The One Who Sneaks:

It is 22:10 at night and I should be sleeping, but I am having a conversation with myself about internal dialogues and its very active participant: the inner critic.

At the centre of my active mind, that should be resting, lies the question:

How could we make the positive voice stronger?

Every January magazines (online and hard copies) have an article about the new year and usually reads: “New year, New you/ Me!” It’s Thursday evening the 4th of January and, naturally, I am thinking about what I want to achieve this year, AKA new year’s resolutions – those BIG questions. The response is usually a long list of what I desire, with the usual culprits being: weight-loss, finances and a new lifestyle. Unfortunately, this courage and dedication do not last longer than January for some of us – a very dismal realisation.

It’s just around midday and I’ve finished eating my fat-free/everything-free salad and had the requisite 1L of water by 12pm. Out of nowhere the smell of fried chicken permeates, and just like that I am hungry for greasy chicken I wouldn’t normally eat. I’m sure the name of the fast food chain lit up in your mind in big red neon font. I’ll even bet you did some mental finger-licking. I don’t know what it is about it, but I always joke to my friends that this company has a Johannesburg-sized fan that lives underground and gets switched on around lunch time to tempt even the toughest health-nut. Does your company have that irresistible smell about it?

I was recently having a coaching conversation with a client of mine who is in the HR space, and we were discussing challenges that she experiences with business when encouraging the importance of considering soft skills training for employees. We explored various ways of convincing business leaders about the value and way forward.

Imagine a woman who authors her own life

9 August in South Africa serves as a reminder of how far we have come and have left to go: that is, to live in a world that is safe, just and equitable for everyone. It is also a day when we celebrate progress and achievements of women and girls in South Africa. It is a time where we focus our collective attention on the challenges of gender-based violence, women in leadership roles and access to economic opportunities.