I have a secret 😳   Nobody can read your mind.   Not your partner, your boss, your friends or even your kids.   If you want them to know how you feel, what you need, and what’s acceptable or not acceptable, you have to tell them.   I know it can be hard.   Pushing our needs away is the super power of most professional women.   It’s served us so well to power on and get ahead.   But it’s also creating a world where you feel frustrated, resentful and overwhelmed.   Because everyone thinks you’ve got this. You’re strong You’re always available You’ll do all the work. You’re invincible.   All that is true, but there’s also another side of you.   A side that needs a little gentleness, support, encouragement and kindness.   If you’d like to get better at asking for what you need, developing your voice to tell others what’s acceptable and what’s not, join me at the webinar.     'AHow to Make Boundaries like a Badass' Free webinar Thursday 9th March, Midday https://www.subscribepage.com/a8r2n0_boundaries

‘Absolutely no problem at all. I’d love to help you with that.’ Internal groan. 😱 When will I find time? I feel overwhelmed. I’ll have to not sleep. I can get up at 4am.   It's time to learn how to make better boundaries, so you can improve relationships, stop working 60 hour weeks and earn the money you are worth.   Come and learn how to tolerate the brief but difficult emotions that go with creating good, protective boundaries so you can dedicate your time to what you really love.   There’s an enormous personal cost to agreeing to others' demands. A cost in time, energy and trust that you can keep yourself safe. Now is the time to start valuing you and your precious, limited time and energy.   Saying yes against your will, so others don’t get angry or disappointed is the quick fix to avoid difficult emotions, with a long-term payment plan in resentment and overwhelm.   I know your conditioning is powerful. To always be nice, always be amenable, never disappoint. To be a good friend, a fabulous wife,  the best mother, a hard worker.   But it’s not sustainable or possible or even desirable.   This webinar is perfect for you if you want to stop,   🌻 Saying yes when you mean no 🌻 Sacrificing your time and energy to other people’s projects 🌻 Feeling spread way too thin over your commitments, fueling overwhelm 🌻 Avoiding short-term pain for long-term discomfort   How you will benefit,   🌻 Understand the dynamics which keep you stuck in people pleasing, and make change. 🌻 Align your time and energy according to your values and purpose. 🌻 Connect with your big why, which will support you to make those boundaries and keep them 🌻 Protect yourself and your loved ones as you shape the life you desire.     'How to Make Boundaries like a Badass' Free webinar Thursday 9th March, Midday  

Running on empty? I know how hard it can be to truly allow yourself to rest. 🌻   And here’s a last chance to join the self compassion retreat this Sunday. One place remains 🥰.   If you want to stop,   ☀️Punishing yourself to get work done ☀️Listening to your internal velociraptor ☀️Never feeling you’ve done enough ☀️Being at war with yourself   Come join a remarkable group of women committed to,   ☀️Working from a place of spaciousness and ease ☀️ Recovering inner calm ☀️ Finding courage to make change ☀️ Uncovering their own inner, gentle power.     Link below to find out more. We would love to have you with us!   Day Retreat, Sunday 26th February, 10-4, Bardon.   How to Shift From Self-Criticism to Self-Compassion.   Here's the link to find out more, https://www.subscribepage.com/day-retreat

Vibrant happiness anyone? 🌻   I spent much of my early life in very negative, painful mental states.   Joy was hard to find   Contentment impossible.   Even though externally I had it all.   Here’s what I know now.   Happiness is not something that only happens if you’re lucky. You don’t just trip over it one day. It’s not for the fortunate few. It doesn’t come from outside circumstances.   Join me on the podcast, and in the Facebook group,' Creating Vibrant Happiness for Midlife Women'.

I want more connection in my life, and I'm taking steps to make that happen. Good quality connection. Where we come together around a common cause or interest. Where everyone is present and engaged. Where there is an excitement about creating growth. Because something is afoot in our society, which is creating isolation. The loneliness epidemic is upon us. Australia and the UK now have a minister to tackle it. Lack of social connection is the new smoking. It carries a greater health hazard than smoking 15 cigarettes a day and can decrease life expectancy by 15 years. Join me on the podcast and in the Facebook group, Creating Vibrant Happiness for Midlife Women    

The road to success is up and down, not a straight line. Today I'm sharing a little about my process in the lead up to tomorrow's webinar. How I've had to really stay 'present at the edge' with my anxiety and use the breath to turn it into excitement. I've forced myself into this interesting, alive place between my critic and my inner mentor for the past two weeks and it feels awake, alive, stretched, and exciting. I feel I'm growing and glowing! I've also started a private Facebook group called, 'Creating Vibrant Happiness for Women in Midlife'.  Do come over and join me there. Here's the link to the webinar, Thursday 2nd February, 12 pm. AEST   How to Shift From Self-Criticism to Self-Compassion.  

Self-compassion means not beating yourself up about ‘failures’ and understanding that they are learnings.   It means being gentle with yourself when things don’t go well instead of shouting at yourself when you’re down.   It means opening your heart to yourself instead of being perfectionist, demanding and unrealistic.   It means appreciating your unique, vulnerable humanity and the vulnerabilities of others.   It means being kinder to yourself and others.   It means staying connected to yourself and believing in yourself instead of abandoning and punishing yourself.   I'm exploring this and the support I've needed to make big shifts in 2023.   Here's the link to the Day Retreat!    

Crushing self-criticism, spiralling anxiety and superhuman standards. Does this sound familiar?   It’s what I hear from many clients in my practice, and it’s my passion to support a new narrative so that you can stop using pain as a motivator and create a vision which propels you instead.   Allowing self-critical internal talk to run unchecked creates a downward spiral of mood and self-destructive behaviour, which can eventually result in serious mental illness such as panic disorder, generalised anxiety and depression.   These conditions show up with much higher frequency among professional women than in the general population.   This is why I'm offering my first (courageous) free webinar of 2023 on this topic. I'd like it to be a conversation rather than a tutorial, so come and join me for a discussion and learn some real life tools to use.   Sign up for the free webinar here   Thursday February 2nd, 12 pm

Welcome back to Mistress Wellbeing for another year of adventure, growth, and connection. Last weekend I attended a Dao Cultivation meeting and was interested to find much of the teaching echoed the journey of psychotherapy I experience with my clients. So today, I'm exploring the concepts shared in the teaching about how we are tempered by difficult emotions and challenging experiences. This speaks to the heart of my beliefs about my work.  That challenges are actually gold dust for learning, growing and finding peace, contentment and inner calm. That we all have access to a true self, a bigger self, the Big S Self that Jung described, beyond ego. Why do this work? Because being a better human means less suffering for you and for everyone you encounter!

Emotions can seem messy and overwhelming. Better kept at bay and preferably never seeing the light of day. Emotional expression can feel a little like washing your dirty linen in public. But keeping ourselves in an emotional straitjacket has consequences which I'm exploring today, along with some tips about how to access emotion safely and create stability in your system so it can allow emotions to pass through.  Emotions last 30-90 seconds when they arise, yet we spend a lifetime defending against them. So today, let's jump in and start the process! (Please note that extreme trauma is the exception, where expression can re-traumatise, and this needs to be held much more tightly.)