Our Positive Self

Our Positive Self focuses on the power of coaching and positive psychology to achieve lasting results and to cultivate happiness and wellbeing. It also looks at the impact that thoughts and beliefs can have on us as well as the potential benefits from cultivating spirituality as part of wellbeing.

The positive self may sound difficult in times of adversity or hardship, but at any moment we have the ability to choose what we focus on, cultivate and do. Within this space there is freedom to transform how we feel and interact with the environment around us – allowing us to live in the best way possible. 

  • Positive goals change what we seek out – Just by setting goals and asking different questions we seek out and notice opportunities that we may have missed before
  • How we see ourselves makes a difference – Do we have a positive view of ourselves or a negative one? Are we self-compassionate or critical?
  • How we see the world makes a difference – Do we have hope and optimism and resilience for the future? Are we consciously creating the future we want? If not, why not?
  • The energy and emotions we have within us makes a difference – They shape the reality we experience through the choices we make and the way people interact with us. We can cultivate these positive emotions and build on these foundations. How much time do we spend consciously doing this and does this matter?
There are a range of powerful psychological, spiritual and coaching techniques that have been developed which can prove extremely powerful in addressing these – taking us forwards in transforming how we feel and act and taking us towards our goals.  These techniques fall within four main categories: 

1. Solution focussed coaching

Solution focussed coaching helps you take stock of where you are right now, identify where you want to be in future and help you take action to get there. This may involve looking at any limiting beliefs holding you back, identifying where you have been successful in the past and the options you have right now. What you would do if you knew you couldn’t fail or if money wasn’t an option? Working with a coach can give you that extra boost when needed most.

2. Cognitive techniques

We all hold a range of beliefs about ourselves and the world that may or may not be true and may or may not be helpful.  But whether or not they are true they impact how we feel and act. Changing these limiting beliefs is not always easy but is possible through a range of techniques. These include calming the mind, challenging unhelpful negative thoughts and thinking patters and ultimately becoming free to move on from them – focussing instead on your goals and values.

3. Spiritual coaching

Spirituality may or may not be part of your life and can take many forms. What is spiritual to one person may be normal life to another. But where spirituality is part of your life it is also an important part of your wellbeing and is worth exploring and developing further. This could simply be committing to a more regular spiritual practice, exploring new techniques or working with someone to deepen your spirituality over time. Either way, spiritual practices can increase your spiritual wellbeing which in turn benefits your overall wellbeing.

4. Positive psychology

We often find we have an inbuilt bias where the negative is noticed more often than the positive and demands more attention from us. This has proved useful in the past when escaping from lions but we now need to rebalance to the positive to flourish in the modern world. Whereas negative emotions narrow our thinking and actions, being aware of and cultivating positive emotions broadens our awareness and creativity and helps us build together as a society. This re-balancing to the positive can be done through a range of positive psychology techniques and interventions and can be hugely beneficial.