People who lack one or more of the five develop enhanced powers with their remaining faculties.

The recognised senses are sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. They make our world wonderful. We see the changing seasons, the colours, the faces of our loved ones. We hear the rustling of the wind through the trees, the sea crashing on the coastline, the music of our loved ones' voices. We taste the exquisite flavour of our favourite food, the purity of bubbling spring water, the salt of our lover's kissed away tears. We smell the beautiful flowers, the aroma of freshly ground coffee, the perfume of a tiny baby. We touch the fur of a favourite pet, the keys of a piano, the skin of our child's face. All amazing experiences which we love.

It became even more striking for me personally when I reviewed the goals and intentions I'd set for myself at a New Years retreat. I was disappointed to see that many of the good intentions I'd started in January 2011 had fallen by the wayside and I thought to myself "what have I been doing?"

So where does the time go?

What distracts us, takes up our time, diverts us from what really matters to us?

Try this Life Strips exercise to see for yourself.

Find a piece of paper, which for this exercise will represent your life.

Fold the paper 3 times so that when unfolded it has 8 segments. Each one represents 10 years of your life. On average most people have around 80 years (some will have more and others will have less)

Next Steps:

First you want to tear off "How old are you?" which is the approximate number of years and throw the paper into the bin.

Next "What do you have to do and if you don't do you will die"

Think about how much time you 'typically' spend:

o Sleeping? One third of our life is typically spent sleeping (33 years)

o Eating and drinking? (10 years)

o Going to the toilet? (3 years)

And tear off the strips, which equate to this amount of time and put them in the bin.

Now keep the piece of paper you have left in your hand. This is the time available for you to follow your dreams and achieve your goals and intentions. But it's a your choice.

Planning for success:

Planning and taking action are obviously key components of making your dreams a reality.

Unless we schedule in the most important things first we can end up with endless "To Do" lists and never feel as though we're achieving anything that matters.

It can be useful to take time at least once a month to check on your progress, re-evaluate what's working and what's not so that you can adapt and make changes if necessary. 

Top Tips:

· Break your goals into smaller steps

· Put the most important "big stones" into your plan first e.g. holidays

· Reward steps as you achieve them

· Make goals public and get support from friends

· Keep track of your progress

· Treat occasional lapses in the plan as temporary setbacks.

 Remember: Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world. (Joel A Baker)

This article was written by Striding Out Career Coach Fiona Biggins. If you are looking for stronger accountability around your goals, then talk to one of our qualified coaches who are experts at helping people to walk their talk and live out their dreams.

To contact Fiona email [email protected]

The relationship between client and coach uniquely offers a deep human connection that can profoundly support the client to transform their life in any area that feels ‘stuck’ ‘lifeless’ and ‘unfulfilled’ - to quote clients pre-coaching.

It is totally and unapologetically about the individual; tailoring dynamic coaching tools and resources to support the individual in their quest to live a fulfilling life and to be their best.

There are times in our lives when we can lose our way, feel overwhelmed, that it’s all too much. During these times, it is as much that we can get through the day maybe let alone to rejoice in the present and feel excited about the future. It may be at such times just too difficult to consider the ‘big scheme’ of things. It may be that right then and there, staying with the status quo or situation is easier, even though ultimately the price is high. This could be staying with the relationship in which there is no love or care; staying with the job that makes your heart sink when you wake up in the morning, or feeling that there is no way out of negative thoughts that take over your mind, and the crippling effect it can have on your well-being and enjoyment of life.

Most of us at some point experience the above –the ‘feeling stuck’, and can experience the difficulties and  even isolation that comes with it. Indeed a raft of difficult feelings and thoughts can find themselves headily (pun intentional) playing havoc with your life and general well-being.

For however much we can feel stuck, powerless, unfocused, at sea, one certainty and constancy in life is change. We also have choice. Furthermore indecision is also choice. Of the same token, ‘feeling stuck’ is choice. We can choose to take action, to invite and positively embrace change and use it to serve us in any way that we need to in life.

Professional life coaching provides the space in your life  - for you to fill with you, and to realise your ambitions in any/all areas of your life. It is a dynamic process which allows, indeed needs you to be at your most human and authentic, in order for you to be who you really want to be and do what you really want to do.

‘Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?’

