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Personal Effectiveness

Time Management and Goal Setting

Allen (2001) explains that the essence of time management is completing decisions and determining action steps about the things that capture our psychological and physical space. To cope with everyday demands, Allen has suggested a processing sequence of work and tasks: Collect all situations, projects and tasks that need to be done, including those that […]

What are Mastermind Groups?

In 1908, the richest man in the world at the time, the famous steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, commissioned Napoleon Hill to interview and study the 504 most successful people of the day. The objective was to distil which attributes these highly successful business pioneers had in common. Hills resulting book, “Think and Grow Rich”, came […]

What is Assertiveness?

Assertiveness is the ability to express one’s feelings, opinions, beliefs and needs directly, openly and honestly, assert one’s rights whilst respecting the feelings and rights of another (Lloyd, 1998). Non-assertive individuals may be passive, aggressive or passive-aggressive. Passive clients appear to be unconcerned with their own rights and are more likely to allow others to […]

Series: Coping with Sudden Unemployment

Unfortunately ‘organisational restructuring’ and ‘downsizing’ are common events in today’s workplace. For those individuals who suddenly lose their job, financial pressures can be overwhelming. Most support individuals receive focus on supporting the individual financially. However even under the best conditions where someone has ample savings and decent job prospects, suddenly losing a job is an […]

Steps to Improve Your Learning

“To be effective learners we must (1) perceive information, (2) reflect on how it will impact some aspect of our life, (3) compare how it fits into our own experiences, and (4) think about how this information offers new ways for us to act. Learning requires more than seeing, hearing, moving, or touching to learn. […]

Ineffective Options to Cope with Change

It is a bit difficult to define ineffective options simply because it is easier to describe those situations where people have ineffective options to react to change. Nonetheless some ineffective options may include: Denying that a change is occurring; Not being aware of one’s environment – of change that is emerging over time; Not planning […]

Positive Aspects of Change

People often avoid change; opting for predictability and control, rather than the more stoic, flowing style of embracing life’s challenges. But life is a dynamic balance of negatives and positives, and focusing on the positive aspects of change can be the difference between growing under duress and thriving in any environment, or experiencing continuing stress […]

Valuable Thoughts for Your Resolutions

Have you written down your New Year Resolutions yet? This time of the year brings much expectation and with it, motivation to perk up and to engage in projects which have been for long pushed aside. It is time to think about improvement! Below are eight ideas that can help you increase your personal and […]

Series: Coping with Relationship Breakdown

In this series of posts, we’ll explore the elements involved in a relationship breakdown, from its early stages to post-break contact. Hopefully this will be useful to the many couples who are faced with relationship challenges and suffer the emotional consequences derived from it. Follow-Up Posts: Warning Signs Stages of a Relationship Relationship Healing Obstacles […]

Counselling Case Study: Low Self-esteem Issues

Kate is 21 years of age and has a very poor self image; in fact she hates the way she looks. As a result, Kate has such low self esteem that it prevents her from looking for work. Kate’s mother is concerned about her daughter’s feelings and subsequent unemployment and therefore has encouraged her to […]

Stress at Work

“Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that everything is an emergency.” (Natalie Goldberg) Stress in the workplace is common and caused by many different factors and issues. Many problems may never be fully resolved and the amount of stress a person experiences is often determined by whether or not they can accept that some […]

Handy Tools for Combating Stress

“When Mozart was composing at the end of the eighteenth century, the city of Vienna was so quiet that fire alarms could be given verbally, by a shouting watchman mounted on top of St. Stefan’s Cathedral. In twentieth-century society, the noise level is such that it keeps knocking our bodies out of tune and out […]