Blog

Why self-worth is the foundation for great leadership

There is a conversation that almost never happens in leadership development. It sits underneath all the strategy, the skills frameworks, and the performance conversations, quietly shaping everything, and yet it rarely gets named directly. It is the conversation about self-worth. Not confidence in the sense of presenting well or speaking up in meetings – deeper than that. The foundational belief that you are enough, right now, before the next achievement, before the next promotion, before Read more…

By amandahappy, ago

The Neuroscience of Identity: Courage and Confident Leadership

You do not need confidence. You need courage. Confidence is something you feel. Courage is something you do. It is the small, brave thing you choose each day, the awkward conversation, the raised hand, the moment you speak before you feel ready. Do that enough times and something shifts. You are not just building courage. You are building muscle memory. And that muscle memory becomes the confidence you were waiting to feel first. Your brain Read more…

By amandahappy, ago

Where limiting beliefs come from and how to stop letting them lead

How your inner world shapes your leadership and your life There is a version of you that already has what you want. Already leads the way you know you are capable of. Already feels the confidence, the clarity, the ease you are reaching for. That version is not a fantasy. It is not wishful thinking. It is you, before the world told you to make yourself smaller. This is not motivational fluff. It is the Read more…

By amandahappy, ago

Why you feel like a fraud: Imposter Syndrome

Do you agonize over even the smallest mistakes in your work? Do you attribute your success to luck or external factors? Do you feel like sooner or later, you will be found out as a phony? Do you downplay your own expertise, even in areas where you are genuinely more skilled than others? If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, you might very well be suffering with Imposter Syndrome. What is Read more…

By amandahappy, ago

How to Overcome Overwhelm

Have you ever played the game Buckaroo? The game features a plastic model of mule and 12 items which can be loaded onto the mule’s back.  Each player takes a turn to add an item. At some point the load gets too much and the mule bucks the whole load off. It’s a tense game It’s also a metaphor for life. When you take on too much, say yes to everyone and everything, you can Read more…

By amandahappy, ago

How to Let Go

A jellyfish contracts its body to propel itself forward. As its muscles contract, it forces water out of its bell, and as the water is ejected, the jellyfish starts to move. Why am I sharing this? Because sometimes moving forward in life can be deceptive. You do not realise it is happening. It feels like you are getting smaller, when in fact you are preparing for the next big push. Sometimes, you have to let Read more…

By amandahappy, ago

Sleep strategies: How being intentional can improve your whole sleep experience

What stories are you telling yourself about sleep? Do you dread going to bed? Do you find it impossible to switch off? Do you just know that you will wake in the night and struggle to get back to sleep? Do you have racing thoughts at bedtime? There’s a reason many people can’t stop thinking about things before going to bed. Your brain is collecting new information all day long According to Jim Kwik in Read more…

By amandahappy, ago
mexico signpost

How to Make a Good Decision

  In business, being decisive is vital to good leadership. Being able to make a good decision that is well thought out and executed in a timely fashion is not always easy. So how do you make a good decision?  The problem is that we only realise what is a good or bad decision after the event! And so we need to have skills and strategies in place to enable us to evaluate our choices Read more…

By amandahappy, ago

The Power of Positive Thinking

Positive thinking is the practice of focusing on the good in any given situation, rather than dwelling on the negative. It is a way of approaching life with a hopeful and optimistic attitude, even in the face of challenges and setbacks. There are many benefits to cultivating a positive outlook. For one, it can improve your mental health and overall well-being. When you focus on the positive aspects of your life, it can reduce stress Read more…

By amandahappy, ago

My favourite books in 2022

I’ve read so many good books  in 2022. I thought I’d share my favourites: You Are Enough by Panache Desai is a beautiful book exploring samadhi – remembering who you truly are; a divine being. The author explores the life journey, including love, acceptance, trust and surrender. It filled my soul. I read Solve For Happy by Mo Gawdat after listening to Mo speak on Steven Bartlett’s podcast The Diary of a CEO. (Episode 101). It is the true story of Read more…

By amandahappy, ago

The Power of Affirmations

I first started using affirmations over 20 years ago, after reading Ask and It is Given and The Secret. Back then, affirmations were largely dismissed as wishful thinking. Now, what once was thought of as woo has since been confirmed by science. What are affirmations? An affirmation is an assertion, statement, or declaration about something. It can be positive or negative. The fact is you are constantly affirming beliefs to yourself. This becomes a  problem Read more…

By amandahappy, ago

How to quickly lift your mood

Before considering the actions you can take to lift your mood, it is important to first recognise your emotions and be able to assess the cause. This is what emotional intelligence is. Being aware of and able to express your emotions is vital to your well-being. Is it immediately obvious what is causing you to feel down? You should take a few minutes first to reflect on what has brought you to this state. Often Read more…

By amandahappy, ago

Why hire a coach?

