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Happiness at Work
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Friday, 05 February 2010 00:00 |
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 Be a Happier nurse!
3 easy tips:
Decide to be happier whatever is happening – ask others to create a 'complaint free zone' at work where no whingeing goes on and positive conversations can be had. Find ways to boost others happiness which will in turn give you the 'feel-good' factors. Give genuine compliments and tell others when they have done a good job. Be kind to everyone – patients, peers, your manager and yourself, nurture each other and create a safe scape to work together. Pick 3 things that are really causing you stress in work or outside and do something about them this week. Find 3 things that you love to do in or out of work and do them this week. Each week take away 3 stresses and add in 3 activities to make you happier – at then end of 4 weeks you will be 12 items less stressful and 12 times happier! Come and be inspired! |
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Happiness at Work
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Wednesday, 03 February 2010 00:00 |
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What happens if you think you don't even want to be a nurse any more? You have always been a nurse and it is part of your identity......you have responsibilities, a mortgage and so on, how will you make money? These are some of the questions I get asked by nurses via email and also while coaching them. Ask yourself what it is you love about your job, and what you would like to change. What do you love to do outside work that might make you some money? What skills do you have that you could teach others or use in a different way? Communication, colour, dexterity, learning, writing and so on. Know that many nurses transition into jobs they love – both in nursing and outside it – and working with a coach is the first step to making it real for you. Maybe you do not need to leave nursing, but instead need a job that suits you more, new challenges or a happier home life instead....?  
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Happiness at Work
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Monday, 01 February 2010 00:00 |
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 Nurses' jobs have been in the news again – with many trainee nurses unable to get jobs with one of them pulling pints at a pub instead of working as a nurse. Many students seem to leave finding a job until the last minute and not applying themselves to the process. I have had discussions with one nurse who is newly qualified and applied for several jobs, looked at what she really wanted in a role and kept taking action until in the end she was offered 4 to choose from.
So, what set her apart? Firstly she was involved with the RCN so that showed a level of commitment to nursing. She had a checklist of items that she wanted in a role, rather than being more passive and waiting to see what jobs came up. She spent time and effort finding jobs, talking to people and getting others to know her, not just looking online or in journals for jobs. If you are looking for a nursing job then be clear what you are looking for, take action to contact employers and managers and talk to them, be a great candidate and have something that allows you to stand out above the others. If there are few jobs and lots of applicants, it is a competition after all! If you missed our teleseminar on January 25th - listen to the replay here for free inspiration and motivation. |
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The Wonder of Coaching
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Friday, 29 January 2010 00:00 |
Finally this week it is good to review where you are each w eek. I was coaching one of my clients this week and she was telling me how useful she found it to use a notebook to review all her actions, plans, dreams and ideas. We can get scared that we will forget our dreams and not do them, but if you write them all down then they will always be there when you need them.
You can use a notebook in a number of ways to help you:
• Write down your goals and look at them regularly so that you know where you are going
• Create your weekly action plan of small steps and cross them off when you have done them
• Write mind maps of all your ideas to capture them in one place and take your mind on a holiday!
• Do a weekly review to see where you are and what you will do the following week
• Keep a record of spending or food eaten to show you what is really going on in an area of your life.
• Write down your ‘to-do’ list and cross off the items as you work through them for a feeling of satisfaction
• Keep your notebooks to look at later – you can see how far you have come in your life
• Write a gratitude list each evening or once a week, listing all the things you are grateful for in your life
• Make a list of all the things in life that are draining you - like odd jobs around the house, things that need sorting out at work or people you need to contact and do one a day to clear some of the mental clutter
Let me know how you get on, happynurses!
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Happy Nurses
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Wednesday, 27 January 2010 00:00 |
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As well as a team around me and doing more of what I love and am good at, I also wanted to boost my fitness, so am taking steps towards getting much fitter again. I have had a session with a trainer, been weighed and measured, and now have a new programme to work through.
 It has given me a bit of a boost as well as finding events that I can join in with – a 5km in March which will be about right for training (as long as the snow holds off!).
What have you been procrastinating about? I speak to lots of nurses who want to make changes and don’t seem to know where to start. If you have achieved something before that you want to have another go at then you can use the same strategy as before – whether that is working with someone, going to a particular place, reading and research, joining a club or anything else then start to re-do what you did before for the same results.
If you are trying something new, then find someone who has got the same results that you want and see how they did it. It is like following a recipe – if someone else has done it then maybe you can do it too by doing the same thing.
