‘The capacity to remain flexible in our thoughts, feelings and behaviours when faced by a life disruption, or extended periods of pressure, so that we emerge from difficulty stronger, wiser and more able.’ Resilience is helpful at the best of times. In the current context, it feels even more critical to do what we can…
‘Sleep is the single most effective thing we can do to reset our brain and body health each day.’ Matthew Walker’s Why We Sleep was published in January 2018. It made quite a splash. I remember seeing it piled high in the window of Waterstones. I was intrigued, but I knew I couldn’t read it…
Since I’m posting this on Christmas Eve, Day 8’s book has a lighter feel. The Colour Monster by Anna Llenas is a beautifully illustrated book by designed to help children explore colours and emotions. It does this in a beguiling and effective way. We often use the phrase ‘mixed up colours’ at home when our…
If you’re anything like me, ticking things off a to do list is one of the most satisfying parts of the day. But am I doing the right things, the things that will be most effective in getting me the meaningful results I want, the ones that will truly help me flourish? A lot of…
Most of us will have heard of post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. But how many of us have heard of post traumatic growth, or PTG? I certainly hadn’t, until I came across the concept in my positive psychology Masters programme. Intrigued by the notion of development following on from deep distress, I read Professor…
Vital Conversations, by Alec Grimsley, is a ‘must have’ book to steer you through those ‘must have’ but tricky-to-navigate, difficult conversations. We’re talking here about conversations dealing with sensitive topics, major decisions and disagreements, clearly communicating your needs and boundaries, delivering bad news and ending a relationship. The ones that are high stakes, full of…
Self-Compassion by psychologist Kristin Neff is one of those books I find myself recommending to others because I found it so useful myself. I’m conscious that I can be a tough self-critic and sometimes struggle to keep my imposter syndrome under control. Over my years as a coach, I’ve come to recognise that, since I…
Positive psychology is a growing influence for me, both personally and professionally. So the ’12 days of books’ would be incomplete without a reverent bow to Martin Seligman, credited as the founder of the discipline. My first brush with the field was a random sighting of a TV interview with Seligman about the impact of…
“The vast majority [of white people] refuse to accept the legitimacy of structural racism and its symptoms.” Quite a while back I saw Reni Eddo-Lodge on a late-night political affairs programme, in which she was taking part in a panel discussion about race. She was the only black person on the panel. The debate, on…
I’m kicking off my 12 Days of Books with a new edition rather than a new book: the Financial Times Guide to Business Coaching, 2nd edition, just has to be in here. The first edition was a pivotal book for me, written at a pivotal time in my life. In the interests of full disclosure,…