Marianne Williamson as quoted by Nelson Mandela in his 1994 Inaugural Speech

This article was written by Striding Out coach Rachel Harford. If you feel you can benefit from coaching contact Striding Out.

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 0203 303 0468

I know that I can check out what the astrologers have to say. I have a favourite one, his predictions are always accurate because they are written in the same way as Nostradamus wrote his predictions. The words could fit under so many different circumstances, it's all in the perception of the beholder as to what the intended meaning was set out to be.

I could also try out tarot card readings, see what they can tell me. Vague messages from intricately coloured and designed cards randomly chosen to tell a story of sorts. Maybe this can provide the truth I seek

]]> [email protected] (Heather Wilkinson) Benefits of Coaching Tue, 26 Apr 2011 09:03:22 +0000 http://www.stridingout.co.uk/benefits-of-coaching/coaching-supporting-women-s-equality-in-the-workplace.html http://www.stridingout.co.uk/benefits-of-coaching/coaching-supporting-women-s-equality-in-the-workplace.html The special centenary of International Women’s Day in March 2011 has sparked off a big debate on how far women have come in the equality stakes since 1911.

EQUALS is a partnership of leading charities that have come together to step-up the call to demand a more equal world, spear headed by Annie Lennox.  According to EQUALS, in the UK, it's easy to feel as if the fight for equality has been won, but at the current rate of progress, it will take 200 years to achieve an equal number of women in UK parliament, and 73 years to achieve equal numbers on FTSE 100 boards.

We’ve all seen the recent headlines such as “What’s holding women back?” “ I hate to say it but we need a quota to put girls on top” which sum up the thread that women are still not making it to the boardrooms and are still not being treated equally in the workplace.

So what are the obstacles?

]]> [email protected] (Heather Wilkinson) Benefits of Coaching Tue, 26 Apr 2011 08:45:25 +0000 http://www.stridingout.co.uk/benefits-of-coaching/relatinships-matter.html http://www.stridingout.co.uk/benefits-of-coaching/relatinships-matter.html Relationships:  They matter. Sounds obvious, no great shakes, just a matter of fact really.

Let’s look at them closer. In fact consider this:  Is there an area of your life where relationships don’t figure..don’t matter, aren’t pertinent, don’t inform some level of your quality of life, and therefore happiness?

It is true that they can command time energy and consideration:  one of the most obvious arenas being that of our intimate relationships; the need many of us have for that significant other.

But in many other areas of our lives, do we really consider how important a role, function relationships have and hold. Relationships are central to our existence. Hesitating before sounding too dramatic..when we are nearer the ends of our lives, it is probably not that last piece of work we did that will grab our heart and mind, it will most probably be our relationships.

They feature in our work life: and can often be the reason for incredible progress and development of companies/organisations or they can be the reason for stagnation, dispute and maybe eventual  closure/etc.

]]> [email protected] (Heather Wilkinson) Benefits of Coaching Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:11:06 +0000 http://www.stridingout.co.uk/benefits-of-coaching/relatinships-matter.html http://www.stridingout.co.uk/benefits-of-coaching/relatinships-matter.html Relationships:  They matter. Sounds obvious, no great shakes, just a matter of fact really.

Let’s look at them closer. In fact consider this:  Is there an area of your life where relationships don’t figure..don’t matter, aren’t pertinent, don’t inform some level of your quality of life, and therefore happiness?

It is true that they can command time energy and consideration:  one of the most obvious arenas being that of our intimate relationships; the need many of us have for that significant other.

But in many other areas of our lives, do we really consider how important a role, function relationships have and hold. Relationships are central to our existence. Hesitating before sounding too dramatic..when we are nearer the ends of our lives, it is probably not that last piece of work we did that will grab our heart and mind, it will most probably be our relationships.

They feature in our work life: and can often be the reason for incredible progress and development of companies/organisations or they can be the reason for stagnation, dispute and maybe eventual  closure/etc.