Missed our teleseminar on Monday, listen to the replay for free here! |
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Happy Nurses
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Monday, 25 January 2010 00:00 |
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What are your intentions for this year? When I reviewed my 2009 I looked at what was going well and what I wanted to change and one of the things that came across strongly was ‘team’. I am very good at some aspects of happynurses and not so good at others. I need a team of people around me to take on the roles I am not so good at to free up my time to focus on speaking, coaching, writing and creating new things. At the end of last year I met a woman who has been helping me to arrange events and this has totally transformed the way I am planning the business and what I can do, as I know that creating the talks and doing them is what I am good at, not the organizing and tech parts. What do you do well, that you would like to do more of, and what would you like to do less of? This can be at home as well as work. We can, as nurses, think we have to be good at everything but we can also ask for help. A team that has a variety of people with different strengths and skills is vital. We have also found this in the pub quiz as last week there were 5 of us instead of 2 and we had a broader range of knowledge. Who do you want on your team, happynurses? If you need some inspiration remember the teleseminar today January 25th at 20.00 – join us and find some ways to get motivated this year. Click here to go to the teleseminar details.
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The Wonder of Coaching
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Friday, 22 January 2010 00:00 |
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 Lastly this week, review what happened and how you felt about it. I have now started to look at what I said I would do each week and give myself a mark ‘out of 10’ as to how well I did. This is not about results (although getting great results is good) it is looking at the actions I said I would take and how well I actually did on taking them. This ensures I am honest and not just carrying the activities over to the following week.
This is the first week I have done this and will see how it goes. I like to adapt what I do now as I have been following this system for a while and like to make changes to improve how it works for me.
You may have aspects of your work or nursing life that need to be changed and taking action is the only way that will happen. It is easy to get side-tracked sometimes and not do what we said which is why writing it down and reviewing it is so important – we become more accountable to ourselves.
So, to review:
Complete the wheel of life for NOW
Complete it for your future
Write all this down in your coaching notebook
Identify the first step that will get you there
Take the first step and then subsequent ones
Each week see how you have done in relation to your action plan
Get a coach or buddy to help you through the difficult parts
Have fun with it – it is supposed to be enjoyable!
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Confidence
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Wednesday, 20 January 2010 00:00 |
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The next step is to identify the very first thing that will move you towards your goal. Just one step will get you started. Write it in your notebook along with your goals, visions and dreams and see how you get on. You will probably feel scared/ excited/ nervous doing something different but this is all natural and all good!
Get a buddy to help you or hire a coach to work with you on tough steps: click here to go to happynurses' coaching page.
As nurses we often put our own needs last and this is giving you permission to put yourself first for a change – make the time to take that first step amongst all the busyness business of family and work life.
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Confidence
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Monday, 18 January 2010 00:00 |
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 I have found some other great ways to make changes too – I now do my weekly planning in Costa coffee – it used to be at home - but I now find that the bustling environment and music, coffee and warmth is a creative space to be in, and really love it! It is important for you too, to look at what you are doing now – what you used to do or have done for years may not be the best way to do something now.
In nursing there are often lots of change happening, which we have to accept and that can put us off changing things  ourselves, but change is important. Remember, if you keep doing the same things, you get the same results.
This week look at a few things you can do differently to reach the goals you would like for yourself. One recommendation is that you should do one thing each day that scares you! Step outside your comfort zone and see what happens.
Join the online community today www.happynurses.co.uk
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let's do it together in 2010 |
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Lovely Stuff
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Friday, 15 January 2010 00:00 |
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You are now clearer where you are with your life balance and what you might want instead. Sometimes we are so caught up in life that we don’t know what we would like instead. We don’t know that we can have something else. We can think that our job is fixed and we have to ‘put up with it’, that we will never find another partner or that we have to live the way we do right now.
The first thing to know is that there are many many ways to live your life. I used to be a stressed-out ward sister and now run my own coaching and training business, with 7 different income streams, rather than one salary. I live in a different town and have a huge network of friends and colleagues, business partners and peers I would never have met if I had stayed in my previous life.
There are changes I need to make in 2010 to create a happier more balanced life for me, and I will work through this with you. I will share my own wheel of life and some of my goals – I have 3 year goals in each area and am working towards them all from now. I started on January 2nd and apart from the snow and some illness getting in the way I have made a good start!
Join me, happynurses!
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Lovely Stuff
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Wednesday, 13 January 2010 00:00 |
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Look at your own wheel of life: 
How happy are you with how things are in each area right now?
Where are you in each area right now and is it going well for you or not?
What do you really want for yourself instead?
Thinking forward to Christmas 2010 what do you want for your life, happynurses?
