We are all familiar with phrases like “that person wears their heart on their sleeve” or “I can read you like a book” or “what you see is what you get with that one”. All imply that we fully see the ‘real’ person in question, but is that really true? Do we ever really get to see the real you, or is ‘what we see is what we get’, the view that you have unconsciously (or consciously) decided that we should ‘see and get’?

I recently overheard someone telling another person that while Christmas is a nice time of the year, it is really only a time for Children. I thought this was a very sad attitude.

Every day in Ireland we are bombarded by negative media; the economy is in free fall, we are facing extortionate taxation for a number of years into the future, unemployment is at an all-time high, countless numbers are emigrating, etc. etc....Things are looking fairly bleak. So, with this in mind, I have to ask:

The Country is in Trouble...BUT...How are YOU Doin’??

 (This article was submitted as part of the required course work for a Special Award in Emotional Intelligence at Carlow Institute of Technology, 2010)

Introduction:

No matter what problems we think we have, when Mother Nature flexes her muscles, we get a healthy dose of reality. No matter how advanced we think we are, Nature is always much more powerful.

I find it so interesting that volcanic action in Iceland can have such a major effect in the Northern Hemisphere. But more interesting is the reaction of people to the situation.

So all air travel is grounded, tens of thousands of people are being affected and at a time when people should be pulling together to help each other, we are seeing plenty of evidence of the opposite.

I was watching my kids playing video games recently. I was complimenting them on their progress when I noticed that every so often one of them went to a PC, typed something, focussed on the screen before returning to the game and quickly hitting the controls in what seemed to be a very precise sequence. Their character on the screen went crazy, the level ended and much to their joy they moved to the next level of the game. When I asked what they were doing, I received a 'matter of fact' answer that they were getting 'cheats' from the Internet to help them get through the levels faster.

 Introduction:

 I was recently speaking with a Senior Executive from a local organisation. Our conversation moved to Life and Executive Coaching and of course the usual question; "what's that all about?". I set about explaining the concept of Coaching and when I finished he paused for a while and then said "I could do with that". Of course I was thrilled to have a new client, but I was really amazed by his reason for opting to be coached.