Making the decision to hire a coach is a very personal one. The reason I hired a coach in 2010 was because I was overwhelmed with the responsibility of a very busy business and fear was keeping me stuck. In one conversation, I was able to dig deeper into that fear and understand it better. What I discovered was that the surface fear was simply a mask for the underlying anxiety. The coach helped me Read more…

By amandahappy, ago
Pebbles

Words of Wisdom

“Amanda, you can’t pick up all the pebbles on the beach”. These words of wisdom were said to me years ago by a colleague at work. I had just returned from maternity leave, having accepted a big promotion, and I was struggling to cope. The promotion was exciting. I had a team of 35 and our company was going through a large and complicated merger. But I had a baby to consider, and my mom, Read more…

By amandahappy, ago
clam sea and beachline

Acceptance

In his book Letting Go, David Hawkins describes the state of acceptance as one in which you enjoy the experience of harmony. You feel as though events are flowing. You feel secure. Hawkins says, ‘there is the feeling. I’m okay. You’re okay. And it’s okay.’ And because of the security this state provides, you can allow yourself to be flexible, easy-going, and natural. There is joy. There is the feeling that nothing needs to be Read more…

By amandahappy, ago
shadow

Working with your Shadow

Carl Jung first explored the notion of the shadow personality. The shadow represents those traits in your personality that you do not like or do not accept about yourself. Typically, these ugly, disowned aspects that you do not acknowledge become repressed in your mind. Shadow Work is the process of acknowledging and accepting those hidden parts of your personality. “Everyone carries a shadow and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the Read more…

By amandahappy, ago
surrender

The Power of Surrender: going with the flow

    In 2020, my word of the year was “surrender”. Little did I know at the beginning of that fateful year, that my word would have such significance, not just for me, but for the rest of the world. But what is surrender? It is important to point out that what I am talking about here has nothing to do with war. It is all about spiritual surrender. Let’s start with what it is Read more…

By amandahappy, ago
manifest

Manifesting Your Dreams

Manifesting What is it manifesting? This is simply bringing something we do or do not want into our reality. We can all do it; we are all doing it. We do it by thought. Everything starts with thought. In the book The Secret, author Rhonda Byrne encourages us to Ask, Believe & Receive. This instruction simply follows the words in the bible: Matthew 7:7-11 – Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; Read more…

By amandahappy, ago
naturally

You are naturally creative, resourceful, and whole.

To me, this is what coaching is all about. One of the four cornerstones of the Co-Active Training Institute coaching model is ~ People are Naturally Creative, Resourceful, and Whole. You do not need rescuing; you are not broken. You are whole, you are powerful, and although it might not seem like it right now, you have all the resources you need inside of you. It is incredible and thrilling for me to watch my clients go Read more…

By amandahappy, ago
doubt

How to manage self-doubt

Do you doubt yourself?   There are many people that believe self-doubt to be a bad thing. Well, I disagree. I think it’s good to doubt yourself – a little. I believe it’s good to have doubts, to question everything – challenge is healthy. A little self-doubt can lead you to think more critically and gain more clarity before taking the next step. It nudges you to prepare more, which creates familiarity, gives you more Read more…

By amandahappy, ago
applesandoranges

Comparison is the Thief of Joy

I sat in the hot, busy maternity ward, and I cried. I’d been a mother less than 24 hours, and I already felt like a failure. My beautiful newborn son, lay sleeping in the crib beside me. I’d tried to nurse him already several times but failed. It seemed to be getting harder with every attempt. To make things worse, I had just had breakfast, and sat opposite me was a confident young mother, babe Read more…

By amandahappy, ago
visualise

Visualisation and how it is good for business

Visualisation is a process of creating a mental image of a future event. In essence, it is using our imagination to create a vision of what we want. They say seeing is believing. Well, everything begins with thought and we must see it in our mind before we can believe it in front of us. The “seeing” part is what motivates and prepares us to pursue our goal. Visualisation is not simply “think it and Read more…

By amandahappy, ago
stress

Five Ways to Reduce Stress

Stress is defined as a state of mental or emotional strain caused by adverse circumstances. It is the body’s response to pressure from external circumstances. When you say you are stressed, you are describing the degree to which you feel overwhelmed or unable to cope because of unmanageable tension. When we are feeling stressed, our body releases the chemical cortisol (aka ‘the stress hormone’) into our system. Cortisol is useful in “fight or flight” situations Read more…

By amandahappy, ago