Without confidence, our looks are not enough, our career is not enough, even our family is not enough, in fact, our whole life is not enough

How sad is that? Yet also…look around…how normal!

It’s true that most of us are often looking for the sources of success and confidence in the wrong places – a new job, a new makeup haul, a new pair of sneakers…

We have a radical idea for you…

Instead of our barometer for success being externally derived through ‘seeming perfect on the outside’ we can choose our own internal barometer. Our own personal progress, not a mark on an exam paper, a response on social media, a performance review at work, or how fabulous we look (or don’t look) in the mirror

This means we are much more in control of our own happiness, our own fulfilment, because our confidence is sparked by our own progress, not someone else’s approval

So the great news is real confidence is something we choose to develop and grow - it’s a work in progress. Even better news is, prog...

At a party recently in an idyllic setting with children running amongst wild meadows and adults chatting over chilled rosé, as the sun set sleepily over the rolling hills in the distance – there were 2 topics of conversation – which was the best act at Glastonbury and what can we personally do to stop ourselves being replaced by robots – aka AI?

Since last October, artificial intelligence — in particular ChatGPT and its recently revealed successor, GPT-4 — has been the hot topic in conversations about the future of business, work, and creativity. ChatGPT became the fastest-growing consumer application in history — outpacing Instagram and even TikTok

We get it, it’s hard for some of us to remain upbeat in the face of exponential performance and pace, yet this is in fact, the best way to futureproof ourselves given the potentially massive implications of AI for our careers and the world around us

So, how do we stay sharp and relevant in this new world of AI?

The answer, we believe, i...

Guess how many different types of apps you have on your phone. Do you know the answer?

On average, we have 80 apps on our phones, and each day, we interact with at least 9-10 different types of apps. This means that for most of us, we have more regular interactions with different types of apps than we have regular interactions with different types of people! 

As humans, we are a social species, meaning one of our deepest-wired behaviours is building a social group or network - but how diverse is your network and why in truth is this diversity important?
 
The thing is, at a time when a lot of us are worrying about the impact of AI, a way to feel confident, strong and thrive with AI is to remind ourselves of what differentiates us as humans from apps and computers. Humans use the brain's computing power, memory, and ability to think, whereas AI-powered machines rely on data and specific instructions fed into the system. A way to thrive in a time of AI is to focus on building the skills...

One of the truths we’ve come to understand at Progressfull, is that we can all benefit from choosing to see things a little differently

Human performance expert Stefan Falk, highlights that “sinking into boredom” is a downside of having an "autopilot" mind-set. When we deal with the everyday, familiar tasks and activities our brain conserves energy by moving to “autopilot” mode. When we are in this mode not only is it easier to sink into boredom, we also miss what’s new, what’s different and what’s noteworthy in the daily and familiar

Most of us have lives that are embedded in the familiar daily and weekly routines and rhythms. As a result our brain's autopilot can be restricting our perspectives and the opportunities for growth that are all around us

Even when facing the most tedious tasks, ones we have completed a thousand times over, we can cultivate a sense of curiosity and build our perspective by tuning-in to the small things that make the context or the task different. This m...

‘I don’t get it,’ said one of our clients this week, ‘what does it mean, to adapt and change to suit each situation, yet stay the same? It doesn’t make sense’

This is often one of the most challenging concepts for us to get our heads round and I must say that when Jo first explained this to me, it took a while for it to properly ‘click’ for me too. Now, I really love this concept and use this a lot in in my daily life. What it comes down to is all about how we own congruence which is one of the 5 Progressfull Principles

The 5 Progressfull Principles (Showing Up, Choosing Confidence, Being Playful, Owning Congruence, Welcoming Feedback) help us deal with the wonkiness, flaws and imperfections - which unless we have had an excellent executive coach or a brilliant therapist - we won’t know how to turn around to make progress. Progressfull does this by making the activities, and what we go through in typical executive coaching or therapy, accessible to everyone!

The 5 Progressfull Princ...

Creating a bright future for all of us is quickly becoming a number one priority right now. Even billionaires are realising that extreme inequality is simply unsustainable

In fact, the World Bank believes the full agenda of increasing gender equality and women’s economic empowerment is smart economics enhancing productivity and improving other development outcomes, including prospects for the next generation and social betterment. They say,

"No society, country or economy can achieve its full potential if girls and women don’t have the same rights and opportunities as boys and men"

What's more, one glance at the Economist glass ceiling index (their annual measure of the role and influence of women in the workforce) reveals there are encouraging steps forward in many countries, in many areas. Yet it is also clear to see that achieving gender equality is complex and there is no quick fix. This requires a whole-of society effort, which includes all of us, women and men at the individua...

High performance in work today is no longer all about industry expertise and financial savvy. What businesses want today are leaders with strong people skills

For a long time, whenever companies wanted to hire a key role or leader, they were looking for somebody with technical expertise, superior administrative skills, and a track record of successfully managing budgets. That now feels very out of touch, so much has changed during the past two decades that companies can no longer assume that people with traditional managerial pedigrees will be their highest performers. Today businesses desire to recruit people who are able to motivate diverse, technologically savvy, and often global workforces; who can deal effectively with complex stakeholders; and who can rapidly and effectively apply their skills in a new company, in what may be an unfamiliar industry, and typically with peers they have never met before

Frankly, it’s getting harder and less savvy to rely on traditional indicators ...

Don't be fooled, we are not talking about rumination here, a journaling whine of why life is not fair, we are talking here of purposeful self-reflection. Now that is truly the power tool we all need in today's world

In fact, far from being narcissistic naval gazing - countless studies prove that journaling is an extremely powerful way to boost our mental wellbeing, reduce depression and anxiety, and make us more content, productive and all-around happier with our lives

Boosting our ability to cope with intrusive and avoidant thoughts is one of the key benefits cited. A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that students who wrote about their deepest thoughts and feelings (handwritten or digital) in the month leading up to a big exam had fewer depressive symptoms because they didn’t dwell as much on their intrusive thoughts. What’s more, a 2018 study from the National Library of Medicine found that adults who completed a 15-minute online journaling ...

For years we have been told to get ahead in life - at work and at home - the key is to have a growth mind-set

Today, with so many of us feeling stressed and overwhelmed by the changes around us, this skill is more important than ever ...

The thing is, being practical, how do we do that – what are the small, practical steps we can take to stop feeling stressed, fixed and frozen in the face of change, and start making more progress in our lives?

The first step to leading our best life is to realise we are all a work in progress

This means we need to do some 'work', and most people find it difficult if not impossible to do this 'work' on their own. It's almost impossible to lean in, live more fully in the moment, let go of our baggage, embrace change and challenge, stop being fixed and frozen, stop fearing failure without help and guidance

People need someone to help them get unstuck and pick up pace - in whatever direction they choose to go

We can’t progress on our own if we don’...