As Exam season draws to a close and the summer holidays get nearer then it is time to switch my student coaching focus and ‘Bring on the Fun.’

Fun planning is essential if my students are to return to education in September feeling happy, contented and relaxed. Holidays are an excellent opportunity to balance out their work/fun budget, build resilience and reduce stress levels.

As the proverb states ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’ meaning that without time off from work we become both bored and boring.  It has been said that some writers have added a second part to the proverb stating ‘All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy.’

The most  important thing here to remember is that we need to lead a balanced life if we are to be able to deal with whatever life throws at us whether that is personally or professionally.

My Mum always used to say ‘Kathrine, if you do everything in moderation then you won’t go far wrong.’ She was absolutely right and as a holistic life coach, moderation and balance are important  features of my coaching work. If you work hard then you need to balance that out and play hard too.

These principles apply to all of us no matter what age we are. I find that grabbing opportunities to enjoy life, having fun and doing what makes us happy means that when the not so good stuff happens we are more resilient to deal with it and we can manage stress more effectively. By leading a balanced life we tend to be more resourceful when finding solutions and we bounce back from negativity quicker.

If you want to lead a more balanced and happy life and you are ready to make a change then contact me.

Recently I have found myself using my Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) skills as I work with my clients and their anxiety around education and the workplace.

Exam pressure and anxiety regarding presenting have featured significantly in my coaching sessions over the last few months.

One of my favourite NLP tools is the ‘Circle of Excellence’ which enables people to increase their positive emotions, broaden their sense of possibilities and get them into the ‘right state’. By opening the mind it allows my clients to build new skills and resources and obtain success in what they want to achieve.

The Circle of Excellence is a basic self-anchoring process originally developed by Dr John Grinder, co-creator of NLP. It can be used to elicit, create and stabilise desired states by using an imaginary circle on the floor as a spatial anchor. It requires no tools or other kit so it can easily be created wherever the person maybe.

Here are five things I ask my clients to consider when using the ‘Circle of Excellence’ technique:

• Know how you want to feel by asking yourself the question ‘How do I want to feel in my exam, presentation, rugby game’ (e.g focused, confident, calm, excited)
• Design a ‘Circle’ that works for you as an anchor
• Anchor your desired states
• Test your anchor
• Remember that your resource exists and use it

If you know of someone that would benefit from coaching and NLP then please contact me.

Have a great week in the sunshine.

Recently I have been working with several students that are affected by Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

OCD is a mental health disorder that can affect people of different age groups or walks of life where they get caught up in a circle of obsessive and compulsive behaviour. OCD can involve unwanted/intrusive thoughts, urges and images that can trigger intense and distressing feelings.

Types of obsession can be:

• Fear of contamination – dirt, germs or mental contamination with uncomfortable feelings of internal uncleanliness
• Religious, Relationship, Violent and Sexual intrusive thoughts or images- can be a fixation with a celebrity, the Devil and the number 666 or a person from a previous relationship
• Fears/Worries related to order or symmetry – a fear that something bad will happen if everything is not exactly right or in the correct place or order.

Types of compulsion can be:

• Rituals – excessive hand washing, arranging objects in a particular way
• Checking – excessive checking that doors are locked, checking directions to somewhere over and over again
• Correcting Thoughts – counting to a certain number before doing something or replacing an intrusive thought with a different image
• Reassurance – repeatedly checking with people to confirm that everything is alright

In my experience of working with these students I have found the following to be very useful in assisting them to move forward with their OCD:

• Listening and understanding what their fears and thoughts are about
• Gently questioning them to find out what their triggers and symptoms are
• Building their awareness of what happens to their thoughts and physiology when experiencing OCD
• Finding out how they want to move forward and what will work specifically for them
• Creating specific, realistic and time related goals that they can achieve
• Managing change on a small and gradual scale that is not extreme to them and their world

People with OCD can get unwanted thoughts throughout the day which can be very distressing and affect their ability to socialise with others and concentrate on their studies or career.

Young people have told me that finding somebody they can trust and building an open relationship is vital if they are to change and improve their OCD.

If you know of someone that has OCD and would benefit from working with me then please get in touch.