In other words, an individual’s whole life must be considered when pursuing happiness and /or success. Clients of mine, time and again, state in the first session: “all I want is to be happy” to which I reply “what would happy look like for you?” You see my ‘happy’ is different to your ‘happy’. And, here is the ‘aha’ moment when clients begin to ponder their own happiness. I invite them to be curious about the moments in their lives when they were truly happy, even if they have to go back to childhood to rediscover them i.e, what was going on, who were they with, why were they content.

More than a feeling, happiness is a state of being. It is overall contentment. When content in life, you are strong and resilient. You have a deep sense of knowing where you are and where you are going. You can self-regulate your emotions. When life does not go your way and feelings of depression, anger and stress seep in, then these feelings are acknowledged and owned. Some people know what to do next to move forward others need to seek help. When content, feelings and overall outlook are positive, energized and yes, happy.

Success today is looking to make sure that your entire life is working i.e. your health, your work, your relationships, your finances, your sense of community, your personal outlet(s). In a busy life within a busy world, you need an outlet to rejuvenate, to re-calibrate. It is absolutely necessary to carve out pockets of time for yourself. Plan the time to sing, dance, create, run, paint, do yoga, play an instrument. It is paramount to have an outlet for rejuvenation (perhaps having to think back to happy childhood times to rediscover your interests). This outlet relieves the pressure of your busy world, feeds your positive state of being and helps you uncover new ways to guide and balance your life. Think about it, what does happy look like for you?

The post Success is Happy appeared first on Claire Sutton Counselling.

Several news articles in the last few months reported that seniors who participated in a light weight training program on a regular basis improved cognitive functioning which made them happier and improved their socializing.

Having a level of fitness is not just true for seniors and children.  The fitbit owners are making a fortune getting people to walk 10,000 steps a day. If it will work for you then get one. Or, stop and think about what you can do to be more active and more mindful of your own level of health and fitness.

Wow – This is not rocket science!  Simply put, taking care of your ‘being’ physically will improve your emotional  and mental functioning as well as your productivity in the workplace.  Your health is your greatest resource.  Responsibility for your good health and that of your children begins at home.

My clients come from the working population ( 18 – 65+).  Many of their presenting issues are due to high stress in various areas of their lives ( career, relationships, divorce,  family).  Such stress is often manifested into depression, anxiety, anger etc.

Life is complex and it is hard at times. At one point or another we all have ‘stuff’ to deal with. People who partake in regular exercise are better able to process their emotions and work through their stressors.  Structuring a break to exercise (such a 15 minue walk at lunch ) on a regular basis is homework I often give to my clients.   Exercise can help you regulate your emotions and thoughts so that you are able to work through the difficult issues.

Regular exercise helps you  improve performance in all areas of your life. September is a great month – a fresh start month – to structure exercise breaks that will allow you to feel better, gain more energy and come up with the creative thought process to problem solve.   Let’ s all take a page from our Olympic and paralympic athletes and get active.

Photo Courtesy: Tropicofkansas

The post GET FIT TO PERFORM BETTER AT WORK appeared first on Claire Sutton Counselling.

With the word “MoJo” these clients were describing what they knew was missing from their core self: their energy, their confidence, their own bizazz.

Mojo is your own ‘magic power’ where your confidence and motivation make things happen. You see the opportunities and you take them. Mojo is in sinc when everything goes right because you know how to get around the hurdles.

We can see the Mojo of entertainers during a great concert, music video or basketball game.

For my twenty-something clients, they were focused on a bigger life scale and they wanted their Mojo to emanate from their being so that they could be in the driver’s seat of their life.

I see many clients who on paper, life looks fantastic for them – educated, good career, lovely family – yet in reality they are stuck in the quicksand of fear. They are not moving forward for fear of failure or not trusting that they can be successful or they could also be afraid of success or not feel deserving of a happier life.

Holding on to too much anxiety can paralyze a person from taking forward action and leave them ruminating in negative thoughts. When overwhelmed with anxiety, one is focused only on the anticipating (imagined) threats.

As a life coach, I help clients sort through their confusing thoughts and feelings toward clarity and direction with next steps outlined.

Life is about living it with MOJO.

The post RECLAIM YOUR MOJO appeared first on Claire Sutton Counselling.

It certainly was not my intent to abandon my blog – you know how it is: life, work, summer & IT updates got in the way – even for me, a Registered Clinical Counsellor and Life Coach. Yes, I too have to work at keeping tabs on my work-life balance.

Blogging is more concentrated work than I initially anticipated. Who knew! What a big lesson I learned! I am someone who gets back in the saddle after a fall. In other words I fail forward. I stand back, review what I did – what worked and what did not work and I problem solve toward success.

I am re-organizing my blogging plans so that a blog by me appears on my site once or twice a week at least. Blog consistency has now been actively worked into my schedule.

Just as I help my clients to recalibrate, life for me is about recalibrating every now and then. Life is about taking stock and acknowledging what is working and what is not working in our lives or in aspects of our lives. We must consciously commit to doing certain things differently. It has to really matter for commitment to occur.

My goal is to help my clients get in the driver’s seat of their lives. Life is complex and busy today that it can easily overwhelm us. Many people need coaching today for life management or transition planning.

Writing my own blogs has forced me to look at my work schedule differently. It means to integrate in a comfortable fashion this writing feature into my schedule. It matters to me. My blogs are back and yes I may slip again and break another major blogging rule but back in the saddle I will get, a little faster next time.

The post MEA CULPA ! appeared first on Claire Sutton Counselling.