Highly Effective People

I am privileged to work with a great many HEIs - Highly Effective Individuals. I am frequently astounded by just how much we, between us, manage to achieve in any given day or week. I am concerned by how infrequently we step back and take stock of exactly how much we are doing, or how well we are doing it.

It is perhaps symptomatic of the fast paced world we occupy. Life seems to be set on fast forward and we, as a result, are constantly chasing to keep up.

Too many people undervalue what they are, and overvalue what they are not.

Malcolm Forbes

Think about it, for a minute. What have you done today? Break it down - what, exactly have you done?

It is only when we are prevented from getting on with 'the business', by illness or injury, for example, that we notice how much it is that we ordinarily get done, and how we take it for granted that we can set out to complete a set of tasks and, circumstances permitting, get these done.

Getting things done requires energy and inclination...

What is it that you got out of bed for this morning?

What drives you?

Planning and motivation are the tools of effective people. As is confidence...

We can boost this by acknowledging 'I did that, and I did it well'.

As a therapist I find it ever more important to bring into the field of my clients' vision, how much it is that they are already accomplishing, in the hope that this may stoke the all important fires of self-efficacy.

The key is not to prioritise what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.

Stephen Covey

Comments

Table. Apple. Penny.

Whilst there were several places I might have been that morning, I wouldn't have been anywhere else. The practitioner from the Memory Service arrived promptly. I liked her instantly. Mum was nervous. I think I was a little, too. It's been a difficult year. "It's Friday, it's the fourteenth of December and I'm at home..." No problems there. CAMCOG, or the Cambridge Cognitive Examination is a thorough assessment tool used to assess the extent of extent of dementia, and to assess the level of cognitive impairment. The standardised measure assesses orientation, language, memory, praxis, attention, abstract thinking, perception and calculation. "Table. Apple. Penny." Three everyday items that were introduced at one point, and then referred to again later on. Again, Mum was able to recall each. I am reminded that the...

Glass half full? Glass half empty? Or perhaps the glass is broken

I am, constitutionally, a glass half empty gal. I will always first acknowledge what I don't have, what I have lost, and what it is that I am seeking. I tend to overlook my strengths, concentrating only on those bits of me that are underdeveloped or weak. I refer to myself as a realist, but in doing so compliment myself and insult those who genuinely are simply realistic. My modus operandi is to identify what's not working and acknowledge this before seeing more clearly what functions perfectly well. This has its place: I edit others' written work pretty well. My fastidious attention to detail serves me, and the author. Accuracy counts, for me and I have an excellent memory. I can remember a great many of my sessions with clients verbatim. Even this asset is something I can, and do, diminish the true value of, by concentrating on 'I should have said...' or 'why didn't.... occur to me during the session?' Earlier this we...

Pausing in the sunshine

And so, chemo is over. My best friend's diary has been chocker... Line cleans, blood tests, scans and 18 weekly doses of the gruelling treatment itself. Summer seems at last to have arrived and with it, we hope, some time, peace and space. She is, we acknowledged over a rather yummy luncheon served to us beneath the beautiful canopy of creepers and climbers at Petersham Nurseries, an inspiration. A small group of us gathered to celebrate her forthcoming marriage. The sun's rays joined the warmth we all have for this very special woman. Warmth and, in my case at least, pride. It is the greatest privilege to call this woman my best friend. She continues to epitomise my understanding of grace. Our bodies are fragile things. Our minds are frailer still. In her composure and wisdom, she possesses an outlook I can only aspire to adopt. From you, dear Charlotte, I learn and I learn and I learn. The ...

The Reward is the Journey

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