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Energy and Health
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Monday, 11 January 2010 00:00 |
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Happy new year everyone! How is your 2010 so far? Very snowy and cold I expect but it’s quite an adventure for all of us when this ha ppens and we have to do things differently which I think is good for all of us!
It is so easy for us to get stuck in a rut, and it takes some conscious effort to break out of it, but it is possible. If you are thinking that you need to make some changes in your life then this blog will help you!
This time around I am going to do something different –I am going to teach you how to make changes as I go through mine myself. I will start with the wheel of life and explain where I am in my own life, what my big picture goal is and what my shorter goals and action plan is.
These are all techniques you can do yourself, and I will tell you how to get better results for you. The other exciting thing is that I am going to do a video  blog too. This is something that I have been meaning to do for a while but have not got myself organised enough to do it, and because it is a new thing, it takes more effort to get going. This is true for any changes that you are wanting to make as well. To start with it seems like hard work, but then it becomes easier and eventually it is just ‘what you do’ or part of your routine.
I remember when I started at my gym 18 months ago and I was really nervous about going, and didn’t really know my way round or who to ask for anything etc. now I can walk there and do my workout easily with no real issues. This can be a problem in itself as I have now got into the ‘slightly bored, in a rut’ issue. So, bumping up my fitness plan is one of my aims for 2010.
Start to think about what you want in this year and the future and the next entry will tell you how to start. Let me know what your goals are for 2010, happynurses….
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Make your 2010 go with a swing! |
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Lovely Stuff
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Friday, 25 December 2009 00:00 |
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 I have been doing some talks around the UK this year and intend to do far more in 2010 as I really enjoy being in front of people and inspiring nurses to be all they can, to take steps towards what they really want and to find new ways to live their lives.
I met up with a woman last week who is running a conference centre and loves to organise events and can negotiate with venues and so on, but hates the idea of training or presenting, whereas I am the opposite! We realised that between the 2 of us we could get amazing things done – the same as when I met my PA Julia who does the admin I am not good at but couldn't write these blog posts. We all have things we are naturally good at and the more we use them in our lives, the more aligned we feel. I also love to do drama and did a taster session again last week and remembered how much I loved it, so am looking at more courses for 2010 to tap into my performing side again – singing too! What do you love to do that you have not done for a long time that would make your 2010 go with a swing? Find a course, a group or a tutor and have fun doing it!
Join the online community today www.happynurses.co.uk and get ready for 2010! |
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Lovely Stuff
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Wednesday, 23 December 2009 00:00 |
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 One of the things I am proud of is graduating as a NLP trainer and Master coach. When I signed up for all the training courses I had no idea how I would fit it all in, or how I would manage with the training as well as the nursing and business work I had to fit in, but here I am, 2 years later and fully raring to go!
We can often stop ourselves form starting projects because we don't know how it will work or how to get it done. Just taking the first step will reveal the next step, or asking others can show you the person who could really help you. What would you like to do in 2010? What is the first step? Do something scary and exciting towards your goal and see what else turns up!
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Lovely Stuff
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Monday, 21 December 2009 00:00 |
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With all the reviews of the year in the papers and on TV it is a great time to review your own year for 2009. It doesn't really matter who said what in the news and which celebrities are divorcing/getting married/ falling out with each other if our own lives are just ticking over or worse than that, are boring, stressful and we are feeling disconnected with life. How has this year been for you? What new people have you got in your life? I was doing some of my Christmas cards last week and it was a reminder how many amazing people have come into my life in 2009 - nurses, coaches, trainers, my business partners, mentors and more. I have sent cards to many people I did not know at all this time last year and to me, that is a fine achievement. I also know I have had an impact on many lives – as a sister, coach, nurse, friend and buddy and I am sure you have too. When we review our achievements some of the smallest ones may be the most important – it's not all about promotions, certificates and qualifications, it can be about happy events, new relationships and lives changed even in tiny ways. What are you pleased with this year? follow happynurses on twitter
follow happynurses on facebook |
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Lovely Stuff
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Friday, 18 December 2009 00:00 |
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Where in life are you making things hard for yourself? There are so many ways to find quick and easy solutions that make life much better. Some things that work for me are:
1. Stop ironing - This has increased the quality of my life massively! No-one notices and I just wash clothes and hang them up to dry, then wear them. No piles of ironing, no 'putting it off' and having nothing to wear and no hot evenings over the ironing board.
2. Get fruit and veg plus meat delivered to the door. Local, organic, very little packaging and reduces time spent in supermarkets, which I hated! www.abelandcole.com
3. Load inspirational audio onto my ipod so I can work out and learn at the same time
4. Start my ezine so I can communicate with 2900 nurses each week all at once
5. Send group texts to arrange social events – saves time texting individuals
6. Create a system – Monday is blogs/ezine/twitter/planning and in the afternoon my mastermind group. This gets the week off to a flying start!
