happiness

The power of validation

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Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve had super weird dreams; so too, my husband. It got me wondering as to why. And then this article, ‘Why am I having weird dreams lately?’ from The New York Times popped up in my newsfeed. It explained how many of us are having weird dreams at the […]

When is enough, enough?

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At the start of the year we are often asked about all the things we want to do during the year. We are encouraged to set our goals, objectives and areas of focus. Now I am certainly one to focus on goals and I love nothing better than a to do list, where I can […]

psnews.com.au: Time out: Why ‘sleeping on it’ is really good advice

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In this article published in psnews.com.au, Michelle says research shows that poor decision-making increases at the end of a day, or just before the lunch break. It’s highly unlikely that you woke us this morning and thought: “My goal today is to make a really bad decision.” Yet, it can be so easy to make […]

Are you willing to shift your perspective?

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It’s been an eventful start to the year: bushfires, a President impeachment, virus outbreak and falling share markets. These events unfold with a mix of emotions, varying perspectives and thankfully, often the display of humanity at its best. At the same time, we often witness much vitriol and vehemence as positions on topics are shared […]

Five questions to wrap up

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If you are scratching your head and wondering what happened to 2019 then you can take comfort in the fact you are not alone. It often feels like time is going by faster. While logic tells you that’s not possible, it’s very possible for the days to go by quickly with little time to pause, […]

Chief of Staff Magazine: Four ways to deal with a horrible boss

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In this article for Chief of Staff magazine, Michelle provides four ways of dealing with a horrible boss. Not everyone is lucky enough to work with a superstar CEO. When your boss is being difficult, there are a number of strategies you can employ, says Michelle Gibbings. From Gordon Gecko in Wall Street to Miranda […]

Do you know the line you won’t cross?

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We all have values that underpin how we think and what we will and won’t do. These values can often be challenged in the workplace. A number of years ago I was working with a client who faced constant pressure at work. The leadership team they were a part of had a toxic culture, and […]

Which frame are you choosing?

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There is a famous Native American story, which goes like this… One evening, an old Cherokee tells his grandson that inside all people a battle goes on between two wolves. One wolf is negativity: anger, sadness, stress, contempt, disgust, fear, embarrassment, guilt, shame and hate. The other is positivity: joy, gratitude, serenity, hope, pride, amusement, […]

Want impact? Be kind even when it’s hard

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We all experience those situations where someone does something unreasonable, unfair or just downright mean, and our immediate reaction may be to fight back or retaliate in some way. In many cases, a better response is to respond with kindness. Recently, one of my team members received an unnecessarily narky email from someone. Rather than […]

Six ways to find more joy at work

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The alarm goes off or your iphone pings to signal the start of the working day. Do you jump out of bed excited or roll over and wish you didn’t have to go to work? For many people it’s the latter. It’s unrealistic to believe it’s possible to love every minute of your working day. […]

Are you over complicating it?

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We live in a society that is based on more. We’re told to strive for more, buy more, do more and be more. As the noted historian, Yuval Noah Harari, wrote in his book Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow: “The most common reaction of the human mind to achievement is not satisfaction, but craving […]

How to maintain the holiday vibe at work

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Welcome to the first weekly insight newsletter for 2019! You may have been back at work for a few weeks, or perhaps next week is the start of your working year. Whatever the timeframe, after a holiday it can be a little hard to get back into the swing of things. And then soon enough […]

It’s time to press the pause button

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I love Christmas. Putting up the tree, buying presents, celebrating, catching up with old and new friends, and spending time with family. It’s a time for renewal and reflection. And yet this year it took a while for the Christmas spirit to catch on; to the extent that I debated with my husband as to […]

Why self-compassion can be unhelpful

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We hear a lot these days about the importance of being kind to yourself and not being overly critical of our challenges and failings. But are there times when being kind to yourself isn’t the best approach? When you are being kind to yourself you are showing self-compassion. This is a term that has been […]

Want to get more out of each day?

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I’ve just finished reading Gretchen Ruben’s book, The Happiness Project. One of the quotes that stood out was: “The days are long, but the years are short.” I like the sentiment that’s captured by those thoughts, and yet I frequently find it feels like the days are short too. It can be easy to get […]

Let’s not sugar coat it

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One of the most popular career quotes is ‘Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.’ Quotes like this suggest that having an awesome career is about chasing what you are passionate about. It implies that when you love your job it’s all roses and champagne […]

Ten things you can do to make a ‘bad day’ better

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Bad days. Crap days. Days when you don’t feel like getting out of bed, or wish you hadn’t.  We all have them, as they are a fundamental ingredient of life. Think about it for a minute: if every day you had was great you’d never truly appreciate those great days.  You’d likely take them for […]

What’s on your Summer reading list this year?

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With summer officially just around the corner it’s a great time to consider what books you want to read over your summer holiday. I am one of those readers who tends to have a couple of books on the go at the same time; one which is purely for pleasure and one that’s good for […]

What’s on your summer reading list?

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The summer holidays are a great time to catch up on the reading you wanted to do during the year, but never found the time for. I hoard books so there’s always a stack to read – both on my kindle and in the traditional paperback format. The books range from those that are designed to […]

5 warning signs you need to find a new job

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Working is a part of life.  But what should you do when you are working in a role or an organisation that isn’t good for you? If your work is making you so unhappy it’s impacting your well-being and the well-being of those around you it’s usually time to consider ‘voting yourself off the island’.  And by that I mean taking […]