Get fully present to make some memories

Recently, my children have become totally obsessed with ancient Egypt. At the ages of five and eight, they are understandably (but perhaps slightly morbidly?) intrigued by pyramids, sphynxes and, most of all, mummies. Faced with such fascination, there is only one place any self-respecting Parisian Mummy (sorry, that’s the first and last one, promise) can […]

The mountains you have climbed

Almost every morning, when I wake my son up for school, he asks whether we have time to play – just the two of us – for a while before his father and sister get up. Since, like most families, our weekday mornings are timed more precisely than an Ocean’s 11-style heist, most of the […]

Know your why

How many “How to make your resolutions last beyond 5th January” articles have you read so far this year? What about “How to set SMART goals for 2024”? I have, thus far, studiously avoided them as I’m a little bit resolutioned out in January, to be honest. As a coach, I support clients with goal-setting, […]

Choosing your beliefs: breaking the hold of limiting thoughts

This year, I finally gave in and agreed that it was time to share the truth about Father Christmas with our eight-year-old daughter. I made my husband have the dreaded conversation; he pushed for it, after all. Neither of us wants her to be the last kid in the playground still insisting that Rudolph really […]

Time commitments and the power of tomorrow

We’ve all been there. A few months ago, you got invited to a dinner/ conference/ speaking engagement and, figuring it was A Good Thing To Do, you shot off a quick “Yes, I’d love to” and popped it in the diary. Now, it’s the night before the thing and you are checking your phone every […]

The superhero’s guide to getting organised

So, what’s your superpower? This is a question I have come across in numerous interviews of late. With the Marvel universe dominating cinema screens for years now, it seems to have become the latest, slightly ironic, way of asking “what are your hidden talents?”, and I’ve heard answers ranging from “I am a brilliant negotiator” […]

How I lost a tooth and gained new gratitude

This summer, I found myself in the unenviable position of having to undergo minor dental surgery. Minor but significant, since I loathe going to the dentist. But this little operation was necessary, so I gritted my teeth, so to speak, and did it. But it did not go well. Complications left me in terrible pain […]

Human being or human doing: which do you choose?

We are human BEings, not human DOings. In the past two weeks, I have heard or read this saying, so popular among personal development professionals, no fewer than five times. Do you think the universe is trying to tell me something? I don’t know, but the repetition certainly made me pause, put down my eternal […]

Intercultural diversity: turning challenge into opportunity

In my intercultural coaching work, I support mainly, though not exclusively, two client profiles. The first are companies in which teams from different countries need to work together. This is often done on a project basis, bringing people to collaborate with clients and colleagues they do not know that well; sometimes it is the result […]

Lessons in life from our children

I was recently regaling a close (and willing!) friend with a few stories of funny things my children have said and done of late. For example, my seven-year-old daughter who loves to read Dog Man has taken to exclaiming “Oh boy, this is gonna be great”, which is hilarious given her cut-glass English accent. I […]