7. Set a week of tweets all in one go – via www.socialoomph.com
8. Use a 'day to a page' diary for goals, to-do lists and tick them off as I go
9. Make sure I book tickets for comedy and social events in advance, online is easy and quick
Want to find more solutions? - read Claire's book 'The happynurses Guide to Creating a Balanced Life - the 12 week coaching plan for busy nurses' |
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Lovely Stuff
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Wednesday, 16 December 2009 00:00 |
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Easy – what would it mean to make life easy? How could you love life more while doing less and less? How can you take quick and simple action towards what you want today, even right now? Ask yourself these questions today and allow life to be easy..... Join the online community today www.happynurses.co.uk it's easy!
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the answer could be easy and simple.. |
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Lovely Stuff
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Monday, 14 December 2009 00:00 |
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This week's blogs are going to be short and sweet – why? Because thats I what I fancy doing – why make things hard for myself? I spent 3 days on a retreat a couple of years ago all about finding 'flow' in life and it was really interesting as well as life-changing for me and some of the other participants. During the course we learned about what 'flow' meant for us and how to have more of it, but more importantly how we can make life sooo hard for ourselves! I did an exercise based on shamanic rites which involved making a picture out of natural items we found and creating something that represented our past, present and future. This seemed a bit odd as we were in the Lake District on a rainy day, collecting leaves, twigs and so on. As we all relaxed into it it became a really meditative exercise. After a session in the centre we went out to add something to it. I saw a leaf on the ground and thought 'that's it – a 'new leaf', that is what I need to complete the picture of my future. I then thought 'It can't be that easy, can it? To find something perfect immediately...?' I decided that the leaf was exactly right, so completed the exercise in 10 seconds! It then dawned on me that this is something I do a lot and a lot of nurses do too – we make things hard for ourselves instead of accepting that the answer really could be something really easy and simple. What are you making really hard that is actually really easy? How could you get the answer or create something in 10 seconds? follow happynurses on twitter
follow happynurses on facebook
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Lovely Stuff
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Friday, 11 December 2009 00:00 |
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How do you see yourself? This has a major effect on how you 'show up' in life and the results you get. We often walk round with 'labels' on ourselves which restrict our success by limiting what we think is possible for us. Last weekend was another  happynurses coaching course where the participants started to look at the 'limiting beliefs' they had about themselves and the world, being aware that we all generalise and distort information we hear all the time. Some of the group made 'sweeping statements' about other groups of people (young people/nurses/media for example) or themselves - “I'd die if I did drama!” Now, I have never known drama to be a major cause of death in people(!) so was able to challenge that belief, but we all have beliefs which do not serve us. We also did a powerful exercise which asked for the others in the group to write a positive comment about each of the others in the group and this can be quite revealing. We never see ourselves as others see us. We carry all the 'stuff' with us that we think we can never reveal to others – all the horrible things we have ever done and ways we have behaved that we feel bad about. However, no-one else can see these and they will see different things in us. However they do see us through all their experiences, filters, values etc as well....! It can all seem complicated, and we think that either 'we' are right or 'they' are when in fact neither of us are! Decide how you want to show up in the world and then start to do it! Each moment we have is a moment to make new decisions about our life so start right now! |
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getting the results you want |
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The Wonder of Coaching
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Wednesday, 09 December 2009 00:00 |
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Once you know what you really really want you can start to look for it, using a variety of methods. We all know that doing the same thing gets the same results but how often do you try to do something in a new way? How many different ways have you used to find a job/new house/man of your dreams/lose weight/get fit/give up smoking? If it is less than 10 you probably need to expand your possibilities and start to do things in a different way! Look back at what you have done in the past and how you have succeeded in any area. This will give you one or more of your success strategies. We all have strategies. Some of them give us the results we want and some produce results we don't want. Look at how you have succeeded in the past and keep doing that but add in more strategies to expand your possibilities and chances of success. Find out how others are getting the results you want. Ask them what they do to move forward and achieve great relationships/lose weight/find a job they love. Working with a coach or mentor is another great way to keep you on track – someone who can encourage or guide you to the result or goal that you want for yourself. Do something new each day towards your goal and see how different the results are! Remember – there are two ways to go – results or excuses...are you getting the results you want? If not, you are probably making excuses somewhere in life..... Just taking action, any action, will move you forward and give you new possibilities....stop making those excuses and move forward in 2010, or even today!
Join the online community today for more information and inspiration www.happynurses.co.uk |
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