As the founder of Croft Coaching, Deborah Croft, has a passion for helping people overcome challenges, embrace change and live life to the full; with an ethos of “work hard, play hard”.
Croft Coaching is a Coaching and Training organisation, dedicated to inspiring and empowering Individuals and Groups to play to their strengths and honour their values; so that they are truly engaged, energised and present; inside and outside of the workplace.
Croft Coaching partners with Organisations and Individuals who are seeking to evoke positive, long term transformational change; grounded in greater self-awareness, clarity and conscious choice. In partnership with Viva Consulting, they help organisations include and embrace the impact of the transition to parenthood in their diversity programs.
By Debbie Croft, Croft Coaching / Geneva Coach Alliance
I wonder how many of you have been in, or overheard conversations about New Year’s Resolutions, where some speak with great fervour and passion; whilst others say ‘I don’t believe in making resolutions’. It made me consider how a simple date can cause many people to pause and reflect, pull over to the slow lane if you like, even if for 5 minutes; when the rest of the year, we stay in the fast lane.
So, what happens when you pull over to the slow lane or even stop? What do you become aware of?
It forces me to come up above the mental to-do list and juggling hats, as if I am looking down at myself from the canopy of the trees. From this viewpoint, I can see the roles I am playing in my life with detachment, and I can ponder over what is important to me in each of those roles. I actually dedicate time to reflect on questions similar to the ones I have listed below; as opposed to wonder if I have food in the fridge for the next couple of days, work organised, commitments on my radar so I don’t miss a vital playdate, thank you cards written etc etc!
Image courtesy of Carlos Porto, www.freedigitalphotos.net
By Debbie Croft, Croft Coaching / Geneva Coach Alliance
Stress is so personal, one person’s stress is another’s idea of a thrill, so learning to overcome and manage stress is equally very personal.
Take relocation. Some people love it, whilst others are exhausted by it, physically and emotionally. Moving house is stressful in itself but when that move is to a foreign country, the impact is multiplied. Many people adapt quickly, yet for many others it can be an isolating and frustrating experience, where people say to me “sometimes I feel like I am the child, back at school.”
For many who have adapted and settled, they are now waiting to hear if they are facing early repatriation as organisations make job cuts. In the last couple of months, I have helped more and more accompanying spouses who are now looking to return to work, to help keep the family here and share the responsibility. For the working partner, there is the stress of losing a job or moving roles again. Equally, for the partner who has been out of work, there is the anxiety and dip in confidence around what job role to even look for, as it seems such a gap between being at home and working professionally.
Image courtesy of artur84, www.freedigitalphotos.net
By Debbie Croft, Croft Coaching / Geneva Coach Alliance
I wonder how many of you feel like some kind of calmness has resumed and you can just about remember what day you are meant to be where for drop off/pick up of school/clubs/play dates. In these first few weeks back at school, I really have had that “Friday feeling” at the end of each week! I was quite surprised how 5 days of simply enabling your children to go to school can be quite so exhausting! Then I thought about it some more:
- My youngest started school for the 1st time and although it was all very familiar to her, (and equally to me), it was still a relief that she settled into it.
- Despite thinking I was "Mrs organised” with the long list of items to return with for my eldest starting 3P, I still discovered a few items that I had to race around for on week 1!
- There was no lunch club in the 1st week so I was up and down to school 4 times a day, 4 times a week, with thankfully one day off on the day that I share childcare with another Mum.
- My vocabulary improved some more as I read and re-read (armed with my dictionary) several letters and articles of law around absence, so I could sign in marked spots!
- Week 3, youngest daughter came home with cold & sore throat!
