Being a leader

At the weekend I wrote about being a parent. It got me thinking about my leadership experience. Mostly how my perspective of it has changed over the years. I have been in leadership positions now for over 20 years. One thing that has not changed over the years has been my instinct on what leadershipContinue reading “Being a leader”

Always Dad

Dad is one of those titles, that once you have been given it, it is yours for life, no matter what. You will always be a Dad! There are however good Dads, bad Dads or indifferent Dads. From a moment your children are born the pressure is on to be the protector, provider and roleContinue reading “Always Dad”

Time to take action! But first let me introduce myself.

I am Matt (Matthew if you prefer full names). I was born in 1971, so that puts me at the back end of my 40s. I have been married for nearly 24 years and have two boys (who are both young adults now). I have worked as a healthcare professional for 30 years. Nearly 20Continue reading “Time to take action! But first let me introduce myself.”

Acts of Kindness

Last week on a training day for managers, I introduced to them an exercise of kindness that I had read about in Martin Seligman’s book Flourish. The the notion is, that if you show gratitude and kindness it not only makes them feel better, but you also get a hit of that lovely Oxytocin, thereforeContinue reading “Acts of Kindness”

Don’t be ashamed of failure

We all get side swiped at some point in our lives, for most of us it happens on multiple occasions. We don’t get a job we thought we were a shoe-in for, a project fails, a relationship fails, we play a part in an error that harms someone. The list can go on and on.Continue reading “Don’t be ashamed of failure”

Be Grateful

Our default setting is to look for the negative in our lives. This is for good reason, it is designed to keep us safe in a world of physical danger. However most of us occupy a world where most of our dangers are theoretical. For many of us though it is just easier to seeContinue reading “Be Grateful”

It’s not everyone else!

As Jack Canfield said, it is not just the event that determines the outcome, you always have to factor in your response. Some weeks all of my responses are based on emotion, I am irritated by the smallest things. I am spending too much time acting on my emotional response to situations. Sometimes that isContinue reading “It’s not everyone else!”

All the middles, forgotten, lost and misunderstood

Are you a middle aged, middle class, middle England man, who is feeling a bit lost, and frankly misunderstood? And no you don’t want to bloody talk about it! You know what, not being okay is not okay! Being okay is okay, not being okay is shit! Accepting things are shit is not where youContinue reading “All the middles, forgotten, lost and misunderstood”

How often do you do engage in an activity that demands your full attention?

I spend a lot of my time either in the past or the future. Examining and ruminating over what has just happened, or dreaming and worrying about what is coming next. This is often the source of my anxiety, and lack of self-worth when I get caught up in the hindering, unhelpful cycle of thoughts.Continue reading “How often do you do engage in an activity that demands your full attention?”

Music to lift and create energy.

February seems to me to be the month of viruses and low mood. Well probably because I have just had a virus for the past couple of days, that I am starting to come out of. So that has been making me think about how I generate some energy within myself to shake off theContinue reading “Music to lift and create energy.”