http://www.lesleystopford.com en-gb lesleystopford.com 2012-1-17T00:00:00Z lesleystopford.com http://www.lesleystopford.com/page10.htm#110547 This is the time of the year when we often talk about making new years resolutions. January is an ideal time to make a new start and we can feel optimistic and full of hope about what might lie ahead. So we start the year making all sorts of promises and commitments to ourselves feeling motivated to set ourselves lot of goals and resolutions to achieve. But how often have we heard stories of people starting something new or wanting to give something up and then within a few weeks have fallen back into their old habits For example buying a years gym membership only to visit 4 or 5 times starting a diet then lapsing after a couple of weeks deciding to stop smoking but lighting up again before January is out. From my own experience and from talking to clients and colleagues many of us start off the year all fired up and motivated with the best of intentions but then in early January experience a slump in energy and disappointment at our perceived lack of success. But I dont believe t... 2012-1-17 12:43:47 http://www.lesleystopford.com/page10.htm#110287 New Years resolutions take the pressure off Often January is a time when people make resolutions. We start the year feeling optimistic and full of hope about what might lie ahead. We might even feel motivated to set ourselves goals and new targets and come up with lots of new years resolutions. We make all sorts of promises and commitments to ourselves only to find within a few weeks weve fallen back into our old habits Who doesnt know of someone who has bought a years gym membership only to visit 4 or 5 times or started a diet planned to give up chocolate or stop smoking and lost motivation within 3 weeks The trouble is we then feel bad about ourselves for being weak for having failed so we end up thinking whats the point and feeling worse about ourselves. In this state it is hard to feel positive and motivated to do anything. But I dont believe that this is just lack of willpower or vision. January can be a challenging time with physical or metaphorical hangovers after the Ch... 2012-1-13 10:53:23 http://www.lesleystopford.com/page10.htm#101041 Theres a very interesting article in Septembers Psychologies magazine about not setting specific goals. It talks about thinking in terms of broad aspirations and focussing more on the here and now and taking a more spontaneous and haphazard route to life fulfilment. Its based on the work of Stephen Shapiro Goal Free Living. It has given me some food for thought quite liberating and I wonder what other people think about this. It reminds me a bit of the one and only walk I did with a serious walking group many years ago. They seemed to be on a route march more interested in getting to the end by a particular time. Nothing wrong with that of course but it seemed to be to the exclusion of everything on the way and they were missing all the beauty around us. When me and a friend stopped off to enjoy a beautiful view or notice a bird or a flower we looked up to find our party were a good quarter of a mile ahead of us rushing to get to the pub for 1.00. Of course as coaches we know how im... 2011-8-23 16:10:28 http://www.lesleystopford.com/page10.htm#97630 Inspired by Wimbledon Yesterday I observed a wonderful example of determination self belief humility and achievement. I was watching the Wimbledon mens final and it occurred to me how much control of the mind those players needed to have to overcome the fear they surely must have felt. As they walked onto Centre Court and took that first strike of the ball in the heat and electric atmosphere they needed to be both technically brilliant and have the ability to manage their state of mind in order to give the best performance on the day. I found it fascinating to watch as they handled the ups and downs of the match and how their performance was affected by what was going on between their ears. How many of us would willingly expose ourselves in this way How many of us give up because something is too difficult or out of embarrassment at not being able to do something to the standard we expect How many of us tell ourselves we arent good enough gorgeous enough fit enough thin enough... 2011-7-4 16:52:14 http://www.lesleystopford.com/page10.htm#82736 2010-12-14 16:57:15