We’ve just had another successful Winter Paralympic Games. What stands out for me as an able-bodied person is how much we have to learn about motivation from people who have different physical and mental challenges to me. We hear a lot about can do versus a can’t do mentality. These Games have reminded us that the only limit to what we can do is ourselves.
Do you need to be more resilient?
Recently, I was asked to write a short piece for a clients start of year newsletter. They wanted something that focused on building resilience, especially given the two turbulent years the world has gone through and its impact on their organisation. I thought it would be good to share this article in my own blog post as this is the time of year people take stock on life.
Does your past define your future?
This time of year is a time when many people resolve that they need to do things differently in life. After a period of reflection over Christmas and the New Year they take stock and decide to alter course. In doing so, they often constrain themselves by paying too much attention to past experience and not enough to where they want to get to..
Determination… what would you do to succeed?
Many of you will have seen the 2016 film about Michael Edwards, otherwise known as British ski jumper Eddie “The Eagle”. His personal story is quite well known but is a real testament to the power of determination.
Where are you headed?
Author J. K. Rowling reportedly said that she wrote the last chapter of the last Harry Potter book first, around the time when she initially conceptualised the famous saga back in 1990, while riding a train from Manchester to London.
When you think of turkeys do you think of determination?
Christmas is a time of year when most people are thinking about winding down to spend time quality with their families, but for some it is when they are at their busiest.
Who needs a mobile phone anyway?
I was in London recently for the weekend – having arranged to meet my sister and go out for dinner. As she lives on the south coast and we live in the East Midlands, we decided to book a nice Hotel with our respective partners and make a weekend of it. I hadn’t quite planned what happened next.
Are you ever too old to succeed?
What do you do when the phone rings with an offer that almost seems too good to be true? This was the dilemma that faced 71 year old ex-musician, Mick Ware, who now works as an antique furniture repairer.
Do you have a 37th move? What can we learn from AI?
In March 2016, world champion Lee Sedol pitted his skills in the game of Go against the AlphaGo algorithm developed by DeepMind in a series of five matches. Sedol famously lost, however something quite ground breaking happened in the 37th move of the second game.
Career success: Do you need to try harder?
Whilst much of the press coverage of the Australian Tennis Open this month focused on the implications for Andy Murray’s career, it was a stepping stone for the two-times Wimbledon Champion Petra Kvitova.