]]> [email protected] (Heather Wilkinson) Benefits of Coaching Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:11:06 +0000 http://www.stridingout.co.uk/benefits-of-coaching/how-do-you-show-up.html http://www.stridingout.co.uk/benefits-of-coaching/how-do-you-show-up.html I recently bought a mobile for my daughter.  I thought the easiest - and maybe cheapest - way would be to go with my existing account.  Once I had navigated my way through the “Press 1 for ...” process I spoke to a salesperson for the provider.  “Ok”, she said, “let me take a look”. “Ah, yes, we’re going to need to make another version of you for this”.  Another version of me?  I wanted to say “Hey, no, I’m quite happy with this version thanks, I’ve spent a lot of time with it, I know it’s pitfalls but it’ss OK, its familiar”. I resisted - I didn’t really feel the need for the angry version to show up.  And anyway I needed to sort the account as quick as possible.  Once we’d finished I put the phone down and thought, “hm, another version of me?”  What would that be like? Who would I be?  What would I bring with me from this version? What would I leave behind?  What values would I bring, what hang-ups, what perspectives on life? What would happen around me?  What different versions to I already have that I bring to friends, to work, to my children?

At work people often bring ‘another version’ of themselves. Sometimes that is just fine, we want to be able to make a distinction between who we are at home and who we are at work.  We are different when, for example, we are with a colleague, friend, lover, parent, customer, official etc..  Those boundaries are important. It starts to get trickier though when showing a particular version of ourselves means the things that really matter to us are being squashed, hidden away, too scared to show up. Instead we bury them away and tell ourselves it’s not so important. 

What though is the cost if we hide versions of ourselves that could be more present?  What is the cost when we silence our core values?  Do we say yes to more work when we really should say no?  Do we avoid confronting bullying colleagues for fear of the implication?  Do we overlook misplaced working practices?  Do we ignore out of sync organisational values?  Do we neglect addressing our own inhibitions that stop us moving forward with life? 

How much of stress in life results from letting our core essence being squashed?  And in what other areas of your life to you find yourself presenting a compromised version of yourself, just to keep things easy?  And what is the cost?  What might happen if a different version showed up?  Would you find out what - and who – is really important to you?

Don’t let your core values get squashed .... allow some of your true self to show up and see what happens around you.  If you’re ready to bring out the real you - be it making the step to self employment, exploring a career change or getting more out of your work then get in touch with a Striding Out coach step into the changing room! Contact [email protected]

This article is written by Striding Out Coach Will Medd

As human beings, we really are truly amazing, and have a limitless capacity for creativity, resourcefulness, and we have everything we need to live the life we choose.

And it would appear that at this time on our planet, in our lives, we need to call on this ever more to meet the current challenges.

We are seemingly in a time of transition and even chaos – for many on a very personal level, for most of us on  a community level, nationally and even internationally. It would be fairly impossible to not be effected in some way by the current societal changes; the cuts in public sector funding that have heralded redundancies for many: resulting perhaps in a tightening of the belt and maybe even warranting an in depth look at how we live our lives. This can all require creative thinking; e.g. growing your own food; jogging outdoors instead of in the gym; resourcefulness; e.g. a community car pool.

 On a national and international level, we are forced to make the connection between how we live our lives on a day to day basis and how what happens internationally is no longer restricted to remaining within the borders of that country and now even continent: we have witnessed the domino effect of regime fall in the Middle East that for us in the West also has implications with regard to our use of fuel. There is much evidence now that we are reaching peak oil – and the danger of our dependence on a fuel that is not limitless and the extraction of which threatens our natural world. Once more we are in a place of needing to access our creativity – on a community level  - which extends to our world wide community. More and more of us are looking to source fuel from other more planet-friendly, dependable and inexpensive means – we a country that is surrounded by water and wind – natural, locally available means to access energy and fuel. Again this is a way in which we are working at being resourceful.

The clear message for me as a co-active coach, is the power we hold as individuals and together, to go with change that benefits us as individuals and as a community; to identify and seize the opportunities that can and do come with change and transition. Clients come to coaching sometimes feeling dis-enabled – that ‘change’ has happened to them;  they can feel disempowered, frustrated and even paralysed with the ‘where/how do I start’ syndrome. A great way to experience and support a client to move forward from this and into action is to ask them to write about how the words ‘naturally creative, resourceful and whole’ apply to them and what evidence they have for that to be true.

 Co-active coaching powerfully uses tools to deeply access such  truths: and actually there is no better way to do this than to simply stop for five minutes a day, closing your eyes, taking a deep breath, then saying the words; ‘I am naturally creative, resourceful and whole’ to yourself.  And then to notice your reaction to that, harnessing the energy to move you forward into action.

This article was written by Rachel Harford - Certified Coach