In a meeting with a new contact this week, I discovered in casual conversation he was a new parent. For a few minutes we chatted about this, and I was impressed at the relaxed and confident approach he was taking to parenting. Then he asked me if I had any kids. When I answered I had two young teens, he …
Once upon a fairy tale
The past few weeks I keep finding myself behind buses with a lovely looking girl and her Prince Charming on the side. Seems that Cinderella is coming to town again! Yep, we’re about to be hit by another ‘live action’ fairy tale. (I gather it opened in US cinemas last week.) I often wonder about the fairy tales we grew up with.They were loaded …
Positivity at work
This past week I found myself working with a new team member on a biggish project with an imminent deadline. As we wrapped up key parts of it late Friday afternoon, he looked up and said, “Hey, thanks for all your hard work, I’ve really enjoyed working with you.” Although I still had a fair bit of work to do, and despite …
The Positivity Ratio – five fast facts
1. What is the Positivity Ratio? The positivity ratio* is a measure of the positive experiences and interactions within any group of people against the number of negative ones. You can measure it on just you or within any interpersonal relationship. Research over the past 30 or so years has found that all healthy relationships, families and even workplaces tend to have a higher …
Excuse vs explain
I had a bad night last night. Something I ate disagreed with me…! Consequently I was up and down like a yoyo and got limited sleep. Which meant this morning when a few others in our house managed to sleep through their alarms it was a mad dash to get anywhere on time. As we were tearing around, the thought …
Valentine Hints for the Unromantic
I’m not one for Valentine’s Day, if truth be told. I don’t love the commercialisation of a whole lot of events, just so some people can make money. However, I am a big believer in relationships. And since Aussies do so little talking about that kind of stuff, I decided to make the most of the recent day to post something …
A language lesson in relationships
Here’s a language lesson question for those of you wanting better relationships: How many of the people in your inner circle speak the same language? Your friends, partner, kids….? Most? It makes life so much easier, doesn’t it? Imagine having to try to find ways to tell someone they’re late or that you want a coffee if you didn’t have …
Walk with a broken umbrella
Do you like a good story? Most of us do. I went for a walk in the rain recently – as it turns out, with an umbrella that wouldn’t stay up. Half way round I started working out a few things about stories. Like how they’re constantly changing, both as you experience them and as you tell them. And how …
3 x ? = Help your kids do well at school
Many of us are sending our kids back to school sometime soon. Do I hear celebratory cheers? I’m aware not all children will be thrilled about this. Happy and excited preppies may feature in the media currently, but I know plenty of kids who’ll last less than a week before they’re ready for a change! Since the unfortunate reality is that …
Be Welcoming!
Happy Australia Day. This time last year I attended a ceremony to welcome new Australians into our country – and I got a different perspective on the day. As all the dignitaries gave their welcome speeches to the new citizens, I looked over at my friends and thought (nice as that was) that it's really us ordinary people who can be …
Why Strategy Counts – the Nipper Ninja
We recently took a break in an apartment overlooking the beach on the Gold Coast. Early on the Saturday morning we were woken by an overly enthusiastic (and loud!) commentator of a Nippers comp. For those of you unfamiliar with Australian beach culture, Nippers are the younger members of our surf life saving community. Deciding I couldn’t ignore the proceedings, …
The Power of a Good Attitude
We went to the Brisbane International recently and saw two amazing tennis games. As luck would have it, we got to see the number 7 woman's player AND the men's number 2 on the one night. Aaah, Roger…he's so….dreamy. And he actually went on to win the championship. But I don't want to talk about Roger, though I know many …
Dreams vs. Fantasies
Why I really don’t want Christmas on the beach At a dinner recently, everyone was given a question about Christmas. I was asked where my ideal Christmas Day would be spent. After a few minutes – I had to think about it cos it’s not really a life or death issue for me – I answered that the picture in …
Thanks Glenda
None of us are supposed to get through life without the help of others – in fact, it’s literally impossible. I wanted to give credit where credit’s due, and offer this vote of thanks to Glenda Nicholls for sitting with me and helping pull this website off. And for doing all the bits I’m completely incapable of! Friends are a …