Someone asks for help to sort out a problem or situation, and when you offer a few suggestions, they spend ages telling you why your ideas won’t work, how they have tried all of those ideas before, and that they just don’t know what to do. Does this sound familiar? This podcast will give you some ideas to help you effectively manage and support the help rejecting complainer, leading to improved performance, reduced conflict and a smoother work environment for everyone. This is a public...

You were really sure that you were right, but you have found out that you were wrong. How many times have you been in that situation? How many times have you said to yourself, ‘how could I have been so stupid?’ Becasue when you feel you are right it does not actually mean you are right. It’s just a perception. It's a belief and a feeling and not a fact. Your feeling of being right could be right - or it could be wrong. This tendency that we all have - to experience our perceptions as facts...

Do you ever feel that you haven’t got time to think? Do you ever feel that life and experiences are just passing you by because you spend much of your day firefighting? By doing this short exercise every day (or at least every week), you will find that when you do, you’ll have far more perspective on life and on your career. Everybody I have spoken to who has tried this exercise, has found it to be incredibly valuable. It’s an exercise I do myself. 1.  Sit down somewhere quiet.  Make sure...

Have you ever felt really exhausted, but at the same time unable to switch off, relax or even sleep? Do you ever feel cynical about your job and wonder what the point of it all is? If you have experienced any of the above, you may be on the road to burnout. This is a book about burnout – the biggest public health crisis of the 21st century. Burnout is a visceral physical experience. It’s the exhaustion, the anxiety, the sick feeling in your stomach. Burnout is also in your head. It’s the...

How would you feel if one of your colleagues called you scum in front of other people?Recently the deputy leader of the Labour Party, Angela Rayner, was forced to apologise after she called a Tory MP 'scum,' in the House of Commons.Research has shown...

Would you notice if a partner, friend or work colleague was feeling suicidal?If someone you love or someone you know, takes their own life by suicide, it’s just awful. It feels unbearable.  It's the living who suffer. However, it’s important to remember...

Have you got a difficult conversation coming up? One that you can’t (or shouldn’t) avoid?Are you dreading it because the other person might not see things your way?Here are a few ideas that will make the conversation much easier and productive.

How was your journey home yesterday?Did you sit in your car, or on the train, going over the events of the day?  Going over and over the conversations you had - what you could have said, what you should have said.   When you got home, did it continue. ...

Do you work or live with someone who really needs to change - but won't?  Not only do they resist all efforts to help them, but don't even acknowledge there's a problem?  Perhaps it is someone who upsets people they work with.   Or a teenager who ought...

Can a belief kill you?  Can something as intangible and ephemeral as a belief, thought or attitude kill you?Well, yes they can - and they do kill millions of people every year. Most deaths from illness are caused by beliefs.  The belief that smoking,...

Do you know someone who suffers with analysis paralysis?  Someone who always ask for more and more information, rather than make a clear decision?  Or, you might be that person.We'd all prefer to avoid making difficult decisions.  This is because we...

A passenger boarded a flight, only to discover that she was allocated a seat beside someone who had political views that were different to hers. Feeling virtuous, she went into a full blown rant and demanded that the passenger be moved to another seat. ...

In April 1998, a glittering party was held in a Manhattan art gallery to launch a biography of the American Expressionist painter, Nat Tate. The party was attended by David Bowie, Gore Vidal,  as well as gallery owners and art critics from influential...

What do you do when you feel bored?  Do you turn to your mobile phone for distraction or just nod off?There has never been so much to do. Whenever we feel the slightest twinge of boredom, we reach for our smartphone for instant gratification. If you...

In 2016, at the Wembly Arena, Nick Blackwell and Eubank Jr met for a boxing match. Both boxers were breathing heavily.  For every punch that Eubank made, Blackwell tried to hit back. Eubank was clearly winning…No matter how hard Eubank hit Blackwell,...

More importantly, what do you think about yourself...and is this accurate?It must be awful to be one of those bosses who think themselves inspiring and popular, only to be sniggered at in private.The most extreme example of the phenomenon is David...

The importance of status has its roots in our hunter gatherer past.  When we as a species were evolving, your position in the social group to which you belonged, could be a matter of life and death and so evolution equipped us with brain circuits that...

According to a recent study published in the European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences, procrastination was identified as one of the most important things that made people feel stressed.   It was linked to poor performance,...

Have you ever come out of a meeting and felt like it was a waste of time?Nothing has changed - nothing was achieved.Perhaps you felt that you weren't listened to.   Or was it your fault - you didn't communicate clearly enough?Well it could be the fault...

How many meetings have you participated in that have failed to make a decision? How many meetings have you been in, that have made a decision, but seem to struggle, for weeks or even months, to implement the decision?This is a common frustration in...

Working from home...some of us will find it easier than others - why is this?  We are all different and have different personalities. Some people get energy from interacting with other people; others, prefer being alone and just getting on with the task...

We are all burdened with imposter syndrome and we are all fallible human beings.  If you feel like an imposter, you are not weird, weak or odd – you are normal. Just realising this takes the pressure off...

Imagine having an idea and creating a business from nothing, that is now worth about $38 billion?Running a business with family or friends can be great... You will (hopefully) be working with people you actually like and get on with. You will probably...

Is there a particularly difficult individual in your organisation?Do you have someone who seems constantly stressed, fed up or anxious? A difficult or stressed employee is often the tip of a very big systemic problem. By simply treating such problems as...