and carers will be more visible and valued. If so, the cared for will feel the benefit.

‘Breaks or breakdown’, Carers Week 2021 report – Carers UK

Picture credit Madison Inouye on Pexels.com

The Power of #Gratitude

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So Many People Have Helped Us Get This Far During The Pandemic

(Photo by Piron Guillaume on Unsplash )

Thank You.

Two very powerful words to express gratitude.

Do me a service (large or small) and expect a ‘thank you’.

After the year we have all survived, gratitude seems like the least we can express.

Over the past year I have thanked:

  • Nurses
  • Doctors
  • Physiotherapists
  • Transport workers 
  • Funeral staff
  • Family
  • Friends
  • Neighbours
  • Police 

and so many others.

From what I can see ‘thank you’ goes a long way to showing we are all in this together. 

So, who will you thank today? 

Men Discussing Life

3 More Steps After #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek

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So, here we are and MHAW has just ended and men have spoken up. However, the conversation about better mental health continues. Luckily, we have tools available to us to improve our health, as well as the support to help us keep going.

Here are three more steps to better mental health.

Ask ourselves what is going inside and how we feel about it. Is everything good? Or is there more anxiety and darkness than usual? The greater the disturbance the less successful our relationships and productivity.

Build up our personal networks, so we are connected to people – family, friends, professionals – who understand our situation and can support us when we need it. Being able to support them is a bonus!

Continue these conversations. It is important to keep having those conversations about positive mental health and to reduce the stigma sometimes associated with these conditions.

How do you address your mental health needs? Feel free to add your voice to the conversation with a comment below.

(Featured image credit – Nappy at Pexels.com)

3 Qualities To Help Reach 2020 #Goals

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A hand reaching out to the future - Photo by Ignored shots from Pexels
What Will We Achieve In 2020 ? Photo by Ignored shots from Pexels

So, the end of the year is here and I am looking back at how I achieved my goals, so I can reach out toward my next set of goals and achieve more of them in 2020.

What are the three things qualities I had to practice to achieve more in 2019?

Patience 

Making time to slow down and look again at my plan, message, relationships meant more chance of spotting a mistake and creating a better result. 

Gratitude 

Saying ‘thank you ‘ improved the quality of my relationships, even if they were related to simple projects.  

Acceptance 

Sometimes difficult situations cannot be changed only endured. Even bad situations can be a good learning opportunities. It has been worthwhile asking, What do I want instead of what I have got?

What have been your take-aways from 2019? Feel free to leave a reply or Tweet me @RogerD_Said

Have a great 2020!

How to #Communicate Effectively By Telling Vivid Stories

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People in discussion

Use vivid stories to connect to your audience Photo by Abel Tan Jun Yang from Pexels

It can be difficult to sum up the direction a life has taken without resorting to a list: when someone was born; where they went to school; which skills did they acquire; how they used those skills to make their living.

 

When I recently wrote and delivered a, well received, eulogy I took a different approach. Rather than a dull list I told vivid stories which brought an entire history to life. The audience received a rounded picture of the person they knew as a relative, friend, neighbour or ex-colleague.

 

Follow the link to YouTube if you would like to learn more about using stories to communicate the details of someone else’s life (or maybe your own). Remember to Like, Share and comment too if this post has helped you.

 

What 3 Lessons Can We Learn From Comicbook Heroes ?

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A Picture of Stan Lee From The BBC

What Did You Learn From Stan Lee ?

I discovered the Marvel universe as a kid, when a mate loaned me a copy of an Avengers comic book. I loved it. I went on to enjoy the art bringing the adventures of dozens of Marvel heroes to life. Decades later I’m grateful to the inspiring vision of the late Stan Lee for all that joy. He said his goal for Marvel comics was that

“…someday an intelligent adult would not be embarrassed to walk down the street with a comic magazine”.

Mission accomplished. Marvel’s creative output would not be seen as ‘for kids’ but would successfully have something to say to the rest of us too. He achieved that goal and more. Many of us have owned trading cards, magazines and now films that are part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

What Are My 3 Take Aways From Marvel’s Storytelling? 

Teams rely on diverse talents to create exciting outcomes (what would Stan Lee’s characters be without Jack Kirby’s pencils…or the X Men without the Professor’s detachment and Logan’s passion)?

Strength isn’t about muscles ,it is about depth of character (take a look at Iron Man issues 120 to 128 in which Tony Stark deals with his alcohol dependency) Being aware of our own strengths and development needs gives us an edge

Leaders set the tone for the people around them , creating a healthy environment where  colleagues can try different approaches, fail and learn from mistakes (think about how much room to operate Phil Coulson gives the agents of SHIELD)?

What have you learned about life by discovering the Marvel universe? Feel free to have your say by leaving a comment.

Excelsior!

What Professor Stephen Hawking’s Life Shows Us About Achieving Our #Goals

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A Celebration of Stephen Hawking

Who Inspires You To Take Action?

Professor Stephen Hawking’s life is being celebrated in Westminster Abbey today. He faced more than his share of challenges. His goals seemed unrealistic at times, People doubted him.

His philosophy was simple though.

However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at

What’s The Value Of Paying Attention?

It can be hard in difficult times to find the one thing to which we should pay attention if we want to develop and achieve success. Is the most important thing earning a qualification? Finding a job? Finding a better job? How about starting a side business or writing a book?

Finding one thing and paying attention to getting it completed is hard. It does make it easier to progress to the next thing on our To Do list though.

There’s a bonus too. Along the way we connect to others doing their best to tackle their goals. We can help them and ask them for help if necessary. That’s the value of paying attention to our main goal and taking action to fulfil it. That’s the lesson I take away from Stephen Hawking’s life.

What’s Next?

I hope this post has set you thinking about what you want to achieve in 2018. If so feel free to offer a comment, leave a Like, or even Share the post with someone else who could benefit from reading it.

Have a great day.